#unless they're a water snake species

[blanketorghost]

Twst conveniently hiding floyd's midriff right at the point where his belly button (if he had one) should be in the Stitch event cards...

I see you twst artists.

I see what you're doing.

[greatwyrmgold]

I've been thinking about Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit: Model Azure Dragon. (Or Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, if you don't like translating Devil Fruits.) I'm going to frame the thoughts I want to talk about most as an attempt to answer three questions.

A: Why is it a fish?

Traditionally, Chinese dragons are described as having the characteristics of (usually) nine other animals. One such list is: camel head, stag antlers, demon eyes, snek neck, clam belly, carp scales, eagle claws, tiger soles, and cow ears. Others include things like frog bellies and rabbit eyes and crocodile heads and goat goatees and tortoise viscera, but most include carp scales and no other fish features. Unless we count shellfish.

So, the Azure Dragon has some fishy characteristics. But even if we count the clam belly, it has far more resemblances to non-fish animals than fish ones. For instance, the camel head, stag antlers, and cow ears give it three ungulate, which could plausibly make the Azure Dragon fruit an Ox-Ox Fruit/Ushi-Ushi no Mi.

Of course, I'd still question why the Azure Dragon was classified as an ungulate. It has as few hooves as gills. But you could also call it a Snake-Snake Fruit, or you could invent a Liz-Liz Fruit. Or, you could use the Dragon-Dragon category that Kaido's dinosaur-fruit minions fall under. Surely Chinese dragons qualify as dragons?

Aside: The Japanese term for dinosaurs is kyōryū, which includes ryū, which means dragon.

B: Are there other fish?

The existence of a Fish-Fish Fruit: Azure Dragon Model implies the existence of other kinds of Fish-Fish Fruits. Carp or trout or sharks; judging by what kinds of animal get Fishmen, maybe even whales and cephalopods and the weird fishlike species on the Grand Line.

There aren't any non-dragon Fish-Fish Fruits. I don't find that surprising; the sea hates Devil Fruit users, hence their iconic weakness to seawater. Marine Zoan fruits would be a bit against theme. Also, the iconic abilities most fish have are swimming and breathing underwater; these powers obviously aren't much use if you get paralyzed when dunked in water, never mind if said powers get nullified while immersed.

Some fish (especially the broader definition that includes most marine animals) have other features that could be useful out of water. Archerfish and cephalopods and anglerfish and creatures big enough for their strength to rival or exceed an elephant's. But the existence of fish Devil Fruits raises questions that terrestrial Devil Fruits wouldn't.

Then again, a Fish-Fish Fruit that isn't a fish also raises those same questions, as well as others.

C: Are there Devil Fruits for the other Auspicious Beasts?

"Azure Dragon" is a very specific creature. The Azure Dragon is one of the Four Auspicious Beasts, mythological creatures and constellations from China. There's the Black Tortoise* of the North, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Azure Dragon of the East. And sometimes a Yellow Dragon or Qilin in the center.

*Sometimes a warrior or a turtle/snake

They're a thing, they seem pretty significant, and Kaido has the powers of one of them. What about the other three? (Or four.) You could probably equate the Vermilion Bird with Marco's Bird-Bird/Phoenix fruit, if his feathers weren't made of blue fire. But they are, which means that only one out of four (or five) Auspicious Beasts is represented.

To be fair, the Azure Dragon is by far the coolest Auspicious Beast. Sorry, west; a white tiger might be auspicious, but it's just a big albino cat. I guess the Yellow Dragon is also pretty cool (when it's included), but Azure is a way more mythic color name.

[irradiatedsnakes]

something i think a lot of people miss because its name is EELektross but the tynamo line is in very large part based on lampreys.

lampreys are incredibly basal (resembling the ancestral form, "primitive") vertebrates- agnathans (non-jawed) are a group of fishes that include the lampreys and the hagfish, which split off from the rest of the fish we know before moving jaws existed. they can give us a good idea of what some of the earliest vertebrates kind of looked like! they have one big sucker mouth, just like eelektrik and eelektross! (all photos via wikipedia unless otherwise mentioned)

also very of note are the dots down the side of the head on both of these- they're lamprey gill slits! unlike the operculum of most bony fishes or the multiple tall gill slits of the cartilaginous fishes, lamprey gill slits are largely circular.

now, tynamo i'm a bit split on whether it more closely resembles eel larvae (leptocephalus) or lamprey larvae (ammocoetes).

(photo via brian mccauley)

in case you didn't know, fish have larval stages! they're tiny and often weird and transparent looking. both ammoecoetes and leptocephali feed on tiny particles floating through the water (suspension feeding). i think with their white color and transparentish look, tynamo more resemble the leptocephali, but obviously with an ammocoete's jawless always-open mouth.

not relevant for our lamprey/eel discussion, but this is the larval form of the giant ocean sunfish, aka the mola mola. fucking look at it

also, a note! in addition to lampreys, the line obviously is a play on electric eels.

electric eels............are not eels.

eels are everything within the group anguilliformes. they're a big diverse group of mostly long and snake-looking fishes. this is an african conger, it's one of the prettiest eels in my opinion.

electric eels, despite the name, are indeed not eels. they're part of the gymnotiformes instead, the south american knife fish. all members of this group use electricty as a sense- they use weak electric fields kind of like an analogue to a bat's echolocation, to navigate and find food. only one genus within this group, Electrophorus, can actually shock stuff. the three species within that genus are the electric eels!

(photo via use ungulatenerd92 on zoochat)

they're funny looking guys. anyways, uh, pokemon or whatever

[aura-bug]

What is your favorite yokai(Both from Yo-kai Watch and real mythology) ?

YIPPEE TIME TO RANT

My favorite yokai from YKW are Unfairy, Wobblewok, and Arachnia, and they all have one thing in common: gremlin behavior

unfairy is a stupid little rat thing that took down two war generals and then got defeated by a hose. wobblewok is a fucking Thang sealed inside a giant kamameshi rice cooker who lurks the deepest pits of hell and has killed hundreds. and arachnia is arachnia

as for my favorite MYTHOLOGICAL yokai, it'd probably be any of the creechers originating from buddhist lore. tbh that hardly narrows it down but I'm specifically talking about dragons/any of the 8 legions, since a majority of my OCs revolve around those yokai in particular and I think theyre really cool aaaaaaaaa.

the 8 legions (hachibushuu) are a group of 8 different celestial species that reside in the Buddhist version of heaven (<- using that term VERYYYYY loosely, also technically one of the legions don't live in Tendo, they got kicked out, it was a whole thing). They're super cool and powerful and they serve Buddhas/Bodhisattvas and whateva.

