Pet Owners Interviews
Ms. Heather Davis
Ms. Heather Davis is a Pet owner for a Rabbit & a Hamster. She is my Spanish teacher who loves pets so much. Here is Interview Q&A with some valuable information.
Q:How long have you had your pets?
A:Hamster 2 years
Rabbit- 1.5 years
Q:Where did you get them?
A:Hamster from a breeder in Waco
Rabbit I rehomed from a family I know that was not taking good care of her.
Q:What are their favorite things to do?
A:Hamster – Theo – wants to play on his wheel
Rabbit – to eat
Q:Challenges experienced?
A:They are Prey animals . They get stressed easily . Giving medications is tough. They are considered exotic pets. It’s hard to find exotic Vet
Q:What do you feed them?
A:Hamster – seed mix with dry veggies and protein pellets. Salad ½ twice a week. Carrots. Eggs. yogurt, cheese
Rabbit – timothy hay , Hay pellets. Greens ( dill , basil, cilantro)
Q:How often do you clean the cages?
A:Hamster – 75 gallon fish tank. Every 6 to 8 weeks when it was small. He has renal failure. So I clean once a week.
Rabbit – 6 by 6 pen, once a week I sweep
Q:Do they fight?
A:They don’t interact or I don’t let them play together
Q:How often do you take them to Vet?
A:Once a year for wellness. But if any illness – I take them every 3 months
Q:Common health issues and symptoms?
A:Hamsters – Respiratory illness is common. We can’t burn candles or scents. They are sensitive to that.
Rabbits – GI issues. Blocked. They die quickly if we don’t have the gut moving quickly.
Q:Favorite things about having these 2?
A:They are loving. Rabbit is cute, cuddly and mischievous. Sometimes hamsters can be more interactive too.
Q:Any advice for beginners?
A:All think Hamsters are beginner pets and easy to handle. They are expensive, All the supplies involved are high maintenance and expensive.
Rabbits – Very expensive – Bunny proof everything and shield our house.
In my opinion, cats and dogs are more easy to care for.
Sweshika Masina – Dog
Sweshika is a Sophomore like me at Alcuin school. She is so fond of dogs. She is the pet owner for her dog “Milo”
Q: Why did you choose this pet?
A: Because they’re really outgoing and you can do a lot more things with them. I kinda did want a cat but most of my family like dogs more so that’s why I decided to get a dog.
Q: How long did it take to train your dog and how hard was it to train your dog?
A: I think it took us like a year, maybe a year and half, until to have him fully trained like to have him sit down and all those things and he wasn’t super hard to train. I think the hardest part was him like um like even now like he doesn’t really listen to the directions to sit unless there is a treat.
Q: How often do you take your dog on a walk?
A: He goes everyday um cuz my dad takes him in the morning but me personally maybe I take him on the weekend.
Q: What kind of diet do you feed your dog?
A: He just has dog food from the store but a lot of the time he doesn’t like eating just that or he won’t finish all of his food if he just eats that so a lot of the times we put chicken in there or other things like that.
Q: What would you do if your dog ran away?
A: I think the first thing we would do is to try to look for him to see if he is on the street but like if he ran somewhere far away, we wouldn’t be able to find him, since he doesn’t have a tag on his collar.
Q: What is your dog usually scared of?
A: He’s really scared of suitcases and large boxes or anything, if you go near him with that, he’ll run away. He also doesn’t like super loud sounds like if you go near him with something that makes a sound, he’ll run away so yeah.
Q: What are your dog’s favorite activities?
A: He really likes being outside, and he likes going on long walks, he just likes playing/running around outside.
Q: How do you handle your dog’s bad behavior?
A: Normally if he’s doing something really bad or if he’s being annoying towards guests, then we’ll kind of just put him in the crate.
Q: What are some common health issues you have noticed in your dog and what are the symptoms?
A: Sometimes, he doesn’t eat for a while and sometimes he gets kind of sick like he doesn’t do anything and he’ll just lie down all day.
Q: What are the best things about owning a pet?
A: They contribute a lot to your happiness, like they’re just cute and it gives you something to do also, like taking care of them
Q: How does your dog interact with other pets?
A: He gets really excited when he sees other dogs or other pets in general, like he wants to go near them, he wants to smell them, etc.
Aditi Srikanth – Sugar gliders
Aditi Srikanth is Freshman at Carroll High school. SHe is very fond of exotic pets. She owns 2 sugar gliders.
Q:Why did you choose this pet?
A:In animal science they had 2 sugar gliders. I used to hang out with them a lot. They are very cute and small. No one hangs out with them. So I asked dMs. Bailey where to get them. She contacted her friend who had them. That’s how I got them.
Q:Do they need to be sprayed?
A:They don’t have a smell. They really take care of themselves and clean themselves for their hygiene. I just clean their cage.
Q:Do sugar gliders have an odor?
A:No odor for themselves. But they smell like pee & poop. I just got used to it.
Q:Do they go to the bathroom in a specific area?
A:No. They just go wherever they feel like.
Q:What kind of diet and how often do you feed your sugar gliders?
A:It varies. Many use different diets. I just do BNL diet: a diet of kibble, fruits & veggies, Sometimes yogurt. Some protein is good, I feed them once a day. During weekends I feed them some unsalted walnuts, almonds & pistachios. They hate salt.
Q:What is the optimal temperature for sugar gliders?
A:They are native to australia. I like to keep them in my living room 65- 90 highest. Too low can cause hypothermia. Too hot will cause heat stroke.
Q:What are your sugar glider’s favorite toys?
A:I keep climbing toys. They like to climb. Coconut hangers. Little ladder. Initiative toys where they can climb and hide or find treats.
Q:How do you handle sugar gliders?
A:Whenever I’m free I have a little tent. I take them with me . They crawl over me. Sometimes they poop on you. SOmetimes i put them in my hoodie and they sleep while I study.
Q:What are the common health issues you have noticed in your sugar gliders and what are the symptoms?
A:I have had them for 2 years. I haven’t noticed any health issues till now. Just sneezing. Like allergies. I want to advise pet owners that if they eat too much sugar their teeth are going to wear away. Do not feed them too much sugar. Just because they are sugar gliders we should not feed them sugar. Hydration is important. Water mixed with little pasteurized honey.I syringe them and that’s a really good way of getting them extra water.
Q:What are the best things about owning a pet that you experienced?
A:I spend a lot of time with them. When they can get to a point when they socialize with you, sometimes they come out in the morning, you get to hold them and they will sleep on your chest.