A BBC crew has discovered a new species of giant rat! The animal captured was at about cat size, a good 3.3 lbs heavy and 32 inches long.

Read more about this and watch the BBC video of this gentle giant rat, who is not (yet?) afraid of humans at all.

Earlier in 2009, a rat described as ‘nightmarish’ with its 6 pounds was caught in a residential neighborhood in Fuzhou, China . This appears to be a species of the bamboo rat, which is indigenous to southern Asian countries.

Please visit this amazing video of an elephant painting her self portrait. You can purchase prints of this wonderful elephant art and support the people caring for these animals on the fair trade website which put up this video.

As you know, only organic certification guarantees that a pet food is free of genetically engineered (GE) (or ‘modified’) ingredients.

Scientific America’s latest issue just published an interesting article about independent studies on the safety and properties of GE crops.

Proponents of genetically engineered foods state that genetic modification of GE food crops 1. yields higher harvests which are required to feed more people (and livestock), 2. reduce pesticide use and tilling that erodes land, 3. will be superior to survive heat waves and droughts, and 4. are as safe as non-genetically engineered foods.

The problem is that none of these statements can be verified by an unbiased party.

If independent researchers want to work with GE seeds, for example to test for safety, growth requirements or resilience of crops, they need to sign a legally binding agreement “for proprietary reasons” that assures that no research results are published without the agritech company’s approval.

This means of course that any published research about these crops has been filtered by the companies which developed and sell these crops.

This may explain why there is so little negative data about these GE foods available to the public. Not good.

If you have small pets and feed them fresh raw pet food, you may notice that fruit flies start invading your home. What can you do?

You can buy commercial fruit fly traps or you can make them yourself.

Mix some sugar in vinegar and pour this mixture into an empty bottle and place a small diameter funnel on the bottle. The smell will attract fruit flies which have a hard time escaping from the bottle. Some people like to use hot sauce, wine, or add a piece of ripe banana to the bottle.

You can place these (for you and your pets harmless) traps into the kitchen and/or close to where you serve fresh food to your small animal.

Aside from keeping your pet’s area clean, it is also important to remove all fruits or vegetables that might compete with your trap from the kitchen. You should also keep your counter tops and stove clean and remove all dirty or wet dishes from your sink as soon as possible.

I hope this simple way to control fruit flies will help you as well as it helps us and our pets.

In humans, peanut allergy is the most common food-related cause of lethal anaphylaxis. Unlike many other food allergies, it often persists into adulthood. As well, peanuts are often used in dog treats. Well, you may say, peanuts can be allergens for humans, but can animals be allergic to them too? Yes, they can; read on…

When pre-sensitized mice were injected with peanut extract, it was found that this caused dose-dependent shock by induction of complement C3a. The resulting shock was found to be independent of LPS (bacterial) contamination. C3a stimulates macrophages, basophils, and mast cells to produce platelet-activating factor and histamine (1). Another study found that peanut extract caused gene expression changes in the mesenteric lymph nodes of Brown Norway rats (2).

Many pet treats contain peanut butter because animals simply love the taste! However, be aware of this food’s allergenic potential. Mice aren’t the only animals that can be allergic to peanuts. At least one study (3) has shown that dogs can also be allergic to peanuts and other common human allergens. The allergenic response in dogs follows this hierarchy: peanut > tree nuts > wheat > soy > barley.

The probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota could not down-regulate the allergic response to peanuts in Brown Norway rats (4).

At Onesta Organics, we promise to resist the temptation to use peanuts, which are tasty, but potentially harmful, simply to increase palatibility of our pet food products.

1. Khodoun et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009;123(2):352-3
2. deJonge et al. J Immunotoxicol 2008:5(4):385-94
3. Teuber et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;110(6):921-7
4. deJonge et al. Toxicology 2008;249(2-3):140-5

Researchers compared the allergenic properties of cows and goat milk in laboratory guinea pigs (1). Anaphylaxis and antibody production tests showed that goat milk is hypoallergenic when compared with cows milk. The data also suggests that both casein and lactoserum proteins are responsible for the observed milk-related allergies.

AlphaS1-casein and several peptides derived from alphaS1-casein have been shown to be the major allergens in cows milk (2).

It remains to be determined if raw milk has similar effects. Notably, raw milk seems to be tolerated by people with lactose intolerance.

1. Cellabos et al. J. Dairy Sci. 2009;92(3):837-46. <small>

2. Schulmeister et al. J. Immunol. 2009:182(11):7019-29

A veterinary pet insurance company reports that pet poisoning in the UK has been continuously rising over the past few years. It is conceivable that this is also true in other countries.

Proper storage of medications and drugs, including ash trays can prevent many incidents of pet poisoning in your home. The toxic level of nicotine for dogs is reported to be 5mg/lb body weight. For dogs, a dose of 10mg of nicotine is potentially lethal.