The 8 legions are made up of the Ten/Devas (buddhist equivalent of angels but not really), the Ryu/Nagas (dragons), the Karura/Garuda (bird people that eat dragons), the Magorakas (half-snake people), the Kinnara (half-bird musicians), the Yasha (heavenly warrior demon guys), the Kendatsuba (artistic spirits that eat scents), and the Ashura (scary demigod guys that are angry and violent and aren't allowed in Tendo anymore boohoo).

The 8 legions are actually Hindu in origin, but then the Buddha told them all to join his cool kids club (buddhism) and then they did

I could talk at length abt each of these guys but then this would be like 500 paragraphs longer than it already is. so I wont but I WILL do so if prompted

If we're talking about yokai that are SPECIFICALLY japanese in origin, there's a lot of ones that are extremely silly that I love a lot so I'll list them off rapid fire

-ghost that tells you to kill yourself (itsuki)

-rat that fucking explodes (kodama nezuki)

-water behemoth (umi bozu)

-eyeball ass jumpscare (shirime)

-literally any of the women (all the yokai ending in "onna")

-big spider (tsuchigumo)

-tamamo no mae (tamamo no mae)

-any of the several ridiculous prophet yokai that appear once and tell you your crops are gonna die unless you like their image and share it with the rest of the village. it was like the origin of those superstitious chain emails (this includes yokai like Amabiko, Arie, Kudan, Jinja Hime, etc etc, but my personal favorite is Amabie, SIMPLY because it originated from a misspelling)

-any chimera yokai (kotobuki, nue, baku, rokugyo, etc. I just think theyre neat)

but my FAVORITE yokai of ALL TIME

IS THIS THING. NANJAKA.

ITS NAME LITERALLY MEANS "WHAT"

IT ORIGINATES FROM THE BAKEMONO TSUKUSHI EMAKI (1820) AND IT HAS NO DESCRIPTION. NO STORY. NO EXPLANATION. NOTHING. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN UPPER HALF. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO EVEN GUESS WHAT THE ARTIST WAS THINKING WHEN MAKING THIS GUY. I DON'T EVEN THINK THE AUTHOR THEMSELVES KNEW WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE DOING BECAUSE ITS NAME IS JUST "WHAT." ITS LIKE THE AUTHOR WOKE UP AFTER BEING BLACKOUT DRUNK, SAW THIS DRAWING, AND WAS LIKE "ok what the fuck is this"

I ADORE IT. PEAK YOKAI WEIRDNESS AT ITS FINEST

[spitblaze]

when did theris zorua evolve

When Ember evolved, the last breath of life had already left her body.

Therion managed to survive the fall off that cliff - in my mind, he had the self-preservation instincts from years of rooftop chases to tuck his head between his arms and angle himself to fall legs-first into the ravine below. Whether he expected to survive or not, he made it, if only barely.

Ember was not so lucky. Whether she died on impact with the water or drowned while she desperately tried to keep herself afloat, she didn't make it, eventually washing up on thr same river bank as her beloved human.

But being alive isn't a requirement for ghost type evolution. Her soul, still tied to her body, lingering, filled with anger and betrayal and hate, hate towards Darius, hate towards his pokemon, hate towards humanity, a wretched species with only a scant few who had ever done anything but hurt her and Therion, flared after she washed up on shore and gave her new life. It was a painful evolution, shattered bones and waterlogged flesh reviving and transmuting into a new form fueled by anger and spite. But she did it. She was alive, or perhaps undead, but she was back, able to protect her human like she couldn't before.

The thing about Hisuan Zoroark, as opposed to Unovan, is that their illusions don't just stop at sensory trickery. They're tangible, able to harm and kill. The mandibuzz circling above never had a chance to reach Therion, not with Ember's illusions striking them down before they could even swoop. Any bandits that may have tried to loot Therion while he was unconscious were met with similarly gruesome fates - years and years of pent up rage, unable to do anything, now utilized to keep her human safe.

She kept him alive in other ways, too - used will-o-wisp and her own fur to keep him warm (most ghost types arent exactly warm), mashed up any berries she could find or the meat from would-be scavengers and fed him.

When he finally woke up, gained enough consciousness to comprehend what was happening, Therion almost didn't recognize her. Almost. Those eyes, the way she tilted her head, the way she nudged his cheek - if he had the energy, he might've cried. Relief, sorrow, pride, anger. She was there, and she was so strong and kept him safe. But she met the same fate - maybe even worse - to evolve in the way she did.

When a healer finally stumbled across Therion, after he had used his good arm to drag himself out of the sun and Ember had helped carry him away from the river, Therion had to convince her that it was okay to accept this person's help. It was fine. Well. Maybe not. They could just as easily finish the job. But between an extremely protective HZoroark and being brought back to an actual church in an actual town and not some dingy murder cabin in the woods, Therion supposed the odds were pretty good that he would, at the very least, not be killed on purpose.

Over the next six years, Therion made no real attempt to get her to trust humans. He taught her that no matter how much she wanted to protect him, fights should be avoided unless absolutely necessary, and killing should be avoided except in self-defense. The less of a trail you leave, the easier the getaway. Old knowledge that had new meaning now that she had new power.

Meeting the other travelers, as you can imagine, ended up being an ordeal. The only one she even vaguely trusted at the start was Ophilia - mostly because she reminded her of that cleric who healed Therion after his fall, smelled of the same incense, lived in the same kind of building. H'aanit was the only one who earned Ember's respect without Therion’s help at all, between her strength, prowess, Linde, and the few times she stepped in to intercept a blow for Therion.

Everyone else required Therion assuring her that they were good humans, that they were safe. Alfyn was met with growling and snapping and illusions turning his herbs into snakes before Therion assured her that he only wanted to help. She tried very hard to scare Cyrus but he was unflappable. Therion helped her trust him, but mostly she just gave up on trying to scare him away. Therion wasn’t sure what she showed Primrose that made her so upset but Ember got a good scolding for that. You can’t traumatize team members, they're trying to HELP, even in Thrrion didn’t fully believe it himself. They made up later and now Ember has a healthy rivalry with Prim's Salazzle.

