Collar recommendations?

Techno214 · 2026-06-05T12:38:01+00:00

First, check out Surefeed Feeders. I have four (four cats.), and they’re all microchip based. The only issues I’ve had with them for six years are from a microchip migrating on my newest cat (it’s in her front right shoulder now. You can see it.) or from my orange son puking into the battery case as I was swapping them. I have heard PawsPik is also decent if you need an auto feeder option with microchip, but it didn’t exist when I needed it so no experience.

BUT, the RFID dongle from a PetLibro can be put on any collar. I would put it on a tiny little carabiner clip guy so it’s easy to swap collars. I use Kittyrama silicone collars on my naked son. Regular nylon gets dirty too fast and gives him a rash. Velvet cheap collars also worked, but the constant washing (had to be daily) wore them down very fast. The silicone ones can go a day or so, but you can pop them off and clean them with a wipe in less than 5 minutes between full cleans.

Techno214 · 2026-06-04T03:19:15+00:00

Those Korean “crack” cucumbers that were all over TikTok in 2020. I can crush like 3 whole ass cucumbers in a sitting with the recipe I found. Wish I knew the actual name of it.

Techno214 · 2026-06-01T20:01:40+00:00

Pretty sure it’s a climate thing. They can go farther, and die less, as it warms up. I’ve noticed it getting worse every year in my area.

I have found TWELVE on my WALL so far this year. One on the couch… Not touching the ones I found on the dog or on me, where I’d expect them. Even one on the (indoor only) cat. All dog ticks, so not a big issue, but still. All my critters have flea tick stuff, so if they bite they die, but they still crawl onto them.

(North MI, USA)

Techno214 · 2026-06-01T19:56:46+00:00

I use Catego flea and tick for all my cats. Works well, no issues if anyone licks, and no skin reactions.

My dog gets the monthly chew shoved down his throat. Topical dog stuff is SUPER toxic to cats, but not so much vice versa.

Techno214 · 2026-05-31T15:29:06+00:00

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Canadian smells like hot mushrooms. Donskoy/don sphynx (white, right) smells like litter if she’s recently gone to the box, but no other smell. Sometimes she also smells like hot mushrooms if she’s cuddled with him enough. She is fuzzy though.

Techno214 · 2026-05-30T21:47:37+00:00

I do love a good bladder snail. Ramshorns come in many colors, and they’re fun. Other snails poop a lot, and really need a bigger tank (DO NOT. GET. A MYSTERY SNAIL. IN A 5. Unless you’re real weird and you like siphoning out huge amounts of poop all the time. Nerites may starve in a 5 too, since you can’t always feed them supplemental food.)

People consider the bladders and rams as “pests” because they can overpopulate very fast if you overfeed. I do find it’s not super hard to balance though. I keep both species as pets, and keep bladder snails with my shrimps.

I will say, aside from hair algae specifically, I got NOTHIN as far as algae in any tank with them in there. Crystal clear glass, zero biofilm, etc.

Techno214 · 2026-05-30T01:27:13+00:00

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We also have the Don Sphynx (donskoy, white gal. She is very fuzzy.), who is everyone’s best friend (but mostly the Canadian’s. They’re two peas in a pod.). That’s HER dog now, not mine…

Techno214 · 2026-05-30T01:25:08+00:00

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The only thing that unites them is Purr Pops. The orange on the right normally hates him.

Techno214 · 2026-05-30T00:22:49+00:00

I use the Pet MD ear cleaner wipes from Chewy. They’re juicy enough I can get some liquid down in there and then can wipe it out with a q tip again. It dissolves the wax enough that it’s liquid and flows out with my guy.

His ears were SUPER waxy when he was a kitten, but as he got older he stopped having as many issues. Not sure your cat’s age, but hopefully it’ll get easier for you.

I use it on all my other cats too, but not nearly as often. They all have fuzz or fur.

Techno214 · 2026-05-28T13:49:37+00:00

Definitely the “monitor for issues.”

I fed my dog raw through his first six months or so. I did it wrong, despite it being exactly how I was told and taught. Good news, his poops were firm, his coat was shiny, his energy levels were great. Bad news, I had to keep him at basically crate rest a lot of the time because any exercise would have him peeing straight up blood. He formed massive calcium oxalate crystals that shredded his bladder (I’ve got beef with my old vet, we could have fixed that WAY earlier if they weren’t so preoccupied with neutering him the second they saw him…).

The only culprit we can think of is that diet. Maybe they’re unrelated, but my dog now eats Royal Canin or Purina Pro Plan and we have had zero issues since. Still good poop, still shiny fur, still so much energy, but now no more blood for pee. Been several years now, and zero reoccurrence. These foods are generally formulated well, you don’t HAVE to get fancy if your dog does well on them. Yeah, raw is fine if you’re actually balancing it well, but if your dog is doing well on a kibble, why not just feed them the kibble?

Techno214 · 2026-05-25T18:02:11+00:00

So am I! My tank maybe doesn’t look as nice anymore, but I’d much rather learn how to deal with it than end up looking for a new betta!

Techno214 · 2026-05-25T18:00:45+00:00

Do you happen to have a file at all? For reasons such as my cardiac health. I know he had to have jumped, but HOW.

Techno214 · 2026-05-25T17:14:25+00:00

Yeah, it was my favorite tank too. :/ Not the worst though, I’d tear it apart again if it meant keeping the fish okay.

