#glitterstumph

[stimtoybox]

hey i was wondering if you knew of stim toys that may be good for people with dermatillomania? all stim toys are good but things that are textured and handheld as opposed to like. stress balls? for example i love sensory stones, but do you know of anything similar to them

I think we can help! And I agree: all stim toys are good, but some toys just don’t offer the same sort of redirection stim or level of engagement. We’ve all got preferences, in any case; I know people who didn’t mesh with a Tangle Jr. And while I tend to laugh at the idea as a fan of Tangles (how can you not like them?) the truth is that there are very stimmy people (who are valid in their stimming) who have a better relationship with other toys, and that’s absolutely perfect.

For more suggestions, you might like to check out our picking and peeling category tag and our BFRB discussion tag.

All links go to that item’s tag, where we’ve collected links for buying or even making. If you need specific resources for purchasing, I’d be happy to help you when I open the ask box up again.

Textured and Handheld:

Marble Mazes or Marble Loops: fleece or flannelette, with a marble inside that you can push through a sewn-in maze or a single loop of fabric. Very soft and textured (I make mine with a dotted minky fleece backing for double the texture) and great for keeping the hands moving.

Tangles: a plastic loop of 18 links that can be twisted or rotated. Great for keeping hands busy. You might prefer the Fuzzies (links covered in a layer of flocking), the Textured (some links with scaling, raised lines or ribbing) or the Hairy (covered with a plastic frond coating with strands that can be pulled and picked at) as these offer the most texture.

I find the Hairy a lot overstimulating (watching the fronds wriggle and bounce is too much) but for pulling it’s unmatched. (It’s like a puffer ball but so much better.) If you want a toy to pick at, I recommend the Fuzzies - the coating is very, very nice for picking/scraping off. I’ve discovered that the fakes, when worn thin, pick clean almost as easily as the branded Fuzzies (they just don’t peel as cleanly, though) and neither leave residue on the Tangle or your hands, so I’d recommend either depending on your budget and ability to purchase online.

(Note: for another picking replacement stim toy, you can cover any cheap ABS plastic toy, like a snake puzzle or knock-off Tangle Jr, with a couple of layers of PVA glue, applied with a makeup sponge. It’s not as nice to pick off as is the flocking, but it’s much cheaper and it’s easy to replace the glue layer. If you’re like me and dermatitis means it isn’t a good idea to use non-toxic (PVA or clag) glue, liquid latex or bandaids directly on the skin as a picking or peeling replacement stim, something many folk do, this might be a more affordable alternative to the Fuzzies.)

Twiddle: if you get on with a Tangle, I recommend the Twiddle. It’s more expensive, so I recommend it for folks who’ve tried the Tangle first, but it has a lot of joints and can be pulled apart and made into many shapes, so it’s got more puzzle elements (good for busy hands) and more texture.

Moosh / Smol Bean / Bean Bags: mini bean bags, containing everything from plastic pellets to rice, soup mix to beans, lentils to split peas. I fill mine with a soup mix, so there’s a variety of different sizes and shapes in the filler, and I often sit there poking at the items inside the bag. My mix has a few large kidney beans, for example, so I play “find the kidney bean”, poking the mix until I find one. Lots of texture, and they can be tossed and crunched as well, and made from flannelette or minky fleece for even more texture.

(For bean bag variations and marble mazes, check out @dragonadventurescrafting, @stimtastic or @asenseofselfshop here on Tumblr.)

Fidget Cube, Fidget Shape and Fidget Pad: in terms of keeping fingers busy and moving with a variety of options, it’s hard to go past these. Not all sides appeal to all stimmers, but most people should find one or two sides worth their while. The Zuru and Antsy Labs cubes are better than the imitations, but if you’re unsure if it’ll work for you, I absolutely recommend getting a fake one to try out. (I bought one for under $3 AUD off eBay for my spare kit.) You might like the breathe/worry stone side and the roller ball, as they’re smooth and nice to stroke (I roll mine over my face) and I’ve found these sides to work best on the fakes.

The fidget pads have a section with raised dotted lines that’s very nice for stroking, and meant as a more textured alternative to the smooth worry stone side of the fidget cube.

Puffer Creatures and Puffer Balls: these are pretty cheap and easy to find in dollar shops (if you don’t mind the light-up versions). The fronds are great for tugging, stretching and pulling. Some of these are too big for subtle stimming, but I’ve seen many stress ball size or smaller.

Koosh and Bandy Balls: these are made from latex, but like the puffer balls and the Tangle Hairy, they’re got lots of fronds for stretching and tugging. Most are stress ball size or smaller.

(If these appeal, check out the “stretchable fidgets” section on our manipulative stim toys tag page, too.)

Spinner Rings: most of us buy these from Stimtastic, but they’re also available on Etsy. For a very stealth stim toy that keeps your hands busy, there’s little to match it if you like wearing rings.

