Sebastian absolutely loves all those fringey bird toys, and uses the little paper shreds to line his nests. I figured free is always better and made something sort of similar. I simply cut fringes in four toilet paper rolls, squished three into the fourth one, and strung it up to make him work a little bit. The hardest part really was stringing it up, I had to use a drill to get a big enough hole across the whole thing.
Sebastian loves nesting related enrichment more than food related enrichment, so I tend to lean more towards that sort of thing with him.
Anonymous said: Hello Dr! I was wondering, could you explain the rationale of
why most online sources judge a pet food based on whether or not they
contain “real meat” sources in the first 5 ingredients, and why or why
not this is a good metric for quality?
The internet is a fascinating and convoluted source of information, which has the unfortunate habit of being dominated by a few individuals not because they are ‘right’ but because they are ‘loud’.
That said there is certainly some merit to scrutinizing the ingredients on a bag of pet food, but it can’t be the only thing. Let me try to explain in a vaguely chronological order, because commercial food and the way we feed our pets is changing.
Once upon a time, and sometimes even today if you go to the cheaper end of the supermarket, you’d see labels on pet food that said something like “Meat with Beef” or “Fish with Salmon”.
And you’d be inclined to think “Meat with Beef” means this food is beef. So your pet with a chicken or pork allergy should be fine. But this was not the case. You could look at the ingredient list and see ‘meat’ listed very early on… and ‘Beef’ listed further down.
So what was ‘Meat’? Well, it could have been beef, but it could also have been chicken, pork, or very commonly mutton. It was whatever was cheap that month so the formula for that food would vary from batch to batch, and that wasn’t good for pets with a sensitive stomach or an allergy. 20% of it had to be beef, but the rest could be whatever else.
I had three slider turtles surrendered today – three. Two are babies, like the little one shown up top. Yes, they were each surrendered in one of those. One is an adult female, pictured below with the turtle “habitat” on her back for comparison. All are in neglected condition with poor shell health.
SO…
This is what you need to understand when getting a turtle. 1. The little baby turtles sold on the beach, the fair, at flea markets, in little hole-in-the-wall shops? Are illegal. Turtles under 4″ in general are not being legally sold. This has been a federal law since about the mid-70′s due to salmonella outbreaks linked to the turtles (google it if you don’t believe me). Anyplace selling these turtles for any reason other that research or education is doing so illegally and, if they come in a little “habitat” like the one shown here, unscrupulously. 2. Turtles can not survive in tiny critter keepers. They should live 30+ years but most will only make it a few months in such containers. Why? Well: 3. Turtles need 5-10g of water (not tank, water) per inch of shell length to keep clean and happy. What’s more, they need: 4. Heat and UVB to digest, absorb calcium, and grow. Both of the tiny turtles we got in today have severely soft shells from calcium deficiency, and one has a mild respiratory infection from inadequate heat. 5. They also need filtration to help keep clean, or they can develop shell rot, bacterial infections, eye infections, etc. Even with a filter, expect large WEEKLY water changes. 6. A dry area to get totally out of the water to bask. Lacking a basking spot can lead to shell rot, which can go bone deep and be lethal. 7. A nutritious, fortified diet, PLUS fresh foods. Baby turtles need plenty of protein items while adult (sliders) will need a good portion of their diet to be vegetation. Those crappy oversized pellets baby turtles are sold with are not complete nutrition in and of themselves. 8. Finally, turtles need educated owners committed to a high-maintenance, long lived, LARGE pet with significant space requirements. Slider turtles and cooters, the most common species sold in those horrid little boxes, can grow to over a foot in length. The big girl pictured could still easily put on another 5″ or more in size and will need to live in a good hundred gallon tank (at least) to be happy and healthy.
Don’t be an impulsive, uneducated, crummy pet owner. Only get a turtle if you’re ready to provide everything – I mean everything – they need to grow, survive, and thrive.
And yes, the turtles pictured are now all living in spacious, filtered, heated, UVB’d environments to recover from their negligent care.
This post is making the rounds again and I wanted to add that ACS is currently home to 20 sliders (red ears and yellow bellies) and is totally maxed out and now turning away turtles left and right, which breaks my heart. Spread this like wildfire if it means even one person who shouldn’t have a turtle won’t get one.
