2014 - A Year of Hello's and Goodbye's Part 2 - A Fond Farewell

As mentioned yesterday I think it would be fitting to remember some of the lovely animals at MKC that we have had to say farewell to.

So here is my tribute

Aquatics

"Pacman - The Ornate Horned Frog"

Pacman came to MKC a long time ago and was very old - he was quite good at being handled and was named after the computer game character as they look a bit like him.

The fan tailed Gold Fish have also died this year but everyone else in Aquatics are doing well.



Exotics

"Haribo The Corn Snake"

Sahara was my favourite reptile and was the first picture on my blog. She died back at the end of September suddenly but we think she was quite old. She loved coming in to the class to be nosey and seemed to enjoy being handled. I miss her. As she was so popular the decision was made to get another Uromastyx quickly hence the arrival of Jenson.



"Sahara The Uromastyx and me"  

Mammals

This is an emotional one for me as this most of my favourite animals are in this room and I knew that the time would come when we would have to say goodbye to some of the long term residents. This seems to have been the year. Any one who follows the blog will know how much I love the buns so it was very sad to see Peanut over 8yrs old and Benjy almost 7 say farewell. On a happy note they did leave us a lovely reminder of them in the form of Batch the Bunny who is their son. Both Peanut and Benjy were the first animals I really remember when I joined animal care almost 6 years ago and I have many fond memories of them  and miss them very much.

"Peanut and me" - One last kiss



"Benjy and me" before he retired.

Other mammals who have left us are Ellis the Chinchilla who I do not think I have a photo of as 3 of them all look the same and I get them confused with each other. We rehomed 4 of our 6 Quails as they can get quite aggressive with each other so we now have 2. Also rats and mice due to their short life span have come and gone.

The other 2 main mammals we have lost are 2  of the female Guinea Pigs - Zoe who was the oldest Guinea Pig I have ever come across went the same day as Peanut back in early July she was well over 7 and lived a very long and happy life with us. She even out lived her own daughter Sparkette. She was quite incredible and was always happy to be handled. She left her friend Pimms behind who despite being paired with another bunny passed away early in November a week after Benjy.

"Zoe the Albino Guinea Pig" - Reached a good old age 

"Pimms" Avery sweet little Guinea Pig

Last but not least a hello and goodbye in a good way - Albie Grubb who was a temporary resident during November as he went to live with one of the L2 students and is doing really well. I hope to have some pictures of him with his new wife Zara quite soon.

"Albie Grubb - renamed Grubb" - Happy in his new home with Zara 

So this is the last blog of the year and I thought it would be nice to remember those lovely animals that have given me and others so much joy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL - STAY TUNED FOR MORE IN 2015.



 



 

 

 

2014 - A Year of Hello's and Goodbye's Part 1

This has been the first year that I have written a blog and I have learnt how to write posts as I have gone through the year.

As the year draws to a close I thought it would be good to review some of the animals that have come and gone this year. All of the animals at MKC  are well cared for regardless of size, age, species and many of them live to ripe old ages.

Here is a feature of some we have said Hi to and some who we have sadly said bye to. Here is a review of those who stand out to me.

Hello    :)  

Aquatics Room

"Jeremiah - The Giant Bullfrog" - Growing fast!

"Mossy Tree Frogs x2" Still need a better photo

Various fish who are difficult to track for obvious reasons.
Exotics Room

"Tailess Whipped Scorpion" - One of the weirder species we have

"Jenson - The Uromastyx" - Quite the character :)

 

 

Mammal Room

"Minerva the Guinea Pig" - Still a little minervous but getting better

5 new Gerbils - 3 males and 2 females - One that looks like this    

Also some mice and rats but I lose track of these a little bit.

Look out for the farewells feature tomorrow the last day of 2014.

Animal Of The Week - Not Teenagers, not Mutants but defintely Turtles

College is now officially shut for the holiday but I still want to keep posting.

