Awww Monday

This is a different type of Awwww... this is for all the dogs stuck in the storm having to go out into the maelstrom to do their Doody...

One Very Wet Puppy

Check out the other Awwwss at http://www.awwwmonday.com/

And I hope you will join me on my other blog Crazy about Green where I will be posting comments about the storm all day.... While I have power anyway!

Fixed My Blogs

Hi all you may have noticed the last couple days my new posts have been showing up but when you click on it you go to a sight called Ping Blogspot.  Some how the scammer of this sight managed to get a code into my software.  The malicious code has been removed and now you can once again access my sight.  If you have a blogger blog and are having this problem look for this line in your code


  It will be in the body of the code and have ping blogspot in it

Hang In There!

Ok you've seen the cute kitty hanging from a tree.  How about one for the Reptile lovers:

AWWW MONDAY

This one is for all the Reptile lovers out there, Awwww...

Baby Bearded Dragon

Baby Bearded Dragon

Baby Green Iguana

Baby Water Dragon

Baby Ball Python

Post your own Awww Monday and join the fun at http://www.awwwmonday.com/

Doggin Long Island

Here is a book I'll have to find at the Library:

I always feel guilty when I take the kids out to do things and have to leave the dogs cooped up at home.  I saw this book on sale and though just what I need... I wonder if the Library has it?  Here's to hoping ...if not I may just have to buy it.  I think the exercise the kiddies, doggies and I will get will justify the price.  Maybe I can match up some of the hikes with another book I have called Best Easy Day Hikes On Long Island.


Now if I can just find the time ...

Awww Monday

Hey, I think they spelled Cat wrong!

Check out more Aww Mondays at http://www.awwwmonday.com/

Small Animal Saturday

Mice As Pets 

A mouse can be a great pet for a number of reasons.  The are quiet an small so they don't take up much space. They only get up to 3 inches.  They are social animals that are alert and active.  You can teach the tricks and they don't cost much.

The down side is that they can be smelly.  Usually the males will mark their territory with a musky smelling urine.  So if your worried about smell stick to a lovey lady mouse.  If you choose more then one some of their behavior can be down right Hysterical.  When ever I Clean their cage at work they all scurry around and run on the wheel.  Usually five of six of them will get on some will run while some just hold on and spin around.  My favorite time is when little ones are in the store watching.  They laugh so hard you can't help but smile.

Hey George don't look down!

However do not take a mouse out of the wild they can carry diseases such as Hantaviruses.  

Pet mice have been breed by humans so do not come in contact with mice that might be carry disease.

Mice of a feather snuggle together!

You might want to chose more then on since they are social.  Just make sure they have enough room and if you choose males watch for dominance behavior because they will hurt each other.

Know Before You Go

A few years ago when we moved here to Long Island we took a trip up to Tuxedo New York for the Renaissance Faire.  A wonderful place full of fun shopping costumes and Jousting.  While we were there we saw St. George's Dragon Orphanage where you could "adopt" baby dragons.  They came with little cages like these:

With some rocks and decorations.  The sales people were holding the little lizards who sat calmly on their hands.  We thought about "adopting" a couple the price seemed right.  We decided to wait until closer to closing and by the time that came around we figured we should probably do a little research.

Well I'm very glad I didn't buy them it turned out that the "Baby Dragons" were Green Anoles and after working with them in the pet store I know what they didn't tell us at St. George's Dragon Orphanage.  These reptiles are wicked fast when they are warmed up to the proper temperature.  At the Renaissance Faire they were cold and that's why the sales people could hold them to show them off.  The little cages they sold with them are inadequate since they require a heat lamp which you can't install on a little plastic box.  That's a valuable lesson everyone should learn.  Know what your getting into before you buy a pet.  

