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Many people would not consider a fish to be a “real” pet, but keeping tropical fish is a pleasurable hobby for families around the world. It’s also great for the person who is allergic to fur but stills wants some kind of company at home. If you are a complete beginner then beginning with a goldfish would be your best start, but if you want a little more of a challenge then tropical fish are the way to go.

Most people choose salt water fish because there are more choices and typically more brightly coloured fish then among freshwater fish, and it’s much simpler than having a reef aquarium. There is also an aesthetic appeal of keeping a tropical fish tank in your home because you get to design and decorate your tank. Tropical fish don’t tie you down to a lot of expenses after you set up the aquarium and buy the fish; it should cost you around $25 a year to feed a fish. But what most people appreciate most is that you don’t have to walk them, wash them, groom them, play catch with them or take them in for check-ups.

But that doesn’t mean that you can just put your fish in a tank and walk away. Tropical fish do require more care than a plant; you must know how to change the water, clean the tank, and what to feed them. A little research will help you keep your aquarium free from algae blooms and snail infestations. An absolute necessity for tropical fish is a tank heater, and you may also find a tank thermometer to be very helpful. The most commonly used heater for aquariums is a submersible heater, which you should position where it will circulate the most water, so it can spread out the heat. The thermometer should also be a submersed one because they are usually more accurate and if you are keeping tropical fish the temperature of the tank water is of the utmost importance.

As with any new hobby or endeavour, it is important to learn about the needs of the different species of tropical fish before you invite them to share your home. But with a little advance planning and preparation, you will soon come to see that keeping fish as pets can be pleasing and quite fun to do!

Catnip cat toys are a great gift for any of your feline friends. Which types of toy should be acquired for kitty? A catnip mouse always ranks highly. Felines enjoy stalking and chasing down victims as prey, and catnip mice are an ideal combination of hunting and the love of catnip.

Plasticized catnip mice are wonderful for knocking across hard surfaces since they go flying easily so your feline friend can pursue the mouse with predatorial intent. These are inexpensive and it’s easy to buy a bag of several of them for a few bucks. Bigger, more real catnip mice also exist, ideally suited for more intent wrestling and rabbit kicking your little friend will enjoy. Often the bigger ones will have come with bells on, as it were, sewn to or in the interior of the toy such that your hunter will love the scent and the musical jingling breaking the silence of the night you’ve become so attached to.

Are there more catnip cat toys out there? Beyond catnip mice exist several more infused delights. To be sure, several types of toys can be refilled via a pouch that you just place more catnip in. If you buy bulk catnip then you can keep them fresh a long time. Certain types of catnip cat toys are simply containers for catnip. It might look like an ordinary cloth bag, or possibly more artistically rendered items like food your feline might recognize. Keep in mind a refillable toy will be enjoyable for longer, as catnip is more potent when fresh, thus having more value.

Another popular catnip cat toy aremscented balls for chasing around. Much like the small catnip mice, these are best suited to a smooth floor, since they will have enhanced rollability and your little friend will enjoy attacking them, thus getting more exercise.

Some catnip items can hung over doorframes or mounted to walls, so on occasion of their attack by your crazy cat, they bounce to and fro, and cats will assume that these are worth a fight, and therefore more necessary to attack!

Keep in mind that for sanitation and hygiene concerns, usually catnip cat toys are non-returnable as they may have been licked and drooled on. Catnip doesn’t go in them by accident, of course! As noted previously, a multitude of choices do exist, though of course any are always fun!

In order to be a pet sitter, you really need to have a good understanding of what types of situations you can handle regarding the care of someone else’s pet, and those that you cannot.

There are a variety of ways that pet sitters will care for someone else’s pet. Sometimes they will visit a few times a day, staying about 30 minutes while they care for the pets basic needs. Other pet sitters will stay overnight.

Regardless of how the pets are cared for, it’s important to be aware that pet sitting does not always go as well as planned.

Most people may think it’s easy to be a pet sitter. After all, the only thing you have to do is make sure the dog or cat or other pets have fresh water and receive their daily food allotment and if needed take them outside to relieve themselves a few times during the day.

Yes, it’s true, the life of the pet sitter does seem rather easy. Yet, there are situations that a pet sitter needs to be aware of that could actually become very dangerous.

Sometimes having to care for dogs, especially outside house dogs, can become very dangerous because outside house dogs can be very territorial. Most owners know their dogs well enough to know whether there is any danger for the person who may need to come into their home to take care of their pets when there away.

This is not where the problem is. The real problem comes in when the pet sitter is required to take care of the dogs by entering their yard to provide them with food and water. This is where the pet sitter needs to have extra caution. Before accepting a job where you must deal with outside dogs, you need to make sure they are well behaved and well socialized.

If there is more than one dog, and you enter their yard, the situation could become very dangerous. If you become fearful and the dogs sense that you don’t belong there, they could see you as a threat and even decide to attack.

