So Finally You’ve Decided to Get a Gecko!

So, finally, you’ve decided to get a gecko as a pet! After careful deliberation, you got one and that’s great! Having geckos in the house, according to tradition, create good omen. Well, whatever favor and luck it could give, sure makes this one a good-buy. Geckos can make excellent pets, exotic as they are, these reptiles are convenient to keep, inexpensive to maintain and easy to take care compared to other pets.

Now, that you have one or are still planning to buy one, geckos are easily sold at pet shops and do not require so much space. Before anything else, it is best to know a little something about these reptilian creatures.

Millions of years ago, along with dinosaurs, all but four of the reptiles were wiped-out from the earth’s existence. Among the four that remained, the largest of which are these cold-blooded animals called lizards. They thrive in the environment and are practically dependent of heat from its habitat. Today, lizards have about 3,000 species ranging from the smallest size of a Caribbean Dwarf Gecko at 35mm to the biggest size of a Komodo dragon at 3 meters. Although it would be daunting to have a Komodo dragon as a pet, the wisest choice there is to have a gecko!

You can tuck them in anywhere with a relative small space requirement in your home and they wouldn’t require constant bathing, no feathers or hair that continually shed and best of all, they do not need to be walked and trained given hectic schedules. Essentially, geckos live on the ground given the ability to climb, but with some limitations. Geckos that are smaller are soft and delicate, so it takes proper care and correct handling while those that are bigger are much easier to handle. Life span of most geckos is up to 20 years, so that sounds a through-thick-and-thin kind of care taking. They feed on meal worms, crickets and other locusts and by the way, geckos are nocturnal creatures and are most hyped-up when almost everyone has cooled down.

Although lizards in general tend to be intimidating and threatening because of their rough scales, mysterious bright eyes, fat tails, strong legs and reptilian stance, there are still a growing number of reptile enthusiasts that keep coming back for more reptiles to keep as pets, particularly geckos. There are five popular gecko varieties that are equally great choices for beginners and these are:

1.  Giant day gecko

2. White – lined gecko

3. Leopard gecko

4. Crested gecko

5. Fat-tailed gecko

6. House gecko

7. Tokay gecko

Pet 101 - Geckos

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Gorillas and Sign Language

The subject of gorillas and their capacity to comprehend sign languages has long been debated and argued about by experts and scientists, just as the gorilla’s said capacity to comprehend sign languages has been the subject of countless short stories and feature length movies.

The 1995 released Born to be Wild would be one good example of such featured stories, given how Katie, the main protagonist gorilla in the movie, managed to communicate with a human juvenile delinquent named Rick.

Thought he movie did effectively illustrate how Katie managed to engage in a conversation with Rick, a real gorilla named Koko is known for having established an understanding capacity for sign languages, one which has been heavily studied and looked into by researchers.

Koko’s handler, Francine Patterson, contests that Koko is capable of understanding an approximated 2,000 words of English, as well as comprehend a thousand signs which are based on the sign-standards of the American Sign Language.

However, other scientists and researchers are convinced that Koko is simply “imitating” the signs without exactly comprehending them, given the fact that Koko’s “training” works with a rewards system.

Still, a number of researches are convinced that gorillas do actually comprehend the meaning of signs, though not at human-level degrees, given their general capacity in expressing signs or aggression using their hands.

Given that Koko appears to be the only gorilla capable of understanding sign languages, it appears that further studies and inquires are required to fully asses the gorilla’s actual capacity in communicating via hand languages.

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Dog and human communicable diseases - Rabies

The subject of dogs and diseases which are communicable by humans was touched up in the 1982 animated feature Plague Dogs, with the movie based on the novel of the same title by Richard Adams.

Given the fact that human contact with dogs is something which can be described as “commonly encountered”, the story was a huge success since it covered different aspects dogs are known to encounter, as the story’s plot is backdropped by a danger which all dog owners must be fully aware of and should be wary about – the possibility of a doggy disease being passed to dog owners.

The Zoonosis Case

With dog-and-human-infecting diseases described as zoonosis, the case of diseases or viruses found in dogs infecting humans has been well documented over the years, with most zoonosis cases described to be not really playing a major threat to the health and safety of human beings.

However, this doesn’t mean that all doggy diseases should be treated as minor threats, with some diseases actually doing significant harm to the overall health and wellness of human beings.

