Once you commit to the idea of getting a pet, it is easy to be tempted with exotic pets. What seems like a great idea at first, however, may not be one in the long run if you are not prepared.

While many people think dogs and cats make great pets, there are plenty of other people who would prefer a more unusual pet. There are many exotic pets who can be great additions to your household so long as you know what you are getting into.

When deciding what type of exotic pet to purchase, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to become educated about the pet you are considering. You should never take responsibility for any type of pet on an impulse, and this is especially true with exotic pets. You need to know what you are getting into as some exotic pets can require elaborate setups as well as a large time commitment.

Exotic pets sometimes have unusual feeding habits. You need to make sure that you know what type of food they eat and how easy it is for you to find it. You also need to find out what type of housing is appropriate for the animal. What things do you need to add to their cage or aquarium to make life pleasant for your new pet? Do they require any special equipment like a UV light? You also should check to see if there is a veterinarian who will be able to provide health care for your pet. Many exotic pets can live for a very long time. You need to take into consideration its lifespan and the long term commitment you will be making if you bring it home.

You also need to consider what type of interaction you want between you and your pet. Are you content with a pet who does not like to be handled? Do you have children who might become injured if they try to pick up your exotic pet? Can your new pet get along with any existing ones in your home? Some exotic pets can potentially carry diseases or illnesses which could harm people in your home, especially the elderly or children. Also, there are many species which are illegal to keep as pets. Make sure you know your local laws before taking one home! A friend of mine had a baby hippo and ended up going to jail. I kid you not!

Although these are all things you need to consider, it does not all mean that you shouldnt buy an exotic pet. They might be an excellent choice for your particular situation. There are many exotic pets sale which are easy to care for and which love to be handled.

Hal Storm is with http://www.petstoreyeti.com - your free resource for exotic pet stores, services and pet information.

¶ 10:57 PM 0 comments

When properly fed and with appropriate UV light, the bearded dragon is a robust and healthy creature, typically living 8-12 years, occasionally even 15. However, like many reptiles, they will try to hide illness or injury. The first danger to deal with is substrate. Impaction is an issue where some indigestible substance is trapped in the intestines and prevents proper flow through the digestive system. The best substrate is a matter of some controversy, but all will agree that the following are bad. Corncob can cause impaction and grow fungus and bacteria. Walnut shell is sharp and also can cause impaction. Calcisand and Vita-Sand taste good to bearded dragons, especially those needing more calcium, but cannot be digested and leads to impaction. Repti Bark, wood shavings and Original Lizard Litter can lead to impaction. There are brands that claim to be biodegradable and safe to consume, but these should be viewed with suspicion. Bearded Dragons have very short intestinal tracts, and thus have a great deal of trouble metabolizing their food. Solid surfaces are often best, and easiest to clean. Do not use heated rocks to keep the enclosure warm, as dragons have trouble detecting heat under their bodies, leading to burns.

When suffering from ingestion, they will often straighten and extend their hind legs and act as if paralyzed. This is not the same as basking, if the lizard can walk, it is just acting normally. Increasing the heat or soaking in hot water might induce a bowel movement, but it is unlikely to save the creature. The best treatment is to limit the size of the food and avoid dangerous substrates.

The next step is proper feeding. Insects fed to bearded dragons should be gut loaded or well-fed before feeding them to the lizards. Mealworms are a poor choice for dragon feed, and only the white, freshly molted larvae are appropriate. At least one meal every two days should include a calcium supplement, sprayed or dusted on the food. Some recommend a multivitamin weekly, but excess vitamin A can be fatal, so this should not be overdone. You want the proper amount of nutrients, not as much as possible.

Vegetables should be sprayed with water before feeding to supply moisture, and the animals should be misted on their faces periodically: Hatchlings twice a day, adults several times a week. If they lick all of the water off, reapply until they stop. Some can learn to use a shallow pan, but it will need cleaning daily and immediately if defecated on.

The animals will need sunlight, a UV light or diet supplementation to provide D3. Sunlight through a window will not work. If bulbs are used, keep them very close to the enclosure, within inches, and replace them twice a year even if they do not burn out.

Do not house dragons with other reptiles, and all new reptiles should be quarantined. Wash your hands before and after handling each reptile, and between handling reptiles kept in different enclosures. Keeping the enclosure clean is also important to your pets health.

Remember, you should always consult a veterinarian before treating an animal, and many issues are simply not within the normal owners ability to handle.

