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December 30, 2011

Want Pet Piranhas? Read On

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Brandon Ralperence @ 2:33 am

Fishkeeping has become a popular hobby as people are finding ways to bring a little piece of nature into their homes. The main goal of aquatic hobbyists is to replicate the natural living environment of the fish they wish to keep. To do that, they need to get the right aquarium supplies and equipment, know the specie’s basic care requirements, and properly maintain the aquarium.

One of the most important concepts that aquatic hobbyists need to learn is the nitrogen cycle which refers to the addition of nitrogen into the system and removal of nitrates. Hobbyist aquaria typically don’t possess adequate beneficial microorganisms in order to effectively break down nitrogenous compounds and prevent build-up. This problem is addressed through filtration using activated carbon and biological filters which remove nitrogen compounds and toxins and enhance bacterial colonization.

The Fluval 405 is an example of a trusted aquarium filter system sold in the market these days. The reason why Fluval 405 reviews are very encouraging is that it can support different types of filters including carbon and biological variants, quick and easy to start and maintain, and have an aqua-stop feature which eliminates leaks and mess. A number of those who submitted Fluval 405 reviews said that this powerful yet easy to use filtration system is ideal for those who are keeping piranhas because it can handle the large amount of water these exotic pets requires, which is as most experts suggest, 2 gallons per inch of mature fish length. Keeping piranhas necessitate installation of additional filtration, and majority of tanks that hold such exotic pets have submerged as well as external filters. With regards to aquarium supplies, filter media would have to be the main recurring cost given that they have to be changed from time to time. Carbon filters are replaced regularly at least once a month, while biological filters need to be replenished half at one time to allow proper seeding from older media to the new ones.

Oxygenation, temperature control and lighting devices are also integral components of an aquarium. To regulate these aspects, numerous aquarium equipment are available. These tools attempt to simulate oxygenation, temperature, and lighting conditions of the fish’s natural setting and thus minimize stress. Piranhas, for instance, aren’t too happy with well-lit, very cold or warm tanks. The ideal temp for piranhas is about 27 Celsius. Lighting is usually installed onto canopies.

These canopies will also decrease the amount of water leaving the system through evaporation which can contribute to excessive water hardness as well as keep contaminants from getting into the aquarium. It will also stop fish from jumping out of the tank. Oxygenation can be done with the use of air pumps and powerheads which agitate the water surface. Those who care for piranhas as pets typically put in live plants in their tanks to mimic the natural freshwater environment of the fish. In such a set-up, air pumps or powerheads that deliver oxygen through gentle surface water agitation is necessary to avoid excess CO2 loss.

Aquatic hobbyists need testing kits as well which allows easy analysis of aquarium water characteristics like pH and hardness to determine the right corrective action. Tests should be done weekly. You should put decorations as well. Keep in mind though that when selecting these decors you should take into account the types of fish you keep. Piranhas for instance love decors where they can hide in.

Getting the right aquarium supplies is important for your exotic pets, like piranhas, to thrive. One of the most popular filter systems in the market today is Fluval 450. Read Fluval 405 review by clicking here.

September 5, 2011

The Indian Stick Insect As A Pet

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 2:59 pm

Stick insects have several names. First of all the order to which they belong is known as either Phasmatodea or Phasmida. Then they are called stick insects in Europe and Australasia, but walking sticks or stick-bugs in America and Canada. Some also get called phasmids, leaf insects and ghost insects.

Needless to say, most of them look like twigs, sticks or leaves. Most stick insects come from South East Asia, but they are abundant in many tropical climates including Australia and the southern states of America. Most of the stick insects that are kept as pets are Indian (or Laboratory) stick insects and they grow to about four inches long and live for about a year.

There are very bizarre species of stick insect like the Vietnamese thorny stick insect and the pink-winged flying stick insect, but they are more difficult to keep. It is better to start with the Indian common variety. They will live quite contentedly in a vivarium, which is an aquarium for reptiles and insects.

Except for providing fresh food and water from time to time and taking out old food, there is no maintenance necessary for these creatures. They will need a fairly warm climate but that is not difficult to arrange with a heater, a thermostat and a timer.

Food is not a problem for common stick insects, The most popular foodstuffs given are privet and lettuce, but they also like ivy, oak, bramble, blueberry and raspberry. You have to put enough of these plants in the vivarium to give cover for the residents so that they do not feel out in the open and vulnerable but not so much that you never get a glimpse of them.

