CritterNews

Ellie Lesch of House Rabbit Society tonight!

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Please joins us for this guest chat on Saturday, February 23!

Ellie Lesch, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society and Elmbrook Humane Society Volunteer Rabbit Care Specialist
Getting the Best out of Your Bunny
Saturday, February 23, at 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific, in Exotic Pet Chat
Learn all about the care and keeping of house rabbits from an expert. The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned rabbits and finding them permanent, loving, homes and to educating others about the care and behavior of rabbits.

How to Attend

This chat will be held in the chat room linked from this page. To access the chat:

If you are a registered user of our site, simply follow the direct link to the chat as given above, and log in with your username and password. (Forgot them? Click here!)

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There is nothing to download or install, but the system does require you to have java enabled in your browser settings. We strongly suggest you access the room before the chat, so you have time to address any difficulties you might have. You might want to drop by one of our regular weekly chats as a test run. If you have trouble, please visit our Chat Help Area.

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ExoticHobbyist.com Chat Month!

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For the last ten years, PetHobbyist.com has been presenting an annual online symposium about living with, keeping, raising, breeding, rescuing, and caring for animals. In celebration of this anniversary, we've extended Chat Week into Chat Month. Our ExoticHobbyist.com lineup is still being expanded, and currently includes:

Date and Time TBA

Bob Church on Ferrets
We're very proud to welcome one of the leading experts on ferret care and behavior, zooarcheologist Bob Church.
Sign up to be notified of the date and time, and to receive a free email reminder of the event here!

Sunday, February 10

Dr. Jennifer Periat
Exotic Animal Health
Sunday, February 10, at 10 PM Eastern, in ExoticHobbyist.com's Chat Room
Dr. Jennifer Periat graduated from MSU (DVM and BS in zoology). Having grown up owning a variety of pets and being quite active in 4-H, she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from a young age. Dr. Periat enjoys all types of animals and shares her home with many. Dr. Periat is still usually surrounded by animals, spending a lot of time doing public education about the care and conservation of exotic species, taking classes with her dogs and doing rescue work. She has been a very active member of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, and now serves on the Board of Directors and as secretary.

Friday, February 22

Nigel Marvin
A World of Wildlife
Friday, February 22, at 9 PM Eastern, in kingsnake.com's Chat Room
Born in 1960, Nigel Marven showed early promise as a budding naturalist. He was running a hamster colony at age eight and racing stick insects along his mother�s clothes line by the time he was nine. In his early teens, Nigel had graduated to larger creatures, keeping a caiman, magpie and boa constrictors in his parents� house. Once his school studies were over, Nigel took a year-out travelling throughout America, where he met hellbenders and amphiumas in the wild (both are kinds of salamanders). Returning to the UK, he moved to Bristol to read Botany and Zoology at university. This would prove to be the ideal place for him, because firstly he could pursue his interest in the natural world at an academic level, and secondly, Bristol is the world capital of wildlife filmmaking. From sharks to alligators to anacondas, Nigel has proven he can hold his own in the animal kingdom! You may have seen him hosting Discovery�s "Shark Week," "Nigel�s Wild, Wild World," "Chased by Sea Monsters," or "Prehistoric Park" on Animal Planet. The host, film-maker and author will appear at the second annual North American Reptile Conference and Trade Show on Saturday and Sunday, February 22-23 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington Texas, but first he will stop by to chat with our members.

Saturday, February 23

Ellie Lesch, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society and Elmbrook Humane Society Volunteer Rabbit Care Specialist
Getting the Best out of Your Bunny
Saturday, February 23, at a time to be announced, in Exotic Pet Chat
Learn all about the care and keeping of house rabbits from an expert. The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned rabbits and finding them permanent, loving, homes and to educating others about the care and behavior of rabbits.

