Leopard Geckos

Last September, I got a new pet Leopard Gecko named Sahara. In this post, you'll find some fun facts and tips on how to take care of these adorable lizards.
Note: The first half of this post is for those who just want quick info on leopard geckos and then continue on with their life. The second half is for all of you who are bored (stuck at home, in this situation) and have lots of time to sit back, relax, and read about leopard geckos.

Basics about leopard geckos

• Cold-blooded
• Cannot climb on smooth surfaces, unlike common house geckos (cicak)
• High falls (any falls around 7 cm longer than the length of head to tail of your gecko) can be fatal
• Normally are orangish-yellowish or white in colour
• Normal diet: crickets     Treats/snack: Super worms
• Nocturnal

Environment

Needs:

1. cool and dry area
2. moist hide (a place for Leo to moisten up. Check moist hide everyday and spray with water when dry. Moist hide must have moss, or wet paper towel as an alternative)
3. warm and dry area (for sunbathing)
4. shady area (for sleeping in. Make sure it is shady during the whole day)
5. newspaper floor cover
6. water bowl (drinking water)

Can add:

1. Play area and hideouts
2. food bowl (for live foods)
3. Decorative stones or sea shells (make sure they're not not too small so that Leo doesn't eat them)
4. Vitamin powder bowl (place in some powder for leopard geckos that you can find online and Leo will take what he needs)

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Hello! Planning on getting a pet Leopard gecko? Already got one? Well, this is the place!

Basic facts you need to know

Leopard geckos are cold-blooded, so they need a warm and cool place to stay so that they do not get too cold or hot. No, when I say cold blooded I don't mean they're mean. They are actually very cute, cuddly, and famous for their adorable smiles. Don't believe me? Take a look:

 credit: Google

Now what do you think? Anyways, as I was saying, they need a warm and cool spot to stay in so they don't freeze to death or become roasted lizards. They also need a moist hide, which is basically a beach for Mr Leo. It is where he chills and let all his worries leave him. Moist hides should be sprayed with water every time it starts drying up. You also need to give it a water bowl for drinking from and bathing in. Leopard geckos are also nocturnal, so they are active during the night. So if you are hand-feeding your gecko, feed him around an hour or so after sunset, or at 7:30 pm. They normally eat crickets, and as a little treat you can give them Super worms, aka king worms. Also, when you play with Leo, you should take care not to drop him. Any height about 7cm longer than their own length head to tail, could be fatal to it.  Also, don't expect him to be able to climb on smooth surfaces like the typical house gecko. He can't do that, because he doesn't have the same grippy-feet as they do. He should be okay with climbing on slightly inclined and rough surfaces like rocks.

Environment

Now is a bit more detailed description of what your gecko needs in his tank/cage to be one happy gecko.

  Leo needs a tanks to stay in, a newspaper flooring (not shredded), a moist hide, a water bowl, cool and dry area, warm and dry area, a shady area, and you can add some play areas or hideouts.

Moist Hide

The moist hide should be a kind of room filled with a moist substance like moss or even wet paper towel as an alternative if you don't have moss yet. Check the moist hide everyday and whenever it starts feeling dry, spray it with tap or drinking water. Make sure the moist hide is shady, because Leo doesn't like it too bright. If you want to make a quick moist hide, just find an empty plastic bottle or container that fits your gecko. Make a hole on the side, big enough for Leo to fit through. Then fill it with the moss or paper towel until right below the hole. Cover the top with something like black card to block the light.

Shady spot (for sleeping)

It is strongly recommended to give you Leopard Gecko a nice, shady, cool place to sleep in. My gecko, Sahara, loves the 'dome' I gave her, that belonged to my turtle (my turtle didn't like it). She sleeps in it everyday and seems to really enjoy it there. It is where she feels safe, and it stays shady even on a cloudless day. So that's basically a nice, cool bedroom for her.

Water bowl

Leo will need to drink, so get a nice little bowl or container and fill it with drinking water. Yes, the same water you would drink. She also uses that water to take a nice dip and bathe there. Make sure the container doesn't easily tip over, because Leo's cage should stay dry. Replace the water if it gets dirty and make sure it is quite full.

Flooring

For the flooring, I usually use newspaper, because if Sahara does a little... 💩💩💩, then it's easy to clean up. I just throw away the dirty newspaper and replace it with a new one. Once in a while, though, some of the waste will leak to the bottom of the tank. If that happens, I would wash the tank with non-toxic soap and water. Or if I'm in a rush, I would take a wet paper towel and wipe it clean.