Ultimately Ember warmed up to the whole party faster than Therion, or at least made no attempt to hide it. She gave H'aanit illusions that outlined prey in bright red, the better to aim and hunt with, she provides illustrations of things when Cyrus asks to go along with his lectures (and makes fun of him when he isn't looking, bc it's fun), Primrose is given lights and flourishes to accompany her dances.

It's not as if the others don't get anything - she'll disguise herself as a human to help Tressa advertise, become a knight to spar with Olberic, give Ophilia visions of Flamesgrace when she's homesick, gives Alfyn anything he pleases because out of all of them he BY FAR has the best treats and gives the best belly rubs. He spoils her almost as much as Therion does (not that he will admit he does).

Uuuuuh this got away from me. I just think Ember and her bond with Therion is neat and I wanna write about it when I have less than ten different wips bouncing around lol

[anarzaabloodladen]

I feel like absolute shit today so here are some Centricide arima headcanons before I die.

Commie

He'd definitely be a polaris (snow arima), since they were bred for manual labor and make up a large amount of the work force in Sahira. Also they are built for cold climates and if you wanna go off the Russian stereotype then. Yeah.

Since Polaris arimas are not exactly bounded by hierarchy through eye colors, he'd likely have silver eyes like most of his species. Unless for some reason he's an albino in which case they're pink.

He would have a large amount of experience in both cart pulling in animal form and building railroads in human form, so in short he would be fucking ripped.

Since he is an authoritarian, he would naturally be a high class. So that basically means he would have a very large wingspan and a threatening aura to him. Personality wise, this makes him very serious and easily angered. (He would try to seem more like a mid class though since he probably thinks that the arima pack hierarchy system is some bullshit, which it is but not according to genetics.)

Ancom

This is probably going to be the easiest one. Okay. So Ancom would be a mid class porizanian (common land dweller). This, appearance-wise, makes quem have green eyes. Green eyed porizanians are all afab though so qui is trans but we already knew that.

Qui lives in Kinshwa among a bustling human population so qui does not transform too often, this would make quem likely not be as used to transforming as Commie and it would feel odd to quem to be a literal dragon for longer than two hours.

Qui is nineteen years old in my headcanon, which for this arima version, qui would likely be very energetic and interested in starting shit since most porizanians around this age tend to be rowdy and rebellious, which is also why I picked this type for quem.

Lastly, qui is twinkish and probably not very muscular since qui refuses to eat humans. Which from a moral standpoint is a good thing, but well since qui's a middle class arima, it would definetly stunt quis growth and strength.

Qui got arrested one time for throwing a Molotov at a nobleman's house but got away unscathed because Ancap paid for it. Quis also a runhead and it's a miracle qui hasn't overdosed yet.

Ancap

I had to think about this one. Since Ancap is canonically a multi billionaire, I needed to find some way to show that he's prideful. If this were just simply a Chernov headcanons page I would definitely make him a Tulitnan Borrizeniya (like Vasily) since they are known to be very wealthy and are often stuck up. However, I think simply a genetically middle class yellow glowing meridianae (water/fish arima) would work for him.

Now because of this, Ancap wouldn't touch Commie with a 10 foot pole from the fear of being eaten. High class arimas are historically known to eat or attack middle class ones who aren't part of their packs. But Commie just fucking hates Ancap anyway so yeah they have a bit of an unstable relationship.

Ancap lives in a mansion and is very paranoid about high classes so he doesn't often leave. He has human servants and such probably and also lives in Kinshwa, so he hangs out with Ancom a lot when he DOES go outside. (Libunity bois)

Ancap is fluid in transformation and is typically more in the form of a snake than his human or arima forms. Ancom calls him snake man because of this and it's funny.

Blueman

Blueman is a high class purple eyed porizanian, no doubt. Since he is canonically mean and controlling, and also authoritarian.

Blueman sees humans as an inferior species and wants to wipe them out. He is also a Zhen and so he thinks this about Lillycans too. Because come on he's racist, not just speciesist. He looks in the mirror every morning and does the Zhen salute. He also probably has a horse.

He is equally if not more violent than Commie in attacking nature. He is swift and light on his feet since he practices attacking shit more than anything else. Blueman is mostly in arima form because he feels weak and inferior in human form. So he doesn't transform often.

He uses the word "nokoniy" all the time like it's as common as yes and no. He has no problem using offensive slurs and making people feel small as said in canon. He is from Sanria so he feels as though he is entitled to use these words because he is "built different".

Yeah I'll probably draw these later.

[the2amrevolution]

This red-shouldered hawk's family has nested in our yard for around 15 years now.

We have finches, sparrows, cardinals, wrens, chickadees, blue birds, robins, grackles, phoebes, tufted titmice, yellow-throated vireos, brown headed cowbirds, mourning doves, and mocking birds galore. Sharing space with the hawk family is a great horned owl, and theres a kestrel family a few houses down. We have green tree frogs, grey tree frogs, squirrel tree frogs, leopard frogs, southern toads, spadefoot toads, narrowmouth toads, and marbled salamanders. We have green anoles, five lined skinks, broadhead skinks, rat snakes, common watersnakes, and black racers. We have innumerable bugs including unique butterflies, moths, native bees, beetles, dragonflies, and spiders. We have mice, wood rats, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, armadillos, and sometimes larger mammals like deer and foxes. I've not seen any skunks in our yard or the neighborhood, but they're probably around too.

What makes our yard so attractive to wildlife? We don't do any yard spraying and we only use targeted insecticides for fire ants (invasive species) and mosquitos (dunks that only kill larvae, mostly we just avoid having standing water). My mom and I have finally convinced my dad to mow more minimally, and we try to id volunteer plants and protect them if they're native species. Our purposefully planted native and non-spreading ornamental plants get watered, but thats it. Volunteers get water if they're close to the other stuff, but they usually don't need it unless there's a serious hot and dry spell. We want ground cover, but we don't care about grass, so we don't mind the Carolina ponysfoot and vigina buttonweed over the backyard.

