Like humans, chinchillas need water. Their water should be fresh and changed daily. This is crucial because if this is not followed, bacteria can grow and it would affect the chinchilla's health. It's not a good idea to have them drink from standing water in a bowl. They'll be sure to catch bacteria that way. Also, they may accidentally tip the bowl over and then you have a wet mess. A preferred vehicle for drinking water would be a water bottle. The bottle should be placed on the side of the animal's cage.
If you do use a water bottle, it should be cleaned thoroughly to avoid any germs or bacteria. Clean the entire bottle with hot water and have another one on stand-by. The chinchilla will drink the water more if nothing has been added to it. So, if you want your pet to drink plenty of water, it should stay as it is.
Since a pet chinchilla is special to their owner, it's not surprising that they would want to reward their animal with a treat. However, the owner must know that this can only be done in moderation. Too many of these can cause the animal's sensitive digestive system to go out of whack. Not only will they gain weight, their lifespan would be short-lived.
If you're going to give your chinchilla treat, give them raisins. This is something that chinchillas love to eat. They should only be given three to four raisins a week. If the chinchilla is a baby or a young one, half a chinchilla will do. Dried fruit, without sulfite preservatives, is fine. Examples of this are a blueberry, a grape or a tiny apple slice. If your chinchilla has diarrhea, you can give them wheat (spoon shredded size) or rolled oats minus the preservatives. Raw, black oil sunflower seeds that are used for feeding birds are good for the animal's outer coat. You should not feed your animal cabbage, corn or lettuce. These would be heavy on the digestive system.
When feeding them, the treats should be fed separately from anything else, including pellets. If you mix them, they will not eat the pellets and just go for the treats instead. If you give them something to gnaw on, let it be white pine or apple wood. These wood types are good for their teeth and won't cause damage. Pine boards can also serve as a bottom platform for a chinchilla's feet when they're walking on a wire mesh material in their cage. Any other type of wood may not be suitable for them.
Stay away from cedar, plum, plywood, cherry, fir, spruce and any other wood that can be harmful to their teeth. If you're not sure which wood type is good for them and which isn't, check your local pet store. They can assist you with your animal's needs.
If you have a young or expectant chinchilla, their diet will have to be altered from the normal regimen. If you're not sure on what to feed them, check with your veterinarian or chinchilla breeder to get more information. As you get acclimated to what your chinchilla needs, they can be assured of an uneventful and healthy lifestyle.
First domesticated by the Egyptians in 3000 BC From the tenth to twelfth centuries the historians believe that Crusaders brought the working ferret to Europe. Romans used ferrets to drive away rats and to find rabbits, which they used food in 300 BC They took ferrets to other parts of Europe. More recently ferrets were used by contractors and utilities to run wire through conduit and pipes, in places to small for people to fit. Ferrets have flexible ribs, as a result they can squeeze through little holes and can flatten their bodies to crawl through the smallest spaces.
Ferrets are like cats and dogs. They are not rodents. They belong to the family called mustelids, which includes skunks, badgers, weasels, otters, and polecats. The ferret's life span, generally is between eight and eleven years, sometimes up to fifteen.
Male ferrets are called hobs. Female ferrets are called jills. Young ferrets are called kits. Ferrets are curious animals. They love to dig and be around people.
Deciding on an addition to the family requires responsible thinking. Your decision shouldn't be based impulsively on how cute or adorable the kits (babies) look. You must prepare yourself to dedicate quality time to a new pet. Ferrets are playful and entertaining to watch. They have poor eye sight and a keen sense of smell and hearing. Ferrets have a musky odor, comes from their skin glands. For the sake of the ferret observe the following: Make sure the ferret has fresh food and clean water. The cage must be regularly clean. You must get to know the ferret. See if your lease or local law permits ferret ownership. When going on vacation, what do you do? To be good, healthy pets, ferrets must be spayed or neutered. Before purchasing, or on the way home have your ferret de-scented to prevent the risk of infected or blocked scent glands. Your ferret will require special foods. Are you prepared to commit to eight to eleven years, to your new friend? It's unwise to leave your ferret alone with other pets.
