Pet Stockings?

If you’re like Kurt and I we spoil our pets, and Christmas is no exception. We do, though, have to control ourselves so Gatsby and Lucia each have a small stocking at each house (my apartment, my parent’s house, and Kurt’s parent’s house). Each stocking gets a few small things and each pet gets a larger present that we open for them when we are with them. (Gatsby normally is at my parent’s house so we open his gift with him on Christmas Eve and Lucia’s gift is opened Christmas day when we’re with her at Kurt’s parent’s house.) This not only helps us not spend a ton of money, but it also gets our families involved a little.

So today I wanted to talk about some fun stocking stuffers that you can use for your pets to fill their stockings this Christmas!

Treats!

Treats will always be your pet’s favorite, and some seasonal treats are always great! For Dogs and Cats these treats are easy to find at your local pet store, but for some smaller or less common animals try some seasonal vegetables, fruits, and nuts. For Lucia we always give her a few walnuts (which I can never find except around Christmas time) and for Gatsby we typically give him some turkey, cranberries or pumpkin. (I sometimes sneek him a half a bite of pie, but you shouldn’t give them too much of it or very often. It’s a SMALL once a year treat for him.)

Toys

This is simple, but your pet toys to put into their stockings! They’ll love it!

Decorations

If you want to add some decorations to your pet’s cage you can throw a few decorations into their stockings. It isn’t so much of a them treat as a you treat, but it’s something fun! You can also get some chewable decorations for your small animals so that it can serve two purposes instead of just one.

Outfits

I’m not always a fan of pet clothing, but cute little outfits for them to wear that day can always be fun for them and for you. You can get them a new sweater, a hat, or even a bow tie! (Gatbsy is going to get a tutu this year, shhh…. don’t tell him.)

So those are some small stocking stuffer ideas for your pet this Christmas. What is your pet getting for Christmas? Let me know in the comments down below!

See you soon,

~Amanda

NiteangeL® Small Animal Activity Playground Review

Earlier this summer I decided to purchase the NiteangeL® Small Animal Activity Playground, Suspension Bridge, Climbing Wall, Rope for Lucia off of Amazon. When I purchased it I didn’t have high expectations, but what I got let me down.

If you have a hamster you pry know how hard it is to find toys and activities of appropriate sizes that you can actually use. I had high hopes for Amazon, and after spending days searching through pages of search results I found something within my budget that I had some hope for.

When I finally got the package I was left almost in tears. I didn’t expect anything great, but what I did have was not what I wanted.

When I first opened the package everything was cool, it had a little bit of glue that I noticed right off the bat, but Lucia doesn’t chew much so it wasn’t going to be a problem. As I tried to put the toy together I started finding all sorts of issues. To start I couldn’t get it together. Nothing lined up and it wasn’t until the next day when I saw my boyfriend that we were actually able to put it together (almost breaking it, but hey).

The day after he left I really started to look at the toy, and found that one of the ropes (the one with the wooden piece) had tape in it. I wasn’t sure how Lucia would react to the rope, and since I was afraid she would chew on it I tried to get the tape out so that she wouldn’t be able to chew on that piece. Let’s just say my frustration continued when I broke that piece and ended up having to throw it away.

If you’ve seen recent pictures of Lucia’s cage you know that this toy is still in there because she really does love it, but I won’t be buying another one for her for a long time. I honestly feel as if I wasted my money and I don’t want to do that again. This toy isn’t 100% safe, and you need to do a lot of work to make it safe before giving it to your hamster.

Honestly this product gets a 2/5 and I will not be buying it again.

Have you had an experience like this? What’s your favorite place to buy hamster toys?

See you soon,

~Amanda

 

Lucia’s Cage Update

Long Time no talk!

Sorry about the last week or two, I’ve been very busy, but that means that this week is catch up week! So prepare for content.

Today we are going to talk about Lucia’s cage because a lot has been going on with that recently. Kurt and I are still splitting her 50/50, so he has to agree to things with her which can be difficult when you can’t get in contact with him.

So, Lucia’s cage has for the most part been the same recently. Her old flying saucer kinda died so I bought her a new one until the next time I see Kurt and I can have him fix the green one. With the goal size of Lucia’s cage I’m not too worried about having an extra wheel laying around.

Speaking of the goal size of  Lucia’s cage I’m excited to announce that The Tube Kingdom will rise again in late August right before the school year starts for me. I’m very excited about this because I recently found a three level critter trail cage that I’m excited to let her use. She’s really been missing the tubes lately so I’ve been trying to put more of them in her cage, but it isn’t the same. We are just starting to draft some layouts for Lucia’s cage, which are looking really cool.

Kurt and I are also really excited to announce a new series on my Pet Youtube Channel and this blog! Since we are beginning to make progress in rebuilding our cage we want to show you guys how to do it too. We’re excited to share our process with you and possibly make a DIY cage more possible for you in the future. We can’t wait to show you what we build and how we do it. 

