Pets

5 Interesting Facts About Dumbo Rats

Dumbo rats are very interesting little creatures and there is a lot to know about them. Much like people, they have a variety of behaviors and traits that range from the "perfectly normal" to the "not so normal"! In this article, I will be discussing five very interesting bits of dumbo rat information. I hope you find these as fascinating as I did!

1. Why does my rat have a bald spot on the top of his head?

Answer: If your newly bald pet is sharing a cage with other rats, chances are, he is being barbered by his cage mate. This is not really harmful and if there are no other symptoms observed, it is not something you need to worry about. For a really neat trick, maybe you could try training them to give each other little rat mohawks!

2. Why do I feel my rat's ears vibrating? What could it mean?

Answer: Your pet is in season. This is natural for female rats, and occurs typically once every 3-5 days. Sometimes your female dumbo rats won't show any signs that they are in heat, but this is a common one.

3. My pet's eyes almost popped out! Do I need to take him to a vet?

Answer: No. This is called "boggling", a perfectly normal phenomenon that you don't need to worry about. It is actually a sign of happiness, contentment and relaxation. It often occurs at the same time the rat is "bruxing", or grinding its teeth. The contraction of the muscles involved in bruxing are what push the eyeball into the "popeye" look that you're observing.

4. My two female rats are humping one another. Is this normal?

Answer: There are a number of reasons why rats hump each other. Most times they do this when in season. For male rats, it is a sign of dominance. Although it may seem a bit strange, it's really nothing to be concerned with!

5. One of my rats died in the cage. I saw the other rats eat him! Is this behavior normal?

Answer: Unfortunately, yes. This is because they cannot have dead bodies in their cage, otherwise, it will attract other potential predators who, in the wild, could end up harming the still living rats. This is a natural animal instinct and is to be expected. If this isn't something that you're comfortable with (which not many are!), it is important to personally get rid of the dead body as quickly as possible to restore order to your cage.

Look for more fancy rat care articles to come in the very near future! I promise that will be packed full of interesting information and useful tips to help you give your little friends the best care possible. One thing that I have learned over the course of my time spent with pet rats is that there is always one more thing to learn!

Until next time, happy rat keeping!

For more great dumbo rat information and dumbo rats, try visiting Dumbo-Rats.com, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources on caring for fancy pet rats.

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Dumbo Rats and People

Rats are very good pets for children and grown-ups alike as they are very smart, friendly, and lovable.

Unfortunately, many people until now still have a preconceived notion of them as disgusting, selfish, and vile creatures. This is a tendency that seems to be caused by their failure to disassociate pet rats from wild rats. Many people still fear rats in general, whether they are domesticated or wild, because of the bad press they have had since way back the past. During the Middle Ages, rats were blamed for causing the Bubonic Plague in Europe, tarnishing their name for hundreds of years hence.

Before understanding why a lot of people nowadays keep rats as pets, here are two truths about pet rats:

They are not dirty.

As a matter of fact, they clean themselves more often than other animals, and even go on to clean their fellow rats in the cage!

They are not hostile.

As a matter of fact, they are quite shy. They do not bite unless provoked or hurt, and may actually be frightened of those who scream and think of rats as frightening. Once they are comfortable with a human, they show great loyalty, which makes them wonderful pets for children.

As earlier stated, pet rats do not bite without provocation.

In order to avoid getting bitten by your pet rat, here are some tips to consider:

Motherly instinct

Be careful placing your hand inside a cage with a mother and her young inside. Any external influence introduced to the scene with a mother rat and her young will immediately cause aggression in the mother as a natural instinct to protect her young.

Proper feeding method

Do not feed your pet rats through the wire cage from the outside. They will eventually think anything that passes through the wire walls is food, and the next time you might want to touch it through the gaps with your finger, your pet rat just might make a tasty treat of it.

Rid yourself of smells or smears of food.

This is quite self-explanatory. The more you smell of / taste of food, the more likely you will get bitten. Wash your hands before handling your pet rat. Absolutely avoid sticking your hand in his cage or handling him after having eaten something with your bare hands.

Look for more information about fancy rat care on my website below. Until next time, happy rat-keeping!

