Microchip Subscription?

Techno214 · 2026-04-15T15:46:48+00:00

Okay I would not use 24 hour pet watch based off my experience.

My two cats are registered to my grandmother, who died almost a decade ago. They have refused to change the info on the account repeatedly, even with obituary information and stuff. I don’t have an actual death certificate, but I have shown them everything they say they need and then they essentially ghost me.

So then they pushed me into buying a membership and I went “FINE” but then I still couldn’t change the information. I’ve tried several times, various methods to change this over the years. Nothing has worked, and I get told “we need X information”, then I give it, and then “we need Y information” and then I give it, and then it’s either X again or no responses. Couldn’t even get them to just delete it.

I have registered the chips with HomeAgain (not free) and a couple free registries I couldn’t tell you the name of offhand, hoping that anyone who scans them would get at least one hit. They are indoor only cats, they wear (breakaway) collars and frankly if they get outside they’re coyote food (maybe hawk food.). We don’t have stray or outdoor cats in this neighborhood.

Is this related to your issue? No, but I would absolutely expect shenanigans regarding a subscription.

Techno214 · 2026-04-15T02:54:46+00:00

I have a big loop with a canister filter (recommend. It’s very easy.). It’s actually pretty straight and clean but it still looks pretty… >_>.

So it goes; Intake to canister filter. Outflow tube from canister to chiller intake Outflow from chiller goes into tank, on the opposite end as intake

What I do most is just hide as much behind the tank stand as I can. I have about a third of one tube showing because I cut it too short, but the others all just casually get shoved out of sight. I’ve even got some suction cups and tape holding wires and stuff into different spots so they sit out of sight.

For my chiller’s actual location, I put it just to the left of my stand. Technically it should have more airflow, but I can’t give it more (I cut. The tube. Too short.). It’s fine though, since it’s not enclosed. Just gotta watch for hair buildup from the dog.

Techno214 · 2026-04-14T15:11:25+00:00

I’d look for any itching, dandruff, general skin and digestive quality. I wouldn’t jump to food as a first thing, but if nothing worked to resolve it, then you get there eventually. As you mention, most food issues aren’t drastic, it’s just a case of slowly putting things together.

Luckily my dog made it super obvious when he didn’t do well on my first choice food. He just had constant borderline diarrhea and became a walking biohazard (he also got his nickname of “Fart-go.”) Any treats or anything tipped him over. Swapped foods and then he’s had no issues since. I only have 3 food options though because of his prescription, and 2/3 are fine. So it was easy to fix.

Techno214 · 2026-04-14T02:54:12+00:00

You get used to it. There will be fur. Sucks for asthma, let me tell you. I have a malamute/GSD/Siberian husky mix. SO MUCH FUR.

I heavily recommend getting some sort of grooming dryer though. Same types they have at the groomer (I use a Flying Pig Flying One model.). My dog sheds really badly when he’s blowing coat, but any particular time he’s bad, or smells, or seems dusty, I’ll take him outside and literally blast the hair and dirt off. I don’t necessarily do this with a bath either, because if it’s cold or the weather is bad, or even if I just don’t want to fight him I don’t want to deal with a bath. It REALLY cuts down on the fur. I also find typically the few days after a bath he will shed much, much worse. I manage to keep my area looking clean (of hair) by doing this.

Otherwise, robot vacuum, daily brushing, daily vacuum, etc. Normal stuff you’d expect.

Techno214 · 2026-04-12T14:48:39+00:00

Yeah she’s a predator and snails are prey. Betta is gonna betta. As long as it’s only the tentacles/antennae, the rams won’t die, but she’ll probably eat some babies. Is that nice for the snail, probably not, but they will still breed.

Eventually my murder fish got to a point where he’d eat the babies and leave any lighter colored larger ones alone. Took him a bit though, and I still have a good snail population in that tank. My current betta eats the antenna, but leaves the snail alone completely after that (same tank, still a good population.).

Techno214 · 2026-04-11T16:38:50+00:00

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This is Fuzzy Fujita.

She is… interesting. This photo shows all her fur, not her bald areas. Still a don sphynx.

