Animal Info

 
 

Should I get a Real Live Catfish or a Stuffed Plush Catfish?

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Have you ever wanted to get a fish for a pet? If you have then you have to think about what kind of fish would make a great pet?

Hmmm, I would think that the best kind of pet fish would be a catfish. Heck, if fish are good pets, and cats are good pets then a catfish must be a great pet.

Let's check it out shall we?

Well, these fish are sinkers. Yes, they have a big boney head and a small gas bladder. That maybe why catfish are bottom feeders (to bad I can't put it on my floor to vacuum up crumbs).  Some catfish have huge mouths so they can suck up as much food as possible. Thank goodness most of these fish feed by sucking up food and not biting and ripping off pieces like a shark.  Some types of catfish even use their super suctioning mouth to hold on to things in fast moving water.

The cute thing about a catfish is their barbels. They are the whiskers that the fish uses to find food.  Where as a real furry 4 legged cat only uses its whiskers to feel things..A catfish can not only feel things with their barbles..The barbles have taste buds on them.  Some people will say that a catfish can stick. Their whiskers through your hand Now, I don't think they can but, they have very sharp spiny dorsal and side fins that will stick you.  There are a few species of catfish that have a venom or toxin in their fins that can make a cut even worse. I'm not which type of catfish it is but, I know I don't want anything to do with it.

Holy cow…there are 2,000 – 3,000 species of catfish that we know of.

Since they have all sizes of catfish to choose from and maybe I want a large one.  So, that would be the Mekong Giant Catfish.  But, I think it might be way too big for my house. Not sure if I can afford an aquarium for a 10 foot long, 600 pound fish.

Maybe I better checkout the smallest type of catfish there is…that would be the Candiru. Here again we have a problem, these can grow up to 16 inches but, most are very small. In fact they are so small that they can swim up a human's urethra.  I definitely don't think I would like the idea of a parasitic pet.

I would think about a walking catfish from Southeast Asia, as that would be kind of fun. Get me a leash and take my fish for a stroll. But, that may be a hard fish to keep in the aquarium. If it did get out…it might just be lunch for a real cat.

If I ever wanted to have a good pet to zap my friends I could get me an Electric Catfish from Africa. They really do send out a shock of about 350 volts. Too bad I would always be afraid to clean its aquarium.

Well, after looking at all these types of catfish...Not a single one of them has fur. Nope, they don't even have scales.  So, they really don't seem to huggable, unless you like snuggling up to a slimy fish that can stab you.  Therefore maybe I will be better off just getting me a stuffed plush fish. That would be a whole lot safer and less trouble. Sure, I will never be able to eat it but, I couldn't eat a pet anyway.

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Image of Catfish credited to Big.Dawgs on Flickr


 
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The giant anteater is a somewhat strange looking animal. But, it is built to do exactly 1 job…eat termites and ants. I have had my fair share of problems with ants invading and have wished that I could have a pet anteater.  Not sure how my neighbors would feel about seeing one of these huge animals in my yard. After doing a bit of research, I think the only anteater I should get would be a Plush Stuffed Giant Anteater.  I just wish a stuffed toy could still help get rid of the ants.

So what is it about a giant anteater that may not make it a great pet?

For starters they can grow to be 5-7 feet long. They also get up to 140 pounds.  The size alone may not be a real problem since many people have dogs that are just as big as or bigger than an anteater.  I have seen the damage a dog with a long tail can do in a house.  But, a giant anteater has a tail that is 2 feet long and extremely bushy. Having 16 inch hair on its tail might be good for dusting of the coffee table but, it would probably wipe more than just the area you wanted. While the anteater uses its tail to help keep it warm like an attached blanket, not sure it would share with me if we were lost out in the cold.

Anteaters walk slowly on all fours but, they don't walk on their paws. They walk on their curled up claws. Yes, the claws could be a problem.  Their claws can be up to 4 inches long. When an anteater feels threatened by a large animal they will use their tail to balance them as the stand on their back legs and fend off the danger with their front feet and huge claws. These slow solitary animals can fight off big cats like jaguars with their claws when needed. If a big cat is afraid of a mad anteater, then I would be too.

