Quiz answers are here!!!!!

Here are this week's quiz answers:

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FIRST INGREDIENT IN DOG FOOD?

The answer is whole meat. 

Corn should not be the first ingredient, it is just a filler. Dogs cannot fully digest corn so they cannot get nutrients from it.

By products are meat parts such as organs, feet, liver, etc. These are not the healthiest choice for dog food and it is rarely specified what the by products are. You could have chicken liver, or you could have cow's feet and you wouldn't know. Things like feathers and fecal matter also tend to get into by products.

Meat meal is actually perfectly fine in dog food. It is the same as whole meat, just ground up and more processed, because of this however it is not the best choice, which is whole meat, but it is still perfectly acceptable.

WHY IS GRAVEL IMPORTANT IN FISH TANKS?

The answer is that it grows bacteria. 

Bacteria love to live in gravel and without gravel there wouldn't be many places for the bacteria to live and grow. You need to have a healthy amount of bacteria in the fish tank to naturally break down the wastes that accumulate in the tank that could harm or kill your fish. No bacteria = No fish. (living fish that is)

It's pretty too. (although that isn't why it's important)

Don't forget to check out the new quizzes!!!

Owning a rabbit without breaking the bank

Here are some ways to make owning a rabbit less expensive.

When first getting a rabbit think about the size. If you really want to spend as little as possible, you might want to get a small breed rabbit. Larger breeds require more expensive housing and lots of food. But, make sure to still take their personalities into account. Small breeds tend to be more active while large breeds are calmer. Generally.

Rescue a bunny from a shelter or rabbit rescue. Shelters and rescues are much cheaper than pet stores, and rabbit rescues have often already spayed/neutered their rabbits. So you won't have to spend a big chunk of change if you want that done.

Don't house your rabbit outdoors. Housing a rabbit outdoors requires a hutch and a hutch requires a lot more maintenance than an indoor cage. Hutches are also very expensive. Proper sized hutches cost around 250 to 350 dollars. If you are housing your rabbit indoors you can rabbit proof a room for your rabbit which is the cheapest option. If they are chewers however, you may save more money by investing in a cage. The cheapest option is to build your own cage using wire shelving grids and zip ties. If you build your own cage, I would suggest researching it online first. Some very good cages for your rabbit can simply be a small animal pen. You can buy small pet pens for 40 dollars at most pet stores that are a good size for most small and medium sized rabbits. You can buy expansion grids for larger breeds.

If you want to save money, definitely get your rabbit litter box trained. This way you do not have to worry about having a cage bottom like the ones on store bought cages. You also will not have to cover the bottom of the cage with litter, only the litter box.

All rabbits love and need toys to keep them entertained but you don't have to spend a fortune. Home made toys are a good way to go. Cardboard tubes and boxes are favorites of bunnies. Just make sure to use cardboard without ink on it. Plastic baby toys, cat toys (only plastic ones and no catnip!), or toys meant for small pets are all good. Plastic toys last a long time for a rabbit and are easy to clean. Don't go crazy buying wood toys or hay toys. By a few once in a while. They get destroyed easily. Just make sure your rabbit always has some kind of chew toy. You can even use a piece of untreated wood if you want to really save money.

Don't waste your money on cage cleaners found in pet stores. A vinegar and water solution works better and is much cheaper. You can use the vinegar solution to clean the litter box and the cage. Just make sure to rinse it off very well, because some rabbits dislike the smell. For food and water dishes, a very small amount of dish soap and hot water are a good way to clean them. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse.

Rabbits all like a comfy place to sleep, but they don't require a fancy bed or anything. Most rabbits are very happy with some towels. You can find large bath towels for around five dollars instead of a bed which would cost around 15 dollars +. Rabbits love towels because they can play with them and arrange them however they want. And you will be happy because they are easy to clean, just throw the towels in the washing machine.

When buying food and water dishes don't be fooled. Yes, plastic ones can be very, very, very cheap. They can cost as little as a dollar. But, they might end up costing more in the long run. The cheap plastic dishes are not very durable. A heavy duty ceramic bowl is a better long lasting option that only costs a few dollars more.

