Does Your Cat Have a Urinary Blockage?

Does Your Cat Have a Urinary Blockage?

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Does Your Cat Have a Urinary Blockage?

Hi. My name is Gemma Denimore. I have three cats that I love dearly. One thing I've learned about cats is that you have to pay attention to their behavior. Any change in a cat's behavior could indicate that they aren't feeling well. By the time a cat shows unmistakable signs of being ill, they are often very sick. Urinary tract blockages are fairly common in cats, especially males. These blockages can also be very serious if not treated in a timely manner. One of my cats recently spent a week at our vets office recuperating from a blockage. The only way I knew he wasn't feeling well was he was reacting to my petting him differently than usual. I’m going to explain more about unusual behaviors that point towards urinary blockages, the importance of contacting your veterinarian, and some of the procedures used to cure the problem.

 

What You Should Know About Caring For Pet Agama Lizards

5 May 2015
 Categories: , Blog

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Pet agama lizards include a variety of different lizards within the agama family. Some popular agama lizards include the frill-necked lizard, bearded dragon, and Chinese water dragon. Here are some care tips for keeping your pet agama lizard housed, healthy, and fed.

Housing

The first thing you should know about pet agama lizards as pets is that they need proper housing. They should not be left to roam free around your home. To be safe and keep your home clean, they should have an enclosed space in the form of a large aquarium. You will need a long aquarium since they have very long tails and need enough room to walk around and play in the enclosure. Also consider that you need a cold and warm area on opposite edges of the enclosure, so it needs to be large enough for both.

The shelter should have substrate in the form of newspaper or paper towels. If you want it to look more like their natural environment, you can also use coconut fiber or potting soil. Avoid using sand or pine chips. Agama lizards like staying off the ground, so provide them with branches and plants to climb on top of. Rocks are another great option. Make sure there is enough warmth and light in the enclosure.

Feeding

Agama lizards enjoy insects the most, which can be found at your local pet store. They will prefer crickets and worms, which is great because these are inexpensive and easy to find. You want the insects to be "gut-loaded" before feeding them to your agama lizard so your lizard gets the right nutrients. You can do this by sprinkling the insects with calcium powder a few days before feeding them to your lizard. Agama lizards can also eat some greens, but they prefer the insects.

Handling

If you got your agama lizard from the wild, they might never warm up to you. It is better to adopt them from a pet store. These lizards will be used to being handled by humans and you will be able to socialize with them better. When they are handled regularly, they will enjoy being held for longer periods of time. The more you socialize with your lizard, the more they will warm up to you. If the lizard nips at you, they are getting defensive. However, this usually only happens with the hatchlings.

Make sure you have a vet that will handle these types of lizards. You may need to bring your agama lizard in occasionally for check-ups and care. For more information about pet care, contact an animal clinic like North Lexington Veterinary Clinic.