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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 8, 2013 22:59:12 GMT
Interesting!
I've now 15 leopards of different ages and sizes (two babies who are kept separate for now) and am hoping finally to get some new generations from them to see how the normally aggressive leopards will evolve in behaviour. It was interesting to see my last remaining Maitri react to the newcomers as well as the new guys reacting to each other in the enclosure that is smaller than their natural habitat. It was radulas all out and chasing for a while but after the first night they seem to have settled. I even see slugpiles, several slugs sleeping side by side in the same hides. These guys might be related, having been collected from the same garden. They have the same pattern. Garfield's pattern. Little Garfields! <3
And yeah, I've been MIA due to health problems but back now!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 8, 2013 22:40:53 GMT
The snailio vet question made me think... snails, like many inverts starting from insects, have opioid receptors which not only means that they can feel pain but also that their pain could possibly safely be helped with human medicine, namely morphine (and possibly some morphine derivatives that are metabolised into morphine in the body, but unsure which ones snails could metabolise). Morphine is just exogenous endorphine ("endogenous morphine"). Dosage is a whole other can of worms, morphine being a CNS depressor that can slow breathing when overdosed. But it's a plausible idea for snail medication.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 7, 2013 18:41:29 GMT
I had an idea of a communal topic. Lots of snails have shell damage and other imperfections that mark them for life. They tell the story of that snail, there is usually a life-threatening situation at some point in the snail's life whether that snail was captive or wild born. Maybe you rescued and nursed the snail back to life, or there was an accident in the home tank. Or maybe there's some other story to tell. Post pics of your snails with marked shells and tell us what happened. If it's a wild born with unknown history, maybe the shell's healing pattern can reveal something, too. I've a new wild aspersa with interesting damage, I will post her story once I have some pics uploaded (bad connection right now).
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 7, 2013 0:23:13 GMT
The pose! The bent tentacle! Perfect!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 6, 2013 22:21:24 GMT
Hmm previous pic didn't post. Need to upload it properly I guess. I'm suddenly the mommy of 11 adopted leopard slugs. My old Maitri and 10 little Garfields! They come from the same garden so they are probably related to Big G. Sure have the same lovely pattern! Need to check if I find more... every time I've been out to observe slimers tonight I've returned with a handful of leopards lol.
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parasites
Jul 6, 2013 11:53:15 GMT
via mobile
Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 6, 2013 11:53:15 GMT
Yup, this is only a problem is you plan to eat your snails alive/raw. Of course it's a good plan to wash your hands and nit lick your snails either... but even licking a snail should not pose a significant risk.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 6, 2013 11:48:50 GMT
For Android users, I highly recommend Picasa/Google+ Photos. Your phone might upload photos automagically to a folder where you can link from, or you can use a free app like PicasaTool to upload and manage your online galleries.
The thing to remember is, though, that any image links copied from the address bar from Google+ Photos will be in https:// format and you need to remove the secure bit from the address to make it appear here, so it reads http:// instead. To resize imaged according to your wishes look at the address and find bit that says "s400" for example ("sXXX" where X is a number). This number can be changed when you post an image and the piccy will resize when displayed on the forum.
(The above may read like Greek to non-picasa users but picasa users should see what I'm referring to... if not, I can gladly try to instruct more!)
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 6, 2013 11:35:34 GMT
What's with all the snails named Gary, btw? Some pop culture reference that I've missed I assume?
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 6, 2013 10:37:55 GMT
Sounds like A.ater yes. We got some here but mostly I see A.vulgaris (looks the same but doesn't have a different coloured "skirt", in vulgaris it's usually the same colour as the body). Be glad for your arions! A.vulgaris is taking over and other arions are disappearing as they're not as hardy. They are really nice slugs btw, personality wise. And you can train them to stay in certain parts of your garden by providing food (soaked fish/cat pellets, rotting and old veg and fruit, washed peels... anything goes, these guys aren't picky when they are hungry wild animals). Then watch hundreds of slugs swarm the food at around midnight. I've been training some for a week now and they arrive already at 8pm for dinner, lol.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 5, 2013 15:13:49 GMT
The other night I caught an aspersa sleeping halfway out of her shell. A wild one, too. This was where she had just been feeding with a hundred or so other snails and slugs, so perhaps she was just napping. During daytime all the snails I see here are tightly packed into their shells and high off the ground, never sleeping on the ground. I think the preference for high places is definitely a protection against predators like hedgehogs. I've a piccy of the snail, need to upload it as proof later.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 5, 2013 14:06:19 GMT
Smell and taste are basically interchangeable as senses (in humans at least some 90% of perceived taste is actually smell), I just say smell when the contact to the aroma is via air delivery and taste when it is ingested. That's why I call the lower tentacles noses because they seem to not directly touch the food they are sampling with them. They must be able to smell/taste more than humans, though. It's been proven (at least) Limax maximus can tell the protein content of otherwise identical foods, learning to choose the food higher in protein. So some kind of umami receptor must be present. I guess umami as it's what humans have and its taste is associated with protein rich foods. The reaction when a wild slug or snail gets fish food for the first time suggests there's quite some tasting and smelling going on, and the offered food is almost always preferred to those with less nutrients. We all know what the other half of a slimy brain is used for btw... you don't, as a species, keep up mating rituals like snails do without sacrificing some brain power!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 5, 2013 5:06:03 GMT
These are the candies, btw. I forgot it's a Scandinavian candy so not everyone might be familiar with the shape. The babies are just like this when retracted! Adult a bit less prominent in the keel but still more prominent than anything else I've seen.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 5, 2013 4:53:00 GMT
If the animal's soft parts are damaged there's often nothing that can be done. If they live beyond 24 hours of the damage happening they might manage to heal themselves, though, based on what I've seen. The best thing to do is offer a safe place for the slimy to rest and try to heal, with food, moisture and calcium. Then just wait and see. But it's good to be prepared for the worst.
