https://twitter.com/shannonsharpeee/status/1630568238630461441?s=46&t=PGv7U5gYKFFvlwSQLEGoZw this has SO MANY likes and retweets how do you even go about combatting the misinformation :(((
Link for everyone - it's a video of a young alligator getting brushed with a toothbrush. The alligator's body is very tense, and they close their eyes and open their mouth.
Yeah, this isn't cute, and this isn't what a happy alligator looks like. This is one of those cases where it's really easy for people who don't know about reptiles to anthropomorphize - it can look to the untrained eye like the alligator is "smiling."
I think the best way to combat misinformation like this is to provide people with the tools to tell on their own if a crocodilian is feeling content. This video is actually a perfect example of what to look for in a stressed crocodilian - tense body, open mouth, leaning the head back, and clenching the eyes shut are all signs of stress and fear in crocodilians.
A content crocodilian will look much different! They'll be laying loosely, often with their limbs splayed out. The mouth will usually be closed (though they might open their mouth to thermoregulate) and their body will look very relaxed.
Another thing to look for in videos like this - is the crocodilian's mouth taped? No real professional will ever handle a crocodilian without taping their mouth shut, because of the danger crocodilians can pose to humans. Taping the mouth doesn't hurt the animal, and it helps keep everyone safe. Even small crocodilians should always be taped when they're being handled.
In short, this video combines a misreading of crocodilian body language with a lack of common-sense safety precautions - it's an accident waiting to happen!
When siblings decide to be inconveniently helpful.
Collection of le fishe memes from an aspiring marine biologist 🦈
came back wrong but its from the perspective of the person who came back
American Photographer, Joel Bissel, took stunning pictures of the frozen Michigan Lake in Chicago, covered by ice scales (x)
You heard me? Aight.
Designs for people who didn't notice my other posts ^^
Spoilers start UNDER THE CUT.
OMORI cast as Iterators! In order , Sunny, Omori, Mari, Hero, Aubrey, Basil and Kel. I will post more about them later in reblogs, tagged #Rain World and #OMORI Iterator AU
I will have to sleep soon so just base info for now ^^
They have So much lore. I might answer asks (with aforementioned tags)
For ppl who don't care about RW spoilers: Iterators - supercomputer artificial gods, made to work on The Problem forever. I assume there are 3 generations based on eras they were built in and 4th for experimental models The Problem - Immortality, a cycle of resurrection. everything respawns in that world and its a real thing The Solution=Triple Affirmative - a way to stop the cycle of resurrection/reincarnation, that is generally applicable, and is possible. That isn't another way that they already found but don't like The Core/Rarefaction cell - eternal source of energy for an iterator. There is usually one or several and we don't know how many. I assume 1. Ancients - old civilization that built the iterators and moved to live in Colonies on top of them as the surface became uninhabitable Mass Ascension - All Ancients going and using the old way to exit the cycle that they didn't like. Essentialy giving iterator projects up but leaving them to solve the problem for the rest of the world.
This is a really good question! Here's what will happen after New Girl gets here.
First, I leave her mostly alone for a couple of days. I give her constant access to fresh water, but I don't feed until Day 3. This gives her time to get settled and acclimated; the stress of the move can cause GI distress, so for the first couple of days, nothing in the stomach. The stress from regurgitation would be more detrimental than the stress of being hungry. Day 3, some nice, digestible food: egg. Day 4, we start introducing greens. Day 5, we have our first vet check!
Now hopefully there's some poop on Day 4, because this is a wild-caught animal, and she will have worms; that's just a given. When you eat raw, rotting meat in the wild, you get worms. My trapper doses them all with Panacur when he catches them, but the fecal sample will have more information on what specific parasites are present and what else is needed. If no poop for the vet check, that's ok, just collect some whenever it happens and take it on over and they'll do the fecal when they can.
At the vet check, they'll do a blood draw and a full blood panel. The vet will palpate all over, feeling for lumps and masses, and they may do some imaging. With a Florida feral, one thing you don't have to worry about is metabolic bone disease, so an x-ray might not be necessary. However, an ultrasound is a good idea with females. New Girl is very young and likely didn't have a partner during the last breeding season, but it's worth it to have a look at the reproductive tract to make sure there aren't any red flags or weird masses.
The vet will also do the standard exam stuff- listen to the lungs, check the reflexes, listen to the heart. They will also check tongue flicks and try to do a visual dental exam. That might not happen at the first visit, though! One of the things I had Kaiju trained to do was let me open her mouth. A voluntary open mouth behavior is something I really want to teach New Girl.
After the vet check, she'll still be on a fairly limited diet, variety-wise, until she's eliminating consistently and we've finished the inevitable course of meds. If all goes well, we'll do a course of fecal tests to ensure that any active parasite infection is gone, and then it'll be annual checkups from there on out!