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FEBRUARY 2009
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THIS ISSUE:
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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,
Our cat, Max, a very active Abyssinian, is not thrilled about traveling, although he’s gotten better. We plan on driving to Florida for a month and since he’s very bonded to me, I don’t want to leave him with a pet sitter. He’s used to going outside on a harness and leash, but he has a tendency to bolt if he sees a squirrel. When he rides in the car, he sits with me in the back seat and looks out the window.
Our vet suggested tranquilizers, but I’m not crazy about that idea. How can we make the trip easier on him?
Joanne
A: Dear Joanne,
Max should definitely ride in a cat carrier for safety and security. Get him used to the carrier by leaving it open in the house with his favorite blanket, making it a comfortable den.
A cat walking jacket can provide additional security since the cat should not be able to slip out of it as easily as a harness. (Cats should never be "walked" just on a collar and leash.) Again, let him wear it around the house before venturing outside.
Take some dry runs in the car to get him used to the experience. Once you’re on the road, go easy on the food until you see how his tummy reacts and allow for "bathroom breaks."
SpiritEssence.com makes "Happy Traveler" to help with anxiety associated with travel – it’s safer than tranquilizers. The product can be used in drinking water, rubbed on ears and paw pads or used in an atomizer.
Finally, consider having Max microchipped if, heaven forbid, he should escape, plus he should wear a tag with your cell phone number.
While he may fuss a bit to start with, he should be better after you’ve been on the road for a while.
Sally
Ask the Lazi Birds!
Steve and Diane Lazicki have been rescuing and working with birds for over 8 years, as well as raising them as pets since childhood. They live with over 150 birds in their "bird house," so they have a wealth of bird expertise. Direct your bird related questions to the Lazi Birds.
Q: Dear Lazi Birds,
We have 2 lovebirds and I have just noticed an egg in the cage. I have now put in a nesting box. What are the chances of survival and will the bird have any more eggs?
Sam
A: Dear Sam,
First, you have to decide if you want the eggs to hatch. Do you know if you have a male? If they are both female, just leave the egg alone. If you are sure you have a male, the egg might very well be fertile.
I would have to say that the bird will lay more eggs. If you don't want little ones you should remove the eggs but replace them with 'dummy' eggs. The hen will sit on the dummies until she tires of them. If you remove the eggs and do not replace them, she will keep laying and deplete her calcium.
I'm afraid I can't give you a lot of information on breeding as I am not experienced in that area. Breeding holds a lot of responsibility. By that I mean you should feel responsible for where the little ones will end up. It may be fun to watch the eggs hatch etc., but then what? You should know that you are able to insure a good life for them either with you or other homes before you decide to let them hatch out.
If you decide to breed, I can refer you to a couple of responsible breeders for information. If you decide to use the dummy eggs they can be found at just about any pet store that sells bird supplies. Also, craft stores such as AC Moore sell plastic eggs that are the right size. They are spotted but the birds don't seem to notice the spots. By providing a nest box, you are encouraging breeding. If you decide not to breed, please remove the nest box. Good Luck.
Lazi Birds
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: Dear Reptile Man,
I have just bought a fat tiled gecko; the first day I got him he was friendly, letting me stroke him and pick him up, but now when I go to stroke him or open the vivarium he starts hissing at me, it's making me panicky of stroking of handling him. Any advice?
Peter
A: Dear Peter,
Fat Tailed Geckos are the African cousin of the Leopard Gecko.
Unlike Leopard geckos which are bred in captivity, most Fat Tailed geckos are still imported. That means that the lizard was captured in Africa, sent to a distributor and then sent to the store where you bought it. These lizards normally have a docile personality and can be tolerant of handling. That doesn't mean they like it. How you approach the animal can make a big difference in how it responds. The day you brought it home was probably a pretty confusing day, so it could have been tolerant of anything. Now it has settled in and got comfortable and you are going into his world while he is sleeping without even knocking first.
When you open his tank, don't just reach right in. If the lizard is in its hide box, then move the hide box over a little so the lizard is exposed. Let the lizard get used to what just happened before you stick your hand in. When you try to pick it up, try to slide your hand under it, rather than grabbing it from above. Your goal is to get it to stand on your hand. Your other hand should be used as a place for the lizard to go, if it decides it doesn't like where it is. Stroking them will usually get a defensive reaction until they are very comfortable around people.
In the wild, nothing good ever approaches from above. If you get it to walk from one hand to the other, you can try to gradually let your thumb hang over a bit so the lizard has to walk under it. Your goal is to make the lizard think of your hand stroking him as something that he is crawling under, rather than something that is just suddenly touching it from above.
If that approach fails, you might have to just accept the fact that it doesn't want to be handled. It is still a wild animal. It doesn't need to be handled to survive. Give it some time to adjust to its new home. If it is eating well and has a nice fat tail, then there probably isn't any medical reason for his attitude. If it has a thin tail, you might want to take it to a vet, (with a stool sample if possible) so it can be checked for the internal parasites that are common in imported reptiles.
The fat tailed geckos would do very well in the substrate planted with grass seeds that I discussed in a previous column.
Ron
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 one-year-old guinea pig and I was wondering if guinea pigs can eat peanut butter or organic peanut butter?
Thanks, Rachel
A: Dear Rachel,
The short answer is "no." It’s high in fat, thick enough to be a choking hazard, and contributes nothing to guinea pigs’ actual nutritional needs.
There’s a huge list of vegetables and fruits that you can feed guinea pigs on a regular, semi-regular, or occasional-treat basis that provide far more valuable nutritional support. Exploring the options not only adds variety to your guinea pig’s diet, it also adds variety to your diet.
You can find a lot of ideas at http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html (and through the links contained therein). Where things like romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, sweet bell pepper, cucumber chunks, and carrots can be rotated through your guinea pig’s daily diet, other things can be used on a semi-regular basis, such as Swiss chard, curly endive (chicory), escarole, and curly or flat-leaf (Italian) parsley. Sweet bell peppers come in several varieties — red, green, yellow, orange — and allow you to add color to your guinea pig’s "daily salad." Some items, such as Belgian endive, frisee, and kale, can be offered as the occasional hand-fed treat.
Fruits, offered in small amounts, provide many "sweet snack" options for guinea pigs. Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, Crenshaw, seedless watermelon), cut-up seedless grapes, cut-up grape tomatoes (fewer seeds to clean out), and small pieces of apple are common favorites. Some, but not all, guinea pigs like an occasional serving of cut-up orange (particularly Clementines), strawberry, and banana.
Like most in the community of guinea pig vets, rescuers, and caregivers, I don’t advocate packaged commercial treats. They’re no more nutritious for guinea pigs than M&Ms, Cheetos, and Oreos are for us humans. However, during the winter time when fruit options are limited and more expensive, I will — very infrequently — mix some wheat germ (found near the oatmeal in the grocery store), Sweet Meadow Farms Meadow Mix, or Vitakraft Happy Frutti in with my guinea pigs’ food pellets as a sweet snack.
Hope this helps. Thanks for writing!
Whitney
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