Tag: pet

Bring Your Kid To Work Day

But is it paddy-trained?

[Found here.]

The .Gif Friday Post No. 529 – Squid Nom, Chocolate Croissant & Turtle Lip Lock

[Found here, here and here.]

RIP Smokey

“I bite my tongue at you.”

Our old gray cat finally passed away last night after suffering a stroke. Kinda saw it coming, as she’d been acting abnormally recently – a bit more clingy, not eating as much, not wanting to go outside, crouching with her head held over her water bowl. Then yesterday her tail and hind legs wouldn’t work and she slowly drifted off.

Here she is in 2009, one of the few “Cat Posts” we’ve shown here:

Bunkessa and Bunkarina had adopted Smokey as a stray. She needed very little training, suggesting that she’d been abandoned by a previous owner. She loved the missus and the kids, but couldn’t stand me, at least for the first few years we had her.

Smokey knew to go outdoors to do her business and would paw the frame of the screen door to tell us. She figured out how to “knock” at the front screen door by pulling on it and letting it bang shut when she wanted to come back in. She’d bring us “presents” occasionally, including a live terrified mouse that she dropped on the living room floor.

RIP Smokey 1995(?) – 2012

Possum Yawn

Haven’t seen our ‘possums around here lately, and the slugs and snails are missing, too.  Coincidence? Nah.

[Image found here.]

Training Your Boa

There’s way too much carotene in this snake’s diet, so the responsible reptile raiser rewards it for successfully using the boa litter box in the closet with a cucumber instead. It’ll regain its natural color in a week or so.

[Found here.]

She’s upset because you won’t hug him, you selfish bastard.

C’mon now. Her beetle needs loving, and you just don’t care, do you?

G’wan, hug it. Its name is “Sirpaul.”

[Found in here.]

Housebreaking Your Annelid

As with any pet, the first rule is to be firm and consistent with training, and remember that rewards generally work better than punishment.

Reward your annelid when it behaves well. Fill up the bathtub with damp (not wet) newspaper and coffee grounds for your annelid to explore. They love it!

Express your displeasure as soon as possible when your annelid misbehaves so that it connects its actions with your disapproval.

Do not yell at your annelid as they cannot hear. Stomp your feet instead. In severe cases of disobedience, keep a salt shaker nearby.

If your annelid leaves castings about the house, lock your pet in a brightly lit room for 10-15 minutes after rubbing your annelid’s nose in it. Dispose of the castings in the garden. Once your pet makes the connection between in-house castings and bright light, the number of “accidents”  should diminish.

When your annelid learns to moosh at the door to go out to leave castings, reward it when it returns by allowing it to explore any dark damp space, like that puddle next to the sump drain in the basement.

Above all, be patient. Properly trained and cared for, your annelid should live 10 years or more; otherwise you’ll  find it dead and dried up on the sidewalk and all the love and affection will be gone. Enjoy!

[Top image found here.]

Capybara Lapwarmer

“Capybara sits on a lady’s knee;
Merry, merry king of the bushy sea.
Lap, capybara! Lap, capybara!
Warm my lap for me.”

Oh wait. That’s the kookaburra song. Australia, Argentina, what’s the difference. Nevermind.

In any case, that’s a big ‘ol honkin’ rodent she’s got there. Think twice or more before you decide that they’re just large guinea pigs:

“Do not let the capys out unless it is within a pen. They will run…they are very fast. It’s best to put the carrier in the pen and open the door. You may have to dump it out because it will hide as far back in the carrier as it can get.

“Remember … this wild animal will go in all directions to get away. It will hit the fence several times, settle and start walking the fence to find a way out. If they have a source of water that will be the first place it will go. If there is a sign of danger in the wild capys escape to the water. They will hide under and around objects.

“Do not concern yourself if they do not eat for a day. Give them a corn on the cob and they will start eating. Any fruits/veggies are fine for them to eat. They need to be fed twice a day with treats around for them to snack on if they get hungry

“They rest a lot during the day and are more active in the evenings. They often have runny stools… do not worry as it is what they eat.

“Do not grab them by the hind legs as you might dislocate a leg. Hold them with your hand and arm under their belly and hand under their neck. Cuddle them and they will settle.”

Note that she’s got a towel to protect herself from runny capyoopsies. Definitely don’t want to mess up that fine upholstery either.

[Image found in here. Quotation found in here.]

[Update 10:30AM – The Capybara Posting Police are out.  See comments below for clarifications.]

[Update 2: We’ve added a special blog category just for you Capy fans.]

Update 3: Here is Caplin Rous (the one in the photo) in action.