Few questions ?

OK!!!! Well, I just got all of my stuff that I bought from petco today in the mail, and i set up my tank, its a 10g.... Well my first question was I bought a 24 quart bag of REPTI BARK from petco and i noticed when i put it in the tank that there was really tiny white bugs in it. I saw one on the hide. Is this bad for the snake or anything (no snake in the tank yet) or should i like wash the bark first or something??? Also since repti bark is washable how would you guys clean it? Just pick out the area thats dirty and wash the small dirty bit, or throw it out or what.

Another thing, Im probably getting a 38gal tank this weekend, but I went ahead and bought a 30-40gal zoo med UTH, would this be OK to use on my 10 gallon tank untill i switch over? It takes up about 3/4 of the legnth of the 10 gallon tank. Also, for the UTH and thermometers (i got petco analog ones, im probably gonna get a digital one) I dont want to have them STUCK in my 10 gallon tank if im going to move them to the bigger tank, should i just tape them in there or something since i dont think theyre removable. Same with the UTH.

Also, does anyone know how the heck to use petco cage clips?!?!?!?!?!?! I have no idea how to put them on. I have PETSMART ones that are totally different but I think the petco ones would work better if I knew how to use them.... (theyre in two peices...)

heres what i got today:

ZooMed 30-40 UTH
ZooMed 75w Nocturnal Infared Heat Lamp
PETCO Thermometer & Humidity Gauge Pack
PETCO Thermometer
10gal Screen Top
ZooMed 10" Feeding Tongs
ExoTerra Reptile Cave
Cage Clips x2

--- all this came out to be $70 and some amount of change, with shipping. Buying online saves money for some reason. They have stuff on sale, and then they had a deal if you spend $65 you get 10% off, and free shipping. I took a trip to the local PETCO store to make sure and all the stuff they sell is more expensive there then online. I guess they do it so you spend alot of money? I dont mind, I needed all the stuff anyway. I bought the REPTI bark and plant at the store.

Id like to put another hide in but you might be able to tell in this pic, theres not really enough room. When would it be OK to put my snake into the 38gal tank, since I want to use it for the space in it, but dont want the snake to be stressed.

Heres a pic of the tank right now. (That therm gauge was left over from when this was used as a fish tank) and its kinda hard to see but theres a water dish in there too, which takes up like the other half of the tank) The UTH isnt under it yet either, i havent opened it yet.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...aketank056.jpg

Im thinking this is a deal though, the 38 gal tank comes with a screen top, and two half log hides, a small heat lamp, and a water dish. I wish I would have known about this before I went to petco. :taz:

That UTH is going to be too big for this tank. It shouldn't cover more than a third of the tank. If it's covering 3/4 of the tank there will be no heat gradient. Also you can just tape (aluminum tape works) a uth to the bottom of the tank instead of using the adhesive. If you're going to switch soon you could probably get away with taping it to the bottom of the 10 gal so that it only covers a third of the bottom instead of putting it fully under the tank. As for the analog thermometers.... try to never use tape inside the enclosure and you might as well not even bother anyways because they are pretty much useless. you really should have a digital. They don't cost much more anyways. There also shouldn't really be a need for the heat lamp at all in such a small tank. All that it's gonna do is suck out the humidity.

The clips can be a bit tricky. If they're the flat bendy metal ones then you just have to muscle them so that the little hook slips under the metal on the top of the screen cover

anyone have any input on the bugs?

I'm farily new so I'm not positive on all of your questions, but a 38gal is big for a bp, and waaay too big for a juvenile. Also, you should have 2 identical hides in your tank, both on the warm and cool side. I also heard that ReptiBark isn't really recommended, and those bugs might be mites..

Wow, what a pretty tank... at least from my point of view, LOL! Don't know how snakes view these things.

I also saw that recent sale at Petco online with the free shipping, etc. I like that you can return stuff you bought online at local Petco stores, so just return the 10 gal tank.

My tank came with those round Petco temp and humidity guages already stuck on, and they don't seem to want to come off at all. However, for the same price that they are, there's a much better gadget: Acu-Rite with the long probe that measures both temp and humidity, $12 in WalMart hardware section.

Re. ReptiBark, I haven't noticed any white bugs in mine.

Re. cage clips, I have the Petsmart type, and can't even begin to guess how the Petco ones work!

Re. the UTH, here's a thread about how to remove them: How to remove a UTH.

Oh, and I've learned here not to use a UTH without a thermostat to lower the heat output, otherwise it'll be Baked Snake. Couldn't find what I wanted at either store and so ordered mine via Amazon.

