LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[ChikaInu]

That's what they call them because the arms aren't all that attached so if you brush up on one, the arm sticks on you.

This plant is in the yard, it bloomed something crazy this year! About 1 1/2 meters tall...(This was late spring before our monsoon season, thankfully its been raining and the grass is green and thick!)

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Another Cholla in back....
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Amazing!

 

[fluffycrow]

Goodness, never fall into a wall of Opuntia!!!

I got a couple pics!

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I don't know exactly what this is, there are a couple growing in the yard and this is the first year I've ever seen them, this one is about 12 cm tall...
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So pretty!

Not exactly sure what the second one is, maybe Wind might know? He's good with identifying wild species

 

[fluffycrow]

Well, sometimes they are Very obvious about it, to the point they want to show of their fangs so bad they actually fall over. But most of the time I ask them if they are friendly by stroking them gently with a straw or a brush. If they don't bite or turn on the straw it's pretty safe to put my hand in there.
Mostly morio worms or roaches for the big ones and small crickets (stinky!) or chopped mealworms for the babies. Now that I've tried wax worms for the birds I might try them for the spoods as well.

So they're better at communicating than some people? Who would've thought!

Not that I'll ever get a tarantula, but what species would you recommend to new keepers?

 

[fluffycrow]

First, and hopefully last chop of the season! I hate doing chops. Sometimes, it's necessary

In two days they'll gave access to soil again

 

[TwoCrows]

Well, sometimes they are Very obvious about it, to the point they want to show of their fangs so bad they actually fall over. But most of the time I ask them if they are friendly by stroking them gently with a straw or a brush. If they don't bite or turn on the straw it's pretty safe to put my hand in there.
Mostly morio worms or roaches for the big ones and small crickets (stinky!) or chopped mealworms for the babies. Now that I've tried wax worms for the birds I might try them for the spoods as well.

Ive seen them in the wild kind of stand up on their hind legs when threatened? Do yours shoot spikes at you as well? Ive heard these wild ones do this to defend themselves, as in if a cat or dog got too close they shoot spikes in the eyes.

 

[TwoCrows]

First, and hopefully last chop of the season! I hate doing chops. Sometimes, it's necessary

In two days they'll gave access to soil againView attachment 3901535

Murder scene! I've seen articles on line about "chopping", what is the reason behind this? Are you discarding or planting these after they harden off and what happens to the rest of the plant? Lots of questions.....

 

[fluffycrow]

Ive seen them in the wild kind of stand up on their hind legs when threatened? Do yours shoot spikes at you as well? Ive heard these wild ones do this to defend themselves, as in if a cat or dog got too close they shoot spikes in the eyes.

I've heard something about some tarantulas throwing their itchy bum hairs when they get attacked, but wow! Glad we don't have wild tarantulas here, the dogs would suffer!

 

[fluffycrow]

Murder scene! I've seen articles on line about "chopping", what is the reason behind this? Are you discarding or planting these after they harden off and what happens to the rest of the plant? Lots of questions.....

Yup! It looks quite violent, doesn't it! I try my best to do a clean cut, but it doesn't always work out. There are loads of reasons to chop. Some just do it for propagation. I only do it if there's a need.

In this case, the base of this cactus was completely shriveled up, making it unable to absorb water. I've dealt with serious root rot cases, this seems to be the opposite; too little water, too much sun. Basically, reasons adjacent to the ones that caused the demise of my lithops. You can see one of the chopped parts there looks quite shriveled. That's where it started.

As for what I'll do with these pieces, I'll let them callous over for two days, then place them on soil to grow roots, and hopefully grow

 

[TwoCrows]

Yup! It looks quite violent, doesn't it! I try my best to do a clean cut, but it doesn't always work out. There are loads of reasons to chop. Some just do it for propagation. I only do it if there's a need.

In this case, the base of this cactus was completely shriveled up, making it unable to absorb water. I've dealt with serious root rot cases, this seems to be the opposite; too little water, too much sun. Basically, reasons adjacent to the ones that caused the demise of my lithops. You can see one of the chopped parts there looks quite shriveled. That's where it started.

As for what I'll do with these pieces, I'll let them callous over for two days, then place them on soil to grow roots, and hopefully grow

Very interesting!! This is excellent information, I have a small cactus I ordered on line that was a bit shriveled at the bottom when I received him. This was 6 weeks ago and he seems to be getting more shriveled all the time. Hes not rotting so it must a case of having been starved of water. He came with a pal and he's ok. I will have to pull up my big girl shorts and give this a try. I don't know if I can do this!

 

[fluffycrow]

Very interesting!! This is excellent information, I have a small cactus I ordered on line that was a bit shriveled at the bottom when I received him. This was 6 weeks ago and he seems to be getting more shriveled all the time. Hes not rotting so it must a case of having been starved of water. He came with a pal and he's ok. I will have to pull up my big girl shorts and give this a try. I don't know if I can do this!

You've got this!

If you're not sure, you could post a picture to confirm that a chop is indeed needed. If you're trying it, make sure you have a tool that will chop it immediately, instead of having to chop multiple times