Who Knew?? Astragalus

We have Zoey on C Caps which contain Astragalus.  I did some research and found the its a great herbal treatment in both cats and dogs for chronic illnesses including cancer.  Its good for hyperthyroid - not good for hypothyroid.  Shouldn't be used for diabetes or leukemia treatments.  It stimulates T cell production and white blood cell production and in general boosts the immune system.

Zoey is doing amazingly well since we had our episode in late October....

According to the research it has many of the same effects on people - interesting stuff.

Who Knew?? - Our Cool Visiting Praying Mantis

In early September I wandered downstairs to take Emma outside and discovered an awesome praying mantis on our screen door.  He stayed there all day long - not bothered by us opening and closing the door.  The hubs took these great pictures of him:

I was happy to have him visit but I didn't really think much of it.  He left sometime overnight and when we got up the next morning he was gone.  Fast forward about 5 or 6 days and low and behold he was back.  This time he was on the window by the front door and I caught him having some breakfast:

He is actually a really cool bug - very attentive - checking me out as I stand there like a crazy person talking to him while he munches on some beetle or some other unfortunate insect.  So - of course I had to look up the interesting fun facts about praying mantis:

There are 2000 species of praying mantis
They have excellent eyesight and can see up to 50 feet away
They can rotate their heads almost all the way around - no other bug can do that!
They are more closely related to the cockroach than the grasshopper - EWWW

Evidently they can live for about a year so maybe we will be lucky enough to see this guy a few more times.

Who Knew?? Summertime Sweet Tea

Huh - who knew - ALL of my critters like sweet tea.  I made a pitcher the other day as its been unbearably hot here.  First to try was Ollie - he dips his toe in your cup when you aren't looking.   Once it was determined he liked it I offered to the other kitties to see if they felt the same - yep....  Then Clooney investigated my cup and had a drink as well.  Last night I let Nigel check it out and he had himself a little drink too.  Last but not least - Emma - she likes it too but I am not positive if its the tea or the ice cubes that she is more fond of.

Maybe its because my babies were born in the south?  Well - only some of them - Aggie was born in GA, Nigel, Emma, and Phoebe were born in NC.  Ollie was a stray so there is no telling, Zoey was born in CO and Clooney was born in PA.

Of course it goes without saying that you can't give critters sweet tea very often as its not very good for them.  Maybe an occasional treat....

Who Knew?? Training Tips for Critters

Okay - evidently you can train critters - other than the dog to do tricks....who knew:

So far the only thing I have seen on hedgehogs is litter training - not sure why but my guy came litter trained.  All I did was put the box in his cage and he uses it religiously.

As for ferrets - supposedly you can teach them sit, beg, shake, lay down and roll over.  You can also teach them to sit on your shoulder - not exactly sure of the purpose of that.  You can teach them to come when called - Clooney is pretty good about this one - I would say probably 85% of the time he does show up when you call him.  I think the other times he is in such a deep sleep he doesn't hear me calling.

Cats - I don't believe these people but they say you can train them to sit, shake, give me 5, high 5, beg and wave.  Obviously these people have never met my kitties.

And then Emma - she knows sit, shake, shake with the other paw, lay down, speak and the one where you balance the treat on her nose and then make her flip it off to catch it.  The entertaining thing is she does all of these in rapid succession before you ever ask.  She could do so many more tricks if I would take the time - she is a smart girl.

So - I thought maybe I would experiment with my guys over the next few weeks and report back with my findings.....

Who Knew?? Hedgehog fun facts

Came across this interesting list of Hedgehog fun facts - thought I would share:

• Though originally native to Africa and often referred to as the "African Pygmy," the most commonly kept hedgehogs are probably a mix of different hedgehog species and descriptively named by breeders as opposed to being classified by a true species name.
• Hedgehogs are considered to be insectivores, relying on insects for much of their dietary needs. They are, however, opportunistic feeders who will eat almost anything they find.
• When threatened, hedgehogs roll into a tight ball, protecting their face, eyes, limbs, and bellies.
• If necessary, a hedgehog can run over six feet per second. In fact, many hedgehogs will attempt to escape an attacker before they roll into a protective, spiny ball.
• Hedgehogs have very sensitive senses of smell and hearing. They can even hear in the ultrasonic range.
• Hedgehogs prefer to live apart from other members of their own species, however, can form a tight bond with their human counterparts.
• Hedgehogs prefer controlled periods of light and darkness, as well as undisturbed periods of rest.

