Exotic Pet Travel – Pet Travel

Hopping in a car and heading for parts unknown isn’t possible when you travel with animals. I hate planning a trip. I just as soon get in a vehicle; flip a coin and go, to wherever and for however long. I can’t do that when I travel with pets. It also makes a great deal of difference if you are traveling with a common pet or exotic pets.

Make sure you have pet documentation. Make sure your pet is welcome in the states you will be traveling through as well as your destination state. Animals that are legal in your state could be confiscated and destroyed in other states.

Have any required vaccinations up-to-date and have proof of vaccinations. Carry all health documentation and any pre-authorized refills.

Carry a list of veterinarians that can be found along the route you will be taking. If you are traveling with an exotic pet; veterinarian’s that know anything about your pet, may be rare and hard to find.

Carry a list of pet-friendly hotels. Your exotic pet might not be welcome at many hotels that carry a welcome pet sign. The same thing could be right with rest stops. Check ahead and make sure your exotic pet is welcome.

Make sure you have a supplemental heat source for ectotherms. Also, be prepared for possible car trouble in hot or cold weather. Make sure you can take care of the needs of pets that are heat or cold sensitive.

Make sure small animals have access to food and water at all times. Dogs and cats should be offered food every four hours and water more frequently. Birds should have water in their travel cage or carrier. You can also provide frozen grapes and other fruit. Carry plenty of filtered fresh water that your pets are accustomed.

Now is not the time to change their diet. Keep everything as normal as possible. Bring your pet's supplements; you might not be able to find the same brand in another location.

Make sure you have leashes, harnesses, and the proper carriers for your pets. Small pets or pocket pets could chew their selves’ right out of a soft-sided carrier.

Make sure your pets have identification tags and also identification on their carriers. If something should happen, make sure authorities are made aware your animals have identification chips.

Make sure your cell phone has an In Case of Emergency ICE name and number in phone book memory. In Case of Emergency list AS ICE in your cell phone. Make sure your ICE contact has prior knowledge that you are traveling with a pet, your route, and your destination and any other pertinent information. If you are unconscious from an accident, authorities will have no information about your pets. Paramedics and other authorities can’t just start calling the numbers on your cell phone unless it is specified ICE! Your pet may have been thrown from the car. Authorities will at least know to look for your pet.

Bring blankets and toys that your pets are used to, to give them comfort.

Carry baby wipes, towels, puppy pads (cheaper if you buy bed pads), travel litter boxes for cats, pick-up bags for waste, and cleaning solutions for accidents.

Never, ever put a pet in the back of a pickup truck. Make sure your pet is secured in the car with a carrier, or for large dogs, a seat belt harness, or gate to separate your pet from the front seat.

Stop and rest your pets frequently. Travel is stressful for pets. Traveling by air is a whole other ballgame an entire other article. At the very least, make sure you have current health documentation, vaccination, and veterinarian health certificate (only good for eleven days), have the proper carrier, and confirm your pet’s reservation. Your pet can quickly become bumped; they only allow so many animals on one plane.

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

Exotic Pet Guide to Surviving a Tornado

Preparedness is the key to the passage to safety when it comes to tornadoes, but sometimes the best plans go awry. Tornadoes are sudden, unpredictable, and early warning systems can go wrong; an example, being turned off?

We have a plan, a well-rehearsed plan. Of course, the first order of business is getting humans to safety. Now it is just the two of us living in this big old house, but in previous years we had an 80+ senior, five adults, and two babies plus all my animals. We had a plan for each.

If the upstairs bedroom doors are all closed the hallway is a reasonably safe place if we can’t make it to the basement or if we can’t get the animals to the basement. One of the upstairs bathrooms has no windows and has what looks like a Fort Knox Jacuzzi tub. The house was built in 1885 and is made robust.

The plan was to get the children to the basement. Next, we would get the animals to the basement or a reasonably safe place. We keep all our hard-sided animal carriers (pet porters) upstairs where the animals hang out. The trick is, make sure the pet porters aren’t stored under a pile of stuff or outside in the garage. We would stuff the animals in the carriers and run them down to the basement. If there weren’t enough time, the ferret cage would go into the hallway. The rest of the porters are sat side by side in the bathroom. The bathroom has no windows and not located on an outdoor wall of the house. All doors closed.

