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Fish experts!
Art Bell and Scott Henderson are not businessmen. They are aquatic (and reptile) hobbyists like you. They have a combined experience of over 30 years as hobbyists and 15 years working in various pet stores in the area. Send any aquatic questions to Art and Scott.
Q: Dear Art & Scott,
I'm thinking of setting up a salt water aquarium but I don’t have a lot of room or a lot of money. Is it possible to have a small tank that isn't too difficult to run?
Sara
A: Dear Sara,
We have a 12-gallon "environment cube" that is set up on our front counter for just that reason. There are a few different companies that make small "cubes" that are perfect for salt-water applications. An average 10-gallon cube will cost between $250-$350 for a full set up. A full setup consists of the tank, filter (built in), lights for saltwater (built in), small heater, live sand, and live rock to get you started. Once the tank is setup and has been running for approximately 1 month, you can start to add small fish (we have 2 Neon Gobies). The thing to remember is the more fish you add- the more work you have to do. A 10-gallon setup with the right balance will take less that 1 hour a month to maintain but if you have too many fish then you have to start performing weekly maintenance. There are other more expensive ways to setup a saltwater aquarium, but this one has worked for us many times over.
Thank you, and keep the questions coming. Art & Scott
Ask the Vet!
Lauren Mascola is the veterinarian at Petcare Veterinary Services in West Hartford. She studied at UConn for undergraduate and Tufts for Veterinary Medicine. She has over 10 years experience and 2 dogs and 3 cats of her own. She is excited to answer your questions!
Q: Dear Dr. Mascola,
My dog snatched some chewing gum off the sidewalk the other day. It is not the first time he has done it. He seems ok, but can it harm him if he eats too much?
Thanks, Jennifer
A: Dear Jennifer,
Thanks for the question. Some of the answer depends on how big your dog is. There is a substance in gum called xylitol, which can be highly toxic to dogs. Some sugar-free gums contain up to 70% xylitol depending on what is used as the primary sweetener.
The Animal Poison Control Center recommends that a 22-pound dog be taken for emergency care if it eats 3-4 pieces of gum. If enough gum with xylitol is consumed, it may cause a sudden loss in blood sugar, which may in turn cause weakness, a loss of coordination and even seizures. Treatment would be supportive care to increase the blood glucose level and intravenous fluids to support the patient for about 24 hours.
Good Luck! Dr. Mascola
The Bunny Expert!
Susan adopted her first house rabbit 5 years ago and soon after got highly involved in rabbit rescue. She has volunteered at a local rabbit rescue group and a local animal shelter working with rabbits. She has since co-founded 3 Bunnies Rabbit Rescue Inc. Susan can surely answer all of your rabbit questions!
Q: Dear Susan,
I have two rescued, boy brothers, Max and Brownie. They have grown up together and even stayed bonded after both being neutered and having to stay separate from one another for a couple weeks. Now they are almost a year old and we found out Brownie has a type of infection (mostly likely passed down from his birth mother). The vet recommended penicillin shots once a week for three weeks for both bunnies (although Max shows no outward signs of infection). After coming home after their first shot at the vet, Max began to show aggression to Brownie, charging and biting him. Brownie is typically very submissive, but this time he turned on Max and basically told him who the new boss is. I was so worried to see them fight like that! I’ve divided their x-pen home base into two sections and now only one bunny can be loose in the house at a time or else they fight. If Brownie peeks his little nose through Max’s side of the pen, Max bites and goes crazy, then retreats to a corner and sulks all day. He eats and drinks little and prefers to turn his back and mope. Brownie is very depressed about this also. He lies by Max’s bars hoping to have some brotherly love but is rejected every day. He even tried to groom Max through the bars but was greeted with a nip to the nose. It’s been 5 days since they got their shot and if this is what happens, I’m scared to take them back for shot #2. I’ve tried shampooing the vet smell off of both brothers but nothing has changed. My heart is breaking watching them and seeing how sad they’ve both become. What do I do? I need some bunny psychology insight, please!
Thank you, Amy
A: Dear Amy,
This is one of those frustrations that can occasionally happen. There is a lot going on and you can try different things but sometimes a bond can break when one partner becomes sick. First, from now on I would take both bunnies to the vet together. Even though they are not bonded currently, let the other one see what is going on at the vet office with his partner. Sometimes bunny coming home smelling different and not being together upsets the other causing a fight. Normally if both bonded bunnies always go to the vets together, they are fine. Second I would start from point one and start bonding all over again. That means supervised together time in a small neutral, if possible, territory. Pet both, talk to both and do short supervised, hands on visits every day. It is possible to re-bond bunnies.
