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Understanding the Language of a Pet Bird PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 04 July 2008 08:00
Birds, just like other pets, have their own ways of Communicating, or Bird Language.

Birds communicate to other birds and also communicate to their owners, in a variety of ways. While all species have their own unique methods of bird language, there are many generalities.

Birds use their body, body parts and voices to express a wide range of emotions.

Ways Birds Communicate

Barking
Some birds give out a type of bark when excited or when trying to prove their dominance.

Beak Clicking
When a bird is clicking it"s beak, it is trying to tell others it is threatened or that it is protecting something.

Beak Grinding
When a bird grinds it"s beak the bird is trying to communicate it is feeling secure and content.

Beak Wiping
When a bird wipes it"s beak the bird is trying to communicate that he is aggravated or upset about something. Beak wiping is also typically normal behavior for birds when they  are trying to clean the beak or dislodge something stuck in it.

See Also Why Bird"s Bite
http://petcaretips.net/bird-biting.html

Chattering
Some birds just like to talk, talk about anything; their  environment, how they feel, the state of the union.... so to communicate their thoughts, they chatter, sometimes incessantly, sometimes loud, sometimes soft.

Young birds chirp or chatter when they want fed. Birds in the wild often chatter as a warning sign to other birds that something is not right in their environment, or as a call to attract another bird"s attention.

Crouching
If the bird is crouching with it"s head toward the owner, the birds wants to be petted or scratched.

If crouching with head down, relaxed body and raised wings,  the bird wants attention.

If crouching with head down, eyes pinning, flared tail feathers,  ruffled feathers, and a rigid body, the bird is giving a warning to back off.

Flashing or Dilating Pupils
Flashing or dilating pupils the bird may be trying to communicate aggression, excitement, nervousness, or pleasure.

Growling
Some birds communicate with a type of growl that means back off mister and leave me alone.

Head Snaking
A bird that is shaking it"s head from side to side means it is excited.

Panting
A panting bird is overheated, overexerted and uncomfortable.

Purring
A bird can give a type of purr communicating the bird is relaxed and content.

Singing
A bird sings when it is communicating a message to another bird, perhaps as a mating call, or when it is content and happy.

See Also: Why Birds Sing
http://petcaretips.net/why-bird-sings.html

Talking
A Bird talks when it is content and happy and wants to  send a message to the another bird or it"s owner.

Tail Bobbing
When a bird bobs it"s tail that may mean it"s sick, but also some birds bob their tails when they are talking or singing.

Tail Fanning
Tail fanning by a bird indicates it"s unhappy about something and may become aggressive

Tail Wagging
Just like dogs, tail wagging communicates that a bird is  content or happy.

Tongue Clicking
When a bird gives a rapid clicking of their tongue they are trying to communicate friendliness or an invitation to be friends.

Wing Drooping
A Bird will droop it"s wings for several reasons. It may have just taken a bath and it"s holding the wings down while drying. It may happen in young birds who have not learned how to hold their wings. The bird may be overheated and wanting to cool itself. The bird may be sick.

Wing Flipping
If a caged bird is flicking it"s wings sharply, it is communicating annoyance or fear. It could also mean the bird has lost it"s balance and is trying to correct itself, if this is the case the wing flipping won"t last long.

Wing and Body Quivering
Quivering wings and body means the bird is fearful of something in it"s immediate environment.

Wing Drumming
Birds drum their wings when they need exercise or out of boredom. It may also communicate the bird is protecting it"s territory.

Whistling
When a bird whistles it is communicating that the bird feels content, safe and is at ease in it"s world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tippy, Alfred & Dave
Copyright © 2005

For more really cool info on all aspects of Dog, Cat,
Horse & Bird Care visit our site and take advantage
of our extensive library of f r e e  pet care tips &
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http://petcaretips.net

 
Tumors in Tropical Fish PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 04 July 2008 05:01

Tropical fish are like other species in many respects, and that includes the fact that they have diseases or disorders that may resemble those of other animals, but are specific to the fish themselves. One good example is tumors.

Just as humans, cats or dogs may get cancer or other types of tumors, so can tropical fish. The main difference is that treatment in fish is nearly impossible, depending on the type and location of the mass. Not only are they difficult to handle where a human can have clear visual access to them, but such things as surgery are basically out of the question.

Tumors generally show themselves as a lump under or on the skin of fish. These are a distinct bump or lump, as opposed to the white fluff of skin diseases. For the most part, tumors are benign, although it"s possible for one to grow so large that the fish"s quality of life declines and you may have to euthanize them.

One type of tumor that does have some success with treatment, is the kind that forms under the skin of the gill, causing it to remain open. The cause of this is usually a thyroid malfunction. Remove the fish to a hospital tank, and add 1 milligram of potassium iodine for every gallon of water. Improvement can be slow, and the full course of treatment can take up to four weeks.