Recently I have had quite fascination with the Aquatics room and have based a number of  my lessons around Amphibians and Aquatic species. However there is actually a species of reptile in the Aquatics room and these seem quite popular. They are 2 resident turtles - Rodney the Common Map Turtle and The Painted Turtle with no name.

Back in the 90s when the original Teenage, Mutant Turtle film came out there seemed to be a spike in the sale of Turtles where lots of children wanted them. This resulted in people not understanding how to look after turtles and many were abandoned and poorly treated. As a result the RSPCA and other Welfare charities did work on improving the education of Turtle care and  this time round with the new and updated film it is hoped that history will not repeat itself.

"Do I look common or like a Mutant?" - Rodney The Common Map Turtle

Rodney came to us just before we moved from Horsted back in 2009 and the Painted Turtle arrived shortly after our move to the new building Gillingham in the same year. Common Map Turtles were given the name based on the pattern on their shells. They have lived together in a Terrarium in our Aquatics rooms ever since and enjoy swimming around and basking on their rocks. Both our turtles are Omnivores (eat both meat and plant) so enjoy a diet of invertebrates and plant matter. These species of Turtle originate from the USA where Turtles are quite common. These are a friendly species of turtle who actually enjoy attention unlike the "Mata- Mata" a South American Turtle thought to me the most aggressive species of turtle.

"Make up your mind am I a Turtle or a Terrapin?" - Painted Turtle with no name

One of the common misunderstandings there are about Turtles and Terrapins is that they are actually different. This is not the case , Terrapin is an English term used for certain species of Turtle that are semi-aquatic (spend some time in water and some time on land usually when feeding). Other parts of the world have used the word Turtle for exactly the same species. Painted Turtle is an example of this.

No-one messes with the Mata-Mata - no we do not have one of these at the college   

So remember anyone who hopes their turtle may turn in to Raphael or Donatello this won't happen and they need lots of looking after and the right environment to live in.              

"Animal Of The Week" - Chin Up!

Many years ago I used to have a gorgeous pet Chinchilla called Squingey. Unfortunately this was before the electronic age so I have no digital photos of him.

Squingey was  Lance and mine's first pet so I have always loved Chins. When we had him they were quite unusual and not a lot was known about them. Now this has totally changed and we have six Chinchillas at the college.

As mentioned in the last post I run a series of school groups and also handling sessions for both L1s and L2s. So any excuse for me to get an animal out.

Over the last week I have been running sessions with the L2s where we have been observing the behaviour of group living species so the Chins have been in the class having fun.

At the college we  have four grey Chinchillas Ash, Frankie, Angelica and Tufty live together and Max (white) and Alfie (grey) who live as a pair.

Today's feature are Max and Alfie

"Of course I am well behaved :)" - Max  

"You can put me down now!" - Alfie



Anyone who knows anything about Chins will know that they are very fast and will do what they can do out run you. Not funny when you get a Chin on the floor.  Max seems to have a rather unfair reputation as the bitey one however if he is handled correctly he will not bite and is actually quite placid at times. You will see in the photos placing one had under their chins (pardon the pun) and one under their back end this helps to make them feel secure and they cannot reach your fingers.

"Ok who called me the bitey one?!"

Max was originally paired with Angelica many years ago and they had a son Ozzy but since then we have had a few changes around and Max was paired with Alfie some time ago. Chins are group living animals and usually live quite happily together with the odd falling out. Max and Alfie get on very well so I only ever bring them out together. Alfie I find is naughtier then Max and has an obsession with trying to get on the floor - yes he has succeeded on occasion!

"Who could say such things about us? - We are way too cute"   

Chins are from the Andes which is a mountainous region in South America. One of my jokes is that they are from Chinchile as they are actually from Chile and Peru. They are known to live up to 20 years and are thought to have the softest fur in the animal kingdom.

Ash is our oldest Chin at around 16 years and I think the youngest is Tufty but he must be at least 5 or so. Chins are Crepuscular meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk so do not like being disturbed in the day when I am usually getting them out much to their disgust.

