So for my recommended reading this week...
I recommend reading...
Animal Planet Pet Care Library: Ferrets by Vickie McKimmey
For the "+" part (aka my book review) I am doing a review on my recommended reading book:
This Animal Planet Ferret book is really good. I love to read the Animal Planet Care Library books because they are always up-to-date with lots of important information and fun and interesting facts. I have learned a lot from this book. Here a few of the things I learned:
I learned that a male ferret is called a Hob, a female is called Jill, babies are called Kits, and a group of ferrets is called a "business of ferrets". Who knew?
The other thing I learned is cool. I had been wondering why ferrets at the shelter shook like they were scared a lot. Well, they aren't scared. When they have woken up from sleeping their body temperature is low so they have to shiver to warm up. I am glad I know that now.
Posts coming soon: Guinea Pig Grooming, and the Ferret Ownership Debate!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Quiz update
So any of you that have already voted on my cat breed quiz (before nine o clock on saturday), I made an error in it, so I fixed it and put it back on, so if you had already voted on it, you might want to vote again.
Maintenance of a 2.5 gallon to 5 gallon betta tank.
In this post I am going to tell you all everything I have learned about maintaining a betta fish tank:
So to keep your betta fish tank clean you need to do a few things:
Have a filter
Do weekly water changes
Clean the gravel regularly
Clean the filter regularly
Here is why you need to do each of these things:
You need to have a filter because it makes life better for the fish. The filter filters out bad bacteria and other particles contaminating the tank. It also provides a place for good bacteria that will reduce the amount of ammonia in the tank. And, it creates less work for you. And unfiltered tank needs to have the water changed every two to three days.
You must do weekly water changes. If you don't the amount of ammonia and nitrates and nitrites will build up to dangerous levels and kill your fish.
The gravel should be cleaned out regularly to get rid of algae and bacteria.
The filter needs to be cleaned and changed regularly to get rid of bad bacteria and any other nasty sort of thing that it filters out of the water.
Here is an example schedule of what you should do to maintain a betta tank:
Daily:
Remove uneaten food as it will dirty the water. Check the filter to make sure it is working properly.
Weekly:
Remove 10 to 25 percent of the water in the tank, do this with a gravel siphon/vacuum. While you do this suck some of the debris out of the gravel. If the tank sides are dirty wipe down with an algae scrubber. Wash any artificial plants. Replace water in the tank with fresh conditioned water.
and.. one a week on a different day than the water change, rinse out the filter if it is dirty.
Monthly: super clean the gravel and replace the filter cartridge.
Note: NEVER EVER use soap to clean anything that comes into contact with your fish. Soap can kill them.
You do not need to remove the fish from the tank when you change the water. Gravel siphons/vacuums have a special filter in it to prevent the fish from getting sucked up. Removing the fish from the tank can also be stressful.
So to keep your betta fish tank clean you need to do a few things:
Have a filter
Do weekly water changes
Clean the gravel regularly
Clean the filter regularly
Here is why you need to do each of these things:
You need to have a filter because it makes life better for the fish. The filter filters out bad bacteria and other particles contaminating the tank. It also provides a place for good bacteria that will reduce the amount of ammonia in the tank. And, it creates less work for you. And unfiltered tank needs to have the water changed every two to three days.
You must do weekly water changes. If you don't the amount of ammonia and nitrates and nitrites will build up to dangerous levels and kill your fish.
The gravel should be cleaned out regularly to get rid of algae and bacteria.
The filter needs to be cleaned and changed regularly to get rid of bad bacteria and any other nasty sort of thing that it filters out of the water.
Here is an example schedule of what you should do to maintain a betta tank:
Daily:
Remove uneaten food as it will dirty the water. Check the filter to make sure it is working properly.
Weekly:
Remove 10 to 25 percent of the water in the tank, do this with a gravel siphon/vacuum. While you do this suck some of the debris out of the gravel. If the tank sides are dirty wipe down with an algae scrubber. Wash any artificial plants. Replace water in the tank with fresh conditioned water.
and.. one a week on a different day than the water change, rinse out the filter if it is dirty.
Monthly: super clean the gravel and replace the filter cartridge.
Note: NEVER EVER use soap to clean anything that comes into contact with your fish. Soap can kill them.
You do not need to remove the fish from the tank when you change the water. Gravel siphons/vacuums have a special filter in it to prevent the fish from getting sucked up. Removing the fish from the tank can also be stressful.
Quiz Answers!!!
I am doing these one day early, but it is just easier for me to do them today because I am going to be pretty busy tomorrow. So here are the quiz answers!! ( Hasn't the week just flown by? I feel like I just did these yesterday!!!)
WHAT DO GUINEA PIGS NEED FOR REGULAR GROOMING?
The answer is that they need a brushing, a nail clipping, and occasional baths.
Here's why:
Brushing helps keep the guinea pig's fur clean and yes, guinea pigs do shed. Their nails are always growing so they need to be clipped every one to two weeks. When cutting a guinea pig's nails be careful not to cut the quik, which is blood vessels and tissue located inside the nail. Guinea pigs groom themselves, so frequent baths are not necessary. I would recommend giving a guinea pig a bath maybe once or twice a year. Too many baths are stressful and dry out the coat, but guinea pigs do get a bit dirty eventually so once or twice a year is usually good.
