I knew this about my dearest EL but not everyone does, so on the offchance that you find yourself with a strange (aren't we all?) Pwebber on your hands, you'll need to know how to properly care for them. Add your instructions below.Confession: I function extremely poorly on lack of sleep.
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How to Care for Your Gravity Defier
Congratulations! You are the proud/unfortunate new owner of a Gravity Defier! Below, you will find helpful information from experts on caring for your G D including behavior, health issues, everyday care, and safety.
Diet
The Gravity Defier subsists on a very special, well-balanced diet and although you may hear tales of never feeding your G D after midnight, it is inadvisable to let your G D go hungry, no matter the hour. Members of her litter have nearly lost eyes, fingers, and other bits from extreme Cranky caused by food deprivation, even when she is not technically starving.
While G D will usually try anything at least once -especially if the people asking her to are people she likes- there are two basic staples to her diet.
img. 1 Honey Bunches of Oats, with Almonds
and
img. 2 Oreos
It is well established that the G D is a lazy, sweet-toothed creature and will often resort to eater the former for all three meals . However, she will also attempt to do the same with the latter, so one must be especially careful with introducing Oreos to her habitat. This is especially true during moments of emotional upheaval, which is all the freaking time. But more on that later.
Exercise
Because the G D likes to eat and laze about, it is easy for her to fall into unhealthy routines, making it of the utmost importance that she be regularly exercised.
img. 3 Walking a G D
At a minimum, it is advised that she be walked 30 minutes nightly -the G D can be walked during the day but is largely too stubborn to allow it- as well as no less than two hours while at the building with books. Any less than that and her sense of freedom starts being challenged and this makes for a grumpy G D.
Although one might think, thanks to the G D's flighty nature, that she is likely to run away if given any freedom, it is important to let her think she is not always tied to a leash. Give her a bike to use no less than three times a week but no more than five.
While it's never been seen by anyone outside of her immediate litter, the G D loves to dance, be it in a studio setting, a bar, in the front yard, or in the privacy of her cage. If you should ever happen upon a G D dancing, it is best to either join in -she especially loves the pretending to catch a fish dance but the sprinkler and shopping cart are notably appreciated as well- or, at the very least, not tease or otherwise draw too much negative attention. If she feels negativity, she will hide in her cage for an indeterminate length of time.
General Well Being
Done all this and still your G D is unhappy? Have no fear, there are still a few optional treatments.
Ask your G D: Have you gotten any sun today?
img. 4 Fire-y ball in the sky
Most of her race need the vitamins received from the sun's rays but it is especially important that the G D gets at least five minutes of sun and warmth, with the assumption that time in the sun will also net her some fresh air. She can survive without seeing the sun but will generally start showing symptoms of fatigue and depression after two or three days without it.
Equally important to the G D is water, especially in but not limited to the form of a shower.
img. 5 Wet stuff
Pay careful attention here; while it is perfectly normal for the majority of the population to shower in the morning, the G D functions best with night showers. It gives her the illusion of cleanliness at night, whereas her counterparts go to bed with all the sweat and various dirtiness they accumulated throughout the day. This also allows her to roll out of bed and throw her outer skin on at the very last minute, thus making her believe she's getting more sleep than she actually is.
As with the sun, she has been known to skip these but in the rare events it goes past a day or two, she begins to exhibit signs of depression.
Last but most definitely no least, it is important you give your G D alone time.
The amount needed depends on many variables that include:
*amount of hours slept in recent past
*amount of hours near other people, especially talkative, loud, or high numbers of people
*amount of alone time in recent past
*amount of time spent with or near people she actually seeks out
*etc.
To be on the safe side, it is best to give her no less than one hour of complete alone time. If she comes to you but does not speak, it means she wants to share the quiet and that it will not disturb her alone time for you to be there. Sometimes it is preferable for her to share the alone time and it is a mark of true comfort if she is able to do this.
Manic or continued speaking (lasting longer than short bursts of 1-3 minutes here and there) are usually signs that she is uncomfortable and this will increase the amount of alone time she later needs to reset herself.
This is not to say the G D does not like people or company/attention; she does, she just needs a certain amount of structure or limitations placed on it or she will begin to feel overwhelmed. At any given time, she will need the attention of 1-6 close friends but will unevenly divide the responsibilities among them, with one to two people getting the worst of it.
The G D is not usually affected much by lack of sleep unless it coincides with a loss of alone time. In events where she gets plenty of sleep and no alone time, she may as well have gotten no sleep because she will be on edge and anxious until she receives alone time.
As always, this is an incomplete guide but it does provide the basics of caring for your G D.