Coccidiosis is an infection commonly and incorrectly spoken of as a worm infestation. Coccidia are single cell organisms that live in the intestinal walls and can cause diarrhea. Most dragons are normally infected, but only when the lizards are weak does this become a danger. Smelly or loose bowels instead of hard pellets are typical symptoms. Treatment normally involves a sulfa type antibiotic. Quarantine the animal and ensure it is well hydrated. Do not allow it to refuse food or water. A typical method is to use a syringe or dropper to feed the animal, but another method is to drip food or water onto the animal's nose. It will lick the substance off of the dirty nose, consuming it. Many vets recommend a pre-emptive de-worming once or twice a year, much as you would do with a dog. However, others are coming to believe that this can harm the health of the dragon and treatment should only take place when symptoms are detected. This may be a contributing factor to yellow fungus.

What is called the yellow fungus is believed to be more than one type of infection. The current belief is that many of the infected animals were treated with Albon, a common antibiotic. This is believed to have killed good bacteria in the digestive tract, allowing yeast and fungus growth to survive in the feces, which then gets on the skin of the lizard. Whatever the cause, it is infectious and lethal. It is recommended that a priobiotic treatment follow any antibiotic regimen. Some known cases were in animals never treated with antibiotics but kept on natural soil. The treatment regimen currently believed to be the best treatment is topical Nolvosan, keep it away from the eyes, then a rinsing followed by a treatment with lamisil. This should cover the infected area and surrounding areas, with another lamisil treatment in each 24-hour period. Acidophiliz+ is a well-regarded priobiotic, though others exist. Oral treatments must be supervised by the veterinarian and during the treatment period, do not feed the lizard fruits. Treatment should be extended two weeks after the last symptoms are seen. Use a solid substrate during treatment and clean it daily. A complicating factor is that it takes more than ten days for the infection to be cultured, and this often delays treatment until it is too late.

We know little about adenovirus. Quarantine any reptile suspected of infection as this can kill an entire collection. Unfortunately, the only sure way to determine if the creature has an adenovirus is autopsy. Most infected dragons had a history of lethargy, poor appetites and diarrhea. They are more likely young than old. The symptoms are frustratingly vague. Some infected reptiles recover, others die. The mechanism the virus uses to reach the host is unknown, and treatments have not yet been developed.

Bearded Dragons can be infested with mites. Mites are extremely difficult to remove and require a two-pronged attack. The animal and habitat must be treated. The animal should be given a dilute betadine bath. Allow the lizard to drink its fill before adding the betadine. If the animal defecates, drain the tub, clean it and repeat. The area around the eyes and nose should be treated with mineral oil after the bath. Dispose of all substrate, bagging it for removal, and scrape the corners and edges of the enclosure to remove all mites, eggs and mite feces. Wipe or spray the enclosure with soapy water, and remove the soap. Then use a 1/30 mixture of bleach for 10 minutes. Bake wooden furnishings for 2-3 hours at 250 degrees, longer for thicker pieces. Boil rocks for a half hour. Anything too large for these treatments should be treated with the bleach solution for 8 hours. Wipe down or clean anything else using these treatments as is appropriate to the substance. Use No-Pest strips or cat flea collars in the enclosures and seal the tank or enclosure as close to air tight as is possible. Leave this at least three hours. Bag and remove all cleaning materials for disposal, and let the enclosure sit for at least 8 hours before returning the dragons.

Egg binding is a potentially lethal problem. This most often occurs with a first clutch with infertile eggs. Discuss this with your veterinarian, as there are several possible causes. To prevent this, the best plan is to make sure the female is old enough, big enough and healthy enough to breed and has been fed the best possible diet with any needed supplementation. Protect the animal from stress and ensure a proper egg laying area is available.

Bearded Dragons are vulnerable to respiratory problems. This can include clogged nostrils due to mucus, raspy breathing through the mouth but not venting due to heat. The usual causes are excess humidity and cold. Contact your vet for treatment.

Too little vitamin D3 and Calcium can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease. The symptoms include shaking, twitching, or stiffness of limbs (especially rear legs), separation of the mouth, and difficulty chewing food. If caught early, sunlight and supplements can handle the situation.

Note that it is also possible to hurt your dragons with over supplementation, as some nutrients are dangerous if the supply is too large for the body to handle. Vitamin A toxicity usually produces swelling of the throat and eyes, followed by bloating of the body and lethargy.

