Morgan

Hi there,

Not usually the one to ask questions, but pretty mixed up on what to do here...

So my mom and dad both are letting my get another pet, which could be a Rabbit, hamster, or guinea pig, I already have had two guinea pigs before when I was young (around 8 when I got it) and one died 4.5/5 years later (when I was twelve) and the other when I was thirteen of natural causes, as you can imagine, I was quite upset. I'm the kid in the family that's the 'animal know-it-all' the 'vet wanna be', but also my whole family is made up of animal lovers, so when I ask this question, care and money is not an issue. Should I get a Holland lop bunny or a Syrian Hamster? Both are really cool, cute pets, but I'm not sure which one to get? Please elaborate with your answer.. (saying that hamsters are cheaper doesn't help me one bit -don't care about price, or how much care it requires- I only want to know which makes a better pet) I will take other small pet suggestions (note, I already have rats and don't need more, but love em).

Thank you! :)

Hi there,

I got a new puppy two days ago from a breeder, he is a French bulldog. He is up to date with all his shots, vet checked, and he appears to be in all well health (breeder gave us vet check papers). Bo (the puppy) turns 10 weeks old tomorrow, but just today I realised he limps a little on his left front leg, and when he stands still or sits down he keeps it bent? I don't know what happend to him. He has been playing with my big dog a lot and pretty rough... so im hoping something only mild happened. He still runs and walks fine, he gives absoloutely no signs of pain, but he is limping a little and holding it bent. There is NO swelling. He has been sleeping, eating, drinking, playing and doing eveything normally like any puppy would. He is so sweet and I really hope he's okay. I think maybe he pulled it while playing? Both his parents are healthy and have no problems. My vet is constantly busy, but tomorrow im bringing my cat to the vet to be neutered, when I do so I hope she has time to check his leg out, but im too much of a worrier to wait till then, plus she might not have the time.

Please Help me out, currently I'm just not letting him play with the other dog and keeping him off of his leg more. Thank you.

Hello,

I am completely stumped on what would be better, see the thing is is that I think double yellow headed amazons are prettier, BUT they tend to be louder than African greys, simpley because greys are the most quiet parrots. ugh! I don't know what to get. See I know people say "yellow heads are loud and annoying", but I think it depends on the bird and how much you interact with it, are they really that loud? See I have a sun conure and she's as loud as can be! She screaches all the time and its a head ache, but we love her so thats fine, we want a parrot though, but don't want it to add to her noise! She is 4 now and we hand raised her so she is trained but no matter what we do she will find a reason to screach. Anyway, African greys are amazing and pretty too, just not as pretty. They both have the good talking trait, wich we want. so the only flaw is the loudness? which bird do you think is better?

By the way; we live on a ranch so no one can hear the screaches anyway, but we just don't like it, we do like small sounds and talking though. We have 2 BIG parrot cages that are made for macaws and one is occupied by our sunconure, while the other is left emty for either a grey or amazon. We have had a big parrot before and miss him dearly! <3

Thank you for your time, sorry for any errors or skipping from one topic to the next, I'm writing quick on phone. (:

Hey,

Im going on a road trip out of state for 5 days. My parents hired a sitter to watch all of our animals, but she has her hands pretty full with things, and to add to that she has another job so she will be gone during the day. So, she will be just cleaning my sulcata's water-bowl and filling it with fresh water on a daily bases, and also refreshing their timothy hay, and giving them a proper diet I have written down for her. The only problem is, that I do not want her using the UVA/HEAT/UVB bulbs, they are all hooked up and EVERYDAY my tortoises get basking time from morning to night, BUT since she'll be gone during the day a LOT I do not want her ending up catching something on fire, or.. one of my tortoises flips over on his back a LOT and so if he falls over under the lighting he will die pretty quick if not tended to. Also I mix calcium dust with their diet daily, but I don't want her to have to do all that. It's only five days, my two African spur thighs should be fine, they are both happy/healthy and live in a warm room, so for the five days you think they'll be okay?

