Exotic Animal Lover

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The Abyssinian cat is an Egyptian breed, whose build is in between that of the typical American short-haired and the Siamese, but still on the fine-boned side, with a long tail tapering to a point.

Abyssinian Cats have almond shaped eyes, but with colors such as green, gold, copper or hazel. Large ears standing at alert are typical, and cats that are shown have large tufts of hair at the tips.

Their coat is bright and short, silky and dense, owing similar markings to that of the African wild cat. Colors include reddish brown or “ruddy”, cream, red, blue and fawn in coloration, but can more rarely include silver, lilac, tabby and tortoiseshell.

Each hair of their coat has a base color, then 3-4 bands of color, the lighter color being at the root of the hair, and the darker color or “ticking” at the tip.

Apparently, this cat breed is a few thousand years old and comes from Ancient Egypt. However, today’s Abyssinian in America, has been rumored to have had 3 Abyssinians of Libyan descent introduced into the gene pool.

They are touted to be quite loyal and intelligent, extroverted, but willful as well. Not so much a lap cat, they are more concerned with exploration and playtime. They enjoy heights, but don’t often take risks that are seen as unnecessary, making them prudent.

However, without daily activity and attention from their human family, they can get depressed and very bored.

By nature, they get along well with other cats and are frequently reported to live beyond 20 years of age.

Get the domestication of a house cat, but with the exotic look of a wild animal with an Abyssinian kitten.

For more information on cat care, check out CatChannel.com

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I hope you enjoyed this Cat Breed on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Please be sure to Subscribe to this Blog!

Technorati Tags: Abyssinian cats, Abyssinian, Abyssinian kittens, cat breeds, exotic cats, exotic pets, Egyptian cats, African cats

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You always know the animal lovers at Christmas time when they show you their gifts…

Half of the gifts were for their animals…LOL

With us, that’s the truth, no exception to that rule, and we LOVE IT!

If you think about people’s hobbies and get them a great gift for that…it’s just that…A GREAT GIFT!

Now, our pets are so much more than a hobby…They are a lifestyle, so to speak…

They are our life and they are a part of our family just like any person is.  They are important and an ever present joy!

So, as you can guess we received presents that included our animals too!

Our family gave us gift certificates to the pet store, lots of Read the rest of this entry �

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Just a little glimpse into the life of the most famous reindeer of all!

Here’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…

Rudolph’s just way too cute!!! Keep your eyes out for him in the Christmas sky leading Santa’s sleigh!

A Very Merry Christmas to All!

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I hope you enjoyed this Arctic Animal on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. This is one of my very favorite Christmas movies of all time! Young or old, you need to see this movie:

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - DVD Fullscreen Synopsis: Remember when Santa called upon Rudolph to guide his sleigh that foggy Christmas night? Relive the adventures of Rudolph and friends as they help save Christmas and have some fun along the way. Told and sung by Burl Ives. This Original Christmas Classic is a must-have for the holidays! Features: Cast /Crew: Arthur Rankin - Producer Burl Ives - Actor Larry Roemer - Director Romeo Muller - Writer Studio: Classic Media Production Year: 1964 Release Date: 2007-09-04 Length: 52 $14.93

Technorati Tags: Rudolph, Rudolph red nosed reindeer, red nosed reindeer, reindeer, Santa’s reindeer, reindeer, mammals, Arctic animals

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On October 28th, 2008, I sent a complaint letter to Petcetera and have since received absolutely NO response to it!

Check it out here:

“I’d like to comment about my “service” today at the N*&^%$# F@#$% [my city] location of Petcetera, of which I am a very loyal customer, that was inexcusable. (I have 5 dogs, 1 hedgehog (from a competitor’s store), 4 goldfish and 1 pleco - which I purchased at this Petcetera, and the aquarium). Honestly, I’m in the store a few times per week and almost always make a purchase upon visiting the store.

Last night, I went into the store to look at the new shipment of fish they receive every Thursday to decide upon any that I liked, and to return 1 item.

I was helped by an EXTREMELY helpful and sweet cashier and a Fabulous on-duty manager (I believe), but am unsure of their names. The manager assisted me in the fish area and we got to talking about the pets I have at home, one of which is a hedgehog.

She was excited to hear that I am a hedgehog enthusiast and have had them over the past 10 yrs. She was excited because at that location, they’ve had a hedgehog for over 2 months, who no one ever wants to look at.

I was happy to hear about it because it is difficult to Read the rest of this entry �

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I have always wanted to visit New Zealand…

Not only for it’s picturesque landscapes, mountains, green valleys, and fantastic ocean views, but why else?…

For it’s amazing fauna!

As you know, I love animals, and where else would I go in New Zealand, but where the cool animals are!

I go where the animals live…That’s what I want to see most when I travel.

New Zealand has so many unique animals that are native to this country and found nowhere else on the planet…similar to how Australia has their unique species found no other place either.

Well, NZ is the seabird capital of the world, first of all and boasts two native flightless birds. One of them is the only flightless parrot, the kakapo, which is critically endangered. The other is the kiwi, which just happens to have nostrils at the end of it’s beak.

The only native land mammals in New Zealand are bats: the long-tailed bat and the short-tailed bat.

What else? Well, the tuatara is a lizard only found in New Zealand…How cool is that?