Here is one of (the most popular of) them:

Rabies – as a virus, rabies is known for infecting the central nervous system, typically introduced into human bodies through a dog bite. Though rare, “non bite” cases of rabies are also known to have infected human beings, through saliva or mucosal contact with rabies infected dogs.

When in humans, the virus is known to go through a set of stages, covering incubation, prodrome, acute neurologic period, coma and then, death.

It is quite serious as a condition, and should a person get bitten by an unknown dog, checks for rabies is important given the impact and effect the disease is known to have in human beings.

As dogs are found almost anywhere where humans are, the risk of acquiring doggy diseases is one which everyone should pay close attention to, since there are actual diseases which do affect dogs and human beings alike.

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Medusa Creeps Her Way through As Guiness World’s Longest Snake

Set to topple- off Fluffy’s long-standing record of 24 feet last year, Medusa creeps her way through as soon to be Guiness World’s longest snake breaking it at a length of 25 feet and 2 inches. Slated to be part of Guiness World Records 2013 edition, Guiness officials will be visiting her soon to verify this new and record-breaking title.

Medusa is a reticulated python that knows no bounds. Seven years ago, the 8-year old reptile used to be only 24 inches long and has grown tremendously through the years. What is interesting to note is that unlike Fluffy who has been held captive in Columbus Zoo and Aquarium until she died, Medusa on the other hand works as a major highlight for a haunted attraction, The Edge of Hell, produced by Full Moon Productions based in Kansas City. Business is ticking since Medusa spends most of her time helping build some good business by scaring people who are inside the attraction searching for some frightening adventure. Now that Halloween is fast- approaching, more and more people in Kansas will have a lot of fun in store!

Weighing 350 pounds, it would take 15 people or even more to carry this gigantic reptile. She happily coils up in a strategic place in the haunted attraction, making her life cozier compared to other reticulated pythons in the wild.

As for repercussions and fears of Reticulated Pythons being constrictors, meaning, they love to wrap themselves around humans and prey, Larry Edgar has this to say.

The Daily Mall notes that Medusa’s handler and Edge of Hell general manager, Larry Edgar states that:

““We try to keep Medusa well-fed and slightly out of reach as there have been instances with Reticulated Pythons where they’ve had to cut people out of them! We never underestimate that she does always have the upper-hand.”

Medusa is a star, an eye-catcher and crowd-drawer. She would always attract crowds – practically, befitting to earn this record-breaking Guiness title.

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Rottweilers: Big, Huggable Gentle Giants

Rottweilers are always among the ten most popular breeds of dog mainly because of their massive size yet gentle personality. They suit the name “gentle giants’ pretty well, so much so that they can become so loyal and devoted and sometimes, cool and simple laid-back companions that are most tolerant of children.

These dogs can be tough when the going gets rough, can be terrible when the situation is unbearable, can outsmart anyone that thwarts, can be an extremely protective watchdog when the territory is undermined. Best of all, when Rottweilers are properly trained, socialized and loved, they can be the best – sweet, kind, loving, loyal and such gentle giants to have, to hold and to hug.

However, having a Rottweiler as a pet is not for everyone. Before even wishing to have one, be very well-prepared with its enormous size and challenging temperament. They innately know their strength and has cascaded a confidence from within that makes them strong and powerful. A Rottweiler may think he is in charge when no one else reminds him of love, affection, tolerance and obedience. A good Rottweiler to have is one that obeys authority and sees authority as the source of love, rule and ownership. A happy and properly trained Rottweiler can be perfect friend, without inhibitions, not to mention an exceedingly effective protector – a literally operative watchdog that can do nothing more than just stand there to keep intruders away!

For anyone who is planning to have a Rottweiler or has already done so, remember, this breed requires responsibility and commitment. Other things need to be considered, too like space, time, living conditions, family profile and many others.

It is important to know Rottweilers came from a working-dog breed that managed the herds in the German cattle town of Rottweil in Germany. They are also the popular descendants of the sturdy and powerful Mastiff-like drover dogs famous for its strength in ancient Rome, matching well the power that Rome projected during that era. Because of their intelligence, courage, agility and steadfastness, they became popular police dogs in the early 1900s. Up until today, Rottweilers can be the most effective and protective police dogs and watchdogs of our time.

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Rabbits

Rabbits, even after all these years, are still popular mainstay characters for children’s books and stories, with different rabbit-based characters having become superstars by their own right.

From Bugs Bunny to Roger Rabbit, they continue to be the animal kingdom’s more popular “ambassadors”, with quite a number of rabbit characters taking on wholesome to more adult personas in the depiction of a story’s plot.

