Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Sep 29

If you want a really strange pet - but without the long-term commitment: get a triops!

These ‘alien’ looking creatures are something to amaze your friends with - and scare your mum with!

However strange they may look - especially the ghostly shed skins - their lifecycle is even more strange - and they were around with the dinosaurs! 

And with very little care and cleaning needed, these pets can be a great short term investment!  And fun too.

What Are They:
These little creatures are actually crustaceans - that crabs and lobsters to you and me - however they are much smaller.

They look a bit like miniature horseshoe crabs when fully grown, and have a long flexible tail with up to 71 pairs of appendages running the whole length of their body.

They are in constant motion using all these ‘legs’ to propel them through the water, and swim upside down to eat.  They also perform acrobatics all the time - twisting and turning through the water all day and night.

Due to the thinness of their carapace (outer coating) they appear to be bright blue, green and red as their internal organs and blood vessels show through.

They also shed their skin as they moult into full size and so you will often find a hollow triops floating in the water which you can fish out and investigate!

How Do You Care For Them?
Amazingly, you buy new triops as dry as a bone - mixed in with a sandy-like substrate.  This is because they live as eggs in river beds over the dry season and only hatch out when there is enough water to sustain them as adults.

To house them you get a small glass of plastic tank no larger than 1 litre in volume otherwise they won’t hatch out.  These small tanks are often supplied with your original purchase along with sand and food for later development.

You need to use bottled water to fill the tank - as tap water will kill them before they hatch.  Using bottled water means that you don’t have to buy water conditioning tablets like you have to for fish and reptiles.

They also don’t need the water to be heated either as room temperature is fine - however they do need the heat of a desk lamp or bright (but not direct) sun for most of the first few weeks of life otherwise they will not fully develop. 

As they are microscopic for this time, you won’t know how many you have until they moult large enough - so use the light to give them the best chance of developing.

Their Life Cycle:
They will hatch in your warm water within 30 hours - but of course you won’t know about it as they are too tiny - but you must leave the tank totally still and don’t add any ornaments to the tank either for at least the first week - or until you can see the baby triops.

You feed them the supplied food as described and water changes are also to be done in a certain way to make sure that they are not washed away or get ill from the dirty water: don’t forget that they are swimming in their own waste products!

They will rapidly grow to their full size of around 2 inches in a matter of weeks and then you can see the beauty of these living dinosaurs!  They only live for another month once adult - so make the most of them!

Depending on how many you get to adult - they will be sexually mature after just 3 weeks and could begin dropping their eggs into the sand on the base of the tank.  So if you allow this to dry out completely for a month after your adults have died, you can then start the whole process again by refilling your tank - hatching out your own babies!

And they are much much much better than sea monkeys!

posted by admin on Sep 21

There are actually 5 different types of hamster available as pets, although they are called all sorts of things!

You can divide these 5 types into 2 main groups: 1) Syrian Hamsters and 2) Dwarf Hamsters although there are as many differences between most of the smaller varieties as there are between them and the Syrians!

So, here is a quick heads-up on the different types available and their main traits as a pet - and if you want more detailed information, please look at the indepth articles using the Categories list.

Syrian Hamsters:
Sometimes called Golden Hamsters, Siberian or Teddy Bear Hamsters - these large hamsters come in a variety of colours and hair types ranging from a smooth-haired white to a long-haired black and everything inbetween!

They can have red or brown/black eyes with each colour and hair length as well, making them very interesting pets to choose from in the store.

Generally, they are large enough to hold in your one hand circling their body: head poking out 1 side and bum hanging out the other, although might be smaller and more wrigley as youngsters.

These hamsters only ever live alone as adults (which is from about 12 weeks old) and should only be kept together in the pet store as single sex groups from about 6 weeks - otherwise your single lady hamster could become about 6 overnight!

Syrian hamsters can be kept in any rodent cage, glass tank or plastic tube-connected maze (!) however, they can chew through plastic - so make sure the joins, edges and openings are hamster-proof!

Russian Hamster (Campbell’s Dwarf Hamster):
These are the most popular of the smaller hamsters and come in a variety of colours based on differing amounts of grey, agouti, cinniman and white, can have normal, satin, rex or wavy coats and can have either red, ruby or black eyes.  So there is quite some variety.

However, as with all the ‘dwarf’ hamsters, they are not the best pets for young children to handle as they are fast, jumpy and are very shy by nature.

The Campbells are more compact than Syrians, and need to be held in a cupped hand as they have a tendency to leap in the air when picked up (unless very well handled when young). 

They can live together in same sex pairs, or maybe larger groups in a big enough cage, but are prone to some serious squabbling as adults.  If severe or continued fighting occurs they may need to be permanently separated.

Due to their tiny size, they need to be housed in a cage with especially close together bars - and an extra bar over the opening clip area - otherwise they are likely to escape without much effort!  Ideally you should house them in a glass or plastic tank - as they can’t always climb up the tubes in the regular hamster cages!

