Month: May 2018

Pillow Pets Toy

Pets blogger

A children’s item known as Pillow Pets have been one of the top selling kids products for the year 2009 and thus far in the year 2010. As a matter of fact so many moms and dads purchased them as Christmas presents for their kids this past year, they were bought out in many stores and online as well.

So what causes these kid’s toys so unique At first glance, it looks pretty much like any regular cute stuffed animal to parents. However, the unique thing about Pillow Pets is they are able to pop open into full sized pillows that children can use to rest or snooze on. This is why the product is known as a Pillow Pet.

This is done with Velcro straps. If you undo the Velcro strap, the Pillow Pet will instantly pop open and turn into a pillow. To turn it back into a plush stuffed animal again, you simply reattach the Velcro belt.

With this dual purpose and a commercial with an attractive song, lots of children have asked their moms and dads for one. I’ve heard of many parents becoming irritated because their kids were singing the Pillow Pets tune that goes, “It’s a pillow. It’s a pet. It’s a Pillow Pet.” all of the time.

A mother of two children in San Diego, California was the original inventor of the Pillow Pets. The main reason was that she was tired of her young children leaving their stuffed animals all over their bedrooms and the home. So she decided she was making a stuffed toy that was also a meaningful item. She later came up with the concept that it will be a pillow.

Consequently, she ended up setting up a millionaire dollar business and Pillow Pets are being sold in stores nationally. The original product line only contained six different animals but it has now grown to over thirty various Pillow Pets. In addition, complementary products such as backpacks, blankets, slippers and books were created due to the success.

Pillow Pets can be purchased in 2 different dimensions. The large sized types are eighteen inches long while the small ones are eleven inches. The big Pillow Pets usually sell for about $20 however the rare ones that tend to be out of stock have gone for much more on auction sites like eBay.

Franchise Brings Hospice Care to Pets

Pets blogger

To help give our precious animals a more serene and peaceful end, a Tampa, Fla.-based vet service is providing a comfortable in-home environment for aging and ailing pets. Veterinarian Dani McVety started Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice in 2009 to help pet owners provide humane euthanasia procedures in the place the animal loves most – home.

Each year, 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in U.S. animal shelters with procedures that are far from the serene, peaceful end animal-lovers would prefer. Even the best-loved pets typically end their days at emergency veterinary clinics or in sterile exam rooms.

-There are individual vets who do this, but there’s never been a franchise before. Veterinary hospice is a new and emerging segment inspired by human hospice, which is only a few decades old,- said McVety.

The service is designed to help pets who are starting to slow down and to help the pets in their last 3-6 months by coming in to the home to help manipulate the environment to provide to provide a better quality of life, such as placing yoga mats to help big dogs get up on tile or setting up slings.

When the time comes euthanasia can be performed at a location of the owner’s choice. Locations range from the home and backyards to parks or the beach.

The business took off in its first year and decided to franchise in 2010, only its second year in operation. So far 44 vets in 15 states have signed on, and Lap of Love expects to have 50 locations by 2014.

For more info, click here

Hermit Crab Behavior As Pets

Pets blogger

Just as humans and other animals have personalities, you will find that hermit crabs behave uniquely as individuals as well. Many are exploratory and look for adventure. Others are timid and barely dare to take a trip to the food dish. Some hermit crabs are social butterflies, so to speak, and others just behave like, well, like crabs. Hermit crabs react to each other in many different ways but some hermit crab behavior is typical. For instance, when crabs come into contact with other hermit crabs, by way of greeting, they will crawl over each other to feel each other out. Meeting crabs will touch feelers many times to say hello. Other greetings include pushing each other around. Hermit crabs are seemingly unaware of the concept of moving objects out of the way. If something is obstructing the path of the hermit crab, rather than moving around the object, many times they will simply crawl over it. All of these behaviors are typical of hermit crabs and are no cause for alarm at all. Aggressive behavior, however, should be monitored. For example some crabs will pick up other crabs and shake them to force them from their shells. Shell fights do occur in the wild and with pet hermit crabs. By having many shells for hermit crabs to choose from, you reduce the risk of crabs taking or fighting over shells. Usually fights like this end in one or the other of the crabs giving up. They typically end in a mundane way.

