Spotlight of the week!!

This week the spotlight will be whites tree frogs! I will post care soon!

Hamster Bedding

When getting a hamster it is very important to get bedding that is safe for your hamster! The best type of bedding you can get is carefresh! It can be expensive but it Is worth every penny. It is super absorbent and controls odor very well. Another important thing to remember is that you should never ever use pine or cedar bedding. If your going to use wood shavings make sure you use Aspen
Wood shavings! The other ones can cause serious respiratory problems! Like always if you have any requests or questions just comment!!
-Petblogger

Pet Spotlight of The Week- The Hamster!

The hamster is an all time favorite pet and one of the most common types of rodents kept as pets!  They are fairly easy to care for and not too terribly expensive!  But as the same with all pets hamsters need the same loving care such as you would give to a dog!  With adult supervision young children can keep these awesome pets!!  Our family had a dwarf hamster, with the proper care it lived it's life to the fullest!  I have included some videos on hamster care!  Check these out if you want to get a hamster!

Please check it out to see how to care for a hamster!!!  If you have any ideas for more blogs just let me know!

Guinea Pig Foods Do's and Dont's!

I have gotten many questions on what kinds of vegetables you can feed your guinea pig!  This is a very good question and it should not be taken lightly!

Safe Foods:

• Red Pepper (or green/yellow pepper. Red has the highest vitamin C concentration)
• Carrots - both the root and the green tops are perfectly safe for your guinea pig.
• Apples - just make sure they don't have any seeds.
• Oranges
• Leafy greens like red lettuce, romaine, Boston lettuce, (be sure to feed leafy vegetables in moderation to avoid diarrhea, and feed spinach a bit sparingly to avoid potential kidney problems.)
• Cucumbers
• Broccoli (in moderation since it can be gassy and cause a gas pain)
• Green beans
• Grapes
• Bananas
• Dandelion Greens
• strawberries (in moderation)
• oranges or clementines. A helpful way to feed these to your piggie if they're being picky is to scoop out some pulp from half an orange and leave some in it so they can lick it without needing to chew on it if they're not diggin' the texture.
• spinach
• cherry tomatoes in moderation
• cilantro
• dandelion greens
• parsley - either curly or flat. They love it and it smells delicious when you're tearing some sprigs off the bunch to give it to them!

Non Safe Foods: 

• Iceberg lettuce - this won't kill your guinea pig if you give him or her a little piece, but it has virtually no nutritional value, is quite fibrous and watery. It's been known to give guinea pigs diarrhea. With the great selection of other more leafy, dark lettuces available, just avoid this one and go with one of the others.
• Any type of cabbage - like iceberg lettuce, a small piece is not likely to severely harm or kill your guinea pig, but it's very gassy and not good for their little systems. Stay away from it if you can.
• Cauliflower - also very gas-producing.
• Potato peelings - not that this would be something you'd be likely to give your piggie anyway, but toxins can exist in potato skins, particularly if they've begun to turn green, and they can be poisonous. Just toss them in your garbage disposal or trash instead of your piggie.
• Raw beans (this doesn't mean green beans. This means things like raw, hard kidney beans, split peas, pinto beans, etc.)
• Shelled nuts or seeds, particularly things like sunflower seeds or 'bird seed' type mixes, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, etc.
• Rhubarb - the leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous, and the stalks are very, very sour.
• Any type of meat or fish. Guinea pigs are vegetarian and looove a salad over a steak any day.
• Dairy Products - while many stores will offer 'yogurt drops' and other 'treats', dairy is not healthy to feed your guinea pig and can actually cause problems. Feed natural treats like veggies instead of store brand treats. It's less expensive and your piggie will be much happier.
• Chocolate, coffee or other caffeine-containing products.
• Alcohol (this should go without saying!!)
• Cookies/bread*
  
  *you can feed a small piece of cereal like a cheerio from time to time as a treat, but they will likely not even like it, so it's best to just avoid this altogether!
• hamster food, gerbil food, rabbit food, or any other non-guinea pig food. Often these contain seeds, which are a big no-no, but they also have a different balance of vitamins and minerals which aren't suited for a guinea pig's dietary needs.
• corn kernels. Popcorn isn't a very good idea either. Guinea pigs choke easily and think of how easy it is for us humans to get popcorn kernels stuck in our mouths and throats!
• sugary foods like donuts, candy, or soda
• Ice cream.
• Any processed or fried foods that you would eat, including potato chips/nachos or french fries.
• Cheese
• anything spicy. jalapeno peppers, anything with cinnamon, etc.

Never ever feed your guinea pig any of these non safe foods!!! They are poison to your guinea pig and may kill your guinea pig and make them very sick!

Home Made Guinea Pig Toys!

Since this weeks focus has been primarily on guinea pigs, I thought I would post some home made guinea pig toy ideas!
Paper Ball:
This one is real simple and should be a hit among all guinea pigs! Simply take a piece of paper and crumple it up! MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO INK ON THE PAPER.

PVC Pipe Tunnels:
Go to your local hardware store and get some pvc pipe wide enough to allow your guinea pig to run through! And ta da! You have an awesome toy!

Cardboard Box Hides:
Have any old cardboard boxes laying around?? Well take one of them and make it into a guinea pig hide!!! Turn them upside down and cut a hole into it big enough for your guinea pig to run through! Now you have a hide for your guinea pig!

Paper Bag O' Fun:
Take a paper bag (you know the ones you use for your kid's sack lunches) and plop it down in your guinea pig's cage!  This can be treated as a 2 in 1! Your guinea pig gets a hide and something it can destroy! W@W! Would you look at that! LOL

MIRRORS:
One of my guinea pig's personal favorites!  Put a small make up mirror or some small mirror in your guinea pig's cage and watch them check out their awesomeness!!

Small Stuffed Animals:
My guinea pig has one of these.  She loves it!  Sometimes I will peer around the corner to see what she is up to and she is asleep next to it!! Aww so cute!!

I bet there are many more ideas you can find out there on google! So go look! You won't be sorry!