u/GloveAlternative8523

Decided the wooden desk wasn't quite enough for everything Lord Beef needed. Costco had this on a flash sale and grabbed it! Took the better portion of an afternoon to build and then move everything over. However it's already been worth it!! My partner was essential in getting the task done. I was so nervous moving his full enclosure having seen horror stories with terrariums and fish tanks.

It's more stable, has a larger surface area, and plenty of room to organize all his supplies. It's also laminated making it much more spill friendly. Reorganized all the cords and mister lines. Swapped out the 100w heat bulb for a 65w one for the summer. I'm keeping an eye on the environmental monitor over the next week and will be fine tuning the thresholds and buffers to dial it in again. It's a repurposed AC Infinity grow tent controller with WiFi connectivity meaning it can monitor from anywhere.

Pulled out the Pothos as it didn't quite match the aesthetic goal of the tank. Replaced it with two spider plants (his favorite plant) and yoinked the darker spider plant-esque plants I trialled. I can't remember the name of them but didn't end up liking the look.

In churning the soil I was beyond excited to find dozens of dwarf white isopods thriving in the soil!! So many springtails as well!! It's the most rewarding thing to see your efforts into creating a healthy micro ecosystem bearing fruits. The plants are happy, the bugs are happy, the soil is healthy, but most importantly Beef is thriving! He was really showing off all his green shades.

Dug up this properly dapper sir today for a general wellness check. It had been a little bit since he had a weigh in and a good looking over. I always check him out when I can but do try to leave him be most of the time.

Despite rarely ever handling him he's very good at letting himself be picked up! With the additional dirt he weighed in at 113.7 grams! Starting to think this may be a good target healthy weight given his overall body size. So I'm going to be debating modifying his feeding schedule. It's currently three time a week, typically 3-5 nightcrawlers and 2-3 dubia roaches depending on the number of worms he's taken. He still kind of begrudgingly consumes them. And the dubias hold the nutrient and calcium powder waayy better.

Gave the soil a good churning, added some springtails, watered the plants and shuffled the leaf litter to switch the scenery up. He spent about 20 minutes hopping around after looking for a new burrow. Surprise of all surprises, he settled by the spider plant!

Hard to think it's only been three short months since adopting Kaya aka Toothless, Skiddy, Princess, and so many more already. She's grown so much and really floofed out!

Adopted from a local shelter, she's an ex-barn cat. Had one litter but two of the four didn't make it and the prior owner brought her to the shelter as she needed care afterwards. We saw her picture on their website and after four months of searching the decision was made!

Noted to prefer no other cats and a potential biter we were prepared. When I say I've never had a cat settle in that fast, I mean it was instant. No low down seeking out a hiding spot, not timid at all, simply started exploring the whole house and prancing around finding the toys we scattered earlier. And to this day, no bites! We're convinced the shelter having other cats simply stressed her out.

Here's a collection of pictures I've taken going from newest to oldest.