For more information about fancy rat care and dumbo rats, try visiting Dumbo-Rats.com, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources on caring for fancy pet rats.

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Karen Pryor and Clicker Training

Karen Pryor is a Behavioral biologist and an authority on operant conditioning; she came into the public notice in 1984 with the publishing of her book, Don't Shoot the Dog. The book explains positive conditioning and how it works on people and animals. The popular book has now gone into its 16th printing and is used as a reference by many dog trainers for a gentle and effective training method.

Karen's expertise comes from her graduate work in zoology and behavioral biology. Then, as co-founder of Hawaii's Sea Life Park and Oceanic Institute, she acted as curator and head dolphin trainer. It was there that she began using the technique of applying behavior analysis developed by B.F.Skinner, which is the basis for what is now called Clicker Training.

In 1987, Karen Pryor began giving seminars under the name of clicker training for participants who were using conditioning to train dogs and other domestic animals. The use of the clicker for training gives the program its name. During training the clicker serves as a positive reinforcer. Voices can change in pitch, volume, and tone. The click is a consistent sound that immediately communicates to the animal that it has done something right. It also lets them know that at the end of the session a reward will be coming. Clicker training helps animals learn purposeful behaviors as opposed to habitual behaviors.

Clicker Training is characterized by only positive reinforcement, there is no deprivation. Sessions are short and there is no drilling. The training process used can be practiced with any animal for any behavior There are three steps:

1. Get the behavior.

2. Mark the behavior.

3. Reinforce the behavior.

Once the desired response is achieved, the training moves on. There is lots of variety in the activities. The effectiveness of the program shows in the accelerated progress of the animals in the training program.

Karen's latest book, published in 2009,reaching the Animal Mind, comes from her 30 years of experience in training animals of every kind. In it she shares with the reader what she knows about animal training and what she has learned from the animals in turn.

Karen Pryor is the CEO of Sunshine Books, which provides DVD's and clicker training books. She has also developed a trainer program which certifies graduates internationally. Clicker training is used worldwide for zoo animals as well as dogs, cats, horses, and birds.

Susan Morris is involved in a variety of activities and loves to write about them, these include pets, pottery, the outdoors, natural healing, and healthy lifestyles. As a former teacher Susan is always interested in sharing her knowledge and skills. Want more information about Clicker training, trainer certification, or training starter kits to work with your own pet? You can find a link to clicker training at For My Four Legged Friends

10 Reasons to Buy Pet Supplies Online

How to Keep Your Small Pet Warm in Winter

ByChristina Kennedy

Keeping warm in the winter is essential for all animals and your small rodents / cavies are no exception.

Below are some tips to keep your pets healthy in cold weather.

Rodents (rats, hamsters, gerbils)

The first most cost effective way of keeping your rodents warm is to add extra bedding to their home. The bedding will need to be highly absorbent and changed regularly to ensure that your pets don't become ill from cold / wet bedding. The deeper the bedding, the better it will be as your furry friends can burrow in it when cold. It is also worth adding extra soft nesting material for your pet. You can also cut up strips of kitchen roll that they can use to nest in.

There are now a great range of hidey houses, hammocks and snuggle caves that can be bought from large retailers and independent craftspeople. These are often made from fleece and other soft, warm materials. These are great for your pet to sit in when cold or when sleeping.

To add more extra heat, you can purchase microwavable heatpads if it is particularly cold and you can even purchase some hidey houses with heatpads already installed.

Warm foods are a good way of keeping your pets cosy in winter. Rodents (particularly rats) will enjoy soups, mashed potato and cooked vegetables on a cold day.

Blankets and towels can also be added to your rodent's home for extra warmth but make sure they are changed regularly to avoid dampness and smells.

Please note that you have to be especially careful to keep syrian hamsters warm as they can go into hibernation if too cold and unlike wild animals their bodies aren't equipped to cope with this. You do really need to keep an eye on the temperature in this case.

Rabbits and guinea pigs

Rabbits and guinea pigs are often kept outside and because of this it is especially important to be prepared for winter.