Please please please please PLEASE spread this. Turtles (especially semi-aquatic turtles and even more especially sliders) are NOT low-maintenance beginner pets. Please don’t believe anyone who says they are.
A long time ago when I was 7 years old, I put a bunch of different pets I wanted on my Christmas list because I was ready to own my first pet. My parents agreed and looked to my grandmother to do the buying of the pet. But rather than agreeing upon an animal whose care is even slightly easier (a tortoise comes to mind, but please don’t think that most children are actually ready to handle the commitment that is tortoise care), they chose a Red-Eared Slider.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you RES’s make terrible pets, because they actually make fantastic pets. They can be super engaging and they’re really smart! My turtle was always really excited to see me and I had even trained him to do a couple of “tricks.” He was like a little dog, honestly, and I loved him very very very much.
But here’s the problem. Water is HEAVY. Backbreakingly heavy, in fact. You can do every single bit of care for your turtle right, but if you can’t do weekly water changes and a full water change and scrub-down of the tank/decor at least once every month, you are neglecting your turtle.
To reiterate: You can do every single bit of care for your turtle right, but if you can’t do weekly water changes and a full water change and scrub-down of the tank/decor at least once every month, you are neglecting your turtle.
Semi-aquatic turtles are filthy animals – and I say that in the most endearing way I can. Seriously they are filthy. They make a LOT of waste – way more than any filter (especially any indoor filter) can actually handle. Filter changes happen often, and so do full blown deep-cleans.
Like I said – water is heavy. It takes a hell of a lot of hard work to get the enclosure drained out (especially if your turtle isn’t close to any sort of drain). It doesn’t matter if you’re using a glass tank or a large plastic tub – it takes incredible amounts of strength. I mean seriously – way more strength than a young child can exude and perhaps even more strength than a man in the army (hi, dad) can give. It takes ESPECIALLY more strength than what a disabled child can give.
I couldn’t clean his enclosure. My parents were both always too busy and seemed annoyed any time I asked them to help me. My brother certainly wasn’t going to help either. When I developed my disability, they still didn’t lend a hand. I physically was incapable of being able to clean out his tank so it literally got to the point where the filter couldn’t even work and the tank was such a murky mess that it was pretty much impossible to see into. My turtle died at 8 years old and frankly – I’m surprised he even lived that long. I still to this day feel miserable about it. The day he died, I posted to Facebook about the importance of making sure you do all of your research first and also being sure that you as a parent are absolutely willing to help your child care for the animal when they are struggling to do so. Instead I got blamed wholly for his death by my parents, and my grandparents still hold a slight grudge on me to this day. I had tried really hard. I had overexerted myself trying to do it myself. I had asked for help over and over and got none. But it wasn’t enough because I just wasn’t able. I tried finding somebody new to take him, but nobody would. I tried getting my parents to let me surrender him to a shelter and they refused. Here I am again though, telling the story in hopes that somebody will say “oh maybe I shouldn’t get my child this pet.” Seriously. Save yourself the pain unless you yourself are willing to put the work in too. Even if it’s you or a friend you know looking for one as a pet, you NEED to consider if you are PHYSICALLY ABLE to care for this type of animal. I’m legitimately not joking when I say a rabbit can be significantly easier to care for than a red-eared slider or any other semi-aquatic turtle.
So the moral of this story is – PLEASE dont get a semi-aquatic turtle unless you are sure that you can cater to ALL of its needs, including the strength and time it can take to clean out its enclosure.
Thanks for this addition. I often hear parents saying that their child is going to be responsible for their turtle entirely, and I’ve had parents say this of kids as young as four to “teach them responsibility.” Nevermind the fact that someone incapable of caring for themselves should not be in charge of another life – really if you’re one of these parents I hate you and you shouldn’t have kids. A child can not PHYSICALLY care for a turtle.
Even a 1" turtle being kept in five gallons of water requires the child be able to drain nearly 50lbs of water, and that’s not counting tank and gravel weight, on their own, then refill that amount of water. Maintaining a larger turtle in a larger tank is tough for many adults. I have broken ribs right now and I’m REALLY struggling with the upkeep of my turtle stock tanks – and I guarantee I have better equipment for tank maintenance than a four year old has access to.
