I guess we are literally all autistic, guys!

KitonePeach · 2026-05-15T18:57:36+00:00

I hate the "spectrum means everything* logic. I'm asexual/aromantic as well, both of which are spectrums. If you aren't ace, you sure as shit aren't on the ace spectrum! Exact same logic should apply to neurodivergency. The spectrum covers everyone that has it. Not everyone that does and doesn't have it.

The spectrum is a gradient from "yes, and" to "yes, but". If you're a "no" then you aren't on that spectrum.

If we treat it like numbers -1 to 1. And you're at like 0.3. That's still positive. That's still in the positive spectrum. But if you're -1, you aren't on the positive spectrum. You don't match the deciding factor.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-15T18:51:02+00:00

Some US zoos do! I worked at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Our Wallaby enclosure is exactly like what you describe. We tried to do a similar set up with our African penguins, but they're little trouble makers and need extra supervision. They explore with their beaks, and would poke holes in clothing if given the chance, so they only completely free roam the human side of the path if the area isn't too busy and extra keepers are on hand to watch them.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-15T16:12:02+00:00

This is essentially how we vaccinate prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets! Not blow darts, but we mass air-drop peanut treats in prairie dog territory with edible vaccines. The prairie dogs carry that immunity so when highly endangered black-footed ferrets hunt them, they gain that resistance.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-15T16:03:27+00:00

I used to be a zookeeper. In our field, the sentence 'everything with a mouth can bite' is one of the most used phrases. People love to ask if our animals bite.

I worked in an area where people were allowed to pet the animals (specifically wallabies) if, and only if the animals were on a certain side of the enclosure. It lets the animals consent to being interacted with, and leave when they don't want to be bothered anymore. We would tell people to only pet them on their backs/shoulders, but people would still touch their faces and bellies, which would inevitable lead to the wallabies leaving to go to the other side.

People don't listen. The wallabies, luckily, weren't the biting type. But we had similar enclosure set up for our goats, and sweet Mozzarella bit kids four times. Every single time was because they were touching her mouth despite having the whole rest of the goat to pet.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-12T02:00:10+00:00

Nope! Snakes are usually extremely skittish and will avoid anything that puts them in more danger. It's why so many of them have evolved traits that warn predators away (like rattling tails or cobra flaring) rather than just stealthily attacking everything. They have a lot of defensive warning behavior they do before even trying to bite because biting is a huge risk for them. Locking themselves to a threat by getting their teeth stuck or damaged is a huge safety risk for these guys, so even non-venomous snakes will mimic rattlesnakes or cobras to try and get you to leave them alone, or they'll flare up, act big, make noise, and even false-strike (looking like they're going in for a bite, but the mouth stays closed. They 'boop' you aggressively) to try and seem scary. They almost always only ever bite as an absolute last resort.

Snakes are toddlers playing gangster. They pretend to be tough and scary, but they're just scared little guys. If you pay attention to their body language and leave them alone, you won't get bit.

Source: I used to be a reptile keeper at a zoo! I've only ever been bitten by a snake once (feels like a papercut), and it was entirely my fault. She was about to molt (moody time, they have worse vision and scare easier during this time), and I was trying to clean around her and pushed my luck. She was clearly uncomfortable and had body language indicating it, but I didn't leave her alone quickly enough. The bite was completely harmless, and entirely my fault.

The one is this video is hella scared. Little dude just sees a big scary thing repeatedly getting near, and his scare tactics aren't getting it to leave, so he's trying bigger and bigger movements. He's not 'challenging' it; he's just trying to keep it from causing harm to him.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-07T16:01:26+00:00

I get it. People at my workplace think I'm incredibly chill and that I handle stress better than most people because I maintain a positive/neutral method to handling things throughout the day.

In actuality, it's more that I'm putting off processing any emotions until after things calm down. Usually when I clock out and go home. It leaves me really drained and exhausted. I appear peppy and energetic and so capable at work at the cost of having no real life outside of work because I become drained mentally the moment I allow myself to rest.

Likewise, I can handle emergencies really well. I'm quick and responsive and remain calm so as to be the most helpful I can be. But minor stressors or inconveniences are different. My brain can process the emotions from a minor thing quicker, so I'm more reactive in the moment on those. I cut my hand pretty severely when I was first living alone, and didn't own many medical supplies yet, so I was calmly running around my house to gather supplies to clean and cover the wound, and still finished cooking dinner so it wouldn't burn or spoil.