While most of these behaviors are mostly harmless, some hermit crabs are not friendly toward other hermit crabs. Wild and pet hermit crabs have been known to kill each other so monitoring the interactions with the other hermit crabs in the habitat is very important, especially in the beginning. Signs that things are going wrong are limbs strewn in the substrate.

Another crab behavior trait you may notice is that youre hermit crab is too shy to come out of its shell. Many times in the beginning of making a new crab habitat, the hermit crab is traumatized from the ride from the pet store. Pet stores also have a bad reputation for letting potential customers handle the hermit crabs roughly and pet stores also dont take care of them like they should. Chances are if you have purchased your hermit crab from a pet store, it has been dropped, shaken and mishandled. Give your hermit crab a little time to explore and figure out how they will interact with their environment and each other. After a few days, most hermit crabs will take to their new surroundings and begin to thrive. Also you need to get the hermit crab used to you by holding the crab still in the flat of your hand. You may have to hold the crab for a long time, but being patient will help your hermit crab have a chance to get used to being held.

Overall most of the behavior hermit crabs exhibit is totally innocent and exploratory. Every once in awhile, aggressive behavior is displayed, but most of the time, hermit crabs are definitely great little pets that are rewarding and interesting to own. Knowing typical hermit crab behavior can help you be more successful in keeping your hermit crabs happy.

How To Protect Your Small Pets From Foxes During Fox Cub Season

Pets blogger

Its every cat owners dread: letting their kitten outside at night for the first time. Some cat owners prefer to keep cats indoors, in fact many studies have found that indoor cats are healthier and live longer. But some cats cannot be kept in, and many pet owners buckle under the cats cries to be set free. A friend of mine recently had a bit of a scare with her 9 month old kitten, who came back into the house with a nasty gash on his stomach and bite marks on the rest of his body.

The vets conclusion was that the poor black and white kitten had been attacked by a fox. Hes on the mend now, (taking antibiotics and painkillers, and sporting the dreaded plastic con), but a little shaken up thats for sure.

Fox Cub Season

The incident did bring to light an important message that around this time of year, March/April, foxes are rearing their newly born fox cubs.

Ordinarily, foxes will completely ignore cats and dogs. Foxes avoid dogs, and many foxes are even killed by dogs. Equally, cats and foxes are about the same size, making cats quite capable of defending themselves against foxes. Because of this, foxes generally give cats a wide berth and flee when threatened by a cat.

Protecting Small Pets

However, at this time of the year, if they feel their cubs are at threat an attack may occur. With hungry fox cub mouths to feed, foxes are also on an extra vigilant hunt for small animals to prey on: this means Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, and Chickens etc. are even more vulnerable around this time of year.

If you have a boisterous kitten who does not quite know his/her limits, you may want to consider keeping him indoors for these months until the fox cubs have grown up and moved on.

If you know you have a lot of foxes in your area, you may want to consider bringing your rabbit/guinea pig hutch indoors to be 100% sure. If this is not an option, it is advisable to invest in a good quality, secure hutch with firm locks. Foxes are quite adept at opening flimsy catches on less secure hutches.

Scoot Fox Repellent

In addition, to protect smaller pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs, weve found Scoot Fox Repellent to be the most effective fox repellent on the market. Scoot is a spray that mimics fox scent marking odours to trick foxes into thinking another fox has claimed the area as their territory generally, foxes do not cross other foxes territories – so marking your garden with a fox-like scent can effectively drive foxes away.

Scoot is a patented non-toxic formula which is totally safe for use in gardens, on plants and edible crops and is humane, bio-degradable and very effective.

Keep foxes away, and keep your small pets safe.

The Top Three Most Popular Reptile Pets

Pets blogger

Reptiles are now more popular than dogs as pets, a fact that appeared as a result of a survey carried out in early 2008. guess the most popular reptiles reptile pets. Like many things pet related, you need to make the right choice, and just as choosing a badly suited breed of dog can cause problems, the same is true of reptiles.

