The Ethical Palaeontologist

thank you very much

2010-02-23T15:21:52.675Z

thank you very much

Funny funny funny. I avoid eating fruits and veget...

2010-02-21T22:24:29.454Z

Funny funny funny. I avoid eating fruits and vegetables because I'm suspicious of the way they unnaturally convert carbon dioxide into sugars. It's just... creepy.

Wow! "I never..." - yeah, sure.

2010-02-21T19:21:13.852Z

Wow! "I never..." - yeah, sure.

What, you haven't seen the products that are made ...

2010-02-21T09:01:40.332Z

What, you haven't seen the products that are made from moonbeams and fairy dust?

Funnily enough, a day after I read this I overhear...

2010-02-21T03:26:17.636Z

Funnily enough, a day after I read this I overheard a classmate remark, "Most people don't eat chemicals..." XD

Awesome, just awesome.

2010-02-19T22:29:20.782Z

Awesome, just awesome.

Maybe the poll-writers fear dihydrogen monoxide......

2010-02-19T15:20:51.098Z

Maybe the poll-writers fear dihydrogen monoxide...

Sigh! You have to laugh because otherwise...(you'd...

2010-02-19T07:58:14.902Z

Sigh! You have to laugh because otherwise...(you'd probably need too many of those damn chemicals to mop up the tears)

Clearly, "Don't Know" applied to the person who wr...

2010-02-19T01:18:25.169Z

Clearly, "Don't Know" applied to the person who wrote this question. I swiped this for my science comics blog noting that two products I do use, electricity and cable, are not made of chemicals. But both are hopelessly contaminated; the latter even more so than the former.

Thank you Captain Pedantic...! ;-P

2010-02-18T22:45:05.324Z

Thank you Captain Pedantic...! ;-P

Well, it is possible to "Don't Know," clearly.

2010-02-18T22:43:06.309Z

Well, it is possible to "Don't Know," clearly.

Ooh ooh ooh!!! I have a Mimosa pudica! Her name ...

2010-02-12T13:17:28.945Z

Ooh ooh ooh!!! I have a Mimosa pudica! Her name is Bob and she gets eaten, periodically, by my cat.

"I guess the only people who will get that referen...

2010-02-09T05:55:28.622Z

"I guess the only people who will get that reference will be the ones who watched a lot of Animaniacs as a child..."

Or the ones who missed (boycotted, as a matter of fact) cartoons almost entirely as a child, "discovered" Animaniacs fifteen years later, and got addicted to its wit and charm.

Poor undergrads get younger every year. I look fo...

2010-02-07T16:49:42.917Z

Poor undergrads get younger every year. I look forward to your post-grading edition. Be careful with the teeth-gnashing: they can break.

But they ARE.

2010-02-05T04:19:27.050Z

But they ARE.

I've never heard the story your teacher taught you...

2010-02-02T00:22:19.241Z

I've never heard the story your teacher taught you (I don't think I had to memorize the chart) - but it's been a long time since I've heard that great Tom Lehrer song. Makes me smile. :)

Hey, I used to eat my fingernails, so that's all f...

2010-01-29T20:22:49.782Z

Hey, I used to eat my fingernails, so that's all fine with me. Now rabbits on the other hand - all that eating their poop and stuff? Ew.

She's finally found the moist hide, so I think that's going to help things but I'll keep an eye out.

Funnily enough I don't seem to be very popular when I comment that they're cuter than human babies though...

All lizards and snakes, to my knowledge, stop eati...

2010-01-29T01:41:32.523Z

All lizards and snakes, to my knowledge, stop eating for a few days before they shed. Mine certainly do. And yes, they eat their skin. It's gross, but I guess nutritious?

They're so cute! Hastur will grow out of her yello...

2010-01-24T21:49:21.418Z

They're so cute! Hastur will grow out of her yellow patches. She's just young--as she matures, the black patches will break up and cover her body. Interesting experiment: take a picture of her now, and then every time she sheds. You'll be able to see her colors rearrange themselves over time!

Leopards don't need huge tanks, though. I'll have to take a picture of my settup, but it housed three geckos for many years without any scuffles or problems. It's interesting that Mokele is a climber--none of my geckos have EVER been climbers, so that's pretty awesome.

Thanks for the advice Ewan - they do seem to be se...

2010-01-23T14:42:38.686Z

Thanks for the advice Ewan - they do seem to be settling in and there's a pretty good gradient in the tank from 32°C down to 20°C if they want it. One of them seems intent on proving you (and every other gecko expert) wrong by basking underneath the dayglow lamp!

Patty, those poor geckos!! We're trying to avoid touching their tails, especially as they haven't eaten for us yet so they're probably a bit stressed from the travel home.

Hey Julia, The half of the tank coverage with the...

2010-01-21T04:55:06.979Z

Hey Julia,

The half of the tank coverage with the mat sounds pretty standard, that way they can get away from it if they want to and there is some separation between their skin and the heat generator. I just know heat rocks are bad news. This isn't official advice of course, because I'm not a vet yet, but I wanted to make sure your babies didn't get cooked =). Best of luck with them!

Not sure if you know, but thought I'd warn you abo...

2010-01-20T05:54:03.764Z

Not sure if you know, but thought I'd warn you about how easily Leopard Geckos drop their tails. There is a masters student in the lab next door to mine working on tail regeneration in them and she said all she has to do to get them to drop their tails is just pinch the tail for a few seconds. The new tails actually look kinda neat - with a different texture and color. Have fun with them! : )

It's sad students can't say words like "penis" wit...

2010-01-18T23:44:11.845Z

It's sad students can't say words like "penis" without sniggering. However, the idea of actual doctors and nurses behaving this way has a certain hilarious Monty-Python-esque appeal.

Thanks for that advice Ewan. The only problem is t...

2010-01-18T07:07:40.535Z

Thanks for that advice Ewan. The only problem is that leos are not basking lizards - they're nocturnal in fact! And they rely on ambient and ground temperature. We've been advised that we could put the heat mat on the underside of the glass bottom, and it deliberately wouldn't cover more than half the base of the tank. Hopefully that would be alright instead?

Dear Julia, I'm just in my third year of vet sch...

2010-01-18T01:36:55.315Z

Dear Julia,

I'm just in my third year of vet school and I would like to urge you not to get a heat rock or mat if you can. A lot of herps get bad thermal burns from them. An overhead heat lamp that they can't reach is better and some good basking spots with optimal exposure for them.

Ewan Wolff (previously of MT State- Paleo)