Munchkins often sit up like ferrets. This is Theani's Blue Bull and Theani's Mischke whilst playing.
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Gerbils - The Best Pet Option for Young Children
If you have young children under foot begging for a puppy, you're likely concerned that even after they've promised to feed it, walk it, and clean up after it, you'll in fact be the one taking care of the poor creature. Then you'll have a furry child to add to your brood.
As a dog person - allergic though I am - I'm an advocate of children growing up with one (maybe even 2) but that said they are a lot of work, and where younger kids are concerned they may not be the best option. As kids get older and can appreciate that a dog or cat requires a lot of care and work, and is in fact a member of the family once adopted, this idea may be more appealing. However, if your tiny loved ones are just that, tiny, but you still want them to have a pet to love and learn to care for (with your guidance of course), let me make a case for gerbils. But before I do, let's run through a few other pet options that may seem appealing but may not be as suitable for a host of reasons.
Other small animals and their drawbacks
I suppose before I assume your little critters will want one of the furry and cuddly variety, I should address the cold-blooded sort. Personally I like snakes and lizards well enough, but I wouldn't necessarily want one living in my house. Also, young children are very tactile and many of these creatures need to be handled carefully or don't necessarily like to be handled at all. Beyond that, their set-up can be expensive and difficult to maintain. As reptiles can't regulate their own body temperatures it is crucial that their domiciles are maintained at a certain constant temperature. Their diets can also be tricky. For these reasons it is very easy for them to fall ill if not watched closely for signs of distress.
Now onto our fluffy friends. Bunnies are some of the cutest animals around but experts will tell you that they are not good pets for young children. They are prone to biting, even with a lot of gentle handling and "training" to get them used to being pet and cuddled. Of even greater concern is the fact that they are a lot more fragile than they look. Rabbits have very delicate bones and even older children and adults need to be conscious of how they pick them up, handle them, and replace them to their homes. They also need a lot of care, and can be a lot of work to clean up after to keep their cages neat and odour-free.
Guinea pigs have a lot of the same pitfalls as bunnies. Though they actually need a lot of love and attention which may seem like a match made in heaven for kids who want nothing more than to bestow hugs and kisses upon them, it's a lot more work than one would think. If you have one guinea pig, you must spend at least a couple of hours a day taking it out of its home and playing with it. If you have two (highly recommended as they are very social and get lonely), they still need to be taken out of their cage at least once a day for an hour or more for play time. They also require a lot of different toys to play with and places to hide and explore to keep them happy and healthy. Once again diet is crucial and clean-up can be a job unto itself. The benefits are well worth it - ask any guinea pig lover - but that's a lot of work for anyone.
Rats (if they don't creep you out) are very social but the downside once again is that they require a lot of attention and care. Mice are great but they are lightning-fast, pee a lot, and need a lot of things to climb and play on to be happy. They are a great option though, as they are easy to care for in terms of diet, don't require a lot of attention from you if they are kept in pairs or groups, and don't require a large cage. And, the more you give them to play with, the more entertaining they become. I would definitely rank them in the number two spot.
Hamsters, though one of the cutest little critters around, aren't all that easy to take care of. Diet is simple, and again they don't require a large cage (though with any animal the more space you can give it, the happier it will be). They do however need to be trained to be held without freaking out or biting, they are fragile, and they pee a lot too which means their bedding needs to be changed regularly. There are also different types of hamsters and each type has different requirements to be healthy and happy. Some can and should be housed in multiples, others need to be solitary, like Teddy Bear hamsters. And though this should be intuitive and applies to any pets you may have, don't house both sexes together or you will end up with more pets than you bargained for. Hamsters (any type) would be better for a slightly older child with a little more patience.
Gerbils really are a great option
We now come to gerbils. They should be housed in groups of at least two or more females to keep them happy as they are very social little munchkins. They are fast but they won't bite and they can be trained easily to get used to being held. They don't seem to mind too much if a child comes along, startles them, and scoops them up without warning. The only time a gerbil has even so much as nibbled on my finger was when I forgot to wash my hands after making a peanut butter-and-jam sandwich - who could blame the little guy?
