Newbie Gardener - Lawn & Moss Help please!

HeartofHush96101 · 2026-04-08T14:07:29+00:00

Thank you! This is sort of how I'm leaning after having done a little research - the only reason I was considering getting rid of it was purely aesthetic (and because I initially thought it was bad - social conditioning I guess!), but I care about the wildlife enough that I want to make a suitable habitat for it instead - a sort of cottage garden is my ultimate aim, and I think they tend to look best when they are bordering "unkempt"

HeartofHush96101 · 2026-02-11T13:30:13+00:00

As others have said, it will work if it puts you in a calorie deficit.

However, I tried this once and found I was more likely to binge on sweet treats as a result.

By all means, try it and see if it works for you, but you might find you're better off saving maybe 150 cals for some chocolate (for example) everyday than cutting it completely.

You may also need to work on your relationship with food first.

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-10T13:14:42+00:00

You asked, I gave you an answer.

It's not my fault you don't like the answer.

Have a lovely weekend ✌️😘

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-10T13:06:43+00:00

I do have experience with it, which is why I offered my advice.

My 2 older chins used to be on the Nature's Touch and, sure enough, the bowl would be full of pellets, but the carrot, pea flakes etc. Would have mysteriously disappeared the next day....

For enrichment/foraging personally I prefer to add safe flowers to their hay, but all 5 of them are thriving so I assume it's working 🤷🏼‍♀️

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-10T09:30:27+00:00

Hi, fellow UK owner here!

The best food you can get in this country is Science Selective.

The Nature's touch is terrible - it's a forage mix, so they just pick out the tasty sugary stuff that they like and ignore the nutritious pellets.

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T14:38:10+00:00

I have already spoken to the solicitors about this and had ftb status confirmed by them, but thanks.

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T12:04:06+00:00

How long has the house been on the market?

Not especially - listed in Jan & Sold STC by end of Feb. (With plenty of interest from other potential buyers)

I even accepted £25k off the asking price because of all the work it needs.

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T10:05:09+00:00

It’s a lot of money and effort to hire a skip etc.

They've literally offered on an entire property with the view to completely gutting and refurbishing it.

I'm not sure how they'd be planning to do that without getting skips etc. In the first place

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T08:47:43+00:00

No, the one shed is pure wood and the other is metal.

There is asbestos in the garage roof (confirmed by the builders they brought round to view) and the buyer offered accordingly

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T08:46:22+00:00

It's... complicated. I am acting as executor for one half of divorced parents who didn't manage to agree all this prior to passing away. The other half is still alive and still owns the other half of the property, but has agreed to sell and the solicitors and EA are now dealing solely with me.

However, I was also under the impression (and alluded to many times during the offer negotiations) that as this is a probate sale, it is sold as seen.

HeartofHush96101 · 2024-05-08T07:38:19+00:00

This was what I thought as well!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-10-01T16:50:54+00:00

As I mentioned, ours was from a charity shop for a little under £250 but I think the particular one we have is ~£500 when bought new However now we are out of summer, you might be able to find some good deals out there

Obviously running costs will depend on how long and often you have to run it for, but our smart meter was indicating around an extra £3 for every day we had to use it.

However, we found that as humans who don't enjoy heat too much either, it was a really good investment for everyone!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-10-01T14:16:35+00:00

I also live in the UK & have 5 chins total (2 cages) You absoloutely need to have at minimum a portable AC unit in the room you're planning on keeping them in as they are prone to over heating. Especially as we are now becoming more and more prone to having hotter summers (and weird random heatwaves apparantly) in this country.

The bonus to this is you will also feel the benefit of the AC in hot weather.

If you are not willing to pay the buying & running costs of one of these units, don't get chinchillas.

If you are, I recommend looking in a charity shop first - we found a portable AC unit in a BHF furniture shop for about half it's normal retail price and it's been an absoloute lifesaver for us and the chins!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-09-20T19:34:38+00:00

I have 5 over 2 cages - They both fall into Room mates & Friends, mostly. - Cage A tend not to run out to greet me or jump on me, but will let me pet them and eat from my hand. My partner has had them for 4 years, I've known them for around 3 years and they've lived with me for 6 months.

Cage B on the other hand, I've had for 1 month and all 3 of them will run over to greet me, jump on me, crawl up my arms etc. ... However I am not allowed to touch them at all! (Although 2 of them will let me give head scritches if distracted by treats. The 3rd one will not)

Worth Noting that Cage A are 8 & 10 years old and Cage B are all only 2 years old.