After deciding on a ferret as a pet, you now need to ask yourself if you want a hob (male) or a jill (female)? One or more? Kit or an adult?
When choosing the variety and sex of a ferret, it is strictly a matter of personal choice. Hobs and jills require about the same amount of time spent with them. Both are equally strong and healthy. Each ferret will have a unique personality. Sex or color will not determine its behavior.
Kits start out about the same size. However, the hob is three to five pounds and a jill is one in a half to three pounds. Neutered and de-scented hobs have very little odor, but a spayed jill has the least odor of all.
Ferrets come in numerous colors. The most common colors are sable, albino, butterscotch, white-footed butterscotch, silver-mitt, sterling silver, white-footed sable, cinnamon and black eye white.
Raising and training a kit can be a joyful experience. Kits are far less daunting. Although, it takes more time to train them. Consistence rewards and discipline for rough play and for housebreaking must be applied. As well, they can be mischievous adolescents.
If well handled in their reering, adult ferrets are completely through theses stages. But, adults that haven't been handled with love and good training are best left for experts to choose. A grown ferret is capable of adapting quickly to a new loving family. You may be amazed how quickly and easily an adult becomes a family member.
When choosing a ferret be certain that the pet shop is clean and odor free. After the ferret is roused, it should be alert and attentive. A ferret's coat should be shiny, soft and covering the body, no bald spots, and it should have clear, bright eyes. Also examine it for any sores or scaly spots.
When choosing a ferret from a breeder check for the following: bright, clear eyes, long full whiskers, no large lumps on the body, a soft full coat, firm and even distribution of muscle, clean genital areas, good temperament and attitude, and curiosity. When bringing home a ferret from the pet shop or breeder, put it in its new cage and allow it to rest.
There are a wide variety of cages that you can buy for your pet ferret. The most popular habitats are wire cages. The cage must be at least fourteen inches wide by twenty-four inches long and ten inches high about (35 x 60 x 24 cm). Any cage design must provide a litter area, a feeding area, and a sleeping area.
When bathing a ferret, put about six inches of water in a sink and gently lower the ferret into the water. Use baby shampoo or ferret shampoo. The water should be no less than ninety degrees and no more than a hundred and five degrees. Rinse the ferret two or three times to get rid of all soap.
When cleaning the ears of the ferret, use a cotton swob. You will either find dirt or wax in the ferret's ears.
As you trim the nails put a drop of tasty supplement on their belly. While the ferret's busy licking, cut their nails.
Most ferrets are affected by fleas, first time when treating fleas, treat the ferret. Second time treat the ferret's environment.
Ferrets are omnivorous, however their diet requires mostly animal protein. It is recommended be fed specialize formulated foods. If unavailable, then premium dry cat food from pet shops or the vets. Most ferrets tend to like snacks of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The first estrus usually occurs at four or five months of age and will occur twice a year. The jill is most fertile by the tenth day of estrus cycle. At this time place the jill and the hob together. During breeding, the hob will bite the back of the jill's neck and drag her. The female will usually scream and fight.
Gestation period is forty-two days. Prior to birth isolate the mother. Put her in a nest box lined with small towel. When kits are born they are blind, hairless and deaf and a pinkish red at birth. The eyes open on the twenty-seventh day. At four weeks old weaning can be started by teaching the kits to drink from a dish. Kits canine teeth grow in when they're seven weeks old. Once weaning is complete, kits can be placed for adoption.
There are several infectious diseases, ferrets can contract. They include colds and flu, pneumonia, feline distemper, canine distemper, rabies, and aplastic anemia and septicemia. Intestinal disorders ferrets can get are diarrhea, Black Tarry stools, Lack of stool, vomiting, and Blocked scent glands. Parasitic infestations ferrets can get which are eye problems, mites, ticks and fleas. Physical injuries ferrets can have are back injuries, broken teeth, and bite wounds.
