Many exciting changes take place during the development phase of puppies. (puppy development phase)
They learn various survival skills and develop strength with each passing day of infancy. The role of mother is very crucial during the first few weeks.
It’s gets quite hard for a puppy to survive if the mother is not there.
Let’s have a closer look at puppies development week by week.

Table of Contents

• Week 1 (neonate phase)
• Week 2 (neonatal phase)
• Week 3 (Transitional phase)
• Socialization phase (week 4 to week 7)
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7

Week 1 (neonate phase)

The first week starts with the birth of these adorable puppies. The Pups are blind, deaf and their nervous system is not yet fully developed.

Pup’s eyes and ears are sealed.
Feet, face, and nose is pink in color in the 1st week. Newborns can hardly move and don’t have the ability to support the weight of their bodies.

However, they make squeaking calls to call their mother. A pup will make these sounds when hungry or when it is away from the rest of the litter.

Newborn pups have a rooting reflex to find the treat by pushing their head towards the warmth. This reflex helps the pup to remain close to the mother and the litter heep. this prevents the puppy from falling out from the nest.
By the end of the first week, the pup’s face and feet are covered with a layer of silky hair, and hyperpigmentation takes place.

Week 2 (neonatal phase)

For two weeks mother stays real close to her litter and can be quite protective.
After feeding, she’s will lick the vent and lower bodies of pups to induce defecation.

Pups are still not that strong to lift up their heads without support.

Following changes occurs in the neonatal phase –

1. Vocalization develops
2. Body coat starts growing
3. pups are able to open their eyes
4. Pups will respond to their mother’s call.

Week 3 (Transitional phase)

The most crucial times start from week 3. Now the females leave her nest for longer durations in search of food. Pups are more active than before and now they can lift their body off the ground.
This increases their chance of getting away from the den.

1. Littermates will interact with each other.
2. Eyes are open
3. They respond to light and strange sounds.
4. Pups still feed on mother meat, however, the female will occasionally offer them chewed food.
5. Pups start defecating o their own.
6. licking behavior is noticed.

Socialization phase
(week 4 to week 7)

Week 4

Puppies of this age group start showing up the dog characteristic.
Tail wagging, chasing and barks are the characteristic features of your pup entering the socialization phase.

Playing and interacting with people gets add on in their daily routine.

Week 5

by this time pups have undergone a great change……read more on
https://www.snoopyfeeds.com/2020/05/26/puppy-development/

Budgerigars or the Budgies bird, this colorful small-sized bird with a hooked- bill and curious nature is the smallest of all the parrot species.

Commonly known as Budgie, African love bird or बजरी in Hindi.
They are the 3rd most popular pet in the world after dogs and cats.

These birds mostly inhabit the grassland and forest near a water source. Wild budgies mostly feed on the grass seeds and spinifex. They still create a real nuisance for farmers by wiping off the wheat crops.

Table of Contents

• Origin of budgies
• TYPES
• Size
• Lifespan
• Interaction
• Colors
• Care
• Food requirements
• Seeds and legumes
• ”My budgies don’t eat anything except spray millets”
• Signs of a healthy Budgie
• Difference between male and female budgies.
• Males
• Females
• Talking abilities
• Breeding
• Common health problems

Origin of budgies

In the natural habitat, wild budgies inhabit the vast grasslands of Australia where they live in large groups.

These nomadic birds are always on the move in search of food and water.

TYPES

There are two types of budgies that are generally seen in the pet trade.

1) American budgies — They are smaller than the English budgies in size. American budgie closely resembles the wild budgies.
2) English budgies — They are larger than the normal American budgies and have a larger and broader head.

Size

Budgie parakeets are small-sized parrots

American budgies — 6 to 7 inches long, weighing approx 30 grams.
English budgies — about 10 inches long, weighing approx 50–60 grams

Lifespan

8–10 years in captivity.

Interaction

Because these birds are very social, that’s why they prefer to live in groups.

They will respond well to training and can be hand tamed quite easily.

Colors

Wild budgies are green in color with black colored stripes that run from their head to their wings. The tails are of dark green color with a blue tint at the end.

while, budgies that are bred in captivity exhibit a wide range of colors — white (albinos and albino red eyes), yellow (lutinos), blue and green.

Care

cage requirements
You must provide your budgie with the biggest cage you can afford, the minimum INDOOR cage dimensions for a pair of budgies should not be less than 31cm x 24cm x 40cm, with two perches, two food bowls, and a breeding box attached outside the cage if required.

A birdcage should not be their permanent enclosure, they should always be provided with some time outside the cage.

this is ultimately gonna boost up your bird’s mood and make him interact with you.

