Video of the Day: Swinging Parrot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jonxv1yyX7o

This African gray parrot just loves her swing, and even makes her own wind sound effects!

Species of the Day: Roborovski Hamster

Scientific Name: Phodopus roborovskii
Size: 1 1/2 to 2 inches long
Origin: Mongolia and northern China
Average Life-Span: 1 1/2 to 3 years
Temperament: The little Roborovski hamster is crepuscular, preferring to play and forage during the morning and evening times. Lively and quick, it can be difficult to handle, especially for a young child, but it is entertaining to watch as it goes about its business. The Roborovski hamster rarely bites and is known to get along well with other Roborovskis of the same sex if they are brought up together from a young age.

    Named after the Roborovsky and Koslov expedition, when in July of 1894 a specimen of this hamster was captured. The Roborovski's natural habitat is the desert dunes of the western and eastern regions of Mongolia and parts of Manchuria and northern China. Roborovskis, or Robos, are the smallest of all the hamster species, with adults reaching approximately 2 inches in length. Unlike other dwarf species, the Robo doesn't have a dorsal stripe and their legs are slightly longer. The top coat is a sandy brown with a slate gray undercoat, and the belly and side arches are white. Their large black eyes are emphasized with a white facial marking which slightly resemble eyebrows. Robos are extremely active, making them somewhat difficult to handle, but certainly entertaining. In addition to an exercise wheel, they like several places to hide and things to climb on. Due to their small size they do much better in glass aquariums rather than wire cages that they can easily escape from. They love to dig and burrow, and in the wild their burrows can reach as deep as 6 feet, so keep them happy with some extra bedding. The Robo is a very clean animal and spends much of its time grooming itself. A Roborovski hamster will be very pleased to be able to have dust baths. The dust baths available for chinchillas is a little too fine for the Robos, but commercial hamster litter is inexpensive and works just as good. Just put some in a bowl and they will happily crawl in and go to work!

Video of the Day: Playful Caique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4Q6fC1PzE

White-bellied Caiques just love toys! Especially foot-toys as demonstrated by this playful individual.

Species of the Day: Alligator Snapping Turtle

Scientific Name: Macroclemys temminckii
Family: Chelydridae
Adult Size: 15 to 26 inches long; 35 to 150 pounds
Range: Primarily along the Mississippi river in the mid- to southwest United States
Habitat: Inhabits the deep waters of large rivers, canals, lakes, swamps and bayous

    The alligator snapping turtle has a grotesque appearance and a terrible attitude. With its huge size, roughened muddy-brown carapace, grossly over-sized head, spiked tail the length of the carapace and hooked, gaping jaws surely make it an intimidating sight. One of the largest species of freshwater turtles in the world, adults weighing over 150 pounds with carapace lengths of over 25 inches are well-documented. The world record holder is a male weighing in at 316 pounds and is 31 1/2 inches long. Despite many large adults being housed communally with other species of turtles in zoo exhibits, Alligator snapping turtles are best kept alone. These turtles are not for everybody and especially not for beginner turtle keepers. Their space requirements, maintenance and appetites make them very expensive and hard to care for.
    Alligator snapping turtles need enormous amounts of space to be happy. Hatchlings require no less than a 20 to 50 gallon tank, which will last them about a year as they grow very fast. Outdoor ponds are recommended above all else for adults, with 800 gallon stock tanks being the only alternative. Alligator snapping turtles are ambush predators, and so blend in with their surroundings to keep hidden and feel safe. Logs, driftwood, river rocks, tree stumps and other similar features will help the turtle feel secure in its home. A safe and secure turtle is also a less defensive turtle. Filtration needs to be of the highest caliber, or else costly and difficult 100% water changes are required every week. Alligator snapping turtles will gladly gobble up anything offered. Commercial turtle food, live freshwater minnows, live guppies, live crayfish, cooked chicken, chopped bluegill, bass, or other game fish (which can be fed whole and live to larger turtles), mice chicks, and rats are all fair game. In the wild, they will also munch some vegetable matter, so it is important to also offer things such as water hyacinth, water lettuce, grapes, cherries, bananas, apples and carrots.

Video of the Day: First Impressions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nHJSQ2vpAg

The introduction of a new tortoise is shaky as the resident tortoise bullies the newcomer incessantly, but then gets his just-desserts as a lesson is learned to pick on someone his own size next time.

Breed of the Day: American Chinchilla Rabbit

    The first chinchillas were created by French engineer M.J. Dybowski and were shown for the first time in April 1913 at Saint-Maur, France. The new breed took the rabbit world by storm as the ideal fur rabbit, which so greatly resembled the fur of the South American Chinchilla lanigera. A Mrs. Haidee Lacy-Hulbert of Mitcham Surrey, imported the breed to England in the summer of 1917. A British exhibitor presented a shipment at the New York state fair in 1919. After the show, he sold all of the stock to Edward H. Stahl and Jack Harris. The original chinchillas were rather small at only 5 to 7 1/2 pounds, and American breeders set out to produce a larger animal that would be better suited for meat and fur. Through selective breeding for larger size but fine bones and a good dress-out percentage, a breed standard was issued for the heavy-weight chinchilla. It was a larger form of the standard chinchilla; the same shape, color and general make-up. In 1924, both chinchilla breeds were adopted into the standards book and shortly there after, the heavy-weight chinchilla was renamed the American chinchilla.
    There is no single person that can be credited with the development of the American chinchilla, though the breed itself can be credited with making a large impact with rabbit keepers and other rabbit breeds. Between November 1928 to November 1929, no less than 17, 328 chinchillas were registered through the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA); a record that has yet to be broken. The chinchilla rabbit has contributed to the development of more breeds and varieties of rabbits world wide than any other breed. Sports from the chinchilla have created the silver martens and American sables in the United States, and the Siamese sable and sallander breeds abroad.
    The American chinchilla is the rarest of the chinchilla breeds. Its small population is largely due to the demise of the rabbit fur industry of the late 1940's . Despite the breed's fine meat-producing qualities, the producers of today prefer an all white rabbit for the meat market. The American chinchilla is a large, hardy and gentle animal, with mature bucks weighing in at 9 to 11 pounds and does at 10 to 12 pounds. At first glance the American chinchilla is salt and pepper colored, but once the fur is parted, fours distinct bands of color appear on the hair shaft. They produce large litters, have good mothering instincts and fryers reach market weight fairly quickly.

Video of the Day: Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABtyAgARiYA

Here's a nice video of a Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Aphonoplema seemani) calmly allowing itself to be handled by its owner.