Your guinea pig needs a variety of foods to keep him healthy and happy. Start with a high-quality, nutritionally complete guinea pig pellet. Add high nutrition greens such as romaine lettuce or spinach. Other vegetables such as carrots or squash can add nutrition and keep your pig’s teeth trim. Give your guinea pig lots of timothy hay to nibble on. This hay helps your pig’s digestive system work well and is good for his teeth. Your pig will enjoy some fruits as well but only give him small amounts of fruit so he won’t get diarrhea. Guinea pigs can not manufacture vitamin C on their own so you must provide all of this vitamin for him through the fruits and vegetables you select. Vitamin C drops can make a mess when mixed with pellets and is depleted quickly from water if added as a supplement. Contact your North Phoenix, AZ vet to learn more

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Chinchillas are naturally afraid of being submerged in water so traditional bathing is difficult. Your chinchilla will need to take dirt baths to keep himself clean and his coat shiny. Purchase chinchilla sand from a reputable pet supply store. You can buy a dirt bath there too or use a small container. Put a few inches of sand in the container and place it into your chinchilla’s enclosure for him to explore. Generally he will start rolling around in it. However, if he doesn’t, remove the dirt bath from the cage after about 15 minutes so he doesn’t end up using it like a litter box. Try again another day. Offer the dirt bath several times a week, once a week or at least every other week. Check your pet’s coat and do what is best for you and your chinchilla. Contact your Brookfield, WI vet to learn more or click here.

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Pet birds are fairly low-maintenance pets that can be highly entertaining and fun to watch. They are not cuddly pets per se but birds definitely have personalities so you can foster a relationship with a bird. Birds are easy to train and fun to work with. Your pet bird will spend most of its life in its cage so you don’t need a lot of room. However, your bird will need time outside the cage daily for exercise and socialization. This requires a secure, safe room to allow your bird to fly. Birds can be messy but it’s generally confined to droppings, feathers and seed hulls so they are easy to clean up after with almost no odor. Some breeds of birds live a long time so you will need to be prepared for a long-term commitment when adopting a bird. Contact your Cameron Park, CA vet to learn more.

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Your family will soon be welcoming a new member, and you couldn’t be happier to be adding a cat to the household. What supplies will you need for your new companion?

Your cat will need several pet supply items in order to stay happy and healthy in your care. These will include essential items, like food and water, a brush, an emergency kit, oral care items, and flea prevention methods in addition to a litter box, litter to fill it with, and items to keep it clean. There are additional items that she would enjoy as well, like some toys, a bed, something to scratch on, a collar, and a cat carrier to keep her safe when you need to bring her out and about. Luckily, you should be able to find most of these items quite easily at your local pet store. Your local Marietta, GA veterinarian can tell you more. Visit their site for additional information.

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Your rabbit needs a varied diet to keep healthy and happy. Start with a high-quality rabbit pellet, greens and other nutritious vegetables plus some fruit for snacks. Most importantly, your rabbit needs to have access to hay at all times. Hay helps keep your rabbit’s digestive system working well and all the gnawing helps keep your rabbit’s teeth trim. Alfalfa hay has too much protein for adult rabbits so your best choice is timothy hay. You can buy bags of timothy hay from a local pet supply store. You may also find fresh timothy hay from a feed supply store or online. This fresh hay is yummy and supplies additional moisture. Give your rabbit fresh hay everyday and throw away the old hay especially if it is soiled. After a short period you will get an idea of how much hay your rabbit needs each day. For more information, contact your Folsom, CA vet.

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Cats like to peruse their territory from a high perch and the kitchen counters provide an ideal observation point. Since you prepare food on the counters, they are even more desirable to your cat. However, her presence on the counters makes them less sanitary for food preparation. Consequently, you will need to discourage your cat from going up on the kitchen counters. Start by clearing the counters of all food and cleaning them thoroughly so there is nothing tempting up there. Cover the counters with strips of aluminum foil or double-sided tape. These materials feel weird to your cat’s feet and will act as a deterrent. Next set up another area where your cat can observe the kitchen in safety but out of the way of food preparation. Perhaps a shelf or high chair would be acceptable to your kitty. For more information, please contact your Hillview Veterinary Clinic, OH.

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