An adequate supply of vitamin C in diets for guinea pigs is critical. Unlike rabbits, dogs and most other animals that synthesize or produce there own supply, guinea pigs have a definite dietary need for vitamin C. As in people, a deficiency causes the condition known as scurvy. Signs of scurvy are reduced food intake and weight loss followed quickly by hair loss, bleeding through the gums and nostrils, loosening of the teeth, bacterial infections, and ultimately, death. When feeding guinea pigs a diet that is not fortified with vitamin C, such as rabbit food, death from vitamin C deficiency can occur in less than 3 months.
In the past guinea pig diets contained sources of vitamin C that were unstable and had a very short shelf life. Kaytee’s Guinea Pig diets, such as exact® RAINBOW, FIESTA MAX, FORTI-DIET Pro Health, and TIMOTHY COMPLETE, contain the stabilized source of vitamin C, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, to prevent deficiency. Kaytee products have a Best Before Code on the package to make sure that your pet is getting products that are providing the intended nutrients and vitamins.
To ensure your guinea pig is consuming the daily requirements for vitamin C and prevent a deficiency, we recommend the guinea pigs daily diet comprise of 80% of the Kaytee fortified daily diet you choose (exact, Fiesta Max, Forti-Diet Pro Health, Timothy Complete).
Come one come all!!! And best of all you can take your pets to this event! (Please bring proof of current vaccinations.)
I cannot wait for this event! Me along with Harley went last year. It was crowded but I have heard it has doubled in size for 2012.
They have lots of vendors, lots of shelters, and lots of fun stuff at this event. Shorty Rossi from the Animal Planet show Pit Boss is going to be here this year!!!!
I created a facebook event. If you want to come just click the link and say so!!!! It would be cool to meet new friends and for everyone to meet Harley too!
Faceboook event
I will be taking tons of pics and video this year. I hope I can get some out while there but sometimes it is hard to get a signal in reliant. I will blog about it further and add vids and pics here too but…
Some birds may not enjoy petting but may learn to tolerate it and come to know your hands are not there to harm.
Here are some things I have learned about feathers:
1. It must be painful to grow feathers. I know every time I touch a pin feather my bird does have a reaction. (Pin feathers are new feathers that are still growing and have a blood supply. They may be blue with a whitish sheath or half grown with feather showing and be blue covered in the sheath as you get closer to the skin.
Bottom line, if your bird is in the middle of a molt you might want to wait to try this.
2. On the show Pet Keeping With Marc Morrone, he explained that macaw feathers are pretty rigid and that makes them less eager to accept touch. Cockatoos with their soft feathers don’t have the same problem.
3. Most if not all birds have an aversion to being touched. Even hand tamed birds can fall into this natural state.
Before I give my tips and steps on how I was able to get my bird to allow touch two things must be know or established first.
Your bird must know the step up command and the bird should not be a biter. My bird will nibble and sometimes give a good pinch but long gone are the days when he gives painful bites.
So start with touching toes. Once your bird is comfortable with that move further up the leg or chest. Now it might take days weeks or months before your bird is ok with its toes being touched. Go at the bird’s pace. If it has set backs then back off and start over.
I need to be careful. I often exchange what may seem like a bad habit in what I think is a better one.
I realized early that my bird loves buttons. I couldn’t keep him away from my shirts. So I decided that old shirts could be his. Of course I didn’t think about the fact that the bird was happy to get buttons to chew off but still didn’t grasp that some were ok to chew on but others were not.
Of course it doesn’t stop there. I have 3 jackets but none of them can zip up. Harley, my macaw, has modified them for me.
Recently I have allowed my bird to chew on my shoes… as I was wearing them. I assumed he was interested in the shoe strings and that was about it. Well like the shirts nothing is really off limits because everything is interesting to this bird.
Aside from now destroying my trainers the negative side effect is now he is interested in everyone’s shoes. Flip flops are no different. Of course kids and adults alike are not to keen on having a large beak poke around feet and toes.
I see now that what I should have done is given something that is OK to be chewed on. Not something similar or allow a potentially bad behavior to continue.
So if you’re dealing with a habit like chewing on shoes. Learn from my mistake and don’t think to give your bird some old shoes to chew on because your bird won’t know the difference between what shoes are OK to tear up and which ones are not.
February, the month of Valentines, Groundhogs and…. Dental Health??
That’s right, as February comes to an end we wanted to encourage people to continue to talk about their pets dental health.
Many of our favorite small animal pets such as hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, chinchillas and gerbils fall into the rodent category. This means that they have front teeth that never stop growing. These small pets must continuously gnaw to keep these teeth worn down. If their teeth become overgrown, it can lead to problems eating and cause serious health issues. Rabbits do not fall into the rodent category but also can benefit from chew toys and treats.