These giant ant bears are solitary animals and may not like sharing a yard with other animals.

Now the giant anteater also has some things that are super cool and unlike most other animals. So, they would make a very unique pet.

These anteaters have become so specialized at eating ants and termites in mounds and rotting trees that they don't have a need for teeth. And teeth would not really be useful since the anteaters jaws are fused together; they only have the small opening at the end of their long slender face. They also have a tongue that is around 20 inches long. They have a sticky substance that covers the tongue so the bugs stick to it. It's like having a sticky ant trap that delivers the ants right into the anteater's mouth to be swallowed whole. Now, they can flick their tongue 150+ times a minute, right into the ant mound. Since they only feed at 1 mound for a few minutes, they have to get as many as possible in a short time.

Why do they feed at a mound for only a few minutes? Because after they use their claws to open the mound, and stick their face in, the ants are mad and start biting the intruder. The anteater also doesn't destroy the entire mound so it can come back and eat at another time. Since they eat around 35,000 ants a day, they need to ensure they don't kill off their entire food source.  I'm not sure how long my little mounds of ants would feed my pet anteater. I don't really have an urge to import any ants. (So maybe a stuffed anteater would be a better choice.)

Giant anteaters are very good swimmers. Could you imagine what the neighbors would think if I brought a giant anteater down to the community pool?

If I were really serious about getting a giant anteater for a pet, I would need to think of it as a long term commitment as they live for about 14 years.

So, even though they are super cool animals…I don't think I will be getting one for a pet. I'll just let them stay in Central and South America where they are living happily in the damp forest. The fact that they are also on the threatened species list would also make it very hard to get one approved as a pet.

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Image by Scott Liddell from the Morgue Files

 
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Cute Stuffed Bed Bug
I was out looking on the web to find information about a stuffed plush animal. Not just any stuffed animal but a Stuffed Bed Bug. As I was doing my research I figured why waste the info when I could just share it with everyone. It might just come in handy if you come across any bed bugs that are not cute little stuffed animals.

Bed Bugs are nasty little vampires that hide during the day and come out at night to feast on mammals. That mammal could likely be a person sleeping in a room that has become a bed bug cottage.

These are reddish brown, flat, oval shaped bugs that are about the size of an apple seed. They are attracted to heat and carbon dioxide, 2 things that a sleeping human can't do anything to control. The little beast then crawl over to the dinner plate, YOU, and "bite" you. They have 2 feeding tubes, one is inserted to inject saliva that contains anticoagulants to break down your blood. While the other tube sucks out the blood. They are nice enough to also inject a bit of anesthetics with the saliva so maybe you won't feel it as much. Thoughtful little bugs aren't they?!

Bed bugs have been around for thousands of years. They are hardly little bugs that can go up to a year without eating. By eating, I mean sucking the blood out of you. They had been a problem way back in history, until some really smart people found a way to kill them off. They used DDT...yes, it killed off the bed bugs but was also extremely toxic to people & pretty much anything that would walk, fly, or swim. Some species of bed bugs can live for up to 15 minutes in -25 degrees F.

So from about World War 2 until now, you rarely ever heard about bed bugs in the United States. I for 1 am happy that I have not encountered the little monsters. Now it seems as more and more places in the USA are finding the critters of the night are back. Many hotels, hospitals, and apartments are reporting infestations of the bugs. It is believed that most have been carried in from other countries by international travelers.

Getting rid of these dastardly creatures is another problem. Obviously, DDT is not an option. Bats won't eat them...not that you would wnt to bring a family of bats into your bed room but, it was a thought. The good news is that the bed bug does have some natural predators. Cockroaches, mites, ants, centipedes, and spiders will eat them.

Ok, so maybe that is only good news if you are the Adams Family and have those other insects for pets. Me, I'd rather keep all of them out.

There have also been studies on killing bed bugs with such natural ingredients as Neem Oil, Black Cohosh, tobacco, eucalyptus, and even cannabis.