Honestly, very few people should probably own large semi-aquatic turtles, and the fact that you can buy them for $20 at any pet store kinda makes me sick to my stomach.
Yup! Totally safe. In fact, I actually gave two of my leos mint leaves tonight. They won’t eat them, but they do get interested! For liquid scents, I recommend soaking a piece of felt in the liquid of choice- that way the animal can’t rip off a piece and ingest it by mistake!
ALSO:
make sure that your scent of choice is safe! ESSENTIAL OILS ARE NOT SAFE. They will irritate the hell out of your reptiles nose/airway/lungs, and that’s the best case scenario. Harsh chemicals of any kind, not safe. Spices? safe. Put a cinnamon stick in there, that’s a fun smell. Fruit juice, sure, that’s an interesting smell. But NO ESSENTIAL OILS I cannot stress that enough.
What about flowers? I’m specifically thinking roses with the thorns removed.
Oh yeah flowers are fine! If you have a lizard that eats plants, some food-grade hibiscus is always appreciated. With roses, be careful, because those are often heavily sprayed with pesticides. Go for minimal treatment on any plants you offer!
Heck yeah I do, I had to drive for three(?) days from BC to Winnipeg with Newt and Mia, newt loves car rides and was bobbing along most of the way but Mia’s basically a very tiny ball of condensed anxiety. Even with that though once she got past the initial jitters she was as content as could be!
If you have time prior to leaving take them on short car rides regularly. Even if it’s just around the block it’ll help them get used to the process and perhaps even enjoy it! Do short trips and gradually work up to longer drives based on their comfort level.
Having music on is a good help, it will blend out any potentially startling noises that may come from driving (sudden horns, outside bird’s, etc.) and gives them something to focus on.
Setting up a big treat or foraging opportunity can be a great distraction as well. When I was driving I gave the birds a honey stick to keep their minds focused on something enjoyable while they settled in to the road trip.
Depending on the bird covering back seat windows may help them feel a bit safer, things whizzing by the windows could be a big stressor. Some birds may feel insecure moving but not seeing where they’re moving though so keep an eye on what your bird prefers. My guys liked looking out the window so I left it.
Talk to your bird in a relaxed voice, reassure them, hearing something familiar and someone they trust in a relaxed demeanour will help them determine that the situation they’re in is safe. Your bird may use you as a guide to determine whether to panic or not, assuring them that you’re calm helps them feel safer.
Depending on how far you’re going it may be best to take frequent breaks. Being stuck in a travel cage for extended periods of time will be stressful, some birds may benefit from the opportunity to come out for a bit and stretch their wings! Newt started getting pretty antsy on day two and would grab his food bowl and chuck it on the ground to let us know he was not okay with what was happening.
Overall make sure to have fun, driving long distance will wear you down and having to worry about your little feathered ones will make it stressful. Try to focus less on a time frame to get there and more on how to relax and enjoy the trip. Pulling over often is just as important for you as it is for your birds so please don’t forget to take care of yourself too!
The “I WANT ONE” impulse is also a huge issue at reptile+exotics shows. While a seller is technically legally required to send out a care sheet with every animal sold, I’ve never had that actually happen to me. There’s no waiting period or requirement. A buyer isn’t required to show proof that they have an enclosure ready and waiting for their new pet—- in fact, it’s often a selling point at expos that you can buy everything you need for your new pet RIGHT THERE. It’s so easy to be caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm of an expo. It’s practically tailor made for impulse buys.
When I bought one of my leopard geckos, I was actually offered a second one for free. I declined because ‘I don’t have another enclosure right now’ and the seller gleefully pointed out that everything I needed was being sold right at the expo anyway. That’s what I mean by tailor-made for impulses. I was actively telling a seller that I wasn’t set up for another gecko, but they were giving me excuses to acquire another one. FOR FREE, even!