If your rabbits or guinea pigs are kept outside, you may consider bringing them inside. You may be able to bring them into your home itself or a shed / garage. If you bring your pet's hutch / home into a garage, please ensure that it is unused as the fumes from cars would be very dangerous for your pet.

If you cannot bring your pets inside, at the very least you should make sure that the hutch is well sheltered and appropriately insulated. Rabbit hutches can be covered with blankets, duvets and then tarpaulin to make sure it is waterproof. Alternatively, specially made hutch covers can be purchased from pet stores. The hutch should then be placed in a sheltered area so that it is protected from the wind.

Extra bedding is very important when it becomes cold and it must be changed regularly so it stays warm and dry. Nesting boxes and cosy hideouts can be added to the hutch also. You can also purchase fleece cage liners to further insulate your pet's home.

Water bottles will need checking regularly so that they don't freeze and a spare one should be provided in case of this possibility. Bottles can be insulated by wrapping them in thermal clothing, bubblewrap or special wine bottle insulators.

Again, heatpads can be used but if you don't have one of these, a sock stuffed with rice can be used instead. You just microwave the sock and make sure that no rice comes out. Also allow the sock to cool after being heated up before adding it to your pet's hutch / cage.

As well as heatpads, some owners purchase heat lamps that are most often used to keep reptiles warm. Heaters can be used too but should not be placed too close to the cage as the bedding materials could become a fire hazard.

You could also consider keeping a thermometer in the room that you keep your pet in to monitor room temperature.

It is important to remember that the main danger with rabbits is that they overheat but they still shouldn't be left out in the cold in a wire cage with no protection from the wind and rain.

Christina writes articles about human and animal health and endeavours to advocate the use of clean, warm and environmentally friendly small pet bedding.

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5 Signs Your Animal Has Been Poisoned With Antifreeze

ByLexi L Davis

Antifreeze is used to keep cars in good working order, and it is scientifically called ethylene glycol. It has no color, no odor, a syrupy texture, and a slightly sweet taste, and it is poisonous to both dogs and cats. If you keep antifreeze in the garage, keep it capped and out of the reach of your animals. Be familiar with the signs of antifreeze poisoning in your animals, and rush your dog or cat to the emergency veterinarian if you detect them.

Seeming Drunk
Because antifreeze has alcohol in it, the animal may appear drunk after consuming it. Depending on how much the animal has consumed, this type of symptom may range from a lack of coordination to severe depression. Watch for the dog or cat to stumble over nothing, to stagger or to suddenly turn bored and unresponsive.

Seizures
Drinking antifreeze may cause your dog or cat to fall over into a seizure. A seizure is characterized by sudden muscle spasms and the animal paddling their legs. They may whimper and whine or their body may suddenly go rigid. A seizure only lasts for a minute or so, but it can be very alarming, particularly if you have never seen one before. After a seizure, take the animal to the vet immediately.

Heavy thirst
Animals who have drunk antifreeze typically express heavy thirst and a strong urge to urinate. This can continue repeatedly over the course of just a few hours. The antifreeze is working in their system and causing this behavior, and in turn, this behavior may lead to violent vomiting, where they bring the water back up.

Poor respiration
As the ethylene glycol starts to break down in the animal's system, the animal starts to have problem breathing. This is something that will come and go, making it hard to track down. The dog or cat will start to pant or to breathe heavily, or it will start to gasp for breath. The problem with this symptom is that it sometimes stops and the pet seems fine.

Pain
In the very late stages of poisoning from antifreeze, the animal begins to exhibit signs of being in great pain. It may hide and when it walks around, it stays close to the ground, moving very slowly, with its tail tucked close to its body. During this time, a previously friendly animal may be aloof and nervy or a previously aloof animal may be cuddly. A change behavior and signs of pain are indications that you need to take the animal to a veterinarian.

Immediate action is necessary to save an animal's life if it has ingested even a small amount of antifreeze, so don't hesitate. If your animal is expressing any of these symptoms, take them to the veterinarian immediately.

Lexi Davis is a writer who enjoys writing on a number of different verticals. For more on antifreeze, Dawg Business offers readers information on the dangers of antifreeze.

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