Chins still remain one of my favourite animals they are so amazing to watch and make funny little noises.   
          

Animal of the Week - "Allsorts of Fun"

Every week we run a School partnership taster session. I like to introduce these students to a variety of the different animals we have here at MKC. So I always make sure we have a reptile week and a mammal week.

Last week we had a reptile week and I introduced the students to Jenson (Uromastyx) and Eddie and Spike (Leopard Geckos). Students are also keen to meet the snakes.

Meet Allsorts our Corn/Rat Heinz 57 snake and is a constrictor - who seems to be everyone's favourite snake as he is so laid back and seems to enjoy being handled.


"Not sure your checks go with mine"


 Allsorts has been with us for around 10 years or more and came to us as a Corn Snake, however he is quite a bit longer than most Corn Snakes and quite  a bit thicker. Allsorts is the 2nd largest snake we have , the biggest being our Boa Constrictor "Ava".


He eats rodents like rats and mice and is fed around every 2-4 weeks. Snakes must not be handled for 2-4 days after they have been fed and usually you should wait for them to go to the toilet first. Feeding for snakes can be a stressful experience and if they are handled they can regurgitate their food.

In the UK we are not allowed to feed live food to snakes (unless signed off by a vet for health reasons). All our food is frozen and defrosted then fed to a snake with tweezers.



"I'm not thick I'm quite clever!" 

 

Snakes also shed their skin around every 4 weeks, you can see that a snake is due to shed when you see their eyes glaze over. Again snakes should not be handled during shedding as it can affect the process and cause the snake to become ill. Some of the Bradfields students had a go at handling Allsorts and realised how strong snakes are but could see he has a very mild manner.

Due to Health and Safety laws we are not able to keep Venomous snakes at "MKC"  so only house constrictors.

New Frogs On The Block - Mossy Frogs (Theloderma Corticale)

As part of the "NKOTB" series I have a more unusual new arrival to introduce you to. As usual the first pictures are rubbish but I hope to get some better ones soon.

It's easy to mistake these as a glump of moss or even a wet leaf but they are actually "Mossy Frogs". If they feel threatened they have been known to curl up in to balls and play dead to protect themselves from predators.

"Great Frogs - Shame about the Picture!"

 As you can guess they have this name as they resemble clumps of moss and use this to camouflage in to the background. These frogs are from Vietnam and parts of China and officially known as "Vietnamese Mossy Frogs".  They are a semi-aquatic frog so must have a water supply available at all times.   

El one of the technicians was given these frogs by a friend who was moving. Mossy frogs can be quite expensive at around £65 or more. They also require specialist housing and care so research any exotic species carefully before buying them. They would usually live in temperatures of 18-24 degrees Celsius and in the wild live at high altitudes and are keen tree climbers.

Our new residents are currently settling in and will be moved to our Aquatics rooms shortly. Lifespan in captivity is around 15 years so they are quite a long term commitment.

I will endeavour to get a better photo and let you know if we name them. I'm thinking Moss and Tree :)


 

 

 



NKOTB - Part 3 Continued - A first time for everything

Following on from Friday re. our new temporary "VIB" I thought it would be good for Albie to have some attention today and see how he coped with handling and grooming.

Here are some lovely photos of Albie - while he was  bit nervous at first he soon relaxed when I gave him a carrot. He then became quite curious.

"Is it safe yet?"



"I suppose the tickles are quite nice"

"BTW - I'm not an albino as my eyes are a green colour"  

This was also a good experience for the students to see how a new rabbit settles in to their surroundings and observing their behaviour.  Photo by permission of students.

"Now everyone one wants a photo with me!"

So you know that some of the permanent residents also gained from carrot time - here are some other photos. Care must be taken not to overfeed veg. to Rabbits and Guinea Pigs as this can give them upset stomachs.

"I thought I was your Favourite" - Willow Senior

"Snacks!"