Hope that helps! :)

Also you're gonna need, at the very least, a rheostat (lamp dimmer) to regulate the UTH

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

That UTH is going to be too big for this tank. It shouldn't cover more than a third of the tank. If it's covering 3/4 of the tank there will be no heat gradient. Also you can just tape (aluminum tape works) a uth to the bottom of the tank instead of using the adhesive. If you're going to switch soon you could probably get away with taping it to the bottom of the 10 gal so that it only covers a third of the bottom instead of putting it fully under the tank. As for the analog thermometers.... try to never use tape inside the enclosure and you might as well not even bother anyways because they are pretty much useless. you really should have a digital. They don't cost much more anyways. There also shouldn't really be a need for the heat lamp at all in such a small tank. All that it's gonna do is suck out the humidity.

The clips can be a bit tricky. If they're the flat bendy metal ones then you just have to muscle them so that the little hook slips under the metal on the top of the screen cover

anyone have any input on the bugs?

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ehhh. Well I guess ill try to set it up so the UTH doesnt cover alot. Tape sounds good. I just have the 10 gal set up because I read that large tanks can be bad for young snakes that are still small.
The Petsmart clips that i have are the bendy kind, so far I managed to get 3/4 on I cant get the one in the front to fit lol. The petco ones are alot different. They dont bend at all. and each clip has two peices. I have a pic of one half on the tank if anyone wants me to post it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheBallPython

I'm farily new so I'm not positive on all of your questions, but a 38gal is big for a bp, and waaay too big for a juvenile. Also, you should have 2 identical hides in your tank, both on the warm and cool side. I also heard that ReptiBark isn't really recommended, and those bugs might be mites..

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I know its big for a BP thats why Im getting it so it lasts for ever. Thats why i set up the 10g tank. I have a exoterra hide and i made some other ones but they dont look as nice, or fit with the water bowl in there. Ill be getting the half log hides this weekend too.


I found this about the repti bark bugs, but ive learned that yahoo answers usually doesnt help much at all...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3202746AAFKCWh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patricia

Wow, what a pretty tank... at least from my point of view, LOL! Don't know how snakes view these things.

I also saw that recent sale at Petco online with the free shipping, etc. I like that you can return stuff you bought online at local Petco stores, so just return the 10 gal tank.

My tank came with those round Petco temp and humidity guages already stuck on, and they don't seem to want to come off at all. However, for the same price that they are, there's a much better gadget: Acu-Rite with the long probe that measures both temp and humidity, $12 in WalMart hardware section.

Re. ReptiBark, I haven't noticed any white bugs in mine.

Re. cage clips, I have the Petsmart type, and can't even begin to guess how the Petco ones work!

Re. the UTH, here's a thread about how to remove them: How to remove a UTH.

Oh, and I've learned here not to use a UTH without a thermostat to lower the heat output, otherwise it'll be Baked Snake. Couldn't find what I wanted at either store and so ordered mine via Amazon.

Hope that helps! :)

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HAHA tell me about it, i didnt even plan on having a good looking tank. I was gonna go with cage carpet and the basic set up, then i saw the stuff in the petco store, saw the repti bark for $17 for 24 quarts and said why not... actually i think its because i saw the cage carpet and it was really rough and i didnt like it at all...... :)

I didnt buy the 10g tank, just the lid, I had the tank left over, and still have 2 more that are unused. lol. The onlything I would return would probably be the Therm and humidity guages which add up to like $12 I might keep one though because a digital one cant read both sides of the tank, and humidy can it? Ill check walmart for the accurite, i couldnt find them online.

Same with a rheostat or thermostat i couldnt find any online, but i read about that on here too. BUT i also watched ralph davis's ball python basic cage set up vids on youtube and he says that the zoomed ones get just right and dont over-heat. ???

I went through the same thing with the petsmart bendy clips. Prolly took me an hour to get on because most of the time was spent cursing and yelling lol. But i just looked at a picture of ur petco clips and am not really sure at all how those are supposed to work, but i'll try to look it up for ya

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

I went through the same thing with the petsmart bendy clips. Prolly took me an hour to get on because most of the time was spent cursing and yelling lol. But i just looked at a picture of ur petco clips and am not really sure at all how those are supposed to work, but i'll try to look it up for ya

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Thanks, because i REALLY have no idea what-so-ever lol. Its like two peices, and theres nothing to attach the second peice to. :weirdface

Also, This is the thermometer/hydrometer i was thinking about getting, are they good? Im guessing its better then the petco ones.....

http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/produ...-3761646dt.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

Same with a rheostat or thermostat i couldnt find any online, but i read about that on here too. BUT i also watched ralph davis's ball python basic cage set up vids on youtube and he says that the zoomed ones get just right and dont over-heat. ???

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You can get a lamp dimmer at any hardware store for $10 (probably wal-mart too)
Once the tank is all setup check ur temps with the digital thermometer. be sure to check the temperature of the glass where the uth is taped to and not just the top of the substrate. If it is too high you will need some way to regulate it. Because if your snake desides to burrow under the substrate it could cause bad burns.