Shell damage can be repaired depending on how the shell has been broken. Even big chunks can be reattached by the snail's healing process if given support and nutrients to do it. I've fixed a baby whose shell I accidentally crushed where his organs are located. Used the shell parts and medical adhesive film called Opsite Flexifix (also brand name Tegaderm) to fix them in place. He still has the adhesive on his shell and it can stay there as he grows up. I mention this type of adhesive specifically, as it's the only tappelin I've managed to stick to the shell permanently. Most come off soon causing even more damage in the end!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 5, 2013 4:27:35 GMT
I've not seen a live D.retic but I understand they look like D.invadens on the outside, and the only way to tell them apart is the mating. There's lots of D invadens here to compare to and these guys are quite different. The body is twice as wide in the larger individual (which I assumed to be a juvenile). Adult invadens are the size of the babies of this species on average. This guy's skin is also a lot less "watery" and transparent, much more like an Arionid's.
Do you have confirmed D.retics? How big do they get?
I started wondering about the actual lenght in the picture btw. I first thought it was 4cm retracted (I forgot what it was when taking the pic), then changed that to 2cm as I saw the slug in much smaller form in his box... but the little black ones measure just 1cm in the position they are in the pic. So it might be longer than 2cm in that position!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 4, 2013 23:34:32 GMT
Slimers have some smell sensors also in the upper tentacles where the eyes are located, though the lower pair is the primary smell organ. I think that explains why they bend down the eyestalks when eating something particularly yummy; it's like us humans smelling the food to get the most out of the flavour with sense synergies. Slimers, too, want to experience the flavours to the full!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 4, 2013 21:33:02 GMT
Uhm white/pale stripe, not black. Also, the big slug is the one needing ID. The two black babies are Arion hortensis, I believe.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 4, 2013 21:28:19 GMT
Found in Amsterdam. My best guess is that this guy is a Milacidae sluggy, as he is a keelback but does not look like a Limax or Lehmannia slug. The black stripe is a really prominent keel. The animal is about 2cm long in the picture retracted, 4-5cm stretched out. I have three babies as well, and they look the same except the keel is even sharper, giving the slug a funny shape like a raspberry boat candy when retracted! The head is quite small relative to the body and is coloured black. Quite small tentacles. What do you think? I've never seen these guys before.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 4, 2013 21:14:37 GMT
Guilty of loving the slimers too. I'm taking care of a friend's cat and plants for a week and her garden is bursting with slimyfaces. So I help the wild guys out with some food and by training them to stay out of the nice plants (put food at certain locations and they learn to remember where food is). That nutty I am about slimers.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jul 1, 2013 17:36:07 GMT
Arions are so cute! They grew on me last year, with their expressive little faces and gentle personalities. It's hard to tell the bigger Arion species apart but orange slime is a good marker. The only downside with Arions is that their slime is indeed super thick. And the gland at the tip of the tail collects gunk!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jun 30, 2013 13:42:02 GMT
Yeah, they need to ingest the poison. I think the most common snail poison is iron,,if I remember right. The animal eats it and gets an overdose.
Snails and slugs are quite hardy little critters! Especially the species that have been target of agricultural poisons for decades. Every generation that survives is more resistant to the pesticides.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jun 30, 2013 0:53:25 GMT
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jun 30, 2013 0:35:18 GMT
I've been clearing a friend's garden of slimers, looking for leopard slugs in particular. Didn't find any if those yet but I have two boxes full of baby/youngster arions. Their garden is absolutely full of arions of at least two different species, along with deros and snails of many typed. Whilst arions are pests and very common I really like their personality. They are curious and friendly slimyfaces. Dunno yet if I will release these guys in the forest or if I will keep the lot... they make very good living compost especially when there's over 50 of them!
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Post by pinkunicorn on Jun 27, 2013 20:37:36 GMT
Lovelies! Some of my aspersa babies have grown into stripy shelled slimers, too. Not all from the same batch of eggs, but a few.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Apr 7, 2013 10:59:44 GMT
Basically, whatever you can get to breed together (without a GM lab; that's a bit more advanced breeding!). Hybrids will come if they're viable. Of course, to be considered fully viable the hybrids also need to be able to lay viable eggs.
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Post by pinkunicorn on Feb 28, 2013 19:40:00 GMT
Yay we got a lot of slimy gamers! Nice to see lists of others. A few things there I should get too... I didn't list mine yet. Here goes current ones: Skyrim, Mass Effect series, Dragon Age series, Guild Wars 2 (also 1), and waiting to get to Fable 3 that I picked from Steam sales. Also Morrowind, Oblivion, Knights of the Old Republic and other old BioWare gems are still in rotation (Baldur's Gate is great on a netbook). I also like Dawn of War 2 + Retribution, and I tried out The Old Republic but unfortunately I was quite ill when it came out so I didn't manage to get into it. Have plans to try it again though. If anyone wants to connect ingame in any of the MMO's I have for a game, ask me for tag in a PM.
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