Before taking your pet bird out of the cage, always make sure to turn off the fans and windows are shut.

Food requirements

Fresh food and water should always be available in your bird’s cage.
Make sure to clean the food and water bowl on a regular basis.

Their diet should be made up with an accurate combination of seeds, green vegetables, and fruits
this gonna provide them with all the essential micro and macronutrients

Calcium block/ mineral block or a cuttlebone should always be provided in the bird’s cage, budgies need something to chew on.
cuttlebone is a good source of calcium.

Seeds and legumes

Seeds should make up to 50% of the budgie’s daily diet.

• Big millets
• Japanese millets
• Spray millets
• Oats
• Barley
• Buckwheat
• Sweet corns
• Baby corns
• Finger millets
• Alfalfa
• Alsi seeds
• Canary seeds
• Flax seeds
• Niger seeds
• Unripe wheat seeds
• Soaked gram seeds
• Kodo millets
• Foxtail millets
• Little millets
• Green peas
• Mung beans
• Mustard seeds
• Oilseeds (10%) — millets, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.

I use the bird feeder mix which contains high-quality millets, kibbled maize, flax seeds, niger seeds, and kangni in good quantity.
Click here — best-recommended seed mix for budgies

Grasses for budgies
Budgies love chewing grasses, you must occasionally provide them grasses along with seeds

• common lawn grass
• orchard grass
• millets grass
• wheatgrass
• sprouted seeds
• timothy grass

Fruits

you can feed you birds raw fruits twice a week. make sure you wash them thoroughly, fruits do contain preservatives and insecticide that can be fatal for your bird.

• Banana
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Berries
• Apricot
• Blackberries
• Cherries
• Guava
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Melons
• Oranges
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Apple
• Peach
• Pears

Vegetables
vegetables can be served along with the seeds on a daily basis or every alternate day.

• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Sweetcorn
• Sweet potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Cabbage
• Spinach
• Coriander
• Cauliflower
• Pepper
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Kale

Treats for budgies

Treats are not a major part of a bird’s diet but they will happily accept them.

• Nut
• dry fruits (non-sweet) (crushed ones)
• brown bread
• rice
• pasta
• boiled eggs

I have often noticed owners saying…

”My budgies don’t eat anything except spray millets”

Yes, this is a major problem with budgies bred in captivity……..

for solution read more on https://www.snoopyfeeds.com/2020/05/22/budgie-parakeet/

There are a lot of myths out there about this small fish. Many owners and beginners believe that this is a very low maintenance fish and they end up keeping them in very unhealthy conditions.

Here’s a quick guide on properly taking care of your pet betta. I’ll be busting some myths about them. I hope the post helps the viewers to provide these fishes better living conditions.

History

In nature, wild bettas inhabit shallow, stagnant water bodies and wetlands of rice and paddy fields. wild bettas have color variations of grey and brown. however pet bettas are bred in captivity, they are available in a variety of colors due to selective breeding.
Betta fish or Siamese fighting fish. It is a “labyrinth fish”. that means they have a labyrinth organ that helps them to breathe air directly. you may see this fish coming towards the water surface to breathe air quite frequently.

Types

Short-finned bettas

plakat betta
wild bettas
mostly the female betta exhibit short fins.

Long-finned bettas

veiltail betta
spadetail betta
crowntail betta
halfmoon betta
full moon betta
dumbo ear betta
feather tail betta
double tail betta

Size

A full-grown male can reach up to 2.5–3 inches. female bettas are generally smaller than males, reaching up to the size of 1.5–2 inches.

Lifespan

betta fishes can live up to anywhere between 2 to 5 years.

Interaction

male bettas tend to be aggressive towards each other. they are highly territorial fishes. male bettas flares, when aggressive. they can nip long-finned fishes and will end up eating small guppies or molly fries.
if provided with inappropriate/small space, a betta fish might attack other bright colored tank mates.

however, females are not as aggressive as males. they can live together with other same-sized fishes or another female betta if provided with adequate space.

betta fishes are quite interactive and they can recognize their owners.

Tank requirements

In order to provide your fishes with the best living condition, I always try to create a space that resembles their natural habitat.

betta fish is a tropical fish and can survive in temperatures above 80℉. because this fish inhabits shallow waters that get heated much quickly.

so, the minimum tank size should be of 2.5 gallons for a single betta fish.
if kept in a smaller size than 2.5 gallons, bioload will build up very quickly and it will result in ammonia burns, fin rot, or ich in your fish.

