The Do’s and Don’ts of Your Common Household Pets

(Animal Scene, February 2009) Our pets have no control over how they are cared for. Only we as pet owners have the responsibility to take care of them and provide them with their basic needs, we also need to take the necessary steps to ensure their safety towards untoward incidents. Although we can never fully ensure their well being, having a first-hand knowledge of what to do with your pets decreases the chance of these untoward incidents from happening. So without further adieu, here are some of the Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to you household pets.

Guinea Pigs and Rabbits

• Do : Feed them pellets that are specifically designed for them.
• Do : Check the drinker nozzle every so often, if the ball inside is stuck, replace the drinker to avoid drought.
• Do : Give them their daily Vitamin C requirement in their water supply.
Don’t : Use the leftover Vitamin C solution for tomorrow. It spoils easily so it’s advisable that you always use a fresh batch.
• Do : Feed them fresh grass like Guinea grass, Napier grass, Carabao grass and Lawn grass. Just make sure that you clean them well before feeding.
Don’t : Give too much Cabbage, Romaine Lettuce and other succulent green vegetables. These are known to cause diarrhea.
• Do : When diarrhea occurs, give them a piece of apple to stabilize their system.
Don’t : Give any drug, Guinea pig are especially sensitive to medication.
• Do : Give them an enclosed housing for their protection from the elements and security.
Don’t : Place them under direct heat and draft. Guinea Pigs are sensitive to temperature changes and are prone to heat strokes.
• Don’t : For Rabbits, don’t place the males and females together for more than a day during breeding. The male has a tendency to continue mating until they are exhausted to death.
• Don’t : For long haired Guinea Pigs, don’t place them together in a single area. Guinea Pigs love to nibble on each other’s hair. Place a solid divider in between individual cages to avoid this from happening.

Dogs

• Do : Check the flooring. If your using a plastic flooring, make sure that Its of the right size to hold your dog’s paw without them slipping through or getting caught in their holes.
I encountered this problem a while back with my beagle. My dog was barking and howling in the middle of the night but no one was anywhere near her. I checked if there was a problem with the dog and there I saw her paw stuck on the plastic flooring. It took a little oil and some elbow grease to get her paw out. This incident could’ve turned into an injury if her paw wasn’t attended to in the nick of time.
• Do : Check the swivel on your dog’s leash. A stuck up swivel can lead to strangulation or even death.
Don’t : Tie your dog to a bike or car when taking it for a walk. This is an accident waiting to happen to both you and your dog.
• Don’t : Feed pointy bones to your dogs. This can sometimes pierce the throat of the dog. At times, this can even lead to death.

Hedgehogs

• Do : Give them a regular intake of animal protein like insects and super worms. Although feeds are available it’s still detrimental for them to have these sources of protein.
• Do : Use a cage with solid flooring. This should be lined with hay or wood shavings if possible
Don’t : Use cat litter or linen. The feces cake the vent when it comes in contact with these materials.
• Don’t : Never disturb the nest box during breeding time. This is self explanatory, wait until the babies are out on their own then and only should you open the nest box for viewing and cleaning.

Birds

• Do : Use the proper cage for your bird, if you’re caring for smaller birds like finches, get the cage that has the appropriate wire gauge and bar gap of 3/8 inches, the same can be sad for bigger birds like parrots.
• Don’t : Use too much accessories, especially those that have wires sticking out. These wires are hazardous to birds with leg bands, I’ve seen too many cases of broken appendages wherein a bird’s leg band was caught on the wire and struggled, only to break its leg or wing.
• Do : Secure your cage. Place it in a stable position and away from possible dangers such as smoke, cats, rats and poisonous plants.
• Don’t : Use deep bowls especially when your birds are rearing a chick. When chicks wander, there are cases that they were found to have drowned in their drinking bowls because it was too deep.
• Do : When making soft food or egg food, prepare only the amount you’re going to use.
Don’t : Give the excess on the next day. These foods spoil easily and birds have no way of telling if they’ve already gone rancid.
• Don’t : For those taking care of African Lovebirds, don’t mix them up with other species and never introduce an African Lovebird into a flight on different times. This is a bloody mistake waiting to happen since African Lovebirds are territorial and will attack anyone with ferocity.
Well that’s about it for our do’s and don’ts on some of our favorite household pets. One last Do’s and Don’ts for the readers out there:
• Do : Research on the pet that you want before you even acquire one.
• Don’t : Be ignorant, knowledge can mean a life and death difference to you and your pet.