Wildlife likes our yard because we are lazy! We only mow as needed (we have dogs so needs to low enough to not totally hide snakes or be attractive to ticks), leave leaves, and don't spray poison everywhere (also because we have dogs and lawn chemicals increase canine cancer risk). We don't leave lights on outside on purpose and our dogs and cats are primarily indoors. Our next door neighbors also have primarily indoor pets, but they do leave lights on that aren't needed. Theres only one cat that is ever roaming, she's spayed, and she's kept inside most of the year. We've seen her less often in general since she's gotten older, and now allowing cats to roam is illegal in my county.

One of our next door neighbors mows excessively. One across the street has a full, obnoxious service that comes, poisons their yard, partially blocks the road, and makes a bunch of noise. The neighborhood our yard backs up at least at one point did mosquito spraying, which kills way more than just mosquitos.

We don't have an HoA, which helps, and we live outside city limits, but the city has no rules against leaving leaves anyway. Our yard never looks messy either. We put decorative stakes to mark volunteers we don't want mowed so it looks purposeful, and the dandelions and henbit and such honestly look prettier in the spring than a golf course lawn ever does.

The wildlife will find the pockets of refuge if we make them, and its pretty easy to make them if you have a yard while also campaigning for more ecologically friendly city planning, commercial development, and infrastructure. If you have time, you can also loiter in local/neighborhood groups on Facebook or nextdoor and leave comments that are anti-lawn, pro-wildlife, and anti-outdoor only/free roaming dogs and cats on any relevant posts. You can harass lawn and pest companies about how much the "services" they offer suck too if you want, but generally telling some one a fan for their patio will keep mosquitos off them just as well as expensive lawn spray without killing off butterflies works better.

"There's no wildlife here. The land is barren and stripped from farming chemicals"

I just saw two blue herons fly super low over our house, which means they've been fishing in the creek behind us, which means there's fish there. Which means there's bugs to feed the fish and algae to feed the bugs, which means the water and soil is worth something damnit.

Yes, I'm sorry the suburb isn't the grand, sweeping swath of uninhabited land that you so desperately crave but would learn to loathe, but saying that the land here is barren and that there's no wildlife here and that there's nothing to salvage- that's a You problem. Nature might be struggling, but against all odds it is at least trying.

[impulse-control-not-found]

World-building Islands

-from someone who lives on an island

Everything Influences EVERYTHING which is technically the case everywhere but usually islands are smaller which means more intensity I guess?

Really it's all about the location because the location of your island will influence the weather, the plant life & animals and the resources. Then the weather will also influence the food available which in turn influences the plants?, animals and people. The location will also influence the resources of your island which also influences the people which then influences the plants and animals once again and over the years this all happens under a period known as development which is an infinite term technically and and I am getting carried away. Look at this chart which explains hopefully better than me..

Basically the cycle of life happens and evolves with or without us.

Now let's talk about Weather because I assume you have the general location already set in your head (the middle of some sort of body of water hopefully)

Why? Because islands are everywhere! The question is: where is your island located and what will the weather be like due to its location? For example, the island I live on is smack dab right above the equator which means hardly any season changes. The temperature stays at an average of 75-95 degrees all year round and in school we have tsunami drills rather than tornado drills. Hurricanes can hit some parts of the island hard but other parts can barely be affected at all while the winds can get strong enough to usually leave the sky cloudless almost all year round.

How did your island come to be? Is it a volcano? Or a piece of land that broke off from a bigger piece of land over years of world development? Is it flat with large cliffs or is there a beach with tall mountain(s)? Does it snow on those mountains? Even though I live on a island with high temperatures, it does still snow at the top of the volcanoes which sounds strange but it does happen! When it does, the government shuts the area down for reasons I'm not entirely sure. Also with the plants and animals! There's a reason all the native food from my island has barely any spices. Because there are no spices that originally grew here. All the native food that we eat nowadays that is spicy was brought in from other places. For example, kimchi is very popular here but it obviously didn't originate here. And with animals, what birds and fish live on your island? What foods does the island provide that feeds them? For example, I live in a place that has no snakes, an extinct species of bird and an abundance of fish.

Almost always the culture on islands will be significantly different than other places. Whether your island is small or big or whether it has one culture or multiple spread around, the people are what make up the most importance. Remember, a lot of islands are pretty isolated so until they're "discovered" or travel is commercialized, they have virtually no influence from other places and build entirely on their own. This can make technological developments slower or faster then other places. Speaking of isolation, how did people get there? They certainly didn't spawn there out of eggs (unless it's a fantasy race in which case you're on your own for that one). The history of how people got to the island I live on is not 100% concrete yet due to no one writing things down at the time but it's pretty much unanimously agreed upon that people from other islands decided to discover more and set out on journeys to find other islands. That's how more islands were discovered, inhabited and grew on their own. It's why Polynesians, Hawaiians, Samoans and Maori are different and yet from an outside eye, can be thought as very similar.

Also consider visitors. How would people react when first coming to the island? How would the natives react? To be most historically accurate for example, when people from the mainland came to the island I live on in the 1700's they killed half the population alone, not with their guns or swords but with disease. Disease that the natives had no immunity against because they didn't have measles on the island until the foreigners came. Would people from other places try to take over your island?

And finally... Whether your story takes place in modern or medieval times, it doesn't change the fact that SHIPPING IS EXPENSIVE. Which is obvious because it's an island and resources are far less reliable (depending on your population count). Isolation plus the need for resources from other places makes for shipping and tax to be higher because of the long cargo ride, either by plane or boat. And what about warfare? If a war broke out and the island I'm on was targeted for a bombing, I'd have nowhere to flee to. I'd have to accept that I might die. Would your islands be safe havens? Would they be an exile?

And for a more fantasy effect: Would they harbor unique magic only resourced on that island? Would it be a place to train soldiers and magic users? A place for royalty only? A place where the worst of the worst are sent for punishment?

I hope these questions help round out your islands! Good luck <3

[ask-a-vetblr]

What is it about turtle care that makes it so tricky for people, and can common husbandry problems be avoided w proper preparation and education? Or is it more of a “funds and resources” thing, where most of the equipment and supplements for giving a pet turtle good QOL is hard to find and too expensive for an average household?

vet-and-wild here.

There are a few things. For one, if we're talking turtles specifically, the most common species are semi-aquatic (sliders and painted turtles). Meaning, they have water quality/aquarium management as an added component of their husbandry. It's actually quite complicated. Add on the fact that turtles produce A LOT of waste and are usually kept in enclosures that are way too small and you have a recipe for water quality issues. Most turtle species get bigger than people expect. I recommend at least 10 gallons per inch of shell. I have red eared slider patients that are easily 10-12 inches. Most people don't have a 100+ gallon aquarium.

