Of all the world’s brightly hued fishes, the koi are those solely considered to be as brilliantly colorful as the rainbow. The koi colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple nearly complete the color spectrum, while the further addition of black shades creates a contrast which further enhances the vividness of these koi fish colors.
The strange truth about all this though, is that koi was not born colorful at all, but are the product of accidental mutations, which later on became deliberate. Koi, which simply means “carp” in Japanese, started off as a food source to supplement rice eaters in the early days, in certain parts of the world. It is thought that it was through China that the fish were introduced into Japanese waters. They were known then as the humble common carp, hunted in the wild and domestically reared in the backyard ponds of farmers’ homes. As is inevitable in confined spaces, cross-breeding occurred and mutations took place. What came to pass, the Japanese called nishikigoi, or “brocaded carp” because the appearance of the color patterns reminded them of tapestry.
Color is usually a reflection of the koi’s state of health. Whatever shade the fish come in, koi colors should be vibrantly alive. The red blots in a kohaku should be brightly colored, while the black spots in a showa sanke koi should be deep and even. If a plain white koi has dots of grey appearing on its scales, or if a black koi looks dull, this can sometimes indicate that there is something wrong somewhere. The problem may be poor water conditions, so it would be advisable to regularly check the pH balance of the pond or tank. It can also be the food – the brightness of koi colors depends largely on nutrition, which is why vitamins are also added to their diet. However, frozen or fresh and raw foods will do, especially if they have high concentrations of carotenoid pigments, which are the major components of a koi’s skin. Shrimp, plankton or daphnia, marigold and green algae known as Spirulina are ideal for the koi if you want to get the best effect.
There are koi that change color patterns not because of health reasons but because it is in their nature to do so. The Matsukawabake is one such breed. The change in koi color does not mean a total transformation, only that the distribution of the black and white areas changes according to the temperature of the water in which it is kept, or according to the seasons of that particular locale. This is a good basis to find out whether the water in your pond or aquarium has the right temperature for your koi. While it is true that koi can survive in freezing water, it is better to be safe and keep the coldness to a minimum.
Koi colors themselves are a subject of constant debate, as most people do not believe that they hold any significance whatsoever, even if others are convinced that koi colors have specific meanings. For example, there is a symbolism connected with the color and shape of the reds: the more round-shaped red spots in a koi, the more financially successful the owner will be. If the koi colors present in the fish are those that exactly make up the colors of the rainbow, the more fortunate in life a man will be. Whatever the representation attached with the koi, breeders, owners and hobbyists everywhere agree to one thing: there is nothing more spectacularly kaleidoscopic in the world than koi colors.
For more great information on everything koi, click here!
Filed under Exotic, Fish by on Sep 7th, 2010. Comment. 
Whilst trying to keep hens can be a wonderful activity for the family, and whilst I personally consider that chickens make wonderful pets, there are some negatives to always keeping chickens as well as positives.
Lets consider the benefits first. Not surprisingly the most significant positive to maintaining chickens would have to be all those tasty free range eggs simply laying there waiting around that you just find every breakfast or evening. There is nothing like enjoying your personal wholesome, and yummy free range eggs which were laid that day simply for you. No chickens needed to go through living in a little cage to lay them for you personally, and you should feel great about having a refrigerator jam-packed filled with healthful food.
Secondly chooks can make fantastic pets despite the fact that they’re just birds. Youngsters really adore them. Ours will happily pick them up and carry them around for hours. It’s quite a joy trying to keep chooks, and when you allow them to roam free all around your back garden it is rewarding observing all of them out your kitchen windows when you cook supper.
In addition, if you permit all of them to free range around the house they will clean up a whole host of pesky insects which, if left on their own, would possibly eat your back garden. It was our chooks that assisted save our backyard from 2 summers of hopper plague. You should see how many hopper one chicken can certainly consume in one day.
Fourthly it’s quite possible, unlike for most domestic pets, to provide for your hens so that you do not need to make plans for them every time you go on vacations. As I have huge automatic containers for feeding and watering we are able to go on vacations leaving the chickens to their own devices and have never ever lost a single yet, even though on trips.