Hibernation occurs naturally. In December to February, begin to reduce the length of the day by controlling the lighted enclosure. Gradually reduce the lighted period to 8-10 hours, and decrease the temperature to about 75-85 degrees in the day and 60 degrees at night. Provide material to dig a nest. Make sure the dragon is healthy and has no undigested food. If the dragon is up during the hibernation period, it is safe to provide small amounts of food. After about two months, begin increasing the temperature and light period back to normal.

For more information on bearded dragon diseases, try visiting http://www.beardeddragoncenter.com, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources on caring for bearded dragons.

¶ 4:34 PM 0 comments

Do you remember the villain in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Last Action Hero"? Do you remember his eyes? In almost every scene, he was wearing different and wild contact lenses. There are many examples in the entertainment industry of how the makeup and special effect departments are working together to create some amazing looks.

Some other examples of actors or entertainers wearing contact lenses to create wild eyes are Michael Jackson in his epic music video for "Thriller". Haley Barry, who plays Storm in the X-Men movies, wears white contact lenses when her character controls the weather. Many actors in the Star Wars movies wore contacts including Darth Maul and the Emperor. The same can be said of many extras in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

In movies whenever someone is portrayed as badly beaten and their eyes are bloodshot or damaged, that look is created with contacts. It is a lot easier than editing the film to change the look of the actor's eyes. Many actors portray characters that are blind. The cloudy look in their eyes is contact lenses.

Wild contact lenses are not limited to the entertainment industry anymore. Many companies have created hundreds of contact lenses, which they make available to the general public. These contacts are of the same quality as regular contact lenses. They can be made to correct your vision or they can be ordered without any extra power at all.

Remember, that all contact lenses can only be purchased with a doctor's prescription. Once an optometrist has examined you, you can purchase these contact lenses either through the doctor's office or you can shop for them yourself through catalogs or online. There are dozens of sites that offer discounted rates on hundreds of styles.

The choices are too many to mention them all. Some of the types of wild contact lenses you can buy are animal eyes like cats, reptiles, and wolves. Another category is based on horror or science fiction. You can have alien eyes or zombie or vampire eyes. Some are meant to look very grotesque like having the look of a gaping shark's mouth with teeth in your eye or all black lenses that give the impression that you have no eyeball at all. There are many whimsical contact lenses, as well. For example, there are ladybugs, flowers, peace signs, hearts and even computer circuitry.

Wild contact lenses can be a great way to showcase your personality. Next time you are online, look up all of the different types of contact lenses and let yourself go wild!

Want more information on wild contact lenses and what to expect when buying contact lenses for the first time? Try visiting http://www.contactlensesguideonline.com, a popular website that offers tips, advice and resources related to contact lenses, daily contact lenses, night and day contact lenses and free sample of contact lenses.

¶ 10:12 AM 0 comments

More than curious kids, adults and homeowners should also ask what a termite looks like. You should ask yourself the same question. Asking what a termite looks like can help save you a lot of trouble.

What Does a Termite Look Like?

Understanding some basic facts on termite would lead us to identifying it. There are surprisingly more than 2000 species of termites all over the world. Fortunately, the U.S. only has a fraction of that number at about 41-55 species. Most other species live in tropical regions which is probably the reason why there are only a few species in America. It is believed though that cold weather does not really kill termites but only causes them to reduce their speed of activity. Nonetheless, they can still cause a lot of damage to residential areas.

As social insects, termites live in colonies with a queen, king, soldiers and workers. In this sense, they are much like ants. In nature and the ecology, these insects actually play an important role. Although we may think of termites as enemies, they help in nature's natural process of recycling. As plants and trees rot, termites help them become dust and humus.

Caste System

Identifying what a termite looks like would depend greatly on what species a termite belongs to. Termites can come from different species may have slightly different physical traits. It also depends however on what group a termite belongs to in a colony. The answer to the question, what does a termite look like can be answered by looking at a termite's role.

Swarmers are also called reproductives. Depending on the species, a swarmer may be brown, yellow brown, dark brown or grayish brown. Some may have shorter legs while others may have long ones. One distinctive feature of a swarmer however, is that it has four wings that are of the same length but are longer than the body. Unlike ants with wings, these termites do not have bent antennae and no constriction in the abdomen area. These termites are responsible for spreading the termite race.