Thanks.

Hey there, I need to know what else to get while I'm out.. I will be leaving to go to the pet shop soon to buy new things for my sulcata tortoises (both are 1 month old). I have them both in a 100 gallon rubbermaid tank that is colored so the see through problem is not existing in this situation.

I need to buy all new supply - Shopping list:

~ XL half log hide away (so both of the small tortoises can fit even when they are a little older)

~ 1 NEW shallow water dish with climbing ramp.

~ NEW Lamp

~ New repti basking spot bulb

~ Calcium sand bedding NOTE: I know many people say this is 'bad' but I've done peaking around at sites and have now learned that actually quite a few people use it and don't have any problems. And I think it seems like a good idea cause its got the natural habitat feel but if they do inhale it is extra calcium. Unless you absolutely KNOW first hand that this isn't good bedding, don't comment please.

~ NEW food dish to keep alfalfa hay and other foods in.

QUESTIONS: 1. Do I need to buy anything else?

2. I order high quality alfalfa hay for my horses, it stays fresh in the barn, is it okay to feed them that hay?

3. I will also give them lettuce and cabbage, what else should I give them? Is carrot okay?

THANK YOU :)

Hey there,

I just got two baby (1 month old) African spurred thigh sulcata tortoises. I was going to ask if my "plan" or set up is okay? This is it: I have them both in a 100 gallon rubbermaid enclosure inside the house, but I put their cage in the WARMEST room I have which is over 75F. They have a hide away box in their enclosure that is big enough for the two of them to fit in comfortably. Their bedding is a thin towel, yes I know it is not 'proper' bedding but it is a lot like repti-carpet sold at pet shops. Everyday I plan on soaking them in shallow warm water for 15-20 minutes. They will have fresh water in a shallow dish always available to them in their cage along with alfalfa hay. My question on the alfalfa hay is this: I order LARGE stock of high quality alfalfa hay for horses and other animals it stays fresh in a barn, is it okay to feed them that same hay? Also I will be feeding certain lettuces. Everyday I will put them in their outside cage that is safe and on good grass that they can eat for around 8 hours so that they can get the vitamin D and all from the basking in the sun and so that they can eat grass. Outside they will have a hide away so that they can hide from the sun. outside where I live it will be around 8 hours of 95F and natural sun outside along with grass. They will only be inside for the mornings and all through the night where it will be around 75F. Do you think this is good? why or why not?

Thank you for your time, please give any information you can :)

Hi there,

My gold fish is a bright orange and white goldfish.. Well she was, now her orange has faded in the past week and her white has gotten less pretty and more white.. I don't know what it is!? She lives in a clean ten gallon tank with a filter and no other fish, she is fed very well, her water is treated, and her parents who live outside in my pond are very bright and beautiful like she use to be a week ago.. She has been in this tank for around 6 months with absolutely NO problems at all, she still acts healthy and her eyes are clear and she still is energetic and eats fine, it's just her color? Why is it doing this!? I have koi and goldfish that have never done this..?

Thank you..

Hey everyone,

Three days ago we found an abandoned white tail fawn, whom wasn't even a day old yet. It was lying hopeless on rocks, just a foot away from a road and was so weak and small with sun beating down on him. We got him home and put him in the most quiet and warm room of the house, we ran the air up so that he'd stay warm. Our first priority was to feed the starving weak thing, we raise fainting goats and sometimes have to bottle feed babies and we have saved other animals before so this wasn't new to us, we have a big bag of milk replacer that replaces milk for; lamb, goat, cow, deer, horse, alpaca, llama and others. For that first day we had to force feed due to him being so weak. now 2 days later he comes up to us and sucks out of the bottle.. He loves us already. We have evaluated him and he looks healthy and he is gaining more weight and a lot more strength now. He is also a buck, we where hoping it was a doe for plans in the future, but he's a buck, but we will still be keeping him. We live in Texas where if we wouldn't have gotten him he would have: died from the sun, died from starvation, died from stress, or have been eaten by a coyote, buzzard, bob cat, or other.. He is only about a pound and a half, so yes he was a premature baby, which is highly likely the reason he was left abandoned by his mom. He is gaining weight now though. But, when he is older we plan on castrating him once he is old enough, simply because it is dangerous to have an intact male and it would be hard to keep him from escaping or hurting people during rutting season, so that we have already decided. It isn't cruel, people do it with goats, dogs, cows, Lamb, sheep, llama, and others all the time. What we are wondering is, is it possible to dehorn a buck? Or i guess deantler a buck? I know that they shed and grow back horns every year, but is it possible to de bud the root part to make them stop growing? If it's not possible thats okay, but we'd prefer him to be a safer pet.