Now to the disadvantages. Like all pets chickens could certainly get sick and pass away. We have had occasions when the kids have discovered a deceased hen in the chicken coop, and this is distressing for the kids. While this obviously is applicable to all pets it is more common when you keep your own chooks. This of course is because you tend to have quite a number of hens, whereas many people may have one or at most 2 pet dogs or pet cats. In our situation with fifteen hens it is more frequent. And of course chooks have a shorter lifespan than some pets such as puppies or cats.
Second of all despite the fact that chooks will pick up quite a few of the nasty insects round your garden they do so by scratching, and this can certainly scratch up the soil of your yard beds. They will also peck at your fruit and vegetables if you grow your very own and they especially adore pecking at tomatoes. You will need to safeguard your fruit and vegetables or some area of your yard.
Thirdly, like for many other domestic pets, there can be some work involved, such as frequent cleansing of the chicken coop
. Chooks poop all over the place and the house, as well as feeding and watering storage containers, must be washed. You will also need to study a little more about pest avoidance as chickens can easily be prone to such problems as mites.
Fourthly while getting fresh free range eggs is fantastic it doesn’t happen all the time. Chooks tend to go off the lay throughout the chilly winter months, and older hens lay fewer eggs than young ones. Because of this there can be times when you are having to pay for chook food but still purchasing eggs.
I think however that the advantages of keeping chooks far outweighs the disadvantages. They are one of the few family pets that are productive in addition to just being a family pet, and for anybody thinking about attempting to keep hens as domestic pets my answer is always to go for it. Not many folks have regretted getting hen chickenschooks.
Don’t forget to visit my site Aussie Chicken Coops about chicken houses to find out more about how to track down the best chicken coop for keeping your chooks happy.
Filed under Birds, Exotic, General by on Sep 6th, 2010. Comment.
Horses are amazingly beautiful and delicate creatures. Horses require not only understanding and patience to possess a horse as a pet, it also demands a whole lot of treatment. Visit our Leather Saddles website.
Herd Mentality:
Observe horses in the herd system, every horse’s welfare in the wild is dependent upon an instinctive submission in the path of the discipline of the herd. The instinct is for instant action. Within the direction of the equine, action is survival. When horses reside within an herd atmosphere, they often carry turns sleeping and standing guard for any predators. When the leader of the herd signals danger they carry flight.
Learning respect and ascending to authority starts about the very first day of life for that foals, there is a unique pecking order in herds of horses.
It’s essential to maintain a peaceful profile around horses. Horses normally do not like unnecessary music because within the wild their survival depends on detection of predators with their hearing. Extraneous music interferes with this predator detection. This predator detection is tightly coupled with a horse’s flight reflex. Because of these survival genetics, horses have got a physiological wiring within their brains that predisposes them to prefer quietness and to turn out to be bothered by unnecessary noise. Numerous horses can get startled easily from abrupt noises and this could lead to injury towards the equine, the rider, or people around the equine. Speak to your horse in a quiet, reassuring voice.
Relationship With Horses:
A horse will love you if, first and foremost, you treat it fairly, and secondly, if you allow yourself to develop a romantic relationship with it in the precise same way you’d a human partner. There are too numerous who will look following the horse’s material requirements but put nothing back to the partnership itself. The equine born in captivity will identify with an option provider and companion, resulting within a healthy loving relationship from the starting. A wholesome romantic relationship together with your horse requires: trust, coupled with respect, fondness with compliance, and a desire to please.
Check Your Horse:
Examine your equine every day and particularly preceding to riding the equine. Carefully examine the horse’s legs and back again for almost any unusual heat or lumps. Make certain that the horse’s eyes are alert and not glazy. Listen for any excessive music or gurgling sounds coming out of your horse’s abdomen. Catching problems before they turn out to be severe is essential to keeping a display horse sound and alive.
Exercise caution and discretion when near to stallions and mares when they are in heat. They are dealing with hormones on an purchase of magnitude that you most likely can not comprehend. Stallions typically bite and some might be easily triggered into violent behavior.