Watership Down, a classic fantasy novel by Richard Adams (with an animated movie adaptation by Warner Bros in 1978), stands to be one of the more endearing “rabbit-based” stories, telling the tale of how a circle of rabbits managed to triumph over the challenges of finding a new home.

Through the story, questions revolving around keeping rabbits as pets have come up and about, and luckily, keeping rabbits as pets is considered to be relatively easy as keeping a pet cat or dog, sans the freedom most cats and dogs are afforded in households.

With a number of vets capable of handling medical cases involving rabbits, the major challenges pet rabbit owners could face would touch up on their dietary requirements and their enclosure needs, given the fact that most rabbits are not as “home-based” as cats and dogs are.

Also, rabbits are not essentially known for responding too well with humans, though this isn’t exactly a universal trait which defines all pet rabbits.

Unlike most cats and dogs, pet rabbits don’t always warm up to their masters, something which a number of pet rabbit owners tend to complain about. Cleaning up after them is basically no different from cleaning up after dogs too, since cats being more keen on keeping themselves clean and tidy.

As with keeping any other type of pet, keeping a pet rabbit requires commitment and dedication, and should not be initiated on a whim. Though they aren’t as interactive as cats or dogs, pet rabbits actually make for good company, especially when they have come to value their relationship with their pet masters.

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A True Saint in the St. Bernard

Just as strong, muscular, round and humungous the built is, its personality is completely the exact opposite. The Saint Bernard (often times abbreviated as St. in Saint) is extremely gentle, super friendly and tolerant of children. Patient and tremendously loyal, a St. Bernard can be a lovable pet and dependable watchdog ready to protect the territory. Social, obedient and intelligent, this breed comes from the very large working and rescue dogs from the Italian and Swiss Alps.

Before they got the name St. Bernard, they were earlier called, “Saint Dogs”, “Noble Steeds”, “Alpenmastiff, or “Barry Dogs” long before the 18th century.

Also referred to as a giant dog, the St. Bernard has a gigantic weight of 140-264 pounds, approximately 64-120 kilograms or even more! Its height at the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades - in many species, it is the tallest point of the body most applicable to dogs and horses), is 27½ inches to 35½ inches.

Alternately, images of the St. Bernard, has varied through the years. Cujo, a horror/thriller film in 1983 which was based on the Stephen King novel of the same title, has portrayed the St. Bernard as dumb, vicious and monstrous, a killer canine that inflicts bloody and gruesome attacks.

In 1992, the American comedy film, Beethoven changed every perception of a St. Bernard and images of Cujo were erased in an instant. Its pleasing and obedient personality despite its size made a difference in the Newton family.

This understanding of what a St. Bernard is what makes this awesome dog a great pet to have. Intimidation because of its size would not be an issue if proper socialization is set at an early age with people, so much so, with other animals. A St. Bernard is highly intelligent and easy to train, but training should take place when the dog is young and its size, manageable. Who would want to be pounced upon by an unruly and untrained dog of this size and caliber? Early training, exposure, socialization and most of all, love and affection can make a St. Bernard, truly a Saint Bernard.

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Koala Bears

Koala bears, as a species, have long been identified as cute cuddly creatures, with countless plushie variations of their likeness found in countless toy stores and fair grounds.

The 2006 CGI-animated Disney movie The Wild, featured a koala as one of its main characters, one whose presence in the movie can be easily understood given how popular koala bears are.

Given their cuteness, questions related to the actual ownership of koala bears as pets have been asked by millions of children more than once. Much to their disappointment, however, the actual feasibility of owning a koala bear as a pet is not realistic for private home owners, but possible for research personnel and animal reservation sites.

Native to Australia, koala bears are creatures which cannot be owned as pets legally. Special permits which require certain prerequisites are required from wildlife centers and researchers, who can’t even indefinitely keep koalas with them throughout their respective life spans.

As animals, koalas are not like cats or dogs, in the sense that they can be readily domesticated. Being nocturnal, they’re not really as much fun as one would presume them to be, with koalas actually being notorious for being grouchy at certain occasions.

That plus their steady diet of eucalyptus leaves makes them quite troublesome to keep as pets for private homeowners, who need to keep a steady supply for koalas to consume. Dedicated wildlife centers have no qualms satisfying a koala bear’s particular needs and requirements in this sense though, which is a different story altogether.

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