Category Archives: Hamster

Why we joined the Pet Retail Association (part of the Pet Industry Federation)

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When we first started out Angell Pets I had a picture in my head (trying to avoid the management jargon “vision” here) of what i wanted the business to look like. I summed it up on the homepage of this site. I looked around for a professional association that shared the same aims and landed on the Pet Care Trust, who even had a very similar tag line of “promoting responsible pet ownership” (ours being “promoting responsible and ethical pet ownership”). This organisation also offered excellent training courses that suited our business exactly. Some of the courses staff have under taken with the federation include “Pet Store Management” and “First aid for animals”.

Since then the Pet Care Trust has changed name to the Pet Care Trading Association (keeping the Pet Care Trust as their charitable arm) and more recently to the Pet Industry Federation (still funding and administering the Pet Care Trust). Within the federation are a number of trade associations, the Pet Retail Association being the one appropriate to our busniness. Throughout they have remained active in representing the trade in all areas (regulation, government consultation, legal representation, standardisation, training, care advice, publications etc. ) and have now produced a charter that all members must adhere to. They have also recently been instrumental in producing enhanced model licence conditions for local authorities to apply when reviewing what are now stringent licences.

Pet shop gloucester

 

 

I am please to say that this charter matches exactly with what we at Angell Pets have been trying to do over the past four years and will continue to do in the future. The charter is attached here and is on view in the shop. Have a look and ask yourself  “Would I be comfortable buying an animal from someone that DIDN’T aspire to these standards?” Look for the federation and association logos before you buy. There is an awful lot going on behind the scenes to ensure they mean you can buy with confidence and a clear concience (can you do that if you buy on Facebook or a forum from someone you know nothing about?)

Pet shop Gloucester PRA logo

Pet shop Gloucester advice series – good hygiene

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Pet shop Gloucester advice on avoiding infection from animals through good hygiene.

All animals have the potential to carry organisms (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, multicellular parasites) that can cause disease in humans. The most obvious and common is E.coli bacteria. We carry this ourselves, that’s why you should wash your hands after going to the toilet. Another common one is salmonella, potentially carried by a host of animals including reptiles and birds.

The commonest way of spreading these disease causing organisms is through faecal material (poop), urine, saliva and breath (in the water droplets). So on the face of it owning an animal seems to be a bad thing to do if you want to avoid being ill.

Well you actually stand more chance of being infected by disease from another human than you do from an animal, wild or a pet. How many people do you know who don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet or before preparing food, after blowing their nose, who sneeze, pick their nose, cough and splutter all over the place when they have a cold or worse and every one knows the story about the research into how many individual samples of human urine can be found on bar snacks! I even gave myself food poisoning recently, most likely from blue cheese, although I can’t be sure.

pet shop Gloucester

Humans eh! Dirty, horrible things.

With regard to animals, especially pet animals, the risk can be greatly reduced by ALWAYS following a basic set of rules. It is common sense really when you think about it but it does no harm to reiterate the rules here. You wouldn’t lick a rat’s bottom (I would hope not anyway!) but that is exactly what you are doing if, after handling your pet rat, you bite that little bit of hang nail off or wipe your mouth with the back of your hand.

  • Do not do anything that involves putting your hands near your face whilst handling any pet animal. This includes eating, drinking, smoking, sucking your thumb!
  • Keep your pet’s enclosure clean and dry generally. Remove soiled bedding and use a disinfectant appropriate to the species (household disinfectants can be toxic to animals).
  • Wash you hands IMMEDIATELY after handling you pet or cleaning its enclosure. Also after handling anything your pet touches such as toys, dog beds, scratch posts etc.
  • Do not kiss your pet or hold it close to your face, that’s what humans are for.
  • Cover any cuts, abrasions, sores or scratches with a water proof dressing before handling or cleaning. Also if you pick up any new ones in the process clean these and apply  a suitable dressing.
  • Don’t keep animals in rooms used to prepare food. Never let them walk on food surfaces and don’t wash animal items in sinks used for human food utensils. If you have no choice, always thoroughly disinfect the sink and surrounding work surfaces afterwards and don’t use the same cloths for both.
  • Don’t let animals onto your bed and especially not your pillow.

Follow these rules and you shouldn’t end up as one of the many people with an undiagnosed gastrointestinal infection (24 hour bout of diarrhoea) or one of the very rare cases of rat hantavirus (the only two cases of this flu like disease I know of in the UK were breeders who were in constant contact with rats but clearly didn’t have sufficient infection control).

If you are sensible pets have been shown to reduce disease in humans but if you lick a rat’s bum (figuritively speaking), expect the worst!

Keep visiting for more pet shop Gloucester advice.