Thanks.. Looking forward to an answer.. We already love this deer to death so please help!

Hey there,

Okay so we (family and I) have decided to build a pond around 1,500 gallons.. We want to put in two adult (already big) koi fish, but we also want to put 2 hatchling red eared sliders in too. We know and have seen koi and turtles living together in smaller sized aquariums, so we are thinking this is okay..? The turtles will be put with them when the turtles are too small to even eat or mess with a big fish, so the turtles will grow up with them.. I have gold fish and have had turtles before, so I know how to take care of fish and turtles so don't worry about care and maintenance.

Thanks.

Hey,

So a lady I know has an 8 year old red eared slider, she had taken it in from a friend when it was a tiny hatchling.. It is now like around 6 and a half inches, weird thing is it is in a ten gallon tank and has been sence he was the size of a u.s. quarter, also it hasn't had any UVB lighting within the last 4 years.. It's 8, around 6 inches long, healthy, and has a hard shell, but has lived in a ten gallon it's whole like with no UVB for had of it's life.. Also very shallow water like half an inch deep.. How did he live? How is he still so healthy? It's confusing me cause I always have had and continue to have 10 gallons per inch of my turtles shell and UVB lighting.. I thought without proper care they wouldn't even make it to eight.. Also I know it's wrong and vie done my best to convince her to get a bigger tank and all..

Please give your opinion, thanks.

Hey everyone,

I'm usually answering questions not asking ones, but I'm stumped on what to do with my cat.. Ever since I was little I've had cats and other pets.. Never have I seen something like this. So anyway, I have two cats, one is a domestic shorthair and the other is a Savannah f2, they have been living together in my big home for their whole lives.. My domestic shorthair has always used the litter box and still is, but my savannah decided just 6 months ago to use the bathroom where ever he pleases, he is a four year old neutered male, so is my other cat.. My cats are best friends. Therefor he has no reason to be doing this, I have two XL jumbo boxes one up stairs and one downstairs that are kept clean, he used to use it, but decided to stop!? I've tried to use different techniques to help, but they haven't worked. Every time I find pee/fecies I take him to the spot show him, spank him lightly, and say a firm No! Then I clean up the mess and make sure the odor goes away.. I've now started to close doors to his fave spots to 'go' in, but he found other places, when I catch him in his act I spank him and yell at him, but yet he still does this.. I've cleaned far too many messes now, I'm on my edge, I love this cat, but I cantnstand the constant messes I have to clean up and the embarrassing odor when I first walk in my house with a guest, my house is very clean and big..

Please tell me what else there is I can do? And why he'd do this? He loves me and the other animals and is not territorial and for the past four years he hasn't done this.

Thank you.. :( I really don't know what to do.