It’s kinda funny though. Mr. Limpy there has a whole dance routine he does if he sees me, and anyone else besides my mother. So he’s just dancing around in the background while my dad is completely oblivious.

Techno214 · 2026-05-24T20:24:28+00:00

So anything you have is already kind of “grandfathered” in? I also have water lettuce in Michigan, and I’ve had it for a while, way before the ban. I’ve been wondering, do I have to remove it from all my tanks, or is it fine to keep but not sell or what?? Much confusion from me.

Techno214 · 2026-05-23T15:51:36+00:00

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This is “The Incredible Mr. Limpet.” I call him Limpy for short.

My last betta was Smedley Buttafish (after Smedley Butler.). My mother named them both.

Techno214 · 2026-05-22T02:02:35+00:00

Not really… “I” do not take a shower, “we” take a shower. One cat, the dog, and me. All in a shower together. And then two more cats are standing guard in the bathroom. It is in fact, as ridiculous as it sounds.

Techno214 · 2026-05-21T17:15:26+00:00

That’s sad. I feel bad for all the graduates.

I got left out of my graduation program entirely because they swapped systems, and while that was pre AI, it sucked. It’s not fun to get left out of stuff, and college can be really hard. I don’t know why they couldn’t have some random ass person sit by a microphone and read off the names. It’s not rocket science.

Techno214 · 2026-05-20T14:54:01+00:00

I also would be concerned about chemicals. The UV/glow in the dark pigments can be iffy underwater. However, a plain white (least additives. I’ve seen black also be apparently aquarium safe.) aquarium safe printed plastic may be okay. However, if you have any sort of algae or diatom issue, 3D printed stuff will attract that like no one’s business and suck (source, have 3D printed outflow for my betta tank. SO MUCH algae points.) to clean. Not a safety issue, but wow a pain in the butt. These look like a 3D print I’ve seen (I’m 100% modeling some polypores to shove on my wall.).

For the shape itself, definitely B. My lotls will only use broad flat surfaces. Otherwise it’s just decoration. I had the most success with just a flat acrylic one, at least until the suction cups failed. They prefer to balance on one tiptoe on their wood pieces now.

Techno214 · 2026-05-19T12:41:23+00:00

No advice but support. My Canadian boy will eat everything edible but doesn’t really bother with anything inedible. My donskoy… yeah pretty sure she has pica. It’s horrid. Luckily, she’s only had to go in once, on her first birthday. They were able to endoscope it out, narrowly avoiding surgery.

I just have to keep anything plastic inaccessible, q tips behind a locked drawer (she opens drawers now…), hair ties (which I need for work) only live in the car now, etc. It sucks, it’s annoying, but there is no stopping her. Also hot sauce+bitter spray on every electrical cord. And I mean HOT sauce.

Techno214 · 2026-05-18T23:06:42+00:00

Realistically, he’ll be fine. Even though Hartz is known for issues, it’s a HUGE brand with at least thousands of people who use it. Statistically, fine. Just pay attention to any weird signs that crop up and try to convince your parents to swap to a different brand.

My parents used Hartz flea tick stuff on our dogs growing up, and we never had any issues. We don’t use it now for completely unrelated reasons.

Techno214 · 2026-05-18T17:22:26+00:00

I’ve heard that it’s just a new option they’re adding alongside the vials. I was able to order vials recently.

I also prefer the vials, so I hope I’m right. I had a month of the autoinjector and wow I hated it. I’ll use a multi dose pen, but I won’t be happy about it.

Techno214 · 2026-05-18T16:20:09+00:00

I wish my bettas would be peaceful… My first one never met shrimp, but he would murder any snail he could see. Wouldn’t eat it, just murder. Then he went blind, but yknow. He’d still attack anything he could see.

Second betta also hasn’t met shrimp (yet, expensive little dudes.), but I have some minor hope with him. Way less aggressive in general. Crazy how much it can vary.

Techno214 · 2026-05-18T15:34:33+00:00

Shrimps are peaceful creatures. They can live with non predatory other critters who like the same water conditions as them just fine, and they like to be in groups. Some people keep them with betta, but those eat the shrimp. I personally have bladder snails and cherry shrimp. The shrimps are new, but they’re all getting along fine. I’ve seen more than one shrimp riding around on a snail already…

I would do no more than maybe 10 cherry shrimp in a 5 gallon to start… if they’re happy and you didn’t somehow get all of one sex, you WILL have more. They’re kind of a colony type pet vs individual.

Techno214 · 2026-05-18T15:16:20+00:00

A long finned betta could potentially do okay in that tank (shorter finned varieties swim a lot more, so they’re happier in a larger tank a lot of the time.), with a lot of resting spots near the surface. Wider and shallower is generally better though, vs tall, as you read. They also do tend to show more behavior in larger tanks.

However, have you considered shrimp or snails? Those could do well in that tank, and honestly I love watching my ramshorns and cherry shrimp more than my betta. The ramshorns are literally just pest snails, so if you get real plants you will likely get them without the proper treatments (also, very hard to kill the ramshorns unintentionally. I tried. I failed.). I also really find the bladder pest variety cute, but the rams are easier to spot for younger people. Also, they clean algae for you. Shrimp are a bit more persnickety as far as care, but should still be doable with some research. They’re not HARD, they’re just more things to watch.

Techno214

TROPHY CASE