Sleepy Hedgie

Assume the defensive position...

Who Knew?? - 3rd Edition

The Emma Dog - such a sweet and complicated beast.  We love her so much.  She is incredibly bright, stubborn and she tries so hard to please.  She is a gentle and kind dog who is not at all demanding.  She is a border collie and black lab mix - I think she got more collie traits than lab so I thought I would share some things I found about the breed:

• The Border Collie gets its names from its early ancestors, dogs developed and bred in the border lands between England and Scotland which were highly prized for their herding abilities
• They show a large range in size and coloration because historically they were bred as working stock and focus was placed on performance, not looks
• Border Collies can be almost any color, including red and completely white  
• Border Collies have been called by other names including 'working collie', 'farm collie', and 'old-fashioned collie' 
• The Border Collie was not granted full AKC recognition until 1995, but the recognition was strongly opposed by working Border Collie dog supporters 
• Border Collies are very intelligent; proof of Border Collie intelligence is Rico, a Border Collie study subject who could recognize more than 250 objects by name 
• The record for the "fastest car window opened by a dog" in the Guinness Book of World Records is held by a Border Collie named Striker; his record time is 11.34 seconds 
• Border Collies are used for more than just herding; they also make good tracking, search and rescue, and therapy dogs 
• Border Collies are sometimes used to chase birds and animals from airport runways and golf course greens

Border Collies have long been a favorite in Hollywood and continue to be today. These other Border Collie actors join the well-known Lassie.

• Fly and Rex starred in the movie Babe about a sheep-herding pig
• Bingo was a Border Collie mix
• Mike starred in Down and Out in Beverly Hills
• The NBC sitcom Mad About You starred Maui, a Border Collie mix who played Murray

Emma has a large vocabulary - some of which we wasted on useless commands like "watch TV".  She is a great girl - wouldn't trade her for anything.....  

Who Knew?? - 2nd Edition

How about a few ferret fun facts:

• The word ferret comes from Latin and means “thief"
• Ferrets have weak vision, but their senses of smell and hearing are strong
• Old paintings and tapestries reveal to us that ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years
• The third most popular pet in the US is the ferret
• There are 8-10 million pet ferrets in the US
• An unspayed female ferret is called a jill while a spayed female is a sprite. An intact male is a hob and a neutered male is called a gib. Baby ferrets are called kits.
• After kithood (6-8 weeks of age) ferrets make very few sounds.

How do these fun facts stack up against Clooney?  Well:

• He is a thief - steals all kinds of stuff
• He is rather "Mr. Magoo - ish" and does not see well
• 8 - 10 million ferrets in the US but none as cute as my guy
• Clooney would be a gib - he was neutered and descented at the ferret farm where he was born
• Ah - noise - I would in general agree with this - although.....when playing with Oliver or sometimes while making the bed (his favorite chore) he does make a sound.  It's called dooking.  We call it the happy noise.  It's hard to describe - kind of a throaty clucking noise - I am attaching a link so you can hear - this is not Clooney but he sounds very similar.....  Ferret Happy Noise

Bags - LOVES bags - playing in them and taking stuff out of them!

Who Knew?? - 1st Edition

So - since I have funky critters I thought it might be fun to share funky critter facts.  Here's an interesting hedgehog fact:

Did you know that hedgehogs are extremely temperature sensitive? They need a room temperature between 74 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If the little prickly guy gets too cold he can start to go into hibernation.  This can actually be a fatal condition. On the flip side - too hot is bad as well.  Overheated hogs go into a condition called estivation (also known as "summer sleep") which is similar to hibernation and not good for them either.

Our little Nigel has a space heater for each room he plays or sleeps in.  One that keeps his cage warm, one in the bonus room that usually points towards the TV cabinet since he loves to sleep under there, and one downstairs for when he plays in his pen.  We also have emergency kits prepped for those just in case times and we have the heat pads that you unwrap and snap to start the heating process - at least we can tuck these into a blanket and keep him toasty warm.  He has many layers of blankets in his cage as well so he can choose how warm he wants to be.  I discovered a few days ago that he also enjoys the hair dryer - he stands at your feet and lets you warm him up - very cute.