Don't expect a pet store worker to tell you what you need to know.  Not that there aren't a great many whole will spend all the time you need to make sure the pet is right for you but there are those that won't bother, don't know, or don't care about anything but making money.  How do you know which your getting unless you know something about the animal your interested in.  Need more proof that its important to know before you go.  Well here is what you will see in a pet store:

Awww isn't he cute

what a tiny little baby

Well that's the thing the pets you seen in pet stores are Babies.  Babies are sold because they are cute adorable and small.  But don't forget babies MUST grow up.  That little guy there well turn into this:

Meet Baby Beardy All Grown up

Yep that cute little 3 inch baby bearded dragon you see in the pet store turns into this monster 2 foot lizard.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Bearded dragons are excellent beginner lizards.  Their calm dispostion and just hang out attitude make him a great choice.  But if your not ready for the size he gets to you might find yourself spending out the wazoo to keep him housed.    

Which is why I can't stress enough KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!

It doesn't cost you anything but a little time.  Hit the library they will have the books you need to get started.  I found an excellent one at my library called The ultimate encyclopedia of small pets and petcare by David Alderton.  Its a great place to start!

AWW MONDAY

My Aww Monday this week reflects my desire to one day have a little homestead in the country. This are pictures I took out at Old Bethpage Village Restoration

Come look at all the Aww Mondays at http://www.awwwmonday.com/

Small Animal Saturday

Yep I'm bringing it back all the interesting, strange, or fun questions I get asked at work I'm answering here.

Today's question:  Can I house Mice and Rats Together?

The answer is a definite No!  Rats and mice are two totally different species as a matter of fact given the chance a rat will prey on a mouse just as fast as a snake, hawk, or bullfrog.  Why?  Rats are omnivores and will eat anything that looks and smells tasty.

Now that being said is there exceptions to the rule .. well there have always been exceptions to the rules when it comes to pets.  The question is do you want to clean up the aftermath if nature takes it's natural course.

Awww Monday

Ok it's been a little while since I participated but here we go:

Just needed a night cap

Tips On Adding New Pets

It's always a bit of a crap shoot when adding a new pet member of the family.

 Are they going to get along or are they going to kill each other?

Well there are things you can do to help increase your chances of harmony between your new pets and old one.  Having just recently added two new members to our crazy household I though I would share.  I won't be focusing on the extra costs of owning extra pets today this will be about helping the pets get along.  Also I won't be focusing on things like lizards since the likelihood of your leopard gecko interacting with your cat is slim to none provided you place his habitat in a secure location

First of all you need to consider what type of pets you already own.  This not only includes species but breeds as well.  For example... you don't want to mix a Rat Terrier with a Guinea Pig ...Terriers are born rodent killers and well Guinea Pigs are rodents so not the best mix.

Next if you have the chance rub an old towel on the soon to be new addition and leave it where your old friend can have a chance to sniff it.  Animals are all about scents and this will help introduce you new friend to your old one before you even bring them home.

Next is real life introduction... having more then one adult helps immensely with this step a neutral location is suggested but I've have always just used my living room.  In the case of introduction cats and dogs its always good to have an escape route for the cat ...if the cat wants to run away let them they can be very determined and will scratch and bite if scared enough.   Now this next part can be a little hard on egos but you need to decide who the old pet prefers.  No fighting now you have to be honest.  One of the problems when adding a new pet is the old pet feels he's losing his place in the family.  The pets favorite family member needs to sit with the old pet during introductions so he will feel reassured.  Have another member sit with the new pet and let the pets meet.  If you are worried about aggression the new pet can stay in their carrier while the intro sniffs are going on.  If the pet outside the crate starts to act aggressive break it up with a quick sharp noise. Now obviously if you are introducing a small animal such as a guinea pig to an dog the guinea pig is the one in the cage.   While they are getting to know each other its a good idea to keep them crated when you can't be there to watch them.  It give the new member a safe secure place to be while you are not there.

Now the hard part... as with any change time plays a big role.  You need to make sure that you are giving lots of love to your old buddy while he gets use to the new addition.   Don't let the novelty of the new pet make your forget someone was there first.  There will be some power play as the new pets figure out the dynamics of there place in the house and as long as it doesn't get out of hand you need to let it happen. If it does start to get out of hand NEVER stick your hand in to try and break it up.  Try a spray of water and if that doesn't work try a more physical barrier such as a couch cushion. Once separated then remove one of them from the room and let things settle down. Once they have determined their place in the home peace should return.  