Internal tumors can be quite advanced before the fish shows any signs, such as a swelling of the abdomen. These cases are invariably fatal, with the rapid growth causing the fish to lose its ability to swim or eat, at which time you should consider euthanasia.

About The Author

Nate Jamieson

Love Tropical Fish? Find out how to create a beautiful, low-cost tropical fish aquarium with complimentary tips at http://www.TropicalFishIsland.com.

 
Tropical Fish And Aquariums PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 03 July 2008 10:00
The hobby of aquarium keeping and tropic fish as pets is fairly recent in the Western World, and took a while to catch on. The keeping of fish in small indoor tanks was only seriously considered in the middle of the last century, when both in Britain and the rest of Europe a considerable interest in the subject developed...

At the beginning of the 1900’s aquarists around the world began to keep tropical fishes, and it was the "trend" of so doing that started a new wave of popular fish culture (keeping fish as pets)...

The older aquarists were obsessed with copying nature in their tanks—or rather with the attempt to try and copy nature—whereas the keepers of warm-water fishes had to experiment and create suitable environments for them...

Often they started only with the knowledge that the fish must be kept warm, and this in itself raised problems, including the death of favorite weeds and water snails at higher temperatures...

So the aquarium gradually came to be regarded as most of us
see it today, as a beautiful display, not a mirror held up to nature...

However, until the keeping of tropical fish, it seems that aquarists in general thought that the proper aim of an aquarium keeper was to reproduce a segment of nature...

They now realize that their task is the maintenance of a highly artificial and restricted community of animals and plants, with a balance that can easily topple with disastrous results to at least some of the members. At the same time, aquariums can generally be easily maintained as long as a few fundamental facts are recognized and applied with commonsense to the problems that arise...

So lets talk now about some of the characteristics of aquariums and tropical fish...

The old fashioned fish bowl has almost completely
replaced for serious fish-keeping by the rectangular glass tank, either made wholly of glass or with a metal frame and glass sides and a bottom of glass, slate, or other rigid material...

Except when used for spawning, for exhibition purposes, or as a hospital tank for the treatment of disease, the tank contains growing, rooted plants; these are set in a sand or gravel layer 1 or 2 inches thick. There may be decorative rocks, but the chief decoration is usually the plants themselves, which contribute more to the attractive appearance of a well set-up tank than do the fishes...

Rectangular tanks are usually between 5 and 25 gallons in capacity; a 15-gallon tank measures 24 X 12 X 12 inches and is a favorite size. Smaller tanks than these cannot house many fish or allow proper development of the plants...

Larger tanks are very attractive and give scope for beautiful planting arrangements and for fine growth of the fishes, but they are expensive and not likely to become generally popular. Most fish lovers therefore prefer a range of medium tanks rather than one or two very large ones, but it must be emphasized that fine fishes can be grown in large tanks...

In general, tropical fishes can be housed in smaller tanks than cold-water fishes. This is because they are usually smaller and are also better able to withstand a relative deficiency of oxygen in the water...

Size for size, most tropical fishes can be crowded a good deal more than the common goldfish and very much more than fancy varieties of goldfish. A 15-gallon tank might comfortably contain a dozen 3-inch rosy barbs, four or five 3-inch common goldfish at the most, and not more than a pair of Orandas of the same size...

Fish consume solid food and excrete solid faeces. They breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and therefore they tend to deplete their environment of oxygen and to pollute it with carbon dioxide and excrement...

Plants also breathe oxygen, but in sufficiently bright light they manufacture sugars, etc., from carbon dioxide taken from their surroundings, whether air or water, and they release oxygen. This is done in the green leaf...

Plants also absorb dissolved salts and use these together with carbon dioxide in building up complex organic compounds. Very few higher plants can utilize solid or very complex substances, and before animal excrement (usually known as "mulm" in the fish tank) is available to them it must be broken down by fungi or bacteria and made soluble...

So plants, in adequate light, tend to restore oxygen to the environment and to remove the waste products of animals. In poor light or in darkness they deplete the water or air of oxygen just as animals do. It is only in the daytime, or under bright artificial light, that they perform the complementary function to animals...

From these facts grew the concept of a balanced aquarium, with the waste products of the fishes absorbed by the plants, and the oxygen necessary for the fishes provided by the action of the plants in light...

The moral of the story? A well-planted tank with adequate illumination will usually stay clear and sweet for months or years with little attention...

Hopefully this article has given you a great insight into tropical fish as pets and the healthy keeping of aquariums.


About the Author: Dave Klein is the author of http://www.tropicalfishltd.com a comprehensive resource on tropical fish and aquariums. Visit http://www.tropicalfishltd.com to learn more about tropical fish as pets and how to keep them happy and healthy.

Source: www.isnare.com
 
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