So what exactly are these furry critters chewing on? In nature these animals will chew on nuts, seeds and wood to get to their food. This naturally keeps their teeth trim. As pets, small animals often resort to chewing on their cages, hideouts, and cage accessories. This is why it is extremely important to provide your small animal pet with a variety of chew toys.
Small Animal chew toys are available in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes. Super Pet offers chews in wood, sisal, loofah and a variety of other materials to help keep teeth clean and trim. In addition to aiding dental health, they also provide pets with physical activity and mental stimulation, keeping them entertained. You can even make your own resourceful chews! Try placing an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll in your pet’s cage and watch as your pet chews up the cardboard material.
A daily diet that offers dense gnawing material can also help with your pets dental health. KAYTEE offers a great diet to help with this, KAYTEE® Forti-Diet® Crunch™ with Dental Bites is a complete small animal food that also promotes dental health. The grinding action of chewing Dental Bites helps control tooth growth and aids in the prevention of tartar buildup. Additionally the specifically formulated, fortified diet provides essential nutrients healthful nutrition. KAYTEE® Forti-Diet® Crunch™ with Dental Bites is offered specifically for Hamster & Gerbils, Chinchillas, Mice & Rats,Guinea Pets and even Rabbits.
If there is one thing I strongly advocate it is getting your pet, be it bird, reptile, dog, cat or anything in-between, get them outside.
Please don’t just read the above and run outside. You do have to take precautions. Make sure there is no harm or danger for your pet to encounter. If a leash is needed either for safety or by law by all means use it.
Also, please don’t try this with any pet that can only breath under water.
Kidding aside everyone knows that exercise is good for you and necessary for your pet. The sun also provides you both with some essential vitamins.
I could go on and on about how much fun I have with my bird and dog at parks and lakes (where allowed). Instead of relaying those stories I want you to experience them for yourself.
Document your outdoor excursions and share them in the comment section.
Boredom in a bird can lead to many detrimental problems. These can include screaming, plucking, and aggression.
Here a few things to try and make the environment around your bird more interesting.
Harley my macaw has a knack for being able to destroy a toy in minutes. When he does this I grab the bits that are still usable and not soiled and refashion them into another toy.
To do this one good thing to keep around is scissors, cotton rope, and screw links. Just restring the remaining bits and rehang them in the cage.
You can change the place they are hung and the manner in which they are hung. Get creative. I have to try and keep the things attaching the the toys to the cage away from that beak or it will be toast.
Other things I have tried are phone books. I do own a tiny hand drill so I will drill a hole through the phone book and hang it up in the cage using scissors and cotton rope or stainless steel chain. Harley has a fun time shredding it to bits. It makes a mess for me to clean but he sure has a ball. I have read you can push old paperback books through the bars of the cage too.
Another thing I try to keep my bird entertained with, as he does love chewing on paper, is putting his food in paper lunch bags. I put it in a lunch bag and crinkle the top and place it in the regular lunch bowls. He takes a few nibbles before he realizes his dinner is in there.
One last cheap and easy thing I do is string up bits of cardboard. I am still going through boxes and so every once in a while I have an empty cardboard box. I also have paper cutter. I just rip apart the box and then use the paper cutter to make any and all shapes. If I can shove a skewer through the cardboard I do or I can even use the drill.
Main thing is to get creative. You’d be surprised how many items you already have can be use to entertain your bird.
(When in doubt please check and see if an items is safe for your bird.)
It’s official. My bird loves me. No, I mean really loves me.
I had read the averages for blue and gold Macaws reaching sexual maturity. I also read about green wing macaws reaching sexual maturity. Since my macaw is a mix of both I thought I had time. He is 6 but I was hoping it wouldn’t happen for a little while.
The other day I was resting my hand on his perch and I was watching something on TV. Next thing I know he is all over my hand. I didn’t freak but just went and washed my hand.
The second time it happened, it made things really awkward. I feel like I am in an office situation where I am being harassed and I don’t know what to do. I think I’ll have to make myself less bird sexy.
In all seriousness I have read the best way to keep this from happening is avoiding the things that trigger the response in the first place. I will try to keep my hands off his perches and watch his body language. He has not gotten angry when I move my hand and he stops and I hope it doesn’t get to that point.
Of course I will try to be less attractive to birds too.
This is not a story I wrote but I do feel like sharing this. Click the link for more info and to learn how you can help.
Basically due to fires in Arizona a lot of migrating birds have lost habitat and food sources. There are ways to help the birds especially the hummingbirds. Please click the link to learn more!
The wonderful Kaytee is doing what they can but they could use your help! Click link to find out how.