* sometimes there are instances where pets refuse to get along  in these instances you have to decide what is best for your pets.

** alot of this is kind of geared toward introducing dogs to dogs, cats to cats, or dog to cats.  for example you wouldn't leave a hamster or pet rat running around the house.

Mewest Member of Our Cast

Meet Midnight... or as I call he Smidgen

 We added Midnight a couple weeks ago but I was having some kind of compatibility issues and I couldn't get the photos to load.  She is a rescued stray that we got from a shelter.

 Since then we've also added Lucky to our cast of characters.

She is only three months old and the family who owned her were going to turn her over to a shelter to have her put to sleep.  You see they had a four year old daughter whom would run past the dog giggling madly ( I watched her do this during training classes) and the puppy would give chase biting her heels.  "This is a mean dog always biting our daughter"

Well if any of you lovers of doggies know that at 3 months old puppies are all teeth and nipping.  They have to be taught that this is not appropriate behavior and you don't leave them alone with your giggly high strung child.  So now Lucky is living with us.  After she has been through the puppy basics we might just take this little energetic bundle of fur to Agility Training.  I think she would be pretty good at it.

Did I Mention...

I've been rather busy lately.  You may have noticed... Well I'm up to something new! 

I already have my Small Animal Certification, Bird Certification, Reptile Certification, AND Fish Certification.  This means I'm qualified in all the basics.  That may be enough for the company I work for but for me that is not enough and I continue to learn as much as possible every chance I get...But that is steering off the course of my Exciting News.

Drum Roll Please ....  

I'm currently in training to become a Dog Trainer.  I'm soo excited!  I know some dog training since I have taken two dogs through them but now it will be official.  I will be offering classes at a time when there are none.  (during school hours).  So hopefully I'll get those bored stay at home parents who want to learn something new with their furry friends.  Hopefully I will be saving many a dog from the local shelters since the NUMBER 1 reason people relinquish their furry friend to a shelter is for behavioral issues.  That right they get rid of what was once a cute little puppy (or kitten), that was probably extremely expensive if they didn't adopt it from a shelter in the first place, to a shelter becasue they don't know how to teach the dog how to do what they expect it to do.

So hopefully I'll be able to help keep lots of loving dogs in their happy homes!

Product Review... The FURminator

This product review is based on personal experience and is not sponsored by the company.

I decided to try this product out after the third time Boots the Cat threw up in my bed in the middle of the night.  I know most cats make a great deal of noise when they get rid of hairballs but Boots is rather quiet.  Which means I wake up at two or three in the morning to a cold wet spot by my feet!  

The company claim:    FURminator deShedding Tools can help you reduce the amount of loose hair in your house by up to 90%.  

This would mean less cleanup and for me no middle of the night cold footed wake up.

The Cat Furminator deShedding tool

 The first time I used it on Boot's he only sat still for it for about 2 minutes ... in that time I got this much fur off of him.  He didn't like it at first and after he took a snap at me and ran away I decided to try it out on the dog.

As far as I can tell except for the size there is no difference between the dog and the cat FURminator.  The dog was a lot more patience with the grooming ... of course he is such a mush that as long as he is getting attention he'll let you do just about anything LOL.
 

My first mistake was starting this process in the house.  Hair was flying everywhere and I ended up with an orange carpet.

We moved outside to finish the Furminator process and ended up with enough fur to create a second dog.  I was very glad there was a breeze that day to help carry off some of the fur from where I was working.

I think there will be lots of birds with orange linings in there nests.

I did manage to finish up Boots the cat later when he came to snuggle up for a nap on my lap.  I haven't seen a hairball since.

All in all the Furminator deShedding tool lives up to is promise.  Though I think I will be getting a larger one to work on the dog with.  He is 70 lbs of shedding wonder and it takes quite a while with the small cat Furminator to get him finished.  I will be waiting till it goes on sale though!

Can You See The Dinosaur?

