about

My name is Laura and I'm 28 years old. I live in Illinois and work as a licensed veterinary technician. I am a runner, bookworm and obviously, an animal lover.


I've been on this site since '05. I take hiatuses, but I'm never gone for good. I enjoy giving advice and I've made such lovely friends on this site that I couldn't imagine giving it up!

chat it up yo.


ps. here's my bestestestest friend.
I love him. You will too :)

advice

hi so i bought a red eared slider turtle from petsmart yesterday. He is really shy, and i don't know how to get him to be a little more active. Can someone give me some ideas?

My brother has 3 red eared sliders :)


He puts rocks in their tank for them to climb on. He put all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and I guess that helped to liven them up a bit.


Food does help, too. haha :)


-Laura (17-f)

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Where are some websites/things that I could do to STOP all dog fighting?

PETA has some great stuff:

http://www.peta2.com/takecharge/t_factsheet_dogfights.asp


-Laura (16-f)

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well first of all im a guy and i wanna ask this one girl thats my friend out on a date but i kinda dont want to because, what if something goes wrong and our friendship ends so what should i do?

Life is WAY too short to not take chances and risks once in a while. Why sit around wondering what could've been, what would've been and what should've been, when you can answer all of those questions and then some by being honest and telling this girl how you really feel about her?


Just go for it. What's the worst that can happen? She says no. If she does, just let her know it's ok and that you just thought maybe it would be cool to try and be more than friends. Don't make it awkward, just act normal and cool about it.


-Laura. (16-f)

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My cat has scabs, or really weird things on the back of her head.
What is causing this?
How can I help?
Is it hurting her?

None of us here are veterinarians. Your best bet is to go see your vet. They are professionals and can help you solve this problem.


-Laura. (16-f)

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I'm looking to get a small(ish), inexpensive pet. Preferably one that's not too much to maintain, and also won't be too smelly.
Obviously I know if the cage or whatnot is cleanred properly that shouldn't be too much of an issue, but you know what I mean.
I live in an apartment (well, private house), so noise is also a factor.


Also, if you suggest a fish, maybe suggest a certain kind instead of just "get a fish". Like name or what color it is and what not. And also maybe let me know the price range and what they eat.


Thanks! =)

I would suggest a fish, too. Only, I suggest a Betta Fish. I've had a few in my day, and they're really easy to take care of. Not to mention they're pretty =]


Here are a few websties to help you out:
http://www.bettafish.com/
http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Betta.htm
http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-animals/how-to-set-up-a-beta-fish-tank



-Laura. (16-f)

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so when i go to the beach, we always go to these same shops and they always have a bunch of baby turtles you can buy and take home really cheap. they are so precious, and they're smaller than the palm of my hand. my parents always tell me it's dumb because they won't even make the 9/10 hour drive home. but how could they not, if i feed it right and all that stuff? i love turtles and really want to get one this year. anyone had any experience with these tiny ones?

I once brought a tiny turtle home from the beach, and it was only a 2 hour drive.


He was fine the first 3 weeks or so, but then my family and I noticed he began getting weaker and weaker and then he stopped eating. It was terrible. Luckily, I have a pond in my backyard and we were able to let him go. But the moral of the story, is don't take the tiny turtle home with you. 9 to 10 hours is a really long time, and like said below, these turtles are very fragile, and probably won't make it.


Currently, in my house, my brother has 4 turtles, and they're all pretty tiny. They've been fine and living well [since we learned from our mistakes]. We bought 2 of his turtles, and brought 2 home from another pond that's only about 20 minutes away from ours. So, if you do end up getting a turtle, do your research. My brother and father did, and the turtles are doing just fine =]


I'd suggest buying one from someplace much closer to your home. Don't you have a local pet shop? Or one in a town only an hour or so away? If so, that's your best bet.



-Laura. (16-f)

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I have a male Betta fish- I have had him for almost two months now. Lately I've noticed that his top fin is frayed around the edges, and that he has a split fin/ fin rot, his fins seem to be slowly decaying.

I went to the pet store today and picked up antibiotic drops called, "BettaFix," and was wondering how well it works... For anyone who has ever used these drops, does BettaFix work well? If so, about how long until I start noticing improvement?

In addition to the above, if you know of anything else I can do to help my fish, please let me know.