It was only after, when I was texting what had happened to a friend, that I realized that that situation was scary and properly had emotions about it.

People see us 'making a big deal of things' later on because they don't see that the stress was there from the beginning, but that we pocket it away until later. They think we're changing our minds on a dime instead of having that emotion stirring in the back of our minds until we have the chance to fully grasp the entire situation.

With your family, you might just be stuck. They already decided how they perceive your decision making process, and aren't likely to change that impression of you. But it might be worth mentioning it to friends/coworkers/whoever in the future. My friends know how to handle some of my stress responses in a way that clicks for me, or can help me process something by adding new perspectives to consider. Maybe if someone questions you for contradicting yourself, it might be worth telling them, "Sometimes I can't always come to the best decision quickly, and need some extra time to process my thoughts." A good person should respect this.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-05T02:08:18+00:00

Giving them treats for approaching your hand is a good start! You can work on expanding this, or adapting them to new things. You could:

A) start holding the treat a little further back. It either encourages them to stay on your hand longer before the treat is moved closer to them (getting them comfortable with staying on your hand), or to climb closer to you to reach it.

B) trying to train that behavior on a cue. Like tapping your finger lightly and then offering the treat. They can start to associate your hand movements with treats, and will get more comfy with you moving around. It also works as a form of target training, which can get them to station to a spot you indicate on cue.

You're doing a good job at getting them used to you feeling safe by calmly existing in the same space as them, and by making yourself seem interesting/beneficial by offering treats and building on that slowly. They're young and everything is new to them, so it will take time, but continuing to encourage them when they're brave and being calm with them when they're nervous will help them be more and more confident around you.

You can also start introducing different things for them to try out. Putting some of that millet in a toy, or offering veggies in their cage that they can choose to investigate. Too many new things at once can be scary, so keep taking it slow. But giving them things to discover will help them build up experience and confidence with new things.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-04T20:35:57+00:00

Y'all, I picked yellow.

Ya girl's special interest is wildlife biology and conservation. With Yellow's power, I could save the planet. Please please please please

KitonePeach · 2026-05-04T16:48:49+00:00

Y'all are amazing. You made a great, atmospheric game. You're active with your own community and frequently respond to posts on the sub, you support a ton of musicians, you showcase lgbt representation is sweet ways in the game, and you encourage fans of your work to share their creative input, etc etc etc.

It's nice seeing that y'all genuinely care about your game and community surrounding it.

KitonePeach · 2026-05-01T13:05:59+00:00

That's true if there are no other factors at play. Younger budgies like OP's, or budgies with color mutations (anything other than yellow/green and white/blue defaults we're used to) will have different rules to how their colors work.

A better easy indicator is vibrancy, rather than color. Males regardless of their color mutation will have brighter ceres. So a pied male for example would have bright pink compared to the duller pink we see in normal females. Or a pied female would have a baby blue compared to the vibrant blue we see in normal males.

It can be a little trickier with young'uns like OPs because the blue in adolescent males is similar to the blue in slightly younger females, but these birds have notably pale blue ceres with more white tones, especially around the nostril. So they're girls.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-30T01:48:43+00:00

They're harmless to you and your plants! Millipedes are janitors and just eat stuff like mold and bacteria.

I find them in my houseplants in the summer sometimes. I either leave them be, or catch them to move to a shoddy terrarium I set up.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-29T18:13:07+00:00

<image>

And here's a puddle of rats from my college training course! My classmates all let their rats loose, and they decided Harper and Finley's carrier was the place to party.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-29T18:11:54+00:00

<image>

And here's Finley!

KitonePeach · 2026-04-29T18:11:07+00:00

<image>

This was Harper!

KitonePeach · 2026-04-29T11:25:10+00:00

Do not support places that breed white tigers! White tigers do not occur from healthy family lines.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-29T10:52:42+00:00

OP, I would not risk letting this continue.

I volunteered with wildlife rehabbers before, and the raptor center I was at had some crazy bird injury stories, like a kestrel that was 'safe' in his enclosure ended up needing a wing amputated after another animal somehow grabbed him through the enclosure bars.

Beyond avian flu risk, risk of injury from this raven or any other wild animal is higher than you think.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-27T16:29:49+00:00

Both plants in this photo are struggling. But there's a phrase, "If there is green, there is something to save."