Larger tortoises have a similar problem. Unless you live somewhere where you can keep the animal outside year round (or mostly year round), it's really hard to get an enclosure large enough for a 50lb+ sulcata.

Proper UVB is a problem with basically all reptiles. I find that nowadays most people realize they need something, but they end up not changing the bulb often enough or with a bulb that doesn't really give off enough UVB. tbh pet stores SUCK about explaining UV properly. I have so many owners that are genuinely trying and think they have the best product for their pet, because the pet store told them they just needed one bulb. It's very frustrating.

Diet is another factor. People don't realize what an appropriate diet is for most chelonians. Again, this is an issue across species. Usually, sliders and painted turtles get fed just animal protein (they are actually omnivores) and tortoises end up fed nothing but lettuce, carrots, and random fruits. We see tons of calcium and vitamin deficiency because of this.

Hydration is once again an issue across species. People tend to neglect humidity. For whatever reason it seems unimportant in comparison to other husbandry parameters, but it's actually super important. Chronic dehydration is a major issue in captive reptiles and thought to be under diagnosed. In chelonians, this often manifests as bladder stones. Really, really big bladder stones. I removed a clementine sized stone from a sulcata once, and it was awful for everyone.

I would say many of these issues can be avoided with proper education, like other species. However, I don't think there are any beginner turtles or tortoises. They're very hardy, which may seem great but more often than not we end up with a chronically ill animal that we now can't fix because there's 5, 10, even 20+ years of bad husbandry. I genuinely had to look up what a healthy box turtle looked like the other day because it's been so long since I've seen one that wasn't deformed. I forgot what they're supposed to look like. Yet I'm seeing these animals that, according to their owners, have been "fine" for years or decades. In reality, they have been chronically ill for decades and have just now lost the ability to compensate.

There are some species, like sulcatas, that just don't belong in most households. In the same way that large lizards (i.e. iguanas, water monitors, etc) and large snakes (i.e. burms, retics, etc) can be well cared for, a large turtle or tortoise can be too. However, the vast majority of people do not have the space or resources to do it, and should not own them. Most people can find the knowledge and resources to care for something like a box turtle, but it does take a ton of research, time, and effort, so most people don't get it right.

[thribby]

Ok, so this is cool. To me. I promise I will get to the fish thing, but first I wanna talk about cladistics.

Cladistics is a system of classifying a group of species that share a common ancestors into a group called a clade. A clade has to be a monophyletic group, meaning a group that includes all of the descendants of one common ancestor. This is opposed to a paraphyletic group which is a group that does not include every descendant of one common ancestor. The best example for these two is the clade Reptilia vs the group "Reptilia." (Paraphyletic groups are denoted with quotation marks to indicate they're not actual clades). "Reptilia" is everything like lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and testudines, but it isn't a full monophyletic group unless you also include birds. There are also polyphyletic groups which are different from both mono- and paraphyletic groups in that you can just put any species in a polyphyletic group regardless of their latest common ancestor. Polyphyletic groups are often based on similar appearances and thus showcase convergent evolution. "Looks Like a Big Fish to Me" is a polyphyletic group I made just now which consists of whales, dolphins, and sharks. If you looked at my polyphyletic group on a taxonomic tree, you would see huge gaps between them.

So to recap, a clade is a group of all organisms that are descended from a single common ancestor, and if you are making a group that leaves out any descendant you have not made a clade. Now onto fish.

Fish can mean a lot of things (many of them are based on appearance rather than evolutionary relationships, i.e. not good biological categories), but in the most common traditional sense, "fishes" are aquatic animals with gills, a skull made of cartilage/bone, and lack limbs. This includes hagfish and lampreys (Agnatha); sharks, rays, and chimeras (Chondrichthyes); and most (NOT all) of the bony fish (Osteichthyes). Osteichthyes is comprised of two large groups, Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) and Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish). Actinopterygii is where most of what we think of as a fish comes from. It's clownfish, salmon, trout, flounders, catfish, anglerfish, swordfish, pufferfish, sunfish, sea goldies, sea horses, sea dragons, and many many more. On the other hand, Sarcopterygii has only two extant "fish" species: coelacanth and lungfish. Most of Sarcopterygii is not included in "fish" because they no longer are aquatic animals with gills that lack limbs. Every amphibian, reptile, and mammal (Tetrapoda) is a member of clade Sarcopterygii because we evolved from lobe-finned fish. My animal biology professors really like saying that we (humans, mammals, land-vertebrates, etc) are "highly-derived lobe-finned fish," meaning that we are fish who have evolved heavily to fit a unique environment.

So, in order to consider fish a clade (which is typically considered better than a paraphyletic group because it shows the full scope of a taxonomic tree's evolution) you must also call every toad, tortoise, and tiger a fish. It's worth reiterating that the clade fish is identical to the subphylum Vertebrata (i.e. the vertebrates).

So yeah, whales aren't fish because they evolved back into the water and away from legs. Whales are fish because their ancestor were already fish, even after they moved onto land.

"birds aren't dinosaurs" ❌ wrong, misinformed, way too common

"all vertebrates evolved from fish, and are therefore technically fish" ✅ mischievous, technically true if you look at it from the right angle, demonstrates how cladistics work

"whales are fish but not for the reason you might think" 😈 this is funny to me specifically

Whales technically being fish is the funniest about face evolution has given us

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hi! Do you have any fun facts about snakes in Germany, particularly the north of the country? 👀 (I know there's not many native species though, which I guess makes sense for a country that's not exactly warm)

Sure! You're right that there aren't a lot of snakes in Germany - only seven, and three of them belong to the same genus! Only two are venomous. But they're all pretty dang cool.

The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is probably the most common snake in Germany! These guys are little amphibian-eaters, and you can find them almost anywhere in the country, and they're easily recognized thanks to the collar-like markings around their necks. They prefer woodlands, but they're strong swimmers!

Closely related is the barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica). You can find them living around water in western Germany! They were only elevated to a seperate species from Natrix natrix about five years ago following genetic analysis. Like American hognoses, snakes in the Natrix genus will pretend to be dead when they feel threatened!