Sunday, February 24

Dr. Jeff Werber -- Lassie's TV Vet!
Microchips and Your Pet
Sunday, February 24, at 9 PM Eastern, in the Audi torium
From Dr. Jeff: "Like most little kids, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a veterinarian. According to my folks, that's all I ever talked about. Growing up in a household with dogs, this wasn't such an unusual dream. The unusual part about it was that I followed this dream into adulthood. With me, I think becoming a veterinarian was more of a calling than a mere childhood dream. Now, over 20 years out of school and practicing, I'm still in heaven! As many of you know, over the years my career has branched out into many different directions--all revolving around veterinary medicine and my love of our animal friends." Dr. Werber is Lassie's veterinarian, and has also cared for the pets of stars including Ben Affleck, Julia Roberts, and Mandy Moore. He is also a spokesperson for Home Again pet microchips.

How to Attend

These events will be held in the chat rooms linked from this page. To access the chats:

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Special Chats Tonight

We hope you'll join us tonight at our special ExoticHobbyist.com Ninth Annual Chat Week events!

Wednesday March 1

Ellie Lesch, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society and Elmbrook Humane Society Volunteer Rabbit Care Specialist
House Rabbits
Wednesday, Februrary 28, at 9 PM Eastern in Exotic Pet Chat
Learn all about the care and keeping of house rabbits from an expert. The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned rabbits and finding them permanent, loving, homes and to educating others about the care and behavior of rabbits.

Dr. Jennifer Periat
Exotic Animal Health
Wednesday, February 28, at 10 PM Eastern, in ExoticHobbyist.com's Chat Room
Dr. Jennifer Periat graduated from MSU (DVM and BS in zoology). Having grown up owning a variety of pets and being quite active in 4-H, she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from a young age. Dr. Periat enjoys all types of animals and shares her home with many. Dr. Periat is still usually surrounded by animals, spending a lot of time doing public education about the care and conservation of exotic species, taking classes with her dogs and doing rescue work. She has been a very active member of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, and now serves on the Board of Directors and as secretary.

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CritterNews: Chat Week Special Edition!

Ninth Annual Chat Week at ExoticHobbyist.com:
February 25-March 3, 2007

Sunday February 25

Linda Tellington-Jones
Tellington Touch
Sunday, February 25, at 10 PM Eastern in the Auditorium
TTouch - the Tellington TTouch - is a method based on circular movements of the fingers and hands all over the body. The Tellington TTouch is a specialized approach to the care and training of our animal companions, including wildlife and exotics. Developed by internationally recognized animal expert Linda Tellington-Jones, this method based on cooperation and respect offers a positive approach to training, can improve performance and health and presents solutions to common behavioral and physical problems. It also helps establish a deeper rapport between humans and animals through increased understanding and more effective communication.

Wednesday March 1

Thursday March 1

Marta Williams
Animal Communication
Thursday, March 1, at 9 PM Eastern in the Auditorium
Marta Williams, a biologist and animal communicator, is the author of Learning Their Language: Intuitive Communication with Animals and Nature, and Beyond Words: Talking with Animals and Nature.She worked for many years as a wildlife biologist and an environmental scientist before she began practicing as a professional animal communicator in 1991. Marta has written articles for the Whole Horse Journal, Natural Horse Magazine, Ride Magazine, and Healing Garden Journal. She lectures, teaches and offers consultations for animals by phone or by email, worldwide. She is a frequent and popular guest on PetHobbyist.com.

Friday March 2

Rescue Panel
Friday, March 2, from 9-11 PM Eastern, in the Auditorium
A panel discussion with a number of rescue groups for a wide variety of species, including representatives from Wisconsin Chinchilla Rescue, Small Scale Reptile Rescue and Mid Michigan Herp Rescue. Other guests include those involved in dog, cat, wildlife, bird, horse, and exotic/small pet rescue, including TLC Lab Rescue, Adopt a Husky Rescue, and Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue.

How to Attend

These events will be held in chat rooms listed above. To access the chats:

If you are a registered user of our site, simply follow the direct links to the chats as given above, and log in with your username and password. (Forgot them? Click here!)