Providing your fish with adequate space is the best solution to all these problems, so you should always try providing them with the biggest affordable tank.
the tank should be shallow with no to minimal water current.

water temperature should be between 72 to 82 ℉. you should monitor the temperature of your betta tank quite frequently.
if you live in cold parts of the world you will need to get a heater for your fish tank.

Diet

what does betta fish eat?

betta fish are carnivores.
they will readily accept the live food like mosquito larva, blood worms (dried or live), brine shrimp, and fish fry.

if you feed your fish with floating pellets, make sure they are small enough to fit in the fish’s mouth.

each betta fish have their own personality, some may be fussy about their feeding habits while others will readily accept any food.
To get the betta fish food recommended by us, click on the link below.
click here

How to Choose a healthy betta fish?

wanna choose the healthiest fish from the pet shop?
but not sure how to pick up a healthy one?

lemme help, here are a few points that you should notice before getting a fish.
I assure you this will definitely help you in picking up a healthy aqua buddy.
….. read more on https://www.snoopyfeeds.com/2020/05/21/hello-world/

Leopard meaning in Hindi — तेंदुआ (leopard animal)

Size

Length– 60 to 160 cm (adult)
-females are smaller than males.

Height– Male: 60–70 cm (Adult, At Shoulder)
-Female: 57–64 cm (Adult, At Shoulder)

Weight — Males — 30–32 kg
-Females — 26- 29 kg

leopard lifespan — 12 to 16 years

Leopard breeding –

Leopards, this animal does not have any specific breeding season. They can breed in any season throughout the year.

Once the estrus cycle starts in a female leopard, she will mark its territory with strong odor which attracts the males and helps them to reach females.
The leopard pair may roam together and mate for several days.
After a successful mating male leopard returns to its territory.

The Female’s gestation period is of 90–100 days.
She delivers 3–6 cubs in a den away from predators. Newborns wean on the mother’s milk.
Mother leopard keeps changing the location of her cubs, to prevent predators from reaching them.
Cubs stay will with their mother for almost 2 years, after which they have to go in search of their own territory.

Territory

Every adult leopard marks its own territory, the territory of a male leopard usually overlaps the territory of multiple females.

LEOPARD FACTS

Most feline lovers are fascinated by these big mysterious cats.
here are some cool leopard facts to fill your brain with, read on…

Why are leopards considered a skillful hunter?

Leopards are graceful, solitary, and powerful big cats closely related to the tigers, lions, and jaguars. These incredible cats are known for their climbing and jumping ability.
This carnivore is the strongest climber among the large cats.
these skillful big cats are skillful hunters who prefer to hunt at night.

Their spotted coat allows them to blend with the leaves until they drop down on the prey from above the trees, targeting the prey’s neck.

In spite of being a strong predator, leopards are quite shy animals. they feel much comfortable resting on the branches of trees.

Leopards often haul their kills into the branches which help them to keep their food safe from scavengers such as jackals and hyenas.

leopards are half the size of lions, yet they are built up for strength.
With their specialized senses and anatomy tailored for hunting these big cats can drag up a prey three times its size. This gives us an idea of how muscular and powerful these big cats are.

How does leopard hunts?

Lucky are those, who witness the sight of hunting leopard.
When a leopard sights a potential target, usually a young or lethargic animal, it stalks forward with head low and legs bent, making clever use of the cover. Their spotted coats help them to blend with the surrounding.
hunting leopard hardly makes any sound.
Once it is within a range of 10 meters it dashes forward attaining a leopard speed of 58km/hour and uses it shard, hooked claws of each forepaw to kill its prey.

The killing bite is directed at the nape of the neck or at the throat. Small prey such as birds and rats are simply swatted to death with a single swipe of the paw.
The prey is often carried up into a tree.

leopards are nocturnal predators, which means they mostly hunt at night.

Where are leopards found?

Because of their adaption to extreme environments, leopards are found in a variety of habitats ranging from tropical forests to snowy peaks of mountains.
there are nine recognized subspecies of leopards widely distributed in southeast Africa and southeast Asia.
sighting a leopard during dusk and drawn in a hilly region is quite common.

What does leopards eat?

Leopards are carnivores, when hungry they will eat any animal that comes into their path. Leopard diet consists of small birds, mice, deers, cattle, and big antelopes like Thomson’s gazelles.
Leopards are also known to hunt porcupine, baboons, wild bore, and cheetah cubs.