AHHH new posts. I can never get everything in one!!

This isnt really related to caging but when feeding, what ever size mouse my snake needs, i kind of want to order stuff from rodentpro because everything is cheaper, but im afraid i wont use all of the food. So could i use like 1 a week, then once it gets bigger do 2 a week. I a thread on here about it but does it really matter if its 2 small ones or 1 big one?

That's a good thermo-Hygrometer to read the ambient temp and the humidty. But you will still need a thermometer with a probe to measure the substrate or UTH directly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

I might keep one though because a digital one cant read both sides of the tank, and humidy can it? BUT i also watched ralph davis's ball python basic cage set up vids on youtube and he says that the zoomed ones get just right and dont over-heat. ???

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That's the beauty of the Acu-Rite: The unit itself reads the humidity and air temp around around it. The probe on a wire is put in the high temp area, giving you that reading too. There are 3 readings on the unit. Alas, it seems like they're doing away with that type with the probe, going wireless, as not every WalMart carries it. I forget which threads have pictures of that particular Acu-Rite model, but if you do a search on "UTH" or "Acu-Rite" you should be able to find it.

Quote:

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I went through the same thing with the petsmart bendy clips. Prolly took me an hour to get on because most of the time was spent cursing and yelling lol.

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That's why I gave up and had my hubby figure them out. Let him do the cussing, LOL! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

AHHH new posts. I can never get everything in one!!

This isnt really related to caging but when feeding, what ever size mouse my snake needs, i kind of want to order stuff from rodentpro because everything is cheaper, but im afraid i wont use all of the food. So could i use like 1 a week, then once it gets bigger do 2 a week. I a thread on here about it but does it really matter if its 2 small ones or 1 big one?

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Feeding two mice is no problem. My little guy just got too big for one mouse of the size i have so i switched him to two no problem. I just feed him the first one, wait till he swallows it completely, and offer the second.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

AHHH new posts. I can never get everything in one!!

This isnt really related to caging but when feeding, what ever size mouse my snake needs, i kind of want to order stuff from rodentpro because everything is cheaper, but im afraid i wont use all of the food. So could i use like 1 a week, then once it gets bigger do 2 a week. I a thread on here about it but does it really matter if its 2 small ones or 1 big one?

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You can do 2 small ones till you use up that size. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

You can get a lamp dimmer at any hardware store for $10 (probably wal-mart too)
Once the tank is all setup check ur temps with the digital thermometer. be sure to check the temperature of the glass where the uth is taped to and not just the top of the substrate. If it is too high you will need some way to regulate it. Because if your snake desides to burrow under the substrate it could cause bad burns.

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Oook. How does the lamp dimmer work? Does the UTH just plug into it, and then it goes into the wall. All the ones ive seen were like built in to the wall, to replace a light switch. Ill probably get the digital therm this friday or saturday, and im suposed to get my snake on sunday!!!! :gj:

I stole my moms lamp timer im going to use it on my heat lamp if i decide to use it. :D

I need to find aluminum duct tape too lol.

When would it be ok to put my snake into the 38gallon tank because i dont want to stress it out. ALSO since i know im going to be DYING to play with my snake the day i get it, how long should I wait to let it settle in???

The UTH plugs into the lamp dimmer then that plugs into the wall. you then just keep tweaking the slider till you get the temps right.

You should really wait a week before you handle him. It's ok to hold him for a minute or two before you put him in the tank for the first time. But once he's in there you need to be patient (believe me i know how hard it is lol)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

That's a good thermo-Hygrometer to read the ambient temp and the humidty. But you will still need a thermometer with a probe to measure the substrate or UTH directly

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Ohhhh. Well if thats the case then ill try to find the acu-rite that patricia is talking about

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patricia

That's the beauty of the Acu-Rite: The unit itself reads the humidity and air temp around around it. The probe on a wire is put in the high temp area, giving you that reading too. There are 3 readings on the unit. Alas, it seems like they're doing away with that type with the probe, going wireless, as not every WalMart carries it. I forget which threads have pictures of that particular Acu-Rite model, but if you do a search on "UTH" or "Acu-Rite" you should be able to find it.

That's why I gave up and had my hubby figure them out. Let him do the cussing, LOL! :D

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Nice! I didnt think they would do that.... nooooo ill have to look at walmart to find it. I must find it.
HAHA the petsmart ones were easy to get on... I just wasnt sure that the top part was suposed to clip UNDER the metal and on top of the screen. At first i just had the top of sitting on the top of the cage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

Feeding two mice is no problem. My little guy just got too big for one mouse of the size i have so i switched him to two no problem. I just feed him the first one, wait till he swallows it completely, and offer the second.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

You can do 2 small ones till you use up that size. :D

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Cool, Thanks. hahaha. One of my moms reasons for not wanting a snake - dead mice in the freezer. We have three freezers though... RodentPro is so much better then driving to petco and spending $8 on a three pack or what ever they want...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

Cool, Thanks. hahaha. One of my moms reasons for not wanting a snake - dead mice in the freezer. We have three freezers though... RodentPro is so much better then driving to petco and spending $8 on a three pack or what ever they want...

