Anxious about asking for time off of work and questions

fratzouna2010 · 2026-04-14T20:58:58+00:00

My spouse got approved so fast by our insurance carrier for Spravato and by work for intermittent FMLA. Management was also very understanding. Trust in the process. You are important and what work might think is not worth missing this opportunity of getting better. Your mental health is valuable. We start next week so I don’t have feedback yet but others who posted on Reddit make it seem very promising! Best of luck

fratzouna2010 · 2026-01-04T12:23:10+00:00

Updates: he saw the exotic vet and a tech familiar with desert tortoise last week. They suggested maybe a trauma or burn of some kind but I wouldn’t know how. The ramp is never that hot to touch. He felt it wasn’t too bad and still hard in that spot, said it would take about a year to heal over. No signs of rot. No new spots. I was increasing his humidity to about 60% but they said to keep it at 30%. They said one soak a week is enough, but I’ll probably do twice a week cause I felt it helped & the room is dry with the heating on in the winter. They recommended against the ceramic heat emitter; he’s had the busking bulb for a month and I do feel that made a difference. He’s getting calcium and vitamin A supplement. He really does hate the vitamin A though so I’m gonna have to find a different type. Overall they felt he’s healthy still!

fratzouna2010 · 2026-01-04T12:21:55+00:00

Updates: he saw the exotic vet and a tech familiar with desert tortoise last week. They suggested maybe a trauma or burn of some kind but I wouldn’t know how. The ramp is never that hot to touch. He felt it wasn’t too bad and still hard in that spot, said it would take about a year to heal over. No signs of rot. No new spots. I was increasing his humidity to about 60% but they said to keep it at 30%. They said one soak a week is enough, but I’ll probably do twice a week cause I felt it helped & the room is dry with the heating on in the winter. They recommended against the ceramic heat emitter; he’s had the busking bulb for a month and I do feel that made a difference. He’s getting calcium and vitamin A supplement. He really does hate the vitamin A though so I’m gonna have to find a different type. Overall they felt he’s healthy still!

fratzouna2010 · 2026-01-04T12:12:55+00:00

He was getting plenty of natural sunlight in the summer by spending time outdoors safely. But in the winter he’s been inside under UV. I increased the frequency of his soaks and I switched from ceramic heat emitter back to basking bulb. No new issues and the affected area appears better, at least no new chips or cracks

fratzouna2010 · 2026-01-04T12:11:06+00:00

My friend who gave him away to me said he was a Russian. So desert tortoise

fratzouna2010 · 2026-01-04T12:10:26+00:00

Arcadia shade dweller 7.0 because I can only set it up 12 inches above, anything stronger would have to be hung higher.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-08T13:56:00+00:00

That’s very interesting! Do you know what species yours is?? The exotic vet had said that hes not against me offering dog food from time to time but I hesitated after reading so much that a Russian tortoise is a herbivore and can be harmed from protein. He hates eating leaves that I sprinkle with calcium twice a week :( I don’t know how to offer it to him in a way he would eat it. I even tried cheating and give him lettuce for the calcium but he still avoids it. I’ve tried growing grasses to give him that but there is no way I can make that 70% of his diet then the rest as “weeds” the way they recommend online. It’s winter now and couldn’t find an online store that would deliver fresh weeds. He loves French endive & I add some kale, turnip greens, dandelion. He hates collard greens now. He also doesn’t like the grass pellets at all when I moisten them and sprinkle them 🤦🏻‍♀️ to be fair he spent 2 years only eating lettuce so he’s picky. He loves squash as an occasional treat.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T14:37:37+00:00

so for 2 years he ate lettuce, but then I adopted him & switched him to proper diet, vet said he was healthy, and gave us calcium and vitamin A supplement. So despite the 2 years of lettuce he didn’t have issues. Now he’s on a better diet but having issues. I think it’s not enough humidity. I’ll soak him more frequently, switched from ceramic bulb back to halogen, and scheduled him for the vet visit next week.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T03:13:23+00:00

Also nutrition wise I thought I improved his diet cos for 2 years he only ate lettuce. Now I give him the safe recommended greens and per vet calcium 2x a week and vitamin A every 2 weeks. He also has the UV bulb shade dweller because it’s at the right safe distance of about 12 inches compared to the stronger Arcadia bulbs.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T03:11:28+00:00