Playhouse (optional)

If you want your gecko to be a happy one, give it lots of places to hide and play. This, however, is not necessary. If you are putting a playground there, make sure there aren't spots which Leo can climb that are too high. There should be some darks spaces it the playhouse to serve as a hideout.

That's pretty much all the basics to your gecko's happy home, so enjoy!

Baby leopard gecko
credit: Lucario 360

Hello, Lilo!

  Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, so I will write this post about Lilo, my first dog.

  You might have heard of Mimo from my previous posts, but just to be clear, she is not my dog. Mimo is a Pomapoo (Pom pom+Poodle), currently 5 years old. She is my auntie's dog. Lilo, on the other hand, is (probably) a Shih Tzu, and is about 1 and 1/2 to 2 years old. Why so uncertain with her breed and age? Because we found her on our street in the neighbourhood. Here's the story of how we found her.

  We were on the way home from a late lunch, when in front of our house we spotted a grey, shabby-looking dog. It camouflaged really well with the dry grass. She looked so thirsty and hungry, so we decided to let her stay at our house for the time being. She lapped her water lightning fast and gobbled down a handful of dog food in 30 seconds. She looked so happy. We called Mimo's groomers to come over to wash the new dog and to cut her hair, because her hair was all tangled up in bunches. From the colour of her fur, we concluded that she fell into the gutter, because we also found her on the edge of one. Finally the groomers came, and it took a whole 2 hours to get her clean! But then after that we dressed her up in a cute polkadot dress, and she looked just adorable. It seemed like Mimo was getting jealous, though. This new stinky dog drew more attention than her!

Lilo when we found her.

Showering...

All dressed up!

  We played with the dog all day. At night, we took her for a walk. We also asked around to see if someone lost a dog. But even until now, nobody claimed her. We still didn't know what to name her, but we decided to make it sound similar to Mimo. Since my grandma kept saying that she looked like an alien, I thought about Stitch, the alien from Lilo and Stitch. But that didn't rhyme with Mimo! So.... if not Stitch... then Lilo it is! We took Lilo to the vet, and the vet identified that a. Lilo was a female,  b. She was about 1 or 2 years old, and c. She was a mix of Shih Tzu and something else. So if you live in Jakarta, and you lost a 1-2 year-old Shih Tzu mix, please let me know in the comments section.  

Want to see more of Lilo and Mimo? 

Check out a_cup_of_milo on Instagram! 

Physalia Physalis

The Portuguese Man O’ War is a weird, jellyfish-shaped creature, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. In Australia, it is also known as the Australian blue bottle. P.S. A lot of stuff are named ex. 'blue bottle fly’. IT IS A SIGN TO NOT WASTE PLASTIC BOTTLES!!! It is blueish-purpleish-pinkish in colour, and looks like a - hmm…. Let’s see… drumrollll…. a blob. A blue blob. Or a jellyfish, I guess. But do not be fooled. That blob IS NOT FRIENDLY. Just one gentle touch can send you to the hospital. Don’t do one of those challenges where you take a video of holding a Portuguese Man O’ War and posting it on YouTube or something! I can’t promise that you will get any likes or viewers, but I can promise you this: you’ll get pain, poison, and an ambulance to the hospital. Although it is rare, its venom can even kill people. Again, RARE. (but possible. Don’t risk it!) Oh and remember when I said that it looks like a jellyfish? Well it is not one. While jellyfish are single animals, the Portuguese Man o’ war (now I will call it the PMOW) is many super tiny microscopic beings that stick to each other and make one animal. They are quite similar to corals. My summary? When you see something that looks like a blue\pink\purple jellyfish, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!! (or for your hospital fee.)

Note: Pictures from Wikipedia

Yellow-Lipped Sea Krait

I was simply and merrily swimming in the sea on our trip to Ora Beach, that is, until my mom said, "Ki, there's a snake in the water!"  "AAAAHHHHH!!!!" I shrieked. "I'm getting out of here!" So I climbed on to the boat. So did my mom a few minutes later. Then I asked her to describe the snake. She said that it was blue with black stripes. Wait a minute..... That was the yellow-lipped sea krait, the most poisonous snake in the world!

My (sadly inaccurate) drawing of a yellow lipped sea krait

 The yellow lipped sea krait is the most venomous snake in the world. Not to worry though, they are really shy, just like the bush snake, and only bite when disturbed.

