 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Pet Care Fact Sheets
Super Vets
Note - all these fact sheets are published in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. You will need an Adobe Reader to view these files in a browser. This reader can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe Site.
We are all familiar with the phrase "A healthy pet is a happy pet" - but there is probably also something to be said for keeping your pet happy in order to maintain its health. If you know your pet you will probably quickly recognise the signs that suggest it is not well.
View PDF here
Feeding your pet Guinea PigGuinea pigs come from Central and South America and live in extended family groups in areas of long grass. They make runs or pathways through the tall vegetation and eat as they go! In an ideal world, we would keep our guinea pigs in an uncut hay meadow, but then we'd never see them... and the average back garden is not a hay meadow!
View PDF here
The phrase 'you are what you eat' has never been truer for the rabbit. Recent research by veterinary surgeons and rabbit food companies has shown that most of the common illnesses that rabbits suffer from could be prevented by feeding them a healthy diet. Unfortunately, many pet rabbits are being fed a diet that is the rabbit equivalent of 'junk food'. Feeding your rabbit the correct diet is not difficult - simply follow our guidelines.
View PDF here
When chinchillas were first imported from South America - at first into the United States, and then into Europe - people found it really difficult, at first, to keep them alive in captivity. This was mainly because of a lack of understanding of what wild chinchillas
eat. Chinchillas are entirely herbivorous - they only eat vegetable matter - and where they live in the wild, most of the vegetation is quite fibrous and dry, not lush and juicy! They eat grasses and other low-growing greenstuff, and chew the bark off trees.
View PDF here
In the wild, gerbils live partly on dry seeds, but these are emergency rations for when something more nutritious is not available. Gerbils need some animal protein in their diet, so they will eat insects; but also eat fresh vegetable material.
View PDF here
Hamsters are 'omnivores', this means that they eat both vegetarian food (fresh fruit and vegetables, and dry seeds) and also animal protein (usually insects). Unfortunately, most hamster mixes are entirely vegetable matter, without any animal protein; many of these mixes are also very low in some vitamins and substances called 'essential fatty acids' that are especially important for a healthy skin and coat.
View PDF here
The mice we keep as pets are the same species as the house mouse. They live alongside human beings nearly all over the world, eating what they can find. Mice are opportunists and great survivors. Sometimes they invade grain stores and live entirely on stored grain or find their way into our store cupboards and larders and eat whatever they find there. Others live in stables or near aviaries, living off the horse feed or bird seed.
View PDF here
Rats make wonderful pets, partly because they are so easy to look after! Rats are designed to eat plants, eg seeds, roots, nuts and fruit, but they also need some meat or dairy products in the diet as well.
The cheek teeth of the rat are more like our own than the teeth of rabbit or guinea pigs. They don't keep growing throughout the animal's life, but like ours, they erupt when the animal is young and have to last it all its life. This suggest that the rat is not a 'herbivore' like the guinea pig and rabbit, but an 'omnivore', an animal that needs to eat meat and vegetables.
View PDF here
Vetstream has kindly provided these fact sheets for use on the Super Vets site. Vetstream is the UK's leading provider of online, high quality veterinary information for vets and pet owners. Visit their website at www.vetstream.co.uk.