Hey there,

There are a bunch of wild cats around my house all the time, I find them catching, killing, and eating lizards that I believe are ornate tree lizards, which are native to Texas, California, and I think New Mexico.. So anyway, this cat that I had fed before had got a lizard that's like 2 inches Long not including the tail. I saved the lizard out of the cats mouth.. But when I was holding it it seemed so docile and friendly, as if he had been a pet for years.. I didn't want him to be eaten my a cat, so I put him in a 10 gallon rubbermaid cage with air wholes in the lid that are small so he can't escape, the bin is clear see through material so yes he has light.. I put a layer of small pebbles as substrate at the bottom of the cage, a shallow small dish of water, a hide away box, a branch that goes diagonal across the cage so that he can climb and all, a small grass hopper, a medium sized grass hopper, a small piece of apples, and a small piece of carrot.. His cage is in a warm area that's around 78'F and he has been active in his cage, he had been stalking the small grass hopper for a while now.. Dunno when he'll eat it, probe soon, well I hope he eats. I'm not handling him a lot because I don't want him to be real scared, but when I do handle him he is real calm and seems to like being held, cause last time I put my hand in the cage he crawled on it, he has been in there for like 4 hours now, seems fine and healthy. I'm really glad I saved him he's cool. I'm wanting to keep him as a pet now.. So do you know what else I should do to keep him healthy and happy? Next time I go to the petshop I'm going to get crickets and repti-dust to sprinkle on the crickets.. Anyway please also say if what you think I did and am going to do is a good or bad thing? And please explain why?..

Thank you (:

Hi guys,

So there are wild cats always killing adult and baby lizards around my house, I find it sad.. So like a hour ago I saw a cat that had let me pet him before with a small sized lizard in it's mouth, I saved the lizard out of it's mouth, but I know if I let it go again it will be eaten. I gave the cats cat food because I guess they are so hungry they eat lizards.. Or maybe they are doing just because they are cats.. Anyway, I put the little guy in a rubbermaid container it's around the size of a ten gallon aquarium.. I put small pebbles for substrate at the bottom.. I gave him a little hide away thing I quickly made for him and put it at the corner of the cage, then I put a small piece of apple and a small piece of carrot in and a small dish of shallow water, I then put a lid on, I pokes air wholes in the lid so that he can breathe, but they are small so he can't escape. The only thing I'm missing is a UVB lamp, but it's already sun set time, so there is no need for sun light at the moment, but do you think tomorrow I should set his cage in the sun so that it will go through, he won't bake cause there is a hide box thing, so is that okay? Can you tell me what else to do..? He actually doesn't mind being handled, but when he's in his cage he's active which is good, I think. I'm in Texas, so I have no idea what breed lizard this is.. Please don't tell me to let him go, if I do he'll be eaten..

Thanks..

Okay so I was wondering if it is a good idea to buy a package deal from these people, it comes with:

- 20 gallon long with reptile hood

- filter

- hatchling turtle food

- hatchling care book

- substrate (pebbles)

- bascking dock

- dome light fixture

- light

- other turtle stuff

- 4 hatchling red eared sliders

Do you think that good? The price is $500 dollars though.. But I think it's worth it, I have heard from people that young turtles don't use a lot of space, until they are around 2 years of age.. Do you think I can keep the four in the 20 gallon, then when they are two put them into a 100 gallon? The reptile vet thinks it's good idea, but I want your opinion.

Thank you!

Hey guys,

Okay so I've decided I want to buy 3 hatchling red eared sliders from either www.turtlesale.com or from www.turtleshack.com. Yes I'm aware that there have been bad and good things said about both sites, but have heard of many people getting good healthy turtles and tortoises straight to their doors. Both these sites seem good to me. What I'm stuck on is should I get them a 100 gallon aquarium? See I know it's very wrong of her, but my friend had 2 red eared sliders in a ten gallon tank, she got them when they wher little hatchlings that where like the U.S Quarter size.. She had had them for 4 years now! They have grown a lot, and still live in that ten gallon tank.. Weird right? They have grown, they are healthy, they bask and swim a lot.. And so on.. People say turtles won't survive in small tanks?! I have tried to convince her to upgrade her tank, but she won't.. I asked her if I gave her a 30 gallon as a gift I'd shed use it, she said sorry no! So if two can survive in a 10 gallon, I'm sure that 3 will be happy in a 100 gallon right? I will get all three of them DNA tested, I'll only get males so they are smaller. I asked a reptile vet about what he thinks of a red eared sliders habitat? He said that he thinks 20 gallons per male and 30 gallons per female. I was so stunned, because in the past I have had two red eared sliders and I kept them in a 150 gallon, they got big and loved life, but I was constantly told I didn't need a big aquarium, but I refused to downsize my little boys habitat. I adopted them wih their tank out to a friend because I moved.. Now I'm settled down and am going to not travel anymore.. So want more... 100 gallon ok???