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Cost vs. Quality: Is it worth risking your pet's life over money? (Part 3)

After the long wait, here's the final part of the Cost vs. Quality series. I hope you have take these advice to heart. Don't be sorry when your pet is already suffering, that is don't even let your pets suffer because of the mistakes that could have be averted by learning from others. Well here it it, enjoy!

Veterinary Costs

I am sure I will raise a lot of eyebrows when I say, "not the most expensive veterinarian, but one who really cares." I used to have a separate vet for my dogs, another for my birds, and then another one for my small animals and reptiles. Today, I just call one and despite the population of pets here at home outnumbering humans 20 to 1, then it is really practical to go with someone responsive and attentive to your needs. Someone who does not charge you simply because you are looking the other way or you are too busy at work when they come around to your house.

There exists ethical standards for veterinarians to do business with. However, the more known ones and ones with established branch networks, will surely have to cover their overhead costs and will therefore be more expensive. I have gotten around to understand the nature of their business. The mere fact that my American veterinarians earn much more than human doctors in the US shows me the fact that people care a lot more about their pets than they want to admit.

If you want to have your vet bills come at a manageable rate, you have to do your part. Quarantine new pets. Deworm all new puppies before they are allowed to roam around their new surroundings.

Same goes for birds and reptiles. For reptiles most specially, before buying them, make sure you know the distinction between wild caught and captive bred. This makes for a whole lot of difference in care. All wild caught animals should be automatically dewormed for parasites and infestations because they bring in from the wild. You will be the happiest if you research well on what you are getting into.

Find people who have experience about these pets and go ask them.

Vitamins and Supplements

Like specialized diets and bird seed mixes, these vitamins and supplements are easily localized with a steady and tenacious research on the hobbyist's part. I always start out with imported stuff and try them out. If they work then start reading the labels and instructions thoroughly. Find out the main active ingredients and voila! You have just made yourself into a practicing nutritionist. Half he battle with disease and sickness goes with good vitamin support and the right supplemental feeding. Remember your pets originated from the wild and no longer have access to vital natural energy providers. You must replace these lost elements and give them to your pets in the right quantities.

I find it specially appealing when I have to give vitamins to my fish. some books suggest to implant the tablets in their normal food, while others suggest using a food processor and make your own fish food already blended with the right vitamins. However, I do know of one show winner, Victor Tan, who actually mixes his aquarium water with children's multivitamin formula. The correct dosage remains to be his secret. With the various show fishes I purchased from him which were very, very healthy, I tend to believe Vic really know his stuff. Thanks for sharing!

It's also quite obvious that at this point, mutivitamins for humans work very well for dogs, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits and fishes. Reptiles would have a difficult time with certain elements of the vitamin mixes. Their calcium should almost need to be phosphorous-free. Therefore, it is a necessity to purchase reptile specific vitamin preparations.

On the other hand, most reptiles need very minimal supplementation for their diets. The main element that I feel most people should remember to provide their reptiles is the heat lam. Being cold blooded, they would necessitate being stimulated by heating elements before they start scrounging around for food. Often times stuffing themselves to the brim before they withdraw to quietly digest their food intake in a cold dark corner.