The Angell Pets Team

Pet shop Gloucester sponsoring online photo show

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Mitcheldean Mutts are holding an online photo show to raise money for a Kenyan Orphanage. We are sponsoring two of the classes ” Most unusual friend” and “most handsome dog”. I have the dubious honour of judging as well. Go to their Facebook page to enter your photo. Just a bit of fun in the name of a good cause.

CLICK HERE

The Angell Pets Team

Pets for Christmas? Pet shop Gloucester advice

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We are a pet shop and we sell pets. We also care about their welfare, so what is our pet shop Gloucester stance on selling pets around Christmas time?

Should you buy pets for Christmas presents? On the face of it this is a no brainer. Pets are for life – not just for Christmas is a phrase that is parroted everywhere and in principal seems obvious. However the phrase is misused these days. What is meant by it is that the pet shouldn’t be bought as you would buy say, the latest trendy toy.

A child see’s a toy that comes on the market and remarks to his/her parent that that’s the one for them, they will be sooo good if only they could have one for Christmas. By the time they open the gift on Christmas morning the fascination has already gone, their friends have moved onto another model, they use it for a couple of days and you hardly ever see it again until you find it amongst all the other rubbish under the bed. If this is your reason for buying a pet at Christmas (or at any other time of year for that matter) just don’t. The amount of times I have had parents and kids in the shop and mum has left convinced that little johnny would do all the housework for the next twenty years if only he can have a rat/rabbit/snake/spider, he’s never wanted anything so much in his life. When we say we’ll see you next week and they return and when shown his favourite ever animal, little johnny says “Yeah great, can I have a look at…” whatever has now caught his fancy; mum realises her lucky escape. At Christmas parents are just as convinced that because they have been in the shop and their child has expressed the same level of interest, on Christmas morning they will still be as interested. Pets should not be bought at Christmas for these superficial reasons.

However a pet, the housing and all the correct equipment can be expensive. If a child and parent come in repeatedly throughout the year and the child (and the same is true for us big kids too) has retained their interest all year but the parent cannot afford to buy it now, in the middle of summer and then get something else at Christmas there is nothing wrong with delaying the purchase until then.

The important thing about buying a pet is what is informing the decision, not what time of year it is. Pets should never be purchased on a whim. So buying a pet for someone because you can’t think of anything else, because someone mentioned they “like” rabbits, because you are “sure” they will like it, is definitely wrong. You can put the jumper someone bought you in a drawer and forget it, you can’t do that with a pet. The person you bought it for is going to have to clean it, feed it, provide it with exercise, enrichment etc. Are you sure they will want or be able to in a few months (or years, or decades!). That should really be their decision, made in the cold light of day with all the information in front of them, not forced on them on Christmas morning. Also children (and a lot of adults I meet) are fickle. You have to be absolutely sure that they will fulfil their commitment and responsibility to the animal. This is best ascertained over a period of time, with repeated visits.

So the basic message is don’t buy a “surprise” present of an animal on a whim at any time of year. The chances of it being not wanted are too high. If you are convinced your recipient really wants a pet and has shown consistently they have the ability and the will to look after it properly over a period of time, you have done you research and know what you and/or they are taking on then don’t let others make you feel guitly about combining a purchase they really want with Christmas. It should really be “A pet is for life – not just for any particular day of the year”

Let us help you make that informed decision by informing you of everything you need to know about your chosen pet BEFORE you buy it. Pop in and see us in our pet shop Gloucester anytime to ask us anything you need to know.

The Angell Pets Team

Pet shop Gloucester Christmas offers

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Pet shop Gloucester Christmas offers!

Click on the link below for our wholesaler’s offers for this December.

We also have our own deals for this Chrstmas.  We still have existing running deals such as Whiskas cat treats for only £1, the last few Feelwell dog treats at 1/2 price, James Wellbeloved light and senior 2kg bags for £5.99, Hills Science Plan medium breed and large breed, puppy and adult  for only £29.99  many end of line items at a fraction of online prices and an ever increasing range of our own animal food and treats at much lower prices than other comparable brands.

We have also taken another 25% off our stock of Juwel tanks and stands. That’s on top of existing reductions.

Click below for the pet shop Gloucester offers

Best Pets Christmas offers

The Angell Pets Team

Pet shop Gloucester Christmas Opening

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The Christmas and new year opening hours of our pet shop Gloucester are as follows this year:-

  • Up to Monday 24th December normal hours (Mon – Sat 9am – 6pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm)
  • Christmas day CLOSED
  • Boxing day CLOSED (although I will be in for an hour or so at around 11 am to feed the animals if you get stuck)
  • 27th to 31st December normal hours
  • Tuesday 1st January CLOSED
  • Wednesday 2nd January onward normal hours

So our pet shop Gloucester is only fully closed for two days over the entire holiday period.

