u/Mindless-Errors

The key to making piping and sewing it in is a zipper foot. Look for yours before you start sewing. Sometimes your sewing machine will come with one, and sometimes you need to buy one that is appropriate for your machine.

I’m so sorry. Please do what you can to immediately improve the care this tortoise is getting.
1) identify its species. With the limited amount of its body showing, it looks like a Hermann’s or Russian. Either way they get the same care.
2) call every veterinary clinic you can possibly get to and find a veterinarian with substantial with tortoises (not birds, not bearded dragons, not turtles).
3) set up it habitat properly. It looks like you have a flat green floor covering. Tortoises need several inches of substrate so they can bury themselves.
4) they should never be housed in a glass tank.
5) their skin and shell is very dry. Please soak it in 80-85 degree Fahrenheit water for 20 minutes every day. The water should be shallow enough they can easily keep their head and neck out of the water. They may poop in the water. Brown and white poop are both normal. Just toss the water and refill and continue the soak.
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The gold standards for tortoise information are:

For Food: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
NO spinach or fruit. We get pre-washed Baby Lettuce or Red & Green lettuce salad bags and add Mazuri Tortoise Diet LS (low starch), romaine, endive, or radicchio for variety.
https://www.chewy.com/mazuri-tortoise-ls-low-starch-food/dp/124766

Feed them a shell sized pile once a day on a piece of slate. The slate is just rough enough to keep their beak trimmed.
https://www.amazon.com/JIH-Reptile-Basking-Platform-Tortoise/dp/B0947QVTQD/ref=mp\_s\_a\_1\_3

For Care: the Tortoise Forum (I linked the specific page you should start with)
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

“Tom” is the expert on the TortoiseForum.
——
Lighting:
They need two light bulbs: 1) basking, and 2) UVB.
They are like Goldilocks and always looking for the right combination of light and warmth.
So they should have an area under their basking bulb that is 90-95 degrees F and areas farther away from the basking bulb that are 70-80 degrees F. They should not be colder than 70 degrees. These bulbs need to be at different heights above the habitat so don’t get that cool light fixture that holds 2 bulbs at once. Measure temperature at the top of their shell.

You want this UVB bulb. It will last for a year, most stop emitting UVB in 6 months. Without proper UVB Light (which is invisible to humans) your tortoise will not be able to digest food, will have no energy to move, and may get bone deformities.

https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures-kits/arcadia-prot5-uvb-kit-24-with-bulb/

Choose the 12% version.
Buy soon as soon as you see them as these bulbs go out of stock often.

You can also get this bulb from but it doesn’t include the fixture the bulb goes into. You would have to head to a hardware store for that.

https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptisun-100-uvb-t5-ho/dp/257675

Habitat: Their indoor habitat (enclosure) needs to be a minimum of 4 feet by 8 feet. Walls 1.0-1.5 feet are good as you want substrate that is several inches deep so they can burrow. The walls should be high enough that they can’t climb out even if they are on a high spot of substrate.

Habitats can be made of 2 four foot boards and 2 eight foot boards (sides) attached to a 4’x8’ board for the floor/bottom. Or repurpose a bookcase by lying it on its back and removing the shelves. Cheap IKEA bookcases will need a stronger wood board for the floor/bottom. Line with a pond liner or a very thick shower curtain liner.

Substrate can be coconut coir or coconut coir mixed with soil. Soil should not have any fertilizer or additives (do not use potting soil or anything that says “good for growing plants”). Coconut coir should be kept moist so spray with water daily and mix the water in.

Humidity: Tortoises need a lot of humidity to prevent pyramiding, the shell deformity that makes their shells bumpy instead of smooth. Do not house them in a glass tank. Glass confuses them, the tank is not large enough, and tanks do not allow for enough humidity.

An alternative habitat indoor or outdoor is a raised bed with a plastic cover. The cover is good for keeping in humidity.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKF6XBWN

If outdoors, make sure they are protected from predators like hawks and from digging down and out under the habitat walls.

Don’t worry about brumation (hibernation in tortoises). That’s how they try to survive very cold temperatures. Try is the important word here. Not all survive. Keep them at 70+ and they will be fine.

Some tortoises like to be held and some don’t. You’ll just have to learn their personalities.

Above all, tortoises are adrenaline junkies and escape artists. Never ever let your tortoise outside without a leash or something bright on them. I use a long 50-70 foot lightweight rope (leash equivalent) and attach it firmly with medical tape. Medical tape can also be used to attach an apple tag or bright bow.

Ask about Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). It is the other drug that people are often started on. And it is the safest in pregnancy.

Please search Costco in this subreddit. You’ll see that the answer is yes. A whole hearted YES.

The audiologist offered me ReSound (called Jabra at Costco) in levels 5 @ $4200, 7 @ $5400, and 9 @ $6600. The only guidance she gave me in purchasing them was “if I was trying to hear only in quiet places choose level 5, if in noisy places pick level 9.

For any of the brands they sell at Costco, they only sell the top level just with another name ReSound vs Jabra. I got the top level Jabra for $1700.

First you call the Hearing Center to get a free hearing test. Even if you have the audiologist report they will do their own testing. Sometimes it is more comprehensive. After you order and they arrive at the store, you return for a fitting and leave with them. You get 180 days to return them for a full refund. You get free unlimited adjustments, fixes, and supplies. You also get a free replacement (1 per ear) if they get lost or broken.

It’s a good deal.

I’m sorry that I don’t have a good answer as I haven’t changed my dose. My ophthalmologist just makes sure I’m not exceeding the max dose. She also says that the risk is minimal until 7-8 years of taking it. Also I was being seen by ophthalmology every 6 months. The official guidelines changed and now I see her annually.