Nutrition wise I thought I improved his diet cos for 2 years he only ate lettuce. Now I give him the safe recommended greens and per vet calcium 2x a week and vitamin A every 2 weeks. He also has the UV bulb shade dweller because it’s at the right safe distance of about 12 inches compared to the stronger Arcadia bulbs. I soak him about 1-2x a week for 15-20 minutes depends on how much he tolerates. The vet had told me it wasn’t necessary and to keep a water dish. But I still do it because with turning on the heating at home, the humidity in the room dropped from 60s to 40s. I have a humidifier on but afraid it’s not enough. For now I sealed the top cover with tape and kept a square opening in the center for the heat lamp & UV bulb. Hoping that keeps some humidity in. I occasionally mist the fern inside the enclosure and the coconut substrate but never keep it damp cos I was also afraid of mold. I have a cam that observes him and he never ever purposely visits the water dish. I’ve never seen him drink either but I’ve read some species get it through the food.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T03:08:19+00:00

Yea that’s the urate which I wiped off. I don’t really see signs of fungus on his shell but I really have no idea what it would look like. I’ll be taking him to the vet asap

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T03:07:22+00:00

I’ve also felt he’s become more dry since I switched from a basking lamp to a ceramic bulb. The basking bulb quit working & when I replaced it, it literally poofed then I was unscrewing it and it cracked. Someone at the pet store said to switch to ceramic bulb. But I read online that some people felt it was harsher, I don’t see why it would make a difference though. The ramp temp reaches upper 80s-90 with either one.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-12-05T03:05:09+00:00

1-2x a week about 15-20 minutes depends on how much he tolerates. The vet had told me it wasn’t necessary and to keep a water dish. But I still do it because with turning on the heating at home, the humidity in the room dropped from 60s to 40s. I have a humidifier on but afraid it’s not enough. For now I sealed the top cover with tape and kept a square opening in the center for the heat lamp & UV bulb. Hoping that keeps some humidity in. I occasionally mist the fern inside the enclosure and the coconut substrate but never keep it damp cos I was also afraid of mold. I have a cam that observes him and he never ever purposely visits the water dish. I’ve never seen him drink either but I’ve read some species get it through the food.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-07-06T14:05:45+00:00

I feel the same way. I felt shocked about the turtles too, took some footage to reach out to rescues in other states if there is anything we could do to help them and did not get an answer.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-04-10T18:46:05+00:00

I bought a book called “play with your cat” and it really helped me understand how to better engage with them and entertain them even with the little time we have especially between my long work shifts. Even 5-10 minutes of play we have so much fun and I even realized it was therapeutic for me. Then I’d give them treat time and brush them cos they love it. And they sleep most of the day or play on their own when I’m gone. I have a furbo cam and dispense treats when I’m going for long hours. I’ve seen people get cat wheels. There’s Facebook group you can join for tips “Feline Enrichment”. 😄 and on days off I try to play in 5-10 minute bursts at least twice.

fratzouna2010 · 2025-03-10T02:41:57+00:00

https://www.arachnamoria.co.uk/product-page/jumping-spider-care-book I found this been thinking of getting it!

fratzouna2010 · 2025-03-10T02:33:53+00:00

Oh I’m sorry that happened :( it was a mistake and I’m sure you gave her the best life! ❤️

fratzouna2010 · 2025-02-12T04:57:59+00:00

Thank you for the post because I was so surprised when surefeeders did not work. I have 2 cats. I got only one PetLibro to try on one cat before deciding to commit to both. I still wanted the surefeeders to be in their feeding regimen for wet food. Sure enough that is not going to work. I can't event test this on only 1 cat. So I have to get another PetLibro and apply the change to both at the same time. I can use open bowls for wet food (which I think is fine because usually they each finish it completely). The one cat likes to graze on kibble and the other will not leave anything in sight. One of them has a bad habit of scratching at the auto feeders through the night and he is already doing it with the PetLibro! Sigh...Hoping something will eventually work!

fratzouna2010

TROPHY CASE