Mute Swans - Cygnets Have Hatched

I promised to sit on the nest until the baby swans hatched. We drove to Woonsocket, SD just about every day when it got close to hatching time. We caught both the pen and the hob busily working on the nest when the cygnets began to hatch. The babies are beautiful!


The eggs have hatched! The long tradition of swans on Lake Prior continues with the hatching of four new baby cygnets. As the swan parents warily watch over their hatchlings several Woonsocket, S.D. residents stopped by to ensure their safety.

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Wolf – Loki’s Story - Pet wolves

When someone says “Wolf”, what do you think of? To some, it conjures up images of an embodiment of evil, a creature of the night that befriends vampires, raids livestock and kills chickens and sheep. To me, it brings back memories of one of my most beloved companions; a haunting howl, the brown soulful eyes with the intelligence of a human behind them, a fun loving deeply emotional friend that I was lucky to share 4 years of my life with. Read the rest of this article and read the rest of the series! Wolf – Loki’s Story - Pet Wolves

Hedgehogs - Review A Complete Pet Owners Manual

Zug G. Standing Bear is a long time advocate of animals and exotic pets. He is currently the treasurer of the International Hedgehog Association (IHA). I thank our esteemed guest author for his review and for bringing to light an excellent book Hedgehogs: A Complete Pet Owners Manual.


Fortunately for hedgehog caretakers, there is finally a current and excellent book on pet hedgehog care. For the most part, pet hedgehog care books in the general book trade have been terrible – so bad that following many of the directions on habitat and diet would be fatal. Indeed, up until 2010, the only good widely available book on pet hedgehog care was the 1995 (now somewhat dated) work by Dawn Wrobel. In this new book by Sharon Vanderlip, there is a tremendous amount of information crammed within its nine chapters and 103 pages, so much so that some of us old folks may have to use a magnifying glass to read the small print. Read the rest of this great review!

Hedgehogs - Review A Complete Pet Owners Manual

How to care for the Pet Hedgehog

What is that irresistibly cute little brush that looks like an upside down bowl, with the sweetest, tiny face sticking out at one end, that's covered with quills? It must be a hedgehog. These quills are not the type of quills like, those of a porcupine; with barbs on the end. The quills feel more like a bristly brush. Hedgehogs have soft fur on their faces and bellies and they sport a very busy nose sniffing and snorting around. The hedgehog really does have a tail, but it is hard to see given that it is just a little nub hiding under the quills. Read, how to care for the pet hedgehog.

Pet Hedgehog

Hedgehogs – Interview with Z. G. Standing Bear

Z. G. Standing Bear is a Vietnam combat veteran and retired Army officer. He was also a college professor at Colorado State University having taught criminology, forensic science, and justice ethics, and a variety of other subjects.

Standing Bear is mixed-blood Native American with ancestors that are Mohawk, Wampanoag, Micmac, Scotch, and Irish.

“I spoke Mohawk before I spoke English (thanks to living with my grandmother - next door to my home - while my both parents worked). It was a delightful childhood,” said Standing Bear.


Z. G. Standing Bear is also a long time advocate of animals and exotic pets. He is currently the president of the International Hedgehog Association (IHA) Read the entire article!

Hedgehogs – Interview with Z. G. Standing Bear

Filtered Water - Tap Water - Bottled Water

Filter water verses tap water, tap water verses filtered water, bottled water verses filtered water, or bottled water verses tap water. I have received many emails asking me why I always recommend filtered water rather than bottled water. What could be wrong with bottled water – a lot could be wrong with bottled water! We don’t want our pets or exotic pets to drink tap water or bottled water!

A friend of mine owns a store in California. Mostly it is a fruit/vegetable stand, a huge fruit/vegetable stand. He also carries dried fruit, nuts, and a combination of herbs, spices, and so forth. He is on a busy corner of two major highways. This store is located in San Joaquin valley and it gets very hot. He thought it would be a good idea to carry bottled water.

He attended a symposium by a major distributor of bottled water that is owned by one of the huge cola product companies. Come to find out, bottled water is nothing more than tap water, whatever is available at the plant where bottled water is filled. He opted not to sell bottled water. Learn the facts about bottled water Filtered Water - Tap Water - Bottled Water

Honey Bees

The endangered honey bee, soon you will not find one-third of the fruits and vegetables in the store that you once did. Bees are every bit as fascinating as any exotic pet insect, or exotic pet any animal. Perhaps it’s time to learn a bit more about the honey bee. Maybe even explore the possibility of being a backyard beekeeper.

Some of the benefits are an interesting pet, fascinating hobby, your own homemade honey, having bee pollen at your disposal (considered a super food and a natural antibiotic). It has been used for thousands of years for its natural healing benefits and for its fountain of youth qualities. (Example below)

Bees have always fascinated me, even though I am allergic to them. I am also allergic to cats but that sure doesn’t stop me from sleeping with them. I became more captivated with honey bees when I discovered I had over a million exotic pet bees. I am not exaggerating. When I realized I had a few more bees than I had thought, I had a bee specialist come in to investigate the situation.

It turned out our grain elevator was filled to the brim with bees, he said over a million bees, plus honey comb, and lots of honey. Read the rest of the article Honey Bees