I'm almost positive I used BettaFix once before when my Betta fish looked hurt or something along those lines.

All I remember, is that he improved and he was alive for a while after I used it.

I really hope it works for you.


Here are a few websites with some tips:

http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-a-Betta-Fish

http://ezinearticles.com/?Taking-Care-of-your-Betta-fish&id=699126

http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/betta-fish-care-guide.htm



-Laura. (15-f)

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Okay i just got a betta fish, and i have two questions.

I need a name for HIM. He is all white.. kinda
creamy but all white. And all my friends can come up with is Scotch, i kinda want it to be creative.. no just like MARK or somehting.


And is it true that you can feed betta fish anything really.. like any type of fish food or do they need the special BETTA fish food??

thanks. ill rt.


I've had a few Betta fishes in my life.
My most recent one was named Stinky =D
I don't even know who that came to be his name.
Just think of a word you like or something funny and you've got a name!


I fed them all Beta fish food that I found at the local petshop, too.


-Laura. (15-f)



p.s. now you've made me want to run out and get a new fish =D

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I've seen this cat around my yard. I can garentee that it's not owned because I live in a small neighborhood, and everyone in it has atleast 2 dogs. The cat lives in a trash pile basicly that me and my family has colected over the year, and it's gotten bigger. Well I want to save this cat before winter comes, it will freze to death! My dogs, one I got was from a family that was broken up and the little dog had no where to go and my family took her in and we now call her Keylii. The other one is a lot bigger then Keylii who is a Tea-cup Pamerian, and his names Bear. Well they've bothc ome from familys that has had cats in the house so my dogs will get along with the cat, but how am I going to get it to come to me? I wana feed it, it's been getting into out garbadge and that can't be filling, But ive never had a cat before. I was thinking about louring it out by like canned tuna, I also have babyfood.. if cats eat that and dog food for little dogs if cats eat that too. But i need to think of the good of the animal. I dont wanna call Animal Services so don't give me that option because what if they put it down??? Then there'd be no point in saving it.. but what if it has a deseice and it bites me? I know im up-dated in my shots so Im not worried about that but if it bites me, and my Mom finds out she wont let if around the baby. I wanna save this cat. I know its homeless and letting it live where it is isnt an option. Neither is calling animal services. Im willing to take the chance of being biten out scratched, I just need some help on how to get the cat out of the pile of nothing.. please anyting is helpful and im sorry for giving u resrtictions but im not going to happy knowing its out there, or that its in the hands of other people who might hurt it.
Anything will be helpful tho.

Hey! I'm glad you like my advice and I'm glad to help! =]

You sound like me, wanting to help animals =D


First of all, do not touch the cat. If it lives in garbage, there's a chance it might be rabid, and sick =[


The best ting to do, is call your local animal shelter or vet/animal hospital, and let them check it out. Tell them you don't want the cat put down, just checked for Rabies (sp?). If you tell them not to put it down, then they can't.


If the cat is not sick, then either let an animal shelter keep it and put it up for adoption, or ask around (friends & family) to see if anyone wants a cat, or keep it.


Basically, just call some sort of animal service. Either a Vet or a shelter.

If none of that is available, though it should be, then buy some cat food, put it in a bowl, and leave it out for the cat. Maybe put out a box with an old blanket for it to sleep in, too?
Hope it helps =]

-Laura. (15-f)

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I have a 5-year old Yellow Lab, and I was wondering if I gave her a bath, would it be okay just to use "people" shampoo? We don't have any dog shampoo in the house, & my dad is too cheap to go out and buy any.

Would she be okay?

It wouldn't be good. They make dog shampoo for a reason. People shampoo will irritate their skin. Just wait until you can get dog shampoo rather than rush and use people shampoo =]

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i want another cat and i alrady have 1 and a dog my mom said that i can get it but my dad said no what should i do Ps. my friends cat is having kittens so it would be easy to get one for free

talk to your parents about it.
tell them you'll be responsible
and take good care of it.

show them good examples by
taking good care of your other pets.
even though you should always do that ;]

just talk to them about it
and see what they say

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my dog got run over by a car. my mom is on a business trip. should i tell her before she comes home or should i just stage his death?

if she has a meeting, tell her after that.
if she's just away with a company, tell her now.
don't worry yourself over it.

im so sorry =[

hope it helps

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