Roebert - Untitled

do you have any recommended care guides for Japanese ratsnakes? :O your posts for them have definitely put them on my "want" list, but I prefer to research care for any unfamiliar species long before i actually commit to getting one.

Unfortunately, they're not really common pets in a lot of English-speaking countries, and I haven't been able to find a care guide that I like for them. I definitely recommend doing additional research, maybe talking to a breeder if you're looking into buying one, but I can tell you what I do for mine!

I recommend a 4x4x2 minimum enclosure for adults. They love to climb and are super active!

They do best at lower temperatures, and can overheat easily. I give mine a hotspot set to 85 Fahrenheit, and the enclosure can taper off to room temperature at the cool end.

Mid-high humidity is best! I recommend 50-60%.

They do great in plastic tubs when they're babies. A 20 gallon tub for babies and a 40 gallon for juveniles is my go-to. Heat mats are a good heating choice when they're in tubs since they don't need high ambient temperatures.

Lots and lots and lots of climbing branches! They'll use them.

Like most colubrids, they can be quite skittish as babies, but at about 6 months old or so they'll really become more outgoing if you've handled them consistently and patiently.

They're really good eaters! Make sure to stick to a consistent feeding schedule; they WILL beg you for more food and they WILL eat every single day if you let them. Don't let them.

Good luck as you decide if a Japanese ratsnake is right for you! I think they're amazing pets if you want a very active snake that gives you that awesome ratsnake look without as much of the ratsnake attitude. I've never met an adult that wasn't a sweetheart.

Like I said, they're tricky to find info for if you live outside of Japan, but they're not too expensive and there are a few breeders, and I see more and more hatchlings pop up every year! I think they'll hopefully be seeing a rise in popularity, they deserve it!

Finding a colorblind friendly redesign of the rainbow flag has me happy to see a pride flag for once

Evening Dress

Christian Dior Spring 1954

UNT Digital Library

Janelle Monae at Met Gala 2025, in custom Thom Browne

Janelle Monae at the Afterparty

Dress

c. 1880-1885

France

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Sir Terry Pratchett is a master of the written word but he ain’t shit for the way he trained me to accept dumb naming conventions because i got three missed calls on my phone from Scam Likely and I spent like half a day wondering who I knew named Scam. 

You reblogged a post about the negative impacts of harvesting mosses and lichens from the wild which made me wonder about my own relationship with (and use of) wild mosses. I enjoy creating terrariums (for my isopod colonies for example) and tend to harvest wild moss to propagate in these. I dry it out in the sun (and make sure to remove any insects) before cooking it to remove bacteria. I then rehydrate it once I've found a place for it. I take moss from areas that are already thick with it and treat collecting it as I would any other wild plant - making sure I take as little as possible so as to have the smallest impact on the ecosystem. Despite this, I don't think I had realised the frailty of this flora and am now worried that I might have had a much more negative impact than I'd originally believed. Do you have any tips/information on how to harvest moss in a way that causes the minimum amount of impact (such as places to harvest from and techniques to employ while harvesting). If the solution is that doing so is just inherently inexcusable, could you give me tips on how to propagate the moss I already have as efficiently as possible, so that I may have enough for bigger projects (like a bioactive vivarium for my snake)? Thank you very much for your time, - A worried moss enjoyer

I’m so glad you’re thinking about this and what actions you can take! It sounds like you’re being thoughtful and intentional about your harvesting practice and not harvesting for commercial use or profit. I recommend identifying the kinds of moss you’re harvesting and doing research on their growth and vulnerability. It’s also not legal to collect moss in many areas, so be mindful of the law and local cultural practices — it’s important to be respectful to the plants and the people who care for them. You also have to consider the environment they grow in — can you replicate it well? What substrates can you provide?

Try not to take from the same place if you can avoid it — give the moss a chance to recover. Monitoring their growth after harvesting can give you an idea of how much you affect them.

Mosses are diverse and their needs and growing speeds are different. My personal recommendation is to harvest a very small amount (and maybe some of the substrate, to make sure you don’t damage the underlying structures) and attempt to grow it at home. If you can’t support it, I would choose a different moss. I would try to find a moss that you can grow so you can harvest a small amount and let it spread naturally over time.

For propagation, my mosses live with my carnivorous plants so they have high humidity and light. Not all mosses want light though, so really check where they grow.

Thanks so much for writing in and being environmentally conscious! I hope you can keep enjoying moss for many years to come.

I’m entering my Vetinari era. Going to start saying shit like “Capital!” and “Do not let me detain you.” and “A great rolling sea of evil. Shallower in some places, of course, but deeper, oh, so much deeper in others. But people like you put together little rafts of rules and vaguely good intentions and say, this is the opposite, this will triumph in the end.” Gonna start juggling knives.

Dressing Gown

c. 1900

unknown maker

Chicago Historical Society