If a partner gets really sick, I have heard of cases where the healthy rabbit rejects the ill rabbit as wild rabbits do to avoid predators from attacking a warren.
A lot depends on the case. It sounds like the infection will go away with medicine. I would think you should be able to work on re-bonding them. I would start trying to re-bond them now. Be calm, supervise, and you might need another person to help, each responsible for one bunny when seeing how they will be together. It will take work on your part to make sure neither gets hurt while attempting this. You can read more about bonding on various rabbit rescue web sites, or you can call one of them to talk to you more about what to try when bonding. Also The House Rabbit Handbook has some information on bonding. Don't give up hope and keep us posted.
Susan
Equine Expert!
Mary Jo Zanolli is an instructor at Connecticut Equestrian Center in Coventry. She has over 12 years experience teaching beginner and intermediate riders, and over 20 years experience riding horses. Send all of your horse related questions to Mary Jo!
Q: Dear Mary Jo,
Can you recommend anything for a Mare that does not like other horses in the ring coming up behind her? She gets very cranky and often will try to buck and kick out. Thank you,
Thank you, Sue
A: Dear Sue,
In the wild, a herd of horses has a dominant mare known as the "alpha mare". The alpha mare is responsible for maintaining the social order of the herd, as well as being alert for any predators. The alpha mare protects her position in the herd by pining the ears, swishing the tail, baring teeth, and even delivering a swift kick to another mare who is challenging her. These behaviors can be present when riding or training an alpha-type mare as well. These mares are often viewed as moody when such characteristics are displayed.
There is also such a thing as a horse that is just anti-social! A mare that kicks, bucks, or pins the ears constantly at other horses when being ridden may simply be saying "stay away, I need my space"!
Hormone suppression treatments do exist, and under the advice of a veterinarian may help. Often, however, just riding the mare and reminding her that the rider is the alpha leader can make a difference. Alpha-type mares (and even mares that just have a larger sense of personal space) need to be ridden in a kind but firm, consistent training program. The rider needs to be able to maintain the horse’s attention in a wide variety of situations, with the horse focusing more on the rider than on other activities in the arena.
Through patience the rider will eventually be able to attain this goal by first gaining the mare’s trust. After gaining the mare’s trust as "herd" leader, the rider will have the respect of the horse and it will be much easier to keep the mare’s attention solely on the rider. Developing trust and respect of the rider takes years to develop fully, but a lot can be done on a month-by-month basis too!
Work with a trainer or even a trusted horse friend to put you and your horse in situations together that you can control, where you know you will have your horse’s attention. Gradually ask more from your horse and make the situations more distracting to your mare, always setting yourself and your horse up to succeed.
Your mare may always pin her ears and swish her tail a bit at other horses riding past, but gradually you should be able to ride to prevent the kicks and bucks, by establishing your position as leader of the two of you.
Mary Jo
Guinea Pig Expert!
Whitney Potsus has owned guinea pigs for nearly a decade. She is Vice President of The Critter Connection, Inc., a Durham-based non-profit dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned and neglected guinea pigs. You can find the rescue on the Web at www.ctguineapigrescue.org. Please direct all your Guinea Pig questions to Whitney.
Q: Dear Whitney,
I have a guinea pig who is about a year old. I went to a pet store and they said if I got another guinea pig I would have to keep them in separate cages. Is it true that they will fight if I have them in the same cage? Or can I let them get used to each other before I put them together?
Thanks so much, Nina
A: Dear Nina,
You can get a roommate for her (either a neutered male or another female), and you have the right idea about letting them get used to each other before you put them in the same space. Your guinea pig — as a communal animal — will be happier with a roommate, but you also need to respect her position in your home as Queen Pig. No one would want a stranger to suddenly move into their home without warning, and guinea pigs are no exception. Giving your girl and whoever you bring home time to sniff each other through side-by-side cages and play areas over the course of a couple weeks, and introducing them on neutral territory, will help ease the introductions.
Despite the misconceptions about this species, these small critters have big personalities with very definite likes and dislikes. An introduction can be love at first sight, hate at first sight, or something in between where they warm up to each other. Getting a rescue pig can make this process a little easier because the caregivers know the personalities of the pigs in their charge. For example, Cindy at The Critter Connection (www.ctguineapigrescue.org) will ask adopters questions about the personality and temperament of the guinea pig they have and can then make several suggestions about which rescue pigs might mesh well with them.
There is a bit of art, psychology, and luck involved with introducing and bonding guinea pigs, and one of the best write-ups on the subject can be found at www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm. I recommend reading this page before you move ahead with plans to bring a second guinea pig home; understanding the ins and outs will increase your chances of success.
Good luck! Whitney
Reptile Man!