Accessories

Webster's Dictionary defines the word, "accessory" as a non-essential addition. Need I say more? Get rid of all your "borloloys" quick and give your pets a break. Throw away those pillows for your dogs, in the long run they stink and become breeding grounds for fleas. Look at your water wheels in the aquarium, they must not get in the way and often injure your fish unnecessarily. They even eat up space for the fishes to grow. I have often told friends to get rid of founds and bird bath basins. Why? Because in a few minutes after the new water is placed, the bird bath gets dirty with bird poop and as the birds drink from these fountains or basins. The chances of getting sick up. Get real and think for the birds and not for the owners to think like birds. now you know where the phrase "bird brain" came from.

Summary

Looking at the bottom line does no necessarily mean alwawys getting the cheapest cage, veterinarians, dog food, or vitamins. Value for money is a product of a lot of common sese and prudent management of resources. Since our hobbies do not generate a fair amount of revenue, it's always good to be on the discerning side of things. Fulfillment does not come from having the best pets or the most number of different types of animals under your care. Success is also measured by the love and care we have given to your pets using our God-given talents. At the end of the day, what have we learned? More importantly, what have our pets taught us in their quiet and pleasing ways?

We thank them not only for allowing us to learn new things every day but more importantly by living with us in this wonderful world.

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Cost vs. Quality: Is it worth risking your pet's life over money? (Part 2)

Sorry for the long wait, it's been a hectic week. So without further adieu here's the second part of Cost vs. Quality. Enjoy!

Food and Nutrition

I will be the first to say that not all imported and expensive feeds and supplements for your pets are always good and advantageous for them. Here is where you go double time on your research.

Iams, Science Diet, ANF, etc., have been around for years in the dog and cat food business. Theirs is a track record to boast of. Hikari, Sera and Otto have also been in the aquarium business for more than 30 years. Go for proven brands. I specially don't mind expired or on sale items of color enhancing or energy food for my flowerhorns. Why? Because I don't feed them directly to my flowerhorns.

My super mealworms eat them and digest the nutrients better than my fishes and then feed them to my horns, who will retain more if they ate the color enhancing feeds directly.

I am not a vet but even before reading it in a Japanese fish magazine, I was already doing it. Again out of pure common sense. Bot now more so because I have the feed company's scientific findings to back it up. Moreover, I am not bound to go the market daily or even weekly and buy fresh shrimps at such high prices, when my horn collection will devour two or three kilos of these shrimps a week. For those that have access to cheap fresh shirmps why not. Even for those that have one or two flowerhorns in their case, by all means. But if you have 30 or so, think of all the cleaning you have to do every two days because of the waste matter decaying on the tank floor.

Bird food in no different. I see more and more imported seed mixes, and pellets coming into the market. I hope they declare it properly in line with the sky high prices that they charge. There is a 35% tariff on all specially formulated feeds, such as guinea pig pellets, koi food, etc., whereas there's only a 5% tariff on feed supplement or ingredients.

While bird seeds in bulk are also imported, I still think it uneconomical buying mixes in two counts. There is a value-added cost when you buy mixed seeds and secondly, you want to serve the different seeds separately so that they don't pick their favorites and leave the ones they don't want. Given seperately, you know how much of each one can be fed daily without wasting on leftovers.

Be practical when it comes to pet food. Go with those that have the track record. Second, localize whenever you can and third be diligent and watch what you gives your pet the best results. Mind you, I said the nest, not fattest, nor shiniest, or even the most hyperactive. Balance out these results and you will have a carefree time of handling your pets.

to be continued...

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Cost vs. Quality: Is it worth risking your pet's life over money? (Part 1)

I was browsing my old copies of Animal Scene and read an article of a good friend of mine, Johnny Filart. This article is something that holds true to today, although we need to be smart when spending for our pets, it's better to go for the more expensive options since it'll save you more in the long run. So for the new pet owners out there, be sure to heed these words of wisdom and learn from what we learned through years of taking of our own pets. I'll split it up into 3 parts since it's quite long.