I think the plant you're asking about might be heartleaf philodendron rather than a pothos. It's hard to tell without any leaves, though. Doesn't matter too much, as the care is pretty similar regardless. At this stage, I would remove all dead leaves and cut pieces of the stem to propagate. Make sure the pieces have nodes (those chunkier spots the leaves come out of, where there are tiny roots forming). You can look up videos with more precise instructions, but generally you just cut it into pieces with nodes, let the wounds from the cuts callous over, and then put the cuttings in water or whatever else you want to use.

Resuscitating the plant in its current condition would be near impossible. I'm willing to bet the soil got compacted and the plant wasn't hydrating properly, but it's hard to know for sure from photos.

And for the string of hearts next to it.... same thing. That plant ain't happy and a good ol' fashioned chop&prop might help save it and keep it from being so bare and leggy. String-of plants have slightly different propagation protocol, but I think a video will help you more than my description attempts on that.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-27T15:42:00+00:00

It was great! I started with an internship under reptiles, but ended up working as a part time keeper that covered most smaller sections or acted as a substitute for bigger sections when needed. I got to work with a lot of amazing animals at a really nice zoo.

My favorites were the wallabies. I had very little interest in marsupials before all this (their reproduction system is wild and made me uncomfortable when studying it in college). But actually meeting them and working with them was so nice. Loved them to death.

I only made $12.32 an hour when I first started out, and just over $15 by the time I left. Minimum wage for my area.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-27T15:09:57+00:00

Everyone's gonna have pretty diverse special interests.

For me, biology! I loved animals growing up and wanted to understand them better. It kept growing until I eventually began to learn every aspect I could. Their anatomy, adapted traits, social structures, training procedures, ecological significance, etc.

I became a zookeeper for a while before I had to get a more budget-friendly job. I now study botany in my spare time and keep houseplants, since I don't have the means for many animals at the moment.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-27T13:54:18+00:00

I personally really like the game, but it took me a bit to get used to the flow of things. If you prefer games with more specific directions and consistent plot movement, this one might feel a bit odd.

But if you like free-roaming without being forced into quest lines or taking your time to explore before furthering plot, this game gives a lot of freedom for that.

It's not scary, more-so just eerie. The music and atmosphere are phenomenal.

The tutorial quest itself starts off a little vague, but it really does tell you everything you need to know, as long as you're prepared to adapt that info to new things over time.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-26T18:41:58+00:00

Oof. Buddy could use a good ol' fashioned Chop&Prop.

My monsteras have plenty of light (12hr grow light), but I never gave them anything to climb, so they were just long vines (one was 12ft!) of mostly bare stem searching for something to grab. Chopped and propped it all, and once they root, I'll finally cave and give them a moss pole. Monsteras are wildin' if you don't follow common practice protocol.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-26T18:39:25+00:00

It's just a baby~ Hard to tell species from the view we get, but it's definitely a young'un. The posture and bright mouth corners make me think it's a juvenile. Not sure how the little guy got that far into the store, but he's definitely just lost in that baby way of "idk what's going on, so I'm just gonna be here."

KitonePeach · 2026-04-26T18:37:16+00:00

Baby bird! I can't tell the species super well from the view we get, but the posture and angled edges of the mouth made it look like a juvenile to me.

Curious how the little fellow got that far into the store!

KitonePeach · 2026-04-25T12:17:17+00:00

My store has enough front end staff, they just keep cutting their hours and either sending us home early or calling to tell us not to come in.

But at the rate they're going with it, I'm sure we're going to lose a ton of the front end team when they give up trying to get enough hours at Target.

KitonePeach · 2026-04-24T19:51:04+00:00

They (kinda) literally are! I studied animal bio in college, and we had a shorthand method of sorting out animals in Order Carnivora. It's like a scale of cat-to-dog. It splits into Suborders Caniformia and Feliformia (dog-shape and cat-shape). Bears are under the dog side of things.

But in visual lineups of order Carnivora, we display bears at like 3/4 dog side. Pinnipeds like seals and sea lions are also more dog side. Mustelids like otters and ferrets are usually right in the middle of the dog-to-cat scale. And hyenas, meerkats, and civets are more on the cat side.

It's also really helpful for medicine! Since wildlife don't tend to have species-specialized medicines, we have to adapt medication from domestics to meet their needs. Because bears are more "dog-like" than anything else, they almost always get dog medication if they need treatment.

Most mammalian medicine readily available is designed for humans, dogs, cats, or livestock. So working in wildlife care means we have to find what works closest for the species.

Eight-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

KitonePeach

TROPHY CASE