On a basic level, a parrot will only ever be happy if it’s nutrition requirement is met, and therefore ensuring the parrot cage is well stocked with high quality feed is a simple step to keeping your parrot healthy and happy.

Parrots are very playful animals, and therefore whilst your parrot cage should be equipped with plenty of stimuli, e.g. mirrors and toys, it is also absolutely crucial to your birds emotional wellbeing that you engage in play with your parrot as much as possible; by play, this could mean simply just talking and interacting with your bird, which they will greatly appreciate.

Parrots are also highly responsive to sunlight and therefore it is essential they are given access to sunlight everyday; therefore you should not keep the parrot cage covered for any prolonged period of time.

If your parrot does suddenly exhibit a negative change in their personality then it might be a sign of some underlying health problem – such as lice – and therefore to ensure a happy parrot you need to ensure they are able to groom effectively, by incorporating a birdbath into the parrot cage.

We’re not just talking about not getting new toys or a having to eat a cheaper brand of food – we’re talking about neglect and abandonment.

Pets punished by the crunch

In 2008 the RSPCA alone handled 11,586 dumped animals in the UK, up 57% on the previous year, and that figure represents illegally dumped animals – not those voluntarily placed for re-homing.

The number of calls from members of the public wanting to give up animals is also up 52%. Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA inspectorate, said the cause was “everything to do with the economics about owning a pet”, from paying for food to veterinary bills.

It’s not just cats and dogs either – horses, farm animals and exotic pets have all been affected. Citing examples such as a badly neglected dog dumped in a bin liner, a sick pony wandering alone in a park and a litter of puppies found dead in a shoebox, Tim Wass said the charity is struggling to cope with abandoned pets and the recession.

Financial difficulty is a stress on us all, so we at ideas-4-pets urge any pet owner to seek advice from the RSPCA or any animal organisation if they are struggling with their commitments.  Your pets deserve love and care in return for their trust and affection – help one another beat the crunch.

Rabbits will live happily in outdoor rabbit hutches or indoor rabbit cages provided that you choose the right size for your rabbit and also allow him plenty of exercise around the house or in an exercise run. Rabbit owners must cater for all their rabbit’s physical and behavioural needs in order for him to remain happy and healthy.

When choosing a rabbit hutch for your pet, purchase the largest hutch you can afford and remember that the hutch should have a separate living area and sleeping area and make sure you allow your rabbit enough space to stand up on his hind legs as rabbits like to stretch up and check that their environment is safe.  Your rabbit would be most uncomfortable if he was hunched over all day or had his ears folded against the roof of his hutch.

The minimum recommended size for a rabbit hutch is 3 to 4 times the length of your rabbit so that he can take 3 or 4 hops.  Also, a relaxed rabbit will naturally lie fully stretched out so he needs the room to do this comfortably .  He also needs enough width to turn around easily in the hutch and enough height for him to sit on his hind legs comfortably. In addition, a large safe area or a rabbit run is required for his daily exercise.

It is essential that your rabbit has the room to stretch in all directions because a hutch that is too small can affect your rabbit’s health by causing spine problems, muscle wastage and obesity.

ideas-4-pets have recently introduced the Bunny Shack which, if you have the space in your garden and want your pet rabbit to have the best, is great because it offers a good sized raised sleeping area and lots of space for him to hop around in safety. 

Although we are sure that the Policeman involved did not cause their deaths deliberately and was probably distraught at what had happened, there can be no excuse for leaving a dog in a car in this hot weather.

Did you know that a pet left in a car in hot weather can succumb to heatstroke and suffocate within minutes. Even on a warm day, the inside of a parked car can get very hot, and when the temperature outside reaches 25 degrees celsius, the temperature inside a car that’s parked in the shade can exceed 33 degrees.  If the car is parked in direct sunlight, it can reach a scorching 71 degrees !!

Even when the temperature outside is 16 – 20 degrees celsius, the inside of some cars can reach the danger zone on bright, sunny days. A lot of experts recommend that you should not to leave pets or children in parked cars even for short periods of time if the temperature 16 degrees celsius or higher.

Parking your car in the shade or winding the windows down can’t guarantee protection either as temperatures can still climb into the danger zone causing your dog great distress and don’t forget that if the car window is wound down a lot,  your pet could jump out and escape. 

Animals don’t sweat in the same way that humans do.  Dogs keep themselves cool by panting and by sweating through their paws. If the air they are breathing is hot, then they will collapse, suffer brain damage and possibly die of heatstroke.  Just 15 minutes can be enough for an animal’s body temperature to rise from a normal body temperature to deadly levels that will damage his nervous and cardiovascular systems, often leaving the animal comatose, dehydrated and at risk of permanent impairment or death.