I’d love to visit Christchurch, Stewart Island (the most Southern part of NZ), the Southern Alps and Abel Tasman National Park of the Southern Island, Auckland, Tauranga, Aoraki/Mount Cook, and as many tiny surrounding islands as I could to see the amazing wildlife!

I would want to do a little bit of snorkeling and diving, of course!

What a world of adventure!

It would be an awesome thing to have the ability to be a full-time travel blogger and bring you fantastic posts about the world’s wildlife from all over the planet!

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I hope you enjoyed this post on Animals of the World???? ??? ???? on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. If you have ever wanted to migrate, live, work or invest in New Zealand the smart way, find out how to here:

Live in New Zealand

P.P.S. Be sure to Subscribe to this Blog!

Technorati Tags: New Zealand, tuatara, exotic animals, kiwi, kakapo, parrots, seabirds, Auckland, animals in New Zealand, bats

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My hedgehog loves treats!

I feed her 2 different staple foods, and then supplement her diet with different fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Sometimes, I consider those supplements as treats, but when I really want to treat her, and give her some great nutrition while I’m at it, I give her meal worms and crickets.

I know, I know…For many of you, that sounds disgusting, but she LOVES them!

Mind you, they are not alive and you don’t have to touch them…just shake a few into the bowl!

I don’t keep Kokonut in a closed cage or aquarium, so live crickets are out of the question…they’d be chirping all over the house after they escape!  It is an open air cage with heavy gauge wire small enough that she couldn’t fit through, with a plastic bin-type bottom.

She could have been sleeping the entire day, but when I put these “treats” in her bowl, she’s out like a flash to devour them!

I prefer to get her the freeze-dried meal worms, that aren’t wet, but there are times I can’t find them anywhere either.

I haven’t seen Read the rest of this entry �

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As you all may remember, I own an African Pygmy Hedgehog…It’s the 2nd one I’ve owned, in fact.

When you are choosing bedding for your little critters, you need to keep a few things in mind:

* Comfort
* Smell
* Dryness
* Safety
* Price

I use corn cob bedding, after trying so many different kinds over the years.

I found that cedar and pine shavings start to smell awful quickly! Also, they just hold the water and can harbor mold a lot easier. Plus, I didn’t feel that it was very comfortable to sleep in.

Why Do I Use That?
* Our hedgehog can move them around easily, since they enjoy burrowing. It moves to her body shape due to the small size of the pieces. It’s almost like lying down in small beads.

* It fights smell of hedgie waste longer than any other type of bedding I’ve used.

* It is organic and safe to use, even if it happens to get into their food or water.

* It is super absorbent and keeps the area dry.

* It is really cheap too! Only about $15.00 for a huge, 40 lb bag!

It Rocks!

Is That All I Use?
Actually, until just recently, this is all I used. However, I recently discovered a neat product that keeps the bedding from smelling.

It’s called Read the rest of this entry �

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Have you been looking for free animal photos you can either use online, for a project or business campaign?

Check out 123rf Search and Win for some fantastic photography of every kind, even for those of us who are animal lovers.

Photo left: Spotted lizard c/o 123rf.com

Isn’t that lizard a beauty?

It is difficult to find public domain photos readily online, ones that you have full use to, but with the images on 123rf, they have a huge collection of free images to use, as well as paid images, if you so desire to use them.

Plus, you could win 1 of 10 packages of 20 123RF Credits worth $20 or 1 Wacom Bamboo given away DAILY!

Have you ever seen one of these babies? It’s too cool! It’s like a “virtual secretary”…

You can hand write notes, scribble on documents, even sign your name on contracts, etc.  Really, really neat! I want one!!!

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I hope you find this Great Animal Find to be a great resource on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Photo left: 5 beautiful flamingos c/o 123rf.com

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. If you sign up with my referral banner below, and you win one of the prizes, I win the same prize too! Click on the banner below to sign up for free!

Technorati Tags: animal photos, free photos, free images, Wacom Bamboo, 123rf, stock photos

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We welcome our new pair of oranda.

I’ll bet you’ve never heard of apricot oranda before, and I had never seen anything like them before.

They were actually labeled orange and black oranda and were in a tank full of them, except these two weren’t the typical orange or “gold” color. They are clearly apricot in color and stood out to me!

Of course, loving unique animals, I fell in love right away.

I left the pet store and ran a bunch of errands for most of the day, but could not get these two off my mind.

So, What Did I Do?
I drove right back to the pet store and hoped for the best that they would still be there.

They were meant for us…They were staring me in the face when I got there.

I was only going to get one, but they followed each other all over the tank through the crowd of other orandas.

I didn’t have the heart to break them up, so they both came home with me.

They both are unique in their Read the rest of this entry �

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This past week, I went into one of our local pet stores and noticed something I had never seen before.

I noticed they had thin slices of zucchini in the tanks for the goldfish…I didn’t look at the tropicals.

I had to ask…They said they give them a treat in each tank every day. Sometimes thin slices of zucchini, cucumber or oranges.

Since then, I’ve been “treating” my goldfish with something tasty every couple days.

* Tip: Slice the vegetable as thinly as humanly possible, so that they can actually eat it, and easily. It may be of use to you to use a mandolin or use a peeler to peel the vegetable, but extremely thin.

What I’ve noticed they especially like are Read the rest of this entry �

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