posted 10-24-2006 06:29 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yero the Hero:
Pet stores these days just want to make a sale, regardless of what of does to the animals.

[This message has been edited by Yero the Hero (edited 10-24-2006).]

---

I was ever thus. I have a book called 'Pets for Children' published as part of an eminently respectable series by an eminently respectable publisher in the UK in 1969. It includes suggestions for the care of toucans, alligators, boas, tortoises, Camberwell Beauty butterflies (I beleive they're called 'Mourning Cloaks' in the States; either way they're impossibly rare in the UK), Swinhoe's pheasants, fruit bats, marmosets, bushbabies, jerboas and flying squirrels which frankly no-one has any business keeping in cages. Much though I'm not a fan of zoos, some of them at least do engage in breeding programmes and have pulled animals (notably Pere David's Deer, the Giant Panda and Przewalski's Horse) from the brink of extinction, or beyond. I've yet to meet an adult private indiviual that could meet all the needs of any one of the above, let alone a child. Fortunately the book has been out of print for aeons, and pet-shop owners are slightly more restricted than they were back then...

The only cuttlefish I have ever seen in cages are the dessicated internal shells of dead ones hung in budegrigar's cages (I'm not sure if American matrons go in for budgies like ours do...). The Latin word for a cuttlefish is 'sepia', which is why sepia photos are called that, since the early photographic ink was derived from a pigment in the ink squirted by an alarmed cuttlefish. Very odd.

That pair of cuttlefish on the previous page look like they're about to make lots of little cuttlefish. I hope this will not herald a return to that slew of slightly frightening monkeys-in-makeup pictures we had a a while back. Filthy simian soft-focus erotica I can just about put up with. Cuttleporn is simply beyond the pale.

posted 10-25-2006 03:58 PM            

Budgies are fairly popular in the United States, though here they are more a child's pet, I would say, than a lonely spinster's. Most people do not know them as budgerigars here--we refer to them simply as parakeets. Less specific, and much less dashing and grand.

I have a pastel yellow parakeet whom I re-named Perky after finding her in my care because an empty-headed acquaintance was not up to the responsibility. Perky's companion died in said acquaintance's care from either starvation or malnourishment because said acquaintance purchased the birds from a disreputable source--a pet shop in a mall--and was told to feed them some kind of strange, grey, gravelly, pellet-type food. The birds either did not eat it or did not derive enough nourishment from it, and, rather than put in even the simplest work, said acquaintance literally showed up at my door and handed me a skinny yellow bird.

Perky is hale and hearty now, of course, as she is eating proper millet-based parakeet food.

And that is probably more about my parakeet than any of you wanted to know. In keeping with the theme of this thread, my budgie looks like this:

posted 10-25-2006 07:03 PM            

This is cool too:

posted 10-25-2006 07:13 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yero the Hero:
Oh, sorry, I was being facetious.

I just wanted to use the "cuttle-y" pun.

Personally, I do not advocate the owner ship of any companion animal unless the said owner is responsible enough to give the animal a good home. Since I had dilligently researched the topic and took all the necessary precautions, I was able to care for an octopus. But, I know many people would not be able to do this. What's also horrible is the conditions these "exotic" animals are put under for sale. I mean, monkeys (and many other animals) don't do well in small captivity. Pet stores these days just want to make a sale, regardless of what of does to the animals.

[This message has been edited by Yero the Hero (edited 10-24-2006).]

---

I need to put my foot down. I'm really angry that you said that. My father owns a petstore, and he does absolutely nothing to harm the animals there. He often boards other owner's pets and he doesn't even sell dogs, or anything like that. And I would like you to stop generalizing, please.

And to the monkey thing.
My sister was bitten by a monkey, she's known to an entire hospital as "the monkey bite girl." She doesn't own any exotic pets, and I don't really know any people who do. She does work with exotic animals though.

posted 10-25-2006 07:19 PM               

Oh, and St. A, I'm sorry if I offended you, but everyone must make some sort of generalization when speaking of anything. You can't expect everyone to sift through each and every little expcetion to make a point. That would be like the MPAA rating every movie "G" because maybe a handful kids are mature enough to handle seeing graphic content.

