How To Tell the Mood of Your Pet

So, my really bothered cat(he hasn't gotten his night time dinner yet) told me to write on how to tell the mood of your pet.

Sometimes the mood of your pet is very obvious. If your cat yowls or pees on your stuff when he's not incontinent, that means he's mad.

But sometimes you can't figure out just what your pet is feeling. Did you know a purr can mean the cat you have is either frightened or happy? If it is frightened, it usually hides when people try to pet it. If it is happy, it lets people pet it.

Snakes are moody animals also. If they don't eat, they are sick, shedding, not hungry, breeding, or irritated. If a snake is not shedding and it has gotten used to its surroundings,and it eats on a schedule and has no other non-sexed snake in its cage, it is probably sick and should be brought to the vet. If it gets really fat around the middle and it is a girl snake while its companion is a boy, it is probably breeding. It would probably be best to take the snake to the vet in this instance also.

If snakes breed and are bothered, they can get really angry and bite. That's another way you can tell a snake's mood.

Of course, if a rattler rattles, it is warning you off. A rattler for a pet is crazy, some of you say. In California, it's legal to own a rattler for a pet.

A dog can growl when either happy or irritated. If it is irritated, the growl will be low in the throat, it will stop wagging its tail, and hair will stand up on the back of its neck in an extreme instance.

A happy dog will have a less throaty growl, and will wag its tail. I have a dog named Diamond. She uses this body language while she growls all the time. She loves being petted.

Have fun using this knowledge.

I think basic snake care is my next topic. It's fitting in that I just bought a baby ball python named Monty Python. He says he thinks basic snake care is the most important topic of all.

First, to get started, you need to get a cage, not any old cage. The cage needs to be a snake cage, not a gerbil or bunny one left over from that pet that escaped.

The snake cage has to be tight and have a safety lock on it. If the top wiggles and has a crack, make sure the snake you put in there has a head bigger than the crack, or you will surely have it escape. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

The snake you pick has to be the right one for you. Since this is basic snake care, we won't cover all the kinds of snakes that make good pets today.

The snake you pick has to have a red light put on one side of it's cage. It is especially important to providethis in winter, as this is the light snakes need to warm up with by basking, or laying there stretched out under the light.

The snake needs a water bowl big enough so if it feels like it, he can bathe in it and drink out of it.

The snake needs bedding. I have always used Aspen bedding, as my snakes love it. There cannot be any bark from the general pet section or garden section of the store you shop at. That stuff can get in snake sinuses, and the snake can eat the bark. If the bark gets in the sinuses, it can cause problems.

You have to find a vet that deals with exotic animals before you bring your snake home. Snakes get sick or have problems like any other animal.

The snake needs a bark hide, something to hide in. Since the snake sheds once every month or two it is useful for him to rub against to loosen its skin.

You should also have another hide of any kind put in the cage. A bottle that is not glass works well, as does a flower pot or box. The second hide should go in the opposite side as the first, so the snake can pick what side he wants to hide in, the warm side or cooler side.

The snake eats frozen mice every seven to ten days on average. You need to warm this mouse thoroughly before feeding the snake. No microwaves, please. Run the mouse under hot water until warm. Make sure the rodent doesn't get on your hands, as you will smell like prey and the snake then will mistake you for pray. Then it will bite you. Kitchen tongs may make it easier for you to feed the snake, as tongs can be bitten without any harm to you.

To pick out the right rodent to feed your snake, notice the fattest part of the snake's body. The width of the fatest part of the body is the width the feeder mouse should be. Hairy, larger mice cannot be eaten by a baby corn snake, nor can a full grown ball python be content with a pinkie mouse that is just barely born.

It needs to be fed in a cage seperate from its living space. The snake will associate this cage with food. If you put the mouse in the living space of the snake, it will associate its living space with food, and therefore might get excited and bite you every time you stick your fingers in the cage.

It also needs to be fed in quiet. No audience is ideal. Put a towel over the feeding cage and let the mouse sit there for about five minutes. It will probably be eaten by then.



So, now you have it. Have fun raising your snake(s). I do.