The easiest to care for tend to be the most popular also, and as such are great first reptiles, so here they are:-

Bearded Dragon
Bearded Dragon is the name used for any agamid lizard in the genus Pogona. They are native to Australia, and are sometimes the first reptile people get as pets.

Bearded Dragons are popular pets, notably the species Inland or Central Bearded Dragon. These animals are also affectionately called “Beardies” by those who breed or raise them. They are a ideally suited to children, because of their friendly and calm nature, along with the low amount of work they need to be cared for.

Beardies have broad triangular heads and flattened bodies, the adults growto approximately 18 to 24 inches from head to tail with males and females being of comparable size, although males usually sport a larger head and a thicker tail base than the females.

Beardies have a distinctive set of spines running horizontally from the head to the base of the tail. They range in colour from light tan to dark brown, depending on their native soil, often with highlights of black, brilliant red, or gold, and can change greatly depending upon their internal condition, mood or temperature darkening when cool. Some spefically hand reared have been selectively bred for more brilliant colorations.

Beardies are omnivorous, capable of subsisting on a wide variety of food sources, including both insects and vegetable food. A typical diet for captive beardies includes leafy greens and vegetables, and regular meals of feeder insects.

All species are from Australia, but they have been exported the world over and bred successfully in captivity. Beardies live about 815 years with proper care in captivity, though some can live up to 20 years old

Corn Snake
The corn snake, or red rat snake, is a North American species of rat snake that subdue their small prey with constriction. The name “corn snake” comes from the fact that they have markings on their underside that looks like corn. They are found throughout the south-eastern and central United States. Their placid nature, reluctance to bite, moderate adult size 1.2 to 1.8 metres, attractive markings, and comparatively simple care make them popular pet snakes. In the wild, they usually live around 10-15 years, but can live as old as 23 years in captivity. Like all rat snakes, corn snakes are non-venomous.

They have a diet mainly consisting of rodents, mostly mice and rats, which they kill via crushing. They are accomplished climbers and may climb trees in search of birds and bats. Pet Corn Snakes are usually fed by their keepers on a diet of commercially available rodents, predominantly mice, while younger and smaller snakes may eat live or dead rat or mouse pups of various sizes. Frozen mice are preferable, as live prey can possibly carry disease or injure the snake if it has not been raised on live prey.

The Corn Snake was one of the first snakes to be kept in captivity by people, and remains one of the most popular. Large volumes are bred annually to ensure that there is a constant supply, lowering the need to collect specimens from the wild. keeping more than one together is inadvisable in captivity, as these are naturally solitary animals.

Owners of Corn Snakes have emphasised a cage with no chance of escape. Corn Snakes are excellent escape artists and will often get out of any home that is not properly secured. More first timers lose their snakes to escapes than death. They are good at climbing, squeezing out of tiny holes, and can also use their bodies to push the lid off of a poorly-fitted aquarium.

Royal or Ball Python
The Royal Python or Python Regius is a non-venomous python species found in Africa. This is the smallest of the African pythons and is popular as a pet snake. Adults generally do not grow to more than 90-120 cm in length, although some examples have reached 152 cm and even 182 cm, around 6ft, but this is very rare. The build is stocky while the head is relatively small and the scales are smooth.

The colour marking is typically black with light brown-green side and dorsal blotches. The underside is a white or cream that sometimes can include scattered black markings. However, owners and breeders have, through selective breeding, developed many mutations with different colours and patterns.

The name ball python comes from the snakes tendency to curl into a ball when worried or scared. The name royal python is rumoured to have come from the story that Cleopatra allegedly wore the snake around her wrist.

Ordinarily when wild, the diet consists mostly of small mammals, such as African soft-furred rats, shrews and striped mice. Younger snakes have also been known to feed on birds. Captive pets usually do well on domestic rats and mice, either live, pre-killed, or frozen-thawed

There are obviously many more reptile types kept as pets, and no doubt the favourites will change, but any of the three named above will make great pets, and a great introduction to keeping reptiles.