OK – then came an actual tornado. No matter how many times we went over the plans and rehearsed the plans nothing went as planned. My daughter was driving back from Sioux Falls and was just south of Huron when the tornado touched down. She was very close to where the storm was. She called home on the cell phone and said she couldn’t see anything and the rain was falling UP. She couldn’t spot any driveways to pull off the road - she was driving blind in the rain wrapped tornado. We suddenly lost contact with her. She had her oldest daughter with her (two at the time). We had the baby with us.

In the meantime, we went into action. My husband went to the basement with the baby secured in her car seat. My daughter’s husband was sitting on one of the center stairs on our staircase trying to reach his wife after losing contact.

I got my mother-in-law on the way to the stairs to get her to the basement. After a five minute shuffle, I realized she’d never get down two flights of stairs before the tornado hit our house. I put her in the Jacuzzi tub and tossed a mattress over her.

Now I got the animals situated. I pulled the ferret cage into the hallway. Got the rest of the animals into carriers and realized I couldn’t get them down the stairs. Again, our prearranged plans were completely thrown off. It was up to the other adults rather than me to carry the animals to the basement. With having a spinal disease and multiple surgeries I can't lift them anymore. So the carriers went into the bathroom with grandma.

Now, I was supposed to be in the basement and so was my son-in-law who was still busily hitting speed dial. I found I couldn’t leave my mother-in-law in the upstairs bathroom by herself. I yelled to my son-in-law to get down to the basement with the baby and my husband. He just hollered back, I’ve got to find out if my wife is OK. So I sat on the toilet next to the tub trying to calm my mother-in-law down.

The all-clear sounded, and it was safe to come out of our safety spots. We finally got a hold of my daughter. She had passed a guy walking down the road in that horrid storm. Nobody would stop for him. She stopped and picked him up. His appearance caused people not to help. When my daughter asked where he needed to be dropped off, he specified a local church. He was collecting aluminum cans for a fundraiser. I was so proud of her for not letting preconceived bias to influence her decision to choose between right or wrong.

All the animals, exotic pets and otherwise were safe but somewhat miffed off at us. We were thankful that the tornado never hit the center part of town. Though, we had damaging winds more than 80 miles-per-hour.

Make plans, have everything you need ready. Even if your ideas do go awry, those plans will help if you need to go “off script.” If you become separated from your exotic pets or get as much information to your local shelters, nearby shelters and any rescue agencies as possible; with your contact information.

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

Pet Armadillo Guide

Armadillos are found mostly in South and Central America. The nine-banded armadillo is the only armadillo found in the United States. They have been seen as far north as Missouri. I saw a number of them when we lived in Oklahoma. I have a couple of cute stories about Armadillos I will relate a little later in this article.

They do not do well in cold weather. This fact is something essential to keep in mind if you are considering an armadillo as a pet. They do not store fat. If you have an armadillo as a pet, you must provide a safe heating source. An armadillo has a hard leathery outer shell made up of scutes or thin bone plates. They are a mammal and give birth to live young. They are of the order Cingulata.

The armadillo ranges from 24 to 32 inches or 61 to 80 cm and weighs from 8 to 17 pounds or 3.6 to 7.7 kg. They do have a short lifespan in the wild. They live for 10 to 15 years in captivity.

The armadillo is natural foragers; they dig with their long claws. It would be downright animal abuse if an armadillo were stuck in a small cage and fed cat food. An exotic pet must be kept in an environment as close to their natural habitat as possible. They could be held outside in a large secure pen with a shed that would be heated in the winter. They do not do well inside a house. Make sure they are supervised when in the house.

They do have a slight odor somewhat musk-like. I haven’t noticed the odor, but then again I like the smell of skunks. When the armadillo is startled it may have a stronger scent.

Feed a natural diet as possible; they eat grubs, worms, insects, and other creepy crawlies. They are omnivorous but mostly eat insects. They have a long sticky tongue much like the anteater. They do eat some roots and fruit. Like all omnivorous animals, they are opportunist eaters and do eat carrion.

They do dig dens but only to house themselves or give birth to their young. They do not den with other armadillos; they are solitary animals.

Something else to keep in mind when considering armadillos as exotic pets is that they are nocturnal and are rarely awake more than about five hours a night.

