Why is my tegu breathing heavy?
Argentine black and white, about two years, and I noticed this week that his sides visibly heave when he is out basking and for a good while after he eats. It is not subtle, you can watch it from across the room. No…
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Is it normal for conures to sleep on their back?
Sun conure, four. She has a fabric sleep hut and most nights she lies down in it, and three or four times now I have found her flat on her back in there with her feet in the air. The first time I genuinely thought she…
Why does my sake taste like vinegar?
Opened a bottle of junmai about three weeks ago, kept it in the cupboard with the cap back on, and had a glass tonight. It is sharp and sour in a way it absolutely was not on the first night. Vinegar is the closest…
Why are my feeder hornworms turning green?
Bought a cup of hornworms for my beardie last week. They arrived that bright turquoise blue colour, and over the last few days several have gone a much more ordinary green. A couple of them are also crawling about…
Why is my fermented hot sauce bitter?
Three weeks of a beautifully behaved ferment, smelled great the whole way, blended it up last night and it is bitter. Not hot bitter, properly bitter, the kind that sits at the back of your throat. Mash was green…
Why is my tepache not fizzy? Where the bubbles come from
Made tepache three times now and every batch tastes good and is completely still. Pineapple peels, sugar, water, muslin over the jar, three days on the counter, strain and drink. Everybody else's photos have a head on…
What is Meta Muse, and should you trust it?
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…
Silkie panting: fluff, heat stress and when it is illness
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…
Geese drooling: water drips or something stuck?
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…
Can you move indoor guinea pigs outside?
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…
Why is my veiled chameleon digging? (She may be laying)
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…
Cockatoo sneezing: powder down, dry air and when to worry
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…
Why does my mead taste like rubbing alcohol?
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…
Why do my millipedes keep dying?
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…
Is it normal for tepache to be slimy?
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…
Google Assistant is gone from Android: what replaced it
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…
Can you eat quail eggs after the date on the carton?
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,…
Why does my Russian tortoise hiss at me?
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…
Why do ducklings eat their own droppings?
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…
Bathing a guinea pig: what to try first, and drying it
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…
Why is my king snake shaking its tail?
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…
Why does my lovebird regurgitate his food?
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…
Why does my jumping spider keep falling on its back?
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…
Why is my White's tree frog turning purple?
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,…
Why is my ginger bug soda not carbonating?
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…