Quiz answers are here!

So here are this weeks quiz answers:

HOW LONG DO PET GREEK TORTOISES TYPICALLY LIVE?

The answer is that they typically live for 50 years.

HOW BIG CAN A KOI FISH GET?

The answer is they can get up to two feet long. Not all of them will get that big but they can.

WHAT IS THE MAIN PART OF A PET LIZARDS DIET?

Answer: This question was my trick question!!!

wanna know why?

Well, a lizards diet depends on the lizard. Each type of lizard is very unique. You have geckos, iguanas, chamelions, monitors, and all kinds of different lizards. Most types of lizards eat live gut loaded crickets and some types of worms. Those kinds of lizards can eat dead bugs but most won't because unless it is alive they won't see it as food. Some lizards are vegetarians so they cannot be fed bugs or mice. Typically most pet lizards don't eat mice, but a few rarer, bigger, and more difficult lizards eat live mice for their diet. Since each type of lizard is different, none of the answers really apply, so that is why this one is my trick question. 

quiz clarification

I was asked in my comments why you should think the quizzes are trick questions. This is because one of the quizzes (this is tricky to explain but will become apparent when I give the answers) is a trick question because none of the answers really work but in a way all of them work. (I know that is kinda confusing). So what you do is vote "this is a trick question!" as your answer on the one quiz that you think is a trick question. And only one of them is. At the end of the week when I post the answers I will tell you guys which one was a trick question and why. And have no fear because next week I will be doing normal quizzes with no tricks. I just thought I would make it interesting this week.


Oh and...

A gut-loaded cricket is just a live cricket that has been either been dusted with or fed a calcium supplements and/or other supplements while it was growing. (They are more nutritious that way) (yum.)

sort of correction/update for my guinea pig breeds post

So some of the breeds I told you about are not "officially recognized" as breeds by the ACBA (american cavy breeders association) and other guinea pig breeding organizations. They are considered "future breeds" so they basically are a breed but they aren't common enough to be officially recognized. These include:

Hairless guinea pigs (skinny pigs)
Self crested
Merino
Alpaca


And...

I recently found out that apparently the rex guinea pig (the one similar to a teddy) is no longer considered a breed it is now considered a coat type by most. (I say most because I found a few sources saying it was still a breed) (but most said it is now a coat type). Confusing.

Recommended reading!!! +

So I call my recommended reading, "recommended reading +" now.

Because....

I am adding a short and quick book review of a book to the end of it.

So for this weeks recommended reading:

For all new rabbit owners or people who want to learn more about rabbits I recommend:

http://www.thebunnybasics.com/

Yeah, this is a website, not a book, but it is awesome and it has a bunny supply store and the sales go to rabbit rescue! What more could you want! It has a lot of information and was my main source for preparing for owning a rabbit.

And now for the "+" :

I am reviewing the betta book that I just got: Bettas by Robert J. Goldstein.

So I think this was a good book with a lot of cool betta facts but....

It is a "complete pet owner's manual". I wouldn't really say that. I found that in the book it is mostly about breeding bettas. It did not have as much information as I wanted about just taking care of bettas as pets. A large part of the book was just taking care of the fry (baby fish) and genetics. Which was cool to read, but since I am not breeding a betta, that isn't what I wanted to know. I also thought that the "special chapter" on betta tanks was almost confusing and definitely lacking. So if any of you out there want to breed bettas, then get this book. But if you just want to have a pet betta I would suggest finding a different book.

Bonus quiz!

So this week I have a third quiz in addition to my usual pet care quiz and lifespan quiz. This one is about size.

And...

Watch out! One of the quizzes is a trick question!

So...

Under the choices for each quiz there will be a choice that says "this is a trick question!" So if you think that you know which question is the trick question you can choose that as your answer.

Or you could look them up on the internet, but that would spoil all the fun! : )

Hi everyone!

It is the beginning of a new week! So it is time for quiz answers!!!

Here you go:

WHAT TANK SIZE IS BEST FOR A BETTA FISH?

