Author: epadminny

How to rescue injured animals

Rachel from diygarden.co.uk recently wrote a wonderful article about how to help injured pets or wildlife. It tells you what to do, should you come across an animal you think could be hurt or poorly.

We were really impressed with the guide and thought we would share it with you! Here is a link to the article, and below are some things we found interesting.

“Vermin” / Non-native species

Some animals, such as Muntjac Deer and grey squirrels are not allowed to be released into the wild anymore. This means that many vets will refuse to treat them and will euthanize them if they are bought in injured.

We were inspired by the article to do a little extra research. This resource is very useful. There is no such thing as “classed as vermin”!

We were surprised to find that when a vet refused to treat our rescued pigeon Otto because he was “classed as vermin” – that was actually illegal! (Otto was released into the wild many years ago, but we still think of him often!)

Anyway – many vets will not treat wildlife that cannot be released unless you pay them to do it and take responsibility for finding a home the animal later.

How to pick up a hedgehog

We once found a hedgehog at night walking in the road, we needed to move it but found it difficult to pick up!

It didn’t occur to us to roll it into our hands! Trying to pick up a balled up hedgehog with no gloves was tricky! We did rescue the hedgehog, but wish we knew this first:

“Don’t be scared, they don’t bite. Grab the hedgehog and pop it in a high-sided box. Use gloves or a towel if you have any to hand. If not, touch the hog – it should roll into a ball unless it’s badly hurt. Then roll it onto your outstretched hand.”

Baby Bird Flow Chart

Really handy for spring! Thanks to the RSPB and diygarden.co.uk for the info!

Read More Articles (And A Disclaimer)

Diygarden.co.uk have a lot of interesting articles about wildlife on their. Take a look!

They didn’t pay us to write this article, but did offer to share our post on social media. We would have shared the info regardless: it’s a good article which we read start to finish and learned something from. That’s always worth sharing!

Joey’s Animal Facts V6 – Ribbit Ribbit

joeys_animal_facts

Welcome to Joey’s Animals Facts. This time we are focusing on the frogs.

What is the difference between frogs and toads? Surprisingly they are not two separate groups. All toads are actually types of frogs known as “true toads“ as opposed to “true frogs” which is made up of all the other non toady frogs!
True frogs are known for their bulging eyes, strong, long, webbed hind feet adapted for leaping and swimming, smooth or slimy skin as they usually like moister environments and the tendency to lay eggs in clusters.

Continue reading “Joey’s Animal Facts V6 – Ribbit Ribbit”

Joeys Animal Facts V3 – Tall and Loud!

Joeys Animal Facts

Last month we looked at the largest animals in the world, a list dominated by the whales and sharks. Keeping with the theme, this month we will learn about some of the tallest and longest animals – but this time staying on dry land (I think we have all had enough of water for now, what with all that snow and rain!). Here at Ethical Pets we have quite a menagerie of cats and dogs – but none of them are very tall. The tallest dog in the world was a Great Dane, measuring 7 feet and 2 inches (218.44 cm) from head to tail. On the feline side, the Savannah cat rises above all else – with the tallest so far measuring 17.1 inches (43 cm) from shoulder to toe. The tallest land animal is of course the Giraffe, which can grow up to 20 feet tall (just think of a two story terraced house) but the longest of all animals is the Bootlace Worm, which has been recorded as measuring 55 meters long (wow!). Now lets checkout the loudest animals. The loudest insect is the Cicada which is similar to a grasshopper: they sing during the mating season, and the bigger the cicada the louder its song. The loudest measured cicada song was 106.7 decibels, that’s louder than a subway train! And it seams that size really does matter when it comes to noise, as the loudest of all animals is also the biggest – the Blue Whale. Along with Fin Whale, Blue Whales can make a foghorn blast of up to 188 decibels – that’s louder than  a rocket launch.

Have you got a question about animals? Email Joey and ask away!

Get your next installment of “Joey’s Animal Facts” by signing up to our monthly newsletter “The Ethical Pets Gazette”

Joeys Animal Facts Vol.3

Joeys Animal Facts

Last month we looked at the largest animals in the world, a list dominated by the whales and sharks. Keeping with the theme, this month we will learn about some of the tallest and longest animals – but this time staying on dry land (I think we have all had enough of water for now, what with all that snow and rain!). Here at Ethical Pets we have quite a menagerie of cats and dogs – but none of them are very tall. The tallest dog in the world was a Great Dane, measuring 7 feet and 2 inches (218.44 cm) from head to tail. On the feline side, the Savannah cat rises above all else – with the tallest so far measuring 17.1 inches (43 cm) from shoulder to toe. The tallest land animal is of course the Giraffe, which can grow up to 20 feet tall (just think of a two story terraced house) but the longest of all animals is the Bootlace Worm, which has been recorded as measuring 55 meters long (wow!). Now lets checkout the loudest animals. The loudest insect is the Cicada which is similar to a grasshopper: they sing during the mating season, and the bigger the cicada the louder its song. The loudest measured cicada song was 106.7 decibels, that’s louder than a subway train! And it seams that size really does matter when it comes to noise, as the loudest of all animals is also the biggest – the Blue Whale. Along with Fin Whale, Blue Whales can make a foghorn blast of up to 188 decibels – that’s louder than  a rocket launch.

Have you got a question about animals? Email Joey and ask away!

Get your next installment of “Joey’s Animal Facts” by signing up to our monthly newsletter “The Ethical Pets Gazette”

Joeys Animal Facts V2 – Live Long (and Large)

Last month was all about speed: this month we are looking at size and longevity. So, which are the heaviest and longest living animals?

Maxing out the scales are the Whales, and there are quite a few of them. The grand-daddy of them all, however, is the Blue Whale, weighing in at 190,000kg (29,919 stone). After the Whales come the Sharks, with the Whale Shark (11,800kg / 1,857 stone) being the heaviest of all fish. The weightiest of all land animals is the African Elephant at 5,000kg (787 stone) – beating it’s Indian cousin (4,000kg / 630 Stones) in to third.

Next, to the wise old heads of the animal kingdom now. The creature which has the longest life expectancy are the marine clans with the fantastic name; Quahog (200.2 yrs). Second is the Giant Tortoise (150 yrs), just ahead of the Greek Tortoise (110 yrs). That should be enough to make everyone feel just that bit younger (and thinner!).

Have you got a question about animals? Email Joey and ask away!

Get your next installment of “Joey’s Animal Facts” by signing up to our monthly newsletter “The Ethical Pets Gazette”

Joey’s Animal Facts V1 – Life in the Fast Lane

Life in the fast-lane…

Which animal is the fastest? The fastest animal on land is the Cheetah (61mph/98km/h), with the Pronghorn Antelope (60mph/97km/h) coming in a very close second, and the Lion third place (50mph/80km/h).

In the water the speeds get even greater, with the Sailfish reaching speeds of 101mph (68km/h). Marlin come in at a relatively distant second clocking 80mph (50km/h) and the Wahoo (78mph/48km/h) winning the bronze medal.

At the top of the animal time sheets, however, are the birds: in level flight the Spine-Tailed Swift is the Usain Bolt of the animal world recording speeds of 171mph (106km/h). Coming in second and third are the Frigate bird 153mph (95km/h) and the Spur-Winged Goose 142mph (88km/h).

The 171mph Spine-Tailed Swift is not the fastest an animal can naturally travel, however. The Tom Daley of the bird world, aka The Peregrine Falcon, reaches astonishing velocities breaking the 200mph mark when Diving – but that’s gravity aided.