A Dirty Business

8:53am Monday 28th April 2008

Mention fly-strike (or myiasis as it is correctly termed) to most rabbit owners and most will be unaware of this silent killer. Yet each year many hundreds of pet rabbits have to be euthanased due to fly-strike which is so easily preventable.

Shot in the arm for rabbits?

9:53am Monday 14th April 2008

Rabbits like cats and dogs are susceptible to potentially fatal diseases which we are able to vaccinate against Myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a viral disease spread by blood sucking insects such as mosquitoes and rabbit fleas Myxomatosis is endemic within the wild rabbit population As the months get warmer these insects start to appear and feed on your pet When the insects bite your rabbit a small amount of virus is passed into the bloodstream and starts to multiply in areas such as the skin around the eyes, anus and genitals Symptoms include; puffy fluid filled swelling around the head, neck, eyes, anus and genitals, these progressively get worse and death usually occurs within 12-14 days Prevention is by vaccination every 6-12 months depending on prevalence in the area and good parasite control Viral Haemorrhagic disease (VHD) VHD is a virus that is rapidly fatal and can be transmitted by either direct contact (rabbit to rabbit) or by indirect contact from clothing, bedding or other items.

Right diet for your tortoise

8:34am Monday 14th April 2008

This week we will look at good nutrition in Mediterranean tortoises To ensure tortoises get the best diet they can, always think of how they would eat in the wild A mixture of garden weeds, flowers and grasses supplemented with tortoise vitamins and calcium is a premium diet Good plants include clover red and white, dandelion flower and leaves, hawksbills, honeysuckle flowers, vetches, chickweed, plantain, dead nettle and bramble leaves.

Check up after wake up

9:10am Monday 31st March 2008

Last week we talked about how to rouse your tortoise from hibernation.

Wakey, wakey time

10:26am Monday 17th March 2008

Is Your Tortoise Awake Yet? - Post Hibernation Care of Tortoises If you have a Herman, Russian (Horsefields), Marginated or Greek Spur Thigh Tortoise which you have hibernated of winter it will soon be time to rouse it from its slumber.

Amnesty can help protect your pet

4:46pm Friday 7th March 2008

Many of you will have already seen adverts on the television for National Vaccine Amnesty month this month.

Fighting the flab

8:54am Monday 3rd March 2008

Having identified risk factors for pets putting on weight, and that damage that this can do to their health and life expectancy, what can we actually do about it?

High price to pay for obesity

4:34pm Monday 25th February 2008

As discussed in the last article, the number of obese pets in the UK is growing at an alarming rate. As with their human counterparts, there are very serious health implications associated with being overweight: - 1. Overweight animals have a much higher ration of fat (adipose) tissue in relation to the rest of their body. This fat tissue is designed to act as an energy reserve in times of crisis when there is little food available. As our domestic pets are fed regularly, this reserve food store is not needed and so becomes extra weight.

Obese pets - a growing problem

10:59am Friday 15th February 2008

The problem of overweight children and parents seems to be constantly in the news these days, but what about our pets? A recent survey showed that over 50 per cent* of dogs and cats in the UK are overweight with a large proportion of these considered at risk of premature death.

Why jab a stay-at-home?

1:48pm Friday 8th February 2008

Q. My cat never goes out. Should I still have it vaccinated?

More ...