(There’s also a lot of fidget jewellery options, so I’ll link you to our tag. Many of these, especially the spinner necklaces, are great for keeping hands busy. If you’re after fidget pendant and spinner necklaces, please check out @neurodelightful and @spacerobotstudio here on Tumblr.)

Worry Stones and Tactile:

Corks: you can get these in bags in the craft sections of your dollar shop. Great for a picking stim, but also just for stroking and rolling. Mine are a little firm/hard for my finding the picking to be comfortable (I prefer the Tangle Jr Fuzzies) but they’re a very inexpensive option.

Eos Lip Balm Cases: I’ve had these recommended as being quite similar to a worry stone to touch/stroke and they’re as stealth as anything for femme folks.

Dice: these are as stealth as anything for gamers if you’re after something to roll in your hands or worry at in your fingers. I find the D20s are a good size for this sort of thing, but polyhedral dice are readily available in a range of colours and styles at most (if not all) game stores. Q-Workshop make beautiful dice with engraved textures.

Actual Worry Stones: I’ve found these available at markets, craft stores and dollar shops (I bought a box at a dollar shop). These vary, too, from natural polished stones to semi-precious gemstones to glass counters (the kinds used in vases or as gaming counters) and home decor pieces. If you’re looking at the glass counters (or glass marbles, either in the toy section or the home decor section) you can usually get a whole bag for $2 AUD or less, which is great for stowing in pockets and bags.

(You also might like to check out our tactile fidgets tag page, as it lists many things really meant just for holding and stroking. Just skip past the stress ball section at the top!)

There’s more things I could suggest in terms of texture, small/handheld and keeping hands occupied, but this post is getting very long.

I hope this gives you some ideas and some places to start. Good luck with your redirection stims!

- Mod K.A.

[michaelmilkers]

headcanon: peter parker is a trans boy!!! there was a big post about it and cis people kept getting pissed

im all fucking about that shit gimme trans spiderman

[tser]

do you know anything about keeping millipedes? i've found some care sheets but i was wondering if you had tips

I have kept African Giant Black Millipedes (Achispirostreptus gigas) and I currently have Scarlet Millipedes (Trigoniulus corallinus)!

Different species need different care, so knowing the species you’re intending to keep is important.  

Flat millipedes are much harder to keep than round millipedes, so I recommend those only for experienced keepers. Some flat millipedes do better in captivity than others.

The key to keeping millipedes successfully is decaying wood (preferably hardwood). Some species will not eat anything but decaying wood (and won’t accept substitutes like Morning Wood). Others are more general detrivores and do well with decaying wood, dead leaves, and some vegetables. All millipedes are herbivores, and though they may occasionally eat some carrion in the wild, animal protein is not necessary to keep them and may be detrimental.

I suggest using an “edible substrate” for your millipedes, mixing in composted hardwood and hummus, and cover the top with chunks of rotting wood and dead leaves (especially leathery leaves like oak) which you have baked to sanitize in the oven. 

Here is a picture of my Scarlets’ setup. 

The larger chunks of decaying wood I have gathered on various walks from natural areas (be sure it’s not from places sprayed with pesticides or herbicides; avoid treated wood and anything but the most rotten softwood). The leaves are a mix of collected and purchased leaf litter. Wood that is properly rotten will crumble in your hands.

All millipedes should also be offered a calcium source. The easiest way to do so, I’ve found, is to provide a chunk of cuttlebone. However, you can also sprinkle calcium powder on their food if they eat vegetables.

For millipedes that eat vegetables, they seem to like soft and slightly wilted veggies and fruits. Cucumber, summer squash, zucchini, lettuce, and berries are favorites. Make sure that they are organic, or peel them if they are not.

Some millipedes spend all their time buried and only come up to eat at night. Others are far more active and even climb. Determining what kind of millipede you have will determine what kind of decor is useful to provide.

This was my African Giant Black Millipede 20 gallon setup. Giant Black Millipedes are more active on the surface and climb more than many other species. (Unfortunately they are not available in the US anymore, as they are no longer being imported, and captive breeding wasn’t successful.)

Most millipedes do well in moderate to high humidity. They should have a humidity gradient in their enclosure, by misting one side of the substrate, and providing microclimates with decor on the surface of the substrate, like leaves and wood.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[stimsafer]

is my stim blog @neons-stims considered safe (you don't have to post this publicly if it seems like an ad) i ONLY reblog stims there and tag all of them but i allow nsfw interaction. i'm not sure what you consider unsafe

i personally don’t think allowing kink/nsfw communities is safe because it runs a risk of exposing trauma survivors or minors to possibly upsetting content.