Be sure to check on the legality of the armadillo, are they legal to keep as pets? Please before bringing home any animal make sure it is a legal animal in your state, county, city, or local area. These can all differ! Just because a pet is permitted in a state doesn’t mean that it is legal in your town. Find out what the requirements are. You may need a permit, examination by a veterinarian, or a health certificate; find out before acquiring the exotic pet.

Some areas consider them pests because they dig up yards looking for food. It hasn’t been very long since they crossed from Mexico to the United States and even a shorter time since they made their way further north than Texas.

Armadillos do swim. They are a substantial - dense animal. They swallow air to keep them afloat. They can dog paddle or even walk on the bottom of the lake or stream.

I had never seen an armadillo in their natural environment until we moved to Oklahoma. We were driving down the road, and I caught something unusual out the corner of my eye. I had my husband turn around, and sure enough, it was an armadillo.

We enjoy camping. We photograph the local wildlife at night. There was one campground where we were allowed to stay during the winter months. We were entirely by ourselves and locked in at night. Late one night we were sound asleep when we heard some crash banging outside the tent. We were a bit concerned. Whatever it was making the ruckus walked around the tent, made a great deal of noise, and eventually left. We had no idea what it had been.

The following fall we were on another camping trip. We were walking through the woods. Since it was fall and there were some dead leaves on the ground. We heard this tremendous noise coming straight toward us. We stopped and watched. This thundering, SINGLE armadillo went right by us. We followed it, (not hard considering the noise it was making) it headed straight for the lake, and we heard a loud splash. I am glad they are foragers and don’t depend on sneaking up on another animal to hunt. That night we came to the conclusion it had to have been an armadillo checking out our campsite and tent the previous camping trip.

They do have lousy eyesight but make up for it with their acute sense of smell. They also have a pretty good sense of hearing. Their eyes are very light sensitive which is why you won’t see them in bright daylight only at night or on a cloudy day.

The female armadillo always gives birth to genetically identical offspring the term for this is polyembryony — the offspring form from the same egg. Since the pups are identical, they would, of course, be all females or all males. Some armadillos, including nine-banded armadillo, Embryonic Diapause take place. The fertilized egg doesn’t immediately attach to the uterus. The growth of the fetus doesn’t begin until implantation occurs. Until the fertilized egg attaches, the fertilized egg remains dormant.

Pups or baby armadillos can move around just a few hours after birth, and their eyes are open at birth. They nurse for approximately two months. They will remain with their mothers until another litter is born.

People often hear that armadillos carry Hansen’s disease; or what some people recognize as leprosy. This happening is extremely rare, and a person would most likely come in contact with the bacterium if they ate a raw or under-cooked armadillo. Only a few nonhuman animals can contract Hansen’s disease; animals other than the armadillo are mice, rabbits, and some monkeys.

The armadillo or the Nine-Banded armadillo that is most common in the United States is certainly an exotic pet that has very different care and needs. Be sure to learn all you can about this little critter before considering obtaining one as a pet. His or her life is precious as all animal’s lives are, and having an exotic animal as a pet is a big responsibility.

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

Exotic Pets – Please Help Me - A Public Plea

I want to hear from you! Help me make a difference. I am making a plea to all exotic pet professionals, caregivers, and owners. I want people to become aware of the needs of all exotic pets. What are their personalities? What are the social issues and needs concerning your exotic pet? How do you deal with training? Is it an exotic pet that can be trained? Do you realize what a difference we could make if more people became aware of the true nature of exotic pets? To fully understand an exotic pet before acquiring or purchasing one!

Perhaps people would become more sensitive to exotic pet legislation. More alert to their health care requirements. The population would grow less susceptible to rumors and educated with facts. Do you realize what we could accomplish with this project?

Fewer people would buy on impulse. They would have more knowledge about the exotic pet before diving into attempting to care for a strange animal. Nontraditional animals have much different care needs than traditional animals.

We complain about the misinformation on many television shows looking for nothing but ratings and money. We can make a more significant impact than any television show. Instead of complaining let’s do something about it!

I want to hear from exotic pet rescues. Why do people give up their pets? I want to hear from exotic pet veterinarians. Why do some exotic pets die too young? I remember cockatiels and the short lifespan they were experiencing. As we have learned more, they are living much longer. I am sure that the professionals that deal with exotic pets know better to what questions need answering than I know what questions to ask.