Grooming Horses:
Keep your equine clean. Keep your horse’s entire coat totally free from dirt, mud, sand, and sweat. Brush your horse each and every evening. Pick out your horse’s ft every day. Wash out any sweat residue from the saddle pad or girth every evening. Wash out any dirt or sand residue, as in the riding arena, on your horses legs every day. A quantity of various difficulties can result if a horse’s coat isn’t kept clean.
Barn Treatment:
Keep your horse’s stall thoroughly clean. Make certain that your horse’s stall is cleaned every evening. Be sure that any wetness is eliminated using the manure. Replace the removed bedding with fresh, thoroughly clean, dry bedding. Water ought to be dumped from buckets every day without having having having exception. Unhealthy dirt and bacteria can build up in a bucket if it’s not cleaned on a daily basis. Thoroughly clean consuming water is essential to sustaining a healthy horse. Make certain your equine usually has thoroughly clean, fresh consuming water obtainable.
Training A Horse:
The intelligence of the horse raises rapidly with education. An intelligent trainer can make an intelligent equine. A kind but firm trainer will guide to a disciplined but pleasing equine.
Horse Feed:
Feed your equine(s) at the same times every day. A equine might get upset and colic or injure themselves by kicking the stall or pawing, if not fed when feeding is anticipated. You should to not make radical modifications in a horse’s feed program. If you should make a alter in the feed plan, make the alter gradually. Drastic modifications within a horse’s feed program can cause the equine to colic and in some cases, might die. Your horse’s abdomen is really a extremely delicate bio-reactor that maintains a delicate balance of the organisms that digest foods inside your horse’s digestive track.
Site visitors should not feed a horse which you do not personal without having the owner’s permission; no carrots, no apples, no treats, absolutely nothing. The equine could possibly, get sick if they’ve an allergy or sickness.
Pay interest to everything that goes into your horse; that means all feed, all hay, all water, all treats, all supplements, all pills, and all shots. This knowledge could conserve your horse’s life inside an emergency scenario. Post this info on your horse’s stall door to ensure that it’s available to a vet if you’re not near to in an emergency. Be certain that your equine gets high-quality feed and hay. Your horse’s health and soundness depends on the nutrition that you supply for them. Take great care of your equine. A rider without having having having a equine is no rider at all.
Veterinarian Treatment:
Make certain that you have got a great equine veterinarian. A good veterinarian will conserve you cash within the lengthy operate and may save your horse’s existence some day. An ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure. Make sure your horse has all the vaccinations that are regular for the geographical place. All horses should be on the great worming plan to manage intestinal parasites. A equine should be wormed by a veterinarian a minimum of twice a yr.
Horse Flies:
Within the summer spray your horse trailer lower with fly spray about 10 minutes before you load the horses. The flies should leave, and your horses will be without having individuals pesky flies!
Cooling Horses:
In no way spray a warm, sweaty equine with cold consuming water instantly after operating the horse. This could trigger muscle spasms and binding, or shock that may cause passing away. Wait till the horse is breathing regularly, and use warm drinking water if it is available. If a equine has heat shock, seek advice from your veterinarian and the veterinarian may instruct you to cold hose the equine, even if nevertheless warm and sweaty. Never put a horse within a stall or confined area while sweaty or while they are nevertheless breathing heavily. This could result in shock and/or colic that may cause passing away. Walk the horse till the horse is cooled out and the breathing is normal.
Shoeing:
Horses’ hooves usually develop around one cm within a month, and take nearly a year to develop from the coronet band to the ground. Horse’s hooves need to become trimmed regularly (about every 6-8 weeks).<br> Shoeing a equine does not hurt them. If you had been to develop out your finger nail, you could put an earring/pin via it without causing discomfort; however, if you pushed the pin via the part of your nail that is attached in the direction of the soft tissue of one’s finger, it would harm. When horse footwear are nailed in, they’re nailed at an angle so which the horse does not feel it.
