Omega-3 Improves Your Pet Health

Here is some info you need to know
Pine and Cedar should never be used for rats bedding, it hurts their already delicate respiratory system.
Always keep them in at least same sex pairs (or neutered/spayed non sex pairs), sometimes there is one who gets along with no one, but in general rats are very social.
Almost all pet store stuff advertised for rats is bad. For example, run about balls, they are dangerous, and have poor ventilation, and I have never met a rat that went into one without a fight (except when hung up in a cage and used as a bed.
Don’t use an aquarium to house them in — and make sure that the wired cage you buy is the appropriate size for the number of rats you’ll be keeping by using the Cage Calculator –> http://www.ratsrule.com/cagecalc.html.
DON’T feed your rats the seed mix crap that is sold as “rat food” at pet stores. Seed mixes are high in fat, not healthy, and often contain things that rats shouldn’t even have. Also, stay away from Kaytee brand foods.
DO feed your rats a staple of lab blocks ((Mazuri, Oxbow, and Harlan Teklad are good brands)) or a HIGH QUALITY dog food kibble. Dog food should be a formula that is low in protein and fat, such as a senior or light formula. Suppliment with grains, fresh veggies, and fresh fruits.
DON’T use perfumes or sprays near your rats. Use unscented laundry detergent for rat laundry.
I’ll also share what I have learned the hard way….
DO start a vet fund. If you haven’t already got rats yet, keep in mind they aren’t cheap pets. They need vet care just like a dog or cat, but often times it’s more expensive to treat a rat (depending on your area). So be sure to have a ‘Vet Fund’ ready. If you have already gotten your rats, start saving now, and call around and find a vet in your area. It will be so much less stressfull later on.
DON’T go into petstores. Avoid them as much as possible. Petstores often carry sick rats, and you could bring a virus home to your rats. (If you have to go in, wait three hours before returning home.) Also avoid adopting rats from petstores, because they are often sick and/or have parasites.
DO: Quarantine, Quarantine, QUARANTINE.
Get a powder coated cage. Galzanized metal can give your rats zinc posioning!
Make sure you give them plenty of chew things. Their teeth are always growing and need to be ground down. (Plus, if you don’t, they’ll find something ELSE to chew, most likely something you don’t want them gnawing on! )
Find a good rat vet in your area, preferably BEFORE you take your rats home. Be sure the vet is experienced with rats, or extremely willing to learn and do research. Check with your vet about emergency vet clinics that are near to your home, or ask if your vet is on-call during the evenings and weekends. Spend time learning about various common rat illnesses and problems, so that you are not taken too much by surprise if an emergency arises. Knowledge is power and can help to protect your wonderful little rats.
Before you bring your rats home make sure you have:
*A decent sized cage (atleast 18wx30lx24h-bigger is better), proper food(mazuri for young rats and Regal Rat by Oxford for when they’re over 6 months), a variety of cage accessories(hammocks, tubes, tunnels, hidey houses, ect.), bedding(Carefresh prefereably but never pine/cedar), food and water bottles/bowls and fruits and veggies to be given daily. Don’t buy the cheap stuff and say “oh this will be okay for now”.
*Read an assortment of books on rat care and health( Rats by Debbie Ducommun is a good place to start)
*Really thought it through and are willing to care properally for these wonderful animals their whole life(vet visits inluded)
Also be sure to cover all wire mesh levels in the cage as this can lead to sores and injuries for your rat. And lastly, make sure you are able to provide atleast an hour of suprivised free range time for your rats everyday and can interact with them atleast a total of 3 hours a day
A vet fund has to be substantial. It cannot be just a few dollars. It has to be put in place BEFORE you obtain rats. I’m so sick of people coming on here and saying that they just can’t afford vet care. Everyone should be able to afford vet care and that excuse is NEVER good. There’s never a good excuse to not have a vet fund. You need to have money set aside for that, and only that.
when you first get rats, before you ever take them out of the cage make sure they’re in a room without holes or places they can escape through or dangerous things like electrical cords lying around everywhere. Tie the cords up, patch the holes. Accidents happen and I’ve read way too many posts about rats being lost forever and I know how paranoid I am, and how horrifying that must be. So, even if rats aren’t allowed to free range the room they’re in should still be rat proof with no escape routes because accidents happen.
All stuff from http://www.goosemoose.com/component/opti…

I was considering health. It would be awful if the havanese comes down with a genetic health problem. So responsible breeders are the best bet. On the other hand, what about animal shelters? Will most of the dogs there have health problems? Thanks!!

The person said he was trying to develop a way to get rid of stray cats in his neighborhood and asked about different methods he had come up with.
All I did was agree with some of them and said that if his plan succeeded, he would be very wealthy if he could implement a plan for my neighborhood here in the Philippines as well.
We have a real stray problem here in Cebu and don’t have any way of getting rid of them.
Our health department and animal control people say they have no time to deal with them and tell us to poison or shoot them.
It is only a fact and not a choice I made.

I love my little springer spaniel. She is the best dog I have ever had. She’s so smart, I taught her how to climb a ladder, she was in dog shows, she was is affectionate and gets along with the cats so well.
Sorry, I’m rambling…anyway, she’s been there for me when times were really tough and she’s a part of the family and I love her. And my friend’s dog just died, and now I am so worried about the limited time she has left with us. She doesn’t really have any major health problems. She isn’t as spry as she once was and stuff, and she naps quite a bit more, but she’s still ok. It’s just been on my mind a lot lately. It’s just that I am not close with family, and most of my friends and I have gone are separate ways…but my girl is always there for me, even when I yell at her for getting pawprints all over the couch.(I’m going to cry now) Sorry I have been rambling so much.. How do I deal with all this?
(pics)http://www.flickr.com/photos/28465276@N0…

My husband had to babysit a bulldog puppy at work one day. He always was interested in the breed and fell heavily in love with this dog. I told him “maybe someday” and I started to look into them and I was told they can have health problems. How high of medical maintenance are these dogs? I think unless my husband finally lands the art job he’s looking for… he won’t be getting one. Also, what is their behavior like to other house pets such as cats, ferrets, birds?