For grooming supplies a brush and nail clippers are needed but don't invest in shampoo unless your rabbit actually needs it. Most rabbits are very clean animals and my never even need a bath.

For hay look for a good quality hay, but you can try to get the cheapest you can find, as long as the quality is still good. A good brand is Kaytee. It is on the cheaper side, yet the quality is pretty good, and I find that most hay-eating critters really love it. Be careful of the extremely inexepensive brands such as Great Choice and brands that advertise easy to use miniature bales separated into portions. Those brand's hay is horrible quality and most rabbits won't eat it so don't waste your money on it.

You can find many good quality pellets for fairly inexpensive, but make sure not to go for the super cheap stuff filled with seeds and other stuff. That is not healthy for your rabbit. Also make sure that Timothy Hay is the first ingredient.

To save on veggies you can try growing your own. You can use something such as romaine lettuce as the main part of your rabbit's daily salad. And then you can add more expensive veggies such as parsley, cucuumbers etc in smaller amounts. Celery too.

When you are in the pet store shopping for your rabbit you might see vitamins for them. Don't buy them. They are fairly expensive and they are completely unnecessary. If your rabbit gets hay, a good quality pellet food, and a variety of veggies he will  not need any extra vitamins.

responding to comments

I have some comments to respond to, so here goes:

Hermit crabs are pets?! Is there a difference between a pet hermit crab and the ones in the wild? Are they a specifically-bred crab? What could you do with one; are they interesting to watch?
-Curious Gram

Yes, hermit crabs are pets. They are actually fairly common pets, most popular with children. I don't believe there is any difference between wild hermit crabs and pet hermit crabs. There are two types of hermit crabs: land hermit crabs and marine hermit crabs. There are a lot of different species of hermit crabs too. All species of hermit crabs will be either marine or land. Land hermit crabs are the ones most often kept as pets, although some people do keep marine hermit crabs in saltwater aquariums apparently. (I have never even seen a marine hermit crab before.) Land hermit crabs are definitely more popular. They are interesting to watch. They like to dig in their sand, climb things, and they change shells fairly often and they also molt their skin regularly. They live for a long time and they can become quite attached to their owners. They enjoy being handled, although they do pinch sometimes.

The dumbo rat is kinda cute...Still wouldn't want one though! The hairless rat is ugly! I've seen some even uglier pictures of them though-good choice going with one of the less ugly pictures! Do you know anything about the "unofficial" dwarf rats? Some dog breeds have the strangest names! Love the new quizzes! :)  


I actually don't know much about dwarf rats, and I didn't even know they existed for a while. All I know is that it is basically a genetic mutation that causes the rats to be dwarfs, and it doesn't seem to have developed into a breed yet. They are basically the same as most rats, only smaller.

I was thinking the same thing as Animal Gram! That would be really fun! Have you had to give Munchkin a bath before? If you have, did he like it?
Sarah :) 


I gave Munchkin a bath soon after I adopted him last August. He wasn't on the healthiest diet before I got him, so his stools were too soft and he was too overweight to be able to clean himself properly, so he was a bit messy. He seemed to enjoy his bath. Which is pretty unusual for a rabbit, they normally hate baths, but he even played in the tub a bit. If I ever give him a bath again, I will be sure to get a video of it.

Also...

Posts coming soon....

Hermit Crab care, reptile and amphibian information and care, and once I get my fish I will start doing betta fish care (I want to do videos of a lot of it, so I need to actually get my fish first), and pet ownership without breaking the bank.

Quiz answers are here!!!!!

Here are the answers to this week's quizzes:

WHEN RABBITS GET HOT, HOW DO THEY COOL OFF?

The answer is they release the heat through their ears. Healthy rabbit's ears are warm to the touch. Sick rabbits might have cold ears. Although when rabbits have been resting, their ears tend to get cooler, but once they wake up and move around their ears should be warm to the touch. So rabbits cannot pant like dogs or sweat like people and they don't sleep to cool off. When your rabbit is very hot, misting its ears with cool water will help it to cool down.

WHICH TYPE OF WATER DO HERMIT CRABS NEED DAILY?