Most of us love our dogs dearly and would not want any harm to come to them, so please be careful and give your dog the care he so deserves.

The lessons to be learned here are:

1. Leave your dog at home on warm days.  He’ll be happier keeping cool in the house than overheating in the footwell of the car.

2. If you really have to take him somewhere, then take plenty of fresh, cool drinking water and a bowl with you.

3. If your dog starts to show any signs of heat exhaustion whilst he is in the garden like restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, glazed eyes, lethargy, rapid pulse, dizziness or lack of co-ordination, then take him immediately into the shade, an air conditioned or a cool area of the house. To lower his body temperature gradually,  give him some cool water to drink, place a cold towel or ice pack on his head, neck and chest, and/or immerse him in cool (not cold) water if you can and telephone your vet.

4.  If you see a pet that has been left in a car on a hot day then take immediate action by taking a note of the make of car, model, colour and registration number and then telephone the police to report it.

Our pets rely solely on us for their care and protection and we owe it to them to keep them safe in the hot weather.

Dog kennels give your dog a place to call their own, like a room in your home is yours. So too does your dog need his or her own personal space. Dogs will seek out this personal space even if there aren’t dog kennels available.

They might try to crawl in under your bed, behind the sofa, in the laundry basket, irrespective of whether the clothes are clean or already dirty or in closets. The bottom line is that dogs need a safe place of their own to chill out, regardless of how some people view kennels.

Training aid

Using dog kennels to train dogs works similarly to the way dog cages do. You can use dog kennels to train your dog for various different reasons. You could use kennels to help you housetrain, correct bad habits or even help them overcome behaviour such as nervousness and separation anxiety.

When you train your dog using a kennel, it is important not to use the kennel as a punishment. Your dog should never associate dog kennels with punishment. You should also never leave your dog alone in a kennel for more than four hours maximum, at a time. Dogs tend to get very agitated and anxious if left in dog kennels for too long and it can undo any good work you have been doing with training your dog.

My dog has got a gorgeous circular faux suede dog bed in the office, an igloo-type dog bed in the bedroom, a tunnel-type one in the sitting room which she loves because she’s a tiny terrier who loves to burrow and she’s also got numerous dog cushions, dog blankets and dog throws all over the house and the car!!

The great thing is that you can usually find a dog bed to suit every shape and size of dog all your requirements.  They come in a variety of sizes - large, medium and small and they come in different shapes – circular, oval, triangular to fit in a corner, igloo-types and some really different designs like those which look just like a dog kennel !!  There are raised dog beds made from willow and metal and some which are a replica of our own sofas. 

They are made from fabulous fabrics like faux suede, faux leather, real leather, cool cotton, soft fleece, lambswool etc. and can also be waterproof which is great if you have a dog that loves the wet weather or is kept in an outside dog kennel.

The fabric colours vary from earthy brown, black, sand and taupe colours through the creamy beiges to the soft pink and blues and there are also some really quirky fabric designs like the Wallace & Grommit Range we have recently added to the ideas-4-pets website.  Whatever your style or your decor, there is bound to be one that you and your dog just can’t live without!!

If you have a pet that has undergone surgery or suffers from arthritis or other joint problems, then an orthopaedic dog bed or dog mattress which have either a memory foam top mattress, are made completely from a memory foam block or are made with crumbed memory foam which has the advantage of air circulation which can prevent overheating.  We know the benefits of the memory foam mattresses on our own beds and the benefits are just the same for our canine companions.  The foam moulds itself to your dog’s shape and thus give your dog full body support.  These are also great for elderly dogs and some of them have the option of a waterproof cover for incontinent dogs.

If you want a cool, sophisticated dog bed for your dog, then look at our basket designs that are made from willow – they have a removeable and reversible cushion inside and are on small legs so prevent rising cold.

So as I previously mentioned, whatever the needs and requirements of you and your dog are, there will be something on our site that will fit the bill !!

Larger parrots can live for a very long time so you are committing yourself to long-term care of the parrot.  If you intend to put your parrot in an outside aviary during the colder months, you should ask the breeder how acclimatised the bird is and if you are already the owner of parrots, it is also advisable to quarantine the new one for approx. 35 days before allowing it into the same area of your existing parrots in case it is carrying any form of disease.