Be certain that you have a great farrier, particularly if you display your horse over jumps. The concussion from landing from jumps amplifies any difficulties in a horse’s shoeing. If a horse will get sore ft or legs from bad angles or poor shoeing, the horse cannot just take his shoes off, sit back again again on the couch, and rub their feet, or find 1 more pair of shoes like you can. Bad shoeing can result in your horse turning out to be lame due to a quantity of problems this kind of as: bowed tendons, popped splints, or shoulder/back soreness or spasms. Bad shoeing can ruin a great horse, so don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish where shoeing is worried. A laid-up horse is far much more expensive to sustain than a good farrier. And keep in mind not all horses require to have footwear, only if they are competing, walking on hard/rocky surfaces, or have hoof problems.
Sleeping:
Horses do lay lower to sleep, but only if they feel completely comfy in their atmosphere. It is not sufficient to provide a dry stable, foods and water. Horses will often rest standing up by locking their knees. Horses are 1 from the few animals that can place 1 50 % of their body asleep while the other 50 % is wide awake. Emotionally and mentally, all horses need to feel they have and be comfortable in their own space!
To fully appreciate a horse’s finer qualities you have to offer with them with each kindness and high quality care. Within the end, a happy horse will imply a nicer ride with each other with a happier rider.
More equestrian resources:
Filed under Exotic, Farm Ranch, General, Horses by on Sep 6th, 2010. Comment.
Pet turtles are pretty unique. They come in a wide variety of species and they require different pet care conditions depending on their specificity. These quiet and nice animals require a specific environment to be happy, and sometimes it is difficult to recreate or compensate for their wild habitat. There are also health issues you should be aware of, and get information on the feeding rules you must follow. An artificially created home needs a bit of research on your part so that you cover all the living conditions for pet turtles.
When cleaning the aquarium or the box where you keep them, pet turtles have to be moved carefully and without causing them too much stress. The temporary or permanent homes ought to be well secured because pet turtles try to get out and migrate somewhere else. Extra care is required when transporting the turtles to a different location. Water quality and temperature will also be important aspects of pet care. Even semi aquatic pet turtles like red eared sliders will want to swim from time to time and they ought to have good water to do so.
Pay attention to the water temperature as it poses the most challenges for regular care. Turtles tolerate cool water better than hot water, therefore you should try and prevent overheating. When it’s too hot they will normally get sluggish. The same safety measures and water temperature conditions ought to be followed when you transport the turtles or you travel at a longer distance. Take cooling or heating measures whenever necessary!
If you don’t have too much time to dedicate to animal care, pet turtles are perfect. They don’t require any bonding, in fact they are pretty monotonous creatures that become part of the home decorum. Respect them as they are and consider them your silent friends. Some even suggest that turtles are not by far good pets because just as it happens with fish, birds and other reptiles, their function is sheerly decorative. And they fulfill this ‘aesthetic’ function at the expense of their freedom. Not the best deal!
In case you decide to get pet turtles, find out more about their diet, check with the pet store, learn whether you can feed them food from your meals and whether they need special treats occasionally. Moreover, you can find lots of valuable information on the Internet as well.
Filed under Exotic, General by on Sep 6th, 2010. Comment.
And so, you have got your fish tank set up. Or you’re ready to put together your tank, and you need a whole host of swimming, happy freshwater fish to fill your aquarium acrylic tank, right? Well, slow down and determine exactly what type of fish you need in there.
Maybe you want some that are incredibly active, so they’re always moving about and entertaining you. Or maybe you’re interested in those with vivid, radiant colors. Or maybe you want something different completely.
In whatever way you look at it, you’re going to want fish for your glass or aquarium acrylic tank. Choosing the type of fish that you might want can take some time, especially if you plan on having many breeds together.
Make sure to investigate ahead of buying a single thing, because you risk fish loss and eventual death if you don’t!
Research: Not All That Complicated
Staff members in a fish supply store will be able to tell you plenty about what you need to keep your potential fish happy and healthy in their aquarium, and also you may well discover that they are a lot more knowledgeable than you previously anticipated. Generally there are usually numerous questions to take into account, such as:
- Does this particular fish like wide open places, or lots of vegetation?
- Does this fish favor alkaline or acidic water (Lower pH verses higher pH)?
- Does this fish get along with others?
- Do you know the feeding requirements for this fish? Does they eat at the top of the fish tank, or the bottom part?
