Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Petlife.
I have a pet mole...
I have a pet mole. His name is Armie. He lives in his burrow underneath my garden. I adopted him when I noticed the little mounds of earth emerging in the grass on the lawn, like tiny adorable volcanoes. I just couldn’t resist the little guy when he eventually popped his iddy-biddy snout out of the dirt. His taupe, velvety fur and the inconspicuous eyes were, quite frankly, irresistible to me. I nearly missed the sighting of him but as fate would have it, I was gazing out of my kitchen window at the time, warming my hands on a comforting cup of tea. We had a molement—see what I did there, ha!—But seriously, we had a moment. I expected him to retreat but he remained above ground and I found his curiosity intriguing. It’s not often you get to look upon a mole, let alone for more than a few seconds. And this rarity was not something I could let pass by.
By Jess Averbeck5 years ago in Petlife
TikTok paid my vet bills
In the middle of this past November, I moved into a new apartment. It was just me and my cat. No roommates. No cosigner. I had counted down the days to moving in and newfound freedom. It was supposed to be Happy and I against the world, but things don't always go as planned. Happy, my cat, died the night we moved in.
By Kay Husnick5 years ago in Petlife
BFM
Diversity Fish 02/03/2021 Michael Bonham Larson Hi folks, it’s Christmas time again, and I am trying to figure out what to get for my new housemate, Mike, for Christmas. He has a tank full of tiny little exotic fish and one sucker fish to help with algae control. After a few months of observing this fish in action I now call it “The Suckfish” for it really sucks! I mean all day long it just hangs around, stuck to the glass. I still see algae, so I don’t think it’s doing its job. Thinking about what to give him for Christmas this year was easy, for I thought, “Maybe the suckfish is lonely and that’s why it just hangs there all day long looking forlorn and not getting the job done. I’ll get him another suckfish so his old suckfish will have company.” (I love saying suckfish!)
By Michael Bonham Larson5 years ago in Petlife
How to Set up an Aquarium/Fish Tank
Making your Aquarium Fish Safe! What you'll Need: Fish tank, Heater, and a Filter (Maybe). Fish will die if simply added to a glass of water. Especially water from the faucet. Water for fish should be conditioned with a water conditioner. These can be found at any pet store, and are easy to use as well as inexpensive. Follow the recommended dose on the back of the bottle, and add it to any water you add to your aquarium. These conditioners make the water safe for fish by removing chlorine and other chemicals from the water. They help lower the fishes stress and protect their bodies from these chemicals. In order to function though, a body of water, which is your aquarium in this case, needs to become an ecosystem. In the fish world, this is called "establishing." To create the ecosystem, within the gravel and filter, good bacteria needs to grow. Therefore the poop and other lively things are broken down by said bacteria. This keeps the aquarium water quality in good shape. If bacteria is not present, there will be ammonia spikes in the aquarium, which can easily kill fish. How do you get this precious bacteria? Well, the easy and impatient way is to just go buy a bottle of it. It goes by names such as "Safe Start" and can be found in any pet store. Just read the back and add the recommended dose to the tank, then you can add your fish. The old school way is to use "Hardy" fish to "Cycle"- "establish" or make the tank fish ready. Hardy fish are fish that can somewhat handle unstable water and ammonia spikes long enough for the tank to cycle. Basic hardy fish can be Molly's, Guppies, or Platys. This process can take 4-8 weeks. You can test your water parameters all you want, but it really isn't too necessary. There is no reason to obsess, as sometimes its best to just leave it alone. Just wait awhile and add your fish. Depending on your tank, a monthly water change may be needed.
By Mandee Wav5 years ago in Petlife
It is a dream. Is it a dream?
As she looked across the grassy field just under the mountains, a young girl stood at the edge of a little town. On the very edge of the Great Mountains that run along the left side of Turtle Island, a young world just about to evolve into a new age. A bright cloudless sky was the one thing that made this day so much braver. She knew in some way or another, she had to ascend the mountains. The town folks had found out her secret, and they were getting rallied up and wanting to kill. This wasn't good especially for her new friends who she could hardly wait to go back to, It was all she could think of and she only met them two days ago.
By Pamela Nina Blanchard5 years ago in Petlife
HORSES FOREVER
Horseshoes are U-molded metal plate by which their hooves are protected from decay hard or harsh surfaces. Most horseshoes are produced using iron or steel. Some are aluminum, elastic, plastic, rawhide or a combination of materials. A farrier is the person who makes horseshoes and their nails or pastes them on the HORSE's hooves. Horseshoes are very important for the horses. Utilizing nails doesn't hurt the HORSE, on the grounds that the external a portion of the foot can't detect torment. Farriers use nails (like those presented above) to fasten the horseshoe to the foot. Like we said previously, ponies' hooves are produced using an equal material as your nail and, somewhat like once you cut your nails, the ponies don't feel anything while joining the horseshoe to the foot. When the nails are gotten through the edges of the foot, the farrier twists them over, all together that they make a sort of snare. they will at that point document the sharp focuses that are left and a neighborhood of the foot to ensure a legit fit. since the foot develops out it'll in the end cover the shoe which is the way you perceive once they should be re-shod.
By Dandelionclub5 years ago in Petlife
Catnip
Tim knew he should be working. There is always too much to do these days. It was Saturday, though, and it had been such a long year. 2021 hadn’t started much better, but he was trying to stay optimistic. He reflected on this while he, once again, paused his work and was now idly scrolling through Facebook.
By Tim Pierpont5 years ago in Petlife
