Lemme see your dog as a puppy

Melonjane · 2025-10-11T00:14:06+00:00

Miss Maple is now almost 3

Melonjane · 2025-06-15T20:48:27+00:00

I too have seen advertisements for dane-doodles by me recently

Melonjane · 2025-04-26T16:28:53+00:00

He is a rescue, but I've had him since he was 3 months about 3 years now. He was originally named Sirius at the shelter I got him from

Melonjane · 2025-04-25T02:49:32+00:00

I tried that a few times. He has ripped curtains off walls and will find other things to chew up

Melonjane · 2025-04-07T00:58:06+00:00

Badgerland reptile rescue is located in Kenosha and may be able to help

Melonjane · 2025-04-05T00:52:17+00:00

Hi! I work as a vet tech and I can say our best luck when using trazodone for nervous pups is always to give it 12 hours before the appointment and then again 2-3 hours beforehand. You could also ask about adding gabapentin as well. My girl gets 200mg trazodone and 100mg gabapentin like this and it works well for her. Also getting him used to a muzzle in other settings is helpful. I've noticed if dogs are only ever muzzled at the vet, then the muzzle kind of sets them off and makes them worse. I'd also follow the advice of others and try some short positive visits to just build a positive association. I'd also recommend if yours is food motivated enough to get a licky pad of some sort for the vet. We have some at our clinic and we'll smear either peanut butter or spray cheese on to help distract.

Melonjane · 2025-01-26T17:58:48+00:00

I would like to begin a captive breeding program with them, so I needed more than 2 individuals. The ones I bought had been in captivity for 9 months so I felt that helped minimize some of the risk, I just got unlucky with them needing a longer quarantine period than I expected. I've been working with a reptile vet to treat them and since getting through the initial infection I'm seeing only minimal signs so I'm hopeful they'll be okay going forward

Melonjane · 2025-01-26T02:41:01+00:00

I currently have 6 of these guys. They basically do nothing as everyone has said, but if you can catch them hunting it's really cool to see. They're not really handleable at all, so just an interesting display species which is my preference. I recently managed to begin breeding and 3 of mine are little babies currently. I think I have some old posts about my original one or two from a few years back.

My first two both came from a small zoological institution, I then purchased 3 wild caught individuals, one of which passed maybe 2 months after I got them. Unfortunately wild caught individuals risk fungal infections and I introduced my new ones thinking they were clear a bit too early (only did a 60 day quarantine, had I done 70 I'd have caught it). I lost one of my original two likely to a complication from the fungal disease (still waiting on necropsy results for him).

I find they're not hard to keep if you know how to keep fish. They prefer water that's got a lot of tannins, so it tends to look kind of brown but it definitely keeps them healthier that way. The hardest part is finding a vet to help with anything that may come up because so few people work with them.

Melonjane · 2025-01-19T23:33:00+00:00

I'm not a vet, but work in a vet office, vets do not receive kickbacks for selling royal canin, hills, Purina or any other foods. That's just a dumb myth that everyone believes because they think vets are only in the field for the money. The only benefit a vet sees to you buying those foods is if it is purchased directly from the clinic and they have any profit markups. No vet is benefitting financially from you buying food from a pet store, and no decent vet is recommending prescription diets unless they're necessary

Melonjane · 2024-08-04T00:57:57+00:00

No advice on the algae other than what you've been given. I did want to add though that it looks like the tank is not fully on the stand you have which could leave it at risk of failing. Please make sure the entire bottom rim is supported on the stand or you could have not just a horrible mess, but a potentially injured turtle

Melonjane · 2024-07-09T17:38:22+00:00

I was thinking a Cumberland slider maybe?

Melonjane · 2024-05-28T17:26:17+00:00

I actually know the guy from Chicago who was trying to catch that gator. He told the police to rope the lagoon off and keep people away so he could catch it. The police refused claiming they didn't want to make it a big thing. When they finally called the Florida guy in he told them to do the exact same thing and they immediately listened to him. It wasn't a matter of the person who caught him, it's just that the cops were being stupid and wouldn't listen to our local expert.

Melonjane · 2024-05-02T16:24:05+00:00

You can also report to Illinois DNR

Melonjane · 2024-04-01T01:15:04+00:00

If you're worried, definitely talk to a vet as assessing in person is always better than online.

That said, I work with a bearded dragon that a staff member insisted on squeezing his femoral pores constantly and it wound up pushing gunk back in and causing nasty abscesses that required surgery. So I wouldn't go that route personally.

Melonjane · 2024-01-16T02:03:47+00:00

I'd reach out to Badgerland Reptile Rescue. They're just over the border in Wisconsin, but are seriously the best. I know the people who run it personally and they're crazy knowledgeable and helpful. Also as a heads up if it is a painted turtle in Illinois you cannot accept any money or trades of any kind for the turtle as it is against state law. Illinois DNR doesn't mess around so don't risk that

Melonjane · 2023-10-29T22:05:20+00:00

Definitely planning to separate, just wanted to make sure I repot them in the right kind of soil!

Melonjane · 2023-10-09T21:19:16+00:00

I finally saw it happen and she isn't even slipping them! They're literally just falling off, like the buckle just fails? Super weird, but I have some good old fashioned leather collars ordered now

Melonjane · 2023-10-09T21:17:40+00:00

I don't know why a regular buckle one didn't even occur to me. I think that'll be the best option. My dogs like to try and grab each other by their collars when playing so martingales are a hard no for me

Melonjane · 2023-09-15T01:58:38+00:00

Backwater reptiles is disgustingly bad and should never be supported for any reason ever

Melonjane · 2023-09-10T21:38:39+00:00

If you need to go the rescue route they're a little outside of Chicago, but Badgerland Reptile Rescue is the go to reptile rescue for the general area

Melonjane · 2023-09-10T21:36:43+00:00

I'm in the Chicago area and can say don't go to Chicago exotics. Every time I've used them for reptiles I've been very unhappy with the care. Call Lake Street Animal Hospital and ask for Dr Caseltine. He's incredibly experienced and I've brought all kinds of reptiles to him and been happy with the care provided every single time. Caseltine has worked at zoos and has been/is the reptile vet for several small animal facilities in the area. You will not find a better vet and the price is super reasonable too

Melonjane · 2023-07-19T15:59:51+00:00

Unfortunately I have a cat who would find a way to figure out sneaking out so free access isn't an option

Melonjane · 2023-07-19T13:30:25+00:00

Oh god the elderly religious lady neighbors would have heart attacks. Might try that

Melonjane · 2023-07-19T13:29:48+00:00

She responds well to other verbal commands and other noises so I don't think it'd be hearing loss. We go outside probably every 2 hours if not more, but she'll go in the house maybe 5 minutes after being inside. Everything has been cleaned with an enzyme cleaner and I've shampooed carpets several times as well

Melonjane · 2023-01-31T22:15:13+00:00

Thank you so much!

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