The answer to this question is 2 to 5 gallons. The bigger the better. They don't really need more than five though, unless they are living with other fish. (you cannot put male bettas together, but you can put females in groups and males can live with different kinds of fish such as neon tetras.) I will be getting into more detail about the controversy over tank size for bettas in my next post.

HOW LONG IS THE LIFESPAN OF A PET MOUSE?

The answer is 1 to 2 years. They don't typically live for very long, although they might make it to three years. 

Check out the new quizzes!

Guinea Pig Breeds

Hi everyone!

With all of the guinea pigs at the shelter, I got curious about what breeds they were. So I did some research. Right now at the shelter there are four American guinea pigs, one abyssinian, and the rest are all white-crested guinea pigs. While I was researching, I came across a lot of cool and weird-looking guinea pig breeds that I never knew about. Since they are so cool, I thought that I would share with you guys about the guinea pig breeds I found. I have to say, that guinea pig breeds are confusing. The American Cavy Breeders Association only recognizes 13 breeds, however the UK version recognizes many more.

Overall guinea pig breeds include: American, White Crested, Self Crested, Abyssinian, Teddy, Rex, Peruvian, Silkie, Coronet, Texel, Alpaca, Merino, and hairless.

Almost every breed has a "satin" alternative where the fur is shinier. Most breeds can either be "self" or "non-self". Self guinea pigs have fur of all of the same color, while non-self refers to any other type of coloring. Their is a very long list of color combinations for guinea pigs such as tortoiseshell, himalayan, silver agouti, dalmation, etc.

So here is a bit more about the breeds that I mentioned above:

American guinea pig:
This is the most popular guinea pig out there. It is the most commonly seen guinea pig. It is also called the English cavy. This particular breed has fur that lies flat to the body. This guinea pig can be all sorts of colors and patterns and comes in "self" and "non-self" colors.

White Crested:
The white-crested guinea pig is pretty much the same as an american guinea pig with the exception of a white crest of fur on the forehead between the ears.

Self Crested:
This breed is the same as the white crested, with the exception that the crest is the same color as the rest of the fur.

Abyssinian:
This is one of my favorites. They are medium haired and come in all sorts of colors and patterns like most breeds. Their medium length fur is arranged in all sorts of swirls positioned in a way that makes their fur stick up all over the place and almost give them a mohawk look.

Teddy and Rex:
These are two different breeds but literally look almost the same for the most part. The Teddy has fur that stands straight up at a ninety degree angle giving them a plush look. The Rex is similar but the fur varies from straight to a little curly.

Peruvian:
This guinea pig is so weird looking! They have long hair that literally never stops growing. The hair parts down the back and their hair can grow to be incredibly long. They remind me of Shi-Tzu and Lhasa apso dog breeds.

Silkie:
This guinea pig is also called the Sheltie. This particular breed is very similar to the peruvian with extremely long fur. The only difference is that the fur does not grow like the peruvian. The peruvian guinea pigs fur grows to form a part on their back, but the Silkie/sheltie's fur grows from the head back, and does not make a part.

Coronet:
The coronet is a long haired guinea pig like the Silkie and the peruvian, with no part and a rosette/crest on the top of the forehead.

Texel:
This is a pretty cool guinea pig but grooming it is very difficult. The Texel guinea pig has long very curly and soft hair. This particular pig's fur gets tangled very easily.

Alpaca: This guinea pig has fairly coarse fur that is medium to long. It is not a very common breed.

Merino: This is virtually the same as a Texel, but with a crest on its head.

Hairless: Yes, there are hairless guinea pigs out their. There are a few varieties of hairless guinea pigs. The go by different names including "Skinny pigs". Some varieties of hairless guinea pigs actually do have some furry spots but not much.

Now that I have told you about some of the different guinea pig breeds here are some pictures of them that I made:

Note: You can click on both of these images to make them bigger so that you can read the type.

And lastly, here are a few links to webpages with pictures of some of these breeds and a lot of different colors and patterns:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=18+1800&aid=2838
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/guineapigs/ss/skinnypigs_2.htm
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/guineapigs/ss/guineapigcoats.htm

Note: the last two links are sort of slideshows so you can click the arrow above the picture to see more of that breed or other breeds.