Soldier termites look different. Just like soldier ants, soldier termites are big with large heads and crushing mandibles. They may come in a yellowish brown color. These large insects defend the colony from other insects and invaders.

The termites from the worker group also looks different. Workers are definitely smaller than soldiers and slightly smaller than swarmers too. Most termites that we worry over are creamy white and translucent. These insects are actually blind and do not have wings but they can be the most destructive group from the human point of view. These members of the colony are primarily responsible for eating wood.

These worker termites also function in their society as food gatherers, nest builders and larvae carers and feeders. Except for the wings, they are similar to swarmers since they do not have narrow waists and they have antennae that point outward.

Identifying what a termite looks like is your key on how to kill termites for good. Learn more.

¶ 9:48 AM 0 comments

If I weren't bit by a fireant the other day, I would never have thought of writing about ants. Despite the cortisone cream, fireant bites itch, burn, and take quite a few days to heal.

In primitive human societies, ant bites were considered as having healing powers; therefore, ant bites were used in initiation ceremonies as a test of endurance. That must mean, I am initiated to something without my consent and not for the first time either.

Taking their viewpoint into account, I really don't blame the ants much. To them, we must seem so careless and so much bigger than Gulliver's giants. They must suffer multiple casualties everyday, even if our clumsy feet commit their murders unwittingly. When we step on an ant, the crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone in high concentration. That sends other ants nearby into war frenzy and causes them attack anything and everything around the nest.

This waste of ant-life is increased thousands-fold under Florida's sudden showers that flood their commune and by the pest-control man who pays a visit once a month causing ant-martyrs because of the extermination industry. I watched that Terminex guy at his work, fighting a biological warfare at its best. Wherever he found an ant hill, he put in some granules and watered it. This much stress would make any species go crazy and strike back with vengeance.

To top their aggravation, fireants' forefathers play a role in their behavioral genes. It is believed that ants have evolved from the wasps and they must have kept the aggressive behavior of wasps somewhere in their DNA structure because their bite hurts and gets swollen just like a wasp's bite. Worse yet, some ant species, called killer ants, have a tendency to attack much larger animals during their foraging or in defending their nests.

The ant colony works as one unit. In that unit are many ants that act, according to their individual function, for the whole colony to make the ant life practical and effective. Even if there is separateness among the ants, their existence is one complete element. An ant colony does not consist of tiny whole things linked together as in human societies; each ant is a part of the whole without being separate. The ants' oneness is in harmony with the forces of nature.

Imagine being without legs or arms and needing total care from the others in your youth. Well, that's an ant's life for you. Ants do not develop their legs until fully grown; they depend completely on the nurse-ants. When the baby ants develop, they get six legs with prominent elbows, or should we say knees, and off to work they go. The worker ants spent their internship of few days in caring for the queen and the young. After that, they graduate to harder and harder tasks, from digging and nest work to foraging food and defending the nest.

Most of these worker ants are females. Maybe the ant colonies, too, depend on womens volatile and high-strung view of things. Yet, there's a place for males in the commune also. The males act as drones and work with the queen to pad up the population. That must mean the females are the fallen soldiers who go out to face the world daily and possibly perish in the path of duty.

The queen--in the beginning of a colony--has quite a few jobs, but as the colony enlarges, her duties are delegated to others, and she becomes the mother of the commune who just lays eggs. Motherhood must have a very respectful and an almost divine throne, since ants appoint body guards to the queen and the body guards form a ring around her. That ring moves with her and expands or contracts according to the situation.

The eggs, or the ant-children, do not belong to the queen, but are the communal possession. As soon as the eggs are laid, they are carried to a separate room to be cared by attendants or nurses. These ants, though not a separate caste--being vigorous and efficient--are at the prime of their lives, and their care of the young, as witnessed by observers, is meticulously and very lovingly administered.

As soon as each young ant is out of the nursery, it gains responsibility and the spirit of the commune directs her to a chosen occupation. The young ant's role in life is not haphazard and directionless like the young of the human.

If we pause and think, we may understand that, from many angles, there is enlightenment to be gained from the ant colonies, but the most important point is, all ants of the colony act as one whole, making separateness an alien concept. Separateness causes discord in the harmony of life, allowing the ego to abhor or look down upon others.

Joy Cagil is an author on a site for Creative Writers (http://www.Writing.Com/)Her education is in foreign languages and linguistics. She has also trained in psychology, science, and mental health. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

¶ 3:28 AM 0 comments