Dental Hygiene for Dogs

Lacey has had some rather unpleasant breath lately, which has made me think a little more about dental hygiene for dogs, which has prompted me to do a post on how to take care of your dog's teeth:


Taking care of a dog's teeth:


Step #1:


Make sure they toys available for chewing, such as bones and rope toys. Bones help keep a dogs teeth clean and healthy, and rope toys help clean and floss their teeth.


Step #2:


Feed a good quality food. A food with all-natural healthy ingredients will help keep your dogs mouth healthy and keep their breath smelling better than a food with bad ingredients like by-products, and dyes.


Step #3:


If you are finding that your dog's teeth needs a little more help to stay as clean you would like, and their breath is not smelling so great, it might be time to pick up a toothbrush.

Here is how to properly brush a dog's teeth:


Step #1: 


Find a toothbrush and tooth paste meant for dogs. Toothpaste meant for humans is toxic if swallowed, and you can't teach your dog to spit, so you need specialized canine toothpaste.

Step #2:


Find a toothpaste with a flavor your dog will like such as peanut butter, or beef. This will make the experience more pleasant for your dog. Lacey loves the peanut butter flavor.




Step #3:


Find a dental kit that contains a toothbrush, and a finger toothbrush. This way you can see which one is easier for you and your dog. I prefer using the finger toothbrush, and Lacey likes that better too, but I like using the actual toothbrush to get at the teeth in the back of the mouth.

This is what the dog toothbrush looks like

This is a finger brush

Step #4: 


Now you can brush your dog's teeth. First let them taste the toothpaste, then if they like it you can put some on the brush (I recommend starting with a finger brush, most dogs prefer the feel of the finger brushes) and start gently brushing your dog's teeth.


Remember, with most dog toothpastes you don't need to use water or rinse their mouths, dog toothpastes are perfectly fine for the dog to swallow. 


Step #5:


Now you can decide how often you want to brush your dog's teeth. Most people do it every one or two weeks but you can do it daily if you wish.








Recommended brand:


I recommend using the Nylabone brand dental kit. Lacey seems to like it a lot, and it gets a lot of good reviews. It was also cheaper than some of the other brands I looked at, and the more expensive brands did not get as many good reviews.

Quiz Answers!

I am finally putting up the quiz answers!!!

TRUE OR FALSE: THE LONGEST EARS RECORDED ON A RABBIT ARE FOUR FEET LONG.

The answer is: false. The longest rabbit ears recorded are about three feet long, not four.

WHICH OF THESE IS NOT ANOTHER NAME FOR SYRIAN HAMSTERS?

The answer is: polar bear hamster.

FUN FACTS:

The name "Teddy bear hamster" refers to any syrian hamster.

The name "Black bear hamster" refers to black syrian hamsters.

The name "Panda bear hamster" refers to black and white syrian hamsters.

New quizzes and posts will be up after the holidays!

Tips and Tricks: Fish Medications

If you read my other blog, Critter Corner, you will probably have heard that Squirt has a fungal infection. Basically he got a little hole in his tail fin, probably from flaring too much, causing it to split, and a fluffy white fungus started growing in it. 


So I have now with all of Squirt's fin rot issues, and his new fungus issues, had a lot of experience in giving fish medications. 


So I have some tips, tricks, and recommended brands for you:


Tip #1: 


ALWAYS carefully read the instructions that come with the medication! You don't want to overdose or under-dose.


Which brings up Tip #2:


NEVER overdose! It can kill your fish! And avoid giving less than the dosage, because that could actually result in the bacteria/fungus becoming immune to the medications. 


Tip #3:


Don't skip doses, this can also result in the bacteria/fungus becoming immune to the meds. 


Tip #4:


Most of the time instructions will tell you either to remove activated carbon from your filter, or not put in fresh activated carbon while using the medication. The reason is that the fresh activated carbon will remove the medication from the water, which would defeat the purpose of the medication being there in the first place. So if the carbon already in your filter is really old, you probably don't have anything to worry about. However if it is newer, you will want to remove it while medicating your fish. 


Sometimes, like with my filter, the carbon is inside the filter cartridge, so you have to take out the whole filter cartridge, but then there is nothing to filter the water. So here is my tip: 


Replace the filter cartridge containing carbon with either a filter sponge or an algae scrubbing pad. Most fish-keepers have an algae scrubbing pad to clean the tank, so this is an easy fix. It works the same as the filter without the carbon removing the medications.


