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Three people sent me the same app this week and it is apparently top of the charts here. I had not heard of it a fortnight ago and now it is everywhere, which is usually the point at which I want somebody to explain…
Four silkies, and on any warm afternoon at least two of them stand about with their beaks open breathing fast and their wings held off their bodies. The run has one small tree and not much else. The other hens I keep do…
One of my six has had liquid dripping off her bill for two days. At first I assumed it was water from the trough because they are all filthy drinkers, but it seems more constant than the others and it looks stringier…
Two boars, three years old, have lived in the house since I got them. I have just finished building a hutch and run and I am keen to use it. It is mid October here and the nights are already going down to about six…
Veiled chameleon, about fourteen months, sold to me as male but I am now not sure. For three days she has been down on the floor of the enclosure scraping at the substrate and wandering about at the bottom instead of…
Umbrella cockatoo, eleven, and he sneezes several times a day. Dry little sneezes, nares look clean, no mess on the feathers above his beak, and he is as loud and demanding as ever. Everything I find when I search this…
First mead. Three kilos of honey in five litres, a sachet of wine yeast, no nutrients because none of the recipes I read mentioned any. Fermented in the airing cupboard because I thought warm was good, which in…
Third go at this and I have lost four bull millipedes over about eight months. They arrive, seem fine for weeks, then I find them curled up and gone. No obvious pattern to it. Setup is coco coir about eight centimetres…
Fourth batch of tepache, same method as always: pineapple peels, piloncillo, cinnamon, water, cloth over the top. Two days in I lifted the cloth and the whole thing has gone thick and stringy. When I stir it, it trails…
If you said "Hey Google" lately and got a different kind of answer, or a routine you had running for years quietly stopped, that is not you. Google Assistant has been shut down on Android. From 4 September 2026 Google…
Bought a box of quail eggs for a recipe in late September, used about half, and found the rest at the back of the fridge tonight. The date on the carton was ten days ago. They have been in the fridge the whole time,…
Took on a Russian tortoise from a neighbour in the summer. Every time I go to pick her up she pulls in hard and makes a sharp hiss. It genuinely sounds like a warning and I have started feeling guilty about handling her…
Nine ducklings, about two weeks, and I keep catching them nibbling at droppings in the brooder. Not once, repeatedly, and more than one of them does it. They are on a chick starter with niacin added, drinking from a…
The most useful fact first: most guinea pigs rarely need a full bath at all. They groom themselves, and frequent bathing dries their skin out. In winter there is a second problem, which is that a damp guinea pig gets…
Californian king, about eight months, had him since August. Every time I open the tub he vibrates his tail against the substrate and it makes a buzzing noise that genuinely sounds like a rattle. First time it happened I…
Peach faced male, about three. Several times a day now he bobs his head at me, does a pumping motion and brings up food, then tries to give it to my finger. He also does it to a bell in his cage. He looks completely…
Regal jumper, had her since the spring. Twice this week I have found her upside down on the floor of the enclosure. The first time I turned her over with a paintbrush and she walked off. Tonight she is on her back again…
Had him since June, normally a solid bright green. For the past week he has been going a dull brownish purple during the day and greening up again at night when he starts moving around. He is eating crickets, climbing,…
Bug has been going three weeks and bubbles when I stir it. Made a batch with hibiscus and sugar, bottled it in some nice clip top bottles I had, left it three days on the worktop. Opened one tonight and it is sweet…
Second year, and an essay I wrote myself came back flagged at 71% AI by whatever my department uses. I write formally because English is my third language and that is how I learned it. What I actually want to understand…
Gargoyle gecko, about a year old, and he spends most of the day stuck head down on the glass near the top of the enclosure, or flat upside down under the lid. He eats, he poops, he is all over the place at night.…
Twenty coturnix, hatched about six weeks ago, and for the last few days there has been a low croaking coming out of the pen. I genuinely went looking for a frog in the run before I worked out it was one of the birds. It…
Rescued a pigeon in spring, hand fed him for a few weeks, and he has been free in the spare room since. Lovely for months. In the last three weeks he coos at me, bows, turns in circles, and then pecks my hands hard and…
Eastern box turtle, had her since July, indoor enclosure. For the last couple of weeks she sits in the water dish for hours at a stretch rather than soaking and getting out. She still eats when I put food down and she…
Four Embdens, first year with them. On any warm afternoon they stand about with their bills open breathing fast, wings held a little out from the body. They have shade and a trough but no pool. Coming from chickens this…