One cigarette contains 15 to 25 mg of nicotine, a cigar 15-40mg, a cigarette patch between 8-114mg. A cigarette butt contains 4-8 mg of nicotine, depending on its length and content in the original cigarette. Since smoking concentrates nicotine, cigarette butts contain relatively higher amounts of nicotine. Chewing tobacco contains between 6 and 8 mg of nicotine.

Other common nicotine-containing products are nicotine chewing gum (with 2-4mg nicotine per piece), nasal sprays (0.5mg per spray, 80-100mg per bottle), and nicotine inhalers (4mg per puff, 10mg per cartridge).

Signs of nicotine toxicity are dose dependent and include tremors, weakness, depression, stumbling, lethargy, hyperactivity, fast or difficulty breathing, drooling, dilated pupils, diarrhea, seizures, collapse, decreased or increased heart rate, and vomiting. These signs begin usually within one hour after ingestion, when many dogs vomit naturally. Untreated, nicotine toxicity can cause paralysis of the breathing muscles and consequently death.

Some animals do not show symptoms for hours after exposure to toxins. Therefore, it is best to bring your pet to a veterinarian if you saw or suspect that your pet ingested nicotine or was exposed to any other drug, even if you do not yet notice any symptoms. Always collect and bring along to your veterinarian all packaging or containers involved, as well as any material your pet may have chewed on or vomited. This additional information can be essential for the most effective treatment.

Treatments include induction of vomiting, bathing (if exposure was dermal), pumping the stomach, delivery of activated charcoal, IV fluids, breathing support with ventilation, oxygen, and seizure control measures.

Prevention includes proper storage of all drugs in your home, car, and garden, as well as proper supervision in public areas such as in parks, beaches, streets.

For a fee, ASPCA offers a consultation for immediate assistance at 888-426-4435 and also sells an emergency first-aid kit for your pet (http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/index.php?productID=1930).

William Hageman (bhagman@tribune.com) wrote a useful article about what you can do if your dog got skunked. He shares a homemade rinse that is recommended by Francine Barnes, the owner of Carriage Hill Kennels in Glenview, IL.

Combine 1 quart fresh hydrogen peroxide (the usual 3% solution from a drugstore) with 1/4 cup of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of liquid soap (preferably a non-toxic, biodegradable product). Mix well. The solution will bubble and must be used as long as it is still active.

Apply the solution outdoors using protective gloves and without previously wetting your dog. Be careful not to get any of the solution into the dog”s eyes. Let the solution on for 10 minutes.

Rinse and repeat.

If the smell persists, make another batch of this solution and go another round.

The following is a technique my husband picked up at the Neonatal Care Unit. We have applied it with great success to our rescued rats when they are in respiratory distress or during gasping attacks .

- Take the animal and hold her gently in a comfortable position with one hand.
- Tap with the tips of two (or three) fingers hard (but not too hard) on her ribcage on the
sides of her body, directly above the lungs. You should faintly hear the tapping sounds.
- Alternate tapping on both of her sides.
- Make a short break.
- Repeat for a couple of minutes or until the rat gets restless.
- Reward with kisses, petting and/or a special treat.

Our rats really respond well to this emergency intervention.

We apply this treatment also when acute gasping attacks are not an issue to relieve respiratory distress (i.e., when we hear that fluids have accumulated in the lungs).

You can do this anytime, when you watch a movie, when you sit still, or on your trip to your veterinarian – whenever you have both hands free to help your pet.

This is a temporary solution only; you have to consult your veterinarian to learn how to best resolve the underlying problem.

Aside from being a supportive or an emergency intervention, this simple treatment can help tighten the bond between you and your pet. Our rats usually enjoy it and start licking our hands soon after we start with this procedure. They really don’t seem to get tired of it.

Ozone is a natural gas with short reactive half life time but great therapeutic and sanitary properties.

Ozonated olive oil was recommended to us by Dr. Robert Smatt to treat a facial abscess in one of our rescued rats. After only a few applications of this salve, the abscess was gone for good after less than 12 hours without oozing or uncomfortable heat compressions.

We observed the same effect a few months later, again on a facial abscess and an abscess that developed at a surgical incision site. The abscess on the surgical site diminished after only one application and disappeared after 4 days of once a day application of the salve.

Ozone is a great natural antibiotic and we have used it successfully to treat a variety of fungal, viral, and bacterial infections. Although we never had to try it, we believe that ozonated olive oil would also be a very effective treatment for bublefoot.

One of our friends has great success treating itchy hot spots on her dog’s skin with ozonated olive oil. Her dog apparently really appreciates the relief this simple remedy causes and lies down contently and with great expectations to allow the application.

The beauty of this non-toxic, low-tech treatment is that animals even can lick and ingest it without getting harmed. In fact, some practitioners recommend oral administration of ozonated olive oil for certain ailments.

Dr. Smatt also used ozone gas to treat inoperable cancers as well as arthritic problems in dogs, cats and even one of our rats. We are very grateful for Dr. Smatt’s care for our pets.