So Lucia’s cage hasn’t changed much, but it’s getting ready for a huge makeover, so watch out! We are also already starting to get Lucia ready to move, which is a month away. It’s sort of weird to do this but it’s a lot of going through what we have for her (treats, toys, bedding, houses, balls) and throwing out of cleaning what needs to be done.
So yeah, they’re aren’t a ton of updates besides looking forward to building The Tube Kingdom.

Question of the Day: What does your hamster’s cage look like? What are your plans to upgrade/change it?

See you soon,

Amanda

6 month Alfie Waterbottle Update

6 months ago I posted a review about the Alfie Water Bottle. It’s Been 6 months after that review and I wanted to post an update about how the water bottle and stand are holding up.

I’m actually fairly surprised that the water bottle is holding up so well. At the moment it just needs a fairly good cleaning and it will be as good as new. I haven’t had any issues with leaking or feeling the need to replace it at any time and I like that it holds so little water so that I am not wasting as much water every day when Lucia doesn’t drink it.

I recently did a test and after 3 days of not emptying the water Lucia hadn’t even drank half of it, so for a dwarf hamster the water supply is pretty good.

The plastic stand is a little rough for wear, but that’s what happens. Lucia managed to chew part of it so that it looks as rough as it does, but besides that it works just fine. I don’t suggest this as a hide like how it’s advertised, though, because that’s when Lucia chewed part of the water bottle. I strongly recommend blocking off the hide part so that your hamster can’t get into it. I believe that it was just too small for Lucia, she panicked, and attempted to chew her way out as a result (instead of using the small door).

The “food bowl” part of it still goes unused except for some treats. Like I mentioned in my previous review it’s just too small for the majority of hamsters to be able to use as a food bowl, unless they don’t sit on their food while they eat it.

Although this products has several flaws in design I still use it regularly and is a great deal for the price.

See you soon,

Amanda

Pet Facebook Groups

Today I really wanted to talk about Facebook groups that center around pets and how to care for them. Currently I’m in a few Facebook groups (two for hedgehogs one for hamsters) and they are basically my entire feed. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, because I’ve made a few friends through these groups, but between the two you basically have my entire news feed.

Lucia’s Cage May 2016

Once again it was time to clean out Princess Lucia’s cage, but what’s up this month with it? Let’s look….

Petsitter Tips

If you don’t know Gatsby has been hanging out with my parents for the last two-ish weeks and is coming home this Sunday.

So, as a thank you to my parents I decided to write about tips for finding a petsitter and tips for if you find yourself in the position of petsitting someone’s pet.

Finding a Petsitter

• Start with those who interact with your pet the most: When looking for a pet owner ask those that your pet is familiar with first. This will make it so that your pet doesn’t get as stressed when you go away and instead of a new person your pet knows that they are safe with this person.
• If you need to go to someone you don’t know ask what experience they have with your pet’s species: This seems really obvious but if you’re like me and have an exotic pet it is a very important question to ask. Someone’s experience level with your pet shows how familiar they are with taking care of your pet and how detailed you need to be when writing things down for them.
• Ask the neighborhood kids: Kids typically LOVE pets and asking them to take care of your pet not only lets them get a little bit of experience with pets but also boosts their confidence that they did a good job. It’s also helpful if their parents are thinking about getting them a pet.
• Try not to send your pet to a different house: If you have a caged animal they typically don’t like being moved. If possible have the sitter come over to your house to help cut down on your pet’s stress.

Being a Petsitter

• Feel free to ask questions: If you don’t feel like you know something please ask. It shows responsibility on your part and the owner will be more than happy to answer.
• Go over what you need to do with the owner: Before the owner leaves ask if you can go over everything with them one more time. Telling the owner what you need to do on a daily basis so that you know that you aren’t missing anything.
• Have fun
• Make sure you have all emergency numbers: Although it is rare for something to go wrong make sure that the emergency numbers are easy to find in case of an emergency. This will cut down on your stress if something happens and it will help you act much quicker and help the pet.
• Go over before the owner leaves and hang out with the animal: If you don’t really know the pet that you’re watching defiantly go over and play with them so that you start to get to know the pet’s personality. This is also good for the pet because you aren’t  a stranger and they associate you with something fun.
• Check in with the owner if they are ok with it: While the owner is gone send them pictures and videos. They will love to see their pet and it will put them at ease while they’re gone.
• Don’t worry! Everything will be fine!

Pet Updates!

Finally!!! It’s the last week of classes!!

So if you’ve ever gone to school you know how happy everyone gets when you reach the last week of classes, and although I’m very happy about this I always get nervous because of my two pets.

So what are my two angels doing this summer? What have they been up to?

Vineger?!?!?!?

I’ve never really mentioned this on my blog, but I thought of it over the weekend while I was talking to Kurt about the “Deep Clean” for my pets that will be going on this weekend.

This weekend Lucia’s cage is getting a Deep Clean, which means that Gatsby is getting a deep clean, which means I’m going to have to clean my tub before my roommate or I use it.

So, how do I do a deep clean? Why is this post titled Vinegar?

Stay with me here, let’s keep going.

A Photoshooot With Lucia