The answer is both. Hermit crabs need dechlorinated freshwater to drink and they need saltwater to bathe in. (although sometimes they will also drink the saltwater). Each type of water should be in a fairly deep dish so that the crab can almost all the way submerge itself, but there needs to be some way for the hermit crab to climb out to avoid drowning. Making sure they have plenty of each kind of water is important. Obviously if they can't drink water they will die, but if they don't soak themselves in saltwater enough they won't be able to maintain the right levels of salinity inside their shells, and if they don't stay moist enough the crab will actually dry out and die.

Just for clarification, the water is not for the crabs to live in, they are not aquatic like fish or red clawed crabs. Pet hermit crabs are most often land crabs, so they will drown in water (which is why there needs to be a way out of the bowls) but they do need to soak in water frequently and have a humid environment so that they don't dry out.

Be sure to check out the new quizzes!

How to: Give a Rabbit a bath

The very first step when you are planning to bathe a rabbit is to stop and ask yourself "do I really need to bathe my rabbit?"

Rabbits are very clean animals and groom themselves very often. You should only bathe a rabbit if it is absolutely necessary.

Here are a few good reasons to bathe a rabbit:

If they were sick, which resulted in messy stools,
If they are dirty enough that a small spot cleaning with a warm, wet, soapy cloth won't do the trick.

So if your rabbit is dirty and needs a bath here is what to do:

First you need to set everything up and get prepared.

Make sure you have rabbit-safe shampoo. Never use any shampoo that does not state specifically that it is safe for rabbits. A good brand to use is Super Pet small pet shampoos.

Once you have your rabbit-safe shampoo you need to get the bath tub ready. (if your rabbit was very small, you could possibly do it in a sink, but a tub is generally easier.)

Place a non-slip rubber mat or a towel down on the bottom of the tub so the rabbit won't slip.

Make sure the water is warm, but not too hot. (rabbits easily become overheated, but make sure the water is still warm.) Do not use cold water because rabbits take a long time to dry so using cold water may make them to cold.

Make sure you  have towels handy for drying off.

Now get your rabbit and place him (or her) into the tub. Let them get used to the tub for a minute and then introduce the water. Don't get the rabbit wet immediately. Let the rabbit hear the sound of the running water and see if he will approach it himself.

Once your rabbit is calm, fill the tub up an inch or two with warm water. (I find that having the rabbit in warm soapy water helps to clean his belly etc, without the rabbit becoming stressed because most rabbits do not like having their stomachs touched.)

Let the rabbit get used to being in the water.

Then you can get your rabbit wet. Be careful to avoid the face, eyes, and ears.

Once the rabbit is wet you can lather him up with shampoo. Make sure to go slow and try to keep the rabbit calm. Be careful to once again avoid the face, eyes, and ears.

Once the soap seems to have done its job, you can rinse your rabbit off. Make sure you get off all of the soap.

Now you need to dry your rabbit off. Towel dry him first. You can use a blow dryer to make sure he is completely dry. Just remember to use the lowest heat setting. If you are bathing your rabbit during winter when it is cold you need to use a blow dryer otherwise your rabbit will be cold. If your rabbit does live outdoors or goes outside for playtime (in a enclosed area of course), they must be completely dry first! A damp rabbit outside could cause your rabbit to become cold, but in can also cause something to happen known as fly strike. (basically flies swarm and attack the rabbit, which can lead to the rabbit's death)

Once your rabbit is fully dry, brush him to make sure that there are no tangles. You should also brush your rabbit before giving him a bath, especially if your rabbit is a long-haired breed.



If your rabbit isn't terribly dirty, you can clean him off with a spot cleaning. Just take a warm, soapy cloth and clean off any dirty spots, making sure to rinse the soap off of those spots afterward. The Super Pet brand also makes wipes for small animals to spot clean them. These are fine to use but you should still rinse off the spots with a wet cloth. Be sure to dry anywhere you got wet.

Pit Bull myths

Here is a list of a bunch of common myths about pit bulls and why they are not true:



Pit Bulls have locking jaws. 

 Pit bulls have the same general jaw structure as any other dogs. Their jaws cannot lock in any way.

Pit Bulls brains swell and that makes them insane/aggressive.