Check to see if your new parrot is fluffing up his feathers, resting with his head in his wing, is standing on two legs rather than one leg or is breathing heavily with discharge from his nostrils, as these are sure signs of illness and you need to keep him warm and quiet.  The best temperature is around 80 to 90 degrees F (27 to 32 degrees C) and make sure that he’s provided with easily digestable food like baby food that is easily reached from his perch.  We would advise that you then contact a vet with avian expertise immediately. As these Vets are not common, it would be sensible to locate one before you buy the parrot as it’s often in the very early days of ownership that you might need one.  If you contact The Parrot Society, they will assist you in finding a vet with avian expertise who is the most local to you.

Feed your parrot a wide variety of foods such as canary seed, mixed millets, hemp, wheat, maize, safflower, sunflower (in moderation as it is an oily seed and can cause your parrot to become overweight), oats, buckwheat, paddy rice, niger, linseed and groats. Also let him have fruits such as oranges, sweet apples, grapes, pears, cherries and bananas. If possible try to include some exotic fruits such as papaya, mango and kiwi.

Never give your parrot avocados as these are toxic to birds.  You can however offer him  carrots, celery, spinach, beetroot, peas, beans and lightly cooked corn on the cob. They also enjoy sprouted seeds and soaked biscuit but don’t feed him scraps from the table.

Larger parrots like macaws should be given nuts in their diet throughout the year and these can include walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, macadamia, cashews and hazelnuts. He will also enjoy a few cob-nuts when they are in season.

Don’t forget to wash all fruit and vegetables that you give your parrot and make sure that the bowls inside his parrot cage are washed thoroughly before use.  It’s best not to place any food bowls directly underneath the perches in his parrot cage as they will soon become soiled.

Of course, the usual proprietary foods in pellet form are available from pet shops, but a lot of experienced aviculturists believe that this doesn’t provide foraging experience for the parrot and so has little therapeutic value. However they are very convenient and will provide adequate nutrition so can be used extensively or in part. Your avian vet will be able to advise you further on this.

As with all pets, the larger the home you can provide him with the better.  A large parrot cage is acceptable so long as your parrot is allowed out of his cage every day.  Don’t however, leave him on his own, unsupervised as he may chew electric cables, damage your furniture and fittings or escape.  Provide him with a bird play stand and some parrot toys so that he can amuse himself as well as fly around when he is out of his cage.

Large macaws are better kept in large outdoor aviaries and ideas-4-pets have some quality aviaries to choose from – both timber and metal.

The floor of his parrot cage should be covered with peat, shavings, sand or newspaper and changed daily to make sure it is clean, fresh and hygienic. Garden aviaries should have a draught-proof, weather proof indoor section to protect your parrot from extremes of weather. Because parrots are intelligent and inquisitive, provide your parrot with an interesting, stimulating environment with plenty of climbing opportunities.  These could include cotton rope, ladders and wooden climbing frames. Packs of suitable toys can be bought from ideas-4-pets. If you are keeping your parrot in an outside aviary, make sure he has penty of perches and cotton climbing ropes but remember to leave him enough room in there to fly around. 

All bird cages and aviaries are better if they are fitted with natural perches (fruit tree or sycamore branches are ideal) as these provide different diameters for your parrot’s feet to move to.  This allows him to flex the bones in his feet. It is also important to change the perches on a regular basis.

As with all pets, fresh, clean water should be provided daily. In the case of parrots, multi-vitamin drops can be added to the water and should have access to grit cuttlefish which will provide him with calcium.

If you provide your parrot with the correct housing, the correct food, things to play with and time to spend with him, he will provide you with amusement and wonderful companionship for many years.

They usually spend around 14-18 hours per day sleeping and this is split into three 6 hour sections. Ferrets do sleep more than most other pets but they are very active when they are awake and will need lots of exercise to satisfy their energy and curiosity on a daily basis.

Their curiosity very often exceeds common sense in domestic environments and ferrets are good at getting stuck in drains and holes in walls, doors, cupboards or even in and behind household appliances such as ovens, dishwashers and washing machines where they can be injured or killed by drowning and electric shocks. Serious and sometimes fatal injuries have resulted from ferrets chewing on electrical cords. and dryer vents often become escape routes to the outdoors. Because ferrets also like to chew items made of soft rubber, foam or sponge, which put them at risk of intestinal blockage and death if ingested, make sure that any items of this nature are out of reach in a closed cupboard.