 Yellow lipped sea kraits live in the waters surrounding Indonesia, Philippines, and in the . southern part of Malaysia. They usually hide under corals.

  The average length of a male is 875 mm, while the female is usually 1,420 mm long.

  The yellow-lipped sea krait's normal diet are small fish and eels. They usually hunt alone.

  Note: Pictures are from Wikipedia.

  

Bush snakes!

Hello! Last year, I was asked a question: 'What is your favourite animal?'
I knew that the category must be snakes, but which snake? So I researched about them. Then, on one of my trips, in Ora Beach, I came across the deadliest snake in the world; the yellow-lipped sea krait. So, that was my favourite snake, until I came across a documentary show on snakes. I was quite interested, so I continued watching. Then one day, I found the perfect snake: the bush snake.
Note: Pictures are from Google and Wikipedia.

The spotted bush snake, or philonthamnus semivariegatus is a non venomous snake and lives in South Africa. It grows 60-70 cm long. Its normal diet is small animals such as birds and lizards. It is usually found in trees and bushes, hence the name bush snake. It is small and can squeeze in tight places, and can even squeeze into your car door! Yup, just like a mouse. I would personally rate a bush snakes danger to humans 2 out of 5 stars, because it can still bite you. It is not recommended as pets, for they easily get shy, anxious and nervous. Here is a summary of the facts I have just mentioned:

•  Eats small animals                        
• Comes from South Africa              
• Lives in trees and bushes              
• Non-venomous snake                    
• Can squeeze in very tight places   
• Not good for a pet                          
• Grows 60-70 cm long                     
• Easily gets anxious                         
• Danger to humans: 2 out of 5 stars

Bedbugs

Scratch... scratch... scratch... In the morning. So itchy! Then when you look at the itchy spot, you see a little pink dot. It is because of a Bedbug.

Bedbugs hide in dark corners during the day ( including your bed, ) and comes out at night to feed on human blood. It injects its victim with saliva that prevents the blood from clotting while it feeds. Afterwards the skin itches terribly. 

After a good meal, a Bedbug can survive up to a YEAR without food, but most eat at least once a week.

Here are a few pictures to show you.

Note: These pictures come from Google and my book.

This is a Bedbug bite

A way to kill Bedbugs is put Clove near your bed. When you go to a hotel, better check for Bedbugs!

I hope this text helps you.😁
Good night, sleep tight, don't let the Bedbugs bite!

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes everywhere! Why?

Probably looking for food or laying eggs in wet places.
They are the most dangerous insect in the WORLD!
Did you expect that? Probably not. This is because females can transmit dangerous diseases like malaria, which kills over 3 million people a year. Mosquitoes  split their lives between land and water. The female mosquitoes lay eggs on the surface of a pond. The eggs hatch, and the wrigglers go. Wrigglers are tiny worm-like larvae. They eat tiny plants and animals. They breath through air tubes at the tips of their tails.

The male mosquitoes eat nectar, while females suck blood, traveling from person to person. That is how people get diseases.

Dead mosquito through microscope

If you see a mosquito in the air, don't kill it. It may be a harmless male.
However, if you see it on you, feel free to give it a hi-five.

Wriggler through microscope

Wriggler through microscope

Wriggler through microscope

Wriggler through microscope

Wriggler's head

Tarantula

I was reading a book and I thought I could share some of the facts with you.

The book I was reading

First, I'll talk about tarantulas.

Thought to be a deadly spider, tarantulas are actually harmless. However, if one of its hairs hook into your skin, it can cause allergic reactions and is very painful, so it is best to not disturb it.
Unfortunately, their bite is really painful. They are one of the LARGEST spiders, growing up to 20 cm long. They may also look scary, but they are shy and don't bite people very often. Their prickly hair falls off when touched, and hooks into skin.

I have seen a tarantula before. It was when I went to Korea. At first, I was scared. But that's when I remembered I don't have to be. So, I just moved on.

 DID YOU KNOW?
Tarantulas can live up to 30 years!
That's cool! That's pretty old for something so small.

Tarantulas live in burrows, waiting for prey to pass by.
They eat insects, small frogs, small lizards, and may even eat BIRDS
Next time you see a tarantula, slowly walk away and don't be afraid! 😄

Tarantula in Korea

Tarantula in Korea

NEXT: Mosquitoes