On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:21:40 +0000 (UTC), enigma
wrote:

Bob wrote in
:

Nice to know that people are concerned for the animals. While I
appreciate that advice, I have to wonder how this got off track.
Let me emphasize: I do have licensing, I've been doing this for
years, and any animal in my care gets the best veterinary care
available, etc. I do have a background in microbiology, so I
know about rabies and other zoonotics. And 'homesick' was a
convenient term...animals do get stressed when in foreign
environments. I hope that clarifies things.

somewhat. but if you use proper terms you don't sound so much like
a bleeding heart animal nutter... and are more likely to get better
information.

If you could properly define "Bleeding heart animal nutter", I would
be more likely to know if I am one. Seriously, I don't know what
people mean by that. Perhaps you have to be a bit eccentric to go out
of your way to help animals and less fortunate people, etc. It's
definitely expensive, if that's the bottom line.

since you understand microbiology & zoonotics, you should
understand why keeping your "patients" on grass is a less than
stellar idea.

Mostly for a couple longer term inmates who aren't likely to be
released this summer. Areas won't be used by other animals, and these
guys don't have anything communicable. I could go on, but the
explanations really do seem over the top.

I'll just say that it's always a tradeoff-- no one can possibly
provide a perfect environment. Even the critters' original parks are
not a perfect environment. So I weigh the tradeoffs and make the best
decisions I can.

keep the easily cleaned substrate, & decorate the
pens with pots of grasses or non-poisonous plantings that can be
changed out to get sunlight or new plants. pots should be
sterilized between different patients.

That's the current status, though we don't have a lot of potted
plants. They limit floor space. Hence the interest in something they
could walk on, even if it needs to be swapped out periodically.

i keep reptiles from several different areas of the world. one
NEVER mixes species from different areas, & one never moves any
items between the habitats unless it is sterilized first. this
keeps diseases from spreading.

Right. And I don't. All animals undergoing antibiotic treatment or
with any possibility of contageon are isolated. That's not what we're
talking about in this case though.

this works exactly the same with rehab wild animals, because
squirrels from the upper end of Central Park may have immunities to
certain diseases that squirrels from Riverside don't.

I do know about immune system differences between subspecies, but I
believe you're referring to distance of about a mile or so, right?
Which particular immunities are you referring to?

What I don't know is gardening. So again, I appreciate those
who have provided practical advice, and hope this hasn't run too
far off track.

do you have access to your roof? it has a bit more area for growing
than the fire escape landings...

Yeah, that would be nice. Limited access though. That may be a good
longer-term goal.

wheat & rye are fast growing grasses that do passably well in
pots. avoid fescues, as they can have neurotoxins (it's an endemic
fungal infection of many fescues. causes abortions in horses &
camelids. can kill goats & young camelids. may affect other
animals).
i keep pots of pothos going for the tortoises. pothos does ok in
low light situations & is edible (at least for animals). my Bell's
hingeback really decimates his...
lee

That's the kind of info that I was looking for (though I wouldn't have
been considering fescues). I don't deal with reptiles much any more,
but that's also good info for those who do.