- How much room will this kind of fish require?
- What temperature does this fish thrive in?
This is important and often ignored…
If you would like more than one kinds of fish in your aquarium acrylic tank, attempt to match these as carefully as you possibly can. You wouldn’t want them eating each other, would you? There are many manuals on what fish are compatible with other fish and the subject is too detailed to reveal here, but this fact iscrucial for a healthy aquarium.
Good luck on your aquarium hobby. The aquarium will give you many years of peace and tranquility.
Filed under Exotic, Fish, General by on Sep 5th, 2010. Comment.
If you’re looking for the perfect pet for adults and for children why not consider a guinea pig? Guinea pigs make a fine pet, but before you buy a piggy or 2 spent some time researching guinea pig hutches, because the hutch you house your guinea pig in is very important.
You can keep a guinea pig both indoors or outdoors, though if you keep him outdoors he can suffer from both excess cold and heat. You will keep him outdoors in aguinea pig hutch, though either indoors or outdoors you need to be aware of several things.
The majority of people buy a guinea pig hutch from their pet shop or off the Internet, which is fine unless you buy one of the very small cages available, which is most common because these are the cheapest. However most guinea pig cages are way too small and do not provide sufficient space for him to play or exercise in. You must make an effort to house your guinea pigs properly with sufficient space.
One way to overcome this problem is to build your own guinea pig hutch, and if you can scrounge simple second-hand materials you can do so very successfully and quite cheaply, and can make him a nice large cage.
But even if you provide your guinea pig with a nice large hutch he will still need some entertainment, and the best way to provide entertainment is to provide a companion. But you also need to understand which sexes go together successfully and which do not.
If you put 2 males together you can have fighting, and if you put a male with a female you’ll end up with lots of baby guinea pigs unless you desex one of them, or unless you separate them which defeats the whole purpose. The best combination is to buy 2 young females and house them together.
You should provide them with hay in their hutch, as well as playthings such as plastic pipes and small boxes with openings so that they can run in and out. They also need something to chew on as they chew to reduce the length of their teeth and if you don’t provide something for this purpose they will chew on something anyway, probably the hutch.
Guinea pigs make fine pets. However a little forethought is necessary when choosing their hutch, to ensure you have one of inadequate size with plenty of playthings, and you need to know how many guinea pigs will go in the hutch and what sexes they will be before you buy.
Filed under Exotic, General by on Sep 4th, 2010. Comment.
A good aviary is mostly a big enclosed haven that permits birds to take flight without restraint and play well with all the other birds. Birds which have the potential to inhabit alongside one another should certainly prosper in an aviary. Birds much love the company of various birds having the same temperaments so they really are fairly very pleased to live in the common spot.
Whilst putting together any kind of aviary you should recognize that investing in your aviary is a dedication. You must nurture, really care, and feed those birds you like to have. You’ll want to have a look at how much time readily available for you to spend relating to your birds’ daily proper care, your own practical knowledge levels with birds, and your expectations.
Home aviaries could be bought in various measurements and designs, equally for interior or outdoor usage. House aviaries tend to be either grounded or hanging down. Fairly big sized aviary that can comfortably hold 20 birds could well be 12 feet long, 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. For smaller birds and for a lesser number of birds you could certainly get substantially smaller aviaries. The scale depends on the sorts of birds and the amount of birds that you intend to house.
Aviaries are often times designed and constructed to recreate birds’ all natural surroundings with fantastic landscape designs along the lines of flowers, shrubs and also water features. Ample plant life is important so that you have enough areas for your birds to create nests in. You ought to insert organic and natural chemical free wooden perches (mainly because chemically cured wood possibly could poison your birds) for making the aviary complements the birds’ natural and organic environment. Make sure you provide several perches with different diameters and they also should really be changed continually. Unlike small cages aviaries enable the birds to fly freely and so are quite often also known as flight cages owing to this. Aviaries, which in German are termed Vogelvoliere or Voliere, usually are a lot better solution in comparison to a cage on account that birds may easily have interaction with their own brethen inside an environment that’s so much more natural and organic compared to a cage.