Gerbils are desert creatures which means they drink less water than other furry animals and thus they pee far less. This means their bedding stays cleaner longer and they should never have a smelly cage for you to deal with. They also love to dig and burrow but introduce a wheel into their environment and once they figure it out it will be their new favourite toy!
Their diet is simple (you can buy a two-kilo bag of gerbil food at your nearest Walmart for .00 and it will last two gerbils quite a while) and so is their home set-up. The only thing I recommend you don't do is buy one of those Habitrail hard-plastic homes for them. They love to chew and will make cracks in the plastic eventually, but this doesn't mean they are difficult to house. You may like the look of the store-bought sanctuary but trust me, they don't care. All they want to do all day is burrow and run on their wheel, and maybe box a little - this is typical of gerbils, especially sisters like the gerbils I have, Lola and Yvette. They may squeak and fight but so long as they cuddle up together at bedtime, you know they're fine.
I bought my little duo the biggest Rubbermaid container I could find, filled it with recycled cardboard bedding (also available at Walmart and pet stores of course) - as wood chip bedding is not safe or healthy for any animal as it can cause respiratory issues - a wheel, a wooden hut, food, and a water bottle and they're in hog heaven. They live an average of one to 3 years and mine have already passed the 3-year mark!
A reminder - lots of space is key to your new pet's welfare
As an animal lover I am a huge advocate of making sure you do all of your research before adopting a pet of any kind. This is essential to ensure that everything from their bedding to their food and home set-up is appropriate and of the highest quality.
Another crucial issue is space. Commercial cages aren't that big and pet store "experts" will be only too happy to direct you to a cage with all of the bells and whistles and convince you that this will keep your new pet happy, but this is not the case. Again, if you do your research you will find that commercial cages are made to be big enough to house the appropriate animals and give them room to move around a bit, but that doesn't mean they're adequate by any stretch of the imagination.
Imagine if someone had you in a cage for almost twenty-four hours a day. The issue is that manufacturers need to make cages that are easy to ship, can be easily stacked once they reach the pet store, and can be sold at an outrageous mark-up for what is little more than heavy wire and/or plastic. Down the road when the kids are older and you decide you may want to graduate to one of the animals I have mentioned, have a look online for easy and inexpensive DIY pet homes. It if often more fun to design and create your own habitat and this way your pet will have all the room it needs and then some. This will be evident in its behaviour and you'll all reap the benefits of a happy, healthy, and playful new addition to your family.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Napoleon Kitten -Black changeable with gold eyes
This is a gorgeous solid black Napoleon kitten with huge copper eyes, and they will get more and more copper as she gets older, and COAT, real nice silky coat that is non-matting style. She is a rughugger, I hate that term but people understand it, so I use it, it means REALLY short legs. I was going to keep this little girl for my breeding program but you you just can't keep them all. I have a cat of similar breeding and I can guess that this girl will not be a big cat, maybe 5 pounds full grown. ANyone who gets her will have a beautiful little Napoleon, no runny eyes!
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Monday, November 21, 2011
The Good and Bad of Keeping Rabbits As Pets
What is any softer or more cuddly that a rabbit? Absolutely nothing! They are some of the cutest creatures on earth. Besides the many hours of enjoyment one can get from a rabbit, they can actually be house trained. A wood chip lined cage and even a kitty litter box will make a great rabbit lavatory.
Everyone knows what a rabbit is as we all have seen them. Not a lot of people are enticed to adopt them as a pet. They need little care like some other pets. After all, dogs are needy, cats are aloof and temperamental, and others are just plain boring.
Rabbits are very unpredictable creatures but extremely entertaining animals. They are natural little snoops and want to investigate anything they happen around them. Becoming familiar with their surroundings make them calm and comfortable. Their care is low maintenance and only your understanding of their behaviors is required.