Pet shop Gloucester

As usual we are delivering (FREE locally) right up to Christmas eve night for those of you who wish to buy a present and leave it until last minute for delivery to keep it a surprise. If you wish to take advantage of this service do book early as I am not Santa on his sleigh and so can only do a limited number of deliveries in one night!

 

The Angell Pets Team

Pet Shop Gloucester Advice Series Hamster Care Sheet

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Pet shop Gloucester advice on caring for your Syrian hamster.

Hamsters generally make good family pets. However there are issues that you need to take into consideration.

They are nocturnal so being more active in the evening allows the busy family time to enjoy them. However in a child’s bedroom this can be a problem, unless you buy a silent wheel and a cage that does not have bars for the hamster to constantly chew on. They are small mammals ideal for families with limited space. Hamsters make a suitable pet for children providing they are taught the responsibilities of their pets daily cleaning, feeding, handling and care.

Syrian or Golden hamsters originally come from Syria. In the wild they live in burrows in the day to keep cool, so they love tubes and tunnels. They are active animals and travel great distances at night, hence the need for a wheel. They will carry food in pouches and hoard it, so check yours is eating what you put in for it or when you clean it out you will be wasting food by throwing away its food store. Syrian hamsters are solitary animals and best kept alone. You will see them together in the shop but this is because they are young, sexually immature animals. When they reach sexual maturity they will start to fight. Syrian hamsters have more than twenty colours and coat types such as smooth coat, satin and long haired. Syrian hamsters average life span is 2 -3 years.

Hamsters normally stay healthy throughout their lives. They can suffer from coughs and sneezes and their nose and eyes may run, so keep them warm and away from any draughts. If the signs persist seek veterinary advice. Hamsters can suffer acute diarrhoea known as wet tail . If this occurs take your pet to the vets immediately. There is normally no problem with hamsters’ teeth. However if they do not meet properly they will grow too long and eating will be impossible. If this occurs the teeth must be clipped regularly. It is therefor essential the teeth are checked BEFORE you buy. Also make sure your hamster has something to gnaw on to keep its teeth worn down.

Syrian hamsters do not need to hibernate but will appear to do so if there is a sudden drop in temperature below 5°C. They will go torpid and their breathing will be so shallow they appear dead. Sadly hamsters have been disposed of in the past because the owners thought they had died. Hamsters will also exhibit this behaviour if the temperature becomes too high (35C)

If your hamster escapes from its cage try putting a box (its nest box) or bowl in the corner of the room. He may well be in it the next morning. If you are concerned about your hamster’s health speak to your pet shop Gloucester or your vet.

 Feeding

pet shop Gloucester

Use a good proprietary brand of hamster food. This will have the correct balance of nutrients. Hamsters in the wild eat a mixture of seeds, plants and insects. Make sure you feed yours a similar balanced diet. If your mix does not contain insects (many do not) then supplement with meal worms. We use live but if you are squeamish you can used dried (both available at your pet shop Gloucester). You can also feed some fruit and millet etc. or hamster fruity treats but you will not need too many of these. Be aware that hamster store food. They will cram as much into their cheek pouches as possible and store it in a “larder” (designated part of their burrow) for later. Just because the bowl is empty does not mean it has no food. Check the cage for the store and monitor that.

Sexing

Sexing hamsters is very easy. The testes in the male are clearly visible under the base of the short tail from a very early age. Also the distance between the anus and the genitals is much greater in the male. In our pet shop Gloucester we tend to keep males as they will tolerate each other for a lot longer than the females. Females need to be separated earlier but males will eventually fight. In the wild the fights will result in one hamster losing and running away. In the confines of a cage there is nowhere to go and so the fights will result in the death of one (at least) of the hamsters.

Housing

A good sized cage is required. You can use either a wire cage with a plastic bottom, or a plastic covered cage. Both have disadvantages and advantages. Whilst hamsters love tunnels, I would avoid cages with horizontal tubes as part of the construction. Hamsters naturally use a latrine (another designated part of their burrow) and you can almost guarantee it will select the most inaccessible part of the tubing system and the wee will leak out of the tiny air holes in the plastic (this is from experience!). Buy tubes to go inside a normal cage, they are easier to clean. Due to this habit of using a latrine it is possible to litter train a hamster. Buy a hamster toilet and put some of the soiled bedding in it and soon the hamster will be using this as its latrine, saving on cleaning out the whole cage. Definitely get a hamster wheel or saucer. Hamsters love to exercise. Not having one is really unfair on the animal.

pet shop Gloucester

When cleaning cages and accessories make sure you use a small animal disinfectant not household which are toxic. A very useful piece of equipment is the hamster ball. Not only is this excellent for exercising the hamster but it is useful to use it whilst you clean out the cage.Two birds with one stone.

If you need further advice on hamsters call into our pet shop Gloucester and have a chat.

 

The Angell Pets Team