If you live with pets, it is likely that your allergies are at least in part triggered by the protein in your pet's dander. The symptoms result when your immune system determines that it is harmful and tries to eliminate it.
Since all warm-blooded animals shed dander, it doesn't matter if you love a dog, cat, bird, or ferret, they all have the potential to trigger symptoms. So if you know you have allergies fish make nice pets without the dander. But if you've already fallen in love with something other than fish, here are 5 ways to minimize the symptoms your pet causes.
Keep Cleaning---Pets give a lot of love, and in return those of us who love them unconditionally know that there will be more clean up involved.
The house dust mite, its feces and chitin are common allergens around the home (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
You will know how often you need to clean based on how much dust your friend creates. Remember to avoid dry cleaning (dusting, sweeping) and opt for cleaning with water.
Remember to wash pet bedding as dust mites will eat pet dander too. Wash any area rugs weekly. Use window coverings that can we washed or wiped down to keep particulates from accumulating.
Limit piles because they create extra surface area where dust can and will settle. Keep knick-knacks to a minimum for the same reason. Reducing these 2 things alone will cut down greatly on what you have to clean each week.
Keep The Numbers Low---Don't let a big heart get you in over your head.. So the temptation is to save every pooch with big eyes. Ultimately that is not the best thing for either of you.
Having large numbers of warm-blooded animals will increase the dander factor exponentially. This will eventually make it hard for you to breathe, often forcing the owner to place pets in a new home or a shelter. And that's hard on everyone. You can't explain your decision to your pet. Less is actually better.
Consider Baths---Always check with the veterinarian before implementing a bath regimen. However, this can often drastically reduce the amount of hair, dander, dust, and/or feathers that is available for your pet to send into the air.
Use Allergy-Friendly Furnishings---What's this you are probably wondering? It's using furniture and accessories that allow particles to fall to the floor. Smooth surfaces rather than woven are best.
Leather or leather-like surfaces on chairs and sofas are an excellent choice because they will not allow particles to accumulate and can be easily and thoroughly wiped down to take particles out of circulation for good.
Flooring choices include area rugs, linoleum, tile, slate and other non-porous surfaces. Avoid wall-to-wall carpet because it is hard to clean thoroughly, and in between cleanings it allows a tremendous number of particulates and odors to accumulate.
The slightest amount of movement on the carpet will cause the particles to go airborne and available for you to inhale. This produces a catch-22 situation that can cause allergy symptoms to be annoying and on-going.
Filter The Air----Regardless of how careful you are, and how many steps you take to minimize the allergens generated by pets and other normal indoor activities, you will still have more than you want in your air.
The most reliable way to eliminate them consistently and effectively is to use multiple-sized filters to eliminate them from the air. Pre-filters are effective yet inexpensive ways to remove visible particulates.
The high efficiency particle arresting or HEPA filter is an excellent fit for microscopic particles like dander, mold and mildew spores, and dust mites. Designed to eliminate 99,997 out of every 10,000 particles that are .3 microns or larger, it is the best filter for the job.
Not only is this type of filtration effective it is also safe producing only fresh air as a by-product. Avoid those units that produce any amount of ozone or ionized particles. Experts can't seem to agree about if and how much is safe for living things.
Having a bunny break a leg can be traumatic for both you and your bunny. Treating can be very expensive. Heres an artcile describing what we decided to do for our bunny, and her excellent recovery.
Having a bunny break its leg can be a very traumatic experience for both the bunny and for you. We raise holland lops, and the tort color often does well on the show table. We have had several colored rabbits with big wins but wanted to add tort to our herd. We purchased a tort doe over the internet, and had her delivered at a show we were attending. That was the last time we agreed to buy a rabbit without first seeing it. The doe was very skittish. The day after picking up the rabbit, our oldest daughter took the doe from her cage, the doe freaked out and jumped from her arms, unto our carpeted floor.