The final member of the Natrix genus in Germany is the dice snake (Natrix tessellata)! Dice snakes can be found throughout most of Eurasia, but they were quite rare in Germany until relatively recently. They're still one of the rarest snakes you'll see! Unlike their cousins, these guys are semiaquatic, and they mainly eat small fish.

The European adder (Vipera berus) is, by far, the most common venomous snake native to Germany. They can be easily recognized thanks to their zig-zag patterning. European adders are widespread, and although bites suck, their venom isn't considered very dangerous and deaths are nearly unheard of even in cases where medical treatment wasn't sought.

The European viper's cousin, Vipera aspis, can only be found in extreme southwestern Germany in the Black Forest. They have a barred pattern instead of zig-zags, and their venom is slightly stronger than the European viper's.

Smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca) are widespread across Europe, and can be found throughout Germany. These snakes are named for their smooth, non-keeled scales, which are relatively rare among European snakes!

Aesculapian snakes (Zamenis longissimus) were once vanishingly rare in Germany, limited to a few small populations in the west, but they've been growing more and more common in recent years. They prefer it warmer, so they're not likely to ever be a common sight unless the country keeps getting warmer. Aesculapian snakes are some of the largest European snakes, averaging 5-6 feet long!

[pogaytosalad]

my belief is that faeries do exist. Except instead of the evil Trickster faeries we know of from like celtic mythology, the faeries are all spirits of one specific thing. Like luck. Or water rings. Snakes and frogs and mosquitos and every single creature has its own personal faery.

The faery of nightmares. The faery of dreams. The faery of juice. The faery of stars and the faeries of each individual insect species.

And they are sized respective to knowledge about the thing or belief surrounding their respective thing.

So like the star faery is much larger than say. The fire ant faery.

But the faeries of huge things like luck or dreams are massive entities invisible to humans. Faeries can choose to be invisible or visible whenever they want.

Animals can always see them. Humans can only see em if they're visible. And they're spirits that sort of look like colorful whispy versions of noface from spirited away without the mask. Like whisps. Ghost like.

And they all have their own lives. like the different star faeries are all friends. The faeries for each of our solar systems planets are in a polyamorous relationship. Same with any other solar system of planets.

Nightmares and dreams are husband and wife.

The sun has its own faery. And the moon faery is her sister.

Tsunamis happen when the wave faery and his mother the ocean faery get in fights.

But like there's legit a faery for EVERYTHING. Like. A pokemon faery or a stim toy faery. Scissors faery.

And you can like call on them and ask for help. And usually the faeries are kind and helpful but sometimes they wanna have their own fun and they'll pull a trick on you.

But it's rarely harmful. And if it is its accidental. Like if the juice faery pulls a trick on you by making too much come out of a juice bottle when you pour it it'll think its funny, unless it then destroys your phone or something.

Most faeries feel bad when they do truly mean things and they feel good when they do good things.

Some are just mean cuz they like being mean. Like the murder faery or the robbery faery. Or the heart attack faery.

The death faery doesn't like taking the peoples souls to the afterlife but does it because the souls need to go somewhere.

The afterlife is like. A strange paradise. Green fields. Anything you could want. Enough homes and food and water for every soul. And the afterlife is ever expanding so it'll never run out of space. Souls can do whatever they want in the afterlife so long as it doesn't harm anyone. Even murderers get a second chance at being a good person in the afterlife. Cuz nothing bad can actually happen there and everyone gets a second chance.

There's faeries for trans people. For all the terms in the queer umbrella.

And all of the faeries for everything are a different colour even if it's only the difference between hexcode #000000 and #000001.

[mythicamagic]

Myth, I’m sorry if you answered this before, but can you make a ranking of your favorite monsters? 👀

Some monster boyfriend thirst got mixed in with a couple of these, I can only aplogise.

Werewolf - 8/10. A classic but not perfect because the formula can get a tad repetitive and modern interpretations have kind of robbed them of a bunch of mystique, but when its there, they're great. Van Helsing's design for them is the best interpretation, no I will not accept criticism.

Naga -  10/10 - a more recent love of mine. I'm sorry but you can get very creative with a person who is 30% human shaped and 70% tail.

Alien - 5/10 - I'm not into sci-fi stuff, so unless the alien be looking like Lotor, who is a 10/10 I'm likely not into that. BUT I can appreciate 'the Predator's design' and a couple of others.

Vampire - 11/10 - yeah I never grew outta my vampire phase. I don't care if it's basic bitch taste. There's a reason this monster icon has endured. But again I prefer ye olde interpretations of vampires rather than modern ones, unless they manage to capture the style and sophistication of melting candles, sweeping gowns, unrepentant attitudes and such. That said, Lost Boys slaps.

Dragon - 10/10 - They're awesome, hello? It's a mother trucking Dragon!

Goblin - 1/10 - no thank you

Angel - 9/10 - eldritch monster angel is superior to 'a dude with a halo and wings' gimmie cursed text speech and weird designs plz.

Hellhound/Gytrash/Church Grim - 10/10 bc they're good bois.

Gargoyle - 8/10 - Great monster but if we're talking 'monster boyfriend' they lose points due to turning to stone during the daylight hours.

Zombie - 2/10 - Warm Bodies is one of my favourite guilty pleasure films but they're honestly pretty boring and a tired concept.

Demon - 10/10 - classic. Encompasses a lot of different takes on the interpretation. The trope of summoning a demon in exchange for something will always be top notch. Good for horror or hotness depending on the story.

Centaur - 4/10 - top half hawt and I can appreciate an archer, but if we're talking monster s/o territory - unlike the Naga thing where you can separate them from being snakes because they just feel like a different species...centaurs just be straight-up horses down there.

Siren - 8/10 - sinks ships and drowns sailors using their melodic voices? Dats pretty cool bruh.

Ghost - 7/10 - angst/yearning potential and sure body possession can be fun, but ultimately it remains a sad s/o to have if you're a human

Orcs - 5/10- I'm not hugely into the big beefy type, so that's a pass for me, but I respect those who stan these guys.

Selkie - 7/10 - seals are cute and the concept that comes with it is a classic folktale but your bae will always belong more to 'the ocean' than to you.

Kelpie - 8/10 - I know I just gave Centaurs shit but Kelpies can shapeshift into humans sooo I know which one is better for an s/o.