This beautiful fellow is the Mountain Horned Lizard.  He's a new arrival at the store.  Watching him move you can see his ancestors coming through in every move and gesture.  He doesn't require an excessively large habitat, but would enjoy space to climb and explore.  If given the proper environment he will spend most of his time in the upper part of his habitat.  I haven't had a chance to handle him yet but I'm told that they have an overall docile temperament makes them a great option for beginner to intermediate reptile owners.

A Few facts about the Mountain Horned Lizard

Native To: Asia

Adult Size: 10-12"

Temperature: 70-85°F

Care Level: Beginner

Scientific Name: Acanthosaura crucigera

Most Active During: Daytime (diurnal)

Life Span: 8+ years

Eats: Crickets, mealworms, wax worms, roaches; dusted 2-3 times per week.

Sometimes The Force Is With You

Ok bad Star Wars reference aside. I told you I was looking for a new home for Rex our Red Eared slider. She had out grown her 40 breeder tank and needs more space.... A LOT more space. In the house we are currently renting we can neither fit a larger tank or build her an out door pond. BUT.... Sometimes the universe sends you just the helping hand you need. In my case the helping hand came in the form of Tom a customer at the Petco where I work. We started talking out his current pets and he mentioned he had a pond with several large koi. I asked him if he was interested in a rather large turtle and he jumped at the chance and started talking about the tortoises he already owned. When I mentioned that Rex had never hibernated before he even said he would be willing to build her an indoor habitat for the Winter. Then he sent me a picture of his pond to so I could show the kids to see what they think. My son was sad but said he understood that it was what would be best for Rex. When we took Rex to her new home I let Billy put her next to the pond which would be her new home. Here is the video I took of Rex's introduction to her new home. You might want to turn the volume down though cause I didn't realize just how good the mic was on my phone in video mode.

Rex went from 25 gallons of water to 1500 gallons.  We sat there for about a half an hour watching her explore her new home.  Thanks Tom for Everything.  Rex looks like she will be extremely happy with you!

Best Dog Ever

Found this on Yahoo and just had to share

Sometimes You Have to Make a Hard Choice

There are times in pet ownership when you have to make a hard choice.  Sometimes you have to put your personal desires aside and make the best choice for your friend.  I have to make one of those choices now.  Fortunately for me it is not a health issue where I have to make the hardest choice a pet owner has to make.  But it could become one if I don't make the right choice.

If your wondering which pet I'm talking about it's Rex our turtle.




As you can see she has gotten quite large.  She is too big for her tank and we don't have the space necessary for a larger one.  She sits at the bottom of her tank looking rather depressed.  She doesn't eat much and doesn't chase the fish any more.  So despite our personal feeling for her.  I have come to the conclusion that she needs a new home.

Meet Godzilla

I'm told Godzilla is an Alligator Gecko. They use to sell them in my store long before I worked there. He was an escapee that has been living off loose crickets that escape every now and then when we get them for customers. Well he was caught the other day and now has a home with Steven our fish guy.

AWWW... MONDAY

Well I had planned a few more posts last week but time seem to get away from me so now I have two AWWW  MONDAYS in a row LOL.

Dont forget to post your own AWWW... MONDAY then link up at http://www.awwwmonday.com/

Awwww.... Monday

Aww Monday

Contemplating Frogs

Its rather early here today. I got up at 5 and couldn't go back to sleep. Now I'm sitting here in a dark office with Boots the cat purring in my face waiting to be fed. He is going to have to wait a while longer. I use to feed him when I first woke but then he started pawing me in the face to wake me so now he has to wait.

Cricket the dog is laying on the floor behind me guarding the entrance to the den as he always does when I'm typing. Rex the turtle is sleeping at the bottom of the tank and all that is missing is my frogs.

It's my fault the frogs are gone. I messed up when cleaning their tank. When I refilled their water I used the fish conditioner instead of the reptile conditioner. I guess I had my brain in park that day we did after all have fish living in the water part of the frogs habitat. Unfortunately the slime coating in the water conditioner that helps protect the fishes skin, clogged up the porous skin of the frogs and killed them. I miss the little hoppers!