My daughter called me over and said I think there’s something wrong with the rabbit. Her left hind leg was dangling as if she had no control over it. At first I thought she may have dislocated her hip, but upon feeling that area found no dislocation. My next thought was a broken leg. I felt her leg looking for a break as there was no visible sign of a break. Again I found nothing. I decided to check again for a dislocation, and that’s when I found a break on her femur, near the hip.
I began my search for a veterinarian that could possibly reset the leg. We finally found a vet about an hour away that would be able to do it. The cost would be from $500 - $1500 to set the leg, depending on the x-rays they would need to take, and if surgery would be necessary. The cost was out of the question, and we decided to look for answers elsewhere.
We received many suggestions, including putting the rabbit down, to trying to reset the leg myself. Since neither of seemed to be options that we wanted to take. We decided to treat the bunny ourselves without resetting the leg. This was a difficult choice as this beautiful doe would no longer be showable, but we would be able to use her as pet, or if all went well a brood doe.
The biggest concern in treating a broken leg is mobility. It is important to stabilize the leg as much as possible and keep the bunny from moving the leg. We decided she would have to stay in a carrying cage for the 6-8 weeks it would take for her leg to heal. We considered putting a towel next to her to further reduce her ability to move within the carrying cage, but decided against it for sanitary reasons.
Being immobilized for such a long period of time also gave us other health concerns. We constantly monitored her food, water and hay intake. We also checked to make sure there were ample droppings in the wood shavings.
We were prepared to give her pain medications in the beginning. However, she never showed any visible signs that she was in pain. Of course everyone wanted to hold and comfort her while she spent the 7 ½ weeks in the carrying cage, but she was simply off limits. Her leg needed to heal and the more she was moved around the longer it would have taken for the leg to heal.
Finally we took her out, and moved her into a regular sized cage after 7 ½ weeks. Surprisingly, she was in fairly good flesh condition. She was getting around well on the healed leg, despite the fact that the leg didn’t heal completely straight. It turns out slightly away from her body, as though it is twisted.
We have bred her to one of our bucks. She needed a little assistance in lifting for buck during mating, but did real well with it. Soon she’ll be having her first litter. Yes, the broken leg eliminated her chances of being shown. But it didn’t eliminate her value to our rabbitry.
Environmental stress can affect your pet chinchilla in different ways. This type of stress results in either health or behavioral issues. Your pet can experience the following: anti-social behavior that includes biting, fighting, spraying urine, fungus, or irritation of the eyes. Your pet can also feel angst toward other chinchillas, biting the fur, gnawing on their cage or even depression.
Rocky sloap near Auco, Andinas, Chile. Natural area of the wild Chinchilla lanigera. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Unless you know in advance, you won't necessarily detect that one of these actions can come from environmental stress. You usually find out when the behavior or illness becomes a chronic issue. If you are not aware of the issues of environmental stress, your pet may be more prone to suffer the after-effects.
If your pet is hyper, environmental stress will just compound the way they're already feeling. In order for them to get a grip, behavioral rehabilitation would help them regain their footing. Of course, if your pet is already easy-going, then rehabilitation is not necessary. Environmental stress can affect how the chinchilla was treated, before and now. Environmental stress can affect your animal if they were abused or handled badly. This in turn, can cause them to exhibit anti-social tendencies towards the next owner.
If your pet is experiencing boredom, this may eventually suffer from stress. Your pet should be in an environment where there is some movement and noise. On the other hand, enduring constant loud noise can take its toll on them, also. It's better for them to have noise, but it should be at a moderate level. This way, if they do experience noise out of the ordinary, such as people, thunderstorms, etc., they'll know how to handle it. Your pet has to have a happy medium between the two extremes (boredom and chaotic noise).
Your pet will have to make adjustments if they came from an environment where there was boredom or chaos. They'll have to make adjustments to the unfamiliar and unknown. Like a human being, your pet will feel strange because all they know at the moment is the environment to which they were accustomed to. It may take your pet at least a week to regroup. You can help by putting them in a quiet room with some soft jazz music. There should be no other pets in the house while your pet is getting acclimated to different surroundings, including the owner.