Tip #5:


Most medications make the water cloudy or discolored. Once you are no longer medicating the fish do a 25% water change and put fresh activated carbon into the filter, this should clear the water up fairly quickly.


Tip #6:


Unless the directions specifically say not too I usually mix the medications with some water before adding to the tank, that way there aren't spots of highly concentrated meds in the water that could harm the fish.








Now I have some recommended brands:


The BEST brand of any fish medications in my opinion is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. They have great reviews, there products are really good quality but not expensive, and they do there job really well.


The other brand of medications I sometimes use is Mardel. They have a wide range of medications. They literally have a medication for everything. What I like about Mardel brand is that their products are easy to use and found pretty much everywhere. I find that their Maracyn 2 medication works really well getting rid of fin rot. However when it comes to anit-fungal medications I would recommend going with Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Anti-Fungal Medications instead of Mardel's Maroxy Anti-Fungal. 


The Maroxy uses chlorine to kill the fungus, which I think is odd for two reasons. Chlorine is very toxic to fish, and unless you have no chlorine in your water, you are probably putting dechlorinator into your fish tank, so the medication would be useless. 


Oh I also have a tip about a medication called Bettafix. It is a natural remedy for fin rot and it is meant specifically for bettas. It is great, except really meant for small bowls, if you have a tank larger than one gallon you will go through one bottle really fast.


And this is important to know if you have a betta fish. There is a medication for fin rot called Melafix. NEVER use this with a betta fish, it is actually quite toxic for them, which is why the  company also makes Bettafix as an alternative. If your betta has fin rot I would recommend using Maracyn.

Responding to comments

What is the life expectancy of the hamsters? And what is their natural habitat? Have some of them developed as a result of humans breeding them for certain characteristics or are these 'natural' types?
-Animal Gram

For Syrian hamsters, the life expectancy is 2-3 years. For dwarf hamsters the life expectancy is 1-2 years.


In the wild hamsters live in central europe and northern asia. Most commonly in Russia, Siberia, Syria, China, and Mongolia. 


In that range they inhabit pretty much anywhere including, deserts, mountains, and forests.


The only really big difference between pet and wild hamsters is that pet hamsters have more coat colors, patterns, and types other than the natural coat type and color. 

New quizzes!

New quizzes are up!

How to tame/handle a hamster.

When you get a hamster, odds are they haven't been handled much, so you basically need to tame them. Here's how:


1. Let them get used to your scent.


A good way to do this is to:


let them sniff you
handle their toys a lot before putting them in the hamsters cage


2. Let them get used to your voice.


To do this just spend some time talking to them, though try to do it quietly; not loudly!


3. Feed them treats!


The way to most animals hearts is through their stomach. Give your new hamster some treats. A good treat to try is sunflower seeds, hamsters love them! 


tip! You may not want to feed them the treats through cage bars, this can teach them the habit of biting anything that comes through the bars, which could be your finger one day! So just open the door of the cage to give them their treat.


4. Pet them!


Now you can gently stroke them. Most hamsters seem to like being stroked down their back. My hamster, Pipsqueak, likes being pet behind her ears. 


5. Time to hold them!


When your hamsters is comfortable with you petting them, you can try holding them. There are a few different ways you can do this. If your hamster is like mine and doesn't particularly like being picked up you can:


see if they will crawl into your hand


coax them into your hand with a treat


let them crawl into something like a toilet paper tube to be transported to your hand (this is Pipsqueaks favorite way!)


If your hamster is okay with being picked up then the best way to do this is to cup your hands around your hamster and lift them up gently. 


Once they are in your hand you can let them crawl on you and you can pet them and give them treats to keep them happy. 


caution! Make sure to be careful not to let your hamster escape. If you have a roborovski hamster (the really tiny ones!) you may want to just skip holding them or only do it somewhere where there is no chance of them escaping. They are fast!






Once holding them is successful your hamster is tamed! 




REMEMBER! Hamsters are nocturnal and many are grumpy about being woken up. When you are taming them it is best to not wake them up and wait till they are awake. Syrian hamsters especially can be very grumpy about being woken up. 

Quiz Answers!

CREPUSCULAR ANIMALS ARE MOST ACTIVE AT:

The answer is: dawn and dusk.

RABBITS ARE:

The answer is: crepuscular.

FUN FACT! Guinea pigs are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day and sleep at night just like humans.

FUN FACT #2! Because rabbits are crepuscular, they prefer to eat at dawn and dusk so in the morning and evening is a good time to five them their food.

New quizzes will be up soon after I think of some good questions!