Now I'm considering getting some more. I loved watching the little guys grow from tadpoles into tiny little frogs and then into larger frogs. Watching as their diet turned from little tadpole pellets to wingless fruit flies to little crickets.

I'll have to start from scratch though! We gave away the tank I created for them to another frog owner who needed some more space. I would love to do it as a 20 long and give them plenty of living space but I'm not sure where I would put it. I was contemplating a bookshelf aquarium that is on clearance right now but decided at 6.6 gallons it was entirely too small. I think if I do decided to get more frogs I will build their habitat first ... Rosco and Kermit grew into frogs before their home was finished and I don't want that to happen again.

Awww ... Monday

I missed last Mondays Awwww but here is this Monday's ENJOY! Post your own and visit Awww... Monday to participate.

Meet The Frilled Lizard

Needless to say I want him I want him I want him....... but I won't be getting him.

This beautiful lizard comes from the forests and savannahs of Western and Northern Australia and gets to be about 3 feet long.  The 3 feet is the problem I have no place to put a habitat large enough for him to be happy in.  The Frilled Lizard gets it name from a scaly frill that is folded against the back of its neck. When frightened or angry, the frill will pop out to make him look larger and more dangerous. It can measure up to 12" in diameter. 

As with any reptile he needs a habitat with a hotter end and a cooler end.  The temperature needs to range from 95° to 100° F in the basking area and 75° to 80° F in the cooler end of the enclosure.  This is so he can self regulate his body temperature.  


He is also a great climber so he would need a taller habitat with plenty of climbing surfaces and hiding places with humidity levels between 50% and 75%.  They are active during the daytime and if you get one like the fellow in the picture above he'll be a real ham.. I swear every time someone comes by with a camera, he starts posing.

Awwww...... Mondays

http://www.awwwmonday.com/

Is Your Pet Prepared

During a disaster (provided you're not in the actual disaster) you will here everyone and their brother start spouting about being prepared, having an emergency kit ready to go.  Be prepare for the kinds of disasters specific to your area... tornadoes hurricanes etc..  What you don't here a lot about is emergency preparedness for pets.

Lets face it, for most people, our pets are just as much a part of our family as we are.  Even if they are just livestock or working animal they are an investment in your time and money and emotions.  So being prepared to take care of them in an emergency just makes sense! 

Lucky for all us pet people the ASPCA has a pet preparedness list:  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/disaster-preparedness/
 It even includes special considerations for birds , small animals and reptiles, cause lets face it not everyone is a dog or cat person. 

 FEMA has information for animals that includes livestock : http://www.ready.gov/caring-animals

Being prepared for an emergency does not make you crazy or a nut job it helps give you piece of mind so you don't have to worry as much about things that happen and being prepared to take care of your animals gives you one less thing to worry about.

The time to think about an Emergency is before it happens cause after it happens you'll be too busy!

Growing Up. ...... Bad For Mom Good For Cricket

My son has reached the age where he is embarrassed. To be seen with his mom walking to school.    TOO BAD for him. ...to many times on the way to and from school I've almost been hit by idiots texting or deciding they don’t have to stop at the sign, or just aren't paying attention.  Not to mention the calls from the school saying some freaking pervert has once again tried to grab a kid going to or from school.  (You wouldn't believe the number of times I've gotten that call this year). 

Being the good mom that I try to be we had to come up with a way for me to walk him to school without embarrassing him in fronty of his peers.... Cricket to the rescue!

Dogs aren't allowed on school grounds so we haven't been tsking him but I don't mind Billy walking from the corner across the street to the school by himself.  There are other kids there and the security guard watches them. 

Now Billy gets to run Cricket to school (stopping at each corner to wait for slow poke mom) and mom walks him home.  This gives Billy a good reason for mom to be with him if his peers start trying to tease him cause" mommy is still walking him to school) and Cricket benifits from plenty of extra exerciseA

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Does It Bite?

This is probably the most asked question at the pet store, I hear it several times a day.

The Answer.......

Any thing with a mouth can BITE!!