Giving your pet this transition time is crucial and imperative because if they came from a chaotic environment, they will have to learn to relax and if they came from a boredom environment, they must have time to get in the groove to handle noise in a timely manner. If they take on too much too quickly, your pet can get overwhelmed, causing additional stress.
You will have to learn to be sensitive to their needs and get a sense of when they might be ready. It's always best to start out small and gradual, then work your way up with your chinchilla. This way, your pet can accept the gradual transition with ease.
Sugar gliders, intelligent and playful pets are known to have come from Australia. Reputed for being social animals, these soft animals live in groups. Sugar gliders have been named so for their eating habits - they love to eat the sugar syrup oozing from the trees. Sugar gliders can be kept on the lines of flying squirrels. Adult sugar gliders can grow to about one foot or little more, including tail. This attention-grabbing pet is a great site to watch. A sugar glider can change your mood instantly with his playful attitude. Experts recommend having at least two sugar gliders as pets. Single sugar glider will need all of your attention for the most of the day. If he is not given that attention, this may put him to a state of depression. This playfulness needs a solid company all the time.
Sugar gliders can glide in the range of 100 - 150 feet. This makes them superior to flying squirrels. Sugar glider body construction is unique in itself. That's why a sugar glider needs special care and attention.
Sugar gliders in America are known to have been imported from Indonesia, and not Australia. This 150 gm of pet owns a very soft fur which is gray in color. Its underbelly is white and a black stripe runs from the nose through the neck right across the back. Some species also have small black stripes running down the legs.
Sugar glider face resembles to that of a bat. However, large difference lies here - sugar glider looks very beautiful and cute.
Sugar glider can create a variety of sounds - chirp, bark, crab, and what not. Never try to put the glider in a cage. It is a neat and clear formula for the death of this cute and loving pet. Try to build a place of comfort, more of a house than a cage. Your sugar glider will feel very comfortable there.
Still, if you feel that a cage is needed, it should be large enough to offer adequate space to the animal. There should be a swing and a stick for the pet to have some playing around. Ensure that the cage has litter tray to keep it hygienic.
Sugar glider food must be balanced in terms of water, protein and calcium. Don't overfeed your sugar gliders otherwise they will be smelly. Also, give them glider food, and not the people food.
One can’t just take his eyes off hamster pups, as these tiny cute little creatures will sure have your attention. Baby hamster are born without any fur and are closely attached to their mother. Though you may have the desire to hold them, bare in mind that there is nothing you can do within two weeks period after delivery.
Female syrian with her two babies, which are less than one week old. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
REMEMBER NOT TO TOUCH THE BABIES!! Your action might harm the babies and change its scent thus confuses the mother. She will think that they are not hers, abandon them and worst she might even eat the babies (it did happened to my hamsters). Not to cause any stress to the mother, avoid cleaning up the cage within this period. It is advisable to place the babies at the bottom of the cage as none of them had opened their eyes yet.
After this two weeks ‘vital’ period, you can hold them but only for a brief period as not to disturb or stress the mom or babies. You can also clean up the cage and place fresh beddings in most of it. Remove just the soiled parts in the nest area and put a good portion of the old bedding in it. Put the babies back in the nest after it is cleaned up followed by the mother.
Once the babies eyes are opened (which should occur on the 11-12 days, but some take less/more), they should figure out how the bottle works. In order for them to reach it easily, put it lower and in an area where they frequently go. If they haven’t figured out how to use the bottle and you are worried about them not drinking enough, you can give them pieces of cucumbers to prevent dehydration. Do not put water in a bowl to prevent them from falling in and drown or catch a cold.
At three weeks, you can separate the babies if you observe any fighting among them but if they seem immature, less developed and not quite independent enough to leave mom just yet, let them stay together until they are four weeks old. When they reach five weeks old, independent and have a healthy development, they can be placed in new homes and play in new surroundings and environment.
