Fish Stress: Signs, Causes, and Treatment
Jump to section Signs of Stress in Fish Why Is My Fish Stressed? How To Treat Stressed Fish Can a Stressed Fish Recover? Can a Fish Die From Stress? How To Prevent Fish Stress
How To Find a Lost Cat
In This Article How To Find a Missing Cat View 2 More +
Training the Next Generation of Search and Rescue Dogs
PVWDC puppies have a normal home life with foster families and spend their days training on-site at the PVWDC. This formula greatly benefits working dog development; as Dr. Otto says, “it gives the puppies the best of both worlds. They get to live with families and learn how to adapt to that kind of lifestyle, which will be the way they will live when they’re working and living with their handlers.”,During Thanksgiving 2013 I finally was able to join Dr. Otto in Philadelphia for an intriguing tour of the PVWDC. The highlight of my visit was the opportunity to witness the rigorous and methodical process the dogs go through as part of their training.,Thirteen years have passed since the tragic events of 9/11. The aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction drastically changed my day-to-day life in Washington, D.C., where I was living in 2001 and working at a veterinary hospital in close proximity to the Pentagon.
What Type of Bird Toys Are Best for Lovebirds
Many pet birds approach toys with extreme caution (read here: “toys freak me out”), but not lovebirds. With lovebirds, toy acceptance is not an issue. The question isn’t “Will my lovebird like the toy?” but rather, “Is the bird toy safe?” or even, “Will my lovebird like the bird toy too much?” It’s hard to imagine a more anthropomorphic behavior issue than becoming too attached to toys, but like people, lovebirds love their toys—sometimes too much. “Lovebirds like toys they can snuggle with, but if you have a female bird, these toys could stimulate egg production,” says Byron J.S. de la Navarre, DVM at the Animal House of Chicago. “This can be taxing on their health.” Egg production can deplete your bird of calcium and protein, which can lead to serious health issues, so you may want to avoid nest boxes and similar toys, he says. But there are plenty of other toys your bird will love that won’t cause this side effect and lovebirds really need their toys.
The Best Backyard Chicken Breeds
Thinking about adding chickens to your yard this year? Not all chicken breeds are created equal. There are lots of things to consider when deciding what types of chickens are best for the size of your backyard. Discover some commonly kept types of chickens to decide which breed is best for you.
Encephalitis in Horses
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Why Do Cats Like Water From a Faucet? Is This Normal?
There are several reasons why a cat may choose to drink running water from a faucet instead of the water in their bowl: Evolution has taught them not to trust standing water They really don’t like their water bowl or where their bowl is placed Water from the faucet just plain tastes better,My cat drinks from the faucet all the time. Why do cats like water from a faucet? Is this normal?
What To Do When Your Dog Is Sick, According to Vets
It can be difficult to know if your dog is sick, for a few reasons.,Jump to section Common Signs Your Dog Is Sick What To Do When Your Dog Is Sick When Is My Dog’s Sickness Considered an Emergency? How To Make Your Home More Comfortable for Your Sick Dog How To Help Prevent Your Dog From Getting Sick
Would You Buy Your Grandkids a Pet Rat?