Ron Wulff, the Reptile Man, has worked for one of the big retail pet stores for 6 years as a reptile and aquatic specialist. He rescues reptiles and runs www.nopaws.com, dedicating his time to educate people on exotic pets. Direct your exotic pet questions to Reptile Man.
Q: Hi,
I know they are not exactly reptiles but we bought some Hermit Crabs this summer at a booth at the mall. They came with a kit that included everything they needed. We started out with three and now have only one left. Do they not get along?
Jason
A: Hi Jason,
The most common crabs in the pet market are the purple-clawed land crabs from the Caribbean. Sometimes you might find Ecuadorian crabs which are identified by elongated eyes. And some of the better pet stores now carry the more exotic Strawberry crabs from the Pacific islands.
Hermit crabs are social animals that live in huge colonies. Crab loss is seldom the result of crab conflict.
Chances are good that the "kit" you got for your crabs would only be successful long term if you lived in the Caribbean.
The most common cause of problems with crabs is bad care information. Most "kits" consist of a plastic cage, some sort of sand, something for the crab to hide under, a bowl and a sponge.
The sand is usually re-packaged reptile calcium sand. In Connecticut, this makes for a cold dry environment for the crab.
Hermit crabs are best housed in at least a 10-gallon fish tank with a regular fish tank cover that has the two 15 watt incandescent bulbs. The clear bulbs can be replaced with red bulbs and can be left on day and night. The temperature shouldn't drop below low 70's. A heating pad should be placed on the bottom (underneath) of the tank with some kind of cave over it (inside the tank) to give them a warm place to hide. A mixture of regular desert sand, and the forest bedding that comes in a brick, should be placed in the tank deep enough for them to burrow in if they want. This type of substrate can be sprayed down to maintain the kind of humidity a tropical crab needs. In a correctly set up crab tank you won't need a sponge.
Water source is more of an issue for the Ecuadorian and Strawberry crab which are more coastal and used to more brackish or salt water. You should make a gallon of water with some aquarium salt and let it sit out to de-chlorinate and use it to fill both the water bowl and spray bottle. If you have one of the coastal species, you should add some marine salt.
There are plenty of commercial crab foods available and you can also use the shrimp based turtle and fish food and even small bits of fruit, like apple. Put a small amount of food in a bowl and change it daily. The Strawberry crabs get their color from their diet and could molt out less colorful unless some type of color enhancing food is used. They do have a product used in the food for red factor canary's that might help.
Good luck, Ron
Ask The Cat Lady!
Sally Bahner is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a private feline consulting practice. She is the "Dear Sally" on Tracie Hotchner’s Cat Chat Radio (www.catchatradio.com), found on Sirius, the Martha Stewart Living channel. She is a longtime editor and writer on everything feline.
Q: Dear Sally,
We have a neutered male Persian who drives us nuts. He likes to loudly screech in the middle of the night and has been doing this for a long time. It could be 2 or 4 a.m. and he just likes to meow so loud that he almost sounds like a Siamese. My husband wants me to get rid of him. We yell at the cat, mist him with a spray bottle, but it seems he just gets louder. After everyone is awakened so early, he just goes about his way and settles somewhere. He also can do this in the middle of the day. It truly is unnerving.
My other 3 Persians are quiet. They all get enough attention and I feel he's on his way out soon unless I get some help.
But who would take him? They would certainly return him or put him to sleep. I think he does this to annoy us, as many times we shooed him out, he'll come back night after night and do the same. My husband works second shift and this cat annoys him and my kids. If the cat is in the basement, we can hear him, he's that loud. Help!
Liz and family
A: Dear Liz,
We have our own loud-mouths, Pulitzer, and Tekla, who is a Russian Blue, another supposedly quiet breed. Like people, I think some cats are just more vocal than others. If he were older, I would say look into feline cognitive dysfunction (Kitty Alzheimer’s) and/or deafness. (Deafness is something that you may want to check.) Please do not think that he "likes" to screech or does it to "annoy" you. There’s something going on in his brain that he is responding to. He could be seeking attention and by you yelling and spraying he is getting attention, albeit negative.
Cats often vocalize when they’re shut out of places – does he vocalize when he’s removed from family activities? Is he isolated from the other kitties? If you suspect he may be hungry, give him a snack before bedtime – a little bit of dry food or a teaspoon or two of canned food as close to your bedtime as possible. Also some quality playtime may tire him out and help him sleep through the night.
Flower essences are also helpful in dealing with behavior issues. Visit www.spiritessence.com and look into Hyper Helper, Obsession and Separation Anxiety remedies.
Finally, euthanasia or getting rid of him is more than a bit harsh – would you do that to a child who cries during the night? Invest in a good pair of earplugs. I’ve used them when my husband snores.
Sally
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