Kitsune - 9/10 - spicy tricksters? With that aesthetic? Hell yee

Incubus/Succubus - 10/10 - self-explanatory. Like...c'mon.

Mermaid - 10/10 - classic.

Shark merfolk - 11/10 - good shit, yes. Give me the sharp teeth and danger vibes at the beach.

Tengu - 7/10 - Cool wings. Dunno about that mask though.

Nokken - 7/10 - I can vibe with a guy who plays the violin but the drowning women part is a little offputting. Also he always seems to be depicted in lakes or swamps, not particularly sexy water to hang around, unlike at the beach with merfolk.

Death/Grim reaper - 9/10 - hey the grim reaper has a lot of great depictions in media. Also sometimes death just needs a wife and it's always a great story of longing and pining.

Fae King - 11/10- Will let you disappear into the woods, never to be seen again. If you just give me your name, I can hook you up with one~

[katzkinder]

(multiple linked image references throughout this post)

Ok, so I loved this post

The part that got me though was when you said “I wonder what type of animal form they take factors into that” - that’s where the gears in my head started turnin’

So I went snooping on each animal counterpart associated with each sin.

1.) SLOTH: are cats sensitive to cold?

So Kuro isn’t JUST a neet that prefers blankets or a kotatsu over the cold… his animal form being a cat does play some part… key word beings some

“Cats are pretty well adapted for cold weather, but when the temperature dips below freezing they are susceptible to hypothermia and frostbite. During periods of cold weather, cats will go looking for a warm place to hunker down. How cold is too cold for indoor cats? Cats prefer warmth but will be okay in rooms hovering between 50-60°F degrees; while their counterparts Lions, in a zoo environment, stay outside in the winter unless the temperature dips below 40°F (in the wild, most lions don’t have to worry about temperatures dropping below 65°F so in most cases 40°F and below is too cold).”

SLOTH SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

2.) PRIDE: are bats sensitive to cold?

“Bats can't survive freezing temperatures, even when they're hibernating. Any roost bats shelter in for the winter must be at least 45°F or warmer. They also seek out dark, secluded, and sheltered places that can keep them safe from predators. Bats are defenseless while they're hibernating.”

PRIDE SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

3.) ENVY: are snakes sensitive to cold?

Jeje being a snake is pretty much a given… but it’d be mean to not include him (so no funny ideas outta you, ok Mikuni?)

“What is the coldest temperature a snake can withstand? Snakes usually stay out of cold climates. Because the coldest temperature any snake can thrive in is around 65°F, snakes normally live in the warmer temperate or tropical zones. Below 60°F, snakes become sluggish. Above 95°F, snakes become overheated.”

ENVY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

4.) WRATH: are wolves sensitive to cold?

“Wolves don't need to do anything. They're much better adapted to cold weather than we are. Thanks to their winter adaptations, wolves can live in temperatures as low as -40°F. During the coldest nights, a wolf will curl itself into a ball, covering its nose with its tail, which will hold the exhaled warm air over its feet and nose, conserving precious body heat. It will also sleep close to its pack-mates(her Eve) in a unified effort to stay warm.”

WRATH SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾ (neutral-ish)

5.) GREED: are hedgehogs sensitive to cold?

“Hedgehogs getting cold is a BIG ‘No no’. It slows their metabolism down, leaving them susceptible to infections, dehydration and starvation. It's important to keep your hedgehog in an environment between 72-80°F. Even if it’s not always comfortable for us humans (comfortable for angels? no clue), temperatures lower than 70°F are considered ‘cold’ for hedgehogs and can result in a hibernation attempt, which can be fatal.”

Maybe that’s why Lawless always wears that scarf? Since hedgehogs are severely thermally sensitive then it would make sense…

(Crantz, Gil… please stop the angel from getting any ideas)

GREED SENSITIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

6.) GLUTTONY: are pigs sensitive to cold?

In this case I will refer mostly to Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs because as far as I know, we haven’t actually seen Ildio’s pig form yet - one of the only depictions is Lawless’ stage depictions of the 7 vampire siblings in ep6… and based on his stage depiction of Ildio’s pig form, Viatnamese Vietnamese Miniature Potbellied Pigs seem like they’d be the common type of pig that seems to fit that shape/size.

“The ideal temperature range for a potbelly pig is 65-88°F. Pigs in winter do not need any type of supplemental heat down to at least -20°F. Most potbelly pigs require more feed to maintain heat production and body condition; meaning that housing aside, the more feed/calorie intake, the easier it can be for pigs to regulate their body heat.”

However, seeing as Ildio is an ageless vampire with the mother-effing holy grail of metabolisms, we don’t know if his MASSIVE calorie intake, that he doesn’t really gain much/any weight from, will actually help him in cold weather.

GLUTTONY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾❔(neutral/unknown where they stand exactly)

7.) LUST: are butterflies sensitive to cold?

Snow Lily’s butterfly appearance is probably one of the most exaggerated of the 8 servamp animal forms. That gorgeous shade of pink and black aside, I couldn’t find any real buttwrfly species with that wing pattern or wings shaped like that. So color and wing pattern aside, I’d say the closest real-world butterfly to Snow Lily would be a variation of Swallowtail Butterfly.

Butterflies are cold-blooded critters, however, generally speaking butterflies won't fly when temperatures are less than 55-60°F.

LUST SENSATIVE TO COLD? ✅ (yes)

8.) MELANCHOLY: are foxes sensitive to cold?

Even though Tsubaki’s two tails seem to be a play of of the legends of Nine Tail Fox, generally speaking based off his other details being black fox with white on the end of his tail(s), he is most likely a Silver Fox; which is a type of Red Fox.

The upper critical temperature of the red fox is probably between 86-89°F. An official temperature range of what is too cold for red foxes is more or less unknown or unofficial at best. The arctic fox is said to be able to tolerate temperatures as low as -72°F but red foxes haven’t occupied the tundra in the past partly because it was too cold; with their longer ears and limbs, they lose heat faster than their arctic cousins. So we know the average red fox can tolerate and survive cold temperatures, but most likely not temperatures like their arctic counterparts live in.