Now let's delve into the reason why rabbits can be the worst pets possible. Ever notice those nice little incisors sticking out of their mouths? Well, rabbits like to use them and they are good at it too. Cables and cords can be shredded to pieces that are unrecognizable. Any type of material can be targeted and wood is not spared. The damage these munchkins can do in a short period of time is unbelievable.
Another negative is the amount of money involved for their care. Besides the cost of the rabbit, you will need a cage, a dispenser for water, and some chew toys. Treats are always nice along with food for their regular diet. And even if your pet rabbit were to fall deeply in love with you, you are not a rabbit. They want companionship of their own breed. So now the cost doubles.
Rabbits don't care who you are and they won't come when called. They simply co-exist in the same place that you do. Are you sure you still want one?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Purrfect Pets - How Selective Breeding of Cats Works
The concept of selective breeding was first discovered in the mid 1800 by the Austrian monk by Johann Mendel. He put forth two "laws" that fell into obscurity until their rediscovery in the early 1900s.
Mendel's first law stated that if two parents of pure strains are crossed and they differ in only one trait for which one has two dominant factors (his word for genes) and the other has two recessive factors, all the offspring of the first generation will display the dominant factor trait. For example, the crossing of a true breeding black coated parent and a true breeding blue coated parent will result in a black coated kitten, Black is dominant over blue.
The second law states that crossing of the offspring will then produce variety in that same trait. Some will look like each of the grandparents in terms of that trait and some will look like neither. Therefore, some of the next generation will have black coats, some blue coats and some will have other coloured coats.
We know today that all features of any cat or any living creature for that matter, are controlled by genes, which are situated on chromosomes. When fertilization takes place, the sperm cell from the male unites with the egg cell from the female and the chromosomes of the created offspring are arranged in pairs. Half of each pairs comes from the father, while the other half comes from the mother. Thus, the newly created animal is given its genetic programming, its features have been determined.
Breeders attempt to produce Kittens with top show potential by continuing the best features of the parents and improving on other features. They can concentrate entirely on the esthetic qualities, because the usefulness of the animal in terms of function need not be considered. Whereas breeders of other animals may also consider "abilities" or purpose of what the offspring is to be used for such as race horses, beef cattle, working dogs where appearance many not be the number one reason.
New Breeds and varieties are established in one of 3 ways.
Mutation-such Cat breeds as the Sphynx, American Wirehair, Cornish Rex and Devon Rex are examples. Mutations are impossible to predict, but when they occur, they are passed onto subsequent generations like any other gene.
Recombination of Mutant Genes-this generally gives us new color varieties rather than entirely new breeds. It is how breeders eventually developed a dozen varieties of the Burmese Cat.
Ongoing Selection of the Polygenes-also known as the quantitative genes, to produce the desired characteristic. No mutation is involved, only the selection for further breeding of the members from each new generation that best demonstrates the desired characteristics. The Siamese was a man-made process for many generations.
Mutation can explain the fact that kittens of domestic cats are born domestic. With most wild species, the domestication process must be repeated with each new generation. Another important term in breeding is "inbreeding". This in itself, is neither good not bad. It is simply a process.
Breeders commonly use inbreeding to purify bloodlines, such as breeding the best to the best to get closer to that "ideal" cat. Inbred offspring resemble each other more with each new generation. But with inbreeding, caution must be exercised to ensure that no harmful recessive trait is brought out. For example in some animals, temperament, poor confirmation.
If a Cat Breeder wanted to obtain long haired kittens with point coloring, they would breed a "purebred" longhair ie. black and cross it with a pointed shorthair ie. Siamese. The genes for the black color and short hair are dominant and so all of the kittens will have these characteristics. However, all of the kittens will also have genes for point coloring and long hair. Than, if some of these kittens are crossed, the next generation could include cats with various permutations of the four characteristics (black/point/long haired/shorthaired), including some of the desired longhaired cats with the point coloring.
You will often hear the words "Homozygous" which means breeding true. Heterzygous is "mixed" or considered the "recessive" gene. As you first experiment with your breeding, you may note that some of your litters are consistent, others are not as they will contain both of the above dominant and recessive genes. However, as you continue to mate some of the selected offsprings, this is when "selective breeding" will bring out the desired feline offsprings.