One of the other natural things you can try that does work well on ants is diatomaceous earth. It is said to cut into or puncture holes in the hard exoskeleton which leads the bug to die of dehydration.

Other things you might do to help cut down or kill as many of the critters as possible, even after contacting an exterminator.

Hint - After the use of DDT and other pesticides, bed bugs are very resilient so do everything you can to prevent or help get rid of the problem.

You can bag up clothes, linens, stuffed animals...and try some of the following to kill your pet bed bugs and their eggs.

Put the bags in a freezer. This would mean putting outside at below 32 degrees F or in a deep freezer for several days. Some bed bugs will not die from this, they will just go into a hibernation mode.

If it is summertime and you can put the bagged items in a enclosed automobile where temps will get to at least 115 degrees F for a few hours...this should cook the little vamps and their eggs.

You can also put all the clothes, pillows, plush toys...into a dryer for at least 20 minutes on high or medium heat. This should also kill all stages of the bed bugs.

To help cut down on the number of bed bugs you are trying to get killed off...VACUUM! You will never get a vacuum into all the crevasses, wall outlets, base boards....So this will not rid you of the problem, it is just a way to help. Always place the vacuum bag into a sealed plastic bag & dispose of it. I would even take that plastic bag and put it out in the hot car trunk for a day just to make sure.

As far as bed mattresses, couches, and other large furniture goes...you may just have to dispose of it and get new once all of the bugs and their eggs are gone from your home.

There you go. This should give you a bit of important Bed Bug Information to help keep you and your family save and not made into lunch for bed bugs.

Now I need to go back to the Plush Stuffed Animal project that started all of the creepy crawly bug stuff. ;-)


 
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Reef Sharks
There are over 360 species of sharks in the seas today. Some are yet to be discovered, and their sizes vary.

The largest shark is the Whale Shark it can reach up to 45 feet long and some thirty thousand pounds.

The Basking Shark grows up to 30 feet long and about eight thousand pounds. These are two of the biggest sharks in the world and are not dangerous. They amazingly enough eat tiny plankton by filtering it from the water with what are called gill rakers.

The smallest shark is thought to be the lanternfish maxing out around seven and a half inches.

Some of the most common sharks you hear about are the Hammer Head Shark, Tiger Shark, Dogfish Shark, White Tipped Reef Shark, Mako Shark, and the shark with the most attacks on humans is the Great White Shark. With 360 species it is expected that there are others that have not been discovered yet.  If you would like to own your very own great white shark puppet we know where you can find an awesome one.

Sharks are carnivorous in nature and happen to be some of the best hunters in the world. They have the ability to smell the blood of prey over two kilometers away giving them better chances to devise the best capturing technique. As many animals sharks start training to get food when they are still young. In fact, as little as they are, they can kill bigger preys much faster than a lioness can. Once a shark has satisfied its hunger the leftovers abandon for the smaller fish. Their meal can last them for days since they are very high energy and require a super high fat diet. A large meal can stay in the stomach without being digested for a very long time.

Sharks are almost the only animal that does not sleep. They may seem to be sleeping when they are resting but they are still awake and alert. They also happen to be super healthy creatures and are the only animals that have never been known to suffer from cancer. Sharks seem to have something that very few other living creatures do including us humans. In fact, their cartilage is being used by scientist to develop anti-cancer drugs.

Sharks are some of the oldest animals in existence today. Scientists are debating if they were here before the dinosaurs. Another interesting fact about sharks is that their bodies are heavier than sea water. When they die, their bodies sink instead of floating as compared to most other animals including humans.

Sharks rule the sea, they are fierce animals hence the reason why they are feared. However, most sharks are not as dangerous as people think. In fact, more than 90 per cent of those who are attacked by sharks usually survive the attacks because the bites are exploratory. It is thought that surfers are mistaken for prey, tan lines, bright colors or shiny jewelry can attract them. Also sharks make an attack then retreat to watch their victim die then move in to feed. I personally like playing with the shark Stuffed Animals it is much safer and a ton more fun.