It is very obvious that you hold an animal captive by holding it as a pet in a cage. This means that the pet is limited in the number and type of activities it can perform in a cage compared to the unlimited number of activities it can naturally engage in while in the wild. Specialists in mammals’ behaviours state that playing is an activity that comes second after food gathering. For a sugar glider pet to grow naturally, several items like toys must be provided. This article will shed light into toys for sugar gliders.

When animals play, they able to enjoy a sense of independence. Playing is also associated with the development of good cerebral well-being. Providing sugar gliders with a natural looking environment to play is very healthy. Mostly, the young gliders are able to engage themselves in a natural process of learning where they are able to distinguish diverse forms of shapes and textures. Providing toys to sugar gliders is a way of facilitating the development of their dexterity and coordination. Therefore, it is very relevant to expose the gliders especially the young ones to different types of objects to make them less fearful and more confident.

When toys are provided to sugar gliders, they help in providing them with a way of using their energy through vigorous exercises rather than converting all the energy to aggression and turning all of it towards the owner. Rather, they are able to use this energy in chewing, swinging and dangling on the toys or run around in the sugar glider wheel.

If you are the kind that likes to personally make toys for your glider pet, you should avoid woods that are pressure treated. This is because the arsenic chemical used to treat these woods is dangerous for your pet. If you prefer branches from the wild, ensure that the branches are insecticide free. It is also necessary to avoid collecting branches from places like near the roads or industries to avoid materials that have absorbed a lot of toxins from the vehicle and industrial fumes. However, you can clean such branches with dilute chlorine bleach to disinfect them. When cleaning wooden toys, make sure that you wipe them with dump piece of cloth and then drying them rather than soaking them to avoid bacterial growth which may be detrimental to your pet.

If the toys are made of ropes, make sure that only ropes that have 100% natural fibre have been used. Such ropes may either be sisal or cotton ropes. Avoid ropes that are made from nylon since they can injure your pet if it gets caught between the nylon’s strong strands. It is necessary for glider owners to frequently check toys made of ropes in order to either discard or cut back frayed or hazardous ropes.

Currently, acrylics are commonly used to make toys. At times, they make toys that cannot be easily be destroyed by the gliders. 3/16” minimum thickness is the best for acrylic used in making of toys. It is recommended that your purchase toys made from wood blended with acrylic or pure acrylic since such toys are long lasting and brightly coloured hence acting as your pet’s stimulant. If the toys have ring attachments, make sure that the rings are small enough and cannot allow the glider to fit its head into them. Otherwise, this may choke your pet to death if the head gets stuck in the ring. Gliders like making noise and having toy bells in their enclosure make them happy. However, ensure that the bell’s clapper is nontoxic and cannot be removed by the glider. Bells of liberty or cowbell design are the most recommended. Avoid jingle type of bells since their wide to narrow opening scan easily cut your pet if caught between these openings.

When buying a toy, the instructions will always state that the toy is safe for use. However, it is not all the products that are safe since the potential of any item to be dangerous always exists. When you buy a new toy for your glider, it is good to first supervise it and watch its interaction with the toy. This helps you to know how you can hang the toy, where to hang it and when to allow the pet to play with it

Sugar gliders are happy animals. If you have one as a toy, you should not keep it bored. Get a toy for it to play with and this rejuvenates its energy. It is good to have a variety of toy that the glider can play with when it wants. However, make sure that all the safety factors are considered before you can provide your glider with a toy to ensure that it always remains healthy and comfy.

Just like any other animal, hedgehogs produce litter form the remains of the food they eat, the toy they play with and their excretory materials. Most of the times, you will be dealing with a hedgehog poop. This requires you to know how to handle it in the most appropriate way possible and provide time for the pet to remain in a relaxed environment. Eliminating the litter keeps the hedge clean and healthy and allows for enough time to play with your pet. This article will analyze the issues surrounding hedgehog litter

There are numerous ways in which you can deal with the hedgehog litter. Since hedgehog poop is one of the most common litters that you have to deal with, it is very necessary to identify the pattern it follows before it poops. The most basic things to observe is the pet’s bathroom. This will always give you an insight into where you are allowed to locate the litter box to avoid the poop from being scattered in the entire cage. This is very necessary to observe during the first few days when you purchase the pet. During this time, it is not advisable to introduce a hedgehog wheel since it will turn to use this wheel as the litter box. Such an act makes the pet’s legs very untidy and disgusting to clean. Moreover, do not be scared if the animal poops all over the cage. This shows that the animal is just waiting for you to find the best place where you can place its potty. Moreover, there are those unfortunate instances when the hedgehog embarks on pooping on the wheel. At such instances, you should take it out for at least three of the first potty training days in order to have it used to the new system that you are introducing.

In order to make an example for the hedge to follow, it is advisable to design a litter box and then have it filled with litter in order for the pet to follow the suit. One of the best ways of designing a litter box is cutting into half a squire tissue box through the hole. The next step is ensuring that the divot is deep enough to allow the pet to easily enter. You can also visit the pet store to purchase any form of litter that is dust free. If you find it, you can get one big bag of litter since it will last a long time before it gets depleted.

When you have the litter box ready, you are charged with collecting the previous dropping in the cage and then putting them in the litter box. This act allows the hedgehog to learn that this is the point where he/she is supposed to poop. However, makes sure that you introduce and put little litter into the box to allow the pet to sniff around and find the litter box without being freaked out by the foreign materials in the litter box.

The most appropriate place to put the litter box is where the hedgehog is used to poop. If it poops next to or even in the wheel, place the litter box at the wheel’s sitting point. However, you can freak out the pet if you get rid of the wheel. Instead, you can tape it so that the animal does not discover that pooping on the wheel has come to an end. This also ensures that the wheel does not get knocked over by the pet. You can also make the hedge used to the litter box in different ways. When you are playing with the edge and you notice that it is about to poop, you can rush it to a strategically located litter box in order to get it used to the box. It is advisable to keep on training the hedge until it gets used to the new system regardless of the time it takes. Moreover, avoid placing such boxes near the food or water bowls. Also, not that juvenile hedges have a higher rate of pooping than adults.

Hedgehog litter may at times be disgusting. It would be a lot easier if you would train the animal to put its litter into a litter box rather than collecting it by yourself. Finding a litter box is the initial step and then training the hedge to make use of this litter box when pooping is the next step.  At some point, it will get used to the new rules hence you should keep on trying and never lose hope.