I have been at expos with MUCH more exotic selections who do require specialized care and knowledge, including prairie dogs, short-tailed Brazilian opossums, frilled dragons, ackie monitors, reticulated pythons, large torts… that’s just the start of a list. I could list hundreds of species. Every time there’s an expo, craigslist and similar rehoming sites are inundated with people trying to sell off their animals.
obviously, I’m not saying expos are inherently bad. But I am saying that there really ought to be some systems in place to prevent Bad Idea Impulse Buys. I know that, ultimately, it really IS up to the buyer to Not Be Such a Fucking Idiot And Actually Do Research, but Not Being An Idiot isn’t a strong point for our species.
Honestly, this is a big reason I haven’t home to an expo before. The whole idea makes me really anxious because of how often I read and hear about impulse buys, and how there’s still a lot of variance in quality of breeders/sellers. It just feels like everything I really dislike about the pet trade and I don’t want to have it all around me.
My rehab once had some people bring us like 30+ southern flying squirrels that had been living in the walls of their new house. They said when they brought in the multiple cages full of squirrels that when they trapped the first one, they considered keeping it for a pet, but then they just kept getting more & more in the traps.
We quickly let them know that was for the best because it’s illegal in Michigan to keep wildlife as pets & also wildlife make really bad pets. Even when they’re as cute as flying squirrels.
We also had a young fox for a little while who had been kept as a pet – as she got older & more wild, the “owner” resorted to keeping her locked in a dark room & just tossing food in once a day. Someone got upset & reported them to the DNR, who found the fox in a completely shit-covered room. She was transferred to a fox-specialty rehab after her time with us so she could be prepared for release.
We also had two education opossums, one who was fed hot dogs & chips, and one who was fed lunchmeat ham and apples. Both ended up with MBD & stayed with us due to their health issues (Pumpkin) & from being too friendly for release (Rascal).
(Also for the love of fuck, public, please stop trying to keep raccoons as pets. Please stop touching raccoons. Please just leave the raccoons alone.)
Just because you can walk outside & pick up an animal doesn’t mean you should decide to keep it in your home.
(also I’m sorry for the long rant/ramble, thank you for rehabbing & educating, I appreciate you!!!!)
@irrellenphant said to @ask-drferox: Hello hello! I’m wondering about what every pet owner should
have in their first aid kits. I have the typical vet wrap/styptic
powder/hemostat/blunt scissors and gauze, but I’m wondering if I should
have anything more specific, especially as I live a good 45 minutes+
from the emergency vet (and I’m assuming I only will need the kit when I
can’t get to my regular vet). I am a parrot and dog owner, but I
suppose this could be a good post starting point for all critters!
A ‘first aid kit’ is a basic kit used to provide immediate relief until veterinary/medical treatment is available, to either preserve life or prevent worsening of the condition/injury. Most people live close enough to a vet clinic to just contact them, but some will try to use first aid over a Sunday night or public holiday to try to avoid expensive after hours services.
It’s not, as some people seem to think, a play-vet-at-home kit that should have antibiotics and all sorts of medication in it. A first aid kit really is the bare basics, not a mobile vet kit. The sort of things I’d carry with me are different to what I might expect people to have in their kits at home. That said, if you’re organizing yourself a pet first aid kit, there are some things you should always have that can be used for most terrestrial species.
I know this is primarily a cat blog, but I like to believe we all care strongly about animal welfare in general.
In these discussions, fish are often overlooked. So it is unfortunate when an advocate for proper care of one type of fish is so dismissive of the needs of another type.
For those unaware, Goldfish are a temperate water fish while Betta are very tropical. The standard minimum amount of space recommended for Betta is 2.5g, although the community is increasingly advising a 5g or even 10g minimum, as opposed to the meager .8g of space suggested in the article. Goldfish also thrive in hard, basic water, while Betta are staunchly soft, acidic water fish. There’s no overlap in their care requirements at all.
They posted this ridiculous article in their official Facebook group, they were met largely with dissent. Comments on the post were quickly locked, members who disagreed had comments deleted, were removed from the group, and even banned. To my knowledge, this action was taken by the founder alone without even consulting the rest of moderation team.
If you’re in the Facebook group, I implore you to leave. You’re still able to comment on the article on the website. Discourage others from joining the group and discredit them as an respectable authority on fish keeping.
I haven’t found any Betta groups or websites I’m comfortable recommending, but general fish websites like Aquariadise and ModestFish have some good information.
ifesbob 