Make sure that there are lots of air holes in the vivarium, but for the benefit of security, they ought to be covered with fly screen or netting, because these creatures can wriggle through small openings. The tanks should be kept at 70F during the day and 60F at night with moderate humidity. They can be permitted to forage for food at will, but be particular that the water supply is very shallow, because they been known to fall in and drown.

You will be surprised to learn that the vast majority of Indian stick insects are female, but that they do not require a male to have fertile eggs. Young are capable of laying eggs after their sixth moult, all of which moults they consume. Stick insects can lay hundreds of eggs which simply drop down among the leaves on the floor of the vivarium.

If you would like to hatch them out, spray a little water on them to simulate light rain and they ought to hatch. If you do not want to be bothered with them, burn the contents of the tank after the last adult has passed away. You may require a license to keep stick insects, particularly in the United States..

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several topics, but is currently involved with finding a home remededy for mosquito bites. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Getting Rid of Mosquito Bites.

December 27, 2010

Tips On Growing Orchids – Thai Style

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 6:46 pm

Orchids have the reputation of being difficult to grow in the West. Gardeners shy off from trying to grow them because they think that they are difficult to grow and because they are costly. This is easily understood, but there is more to the story than that. The fact is that most countries have their own native orchid species, so it is not that difficult to grow orchids wherever you live, if you select the right variety.

The other side of the coin is that what most people in the West think of as orchids are orchids from exotic countries and they can be difficult to grow. I say a problem to grow, but that is not the whole story either. If you can make an environment similar to where the orchids come from, it need not be a problem at all.

A lot of the spectacular orchids are parasites, like mistletoe is a parasite plant in the temperate countries of the West. These orchids often grow on trees. In trees and on trees, that is. So, their natural environment is to become attached to the bark of a living tree or to be lodged in the fork of a branch.

The orchid will then draw its nutrients and water from the inside of its host much in the same way as does a flea or a bed bug. Another thing to be aware of is that if a plant lives under the canopy of a tree, it seldom, if ever, experiences direct sunlight. Wooded areas are also fairly humid. It is also worth mentioning that exotic plants usually come from warm or hot countries.

Therefore, if you can reconstruct these conditions of providing warmth, humidity and a host, growing foreign orchids should not become that much of a problem. And in truth, it is not, although in the West it might necessitate a greenhouse.

Thailand is home to numerous parasitic orchids, most of which grow on trees in the forests, which are warm to hot and humid, but most people do not live in those conditions. Most Thais live in either open villages or cities where conditions are not favorable to growing jungle orchid varieties. However, most Thai gardeners do not need or even have greenhouses.

Instead, if a Thai gardener is interested in nurturing jungle orchid varieties, he or she will purchase (or acquire) the root complex of a dead tree which also has a tree stump of, say, a metre attached. They will then move this tree stump in to a very shady place, say, under a canopy and grow their wild jungle orchids on that.

How is that done?, you may ask. Well, it is actually simplicity itself. First you acquire a sample of the orchid and then you attach it to the stump with a ’strap’ of something that will both permit the plant to expand and to breathe. Most Thais use some of the fibres from inside a coconut.

The gardener will belt the baby orchid to the stump using the coconut matting as a band-aid with either staples or small nails. By the time the orchid has sunken its roots into the host, the matting will have rotted away, as will probably the staples.

The only thing left to do is to keep the tree and the baby flower well watered so that it can suck the remaining nutrients out of the dead tree. They will thrive for numerous years under these conditions and the tree stump will be a living flower pot, of sorts.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now involved with Loy Krathong. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Package Holidays to Thailand.

July 24, 2010

Poisonous Florida Snakes

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 11:41 am

Florida snakes, together with the turtles, lizards, alligators and other reptiles are part of a complex wildlife structure that plays a marvelous role in the maintenance of Florida’s ecosystem. There are many species of Florida snakes. There are actually forty-four species living in unbelievably different habitats, ranging from salt marshes and fresh water marshes to dry uplands and coastal mangrove swamps to residential areas.

Only six Florida snakes are venomous, and they happily coexist with their non-poisonous cousins, even venturing into towns and cities too. The best way to stay out of trouble with snakes is to care enough to learn about their morphology and therefore become able to distinguish between the Florida snakes. A relaxed attitude of avoidance is the wisest thing a person could show in relation to snakes.

The Coral snakes and pit vipers are by far the most dangerous of the Florida snakes. They are identifiable by quite a range of mutual characteristics. Pit vipers which include the Rattlesnake, the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead all have in common: vertical eye pupils, a v-shaped head and facial pit sensors: one between the eyes and nostrils and the others along each side of the head.