Certain birds may be agreeable which enables them to stay in the same aviary while some others are unable to inhabit the same room. One must always contact an avian breeder to fully understand these kind of vital advice. You may also describe to the breeder the kind of outdoor or indoor surroundings you possess so that you can look for birds which would be ideally suited for the actual space you have.
You need to hold predators as distant as possible. Certain predators tend to be rodents, squirrels, foxes, snakes and also felines. There are several methods to assist you; in case you have a anchored aviary be certain to employ a concrete floor to ensure no predators could burrow their own way inside, or a good ultra-sonic piece of equipment that produces radio waves to scare off predators. Such a unit is entirely unharmful on your birds.
All birds will need to take part in actions which imitate their natural and organic actions; as a consequence you will have to get very specific things to take up their attention. Parrots for instance will require items to nip at. The large majority of birds will be needing a protected and tranquil area to snooze therefore it’s absolutely necessary that you render cozy resting places for your birds.
Birds are exceptionally clever, inquisitive animals that certainly will intrigue you. Birds definitely will connect with their owners because they are exceedingly friendly animals. They are long lived friends that would help you find many years of friendship. Keeping an aviary could be a fabulous and rewarding experience to concentrate, learn about and look at your birds in a organic and natural manner.
Filed under Birds, Exotic, General by on Aug 30th, 2010. Comment.
Small animals make wonderful pets for small children. There are some delightful small animals that are cute and cuddly and make great pets. Some consider a cat or a dog to be a good child’s pet, but I differ.
And they pose some risks. For example that have been many instances of young children being attacked by their own pet dog.
I think personally that one of the best small pets for small children are guinea pigs, and I have a young daughter who has a guinea pig and she delights in him.
Guinea pigs have some big advantages as pets. The average guinea pig lives little longer than 5 years and so it’s unlikely that you will be required to take care of him once the children have left home. You can buy one for $20 or so, they don’t get sick too often and they are relatively cheap to feed. They will make fine company for your children and sit on their lap happily being petted at night.
Although a guinea pig is a small and a quite cheap pet there are still some things you need to think about before you buy one. The first of these is how you will house him.
Generally guinea pigs live in what is normally called a guinea pig hutch or a guinea pig cage. Guinea pig hutches or cages are normally kept outside and are often built from timber and wire, though metal is useful and easy to clean.
It should have a dedicated sleeping area where he can sleep free from the risks of bad weather and snuggle inside his own sleeping area. It should have an outdoors area where he is protected from predators but can run around doing what they do like eating the grass.
It’s better not to use wire on the bottom of the hutch as this can hurt guinea pigs feet and cause a condition called bumble foot.
It’s not hard to build a hutch yourself relatively cheaply. Most store bought guinea pig hutches are way too small and if you build your own make sure you build a much larger than those you see in the pet shop so he has plenty of room to exercise daily.
All guinea pigs need plenty of roughage in their diet. It is not difficult to feed them but you do need to learn about what they should and should not eat. Hay is a staple as well as fresh green vegetable leaves although lettuce and cabbage should be avoided as they have a tendency to cause diarrhoea. Guinea pig’s love grass.
Of course like all animals you need to commit to some cleaning. You need to regularly clean out guinea pig cages , and parental supervision is often required as young children can’t always be relied on to do this properly. And he will need regular grooming to keep him free of knots, particularly if he is a long-haired guinea pig. Part of the fun of course, of having a guinea pig, is sitting with him in the evening grooming.
A small, soft and furry guinea pig makes a wonderful pet for the children as long as you house him properly and feed him well.
Filed under Exotic, General by on Aug 29th, 2010. Comment.
There’s so many reasons why rabbits make a wonderful pet. You can housetrain rabbits, they don’t eat too much and they make wonderful companions for children as well as adults. Learning about keeping rabbits can be quite involved, but one of the earliest decisions you will need to make is whether you will keep your rabbits indoors or in an outdoors rabbit hutch.
It’s true that rabbits can be kept equally well indoors or outdoors, though for each there are different considerations. Normally a rabbit is kept in a rabbit hutch, and you can do so both indoors and outdoors.
