Pet Punter

Archive for March, 2011

There are many different types of rabbit food on the market. Most of the mixes contain a variety of ingredients, such as cereals and pellets. Recent concerns over locust beans, which have been blamed from the death of some rabbits, have led to these being removed by some manufacturers. Check the labeling for the precise ingredients, and make a note of the “use-by” date for the vitamin and mineral content of the mix.

If your rabbit has not been used to fresh foods, introduce this carefully in small amounts. You can feed a rabbit a wide range of fresh foods, including dandelion, grass, carrots and cabbage. Always wash the food beforehand and make sure it is fresh. Many rabbits develop serious diarrhea when they are first put in an outdoor run, because they are not used to eating grass. The consequences can be fatal, so it is important to acclimatize the rabbit to grass before it goes outside.

A rabbit that is fed a commercial formulated food is unlikely to need any supplement to its diet. Treats available from pet stores can be offered occasionally, but watch out for signs that your rabbit is overweight: pet rabbits can become obese, especially if they are fed a diet that is too concentrated. Aim to provide a balanced diet, matched to your pet’s energy requirements. Rabbit kept outside need more food than those kept indoors. A neutered rabbit will also need less food. Pet rabbits can be tamed to eat from the hand. Children need to be taught not to hold on to the food item for too long, however, because the rabbit will crazy on nibbling  and may then take a bite at their fingers. A rabbit diet should consist of both fresh and dry foods. Make any dietary changes gradually to avoid digestive upsets.

These insects are sometimes described collectively as phasmids. This name come from the ancient name for a ghost, and refers to the amazing powers of mimicry of these creatures. In the same way that stick insects are named after the tree branches that they resemble, leaf insects get their name from tree and plant leaves. The similarity is such that blowing gently on a stick insect will cause it to rock back and forth, just as a twig would sway in a breeze. Phasmids have a wide distribution around the world, with the greatest concentration being in warmer climates.

Giant Prickly Stick Insect: A much larger species is the giant prickly stick insect, which originates from Australia. Mature females grow up to 20 cm long, while males are smaller, at 15 cm and less bulky with functional wings, although they rarely fly. Females can be handled easily, but they must have stout branches of bramble to support their weight. In this case, it is possible to distinguish young females by the presence of spikes on their abdomen. Once mature, they lay hundreds of eggs in small numbers, expelling them with considerable force from their abdomen.

Giant Spiny Stick Insect: Occurring on New Guinea and neighboring islands, the giant spiny stick insect differs significantly from the previous species, since it is terrestrial in its habits – a fact that must be reflected in the layout of its accommodation. A large floor area, rather than height, is important in this case. Males grow to about 12.5 cm long, being slightly smaller than females, and can be distinguished by the presence of a long spine on the upper part of their hind legs. In contrast to other species, giant spiny stick insects will often eat fresh grass. They must have a shallow container of drinking water on the floor of their enclosure. The females will bury their eggs in the substrate, with the nymphs, which are miniatures of the adults but green in color, emerging five months later.

The feeding requirements of frogs and toads differ through their life-cycle, with tadpoles being partly vegetarian in their feeding habits. Adult animals, in contrast, require a variety of invertebrates to form the basis of a nutritional diet, with some of the larger toads being capable of eating small vertebrates.

Invertebrates: You can purchase a suitable selection of invertebrates from pet stores or by mail order from suppliers. Cricketers are especially useful for frogs and toads. They are available in a range of sizes and can be fed to the amphibians in one size or another as they grow larger. The crickets can be dusted with a nutritional balancer to improve their feeding value. The movement of crickets also means that they will attract the attention of frog or toad readily, and the fact that they will jump and climb means that they are also ideal for tree frogs, which may otherwise be reluctant to descend to the ground in order to hunt for food. The only other way to feed frogs and toads is to place to shelf on the side of their quarters within easy reach, placing other food items on it for them to eat.

It is a good idea to offer some variety in the amphibian’s diet to allow you to provide them with other items on occasion. Worms are often flavored by toads, although, if you dig these up in the garden, collect them from ground that has not been treated in any way with chemicals. The worms should be left to empty their intestinal tract for a couple of days, in damp grass, before being offered to the vivarium occupants. In the case of the smaller species, you can offer green aphids as a change, brushing these off garden or wild plants with a clean paintbrush. If you are keeping more than one frog or toad in the same enclosure, it is important to check that all of them have adequate opportunity to feed properly, and that the dominant individual is not tacking all the food.

Avoid overfeeding as this can be harmful, with toads in particular becoming obese over a period of time. Amphibians should be eager to feed, although the amount of food that they need will vary, depending on their size and the time of year. Temperate species, for example, will have larger appetites when they first emerge from a period of winter inactivity, needing to replace the stores of body fat that they will have lost over this time.