Russian Hamsters (Winter Whites):
These hamsters are almost identical in appearance and size as the Campbells Hamsters, but are infact a separate species.  The Winter Whites change colour in nature - just as do Arctic Hares and Foxes!  They are the agouti colouring in spring and summer and can moult completely white in winter to match the snow in their homeland.  It doesn’t always happen in warmer climates with artificial lights and temperatures - which unfortunately allows pet stores to mis-sell them!

In fact they are so often confused by pet stores and casual owners that they don’t even think they are different - and so you will find them labelled as simply ‘Russian Hamsters’ or ‘Dwarf Hamsters’ rather than 1 or the other type. 

Of course, this isn’t so important if you just want them as pets as they will live together whatever they are - but if you are breeding them then it gets more serious.  By getting the breeds confused, you could end up with hybrid individuals and potentially pass on dangerous gene combinations between the species, causing mutations and long term illnesses. 

Chinese Hamsters:
These small hamsters are easier to handle than the Russians as they have a tendency to cling to hands when picked up regularly and are quite ‘mouse-like’.  They are also very similar in shape to the Syrians (only much much smaller) whereas the Russians are more stocky with no clear neck and waist!

These come only in the grey or agouti and white with black eyes and the ‘wild’ dorsal stripe down their backs.  At the moment they haven’t been as popular as the Syrian or Russian Hamsters, and so have not been as well bred for colour varieties.

As with Russians, they can live together when adults in single sex pairs or small groups as long as the cage and food supplies are well catered for.  And they also need the special cage requirements too:  if you use a cage where you can put your fingers through the bars - you may not have a hamster in the cage the following morning!

Roborovski Hamsters:
These tiny little hamsters have got to be the smallest of the 4 types - and look so cute!

As with the Chinese, they come in different varieties of the same colours: grey, agouti and white, so you could have a very dark individual and also an almost completely white individual - always with dark eyes.

These animals are best suited to a tank environment as they are so tiny that escape from cage bars is almost certain - and they can’t climb up tubes or ladders as their legs are just too short!  They love burrowing and running fast from place to place, so a lower 1 level cage is the best option for them.

posted by admin on Sep 7

If you are considering a few leaf insects as your next exotic pets - then this introduction is for you.

Many pet books overlook the humble leaf insect (or leaf bug), and many many others just shove them in the same ‘group’ as stick insects for ease.

But there is a lot more to leaf insects on their own - and here are a few of the basics about their character and their basic care.

Leaf Insects:
There are many different species of leaf insect ranging in nature from south and south-east Asia through to Australia - and they all look about the same - green and a bit leafy!

They are Phasmids (the same grouping as stick insects) but belong to the Phylliidae family and are very easy to keep as pets with very few specific requirements.

Depending on what age you get them at they could live for around 12 months (for females) or as little as 6 months (for males).  The nymphs are usually black on hatching and go through a series of moults as they increase in size and become more leaf coloured - ranging from pale yellows, through various greens to blotchy browns.

Female leaf insects are generally slow-moving individuals which tend to hang up-side-down from their food plants and stay there until they have eaten everything they can reach - then move on to another leaf!

The males can be a lot more speedy - as they are generally thinking about things other than food!  They are much thinner than the females and look a lot less ‘leafy’.  Adult males have long antennae and partially functioning wings to help them get about - more of a flutter than actual flight!  The adult females also have wings but cannot even flutter!

Leaf Insect Care:
Depending on the number of leaf insects you are getting and their lifestage; your tub, mesh cage or tank could be as simple as a tall cereal tub, or as elaborate as a huge wood-framed mesh display cage.

The only main care factors are for the very young leaf insects - where the humidity should be constant and the temperature not dropping below ‘jumper’ weather!  Don’t forget they come from the tropics!

These can both easily be achieved by using an airtight plastic container (like a large plastic cereal dispenser) and a flat heat pad during the colder weather.  The container needs to be airtight for 2 reasons: 1) to keep up the humidity by retaining all the moisture and 2) to make sure that the smaller nymphs don’t escape!  And needs to be humid to allow them to moult easily.

The reason for the height when housing younger leaf insects is also due to their moulting habits - where they hang off the bottom of a leaf and basically ‘drop out’ of their old skin.  If there isn’t enough height for them to completely come loose of their old skin, they will become trapped in it as they harden in their new skin - either losing limbs, becoming deformed or even result in their death.

Adult leaf insects don’t need too much humidity - but would still appreciate the warmth of a heat pad through the colder weather.  They also do better in taller housing as this allows you to put a ‘vase’ of their food-plant in the cage - keeping it fresher for longer!

Summary:
Here are the general requirements for leaf insects:

How Many: From 1 to 1000 (depending on cage size).
Housing: Small plastic tubs through mesh cages and even up to converted cupboards!
Cleaning: 1 or 2 times a week depending on numbers and plant material given. 
Life Span: Up to 1 year from hatching; maximum 6 months from Adult.
Food: Bramble leaves - but don’t collect from roadside locations!
Special Requirements: Heat pad for colder weather and high humidity for youngsters.
Other: Adult females can lay eggs without any males present - so watch out for any eggs on the bottom of the cage - as they will be fertile and can hatch in a few months (in specific conditions).