January 2009

  • The Lowdown on Pocket Pet Bedding

    By erika on 1/22/09 10:05am
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    Pocket pet owners are faced with a plethora of bedding choices. Here is some information to help you select the right bedding for your pet:

    Cedar

    Cedar shavings are NOT a suitable bedding for small animals. Cedar wood contains a powerful and pungent oil, and the fumes can irritate their eyes. Cedar works well as a flea repellent, and should only be used as stuffing for your dog's or cat's bed.

    Pine

    Pine, like cedar, is a softwood that contains a lot of volatile chemicals called phenols. These phenols make the pine shavings smell nice, but they are also toxic to small animals.

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  • The natural history of the gerbil

    By erika on 1/8/09 12:03pm
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    Gerbils are one of the most popular pocket pets, but few people know more about them than their shiny eyes and long tails with the sweet little tuft at the end. These things are true, of course, but there is much more to the gerbil than its high adorability factor.

    The gerbil subfamily includes a long list of other desert rodents, which are scattered across the African, Indian, and Asian continents. Gerbils as a class are hardy, social animals, which are well adapted to their hot dry climate.

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  • The Best Diet for Hamsters

    By erika on 1/6/09 10:37am
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    I like to feed my hamsters a "base diet," and supplement with a lot of other good stuff. Feeding your hamster nothing but kibble is like eating nothing but Power Bars and a multivitamin - all day, every day. Wouldn't you want some fresh fruits and veggies, and the occasional steak?

    Base Diet

    Your hamster's base diet should be a fresh, high quality pellet food. Don't skimp! Avoid any mixes that seem to have a lot of pellet dust at the bottom of the bag. This can indicate that it has been sitting on the shelf for a very long time.

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