The poison of these Florida snakes is haemotoxic, which means that their venom attacks the red blood cells, destroying the wall of the blood vessel and causing uncontrolled hemorrhage. Coral snakes on the other hand use neurotoxic venom, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body nerves and inducing paralysis.

Most of the snake bites reported every year in the United States are attacks by Florida snakes or by rattlesnakes to be precise. As their venom spreads very quickly throughout the body, the victim will die within thirty minutes without the immediate administration of anti-venom.

A big exception in this group of Florida snakes is the copperheads, the venom of which rarely requires an antidote. Their toxins are the least potent and so they are considered t be the least dangerous of the poisonous Florida snakes.

It is precisely because of the danger that they present that poisonous snakes get the most attention, although the most widespread of Florida snakes is the Black Racer, which is a non-toxic species that depends on its sharp fangs to capture its prey.

Although home owners usually try to remove snakes from their gardens, specialists point out that, without them, rodents would soon multiply out of control giving us an even more cause for alarm.

Therefore, unless there are any special reasons for worrying, like snakes nesting in large numbers in your garden or outhouses, there is no reason to interfere with the lives of these usually shy, useful animals.

Interested in the Florida snakes? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our new web site.

categories: snakes,reptiles,pets,exotic,animals,poison,venom,florida,toxins,tropical,USA,advice,outdoors,other

May 26, 2010

The Copperhead Snake.

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 11:50 am

Copperhead snakes are the snakes that cause the nastiest and most frequent snake-bite problems in the United States. The copperhead can be distinguished by its stout shape and its neck, which is distinct from the body as well as by its pale cross-band tan pattern that gets darker in the middle and on the sides.

Copperhead snakes have pale bellies, similar to the ground on which they live, but they sometimes appear pretty whitish. There are visible spots or pits on the heads of these snakes that look like darker tiny specks, but there is also a rather discolored stripe on the head area behind the eyes; this stripe looks very diffuse on top but it gets brownish towards the edges.

Copperheads live in a wide variety of habitats. They can be found under rocks, in woods and on river banks or in pond areas. Their choice of abode is dictated by the presence of prey, as they like to live on frogs, small rodents, cicadas, lizards, caterpillars and anything else that is no match for their size.

Among the best hide-outs for the copperhead, wood piles, stone slabs, walls, debris and abandoned or ruined buildings are the most common, which explains the possibility of a human encounter with them in such areas. These snakes are most active in the spring and summer months and as long as the weather stays warm, after which they enter the hibernation period.

The dens into which copperhead snakes retreat during winter are their homes year after year, and usually there are more specimens living in the same place. In summer time when it is too hot outside, copperhead snakes will stay in the shade during the day and go out to hunt at night. On pleasantly warm days, the copperhead will simply bask in the sun on rocks or wood debris. Copperheads do not hatch eggs, but give birth to live young. The number of young varies between one and fourteen. The mating period extends untill mid autumn.

The bites of copperhead snakes require immediate medical care since they are not only very painful but they may also lead to permanent scarring and tissue loss. Avoid copperhead snakes when you come across them. Many people get bitten when trying to kill them or pick them up.

Snakes will not attack you unless they feel threatened, then, you will see how fiercely they can defend themselves. Statistics reveal that these snakes have the highest incidence biting in the United States, because Copperhead snakes attack immediately without giving warning signs like other species do.

Interested in the Copperhead snake? To learn more about snakes visit http://caring-for-snakes.the-real-way.com our new web site.

categories: snakes,reptiles,unusual,pets,exotic,animals,florida,california,tropical,fauna,America,USA,outdoors,other

April 7, 2010

Cobras

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Owen Jones @ 7:17 pm

The snake called the spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species as it not only has a venomous bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of its prey and aggressors. Contact of this venom with your eyes can be very painful and even temporarily blinding, therefore, if you get cobra venom in your eyes, irrigate them immediately in order to prevent permanent tissue damage.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size – it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

Going by DNA reports, this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but differs in genes. It apparently originates from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been named the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Although they are highly dangerous when threatened cobras will rarely attack if you keep your distance from them, although the spit can travel very accurately for two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is rather slow in its attack and besides that, many bites prove to be non-venomous.

A study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims indicates that only 55% of the wounds involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey devastate the nerves (neurotoxin) inducing respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to seek an antidote.

Their colouration varies from light green-grey to black, although juveniles are yellow and black banded.This snake is widespread throughout south-eastern Asia.

Are you interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our brand-new web site.

categories: snakes,reptiles,unusual,pets,exotic,animals,florida,california,tropical,fauna,Thailand,Asia,outdoors,other

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