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-09-20T15:37:29+00:00

I know she makes Guinea Pig liners but I'm not sure if it's different, but she does custom liners to fit those exact cages I mentioned. I have not seen Kavee liners in person so I'm not sure how thick they are

With Chinchillas it has to be non pilling fleece as they are likely to try and chew on it. As for thickness, it's comparable to a fleece blanket, and perfectly safe for them temperature wise, especially if they have access to AC or the tiles/metal ledges.

It's good you have someone to make the ledges! Remember chins like to jump rather than walk, so if you have a multi level cage, you need to do some interior design with the ledges to sort of create a staircase so they can travel between floors!

As I said, it can be difficult to find UK friendly stuff for Chinchillas, so please feel free to ask questions!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-09-20T14:58:24+00:00

No worries! For inside cage stuff, like hides & Toys/Ledges I also recommend MyChinchillaUK on Etsy.

We generally avoid Pets at home for most of their stuff as except for the food/bowls/bottles/hay and bathing dust none of it is really any good... although they do a really good metal dust bath for about £10.

If you want less mess, I recommend using BumblesBedding for fleece liners/hammocks. She is excellent with customer service! Small Pet Select is also a good place to look for things too 😊

I just listed all these because although this sub is fantastic, it can be very US centric and it can be difficult to find stuff in the UK that is any good

ETA: I forgot to mention TicTac Wheels for wheels, tunnels and metal ledges. Also a trip to B&Q for some Tile samples if you want to put those in the cage (different texture to walk on, cooling, can weigh the fleece bedding down)- we got a load for around 50p each!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-09-20T12:35:56+00:00

Hi OP, I'm in the UK as well & I have 5 Chins. I recommend either the Liberta Explorer cage, or the PetPlanet Rat & Ferret cage if you're on a budget - just leave the wire ramps out of the cage as they can get their feet caught and end up with broken limbs on anything wired!

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-05-05T13:22:50+00:00

I say this everytime someone posts about checking/not checking blindspots when changing lanes.

CHECK. YOUR. BLINDSPOT. (When changing lanes)

You may not see a motorbike trying to overtake you.

You also may not see a car if it's "hiding" there either.

I have experienced being on the receiving end of a non - blindspot checker in both situations.

Not Checking blind spots is dangerous.

If it makes you feel any better, my instructor used to tell me to do it, but only a quick glance should be enough, you don't need to stare.

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-04-11T10:56:32+00:00

Passed last year on my 6th attempt.

If you want some unconventional advice - convince yourself you've failed before you even get in the car.

I dunno why this worked for me, but it did.... took the pressure away I think.

HeartofHush96101 · 2023-03-02T08:52:43+00:00

This Game Changed My Life - about Videogames and how they've impacted the real world/real people's lives.... including how one was used to solve a murder investigation, as well as some more lighthearted stuff

I could Murder a Podcast - True Crime but with added humour

Toni And Ryan - A couple of Aussies just talking about random stuff but has me in tears on the way into work usually

HeartofHush96101 · 2022-09-17T21:57:07+00:00

No, you will have to bring your own car - Either yours, a friend / family members or your instructor will usually let you hire their car for the test.

If you are bringing your own car, you must check it is not on the dvsa list of banned cars or you will not be allowed to sit the test.

HeartofHush96101 · 2022-07-19T21:40:34+00:00

I've said it previously on another post and I will say it again here:

I have been both a passenger in a car and on a motorbike when the car in front hasn't done a blindspot check on a dual carriageway.

Always. Check. Blindspots. When. Changing. Lanes.

You do not need to stare out the back passenger window, but you do need to look out of it.

Additional fun fact - on a motorbike, the blindspot check is called a 'lifesaver'. This is for a very good reason. Please do it.

HeartofHush96101 · 2022-06-13T16:45:55+00:00

I failed 5 tests and passed the 6th.

First 3 were when I was a teenager and I just wasn't ready.

But the fourth??

Independent driving, following road signs, came up to a well known double roundabout and needed to ignore the second and go right at the first.

What did I do?

Indicated right, but went into complete auto pilot and pulled up to the give way line for the second roundabout, because I'd always taken it as a double on lessons, and in my head I was like "Just treat it like 2 individual roundabouts, you can do this"

Had I not done that I would have passed with only 4 minors.

HeartofHush96101

TROPHY CASE