Expensive is Cheap by Johnny Filart (Animal Scene, July 2003)

Extraordinarily, once a businessman earns his keep and tucks away his savings, he is now free to splurge and enjoy his wealth. Well, the truth of the matter is that the astute professional and entrepreneur will always go for value for money.

Most of us realize that there will always be cheap things to buy, but neither will it satisfy their needs in the long run if they keep breaking down or have to constantly be replaced every now and then.

Disaster also occurs when that feed or vitamin supplement may have been cheap but was already expired and proved fatal to our pets. It is now imperative as pet lovers, we practice what is called "prudence" in using our purchasing power, regardless of it coming from the lotto or having come with blood, sweat and tears.

The salient features of keeping pets revolve around the following items:

• Habitat
  
• Feed and Nutrition
• Veterinary costs
• Vitamins and Supplements
• Accessories , Decors, Etc.

I will hopefully discuss advantages and costs of these various items and highlight the "must have" as against to "nice to have." I find myself writing this as another adventure in the world of our animal friends where they fell most loved and cared for. Not used and abused as the case may be. There are clear costs incurred anytime our pets pass away.

Habitat

Bird cages are an obvious example along with aquariums and housing for dogs. Of course, it's always one's desire to get the cheapest cage for their pet. Let me share with you a secret. For so long as you have time to look and you are not in a hurry then scan the Classified Ads of Manila Bulletin. Seriously, there are a lot of good values to be had because people unloading their stuff for one reason or another.

12 years ago, I purchased a collapsible 4ft x 4ft x 6ft cage for P 4,500 which was reasonable but I did not realize it would last until today. The one I purchased 5 or 6 yrs. ago rusted so often that I was calling the welders once every six months.

Bird cages are the same. Beware of copycats, to know the expensive and strong variety (baring imported stuff), look closely at the wires, see what gauge they used and if the fabricator used a wire straightener or not. Most copycats just do it for the money and don't even think of repeat business. Never mind the 100 or 200 peso premium, you will likely get what you paid for, stringy and poorly fabricated cages that will hurt your birds as well as your pockets in the long run.

Aquariums are not much different. I remember an anecdote of a large bank in Makati that tried to have a 300 gal. tank made out of 1/4 in. thick glass. Of course, we know that the owner was trying to economize and put his money on the fishes. But lo and behold, over night as the water was being treated, the tank burst and flooded 3 floors of the bank. So the moral lesson of the story, don't save yourself a few thousand pesos because the damage you might cause will run you at least P 500,000 in repairs. Good thing the fishes were not yet put in.

In building outdoor aviaries, try to read up and research as much as possible before turning your welders on tot he great garden corner. I owe my succes in the latest Ringneck flight to the fact that I asked the chief welder to see as I surfed the Internet for European and Australian aviary design. Yes, we cannot deny the fact that we have cheap labor. That's a given and we should all take advantage. But do not use the local wire mesh that easily breaks, find the sturdier wire mesh models that are available, depending on the budget. Design planning is one thing, using the right materials is another.

A note on dog cages, I often see dogs crouching in their tiny, tiny cages. Not only is this cruelty but rather if your garage cannot give you the room for a proper and roomy cage, don't buy your Expedition and make your canine suffer. You may end up being a dog in your next life!

In spending for animal enclosures, avoid decors and "borloloys" at all costs. I squirm at the sight of things unnatural or even dangerous to pets, simply bought by owners just so their pets look cute or even human. I have no reason to doubt clothes look nice on these animals, however, there is a time limit and responsibility that go with these decors. In aquariums for example, stop buying daisy wheels and fake rocks and landscape. Your fish willend up scraping their fins unneccesarily or even digest figurines accidentally. I recently saw a Flowerhorn in Cartimar with a fake water plant inside its mouth. "Goodbye Flowerhorn," was all I could gasp.

Specially in the US, where beddings and accesories are sold, I can't seem to comprehend why people think for their pets and not the other way around. Simply said, treat them as they are and find out what their real needs are. Then, you won't cry because of your vet bills or worse.

to be continued...

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