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I have about 600 mice/rats in my freezer, right next to the lean cuisines and the Jaegermeister. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fallout32

The UTH plugs into the lamp dimmer then that plugs into the wall. you then just keep tweaking the slider till you get the temps right.

You should really wait a week before you handle him. It's ok to hold him for a minute or two before you put him in the tank for the first time. But once he's in there you need to be patient (believe me i know how hard it is lol)

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Ok, so its basically like a lamp timer except for temps not time. lol.
A week!!! haha i guess thats ok. Since I already set up my tank, im gonna see how long i can go with out having my mom find out that theres actually a snake in there :rofl: hehehehe.

- Shes going on a camping trip for a few days and comming back the same day I get my snake, but later. And if im not holding it, shell probably just stay in the hide.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

I have about 600 mice/rats in my freezer, right next to the lean cuisines and the Jaegermeister. :D

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hahahahahah. id probably have a 100 pack. only 1 snake... hope they last in the freezer

Does anyone know anything about these bugs in the bark? I dont wanna put my snake in there if theyre bad... :colbert:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

Does anyone know anything about these bugs in the bark? I dont wanna put my snake in there if theyre bad... :colbert:

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just wash it first. then there wont be any bugs. PROBLEM SOLVED!:banana:

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Originally Posted by iloveleucie63

just wash it first. then there wont be any bugs. PROBLEM SOLVED!:banana:

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:colbert:

dont listen to advice from this kid.

now, if someone with experience wants to answer, please do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

:colbert:

dont listen to advice from this kid.

now, if someone with experience wants to answer, please do.

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im sure anyone else who is indeed more experienced than me would still tell you to wash it, or just throw it away ad buy new stuff.:gj:

thats about all you can really do to get rid of the bugs. unless u want to pick them out by hand. lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iloveleucie63

im sure anyone else who is indeed more experienced than me would still tell you to wash it, or just throw it away ad buy new stuff.:gj:

thats about all you can really do to get rid of the bugs. unless u want to pick them out by hand. lol

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Dont give me that pat. You can also bake the bark. Bet you didnt think of that! :pee:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

Dont give me that pat. You can also bake the bark. Bet you didnt think of that! :pee:

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yeah. that only dissenfects it tho. and if u heat it up to much then its gonna burn JASON.

thats just a bigger pain than washing it. just throw it all i a big tub of water and rinse it all off. u dont even have to wash it. just rinse it off to get all the bugs out.

and if they come back i guess u could try poppin it in the oven for a bit. bc theres obviously eggs or somethin that u cant get by just water.

im not that stupid. this bug problem is mostly common sense.

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iloveleucie63

yeah. that only dissenfects it tho. and if u heat it up to much then its gonna burn JASON.

thats just a bigger pain than washing it. just throw it all i a big tub of water and rinse it all off. u dont even have to wash it. just rinse it off to get all the bugs out.

and if they come back i guess u could try poppin it in the oven for a bit. bc theres obviously eggs or somethin that u cant get by just water.

im not that stupid. this bug problem is mostly common sense.

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :banana::banana::banana::banana:

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wow i had no idea that WOOD BURNS!

and it KILLS the bugs not dis infects them... lol

besides, bugs could survive water, they would still be in the BAG, and id have to wait for the bark to dry out.

Chill out with the bananas.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

wow i had no idea that WOOD BURNS!

and it KILLS the bugs not dis infects them... lol

besides, bugs could survive water, they would still be in the BAG, and id have to wait for the bark to dry out.

Chill out with the bananas.

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it disenfects the bark period. thats what i meant. not just the bugs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iloveleucie63

im sure anyone else who is indeed more experienced than me would still tell you to wash it, or just throw it away ad buy new stuff.:gj:

thats about all you can really do to get rid of the bugs. unless u want to pick them out by hand. lol

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ohh and there were no "sexual refrences" no reason to leave me -rep

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Originally Posted by iloveleucie63

ohh and there were no "sexual refrences" no reason to leave me -rep

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you sent me a personal instant message and told me to do dirty things. :colbert:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

you sent me a personal instant message and told me to do dirty things. :colbert:

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gadlrfgaerygawer7

quit bumping this thread. :rage:

Okay...

Behave.

Only warning...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

quit bumping this thread. :rage:

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you still dont have to leave me negative REP on here. this isnt AIM

Hi,

Take it to PM's or off site please.

But please also remember that the site rules apply to the PM system as well.

If you feel anything needs to be brought to the attention of the staff then feel free to contact them.


dr del