I want to hear about your ideas on how to change many misconceptions. One that bothers me a great deal is a domestic skunk and the fact that lawmakers and the general population think each and everyone is a rabies carrier. The breeder I purchased my skunks from, has been a breeder for over a hundred years and has not had a single case of rabies. There are many fallacies concerning exotic pets. It is time to get the truth out; as far and wide as we can.

Are you with me on this project? I can’t do it on my own. I need you and your experiences! Email Diana Geiger

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

PETA KILLS 95% of Adoptable Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) killed 95% of the adoptable animals at their Virginia headquarters last year; in other words out of 2050 animals 1965 were euthanized (28 animals were adopted and 31 transferred to other facilities).

According to Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson, the majority of these animals were held less than 24 hours before being killed, giving few people the chance to adopt these animals.

PETA has published guidelines for running a humane shelter. Discovered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during an inspection in 2010, 84% of all animals in their shelters were killed within 24 hours. PETA doesn’t meet the established, published guidelines on humane treatment that PETA created!

What did PETA do with their 30 million dollar budget last year? It wasn’t saving animals from slaughter. The hard earned donated dollars you contributed in good faith wasn’t used to help animals.

Why were so many animals destroyed? According to PETA spokesperson Daphna Nachminovitch, who is Vice President of PETA’s Cruelty Investigations Department, suggested they’d rather see the animals destroyed than have the potential of going to abusive homes. It was pet owner’s fault; until pets are spayed and neutered this atrocity would continue.

The 1965 animals that were killed are only the animals in their Virginia headquarters’ shelter, how many were killed in their other PETA shelters?

This example isn’t the first year PETA has killed thousands of animals. It has happened many times in the past. Check out my previous story, more enlightening dealings about PETA, and their dirty little secrets! PETA Death Squad - Kills Thousands of Animals

I am certainly not suggesting, not donating money or your time, to helping animals but PETA is not the answer; PETA is never the answer, at least not for many years. Where do you donate your money? To your no-kill local shelters!

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

Can Snake Propulsion save Lives?

I ran into a fascinating article on how snakes propel themselves. The subject interests me because my warped brother gave me a line of complete baloney when I was a little kid. We were traveling across the country and were in the desert in New Mexico. He told me a story about “hoop snakes.”

He told me that the snakes would grasp their tail with their mouth and propel themselves by rolling like a wheel. Of course, this is complete nonsense but, it did shut me up as I watched out the car window looking for rolling hoop snakes. My brother had a bit of peace and quiet from his little sister’s constant questions.

I ran into a study by David Hu on snake propulsion. We think of the snake’s ability to move forward using their strong muscles to push them forward. While the muscles are essential, the scales are more important. The way the scales are positioned resembles shingles on the roof of the house. The stomach scales can catch on the smallest of objects pushing them in a forward motion.

If the snake is on a smooth surface, it would be unable to slither forward. The snake uses its muscles and weight to add to their speed and efficiency. They redistribute their weight much as we do when we walk. We use our legs and muscles, snakes use their scales and muscles.

This information has lead to “snake-bots” mechanical robots used for search and rescue and even medical procedures, one example would be the ever so popular colonoscopy.

Of course, snakes use other methods to slither and move. Examples of a few different techniques included folding and bunching up and forcing or throwing their head forward giving them some distance because the body follows. They can push off of rocks and other materials.

Learning more about animal facts gives us the opportunity to provide a better habitat for our pets. We have taken on the responsibility to care for our animals. The more we understand, the higher the care we can provide.

As I have written many times in the past, animals have, and will continue to teach us a great deal.

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!

Exotic Pets Reader's Personal Stories

As of late, it seems like nothing is right in the world of exotic pets with the few selected horrific stories in the news of raids or a chimpanzee killing its owner. Nothing could be further from the truth. For every single tale of neglect or horror, there are literally millions of people and their exotic pets that have lovely, happy, and healthy relationships.

Every day I receive emails, texts, instant messages, and other forms of communication from readers telling me their personal stories about their pets.

We rarely hear the positive side of exotic pets and their human families from the media because it is not newsworthy, the stories that are never heard because they don’t include blood, shock, and gore.

I would like to introduce you to just a few of these remarkable people and their extraordinary pets.

Scott Hadley has had a wide variety of pets and recently discovered rats. Scott, as well as thousands of other people, learned how intelligent and personable rats are. Scott describes himself as a wholly transformed rat dad. About a year ago his first pet rat arrived, Cassie who he described as his ambassador rat. "Nothing prepared us for what rats would do to us,” said Scott. “They are the deepest hearted, loving pets ever and my only concern is their small size, ---and one must always take care not to sit or step on them, as they love human companionship almost as much as they need each other."