MELANCHOLY SENSATIVE TO COLD? ♾❔❌ (neutral/unknown where they stand exactly/least affected of the bunch)

and after ALL OF THAT…

the most interesting thing is–

when I first got into SERVAMP, I remember being curious where the concept of ‘the different sins transforming into animal forms’ came from. After a little research, I found that there is a history to it! A very detailed account of the origins and representations of them within history. And a small portion discusses the animal depictions of the original 7 deadly sins⬇️

“An allegorical image depicting the human heart subject to the seven deadly sins, each represented by an animal (clockwise: Toad = Avarice [greed]; Snake = Envy; Lion = Wrath; Snail = Sloth; Pig = Gluttony; Goat = Lust why? I have no idea; Peacock = Pride).”

So Jeje and Ildio’s animal forms are the only ones true to the original depictions of their associated sins.

Pride as a peacock does make sense… but I can understand adding the bat into the mix because - vampires.

I get why they’d change Kuro to a cat instead of a snail because I can’t see a snail being threatening at all unless it’s either severely poisonous or Gary… like, supernatural vampire powers or not, Kuro as a snail wouldn’t be very badass.

Why the ever living f*ck would a goat reprint lust? Originally I was going with the possibility that goat could be related to ram, ram represents Aries, Aries is one of the most lustful zodiac personalities… but no, apparently the goat represents the Devil, lust, lubricity and the damned… so that’s fun - I prefer the butterfly thank you very much.

Apparently frogs symbolize greed because it is a greedy creature in desiring to live in both worlds- on the land & in the water… okay I guess?

& lastly even though the Lion role is also occupied by Kuro within the series, I can understand Wrath not maintaining the original Lion role swing as Wrath is female and they probably wanted a male to hold the depiction of Lion so that the could use the lion’s mane, again, to add to the badass factor… regardless I don’t think Wrath as a lioness would have played out the same way… is it sexist when referring to animals? Whatever - that’s a question for another day.

If you’re interested, the full article can be found here

I am so sorry this random rant turned out WAAAAAAAY longer than I originally intended… I always love your analysis and theory posts so I hope you enjoy :)

YOOO ANON, THAT’S AWESOME! I’ll definitely check that article out!

In return, have this!

We know what piggy ‘dio looks like now! :D

Hopefully this will make your research a little easier?

[lesbiancervidologist]

got any fun cervid facts?

many.

cervids are classified into two catagories; old world and new world! Cervidae are old world deer or alternatively plesiometacarpal deer! They are mostly found in Eurasia, but Elk are also included and we have those in North America! Capreolinae are new world deer or alternatively telemetacarpal deer! These are the ones most familar to most people, such as reindeer, moose, mule deer, and white tailed deer! Deer are seperated this way due to differences in their leg structure!!! See diagram below:)

Water deer (see above) are special and dont fit into either catagory! They are part of their own family, hydropotes! They are the only deer species to lack antlers, and instead have tusks! These serve the same function as antlers though, only males have them and theyre only used for fighting and finding mates!

antlers and horns are entirely different things! Antlers regrow once a year, are only found on males (except reindeer, who all have antlers), are attached to the skull, are made of bone, and covered by velvet which eventually falls off! Horns are found in animals of either sex, last a lifetime, are connected to the skull by tissue, and are made of keratin (fingernail stuff!!)

Removal of velvet is incredibly bloody but causes no pain to the deer and is essentially like a snake shedding its skin! Velvet supplies nutrients to growing antlers, and is full of blood vessels, when the antlers are done growing it dies and its scraped off! Its an incredibly messy ordeal but causes no pain to deer :]!

Moose antlers can weigh up to 80lbs together and have a total span of 6 feet! But typical deer antlers weigh 3-9lbs

Deer antlers will always be symmetrical unless the velvet or pedicle (what holds the antlers) is damaged!

Deer can be aged by studying their teeth and how much wear there is to them! (My ag teacher taught me ab this its very cool:))

Elk are also called wapiti! The word comes from the word waapiti (2 a's) a Shawnee word that means white rump! Elk commonly go by both, but it can be a bit confusing as europeans refer to moose as elk!

Like videos of weird sounds in the woods? Thats probably an elk bugle! Bull elks bugle to alert other bulls of their presence during the rut! But all elks can bugle and at any time of year!

white tailed deer and mule deer can be distinguished by their ears and tails! Mule deer have much larger ears and more mule like tails! They're thin and longer with black tips, while white tailed deer have that diamond shaped tail with a white underside!

[doberbutts]

Oh yeah so Nidhogg here is an Amazon which aren't as big as Emeralds but also aren't as expensive (unless you get one of the fancy morphs but more on that later). He was gifted to me, he's a young adult WC (LTC) and I call him Mr Angry but he's really not that bad. He did come to me hook trained and already switched to f/t mice for prey.

I had a CBB Amazon some years ago named Hydra who died from Bad Mouse back when a bunch of people were having boas die from Bad Mouse, and he was one of my favorite snakes so it really tore me up to lose him. I've been wanting another Amazon since but life has been keeping me from pulling the trigger until this guy was surprise shipped to me. Hydra I also called an angry noodle but again wasn't that bad, he took to hook training very easily and was a fantastic eater. Really the maintenance on these guys is a breeze once you have a system in place. They're only intermediates because they're bitey and mostly display animals tbh.

Both Nidhogg and Hydra share many traits despite one being WC and the other being CBB. They're incredibly defensive snakes and will not shy away from snapping at you or actually biting in defense. Nidhogg was striking the glass when he first arrived but settles down after a couple weeks. Hydra was hand tame from the start (got him at a year old) but he was from a line known to be very tame for ATBs. They have a lot of rules to follow if you want to minimize bites- hook training is just plain intelligent, if you want to push hand taming then accepting that you WILL get bit eventually trying this is going to need to happen. I have not yet touched Nidhogg with my hands and I have had him for a few months now. Hydra I needed to hook to get him out but then could hold him with my hands briefly once he was out. No tail touching, no sudden movements around the face, absolutely zero trust at night or near potential prey items, and if they're wound around a perch expect them to be incredibly cranky when removing them.

Nidhogg honestly I turn his light on in the morning, I mist every other day, I give him fresh water and remove his poop, and I feed him every week. That's it. Super easy to maintain. Just watch out for sharp kisses, they have a tendancy to defend their cage and say hi with their teeth.

I really do like this species and have wanted to breed them for a while, but again life. They're cool little snakes that don't require gigantic enclosures or a lot of work while being pretty and rewarding to see slithering around their branches.