Bea

Looking to get my 7 year old daughter a pet of her own and am stuck between a hamster and a rat. I'm looking for a pet that she can pretty much be in charge of caring for with minor supervision. If you have had either a hamster or a rat or even both I'd love to get your information on which is better. Either way I'll be going to a private breeder to obtain the animal so we skip the whole "not hand tame" aspect. Thanks :)

I made my first batch of jelly on my own today and I didn't realize that I needed to boil the canning lids for 5 minutes. I only got them boiling for a few minutes and then wiped them off and put them on the hot jelly jar and put on the band (tightly). I'm nervous that I've done it wrong since the jelly lids haven't popped yet (15 minutes). Do you absolutely need to boil the lids for 5 minutes, no exceptions or is there a good chance that my jelly will seal fine?

My husband set a trap since we had discovered evidence of a mouse. I checked the trap this morning and the mouse was in it but it wasn't dead. I got the mouse out of the trap and have it outside in an aquarium with a secured lid and some food, water and bedding. I know that it had to have been injured but I don't know how bad. I have outdoor cats and I can't let it free since they will catch the mouse easily. I plan on letting it back into the wild but I will probably do so away from my house. I need to know how long to keep it before it will be okay to leave outside. I want to give it a fighting chance, I just don't want it in my house.

I have a very small Shih Tzu (under 6 pounds) and she is about 8 months old. The people we purchased her from had her started on Diamond Brand small breed puppy food and that is also what the mother dog was fed. We kept her on that food for a month after we brought her home and then we weaned her off from Diamond and onto Blue Buffalo small breed puppy food. We are now considering changing her back to Diamond but I am not sure if it's really a good alternative. I like Blue Buffalo but the price (even for a small dog) is a bit high. Does anyone use Diamond Brand dog food for their dog and have you had any problems with it or are you satisfied? Is it still a better brand of dog food than most or is it pretty much along the same lines as the cheap dog food? Thanks in advance for your input!

What are the pros and cons to cockatiels and if you have owned one before how do you feel about them as pets for a first time bird owner? I'd really like any info on them! Thanks and have a great day!

I am wanting to get a pet that my kids can enjoy and help to care for and someone mentioned finches. I've heard that they are more to look at rather than interact with but that they make really great little pets. Is this true? Any additional information on finches would be great since I've never owned any birds.

I just got a little girl rat today. I was wondering how long I should leave her alone to get accustomed to her surroundings before I start playing with her? I would also like to get her another little female rat soon since she is still young but I didn't want 2 that looked alike so I want to go to another pet store, will 2 babies get along from the start? I have her in an aquarium but I will be getting her into a larger cage once she gets a bit bigger so she doesn't slip through the bars, is there anything I can put in the aquarium that would make it more fun for her? Thanks for the answers!

I had a friend who was getting married and she had asked me to be the maid of honor but because she made a quick decision about the date (she was knocked up) my family and I were already set to go on a vacation so I had to decline. Well after that she kept making comments on her FB page about people being her "best friends" and such which started to irritate and hurt my feelings a bit. Then I found out that she didn't invite me to her bridal shower which I could have attended and I was planning on doing something for her since I did feel bad about not being able to attend he wedding. After that I un-friended her since I was tired of reading her posts and getting upset. She sent me a message and asked why I had done that and I told her I was upset about not being invited and she blew up on me. She went on and on about how crappy of a friend I was and how she only pretended to be my friend. I tried to be very "adult" about the whole back and forth thing and I didn't call her names or blame her for anything. I asked her if she wanted to try to continue to be friends or if she wanted to have just an amicable parting of ways and she said that she didn't pretend to like people she didn't really like and that she would walk the other way if she saw me in public. I know that it was stupid of me to have done the stupid FB un-friending but it was the first thing that I thought of doing since I was upset. I'll admit that I did let her know when I felt differently about something that she did but I did try to be there for her when she needed me but with a family of my own it can be difficult at times. I guess that I feel badly that our friendship which had lasted almost 20 years didn't seem to mean anything to her. I would have tried to put things behind us and resolve our differences and move on (I told her that) but she made it very clear that she wasn't interested at all. Was I wrong for not trying harder or did I do the right thing by letting her decide? Should I feel funny about seeing her in public? I've felt really bad about this for months now and I'd like to just move on.

I want to get my daughter a pet. We have narrowed it down to 3 animals. A rat, a dove or a leopard gecko. I will be taking care of the cage cleaning but she'll be the one to feed and water and play with the pet (under supervision). Which would you choose or is there another animal that you think would be better? We already have a dog, 3 cats (barn cats) and a rat.

