(Alt)

Sun and moon my beloved. I miss them

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I know they need a LOT of space, and I was wondering if it had to be indoors or outdoors, or if they were fine with either/both because the family orchard was left to me and it has a pretty big warehouse that was previously used for storage. The orchard is fairly overgrown and has plenty of places to hide. Would they need to stay in one of the areas, or can they free roam between both?

What are their dietary needs? Are there any hygiene things I should know? What are some commands I can teach them that aren't tricks?

I see a lot of people putting a carousel in their Moon’s enclosure, but is there anything maybe a bit more cost-effective that I can get in bulk? I know they need lots of nest stuff for sure, but other things like toys or other positive stimuli are something I'm still confused about.

Are there any handlers you recommend? I know that some handlers are abusive or neglectful with the DCA's they sell and I'd rather not give money to someone who mistreated the model I'm getting.

So sorry for all the writing, I just wanted to be thorough before fully devoting to getting one. 😅

(i love the domesticated DCA au a liiiittle too much, is it alright if I start an in character rp account[if thats okay])

I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions! Of course, I’m not a complete expert, and it’s important to do your own research.

DCAs are usually indoor creatures, since they need to stay away from the elements. I wouldn’t recommend giving free range of the orchard unless you can guarantee there’s no way for them to escape. Moons will fit themselves into tiny gaps, and some have even been seen having enough forethought to steal keys off of their handlers and use them to open locks. If you still want to let them have outdoor space, I’d recommend a sort of “catio” situation where you have a certain area fenced off for them to explore in their own time. Something enclosed and easily accessible to them. I’ve seen a good setup where there was the main indoor enclosure, and connected to it was a back door, leading into a closed off patio of grass and trees. That way, they can still play outdoors, but run inside if the weather gets bad and minimizing flight risk.

Their dietary needs depend on what model line you get. Some process food similar to carnivorous animals, so they need a balanced diet including meat or they’ll get very upset. Some only eat as a treat, like the 2015 Moondrop models that were sold alongside the Moondrop candies. Those don’t need to anything, but enjoy eating Moondrops since their whole gimmick is eating the plain candy and spitting it back up. Then, there’s models that don’t eat at all, some not even having mouth opening mechanisms. So, it depends!

A carousel to a Moon is a hamster wheel to a hamster. You don’t need one in their enclosure, but it’s classic and provides a good source of entertainment. They are very expensive, though, so good alternatives include climbing webs, rock walls, chase toys like laser pointers and RC cars, etc. Some models like to chase after fast-moving prey, and others rather climb up onto a tire swing and take a nap on it for six hours. Stuffed animals tend to be good overall, just be sure to learn how to do basic sewing repairs. You have no idea how attached Moons can get to their stuffed toys until it’s three in the morning and you’re trying to reattach an arm to a teddy bear while your Moon wails in the background.

As for handlers, anything except Fazco and its associates. They advertise misinformation about DCAs, keep their Suns and Moons in the same enclosure, hide evidence of abuse, and generally just neglect their health. Try a local shelter instead.

Hi!

I was recommended by a friend to talk to you about something that's going on with my Moon DCA

So, I know that Moons make certain sounds for either warning or because they're nervous [like "giggling", screeches at times, and some other things]

But uhm... What if my Moon squeaks?

It started two days ago so it hasn't been happening for too long but... I can't really find anything about a moon fucking squeaking

I tried seeing if it was from their mimicking but... They haven't been exposed to squeaking so yk

I don't know if I need to get him checked out because of this but please do tell me if I should!

Anyways, that's really it. Thank you for responding if you do!

(Warning for a loud squeaky sound obviously)

If it sounds like this, then you should take your Moon to a technician. This is the sound of voice box damage. Either your Moon got hurt, or it needs its voice box reset. It’s not fatal at all, but it can be really uncomfortable for a Moon’s sensitive hearing.

Now, if it sounds like this, then congratulations! Your moon is one of the models from 2017. It’s pretty uncommon nowadays, so that’s cool! Those models are specifically meant to be a part of a Moon “family”, with two ‘adults’ and a ‘child’ that co-existed in the same enclosure.

It would start out as one solitary Moon that would act like a regular Moon in all respects. Then, after about a year, it starts making that god-awful squeaking noise, once about every thirty minutes. The squeaking was meant to be an incentive for a parent to go out and buy another Moon (so it stops being annoying), and then eventually, after a couple months of blissful silence, you have two squeaking moons who want you to buy a little mini baby moon for it to “take care of”. They fell out of style very quickly, especially since they were really fucking annoying after a while. There were issues with the mini moons breaking down really easily, and then you’d have to keep having to buy the pair of moons more and more mini moons to keep them from squeaking, and it was just all around not a fun gimmick.

If you don’t want to buy another Moon for it to be with, then I’d recommend going to a tech and asking for its squeaker to be removed. It’s not harmful in any way, and usually it’s done alongside other things like repainting and sanding them before adoption. I’m surprised you found one with an intact squeaker!