Pet Punter

Archive for April, 2011

With the growing interest in keeping rabbits in the home, larger breeds have become very popular and they can be given plenty of space to roam. Some of the rabbits are larger and heavier in size that s a small dog. As an example, the British giant is closely-related to the Flemish giant, weights up to 6.1 kg. The breed originated from stock kept as long ago as the 1500s around the city of Ghent in Belgium.

Flemish Giant:  The traditional color of the Flemish giant is steel grey, and it was the refusal of the British show authorities to recognize this breed in other colors that originally triggered the development of the British giant strain in the 1930s. The Flemish giant is still better known internationally, and is also slightly heavier, averaging 7-8kg. These large rabbits are known to be friendly, with calm temperaments. As house-rabbits they will settle quickly into a domestic lifestyle, and can be trained to use a litter tray from an early stage. Although the typical agouti-patterned form, resembling that if the wild rabbit, is commonly seen, a range of colors from pure white through to blue and black is available as well.

New Zealand Varieties: Several varieties of rabbit have their origins in New Zealand. The original white variety was created as a meat breed. It has well-muscled body and relatively short ears, typically weighting up to 5.4kg.

Belgian Hare: This slim, athletic, long-legged Belgian breed resembles a hare, but is nevertheless a rabbit. It is highly distinctive appearance caused a stir when it was first developed at the end of the 19^th century. Early attempts at cross-breeding rabbits with hares always proved futile, which confirms that the Belgian hare is in fact a pure rabbit. The coat is a deep chestnut color with black shading. The long body means that it requires a tall hutch, to enable it to sit up on its hindquarters. It is active by nature, and this, coupled with its sleek appearance, makes it an attractive choice for a pet.

Beveren: The rabbit known as the Beveren also originates from Belgium, and was developed during the 1890s. Today, the breed is large, typically weighing up to 4.5 kg, and has a distinctive mandolin- shaped body. The coat has an attractive silky texture, with individual hairs that are over 2.5 cm long. The traditional color is a pale shade of lavender. The black form was developed in 1919, followed by albinos and dark-eyed whites, and then the brown. One of the most recent additions to this group of friendly rabbits is the lilac, created during the 1980s. Recognizable by its white body and dark markings on the extremities, it is now becoming more common.

The tortoise is primarily herbivorous in their feeding habits but, in general, fruit should not be offered to them. Instead, provide a wide variety of vegetable matter, including wild plants, such as dandelion leaves and flowers, or chickweed and cultivated crops, such as alfalfa, tomatoes and cabbage.

While ordinary lettuce contains little other than water, the red varieties of lettuce have a much higher nutritional content. Always the pet owners have to provide the food for tortoises on a low-sided tray, such as those used as plant stands, to prevent it being dragged around the vivarium and contaminated on the substrate.

All Persian cats – known officially as Longhair Persian type – have the same basic physical shape, size and conformation. Their faces are flat with short noses and small ears which is an additional characteristics.

Black Persian: Black Self Persians are thought to be one of the earliest Persian breeds to have been officially recognized as long ago as the 1600s. Today, however, they are not at all common. The show standard insists on a solid, dense coal-black coat, with no hint of rustiness, shading, markings or white hairs. Today, there are over 60 different color variations of the Longhair Persian type.