Pets

I had a few pets over the course of a may years. I’ve had the privilege of sharing with my lovely family the joys of caring and owning a pet. Off course owning a pet is a huge responsibility and should not be taken lightly. You must be prepared to spend money and time on caring for it, ensuring your pet has sufficient and ample food, lodging and affection. A happy and healthy pet translates to years of joy for any owner or pet lover.

My first pet I would say were chickens. I grew up in Larkin, Johor Bahru during the 80’s. My dad, being a government servant was blessed by the government providing us a staff quarters. We were lucky as the staff quarters albeit not being fancy but had ample land for us to do as we pleased. We even had our own Rambutan tree at the back of the house. Being a government servant, finances were tight for my dad and he provided us what he could at the time. Hence, we adopted baby chicks from our neighbors and these were officially my first pets.

I was provided a wooden storage box with an exposed top and made my own cover for the top using mesh steel fencing held in place by nails. At the bottom of the box, I placed old newspapers to contain the chicken droppings which we would change on a daily basis. I placed inside the box a small bowl for water and sprinkled chick feed on the old newspaper as their daily feed. Like I said, I was on a budget.

I have provided some pictures below to provide a better illustration.

Sample of a wooden box obtained from the internet

Sample of a steel mesh obtained from the internet

My own hand drawn sample pf a wooden crate box with mesh steel top, held in place by nales, just like the one I actually used

As the chicks grew bigger I let them out of the cage and they were free to roam the land. In due time, I was given a pair of green birds and a pair of white headed nun finch for my sister to look after. They were both placed in very small steel ball like cages. We were supposed to feed them daily with water, seeds and sugar mixed with water. Needless to say due to our ignorance, laziness and lack of maturity at that tender age, they died. Hence, I cannot stress enough that any parents getting their kids pets must bear 99% of all responsibility, failing which the circle of a pets life will be much shorter than nature intended it to be.

Then from there, I progressed to rabbits. I personally preferred colored ones but as I recalled when it came to choosing it, my mum preferred pure white and for some reason I agreed. If memory serves me right a pair of baby rabbits at time cost my dad RM25.00 and he was not too pleased. Remember, we were not well off.

Anyhow, these pair, one male and a female provided great companion. We grew fond of each other and were very much attached. They were mostly fed with leaves from a tree that grew in the edge of the jungle behind our government quarters.

Off course when finance permitted, I fed them with vegetables, mostly carrots and kangkung. I am rather sure that I kept them in the same wooden box previously used for the chicks. In the evenings after I had finished my primary school, I would let them to run and jump freely in the yard. They loved it and so did I, running and chasing after them to ensure they do not run into the jungle or road nearby as the quarters did not have any fencing.

We were so found of each other that there was a time when the family had to make a weeks trip to Seremban, and I had to leave them in a rabbit’s shelter owned by dad’s friend. They had a lot of rabbits there and worst of all mostly pure whites too. Therefore being the genius that I thought I was, I placed purple iodine on their feet so that it would ease identification when the time came to take them back. After the said trip, I returned to the shelter to find that all rabbits there were so dirty and mud like brown in color due to the fact that their cage was merely steel fencing with a roof laid on top of barren sand. I honestly did not know which were my rabbits and was confused and heartbroken as all looked alike and there was no traces of iodine at any of the rabbits feet. But to my utter amazement and surprise as I was heading up to the fence, a pair of rabbits ran immediately to the edge of the fence and started jumping greeting me. I knew it was them. There was so much excitement in the way they ran up to me. I never knew rabbits were such smart and loyal creatures.

One day I woke up in the morning to find that only one rabbit was left and it was shivering with fright. I knew immediately that the mate must have squeezed out from the hole in the steel mesh fencing due to insufficient nails holding it in place. I was afraid it ran into the jungle. Despite my father’s stern warning not to go into the jungle to look for it, I still went as it was my pet. Something I grew to love and cherish.   I tried looking for many weeks but to no vain. What I feared the most that it became a meal for a cat that always roamed the area. Moral of the story, don’t keeps your pets exposed to the elements at night, i.e. don’t leave them outside the house without a proper cage.         