This myth started out as a rumor about Dobermans. No one was able to prove it. The above statement has no merit. However, there is a type of disease in canines where a lining on the brain swells, (I don't remember the name), but it is very rare and could occur in all dogs.

A pit bull's bite has more pounds of pressure per square inch than any other dog.

This myth could not be proven true or false until some test were done. Results show that while pit bulls do have a strong bite, it is not actually the strongest compared to some other breeds. The results showed that the most pressure a pit bull could exert would be about 250 pounds of pressure, but Rottweilers far exceeded the pit bull with a pressure of over three hundred pounds. It has been said that pit bulls can exert over 1,600 pounds of pressure but that would be one amazing pit bull! As I said before the highest pressure a pit bull was shown to exert was about two hundred and fifty pounds and many pit bulls were much lower.

Pit bulls don't feel pain.

This is incorrect. Pit bulls, like any dog, can feel pain. They do have a higher level of tolerance too it, but they can feel it.

Pit bulls attack people more than any other breed.

This myth is an easy one to believe, mainly because of the news media. A lot of the media gets quite confused about dog breeds, and a lot of dogs are mistakenly taken for pit bulls. The media tends to focus on the pit bull attacks more than other dogs. There is no statistical proof for this myth and in a lot of cities other dog breeds such as Chihuahuas are actually listed highest on the bite record.

Pit bulls 'turn' on their owners.

Pit bulls like any other dog may become aggressive without the proper guidance and outlet for their energy. Without daily exercise pit bulls can become very frustrated and the pent up energy has to let itself out some how. They are not however intentionally 'turning' on their owners.

The only thing pit bulls are good at is fighting.

A lot of attention has been focused on how pit bulls are used by some for illegal dog fighting. The main reason that pit bulls are good at this is that they are loyal and highly trainable. The pit bull is not born a fighting dog, it is trained to be a fighting dog. This loyalty and trainability that some use to teach pit bulls to fight can instead be used to create an amazingly well balanced family type dog. In fact pit bulls generally get very high scores on canine good citizen tests and in general pit bulls score higher than a lot of other breeds. In fact in the 1800s they were very popular as a family dog. Have you ever seen the old tv show "little rascals"? Well it is about a bunch of kids and there is also this dog in it named Petey, I believe. Petey was a pit bull and got along wonderfully with kids.

Pit bulls never get along with other animals of any kind.

Almost every single pit bull that I have ever known gets along with all kinds of other animals. A great example of a pit bull that gets along amazingly with other animals is a pit bull who has become fairly popular on youtube. His name is Sharky. He especially loves to be with baby chicks. He lets them walk all over them and he gives them kisses. He also gets along with cats, guinea pigs, etc. Some pit bulls or any other breed for that matter can have dog aggression or a high prey drive. A high prey drive means that they see small pets and animals as prey. That is only natural as dogs are predators. Dog aggression between dogs is something that can happen to any dog, and it can be addressed.

Quiz Answers are Here!!!!!

Here are this week's quiz answers:

WHICH OF THESE DOG BREEDS DOES NOT EXIST?

The answer is... Austrian Lundehund. I made that up. There is such a thing as a Norwegian Lundehund, but I there is no such thing as an Austrian Lundehund.

So, here are some pictures of the other answers:

Presa Canario (a mastiff type dog):

Xoloitcuintili (comes in two varieties; with fur, and hairless):

Cane Corso (another mastiff type dog):

Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog (this dog has one of the goofiest names!):

WHICH BREED OF RAT DOES NOT EXIST?

The answer too this one is... Dwarf rat... or maybe not. I had NEVER EVER heard of a Dwarf rat, and usually I do some research to make sure that my "false breed" really doesn't exist, but I forgot to do that before I did the quiz. So there is such a thing as a dwarf rat, however they are pretty rare, so they are not an "official" breed yet. 

And here are pictures of the other breeds: 

Fancy rat(probably the most common):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fancy_rat_blaze.jpg

Dumbo rat (my favorite! super cute!):

Hairless rat (I won't deny it, they are ugly!!!) (and I found one of the least ugly ones for a picture!) hairless rats come in dumbo or fancy:

Don't forget to vote on the new quizzes!