There is a weight based calculation of what your max dose of Plaquenil should be. My ophthalmologist recalculates every single time I see her.

Yary Livan, one of my instructors is the last still practicing Cambodian Master Ceramicists. The other two masters mentioned in this article are too old to work these days.
https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/yary-livan

Yary has great enlightening stories about being a student in Cambodia. The first years the instructors didn’t teach them. The boys had to bug the older students to teach them skills. The boys were not allowed to move up to new skills until they had perfected the current skills. It was very regimented.

Yary teaches differently because Ceramics it typically an elective class and no one would commit that hard.

World’s End, Massachusetts

Oh yeah. Feel free to get repeat hearing tests at Costco. I think I’m not hearing as well anymore so I scheduled another free hearing test so I can get my hearing aids adjusted again if needed.

The biggest change for me is I don’t say “what????” constantly. I may have waited too long because even with the hearing aids I don’t always pick up every syllable people say. Hubby has the same problem so we’ve promised each other not to get angry when we have to repeat what we just said.

Have the hearing specialist show you the capabilities of the apps for the different hearing aids. Often I have trouble at a restaurant hearing the person I’m sitting next to on my Jabra’s. My friend has Rexton’s and the app allows him to prioritize hearing in one direction.

Also go back for multiple adjustment appointments if you need to. I hated mine originally. The Hearing Specialist then created another program that turned down hearing behind me. For several months I used that extra program until I got used to having hearing aids. Turns out I had been losing my hearing for so long without realizing it that I no longer could stand hearing noise behind me. I had to slowly get used to it again.

Please search Costco in this subreddit. You’ll see that the answer is yes. A whole hearted YES.

The audiologist offered me ReSound (called Jabra at Costco) in levels 5 @ $4200, 7 @ $5400, and 9 @ $6600. The only guidance she gave me in purchasing them was “if I was trying to hear only in quiet places choose level 5, if in noisy places pick level 9.

For any of the brands they sell at Costco, they only sell the top level just with another name ReSound vs Jabra. I got the top level Jabra for $1700.

First you call the Hearing Center to get a free hearing test. Even if you have the audiologist report they will do their own testing. Sometimes it is more comprehensive. After you order and they arrive at the store, you return for a fitting and leave with them. You get 180 days to return them for a full refund. You get free unlimited adjustments, fixes, and supplies. You also get a free replacement (1 per ear) if they get lost or broken.

It’s a good deal.

Yes!! I love Time Travel fics

Glee fandom was crazy.

Remember when Ryan Murphy had to hire security for Chris Colfer. Back then TV show actors didn’t need security. And when crazy fans stalked his boyfriend Will Sherrod and even harassed him at his job. People were so convinced that Chris and Darren were in a relationship and Will should back off.

Then there were the cool groups that appeared from basically no where. The Brazilian Twitter accounts seemed to have gossip and info that no one else had. Other groups crowdsourced to do sky writing over Hollywood for Darren’s birthday, and one of my friends organized a group donation to bid on the original script that included the cut “box scene” in an auction for Brad Falchuk’s favorite charity.

I miss the days of people live-streaming the Glee Tour every night via their phone

Here are things you can’t do any where else.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (https://www.gardnermuseum.org)

Tour Fenway Park (https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark/tours)

Mapparium (https://www.christianscience.com/the-mother-church-in-boston/how-do-you-see-the-world-experience). This is just a 10 minute visit.

Harvard’s collection of Glass Flowers (https://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers)

The Glass Flowers are absolutely mind blowing.

Also check out the Boston Pubic Library and Trinity Church.

Many times I’ve taken the GoBus from Boston to see a Broadway matinee. I arrive before showtime and leave on the 5:00-ish bus. I’m jealous that you are 2 hours away

You can stay anywhere in Boston that is within the “peninsula” around the Boston Common and Back Bay (we just call it Boston). Cambridge and Somerville are also great areas. Just make sure it is near a subway stop.

I would not really recommend the Freepoint Hotel in Cambridge as it is in a weird location.

From our experience, Franciscan’s and McLean are the best. Cambridge has a nice care in their adolescent unit so I wouldn’t turn that down.

Critical advice: the purposes of inpatient are 1) to keep the child safe, and 2) rapidly change or increase their medications. The goal is not to “fix” them. Fixing will take months or years of therapy and finding the right combination of medications.

While you are waiting, speak to the hospital social worker about filing for MassHealth As Secondary to your family insurance. This will cover many therapies that your regular insurance will not cover.

I’m sorry this has happened to all of you. I called it “Stepping through Alice’s Looking Glass” into a world you know nothing about. It will seem isolating but I assure you that you are not alone. NAMI (a national support organization), facebook, Reddit, etc have lots of people you can reach out to.

Absolutely.
The audiologist at the ENT’s office offered me the ReSound (called Jabra at Costco) in levels 5, 7, and 9, at $4,000, $5,000, or $6,000. $4,000 was good is you wanted to hear in quiet places. If I wanted to hear in noisy placed I would need to spend $6,000.
Costco sold me the top level for $1700. And I can just wander over to Costco if my hearing aid is being weird to ask questions.

Our 31st Anniversary is today. We are touring Europe and he is constantly reaching out for my hand to keep me steady on the cobblestone streets.

Being truly loved is amazing.

The miracle of Heated Rivalry is that they cast 24-25 yo men to play ages 17-26.
I spent 6 years watching 25-30 year old men playing 16-18 on Glee.