If you’re looking to buy your first rabbit you should make some decisions about his housing before you buy anything. You should be aware for example that most rabbit hutches sold in pet shops or on the Internet are too small. He should be able to take at least 3 consecutive hops and be able to stand up in a hutch. Therefore it should be at least 6-7 feet long and 18 inches high. Many commercial hutches are way smaller than this, and it’s very sad to see rabbits cooped up in tiny cages.
If your decision is to keep your rabbit outdoors then you must ensure that your rabbit cage is thoroughly protected from all predators. Foxes and dogs and cats will all be extremely inventive at getting into a rabbit cage to get at your rabbit. It must also have an outdoors area where your rabbit can play in the sun and an indoors sleeping area where he can sleep thoroughly protected from the weather.
If you do have a very small hutch it’s important to provide a dedicated rabbit run near or around the hutch so that he can play in a much bigger space during the day which is also protected.
And if your rabbit is to be an indoors pet it is not important to have a roof on the hutch, and a roof inhibits cleaning, so unless you have a pet cats in the house a roof is not important. But he will still need his own private sleeping area.
Don’t place is a rabbit cage near glass areas which can become extremely hot during the summer in the sun, and cold during winter. Also avoid putting his cage anywhere near a gas appliance as these can leak toxic fumes.
And there is no reason why, if you have the space, you should not give your rabbit an entire room of his own provided it is thoroughly checked for hazards such as small holes in which he may get stuck.
There is no doubt that rabbits make a fine pet, but makes decisions well before you buy your rabbit, and in particular organise his housing beforehand.
Filed under Exotic, General by on Aug 28th, 2010. Comment.
Although very rare, the hermit crabs are becoming increasingly more and more popular Today you can find a lot of people enjoying having them as pets and taking good care of them. These crabs belong to the family of crustaceans. The soft bottom of hermit crabs is what makes them different from true crabs. This is one reason why hermit crabs need to live in abandoned shells left by sea snails and other creatures.
The shell of a hermit crab is their home and they will bring it with them wherever they grow. Once the hermit crab outgrows its shell it will leave and find a new and bigger one. There is sometimes fierce competition among them for shells. If you have a hermit crab as a pet, it is important to ensure that you provide them with a good hermit crab habitat.
500 hermit crab species are what inhabit this entire planet. First of all there are two types of hermit crabs terrestrial crabs and aquatic crabs. Aquatic hermit crabs have been found around water, while terrestrial hermit crabs are usually not found in water, but on land.
When the popular myth that hermit crabs will not survive for long in captivity was broken, they were popularly sought after by people as pets. With the proper hermit crab habitat they can live up to thirty years or more.
As you purchase your pet hermit crabs and are looking to create an ideal habitat for them, there are a few aspects to be considered.
- Make sure there is enough space in its habitat in order for the hermit crab to move around its cage.
- Supply your hermit crab with a cage such as an aquarium that is at least a ten gallon tank or more. This should ensure plenty of room for your new pet.
- Because hermit crabs are amazing climbers it is important to place a cover on top of your aquarium so they cannot escape as they have been known to do this.
- Keep the temperature inside of your tank warm, but try to avoid placing it in direct sunlight or anywhere near a window.
Creating a substrate that consists of mainly sand and some coconut fiber is perfect for your pets. Remember to grind the fiber to a fine powder before filling the tank. Hermit crabs will need this substrate in order to dig properly when it starts to molt.
Alternately, you can also use crushed coral. Take care not to use wood chips or gravel as this could hurt the crabs.
The hermit crab habitat must have the right humidity level at all times. Healthy land crabs also require proper amounts of humidity to grow. In order to ensure that they do not suffocate due to extra dry gills, it is essential to provide enough moisture for them to breathe comfortably. The most preferred relative humidity level is between 70 and 80 percent.
The temperature of the cage or tank is also important for the hermit crab as well. A level of 72-80 degrees Fahrenheit should be optimal. Very high temperatures could damage your crab forever and continuous exposure to low temperatures will slow their metabolism rate making them weak and sluggish.
Filed under Exotic, General by on Aug 28th, 2010. Comment.