For these reasons, owners usually do “ferret-proof” their home, removing items dangerous to ferrets and covering over any holes or potential escape routes. Ferrets are quite clever and can open cupboards or doors that haven’t been closed properly by rolling over and clawing at the bottom edge.  Putting childproof latches on doors is a good idea and keeping your cleaning products in high, out-of-reach places also helps to prevent accidents happening.

Ferrets are very energetic and take a great interested in their environment.  They will actively choose to play with their owners and have both endearing and difficult behaviours for their owners to contend with.  Ferrets love to play hide-and-seek games and predator and prey games involving their owner attempting to catch the ferret or the ferret trying to catch the human. Ferrets also have a strong nesting instinct and can be seen repeatedly carrying small items or food to secret hiding places. They can also form strong attachments to certain objects and will repeatedly try to find and steal those objects to bring to their hiding place.

When ferrets get excited, they sometimes perform a strange little dance which is a frenzied series of sideways hops. This can often be accompanied by a gentle clucking type of noise and has been identified as an invitation to play or a way of showing you he is happy.  Despite how it looks, this behaviour is not at all threatening. His posture tends to become quite rigid and he opens his jaws wide, fixes his eyes on you and then starts thrashing or turning his head vigourously from side to side, arching his back and hopping side to side or backwards.  You might also hear him panting or hissing and this will likely then turn into a chasing game where he will also start to pounce and wrestle with you.

Ferrets can nip you when they are very young babies, but this nipping is done in a playful way and represents mock fighting and sparring.  as they get older, they tend to chew when teething and can have a tendency to start to bite a bit harder. If you’re on the receiving end of a play bite, a ferret will sometimes let out a high-pitched squeal or hiss to let you know of his annoyance or submission. As they get older, ferrets lessen their chewing and if you train them correctly, will almost never nip a human hand or if they do, will only do so very gently. Just be warned though, that some ferrets who have been abused or are in extreme pain may bite you and they are capable of strong bites which will break through your skin.

Ferrets can be trained to use a litter box, just like cats but they aren’t always completely litter box trainable. They instinctively spread their waste to scent mark a wider foraging territory for themselves so it’s sometimes a good idea to provide them with multiple litter boxes.  As with cats, their litter boxes will need to cleaned out on a very regular basis.

Unlike dogs and cats, many ferrets display little homing instinct and don’t thrive as strays so some ferret owners train their ferrets at a young age to respond to clicker toys, squeaky toys or to the sound of their own food being shaken as a means of tempting the ferret to come back. This is a good way of keeping your ferret under some type of control as wandering ferrets can easily be injured or killed by other animals, local wildlife or passing cars.

The ferret’s small size and speedy nature makes it easy for them to be stepped on so it is adviseable to walk slowly and not shuffle your feet off the floor higher than the height of your ferret so that you don’t tread on him. A ferret’s long spine is very delicate and can be severely damaged if stepped on and care must also be taken when handling him to avoid injury.

Some owners may prefer to house their pets outdoors in sheds, and not indoors. This is becoming more popular, and we at ideas-4-pets have sold many outdoor cat kennels which have been slightly altered to suit the needs of the ferret.  If your ferret is to be kept outdoors, the outside kennel is ideal as it keeps them contained and stops them from placing themselves in dangerous situations or escape situations.

Ferrets can make good pets for some children, but usually don’t make good pets for the very young. As mentioned before, ferrets are capable of delivering a strong bite which can be almost as strong as a domestic cat, so should never be left unsupervised near small children.  Children have been known to accidently hurt a ferret due to rough handling and the ferret will see this as an attack and fight back, so you must make sure that your child learns how to handle the ferret correctly and safely to prevent this from happening.

Once you have decided whether to keep your ferret indoors in a ferret cage or outdoors in a kennel of some sort, then you must consider what to feed him on.  A ferret’s natural diet used to consist of whole small prey, including any feathers and fur and some ferret owners feed their ferret with a meat-based diet consisting of small animals like mice and rabbits along with raw chicken or beef. However, there are some good quality commercial ferret food on the market and your vet would be able to advise you on the best type to purchase. 

Ideally, ferret food should contain a minimum of 32% meat based protein and 18% fat with a maximum of 3% fibre.  Ferrets also particularly enjoy raisins, bananas, peanut butter and certain breakfast cereals but the the high sugar content of these types of treats has been linked to ferret insulinoma and other diseases. Vets tend to recommend that you don’t feed these types of foods to ferrets at all.

As with all pets, make sure that you ferret has easy access to clean, fresh water and keep his kennel or cage scrupulously clean at all times to ensure that your pet remains fit and healthy.