Our columnist did. Find out how it turned out This article is courtesy of Grandparents.com. By Adair Lara Grandparents are like grandchildren. Sometimes we do things even when we know better. For example, there I was at Western Feed, a pet shop in Santa Rosa, Calif., on an errand with my mother-in-law (surprising my husband with a canary) when I saw the glass tank marked “female rats.” As it happened, I had bought a colorful animal cage at a garage sale that morning (along with an empty bird cage), and it was sitting right in the trunk of my car. So I bought a furry black-and-white rat, and the backlash started immediately: As the man at the register put my new pet in a cardboard box, he muttered, “I hate rodents.” I had not, let me say, asked his opinion or brought up the merits of rats as pets in any way. My mother-in law was dubious too: “A rat?” “For the grandkids.” “Where will it live?” she asked. It was a fair question. My granddaughters, Maggie, 4 and Ryan, 6, with divorced parents and two sets of grandparents, have bedrooms in four different houses — two in San Francisco; another 25 miles north in Fairfax; and a fourth an hour-and-a-half east in Davis. The rat would have to get a little rodent-size suitcase, lunchbox, and car seat to travel around with them. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about how excited Ryan was about the tadpole in her kindergarten classroom and how much better a rat of her own would be than a tadpole in a school. So I brought the rat home. Later, my daughter Morgan, Maggie and Ryan’s mother, came by with the girls, and I showed her the rat. She gave me that same look she gives the girls when she is trying to be patient. “Okay,” she said, “but tell them it’s your rat.” Rat Love My new pet was a big hit! The girls took turns holding the rat, putting it in their pockets (try that with a tadpole) and asking questions about it. Ryan, wearing her new bathing suit although there was no pool in sight, asked me why I bought it. After I explained, she said, “What does impulsive mean?” They named the rat Sara, because they name everything Sara (we took the precaution of naming my husband’s new canary Jack before the girls could call it Sara, too). They particularly liked the black-and-white cloth igloo that had come in the cage I bought at the garage sale. They took off the cage top, stretched out on the floor, and breathed on Sara. And when Morgan drove off with the girls, there was Sara in her bright plastic cage sitting between Maggie and Ryan in the backseat of the Subaru. What a sport Morgan is to take Sara home, I thought, especially as there is already a cat named Wolfie at her house … A Short Stay An hour later, Morgan came to her senses. She called on her cell to ask me to meet her halfway between her house and ours (we live 20 miles apart). “I’m wondering if you would mind keeping Sara at your house,” she said. So I took Sara back. Now, I would keep a pony in my playroom if the girls wanted me to. An elephant. But Sara produced a musty smell in the bathroom in which I hid her from my husband. She ate that little black-and-white fabric igloo in the cage — which, by the way, turned out to have been made for hamsters, and was much too small for a rat. So I had to move her to a larger plastic box. And, of course, the girls only come by here occasionally, while the rat would have to hang her toothbrush next to ours full time. I gave Sara away a few days later, but was left with the memory of having been an idiot. Again. I do give my grandkids a lot of stuff. When Ryan was a baby, I met Morgan in the park one day after work. As I pulled toy after toy out of my backpack, a woman who’d been watching drawled, “Let me guess: This is the grandmother, and it’s the first grandchild.” Recently, I helped Morgan move and found myself having to haul away all the space-swallowing toys I’d given the girls, from a twice-life-size duck, to a drive-in Barbie car, to no fewer than four bikes. I realized then how patient Morgan is with me, as I arrive with bags in hand, and then say, “Oh, and there’s something else out in the truck.” I get the hit of delighting the kids with the present, and my daughter? She gets a giant stuffed duck. Will I stop doing this? I should. I will. I’ll try. Image: John Morgan / via Flickr This article originally appeared on Grandparents.com.
6 Things You Didn’t Know About Aquarium Shrimp
5. Shrimp Molt as They Grow Beginner fishkeepers often think they have dead shrimp lying on the floor of the aquarium. These often aren’t actually dead shrimp; they are the shrimp exoskeletons that were shed. Molting is a necessary process that shrimp must go through numerous times as they grow. When they are young, shrimp will shed their skin around once a week. An easy way to tell whether the shrimp-like shape at the bottom of your aquarium is a shell or a dead shrimp is that dead shrimp tend to be pinkish in color. A shell, on the other hand, looks almost exactly the same as a living, colorful shrimp. As soon as an aquarium shrimp sheds their shell, they are very vulnerable because their new shell is quite soft in the beginning. They’ll usually hide for the next few days until their shells have hardened.,6. Shrimp Are Brilliant Swimmers While their primary mode of moving around is walking, shrimp are actually really good at swimming. This is not the typical type of swimming we’re used to seeing in fish (because shrimp have no fins), but shrimp are able to move around quickly in the water. Shrimp are best at swimming backward. These arthropods can propel themselves backward by flexing the muscles in their abdomen and tail quickly. They move their abdomen toward their body, and this projects them quite quickly through the water. Shrimp can also swim forward, albeit more slowly than they’re able to move backward, by using the limbs on the underside of their body. By Robert Woods of Fishkeepingworld.com Featured Image: Adobe/Swapan,Aquarium shrimp have become increasingly popular over the last few years. They add a new, fun element to aquariums and come in a range of colors and sizes. Many people think they are difficult to look after, but shrimp are pretty easy to care for—once you know how. Here’s what you need to know about keeping shrimp in an aquarium.