If you are not already a registered user of the site, registration is not required - simply go to chat.pethobbyist.com and use the "Guest" log-in option, then select the appropriate chat room.

More Information

There is more information about each chat available at the links in the right hand column. Simply click on the species in which you are interested for a more detailed listing. Some of the chats even have free email reminders you can sign up for!

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CritterNews: Chat Week Special Edition!

Eighth Annual Chat Week at ExoticHobbyist.com:
February 26-March 4, 2006

Sunday February 26

Ken Lockwood, Eagle Valley Raptor Center
Rehabbing and Keeping Raptors
A co-presentation with BirdHobbyist.com
Sunday, February 26, at 10 PM Eastern in the Aviary
In 1999, Ken Lockwood became head keeper at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas. He has trained at the World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis on all aspects of rehabbing and exhibiting birds Of prey. In 2001 he received his certification from the International World Rehabilitation Council (IWRC). Ken will discuss a wide range of topics relating to rehabbing and keeping raptors, including initial exams, wing wraps, tube feeding, dehydration, flight training/exercise, diets, cage requirements and permits for raptors.

Wednesday March 1

Ellie Lesch, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society and Elmbrook Humane Society Volunteer Rabbit Care Specialist
House Rabbits
Wednesday, March 1, at 9 PM Eastern in Exotic Pet Chat
Learn all about the care and keeping of house rabbits from an expert. The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned rabbits and finding them permanent, loving, homes and to educating others about the care and behavior of rabbits.

Thursday March 2

Kathy Fritz, Executive Director of Ferret Nook Shelter in Wisconsin
Ferret Care and Information
Thursday, March 2, at 9 PM Eastern in Exotic Pet Chat
Kathy Fritz is the executive director of Ferret Nook Shelter in Wisconsin, a no-kill shelter established to promote the care and welfare of the domestic companion ferret. They provide information, education, and exchange of ideas for ferret owners, owners to be, veterinarians, and pet store personnel in all aspects relating to the domestic companion ferret.

Friday March 3

Liz Phipps, Vet Tech, Fitchburg Animal Hospital
Small Animal Veterinary Needs
Friday, March 3, at 10 PM Eastern in Exotic Pet Chat
Liz has been a vet tech for 6 years with Fitchburg. She has seen many situations that could have been prevented with regular check ups. Learn what to look for with your small animal and what needs they have. A long time rat owner, Liz has been working with animals since she was a young girl. Currently on the Board of Directors for Chicagoland Bully Breeds Rescue and Wisconsin Dog and All Animal Rescue. Liz has strong ties to the medical and rescue communities in the state of area.

How to Attend

These events will be held in chat rooms listed above. To access the chats:

If you are a registered user of our site, simply follow the direct links to the chats as given above, and log in with your username and password. (Forgot them? Click here!)

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Fall/Winter 2005 CritterNews

CritterNews
The newsletter of ExoticHobbyist.com
Fall/Winter 2005

In This Issue:

From the Editor

ExoticHobbyist.com Bookstore News

Suggestions for our Next Chat Week?

Veterinary Care of Exotic Pets

Everybody Loves Some Bunny Sometime

Review: The Tears of the Cheetah

Come Chat with Us!

If your email program does not display HTML, or you have trouble viewing this newsletter with links, you can see it on the web in our archive at:

http://news.pethobbyist.com/index.cgi?flavor=archive&list=critternews

From the Editor

Welcome to the Fall/Winter 2005 issue of CritterNews from ExoticHobbyist.com! We'd like to wish all of you a very happy Holiday Season and New Year.

We've expanded our lineup of chats on the site, including ferrets and other small pets in our Pet Health Chat on Wednesdays and Holistic Pet Care Chat on Thursdays. You can view the complete schedule and access the chats here.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

Christie Keith
Editor, CritterNews

ExoticHobbyist.com Bookstore News

The lines at the bookstore getting you down? Don't have time to drive to the bookstore? Then check out the ExoticHobbyist.com.com Bookstore! There is a wide variety of books to chose from and even calendars and magazines, all personally selected by your bookstore editors.