Thanks

Can you please explain to me the incubation process and how many eggs a turtle will have per year.. It's a Texas map. Also please tell me what clutches specifically mean.

Hi there,

I have two red eared sliders, I have had them since they where tiny babies, now they are 5 years old and live in a 350 gallon aquarium together. They are very well cared for, I love them.

My question is, do you think I should get 2 Texas map turtles? Here's my plan:

- get two baby Texas maps, one female on male.

- put them together in a 85 gallon tank.

- use big pebbles as bottom substrate.

- fill tank with treated fresh water.

- get a 90 gallon water filter.

- basking spot with UVB lamp over it.

- in the middle of the tank put a heat lamp.

I would love to breed them, please tell me what age can the breed at and give me all information on it?... I'm going to do all research on breeding them and get their needs done, well before I get them. I am a responsible owner. BUT another question I have is; what should I feed them? I feed my red eared sliders caned aquatic turtle pellets, canned aquatic turtle shrimp, and feeder fish, see the pellets and the feeder fish are tiny, so the babies would be able to eat them, but I will hive them pellets only until they get older, then give them feeder fish? Sound good? The feeder fish are safety guaranteed and they are very small, the pet shop is fully reliable (so they say) plus I've been giving it to my res turtles for 4 out of five years of their life...

Hi there,

I have a lot of animals and most of them are exotic pets, I love all animals, but exspecialy exotics.

I have now decided I want a Greek tortoise, I love the looks of tortoises and turtles, I haven two red eared slider turtles right now, they are around 5 years old and live in a 500 gallon together, they are both around 7 inches in length and I love them, but never have I had a tortoise but I want one bad! So I need your opinions on things..

1. Should I get a rubbermaide 80 gallon tub or a 80 gallon aquarium with mesh top for one greek tortoise? I've just heard bad stuff about tortoises not understanding glass, but I think aquariums are pretty.. So what do you think?

2. Romaine lettuce and carrots, do you think thoughs are good main foods that I should feed? What other foods should I give?

3. Do Greek tortoises need reptile calcium dust? If so what kind?

4. Do you like tortoises? Why or why not?

5. Is a heat & UVA lamp and a seprate UVB lamp okay?

6. Do you think ordering a baby golden Greek tortoise off of theturtlesource.com is good or bad? Why? (please elaborate)

7. There are no breeders any where near me and the pet shop Greek tortoises are already big and they don't look like healthy specimens, should I order online to get a Greek mailed to me? What site? I've heard bad things and some good things about turtle shack, tortoise shack, and turtle connections.. What about the turtle source, I've heard good about them?

Thank you for your time.. If you feel there is any other information I need please tell me.

I think it's weird, but kind of cute.. But is it bad for turtles and tortoises to be shipped in those small containers in boxes? Why? Some people say it is some say it's not. Like turtle shack? They ship..

Hi, I plan on getting two tortoises (Greek) and breeding them every once and a while.. I have some questions though..

1. Is a 60 gallon set up okay for one tortoise?

2. What age can Greek tortoises breed at?

3. When is breeding season? When do you breed them? Do you just put them in a cage together?

Note: these are going to be inside tortoises, so hibernation is not going to occur right? Because I've seen after hibernation is the only time to breed? Please elaborate.

4. How many babies?

5. Please give me all information on them and breeding them..

Thank you!!