I'm sure your father takes very good care of the animals in his store, ut the truth is, especially with higher-end chain pet stores like Petco, they are more concerened with a sale and view the animals as stock rather than living things.

Just last summer a number of Budgerigars died because of improper ventilation, and many other events similar to this have happenbed countless times.

And I believe that whole monkey story you told proves the fact that exotic pets shouldn't be owned. (Yes, I know your sister doesn't own a monkey, but she was bitten by one.)

posted 10-25-2006 07:21 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mistress Hibbins:
Breathtaking cloud formations in storms do not neccessarily have anything to do with global warming. You could get an amazing sky like that on a planet untouched by man-made pollution.

---

posted 10-25-2006 09:37 PM            

http://www.leahymusic.com/gallery/official/official-field.htm

posted 10-28-2006 09:13 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mistress Hibbins:
I love tornadoes. I have been amazed by them since I was very young.

[IMG]

---

Whoa! Wizard of Oz much? Tornado + Rainbow + Cute little house?? very cool picture!!

posted 10-29-2006 09:21 PM               

now i just need a good picture of myself for your guys to see!

posted 10-29-2006 10:10 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by helenbooktrip:
remember how i said my boyfriend and i got a cat? well, i only have
my webcam to work with, but here is a picture of our cat Roxie....

[This message has been edited by helenbooktrip (edited 10-29-2006).]

---

Isn't that a boy cat?

I thought ALL orange tabbies were boys.
now i just need a good picture of myself for your guys to see!

posted 10-30-2006 06:30 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yero the Hero:
I like this pic:

---

posted 10-30-2006 07:50 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by lostladyknight:

Isn't that a boy cat?

I thought ALL orange tabbies were boys.

[This message has been edited by lostladyknight (edited 10-29-2006).]

---

posted 10-30-2006 10:59 AM               

I have 3 orange tabbies right now. They're part of our program. They are defenitely boys. All of them. George, Gabe, and Toby. I'm really pretty sure all orange cats are male. And that all calico cats are female. I know all of our calico's have been girls. Malky, Mimi, and Pumpkin are. Roger was an orange tabbie too. But hew as adopted.

EDIT-

I looked it up... because of something to do with x and y chromosomes... it is possible but rare for an orange cat to be female. It's like one in every 4 cats in which an orange is a female. Furthermore it's one in every 200 calico's thats a male.

I guess yourone female is the compliment to my (4actually) Males.

[qa=\] <--- Complements of Toby.

posted 10-30-2006 06:40 PM            

Here are three from my trip home, and one of my hat for halloween.

*bows* Aye, ye, 'twill .. something.* anyways!

posted 10-31-2006 03:39 PM            

*gasp* Another song writer?!

I think I'm love.... *blush*

posted 10-31-2006 08:06 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Scarecrow:
http://www.joshgroban.com/images/p_04.jpg

Got to love Josh Groban.
He makes me melt.

---

posted 11-01-2006 04:17 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yero the Hero:

A Rainbow of Smilies.

---

posted 11-02-2006 12:56 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by lostladyknight:
I looked it up... because of something to do with x and y chromosomes... it is possible but rare for an orange cat to be female. It's like one in every 4 cats in which an orange is a female.

---

If the odds are 1/4 then I wouldn't call that rare....I've known several orange tabby females in my day, currently have one living in my house, and my parents also have at least three on their farm right now.

She's a gorgeous kitty, helenbooktrip!

posted 11-02-2006 03:42 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zeb:
the josh groban pic? eh.

---

posted 11-04-2006 06:04 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by bookwoman27:
If the odds are 1/4 then I wouldn't call that rare....I've known several orange tabby females in my day, currently have one living in my house, and my parents also have at least three on their farm right now.

She's a gorgeous kitty, helenbooktrip!

[This message has been edited by bookwoman27 (edited 11-02-2006).]

---

posted 11-05-2006 01:39 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by OvertheMoonforIM:

Can we discuss how amazing that is?!

---

Thanks, OTM!