[savesoulpunk]

ayy you're back

never been away my friend

[spaceboyfrnk]

am i allowed to make an edit inspired by one of yours as long as i credit you? 💕💖

yeah that’d be cool and tag me on it so i can reblog it

[bukbot]

don't wanna be an american idiot, one nation controlled by the media

Cloud try to herd you back in the house had that giant thing built for their entire existence, waiting for you XD.

[emmacanlearn]

Look Into This Blog And You Will Find A Robot And Friend

Hi there, glitterstumph. So look! Single robot. Look is so. The friend is best!

[sugarpunkeyes]

green goons

- someone screaming about the patriarchy/billie joe armstrong’s ass/both

- jdhfbjhsf/hehehheeh happening nearly constantly

- everyone points out when itchy is being particularly british (a kind of cheese) and then him getting real defensive and saying his way is better

- shit like this

- someone probably just bought crystals and it’s a big deal

- roland referencing 80s bands and no one understands but it’s ok and we try to be supportive

- fanfiction ideas for green day smut thrown into the void for people to scream at

- tyler is either there yellin about how nice and lovely everyone is and how they hope we all have a good day OR they’re not there at all even though we’re thinkin about them

- luka is often mentioned but never there ?? we miss u bud i hope youre ok

- billie and neon changing their icons and usernames to the point that we have no idea who’s who;; also billie’s usually has vaguely threatening emojis and neon’s sounds disturbing 

- “SIN CHAT”

- at least 3 conversations happening at once

- jimmy being adorable and either yelling about work, being supportive of people, or comin up with lil witty jokes

- dania’s dog just as a general statement

- also everyone trying to speak spanish to impress dania (hint: she is not impressed but is very nice to us anyway and gives us encouragement)

- 90% of conversations happen at like 2 AM, no matter where. so if someone’s in LA and someones in NY, they both will be most active at their own 2 AMs. it’s wild

- generally yelling about the cishets like what are they doing. who are they. pls i wanna meet one someday

- “I WISH I COULD HUG YOU RIGHT NOW”/”IM RUNNIGN TO [place where they live] RIGHT NOW”/”WHAT TIM E IS IT FOR YOU WHY ARE YOU AWAKE”

- *a random picture of a member of green day* “I would die for this man”

- someone is ALWAYS somehow in school??? how

- :0

- gay, lovely humans

pls add on i love all of you

@thesmashingpumpkins @xkidiot @poisin-youth @sftbc @legitgayjesus @billarm-jarm-armstrarm @billiejoeshappytrail @politepunkmom @glitterstumph

[sjweminem]

@glitterstumph i kno that’s why i wrote what i did in the tags- by ‘comfortable’ i mean using their preferred name and pronouns and stuff. of course i wouldn’t deny my child that. i more take issue with blind support and spread of the idea that being trans is never a phase for anyone bc it....really is sometimes, and that’s not a bad or shameful thing. it’s ok for parents to be skeptical of their young kid’s drastic change in identity if they do it respectfully, bc even the first step of socially transitioning can be a big deal and have repercussions of its own. i have a lot of regrets myself and nobody ever talks about that possibility.

[michaelmilkers]

have u heard about the BPD discord piss discourse yet ,, it seems like some kinda shit you'd love

fun fact today my dad came into my room to check on me and asked “so is there anything interesting going on on the internet right now” and i put my laptop down and was like “dad ur not gonna believe this”

[tser]

Thanks for much for writing that all out! Are there any species you'd recommend for someone new to keeping millipedes (but has kept fish, lizards, spiders, and sometimes bugs) in the past? Also, out of curiosity: do you keep millipedes to observe or for food? Your blog is awesome and incredibly informational btw!

Good beginner millipede species include:

Florida Ivory Millipede (Chicobolus spinigerus)

Thai Rainbow Millipede (Tonkinbolus dollfusi [syn. Aulacobolus rubropunctatus])

Narceus sp. (Narceus americanus, Narceus gordanus)

I keep them for pets/observation; they are just pretty and fun! Many millipedes secrete defensive toxins (cyanide compounds) and shouldn’t be used as clean up crew or fed to other pets.

Thank you very much! I hope my blog continues to be helpful!

[folksy]

@glitterstumph fjggfrtre that's great omg

[bukbot]

WHAT? That’s not Sansy. That’s some person from like Attack on Titan or whatever. The image is so poorly edited, and you can tell it’s a JPEG because of the white around it. At least they got the hall right… where Sans and Frisk have the final showdown in the No Mercy run of Undertale.

That’s some wild Naruto AU right there criminal scum!

[emmacanlearn]

happy mother's day emma, my mom is…yikes. so you're my mom now. thank you for adopting me.

Great thank is great! What's an adopt?

[sugarpunkeyes]

HEY GREEN GOONS

@thesmashingpumpkins @xkidiot @sloanthewench @poisin-youth @billiejoeshappytrail @politepunkmom @doweneedthis @billarm-jarm-armstrarm @glitterstumph I love u all i hope you're having a good day