Trying to cope with a nervous dog, or worse, several nervous dogs can become a pretty scary situation.

Always stress to the owners that it is important for them to be honest with you and tell you how well socialized their dogs are. You may want to ask if any of their dogs have any tendency to be aggressive. Do they jump up on people? Do they get nervous when someone enters the yard? Do they have any problem with strangers coming into their territory?

With some of the larger breeds, you may want to have a test run when the owner is hidden away from the house, yet close enough to help out if needed. You can test to see how the dogs will react when you enter their territory while they think the owner is away.

Before you enter the yard, you need to take note of how the dogs behave. Do they seem nervous or anxious? Or are they thrilled to have a visitor? If your gut tells you it’s not safe, you should not to accept that job.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Pet sitters really need to understand that it’s not always a good idea to take every job. Before taking on any pet sitting job, make sure you meet with both the pets and the owners. Ask questions about how well the dogs behave, what types of problems the owner may have or have had in the past.

This is not only the time for the pet owners to interview you, it’s your time to interview them as well. Never accept a pet sitting job if you do not feel comfortable with the pets or the owners.

Most times pet sitting is truly a great job to have. Just remember that all jobs are not for all pet sitters. Sometimes it’s best to say no.

If you are planning on owning a baby ferret, there are some facts that you might like to know.

Female ferrets (or Jills as they are known) have, on average, around 6 – 10 baby ferrets in each litter. A baby ferret is known as a ‘kit’. They are born blind and their eyes only start to open at about six weeks old.

A kit should not be separated from its mother until it is at least 10 weeks old. Parting a kit from its mother before this time is not recommended as in the first few weeks of its life, the kit needs to bond with its mother and is also dependent on her for its food.

Depending on where you bought your young ferret will determine whether or not you need to arrange vaccinations. Typically, an adopted ferret will have had his initial vaccinations already as these can be administered at 9 weeks. Ferrets are normally vaccinated against canine distemper.

A kit needs the right kind of diet to give it the best start in life. Baby ferrets require a high protein diet, so choose a specially formulated ferret food. Avoid giving your kit any cat food as this won’t have the right amount of protein. Aim for a food that has at least 35% protein and 20% fat. Provide fresh water for your kits at all times.

Switching a ferret’s diet quickly can cause problems, so find out what your young ferret was eating before you brought him home and wean him off that and onto what you plan to feed him with.

You can train your new ferret to use a litter tray. It’s a good idea to find out what litter he has been using at the pet store, the breeders or the shelter and use that to start with so that he feels familiar with it. Some litters are dangerous for ferrets, so avoid any of the clumping, silica based ones. Wood shavings are not recommended either. The best type to go for is compressed newspaper pellets or wood pellets. Praise your ferret for using his litter tray and reinforce the desired behaviour. It’s a good idea to keep your ferret’s toilet area well away from the area in which he sleeps.

Ferrets emit a natural odour that’s quite unpleasant. You can help to reduce the intensity of the odour by having your ferret neutered and de-scented.  A young kit may smell more pungent on his first day at home with you for a number of reasons. Firstly, baby ferrets simply have a strong odour. Also, as they get excited the smell can become more intense. If you have had your ferret de-scented and neutered or spayed, the smell will lessen as the ferret gets older.

Ferrets love to play, so make sure you spend some time each day having fun with your new family member. Ensure your home is ferret friendly by hiding any exposed wires (he’ll want to chew them!) and putting away anything your young kit may swallow.

Homemade dog food is definitely an important part of the dog diet. This is because many of the commercial branded dog food products actually contains food ingredients that are harmful to the pet health such as artificial food colors and even synthetic flavoring. Such ingredients can be a cause of sickness or even death to our beloved pets.

Unlike the preservatives found in the commercial pet food products and usually unsuitable to dog health, homemade dog food is healthier and even tastier if done properly by the pet owner. Likewise, if we know that our dogs are sick, we can control the type of food that they receive by giving them the nutritious stuff that need to eat such as limited protein consumption for those dogs with renal condition.

Especially if our pets suffer from certain types of diseases, homemade dog food are a great way of help the health condition of the animals improve by giving them only the food diet that is best for them. To go with this food is lots of water in order to ensure correct and normal metabolism.

There are instances when homemade dog are prepared with freezing or cold methods in use in order to protect the food from germs and other harmful elements. Natural vinegar can be added to meat items in order to maintain freshness.  Likewise, you can also add vitamin and mineral supplements that can be obtained from fish oils and fruits.

Remember, when it comes to the overall health and welfare of our pet dogs, we must try to provide with the best, pet vitamins, regular grooming and nutritious homemade good food. Our love, care and pampering will certainly make our dogs lively, happy and amiable pet companions that we want them to be.

For more articles and discussions about homemade dog food and everything else about our beloved pets, do visit our Pinoy Pet Blog.