Date: November 17th 2006
Earth Care Products November 2006 Newsletter
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Small Animal Cages and Care
 Whichever kind of bedding and cage is used for your small animal, Earth Care is a great solution to keep those pesky odors down for both you and your special animal. For bird cages, simply sprinkle the Earth Care No Pet Urine Smells canister onto the bottom of the cage each time you clean the cage. If the odor still lingers a bit, add some Earth Care between cleanings to the bottom of the cage. For both snake and rodent habitats, when changing out bedding, before adding new clean bedding, sprinkle Earth Care as the base for the bedding then simply put whatever bedding/litter is used over that. You can also add Earth Care No Pet Urine Smells between cleanings to keep down odors. Earth Care is made from an all natural mineral. It is non toxic, non hazardous, non-caustic, and biodegradable. It can safely be used around pets and children. It is safe to sprinkle in your pet's cage because it will not hurt your pet even if eaten. What type of cage is required depends on what type of pet you are interested in keeping. Most rodents are kept in one of three types of cages: aquariums, hamster environments, and wire cages. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. There are also two kinds of cages that are suitable for birds – all wire cages and box cages made up of metal or wood. Rodents  The first thing to keep in mind is size. A general rule is that an animal should have enough room in its home to run around and get up a reasonable amount of speed without running into its food or nesting area. Rodents are also very fond of standing on their hind legs, particularly on top of whatever toys are in the cage, so any housing should be tall enough for the bedding, the standing animal, and a bit more. At some point, aquariums become too expensive, and if you are keeping something larger than a rat, you should consider a wire cage.Birds  Ide
ally, cages should be longer in their width or length than in their height since birds tend not to fly up and down. Tall narrow cages do not allow flight and rectangular cages are better than squared or rounded ones. Your bird should be able to stretch and flap its wings without hitting the sides of the cage.The most popular type of bird cage is made exclusively of wire. This is a great cage to give owners an unobstructed view of their bird, however it offers little privacy or security for the bird. At the same time, the bird is exposed to odors, drafts and noise. The box cage consists of metal or wood on three sides with wire mesh, bars, or glass at the front. This type of cage provides security and privacy to the bird and eliminates other exposures that a wire cage would present. Snakes  A smaller snake may be kept in a standard aquarium while a larger snake should require at least ¾ square foot of living space per foot of snake. If a snake is small because it is young, it will grow fast and in this case it is best to start with a larger aquarium. For an average corn snake or ball python, two of the species that are recommended for new snake owners, a 20-30 gallon aquarium is suitable.All different types of small animals need certain types of bedding. While bird cages don’t necessarily need any bedding on the bottom of the cage, their habitat should have at least one perch or more placed at the same height and as far away as possible. Rodents need to be provided bedding or litter to supply warmth and absorb waste. This has generally been in the form of wood shavings. Unfortunately cedar is commonly used but it has been found that cedar contains some very strong oils, which provide the cedar scent that masks the smell of the cage. These volatile oils can also irritate the skin and eyes of many rodents and possibly even cause permanent damage or death so it is advised to stay away from cedar bedding. The floor of the snake’s habitat must be covered with some sort of material, or "substrate." While kitty litter or wood shavings may seem to be a nice substrate, most snake experts discourage them because they tend to harbor germs. Simple newspaper seems to be the best choice for most snakes. Whatever bedding you use, don’t forget to sprinkle Earth Care No Pet Urine Smells under it to eliminate odors! |
 Why Can Birds Perch on Power Lines? Birds can often safely perch on a power line without being electrocuted. For the bird (or other animal) to be electrocuted, a potential difference must exist across two points of the bird's body (its feet in the case of a bird on a power line). When perching on a single power line, there is no potential difference between the bird's feet, so it is safe. If the bird touches two power lines at a time, or one power line and a ground, the animal would be electrocuted and die. Many large birds, like eagles and vultures, are electrocuted when their wide wings touch a power line and a ground wire at the same time – often while flying in to land on a power line.  All snakes are covered with scales, which are thickened areas of a thin outer skin layer. Under this layer is another skin layer that contains pigment cells that give a snake its distinctive color pattern. The arrangement of color patterns, type of scales, and scale rows are used to identify the various species. Rattlesnakes, bullsnakes, and garter snakes have what is called a keeled scale, which has a ridge on the center of each scale. Other snakes, such as the racer and milk snake, have smooth scales, with no ridges. The skin of a snake is dry, not slimy. Molting, or skin shedding, is repeated periodically throughout a snake’s life. Just prior to shedding, the skin becomes dull and dry looking and the eyes become cloudy or blue-colored. After a few days, the eyes clear and the snake "crawls" out of its old skin, which peels backward over the body from head to tail all in one piece. A new, larger, and brighter layer of skin has formed underneath. An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year, but a younger, still-growing snake, may shed up to four times a year. The picture below shows a snake starting to shed its skin. Is there a snake in your desk drawer? Petco carries Earth Care Products and once when visiting their corporate offices we noticed that as we walked by different people’s office you could see their cat or dog helping them work. Petco allows workers to bring their pets to work (remember Petco is the place where pets go). Commenting about this to the buyer we were meeting with, she also said you occasionally might see a snake slither by. I was very careful where I stepped or put my hand for the rest of our meetings that day! - Mary Beth Vaughan, Earth Care Products |
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