My dog just started having what I would call hiccups. Is that something that's normal? I've never heard of a dog having hiccups and wanted to know if anyone else's dog has had them?

I have a daughter who is 5 and she loves animals. She has had a hamster, a betta fish and 2 mice. She didn't care too much for the mice since she couldn't really play with them but she did her best and took care of them. We have a small dog but the dog is really my pet and she prefers me to anyone else. My husband says no more dogs and he is allergic to cats so those are out of the question. Are there any suggestions for a good pet for a child that would be a bit more interactive but only requires a small cage/aquarium?

My daughter's pet mice passed away a few weeks ago and I've been considering getting her another pet(s). I've read a few articles on Diamond Doves and Doves in general and they seem like a decent choice for a child. I've read that they don't bite but I find that hard to believe especially if they are scared or hurt. Is it true that they don't bite? Also, if you have/had them as pets do you think they would make a good pet for a child? Thanks!

We got a little 2lb female shih tzu puppy yesterday. She is 8 weeks old and is already used to a crate so we are continuing with the crate-training. I've heard that the best way to housebreak a small-breed puppy is by only taking the puppy out of the crate to go potty and to eat (keeping a water bottle hooked to the crate for consistent water). If the puppy goes potty outside then you can also give it indoor play-time for about 15 minutes. Is there any other advice/tips on housebreaking that you have learned or heard of that helps with housebreaking? I know housebreaking a puppy takes patience and isn't accomplished overnight but any additional help would be appreciated since this is our first puppy and we'd like to raise a well-trained dog.

My family is getting a female shih tzu next month and we want to have a name already picked out when we go to pick her up. She is brindle and white in color and she will be on the smaller side (7-10 lbs) when fully grown. Her mother's name is Portia and her father's name is Diesel. I would like to have a name that goes along with the names of her parents but it isn't something that is necessary, we are just wanting to get some ideas. Thanks.

I currently have a male rat (he's a single because he fights with other rats) and I just love him. I've been thinking about getting a pair of same sex rats that would be in another cage and I fell in love with a little girl rat and her sister that are at a pet store owned by a friend. I don't know though if having female rats in the same room as my male rat will make him more aggressive because of his hormones. My main concern is with the rat I currently have so if it would cause him any stress or cause problems for him then I won't bring any other rats into my home. Thanks for any information in advance!

Sort of a silly question but, I am wanting to do something special to celebrate my rat turning 1 year old and I figured I could make him a "mini" cake. I was wondering if anyone has ever done this for their rat and if so, did you make the cake normally? If you ever did celebrate a pet rat's birthday what did you do to celebrate? Thanks for any answers and no stupid answers such as poison cake or anything like that. I'll give the best answer the points!

I am looking to give my little ratty something to do or to play with during the day when I am busy with my kids. I would like any ideas of toys or games that can be homemade that would be safe but enjoyable for a rat that isn't a youngster anymore (He's almost 1). Thanks in advance for any ideas!

I got 2 female mice 2 1/2 weeks ago tomorrow. One of the mice looked chubby when we got them home and I have been keeping an eye on her but she hasn't changed in her appearance where she would be obviously pregnant. I've read that mice have a gestation period of up to 21 days and I figured she must not be pregnant since she hadn't had babies or shown any signs that she was about to have babies, however this morning her behavior is different. She is wide awake and she was literally jumping straight up in the air. I also noticed that she is taking her bedding and shoving it in her igloo. Does this mean that she is making a nest and is about to have babies or is this a false nest? I cleaned the cage just in case, is there anything else anyone would suggest? Also, if you think she's going to have babies, do you know when I should expect her to have them with the signs that she is showing? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.

I just got 2 mice yesterday and they are in an aquarium with the basics, ie food dish, water bottle, wheel, and a small mouse igloo. They appeared to do their own thing occasionally coming into contact with one another but now I noticed that one of the mice doesn't go into the igloo with the other. It's plenty big enough for them both but only 1 uses it. Do they not like each other or are female mice usually this way? I've seen the groups of mice in the pet stores sleeping in a heap in a corner and thought that they would want to huddle. If I need to I can go out today and buy a second igloo for the other mouse but I'd want her to use it. Sort of a silly question but we got 2 mice so that they wouldn't be lonely and I want to be sure of that.

I just got 2 mice today for my daughter. I looked and so did the pet store assistant and we chose 2 that looked to be female. I was keeping an eye on them and seeing if I could get a better look and one of the mice tried humping the other mouse. I am a bit nervous since I don't want babies but I also don't want to take any mice back if they are both the same gender. Do female mice hump each other to prove dominance or do I have a male and a female?