PAH really have no idea!!

[Patp]

Just popped into PAH to get a thermometer for the tortoise table and while I was in there thought I would get a bag of Wainwrights for treats and to take with me if I am out for the day and cant take raw.

I asked if I could return the bag if Jinley didnt like it and I was told yes I could and asked what she was on at the moment.  I said raw and she then went on to say that I should mix some kibble in with her raw food until she gets used to eating it???!!

Now I always thought that kibble and raw should not be mixed in the same meal due to differences in digestive properties (or something more scientific)!

They really shouldnt be giving advice should they!

Pat

[8 Hairy Feet]

I try not go in if possible...
Just round the corner from
the one nearest us is a lovely
tiny little independent pet
supply shop, the young lassie that
has just taken it over is so helpful
and knowledgeable I want to
support her in her new venture.
I voted with my feet
steffxxx

[lettie10]

Just popped into PAH to get a thermometer for the tortoise table and while I was in there thought I would get a bag of Wainwrights for treats and to take with me if I am out for the day and cant take raw.

I asked if I could return the bag if Jinley didnt like it and I was told yes I could and asked what she was on at the moment.  I said raw and she then went on to say that I should mix some kibble in with her raw food until she gets used to eating it???!!

Now I always thought that kibble and raw should not be mixed in the same meal due to differences in digestive properties (or something more scientific)!

They really shouldnt be giving advice should they!

Pat

Absolutely right, I know some feed 50/50 but it would be kibble for 1 meal and raw for another as they do indeed digest at different rates and should not be given together IMO.

[MaggieR]

Completely unrelated....... but I have to ask

Just popped into PAH to get a thermometer for the tortoise table

What the heck is a tortoise table and why do you need to take its temperature?  For a minute I read it as "thermometer for the tortoise" and was trying to work out exactly where you'd stick it.... then realised it was a tortoise table  and I'm even more confuddled! 

[elaine.e]

I agree that PAH are useless but when I had my first 2 Cockers back in the late 1980s it was normal practice to mix raw mince or tripe with a biscuit mixer such as terrier mix or Pedigree Chum mixer or Winalot mixer (there really wasn't a huge choice back then). My first 2 were fed on that all their lives and didn't come to any harm or have tummy problems, although nowadays I choose not to mix raw with anything processed.

I was impressed when I went in an independent pet shop a few days ago. A friend was looking for possible alternative foods for a little Shi Tzu that she sometimes looks after. He's fed on Bakers and cooked chicken breast and suffers with continually itchy skin and does terrible poos. The young lady in the pet shop was knowledgeable about raw feeding, potential allergens/irritants like wheat and knew all about the various kibbles they stocked, from the usual ones to things like Origen.

[Patp]

Completely unrelated....... but I have to ask

Just popped into PAH to get a thermometer for the tortoise table

What the heck is a tortoise table and why do you need to take its temperature?  For a minute I read it as "thermometer for the tortoise" and was trying to work out exactly where you'd stick it.... then realised it was a tortoise table  and I'm even more confuddled! 

  I have 2 tortoises which are kept outside (they are only 3 years old) and they usually hibernate early December for 12 weeks by going in the fridge (yes the fridge! because the temperature can be kept almost constant so they dont lose too much weight).  This year, because of the colder weather November they decided to hibernate early and have been outside, but because of the milder weather over the past couple of weeks, they have become restless.  One of my torts is very small and was losing too much weight due to not eating / drinking, so I made the decision to bring her in and keep her awake for the winter.  Torts should not be kept in a vivarium (even though PAH used to sell torts with vivs) but are best kept in a large drawer type set up with soil and a UV heat lamp.  The temp has to be around 30 degrees to aid digestion etc.  hence the thermometer.  In a week, the other tort will come into the fridge before the frosts are due and it will stay there if all goes well till March.

Hope that explains it a little bit!

Pat

[MaggieR]

Completely unrelated....... but I have to ask

Just popped into PAH to get a thermometer for the tortoise table

What the heck is a tortoise table and why do you need to take its temperature?  For a minute I read it as "thermometer for the tortoise" and was trying to work out exactly where you'd stick it.... then realised it was a tortoise table  and I'm even more confuddled! 

  I have 2 tortoises which are kept outside (they are only 3 years old) and they usually hibernate early December for 12 weeks by going in the fridge (yes the fridge! because the temperature can be kept almost constant so they dont lose too much weight).  This year, because of the colder weather November they decided to hibernate early and have been outside, but because of the milder weather over the past couple of weeks, they have become restless.  One of my torts is very small and was losing too much weight due to not eating / drinking, so I made the decision to bring her in and keep her awake for the winter.  Torts should not be kept in a vivarium (even though PAH used to sell torts with vivs) but are best kept in a large drawer type set up with soil and a UV heat lamp.  The temp has to be around 30 degrees to aid digestion etc.  hence the thermometer.  In a week, the other tort will come into the fridge before the frosts are due and it will stay there if all goes well till March.

Hope that explains it a little bit!
Pat

Well you live and learn!!!!  Aside from the cocker connection this is why I love this forum... Thank you very much for the explanation Pat. Hope your little torts appreciate the effort    

[Linz13]

I remember a close neighbour having a roving tortoise. I used to find it on way to school and pop it back over the fence lol.

Our local PAHs I was never in, now though they sell Burns so I've signed up for ViP account lol. Local pet shop is awful. :-)

[Patp]

Well you live and learn!!!!  Aside from the cocker connection this is why I love this forum... Thank you very much for the explanation Pat. Hope your little torts appreciate the effort    

.. and I hope my grand children will, because they will inherit them!

Picture for you - the one on the left hasnt grown much since the picture was taken and the one on the right has more than doubled in size!

[jessika]

Omg I love Tortoises the college I was at last year had 3 of them, one was called Yoshi (after the Mario character) I just wanted to take him home  Our PAH is really helpful, when we bought our last 2 gerbils I had to get a 2nd hamster ball for one of them but his legs got caught in the gaps so I took it back, and the lady in there owned & bred gerbils and she reccomended a more cheaper way to re-house them while cleaning them (put them in an empty bath) and they have helped us with what treats and toys were suitable for puppies, they are also always happy and cheerful when you go in, so it will probably be down to different stores and who they hire, the other PAH near us are not as good, they dont always have people on at the till and the shelves are rarely stocked, its a big store and you never really see employees walking around I'm glad they made an even more local one with better staff. We also have a local pet shop in an industrial estate, we went in for a 15kg bag of JW food and gave us a free storage bin because it was their last one