Small Pet Care
by Alli
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Why I Chose This Topic
I chose this topic because in the beginning of 2020 I really had an interest in getting a small animal as a pet. Although I already had guinea pigs, I started looking into rabbits and hamsters. After a little research I discovered that they were more work than what I had originally thought but I took on the challenge anyways. In July I had a rabbit named Oliver and a few months later in October, I got another. In March of 2022 one of my rabbits passed away due to GI GI stasis which is the slowing of passage of food through the GI tract so they basically stop eating and starve to death. After this happened I chose to take on the mission of informing people on the care of these amazing pets. |
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Science Concept
Small animal care can be pretty tricky but remembering the basics isn't. We have heard in the application essay that I have written that not everything that is said to be true, is actually true. With most small animals, the cages sold in pet stores simply will not do. According to https://petkeen.com/cage-size-for-hamsters/ the bare minimum amount of space a hamster needs to live a happy and healthy life is but not limited to 450 to 900 square inches of unbroken floor space. For a rabbit the minimum cage requirement is about 24 square feet of exercise space but the average cage size sold in pet stores is only 4 to 8 square feet . for a guinea pig, pet store cages can be ok but you will need to measure with caution, The minimum cage requirements regarding size is 7.5 square feet but the bigger, the better. A Lot of the toys and treats sold for small animals also seem to be no good. According to http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/yogurt.htm#:~:text=Yogurt%20or%20dairy%20products%20should,anaerobic%20conditions%20of%20the%20cecum Dairy should never be fed to rabbits or guinea pigs, yet pet stores still sell products like yogurt drops as treats. You may think that rabbits are useless messes but did you know that you can litter box train your rabbit and it's actually quite easy. Rabbits are animals who naturally graze so wherever their hay is, is where they will use the bathroom. Another reason that using hay for litter box training is a good choice is because hay is 75 to 80% of a rabbit's diet and they need access to it at all hours of the day so having that in the litterbox means that the rabbit will spend more time in there and spending less time using the bathroom elsewhere.
Small animal care can be pretty tricky but remembering the basics isn't. We have heard in the application essay that I have written that not everything that is said to be true, is actually true. With most small animals, the cages sold in pet stores simply will not do. According to https://petkeen.com/cage-size-for-hamsters/ the bare minimum amount of space a hamster needs to live a happy and healthy life is but not limited to 450 to 900 square inches of unbroken floor space. For a rabbit the minimum cage requirement is about 24 square feet of exercise space but the average cage size sold in pet stores is only 4 to 8 square feet . for a guinea pig, pet store cages can be ok but you will need to measure with caution, The minimum cage requirements regarding size is 7.5 square feet but the bigger, the better. A Lot of the toys and treats sold for small animals also seem to be no good. According to http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/yogurt.htm#:~:text=Yogurt%20or%20dairy%20products%20should,anaerobic%20conditions%20of%20the%20cecum Dairy should never be fed to rabbits or guinea pigs, yet pet stores still sell products like yogurt drops as treats. You may think that rabbits are useless messes but did you know that you can litter box train your rabbit and it's actually quite easy. Rabbits are animals who naturally graze so wherever their hay is, is where they will use the bathroom. Another reason that using hay for litter box training is a good choice is because hay is 75 to 80% of a rabbit's diet and they need access to it at all hours of the day so having that in the litterbox means that the rabbit will spend more time in there and spending less time using the bathroom elsewhere.
Application
Small animals should be studied because not many people know proper care and only know what big companies tell them is right. To prove this theory, I have given an example below. https://www.petsmart.com/learning-center/small-pet-care/all-about-rabbit-food-pellets/A0114.html states “To make sure your bunny has a balanced diet, remember this formula About 75% of your rabbit’s diet should be hay. About 20% of your rabbit’s diet should be pellets. And about 5% of your rabbit’s diet can be treats.” but according to the House Rabbit Society, Rabbits need a balanced diet of hay, fresh greens, a little fruit, and a few pellets, meaning that the 20% of a rabbits diet that petsmart says should be pellets, should actually be fresh greens and fruit and the 5% should be pellets. I chose to believe in the house rabbit society because it is a non profit organization based in Richmond, California, United States, that rescues and adopts rabbits and educates the community with its curriculum on rabbit care. House Rabbit Society promotes responsible rabbit guardianship, including spaying and neutering, regular veterinary care, diet, and exercise. Big chain pet stores are usually not good on giving good small animal care because they usually are either trying to sell you something or even giving false statements regarding small animal care in order to promote sales in certain products. In the example above, you can notice that petsmart states that pellets and treats are more important than vegetables by not even mentioning them in their diet. If you take a look at their online storefront you can see that they in fact do not sell fresh vegetables but do sell pellets and treats therefore they left vegetables out of the diet to promote sales in pellets and treats. Other chain pet stores could do the exact same thing and without proper information, your small pet will not live as long or as healthy as it could.
Small animals should be studied because not many people know proper care and only know what big companies tell them is right. To prove this theory, I have given an example below. https://www.petsmart.com/learning-center/small-pet-care/all-about-rabbit-food-pellets/A0114.html states “To make sure your bunny has a balanced diet, remember this formula About 75% of your rabbit’s diet should be hay. About 20% of your rabbit’s diet should be pellets. And about 5% of your rabbit’s diet can be treats.” but according to the House Rabbit Society, Rabbits need a balanced diet of hay, fresh greens, a little fruit, and a few pellets, meaning that the 20% of a rabbits diet that petsmart says should be pellets, should actually be fresh greens and fruit and the 5% should be pellets. I chose to believe in the house rabbit society because it is a non profit organization based in Richmond, California, United States, that rescues and adopts rabbits and educates the community with its curriculum on rabbit care. House Rabbit Society promotes responsible rabbit guardianship, including spaying and neutering, regular veterinary care, diet, and exercise. Big chain pet stores are usually not good on giving good small animal care because they usually are either trying to sell you something or even giving false statements regarding small animal care in order to promote sales in certain products. In the example above, you can notice that petsmart states that pellets and treats are more important than vegetables by not even mentioning them in their diet. If you take a look at their online storefront you can see that they in fact do not sell fresh vegetables but do sell pellets and treats therefore they left vegetables out of the diet to promote sales in pellets and treats. Other chain pet stores could do the exact same thing and without proper information, your small pet will not live as long or as healthy as it could.
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