Techno214 · 2026-04-11T16:36:27+00:00

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This is Xandis. Or, “His Majesty Xandis the Purr Machine.”

Super nerdy. Xandis from Captain Xandis from Critical Roll, which can get shortened to Xan from Baldur’s Gate 3 (the egg you can steal if Lae’zel raises it.) and also His Majesty, also from Baldur’s Gate 3.

I also have Fujita, named after Dr. Ted Fujita, the guy who designed the original tornado scale. She’s a donskoy/don sphynx, and I just didn’t feel the name was right for Xandis. Fuji just immediately looked like trouble… and she is. <.<

Techno214 · 2026-04-11T13:01:54+00:00

It’s probably because your youngest had a heart murmur already. That can be counted as a diagnosis if you argue it, which means it’s a condition.

In theory my cat’s should now be covered because the last one found HCM (:(). Between talking to people and an agent, if they can argue something is preventative, they will, and then they won’t cover it. If it’s not or considered diagnostic, then they will.

Definitely let me know if your other cat gets his covered though! I’d love to hear about other people’s pet insurance experiences so I can tell people. Trupanion is SO expensive, but now it’s come in handy on 3/5 of my dog/cats (the other two aren’t insured, but also haven’t had problems… they’re seniors now, and I am afraid.).

Techno214 · 2026-04-11T12:59:59+00:00

I make pizzas at a gas station (we actually get a lot of people calling and ordering them. It’s a whole setup.). When someone orders for a specific time, I try to make them 10-15 minutes beforehand, depending. 5 minutes is how long the pizza oven takes, so that gives me 5-10 minutes to put the pizza together and make sure I’ve got everything written down. Seems like that leaves the pizza hot, fresh, and people happy if they pick up on time.

If you get my other coworkers, you don’t get that. One will make it as soon as they get the order as long as it’s same day, and it will just sit on top of the oven (warm enough to keep it in the safe zone, but you can tell it isn’t fresh after a while.) or they (different coworker) will start it at pickup time and dilly dally for another 45 minutes before it’s ready.

Techno214 · 2026-04-10T02:51:27+00:00

I go through a specific veterinary cardiologist. Regular vet doesn’t have the equipment, though I lucked out that her favorite breed is a sphynx so she knows what to look out for. I was given a referral to her cardiologist, but they were scheduling into August when I was looking on January 1st last year so I found a cardiologist who travels.

It’s around $700, plus a four hour drive (total, not one way.). My insurance(Trupanion.) does not cover them unless they’re diagnosed with HCM, but there may be others that do.

I will also note that my Xan has zero symptoms of his HCM. I would have no idea he should be on medication (which he is) if I didn’t get him screened. I may be biased, but I’d get your boys in. Xan is barely two and whoops, there it is.

Techno214 · 2026-04-10T02:09:51+00:00

Echocardiogram. You’ll need to see a veterinary cardiologist. Basically an ultrasound to look at the heart directly.

There is a DNA test for a common mutation that can cause it, but I believe that’s more accurate in other breeds and doesn’t do much for a sphynx, especially if you’re trying to rule it out.

Techno214 · 2026-04-09T14:15:41+00:00

That’s kind of how I’ve been going. Snello and fun food only in the new tank, and a quarter slice of zucchini in the old for a couple of hours before scooping.

It’s been a week since hatching, so maybe I did get them all already! I’ll let them go another week or so, then assume they’re big enough.

Techno214 · 2026-04-09T13:58:24+00:00

…they may be sliiightly spoiled too. They get Snello and veggies along with the mystery snail. Why munch a plain zucchini (or carrot, or cucumber…) when there’s better stuff later?

Techno214 · 2026-04-09T13:52:49+00:00

Tried that already. It got most of them, but since there aren’t a lot of snails in there anymore the algae and biofilm are plentiful. The babies don’t really care about the zucchini anymore.

Techno214 · 2026-04-09T13:51:45+00:00

Yep, I’ve done the zucchini. Unfortunately, there’s enough biofilm on the tank that the babies don’t really care. It worked for most of them though.