Our current Top Ten Books in the bookstore:

1: Tiger Moon: Tracking the Great Cats in Nepal
2: Infectious Diseases of Mice and Rats Companion Guide
3: Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story
4: The Bats of Europe and North America: Knowing Them, Identifying Them, Protecting Them
5: Bats of the Rocky Mountain West: Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation
6: Lop Rabbits As Pets
7: Quick and Easy Dwarf Hamster Care
8: Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species
9: Mountain Lions 2006 Calendar
10: Exotic Pets: A Veterinary Guide for Owners

Eighth Annual Chat Week: Who Would YOU Like to See?

The Eighth Annual Chat Week on ExoticHobbyist.com will be held in February of 2006, and we would love to hear your suggestions for chat guests. If you would like to be a guest, or know of someone you'd like to see as a guest, or even a topic or subject you'd like to see covered during chat week, please use this link to let us know:

Contact PHChristy

Please be sure to give contact information for a guest you are suggesting, if possible.

Veterinary Care for Exotic Pets
By PHValkryie

This summer, I started working for a veterinary hospital that treats not just dogs and cats, but also exotics and wildlife. It's a new world for me as my only experience working with exotics is as an owner and the little bit we are taught in vet tech school. One class during one quarter of the first year is dedicated to exotics. That's 10 weeks worth. In that 10 weeks we cover snakes, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, rabbits, ferrets and even fish. They covered spiders too, but I'm pretty sure I passed out during that lecture.

During my first few days I kept being told by the vets, "Be careful with the ferrets, they bite." I'd snort and scoff. Oh come on now, they're ferrets! My ferrets are sweet and lovable. They nibble once in a while, but nothing to be cautious about. Finally one of the vets looked me straight in the eye and said, "ALL ferrets bite." Well this got my dander up a bit and I said, "MY ferrets DON'T." Her eyes softened a bit, her voice lowered and with a gentle tone said, "All ferrets bite at the vets, they're scared, this is an unfamiliar place to them and some don't feel well."

Of course.

I had just made a client's typical comment. How many times did a client say to me regarding their dog or cat, "Henry doesn't bite, he's good boy, don't worry," only to have Henry try to take a chunk out of me and the client either deeply sorry or convinced that I did something to deserve it. My rule quickly became, all dogs and cats bite at the vets, they're scared and in an unfamiliar place, some don't feel well.

With this knowledge I always take precautions to prevent accidents. Unfortunately, these precautions can be considered offensive by clients.

Scruffing, for instance, scares many clients. They're concerned that you're hurting their beloved pet. From my side of the table it is considered using proper retraint and preventing injury to both pet and human. I also liberally use muzzles; if a dog looks very scared I know that their best defense is to growl and bite. They don't mean to hurt me, they're simply scared.

The same goes with the little critters. Ferrets, rodents, rabbits and other "pocket" pets need to be treated with respect when they go to the vets, but the vets, techs and assistants are going to take precautions to prevent the injury of your pet and themselves. It's not that you have a "bad pet," it's that you have a scared pet. We're not being mean, just careful.

PHValkyrie is Nancy Campbell, RVT. She is the host of ExoticHobbyist.com's weekly Natural Ferret Care Chat, owns the Natural Ferret email list, and also runs the Vet Techs Blog.

Everybody Loves Some Bunny Sometime
By Christie Keith

When Marinell and Bob Harriman brought their rabbit Herman home to live with them, they put her (yes, her) in the kitchen just until they could build her a backyard hutch. That hutch never got built.

Over the two-and-a-half years that Herman shared her life with the Harrimans, she taught them a thing or two about rabbits: That they can open doors, be litter box trained, love affection, and have many special dietary, social, and health care needs. Marinell took the lessons she learned from Herman and wrote a book that has become a legend: The House Rabbit Handbook, first published in 1985 and now in its fourth printing.