And after having my hand attacked by an over zealous clown fish I can tell you it's true.  Now what you really need to ask is how likely is it to bite.  The answer to that depends on the animal and its personality.  I try to get to know the animals we have so when people ask me I can give the most honest answer I can.  They all seem to have their little quarks.  For example I would say a Guinea Pig is the least like pet to bite BUT... we had one that was the meanest little bugger around.  When I would reach into his cage to get the food bowl he would charge at me teeth bared and ready to try and take a chunk out of my hand.    This was not a piggy I would sell to someone with little children despite piggies being one of the best choices for little ones.

Even pets that you have had for a while can bite you.  If a sudden noise scares your pet it might react by biting we see such incidents every year with dogs who are afraid of fire works.  If a pet is ill it might also react to handling by biting they simple have no other way to communicate.

I feel this is something we as pet lovers need to understand and something we need to be aware of when choosing a new friend and companion.  Nothing will spoil a little ones love of animals faster then a bitten finger. (and yes I know there are worse thing that can happen when a pet bites)

Chinchilla Taking a dust Bath

Well I hope this video works it's the first time I've tried posting a video.  We had a Chinchilla in the store she is now in her new home but I managed to take this video before she left. 

Chinchillas  instinctively clean their fur by taking dust baths.  The dust gets into their fur and absorbs oil and dirt. These baths are needed a few times a week. Chinchillas do not bathe in water because the dense fur prevents air-drying, retaining moisture close to the skin, which can cause fungus growth or fur rot... eww!

Common Sense, Concern or Crazy

A few days ago I was reading over at Cold Antler Farm , a wonderful blog by Jenna, a young lady taking on the challenges of farming by herself.  She found herself in a situation that made her rather furious at a gentleman who was concerned about her dogs.  She had them in her car after a trip to the dog park and stop to pick something up at the grocery store.  Long story short, the man (you can read the whole story at Cold Antler Farm) refused to believe the dogs were hot and tired from the play session at the dog park and told her he was calling the police.

Now we have to face facts there are a lot of people in this world who have pets who shouldn't.  If you don't believer me check out Animal Cops on Animal Planet and check out some of the horrific things people do to animals.  We should be glad there are people in the world looking out for the mistreatment of animals and help when ever they can...BUT people come on you have to use some common sense!

I have been working at a pet store for 4 years now and there is a definite lack of common sense when it comes to some people and animals.  I actually had a customer threaten to call the ASPCA because there the ferrets had poop in their litter box.  REALLY!
No offense but I take a great deal of pride in the fact that about 95%of the ferrets we sell are litter box trained before they go home... (the other 5% are sold as soon as they come in they're just so darn cute) and this lady was way out of line and certainly not using common sense.

SO for all you animal lovers out there consider before you act.  There are some cases where it is more then obvious that an animal is being abused but there are other time when you need to stop and think!  As in the case with Jenna and the Gentleman.

Stop and consider the animal in question ... Does he look abused is he all cut up, emaciated, does his eyes look clear, is he clean or filthy?  Look for signs of abuse before getting all bent out of shape.  As for the dog in the car scenario ...It's true that on a hot day the temperature can quickly climb above a dogs ability to cool himself off but at this time of year its not going to happen.  A little common sense is required here use your brains that's why you have them. Is the pet involved truly abused or is just not the way we would keep our pet?

There is a difference you know!

Cute Pic's From the Pet Shop

  I meant to get these up sooner but Christmas was very hectic, I worked extra hours and then got KO'd but a nasty cold.  So here are my Christmas cute pics.

Because of the habitat these parakeets are in, I don't get to spend a lot of time getting them use to people.  This little guy how ever was a brave little birdy and sat with me for several minutes before rejoining his buddies.... or would that be budgies LOL.

 

Meet BABY a beautiful Rottweiler that visits us often.  She is extremely playful and the biggest mush you will every meet.  Just say the word cookie and she will lead you right to them.

 

The ferrets stole my Santa hat.  If you look close you'll see two ... one is chewing on the pom pom the other is hiding inside you can just see her ear and a piece of her tail.