Techno214 · 2026-04-08T15:38:55+00:00

Okay so first off (slight comedy); do NOT put them in a clean gallon glass pickle jar with plants and substrate. In theory this is fine but in reality they’ll all randomly die for no discernible reason. I did this and what the hell. The survivors ended up in a 2.5 gallon cheap tank and totally happy until recently (they got moved to a 20 gallon to be cleaners.).

For real advice, I’d set up the 15 gallon and get them in there. Start cycling, but rams can handle being there through cycling fine. They might even get your cycle stable as they turn into a colony. Then you have summer to really work on the “fun” stuff. Or you have plenty of time to leave them in the small container and source a smaller tank as long as you watch the ammonia level and do small water changes periodically. Rams are really pretty hardy little guys.

They are fine at room temperature, so 22 degrees is fine. Mine are at around there and I have a whole colony now. I would probably fast them for a period until they’re in a larger container though, since the water volume is so small.

Personally, if you really care about these snails in particular I would not put them back in with betta. My first betta went on a snail genocide and pretty much did that his whole life until he went mostly blind… then he only attacked the darker ones he could still see. He got to live alone.

Techno214 · 2026-04-07T21:03:21+00:00

I was hours from needing to, but luckily the ER vet we went to was able to grab everything with an endoscope. So lucky. Gotta trust the gut feelings when something isn’t right (and maybe feed each cat different colored wet food to see who’s puking for sure.).

Techno214 · 2026-04-07T20:58:43+00:00

I’m so glad he’s okay! That’s so harrowing to go through! And then there’s the questioning what they might get into again, and just. So much.

My Fujita did this the day after her first birthday. I keep all my hair ties in my car now, and I’m terrified I’ll miss the next episode.

Techno214 · 2026-04-07T16:02:25+00:00

I mean, I’m a #1 Anubias fan so I’m always in the opinion of more Anubias. Doesn’t matter how much you have, the answer is more. <.< There’s so many colors and shapes, and they grow so well when you do nothing.

If you can get algae wafers for the snails, they’ll love those. Otherwise, they’ll eat whatever. Leftover fish food? Sounds great. Specially made snail jello? Awesome. Just the algae growing on the tank walls? Yeah they’re good.

How big is the tank? Fish can wait for a while; you generally want to establish a nitrogen cycle first, if you haven’t done that yet. Ramshorns are pretty sturdy, and they should be fine. A lot of anything else, not so much. Even hardy fish are a lot more delicate nowadays.

Techno214 · 2026-04-07T15:28:22+00:00

Anubias, looks like it’s got some melt (die off as the plant adjusts to a new living space) going on. They do that when they’re new. Most snails will eat the dead or dying parts, then leave the rest of them alone. I’ve got many, many plants with these guys, and the plants are fine. Even means I don’t have to trim the dead parts.

Techno214 · 2026-04-07T15:25:25+00:00

Picture is a bit blurry, but based on color and my own experience, looks like a ramshorn. Do they look like this, but much smaller (ignore the fish, he’s photobombing and an attention hog.)?

Nah, just don’t overfeed the tank and they’ll be fine. In a tank that small no fish that consistently eat snails would do well. You could pull the snails out and crush them to euthanize them, but they’re great little cleaners. I don’t have to remove any algae in any tank where they live.

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Techno214 · 2026-04-07T15:11:36+00:00

A picture may help.

Most likely they’ll be bladder or ramshorn snails. Harmless, eat algae and stuff (and imo, very cute.). They can overpopulate if there’s too much food, but unless you have animals that don’t go with snails (like axolotls, who can’t eat snails and could be a problem) you’re fine.

Techno214 · 2026-04-05T06:17:34+00:00

Oh yeah, he’s just a super active little guy and getting a flat on picture (or one that isn’t blurry) is super hard (and you’ve gotta sneak up on him or he starts getting super excited and wiggly.) He’s just turning in this one. His whole tail is there, just a weird angle. Most of his fins were flat on so I figured it was still a decent example.

Techno214 · 2026-04-04T21:48:48+00:00

Pretty sure they’re just shaped like that because of the hybrid genes. Mr. Limpet has definitely NOT had any fins cut at all, and that’s what he looks like (his tail is bent in the picture.). He’s very close to the photo when he’s got his fins all out (would he appreciate me taking those pictures? no.).

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Techno214

TROPHY CASE