And for those of you, who selected "teeth brushing" as your answer:
Guinea pigs teeth are constantly growing, and guinea pigs are constantly chewing on hay and chew toys, so they have very clean teeth and do not need their teeth brushed. Not to mention that would be very difficult.
HOW MUCH WATER DOES A HAMSTER TYPICALLY DRINK DAILY?
The answer is ten ml (ten milliliters). This does vary with each hamster and the climate they are in. And dwarf hamsters tend to drink slightly less. Remember always keep your hamster's water bottle full, even though it is more than they drink daily. The bottle could leak or your hamster may drink more than the usual amount of water daily, so play it safe and keep the bottle full.
And for those of you who said "5 gal" (aka five gallons),
If a hamster could drink five gallons of water daily it would be in the guinness book of world records!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Quiz answers!!!
Hi everyone! Here are this weeks quiz answers:
HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD YOU CHANGE IN A FIVE+ GALLON TANK WEEKLY?
The answer is ten to twenty five percent. However it does vary depending on the tank, your water, and how many fish and what kind of fish are in the tank. If the tank is very crowded you might want to change as much as fifty percent weekly. If you have a lot of messy critters in it like snails it will get pretty dirty. If you have one fish like a betta fish the water should be pretty clean usually. Just never change all of the water unless you have an emergency. Changing all of the water comes as a shock to the fish because the amount of bacteria changes dramatically. If the water becomes contaminated with disease, parasites, or chemicals then you may have to change it all. But only change all of the water if it is an emergency. I also recommend not cleaning the filter when you change the water. The filter still needs to be cleaned but it is better to do it at a different time because changing the water does get rid of good bacteria, so you don't want to clean the filter out right then because that would take out a lot of good bacteria that fights ammonia. Anyway, in another post I will get into changing the water more in depth.
Now for my favorite quiz question...
WHICH ONE OF THESE PETS DOES NOT EXIST?
The answer is the Peruvian Red Goldfish. I made that up. Yes a blue-tongued skink and a Jerboa do exist!! (and degu exists too but you all seemed to know that already)
So now you might be wondering what jerboas and blue-tongued skins are...
A blue-tongued skink is a lizard and yes, it really does have a blue tongue.
Here is a link to a picture:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blotched-Blue-Toungue-Alpine-phase.jpg
And a jerboa is a very odd looking creature. It looks like a cross between a gerbil, a kangaroo, and a mouse. Here are links to a page of information and a very funny video of jerboas (there are a lot of different jerboas. There is the pygmy jerboa, the long eared jerboa, and the five toed jerboa and more)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
My supply list for bettas
Here is a list of things that I think every betta (every spoiled betta) should have:
A tank (at least two and half gallons)
A filter (just make sure it is not too powerful) (if the current is too strong the betta won't be able to swim because of it's long fins)
A heater (preferably only 25 watts and set at about 74-80 degrees)
A net (for removing the fish from the tank if necessary)
A bucket (for water changes)
A gravel vacuum/siphon (this is to clean the gravel and change the tank water)
Algae scrubber ( if you have a plastic/acrylic tank look for one made especially for that kind of tank) (plastic tanks will scratch easily)
Water conditioner (this removes chlorine and chloromines that will kill the fish and it supplements the fish's natural protective slime coating)
Water test kit (you need to test the levels of ph, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia)
Gravel (make sure it is not too sharp because bettas like to swim along the gravel sometimes)
Plastic or silk plants (silk is probably best because it is soft and easy on their fins however it is tricky to find)
A plastic rock cave (bettas like places to swim through and hide)
Betta food
and if you really want to spoil your betta...
a betta bed (this is a fake leaf bed for them to rest on)
a floating betta log (similar function as the betta bed)
aquarium salt (a teaspoon of this in the water helps prevent disease)
I think I covered it all!
A tank (at least two and half gallons)
A filter (just make sure it is not too powerful) (if the current is too strong the betta won't be able to swim because of it's long fins)
A heater (preferably only 25 watts and set at about 74-80 degrees)
A net (for removing the fish from the tank if necessary)
A bucket (for water changes)
A gravel vacuum/siphon (this is to clean the gravel and change the tank water)
Algae scrubber ( if you have a plastic/acrylic tank look for one made especially for that kind of tank) (plastic tanks will scratch easily)
Water conditioner (this removes chlorine and chloromines that will kill the fish and it supplements the fish's natural protective slime coating)
Water test kit (you need to test the levels of ph, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia)
Gravel (make sure it is not too sharp because bettas like to swim along the gravel sometimes)
Plastic or silk plants (silk is probably best because it is soft and easy on their fins however it is tricky to find)
A plastic rock cave (bettas like places to swim through and hide)
Betta food
and if you really want to spoil your betta...
a betta bed (this is a fake leaf bed for them to rest on)
a floating betta log (similar function as the betta bed)
aquarium salt (a teaspoon of this in the water helps prevent disease)
I think I covered it all!
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