A couple of his first adopted rats were already well into the prime of their lives. He lost two of his rats within the first 11 months. He describes this first 11 months as a revelation, "we have already lost two, one adopted one who may have been nearly 100 in rats' years, (Rascal) and one who tragically left us just as he was transitioning from adorable angelic rat boy into man rat hood, but was taken by a horrible respiratory ailment (Mac)."

According to Scott, nothing prepared him for the experience of having rats; the rat’s ability to show warmth and the capability to love. Though primarily, Scott discovered how much he loved rats. "This is gut-wrenching stuff, folks. I'm a 57-year-old man and I forgot I could shed tears like that. These little beings grab hold of your heart, and take a piece with them when they leave."

They still have their first rat Cassie plus Rose and Dusty he describes as his three girls. Plus they have three boys from the same litter. Their rats mainly came from rat rescues. "My family and I have made the unexpected discovery of what wonderful pets rats are. Sentient beings like us, perhaps roughly in intelligence and compassion on par with dogs," said Scott.

Love goes beyond furry to the realm of reptile as Buck Smolow describes their pets Slick and Silly. Buck and his wife Jennie bought Slick and Silly at a reptile show in Tampa Florida.

Both Buck and Jennie loved snakes but had no intention of buying any animals. The only thing they couldn’t handle about snakes was feeding them rodents. That is until they happened upon a solution to their problem. "We came across a booth with tiny cute little snakes in margarine containers with clear lids, and they were so cute – squirmy worms, but with faces," said Buck. "We got talking to the guy, and he said they were Tanzanian Egg Eating Snakes- Dasypeltis Scabra."

They found out firsthand how little many breeders and merchants knew little about the animals they were selling."He didn’t seem to know much about them, and we knew that we could learn and take good care of one of them," said Buck. So they set out to learn as much as they could. “He went from being a skinny worm-like, a few inches long, to nearly 4 feet long."

According to Buck, Slick spends time buried in his aspen shavings but knows how to ask to get out of his cage.“Sometimes he’ll be out and about sniffing around the door opening, “said Buck. “All we have to do is open the door, and he comes out for a look around.

Slick loves the opportunity to explore. “He’ll go anywhere we let him. He’ll ‘walk’ across the floor, up the side of the couch. He’ll climb around the stuff on the coffee table, “said Buck. “ We keep an eye on him of course, but he seems to enjoy exploring.”

Silly is the second pet they had no intention of buying at the reptile show. “When you see Silly, it’s obvious why someone would want her. She’s adorable – with her little ‘eyelashes’ she’s so cute,” explained Buck.

However, already smitten the salesman’s daughter made sure they were hooked. “She was a good salesperson but we’d pretty much already fallen for the gecko,” said Buck. “Silly was a little speck of a thing in a margarine container with a clear lid (just like Slick).”

Buck said Silly became an instant source of hilarity. “She jumps like a grasshopper – from anywhere to anywhere. It’s pretty impressive."

Buck explained how the new little gecko got the name Silly. “She has the worst gecko skills in the world. She forgets to grab onto things and slides off. While she is trying to regain her footing she has a look of what’s happening here?”

Silly is a Crested Gecko, and she had a prehensile tail, “It had a little paddle at the end, and she’d use it as a hand or finger. It felt so soft when she’d hold onto you with it.”

They had read stories that adult Crested Geckos didn’t have tails. They also learned that Crested Geckos can lose their tails if frightened. One morning they found the tail and a bloody end, a reminder where the tail had come from. “Throughout the night, she’d done something to scare herself so badly that she dropped it,” explained Buck. “We felt horrible to think of her getting that scared. Sadly, Cresties don’t grow their tails back like other geckos, so now she’s even more silly and clumsy than before.”

Perhaps we need to take note of the horrible stories, accept them for what they are worth, rare occurrences and usually, they happen for a reason, a reason that you will never know. Recognize that for every single ghastly story there are thousands of stories that will warm your heart and soul.

My Ferret Book Guides and Exotic Pet Books Guides

Exotic Pets: Family Guide Paperback and Kindle. Available on Kindle Unlimited!

Ferrets: A Complete Guide is available in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited!