Ninja turtles all over again

A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film is due for release in October this year and the responsible trade is already taking steps in advance to avoid the problems caused last time round.

In the wake of the last round of popularity for this movie franchise, thousands of yellow bellied turtles, red eared sliders and cooters were sold, essentially just cashing in on the popularity of the films. Unfortunately parents were giving in to the demands of the kids without fully appreciating the high levels of equipment, care and maintainance these fairly large turtles require. Irresponsible traders have to bear a lot of blame too for not ensuring the prospective owners knew exactly what they were getting into. Many were selling 50p sized turtles in small tanks without all the necessary equipment for healty growth and without making clear to the the new owners just how big they were going to get and the size of tank required by an adult.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

As a result, this combination of lack of parenting skills and lack of care from sections of the trade has resulted over the years in sick turtles with MBD and malformed shells and also rescue centres, newspapers and more recently online sites awash with unwanted pets.Probably worst of all, canals and ponds found themselves with new residents as owners who haven’t appreciated what the word responsible means just dumping theirs where they can.

In light of what has gone on before and knowing that often we can talk till we are blue in the face about tank size, UVB requirements, filtration, basking spots etc. but the person in front of us is just not listening, we have decided not to sell any of these species from now until at least a year after the release of the film. Actually we haven’t stocked any yellow bellies or their like for a couple of years but we do get requests for them from time to time. We already get offered unwanted ones on average once a week and the film is not even being promoted yet. This action is inline with calls from REPTA to get importers to agree to a 12 month moratorium on sliders, cooters and other unsuitable species, which we fully support (although we do not sell wlid caught animals anyway).

One last thing I think needs saying. The last childrens’ film involving animals I took my kids to the cinema to see was G Force (the one with the guinea pigs). I was disgusted to see a sales display for guinea pigs from a well known pet supermarket (you all know the one) directly opposite the cinema screen exit, in the old Cineworld in Gloucester. Trying to capitalise on the pester power of kids in this way is just wrong. When they are hyped up on soft drinks, popcorn and sweets and have just seen a high action film is not the time to decide to buy an animal that is going to live for several years and have very specific care needs.These are living animals we are talking about, not sweets at a checkout. Lets hope they won’t try and pull any stunts like that with this new film.

 Please do not buy any animal just because it featured in a film. Do your research first and find out, in advance, what is involved with its lifetime care and remember some animals are going to outlive you if looked after properly. If in any doubt about the long term commitment do not buy. If you are unsure what is involved come and ask us. Ninja turtles are not real, real ones need looking after.

The Angell Pets Team

July Offers from Angell Pets

July is here and so are our fantastic summer offers from our wholesaler.

Lots of great discounts at sub supermarket prices and with FREE local delivery as well.

angell pets offers

CLICK THE LINK for the offers or visit us online to place your order.

 

The Angell Pets Team

 

Hot offers for June from Angell Pets

Hot offers in store and on line for June.

Click the link for an overview of the June discounts or belwo on the individual itmes for detail and to order on line.

discount pet supplies

June 2014 Special Offers

Pedigree in jelly 400g cans 24 for the price of 20

Harringtons cat chicken and rice 2kg

Harringtons cat salmon and rice 2kg

Misfits Tangly Twist beef and chicken

Misfits Tangly Twists chicken and egg

Excel Rabbit Adult 4kg

Sanicat Aloe Vera cat litter 4l buy one get one FREE

Coachies Lick Treat bacon

Coachies Lick Treat chicken

Selective Guinea Pig 3kg

Supa Turtle Food Superior 60g

Eukanuba Puppy and Junior small breed 3kg

Rotostak Genus 200 Purple small animal cage

King British Goldfish Flake 55g

Pro Plan Sensitive Salmon and Rice 14kg

Bob Martin Flea Clear cat 3 treatment

Hollings Pure Ham Bone pre pack

All these discounts run until the end of the month and are available in store or online at angellpets.co.uk

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

 

 

 

Tropical fish and cold water fish new stock

Tropical fish and coldwater fish stock list. Following the arrival of lots of new stock last week we have updated our stocklist. This is what we have in stock currently. New tropical fish have been quarantined and are now available.

Tetras

Blind Cave Characin

Neon Tetra

Black Neon Tetra

Lemon Tetra

Serpae Tetra

Rasboras

Harlequin Rasbora

Emerald Eye Rasbora

Cichlids

Red Tiger Skin Oscar

Ghost Angelfish

Electric Yellow Cichlid

Electric Blue Ram

Gouramis

Sky Blue Dwarf Gourami

Danios and Minnows

Leopard Danio

Pearl Danio

Zebra Danio

Gold Zebra Danio

White Cloud Mountain Minnow

Albino White Cloud Mountain Minnow

Corydoras

Julii Corydora

Peppered Corydora

Mollies

Silver Mollies

Black Lyre Tailed Mollies

Platy

Blue Mickey Mouse Platy

Bumble Bee Platy

Parrot Platy

Loaches

Gold Sucking Loach

Borneo Sucking Loach

Zebra Loach

Clown Loach

Barbs

Golden Barb

Guppies

Assorted Male Guppies

Assorted Female Guppies

Pencil Fish

Dwarf Pencil Fish

Plecostomus

Bristlenose Plec

Bulldog Plec

Sharks

Albino Rainbow Shark

Cold Water Fish

Red and White Fantail

Calico Fantail

Ghost Fantail

Butterfly Oranda

Plants

Elodea Densa

Aponogeton ulvaceus bulb

Red Ludwigia

Red Dracaena

Green Bacoba

Java Fern

Lily bulb

Assorted pants on bogwood

 

 

 

 

Axolotl basics

Axolotl – the salamander that doesn’t grow up. These facinating animals make excellent pets if given the correct habitat and care. They are cold water, relatively easy to care for (no more difficult than a goldfish really, although there are a couple of important differences) and make an attractive display animal.

Axolotl

All axolotls in captivity originally come from some specimens sent over to Europe for study. Sadly they are extremely rare in the wild. They come from only two high altitude lakes in Mexico. One of these is no longer there and the other is much reduced (broken up into canals), polluted and full of introduced fish that like the odd Axolotl! The last survey failed to find any wild specimens.

Due to their facinating life cycle, size of embryo and strange abilities the Axolotl is used extensively in a number of areas of reseach, such as spinal cord growth, heart function, brain growth, transplantation etc. Of course there are lots of surviving individuals in the pet population too.

Wild specimens range in colour from black through olive to brown. Albinism can occur naturally but due to predation would tend to be selected against. In captivity albinos are common so colours range from “pink” (albino with red eyes), gold (albiono but gold in colour with red or sometimes whitish eyes), leucistic (white, or pink, with black eyes) to “natural” or “black”.

The Axolotl lives in “cold water” ideally between 17 and 20 C. They can and do tolerate colder temperatures in the wild but metabolism would be much slower. They do not tolerate warmer temperatures very well at all, becoming very stressed and long term warm conditions can be fatal (it has to be remembered that warm water can also carry less oxygen than cold water).

The Axolotl is basically a species of salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum, part of the Ambystoma tigrum complex) that remains in the “tadpole” stage throughout its life. This phenomenom, called neoteny is quite common as a survival strategy amongst salamaders living at high altitude but the Axolotl has turned it into the norm. Injection with thyroid hormones or with iodine or high levels of cannabilsm (an Axolotl will eat another if food is not plentiful) will sitmulate an Axolotl to metamorphose into and adult, terrestrial salamander (very similar to the naturally occuring, adult tiger slamander).

The Axolotls is famous for their ability to regenerate parts of their bodies. They can regrow damaged or missing parts of their tails and limbs. If only a part is missing or has been damaged they may extra limbs or digits. They can even regrow certain organs, even parts of their brains.

So for care of the Axolotl. A single Axolotl needs at least a 40-45 liter tank. Obviously a bigger tank is good. If you wish to keep more than one then a bigger tank is a must or you could still find yourself with still only one Axolotl one morning. They do not like currents, so if using a cartridge type internal of external filter it is advisable to point the filter outlet toward the side of the tank to still the flow. Leaving the Axolotl in what equates to fast running water will stress it and could lead to disease as the animals immune system suffers. We use under gravel filtration (I know, “GRAVEL!”, I’ll come to that soon) in the shop and that works well. You get very good filtration, aeration and nitrogen removal but low water currents in the tank. There is not a “this filtration system is best”. Many different types will work if the issue of flow is taken into account. The Axolotl is cold water, you DO NOT need a heater, in fact this could kill your Axolotl. I have heard of some pet supermarkets selling 10 liter tanks and heaters for Axolotls. Don’t buy from these places, they don’t know what they are doing and therefor shouldn’t be selling you an Axolotl or giving  advice on set ups and should be avoided at all costs.

Now gravel. An Axolotl should NOT be kept on gravel. They eat anything that fits into their mouths and that will include gravel. Often this will pass through but not always, so impaction, followed by death is a real threat. If using undergravel filtration use either fine sand or large pebbles (larger than the mouth of the Axolotl) that cannot be swallowed. Some people use external filters with no substrate, just the glass tank bottom. Nothing wrong with that, as long as there is a good population of bacteria in the filter, I just find it a bit sterile looking. It’s a matter of personal taste. Large rocks work well too but can be difficult to keep clean.

In the shop we do use gravel (hold on, let me finish) but it is covered with “cage carpet” – a thin, porous,  nylon matting, which is weighted down with hides and rocks. This keeps the gravel (where the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter grow) and the Axolotl away from each other. It just allows us a bit of flexibility. When we have no Axolotls we can easilly convert to goldfish without having to mature the tank and gravel is easier to keep clean than sand.

If you wish to use plants we would recommend broad leaved. There is less risk of the Axolotl tangling its gills. Thin, trailing plants present this risk. We would also not recommend keeping axolotls with fish. They will eat smaller fish and larger fish could nibble on the external gills of the Axolotl .

Axolotls eat a wide range of foods. Worms, fish, lavae etc. We use waxworms, mealworm pupae, morio worm pupae, blood worm and small fish. We also sometimes feed pinkies (usually if one of the hatchling snakes hasn’t fed). The Axolotls finds food by smell. If it drops onto its head it will generally snap it up straight away. If it falls to the side it may take a few minutes to find it. I have yet to have an Axolotl that will not feed every couple of days. They feed through air pressure really. They open their mouths extremely quickly. This creates very low presssure inside the mouth. The pressure of the atmosphere above (several miles of it!) pushing down, under gravity, on the water around the Axolotl pushes it, with the food, into the mouth. This is basically how all pumps work. It happens very fast. The video below shows this process happening. I have slowed the video down before and still couldn’t see the food move. It looks like trick photograhy (or videography) but it is in real time.

An Axolotl can grow to 18 inches. However this is extremely rare. It is rare for one to get to 12 inches. 9 to 10 inches is the norm. Male Axolotls will have a swelling around the cloaca, absent in females. Females will tend to have a wider body than the male although males are larger overall with a wider head. They can live for up to (and that is UP TO) 20 years.

 

To look after your Axolotl you have to look after your water. Always mature a tank before putting in an Axolotl. You need the bacteria to remove the nitrogenous waste as you would for fish. Also you MUST dechlorinate the water if it comes from a tap. Leaving it standing for 24 hours only removes free chlorine, not chloramines. These are toxic to the Axolotl and to the waste disposal bacteria. Regular partial water changes are essential to good health. For more info on how to look after the water go to our sheet on goldfish care.

 

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

Angell Pet care sheets page

Angell Pet give advice on all aspects of the animals we sell and on others we don’t. In addidtion tyo the advice given to prospective pet owners we have a page devoted to care sheets on this site which is constantly being up dated and expanded.

angell pet care sheet page

Just click on the Angell Pet Caresheet tab for a page of sheets and articles on mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, fish and additional sheets on hygiene, handling and treatments.

The care information for each animal will also be added to the description on our Angell Pet webstore over the next few months.

We also have additional advice on our Angell Pet You Tube channel.

The Angell Pet Team

Discount pet supplies offers for March

Discount pet supplies from our wholesaler for March. We issue a full list of discount pet supplies every month. Some are from our wholesaler (passed directly on to you), some are our own.

This offer on discount pet supplies is from our wholsaler. Click the link to see their full range of offers until the end of March or whilst stocks last.

Best Pets discount pet supplies March

There are some fantantic discount pet supplies this month including:-

Animology dogs body and stink bomb shampoos only £3.99 (RRP £4.99)

discount pet supplies

Supacat – all varieties only £2.99 (RRP £4.49)

discount pet supplies

Dreamies Plus cat treats only £1 (RRP £1.56)

discount pet supplies

Sheba cat food (6 x 50g) only £1.49 (RRP £1.99)

discount pet supplies

Gourmet Gold Pate (12 x 85g) only £3.99 (RRP £5.15)

discount pet supplies

Arden Grange Pork and Rice 2kg only £5.99 (RRP £8.50)

discount pet supplies

JVP one dose wormer medium dog only £4.49 (RRP £5.29)

discount pet supplies

Plus many more discount pet supplies until the end of the month.

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

 

 

January special offer

Our January special offer start today. This is the first of a range of superb discounts on our range of pet products.

Our wholesaler Best Pets has regular monthly offers and here is January’s list.

Best Pets January

All these special offers are also available online

Keep you eye out for more special offers in the coming weeks.

The Angell Pets Team

 

 

Pet shop closed for the holiday period?

Pet shop closed ? Does your local pet shop close over the holiday period? Many small independent pet shop businesses close over Christmas and new year, just at the time when their customers need them most.

pet shop gloucester

We are closed for Christmas day and most of Boxing day and most of New Years day (see my blog for exceptions). I work seven days a week and these are my only three days off a year. However I make sure that we are available through our online pet shop during these periods and that we are open on every other day of the holidays.

A lot of small pet shop owners complain about the challenges facing their business in the modern world then refuse to take the steps necessary to protect their pet shop from those challenges. They complain about big chains being open longer but won’t open seven days a week or on bank holidays or over the Christmas period. They complain about online pet supermarkets; faceless, uncaring giants that do not know anything about their products (all valid commentary) but then fail to invest in an online pet shop presence to compete with them(and in fact compete very well as they would be able to offer the help, advice, additional services and customer service the big pet shop companies and warehouses cannot).

Well we are a different sort of independant pet shop. We open when we are needed, we have an excellent online pet shop, we have an active Facebook page to interact with customers that can’t make it into the shop and we deliver free to our local community, offer nail clipping for small animals for only £1 with a free health check, free water testing (by someone who lectured on water quality on a diploma course not some little Saturday person who doesn’t know one piece of very soft anatomy from a bonier bit), offer micro chipping and lots of free advice. We support our local community with school talks and community events, charity prizes and free advertising of charity events.

Over the past few years (we have been open over 4 years now and we opened in the very depths of the recession too) we have seen independent pet shops close all over the country in the face of growing competition from pet superstores etc. (you know the ones) that should not be able to hold a candle to the small independent pet shop (and in reality everyone knows they can’t), and online warehouses. In all case, including that of friends of ours, none of them have taken up the challenge and put things in place to protect their business.

How many had an active Facebook page (so often, when I’ve talked to business owners they said things like “I don’t see the point” or have bothered to find out how to use it properly)? How many had an online pet shop or anything more than just a one page site with the business name and address on it. I was going to say better than nothing but not really. If it is not an actively updated page it may as well not exist, it won’t come up in any searches (unless someone was searching for that specific business name). How many still didn’t open on Sundays and bank holidays? How many closed at 5pm so anyone on their way home from work couldn’t just pop in and get their supplies? How many didn’t do free deliveries from their pet shop to their local community and so missed out on all those customers that just couldn’t make it in when the shop was open or found the shop just that little too far to travel?

Again our pet shop is different. That is why, to use terms you hear on the business slot on breakfast TV every day, our total sales and market share have continued to grow ever since we opened and with the launch of our online store, backed up with the knowledge of our staff on the products we sell, continues to grow almost daily.

So thank you to our regular pet shop customers who remain incredibly loyal, welcome to our new customers, online, on Facebook, on the telephone or on foot and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year if we don’t see you in our open pet shop between now and then. We have ordered in extra stock of all the best selling products to cope with the normal rush from customers who usually go elsewhere but can’t because they are closed or have run out.

Have a great Christmas and a prosperous New Year everyone.

The Angell Pets Team

Angell Pet December discounts

Angell Pet wholesaler discounts new for December. Best Pets have issued their fantastic discounts for December. A host of excellent deals on some of the most popular brands.

angell pet shop gloucester

best pets december 2013

In this months wholesalers discounts are:-

King British goldfish food 55g. Normal price £3.79 – Angell Pet price now only £2.49

Kagesan sanded sheets blue 6’s and red 5’s. Normal price £1.55 – our price now only 99p

Whiskas tasty textures pouches (12x85g). Normal price £4.49 – Angell Pet price now only £3

Catit play circus. Normal price £13.69 – Angell Pet price now only £7.99

Eukanuba adult large breed 15kg. Normal price £52.99 – Angell Pet price now only £36.99

Wagg training treats. Normal price £1.00 – our price now 3 for the price of 2

Iams cat chicken 3kg. Normal price £16.49 – Angell Pet price now only £8.99

Applaws dog multi pack tins (5x156g). Normal price £7.79 – Angell Pet price now only £5.49

Best Pets premium wild bird food 2kg. Normal price £2.99 – Angell Pet price now buy one get one FREE

Go Cat adult cat 10kg. Normal price £24.60 – our price now only £16.49

Selective rabbit and guinea pig foods 3kg. Normal price £7.99 – Angell Pets price now buy one get one Cosi N Dry 8Lbedding FREE

Whiskas dry complete cat food 2kg. Normal price £6.32 – our  price now only £3.99

Smart Y Ball illuminating ball. Normal price £5.99 – Angell Pet price now only £3.49

Hills Science Plan feline adult cat 400g. Normal price £3.65 – Angell Pet price now buy 2 for £5

Add to this our FREE Angell Pet local delivery service and hundreds of Angell Pet web discounted items. See us instore on online to grab a bargain.