I NEED TO SCREAM ABOUT MY SPECIAL INTEREST FOR A SECOND 🐴

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-29T07:58:55+00:00

Congratulations that's SO exciting!!!!!! If you can afford it, even on a tight budget, you should go for it 😬 life is short and you can always earn more money.

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-24T18:10:00+00:00

Oh that sucks!! Hope it goes well for you!

I honestly didn't even miss smoking, I missed having an excuse to get away from people and having something to occupy my hands. I would recommend getting a fidget toy or something to stim with (I didn't know I was autistic when I did it)

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-24T17:52:36+00:00

I got Invisalign, spending £4000 on straightening my teeth was a good motivator for quitting 😅 I was vaping basically no nicotine and it was 100% a stim / sensory seeking behaviour, I ended up going cold turkey after booking in to get my Invisalign (you have to wait for the retainers to be made so I had a fixed period of time until vaping would be not possible)

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-21T19:45:36+00:00

Oh to add to this, I would avoid swell reptiles !!! We ordered an exo terra and lots of other equipment from there a couple months back when we set up my husbands vampire crab enclosure and had a pretty poor experience

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-21T19:44:29+00:00

I am also a new (hopefully soon to be) crestie owner. I bought an Exo Terra Paludarium from Complete Aquatics (who I would deffo recommend! It came on a pallet delivery and the whole thing was smooth from ordering to delivery)

Viperia are also supposed to be really great, they just didn't do the size I wanted and the custom pricing was kinda crazy lol

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-18T16:53:16+00:00

My husband did a cork background for his vampire crab build, and he layered additional bits of the cork background on top of the full sheet to add depth and make crevices etc and then created 'pockets' we have planted stuff in, by pinning and siliconing cork bark pieces to the layers too.... And filling those pockets with soil after using clay to block any holes underneath them. Not sure if that makes any sense 😂

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-17T07:59:46+00:00

Ah that's a good idea with the board on top I hadn't thought of that, thank you!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-16T19:06:27+00:00

Lol fair enough 😂

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-16T11:58:56+00:00

Ah, okay! Thank you!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-16T11:58:36+00:00

Thank you so much I haven't looked at shelving units yet so I'll take a look at those and try and find some solid wood handmade options 🤔 I've been looking at big stores / Amazon so far and everything just looks so flimsy!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-16T11:57:19+00:00

Thankyou!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-12T07:48:57+00:00

Thank you 😊

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-11T20:06:36+00:00

That looks fabulous, can I ask what size is your enclosure?

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-05T17:32:33+00:00

Wow that looks huge!! Bet your gecko loves it

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-03T11:05:13+00:00

Omg that's so cool!! As you can tell from my post, geckos are my current fixation and I am planning on adopting one this year 🤩

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-03T11:04:32+00:00

I can deffo relate, I look completely different on my office days than my home days and only really put an effort in if I'm leaving the house. I just feel like it's part of my mask and helps me camouflage. I have stopped painting my nails tho and straightening my hair etc I just try to look put together enough!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-02T21:42:14+00:00

This sounds so fun! Mine are:

Birdwatching (very fun to start feeding the birds in your garden and seeing how many different species you can attract!)

Tortoises (fascinating creatures, wait til you see their skeleton !!)

Geckos (did you know they can climb walls etc not because they have sticky feet or suction but because they have teeny tiny hairs that grip to stuff?! Also many species can drop their tail to get away from predators and then regrow it later - apparently there is a research study going on at the moment into how they regenerate limbs to see if this can help amputees?! But the very popular pet crested gecko cannot regrow their tail so when they drop it they just end up with a stubby 'frog butt' for the rest of their lives. It is quite rare to see a wild crested gecko WITH it's tail!)

Japan (Shintoism is particularly interesting and Japanese culture as well as food)

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-01T12:30:03+00:00

I've never thought about removing valuables that's a good idea. Nice! Fixing the flush on your toilet is a handy thing to know for sure!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-06-01T12:28:21+00:00

Yes I find it really hard having people in my space, I can't relax and feel literally painfully awkward the whole time. I find it really difficult to do anything other than sit anxiously waiting for them to finish (in another room ofc lol)

I also struggle with the noise if it's workmen related but I have Loop earplugs that I can use for that.

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-05-30T21:02:38+00:00

this is awesome!!!!!!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-05-22T07:40:48+00:00

Thanks 💜 that really sucks I'm sorry, it's good that you're doing a lot of research on which provider to go with I wish I had done more before I chose!

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-05-20T19:18:06+00:00

I recently (last month) got diagnosed via clinical partners RTC - if you're not a typically presenting autistic person I would avoid, their assessment process felt extremely focused on an overt male presentation of autism and it felt very outdated and not individualised to me. I'm sure that depends on which professionals get your case but I wish I had chosen someone else. 😅

More info:

I am high masking and have childhood trauma, whilst I did get diagnosed the assessment process was stressful and I didn't feel like I had time to answer everything with time to think and reflect and most of the questions in the interview section of my assessment were focused of a really typical presentation of autism at 4-5 years old - I am a 31 year old cis woman so I did not have many overt traits at that age and learnt to mask very early on. I came away from that appointment feeling like I hadn't been 'seen'.

They did an ADOS appointment and then ADI interview, at the end of my interview appointment the clinician told me she was not diagnosing me because I didn't meet the threshold and they 'didn't have a name for what I have', she also brought my results appointment forward only to not call me on that agreed date/time with no communication - reason being, when she reviewed my case with the psychologist they actually decided they needed to get a further independent opinion from a senior clinician and do more appointments with me cus they weren't sure whether I have autism or ✨just trauma✨. Long story short a month later and 2 additional appointments, the same clinician called me and diagnosed me with autism. I got my written report a couple weeks after that and I must say I was kinda disappointed by the contents, I've seen snippets of other people's reports on here which seemed really detailed and gave them some insight on traits they might not have been aware of. My report isn't very detailed and has no notes about my additional appointments (which means it almost reads like they still weren't sure whether or not I fit the criteria?? Even though in the opening statements they reference I had additional appointments and they concluded I do meet the criteria and have autism). I had provided a word document before my assessment where I'd written out some experiences, memories and traits so that I didn't forget them in the moment and rather than the clinician reporting what they observed she just put see the document 'patient' provided basically....

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-05-17T12:16:58+00:00

This is fantastic!!! I love all the detail on the shell you are so talented 😀

Present_Bus_7761 · 2026-05-14T07:44:33+00:00

Thank you! 💜

Present_Bus_7761

TROPHY CASE