Then I proceeded to Japanese carp, Goldfish and Arrowana. All kept in aquariums. All were gifts from friends of my dad’s. What I learned from this experience? Do not keep Japanese carp with Goldfish in the same tank split by a mere glass partition, as the carp (Koi fish) has a tendency of jumping over the partition at night. This resulted in show grade Goldfish without eyes or damaged fins and lost scales caused by attacks from low grade Koi fish. During those days, we did not have fancy external filters like we do now. Hence, the filter I had was merely plastic filters buried under sand with a pump used for circulation the water into the filter and a separate pump to provide oxygen. In those days, changing water was a real chore, imagine to change the old aquarium water, I had to use a water hose and suck the water out with my mouth until there flow was steady flow. Needless to say, accidentally I drank and choked in the process. Who wants to drink (even accidentally or unintentionally) fish water????

Cleaning the filter was a bigger chore. All the sand had to be removed as the filter was buried under the sand. This meant that I had to remove all the fishes in the aquarium and place them in a separate pail before removing all the water in the aquarium to gain access to the filter. After cleaning the glass aquarium from all molds, I had to place the cleaned filter, sand and replace it was water kept or stored more than 24 hours, in the hopes to remove all traces of chlorine. Now imagine doing that every month and a 2 aquariums the size of 4 feet each.

   

For many years thereafter I did not have any pets until my lovely son was born. His first pet? Yup, you guessed it right. They were rabbits. Lilo and Stitch. They were lion head breed. What I learn from rearing rabbits at this age? For starters, they need lots of water and quality food. I provide them daily with a full huge bowl of filtered boiled water. Fed them daily with a variety of vegetables. You will need to experiment as each rabbit will have their own preference of vegetables. I would also feed them with grain and rabbit pallets. Get the best brands. Your pet will take some time to get used to its taste as it is not as tasty as the cheaper brands due to the fact that it is packed with oats, grains, seeds and etc. But it is much healthier and it would show in your pets health and silkiness of fur. Secondly, clean their cage daily. Spend as much time with them. Let them loose to jump and roam your compound as much as possible. Rabbits left is seclusion are bad pets. They will not be comfortable when people them and will even bits and scratch to get loose. Hence, the importance of playing daily with them.

 Mix breed lion head. Stitch. He was really big. And at times can be a handful to handle.

I would be laying if I said I did most of the work. The truth is most of the work (80%) was done by my maid. Credit must be given to her for caring for them.

Once a month I would send them for grooming. Rates vary from RM60 (at Overseas Union Garden) and above per session. The groomers would usually trim its fur and cut their toe nails.

Also, ensure that your rabbits and kept indoors, i.e. away from direct sunlight that may cause dehydration.
                  

My son had the privilege of keeping rainbow crabs, fishes, turtles and the latest budgies.

Budgerigar or parakeet or budgie, is a small seed and fruit eating parrot. Originally from found in the wild throughout the drier parts of Australia where the species has survived harsh inland conditions for the last five million years. Budgies are naturally green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back, and wings, but have been bred in captivity with coloring in blues, whites, yellows, greys, and even with small crests. The species was first recorded in 1805, and today is the most popular pet in the world after the domesticated dog and cat.

Blue cere above the beak indicates it’s a male (Pic below). Always keep any birds or small pets away the reach of cats. Trust me on this, I had to learn it the hard way.  

Always ensure they have ample supply of clean water for drinking. I use diamond filtered water. The same water me and my family use for our daily consume. Also provide them with a small piece of cut and peeled red Washington apple (2 inch x 2 inch) every 3 days. Sometimes pears but no bananas as they tend to mess up the cage with bananas. Their daily staple are seeds. Once a month, I provide them with cuttlefish bone which serves as a source of calcium, that is lacking in seeds. It also provides the budgies with a hard surface to gnaw on, which should help to prevent his bill from becoming overgrown.