But Herman's legacy did not stop there. Out of the handbook has grown an entire organization, the House Rabbit Society, and its publication, the House Rabbit Journal, along with a nationwide network of rabbit owners, fosterers, vets who provide expert and discounted care, and volunteers seeking to educate rabbit owners.

If your only exposure to rabbits has been caged bunnies in a classroom or backyard, you will be astonished at the potential complexity and depth of the human-rabbit relationship. While they have needs different from dogs and cats, they are no less capable of finding a place in your heart. It is the sterility and boredom of their limited lives that makes caged rabbits seem uninteresting; bring them in and make them a part of the family, and you will be amazed at what you've been missing.

The switch from hutch to home will benefit the rabbit as well as the humans in the family. Domestic rabbits have not changed very much from their wild ancestors. As renowned small mammal veterinarian Dr. Susan Brown points out, "The normal territorial space of an adult of this species is about two acres but may be even larger if food is in short supply. This is the area over which the rabbit would wander each day to feed and to look for mates. We know that the rabbit requires large volumes of high fiber food that would necessitate traveling great distances each day, particularly during winter months. In addition, rabbits are anatomically designed to be able to move at great speed in order to elude predators. Observe the powerful back legs built to run and leap.

"So, we take this beautiful, graceful animal that is designed to range over a large area, at times even at great speed, and put it in a cage that is 24" x 24" x 18"H for most or all of it's life and expect it to thrive and do well."

In addition to boredom and loneliness, a life in a hutch or cage leads to a number of health problems as well.

If a rabbit shares your life, or you know of a rabbit who could use something to brighten his or her day, the House Rabbit Handbook is a must-have. Packed with over fifteen years' worth of stories, tips, information, and health care resources, it is liberally illustrated with photographs and the stories of individual rabbits.

Even if a rabbit isn't the pet for you, the heartwarming stories in the House Rabbit Handbook earn the book a place on the bookshelves of every pet owner.

Consider joining the House Rabbit Society or supporting them with a donation; they help abandoned rabbits, rabbits in shelters, and rabbits in inappropriate living situations or with health and behavior problems, and they do it with 100 percent volunteer power - no high-paid office or administrative staff for them!

You can send your donations, or requests for more information, to House Rabbit Society, 148 Broadway Richmond, CA 94804. You will also find a world of information on house rabbits, links to join the Society, email addresses to get rabbit advice, and a place to make online donations, on their award-winning website at http://www.rabbit.org.

The Tears of the Cheetah
By Stephen J. O'Brien
Reviewed by Christie Keith

I previously dubbed Robert Sapolsky's Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers as the best recent popular science book, and it is, but The Tears of the Cheetah is a close second. It's not as funny as Sapolsky's book, but it's more broad-ranging, covering the genetic heritage of the human race and all its cousins and ancestors in the animal kingdom. Profound, whistful, clever, and sometimes maybe a bit too technical for a popular audience, this is a remarkable and fascinating book about genetics. Topics include HIV, dog and cat diseases, conservation, cloning, evolution, and of course, cheetahs.

Come Chat With Us!

Come hang out with your critter-loving chat hosts and other small pet owners and hobbyists in our chats! No registration is required and there is nothing to download. You can join our chats here.

Monday 9 PM Eastern Hosted Open Critter Chat

Tuesday 9 PM Eastern Natural Ferret Care Chat

Wednesday 9 PM Eastern Pet Health Chat

Thursday 9 PM Eastern Holistic Pet Care Chat

Questions about our chats, or how to access them? Check out our Chat FAQ!

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CritterNews Back Issues

We recently upgraded our mailing list software, and had to move our back issues to another archive. They can be viewed online in our Back Issues Archive Index:

http://www.exotichobbyist.com/articles/CritterNews.html

If you still have old issues bookmarked, those bookmarks will no longer work, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! The newest issue of CritterNews will be out tomorrow.

Christie Keith
Editor, CritterNews
www.exotichobbyist.com

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