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Diamond Dove - The Pet Bird That Doesn't Talk Back (Or Bite!)
The popularity of keeping parrots as pets has overshadowed the other available pet bird species, species that make endearing pets that are often simpler to care for, and can be highly entertaining when given the opportunity.
The Diamond Dove is one such bird.
Diamond Doves are the size of parakeets, or budgerigars for those of you in Britain. These birds can live anywhere from five to twenty years old.
The beautiful wild color variation is the most commonly found, with the males bluish-gray on the heads, necks, back, and wings, white tails, white spots on the wings, and a well-defined orange ring around each eye. The female of this color variation has more brown on her head, neck, and wings, and a less well-defined orange eye ring, but is beautiful none the less.
Diamond Doves come in a wide variety of color variations, from the wild type to cinnamon, silver, silver-blue with white tails, soft yellow, to a gorgeous pure white.
The sound the doves make is a gentle 'coo-coo' with the male being somewhat louder during courtship. My female dove Emma's 'coo-coo' is somewhere between a coo and a beep. Diamond Doves are never obnoxiously loud, as so many parrot species are.
Diamond Doves are highly sociable birds always happiest when in the company of their own kind. But these birds are also highly prolific. If you do not want a flock of tiny doves, then purchase only one bird. Be patient and the dove will bond with you in a few weeks' time.
My dove follows me around the house each morning. When she can't find me I hear her coo-coo. I call her name and then mimic her coo. I soon hear a flutter of wings as she arrives. I have to be careful not to step on her when she follows me around because Diamond Doves are ground-feeding birds. They spend a lot of time poking about the floor or the bottom of their cage.
The best cage for Diamond Doves should be long rather than high so the birds can fly from perch to perch. A cage two feet by two feet can house a single pair of doves. The birds will even breed in a cage this size.
Remove any wire mesh on the floor of the cage. Your bird or birds will want to peck after fallen seed or grit, or simply sit on the floor from time to time.
Feeding a Diamond Dove is simple. A diet of mixed finch seed with plenty of millet mixed with a vitamin powder will do, with the occasional treat of greens or egg crumbles. Be sure to provide a bowl of grit because doves need grit to crush seeds. Fresh water should always be available. You can also provide a cuttle bone for calcium, but I find doves get plenty of calcium from their grit. The choice is yours.
Diamond doves have individual personalities best seen when the bird is kept singly in a cage and when bonded with you, much like house cats. He or she may be a fussbudget, a mother hen, aggressive, nosy, laid back, always on the go, or any combination of the above.
Diamond doves can be trained to step onto hand-held perches and even come when called. My dove Emma knows her name and even her nickname ('munchkin bird'). She knows how to nag me into opening her cage and, once out, will often perch on the edge of my laptop while I write, if not on my shoulder. When feeling demonic, she pecks at the keys while I am trying to work. I shoo her off and then she retreats to the houseplants, where she pokes about in the dirt.
Parrots are wonderful birds. But if you are looking for a smaller, quiet, and easier to care for feathered companion, but still a lot of fun, then you owe it to yourself to get better acquainted with the lovely Australian charmer the Diamond Dove.
Monday, October 17, 2011
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Monday, September 26, 2011
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Graphic - The Cat of Breed of Munchkin - 36"W x 26"H
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Post Date : Sep 26, 2011 10:46:41 | Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| Price : Post Date : Sep 26, 2011 10:46:41 | Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Friday, September 23, 2011
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Graphic - 36"W x 26"H - The Cat of Breed of Munchkin
!±8±Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Graphic - 36"W x 26"H - The Cat of Breed of Munchkin
Brand : WallMonkeysRate :
Price :
Post Date : Sep 07, 2011 12:55:35
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won't damage your paint or leave any mess. PLEASE double check the size of the image you are ordering prior to clicking the 'ADD TO CART' button. Our graphics are offered in a variety of sizes and prices.
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