Leopard vs Panther

Do you remember that black cat named ‘Bagheera’ in the movie ‘ jungle book?

yes, you guessed it right, that’s a black panther.
Black Panther is actually a black leopard, these cats are color variants of the normally spotted leopards. Their color arises as a result of melanism.

these black cats are born in the same litter…. read more at
https://www.snoopyfeeds.com/2020/05/24/leopards/

Sometimes you could use a little help to find exactly what you need. If you’re looking for an easy guide on taking care of your little budgies, you’re in the right place. This post is dedicated solely to all the budgie lovers out there. I am sure you guys are all very busy in your hectic lifestyle, here I’ll be briefing you some really easy tips on various topics about budgies.

Budgerigars or the Budgies, this colorful small-sized bird with a hooked- bill and curious nature is the smallest of all the parrot species.

Commonly known as Budgie, African love bird or बजरी in Hindi.

They are the 3rd most popular pet in the world after dogs and cats.

These birds mostly inhabit the grassland and forest near a water source. Wild budgies mostly feed on the grass seeds and spinifex. They still create a real nuisance for farmers by wiping off the wheat crops.

Origin of budgies

In the natural habitat, wild budgies inhabit the vast grasslands of Australia where they live in large groups.

These nomadic birds are always on the move in search of food and water.

TYPES

There are two types of budgies that are generally seen in the pet trade.

1) American budgies — They are smaller than the English budgies in size. American budgie closely resembles the wild budgies.
2) English budgies — They are larger than the normal American budgies and have a larger and broader head.

Size

Budgie parakeets are small-sized parrots

American budgies — 6 to 7 inches long, weighing approx 30 grams.
English budgies — about 10 inches long, weighing approx 50–60 grams

Lifespan

8–10 years in captivity

Interaction

Because these birds are very social, that’s why they prefer to live in groups.

They will respond well to training and can be hand tamed quite easily.

Colors

Wild budgies are green in color with black colored stripes that run from their head to their wings. The tails are of dark green color with a blue tint at the end.

while, budgies that are bred in captivity exhibit a wide range of colors — white (albinos and albino red eyes), yellow (lutinos), blue and green.

Care

cage requirements

You must provide your budgie with the biggest cage you can afford, the minimum INDOOR cage dimensions for a pair of budgies should not be less than 31cm x 24cm x 40cm, with two perches, two food bowls, and a breeding box attached outside the cage if required.

A birdcage should not be their permanent enclosure, they should always be provided with some time outside the cage.

this is ultimately gonna boost up your bird’s mood and make him interact with you.

Before taking your pet bird out of the cage, always make sure to turn off the fans and windows are shut.

Food requirements

Fresh food and water should always be available in your bird’s cage.
Make sure to clean the food and water bowl on a regular basis.

Their diet should be made up with an accurate combination of seeds, green vegetables, and fruits
this gonna provide them with all the essential micro and macronutrients

Calcium block/ mineral block or a cuttlebone should always be provided in the bird’s cage, budgies need something to chew on.
cuttlebone is a good source of calcium.

Click on these links to get my personally recommended a mineral blockand cuttlebone, to cope with their calcium deficiency.

Seeds and legumes

seeds should make up to 50% of the budgie’s daily diet.

Buy cheap priced high-quality Kangni seeds (1kg) online, click here

I use the bird feeder mix which contains high-quality millets, kibbled maize, flax seeds, niger seeds, and kangni in good quantity.

Click here to buy it from amazon

Check out the best budgie food on amazon

Grasses for budgies

Budgies love chewing grasses, you must occasionally provide them grasses along with seeds

Fruits

you can feed you birds raw fruits twice a week. make sure you wash them thoroughly, fruits do contain preservatives and insecticide that can be fatal for your bird.

Click here to buy budgie fruit-mix and fruit smaker.

Vegetables

vegetables can be served along with the seeds on a daily basis or every alternate day.

Treats for budgies

Treats are not a major part of a bird’s diet but they will happily accept them.

I have often noticed owners saying…

“My budgies don’t eat anything except spray millets”

Yes, this is a major problem with budgies bred in captivity.

Due to poor breeding practices and feeding the budgies just one particular type of seeds, which is mostly millets (kangani) has made them fussy about their food preferences.

Budgies won’t accept any new feed initially, but as a matter of fact, a healthy bird won’t starve itself to death and will ultimately end up trying new stuff you offer them.

So just have patience and keep introducing a small amount of new food along with the old diet.

this gonna help their system to acclimatize with the introduced food.

I would suggest you start with Spinach or coriander leaves or some sprouted grass, they’re gonna happily accept it.

Signs of a healthy Budgie

A juvenile budgie

You can either adopt a rescued bird or can get one from a well-reputed pet dealer.

I would always suggest you adopt one and try giving the rescued bird a better home.

“ADOPT, DON’T SHOP!!”

If you’re getting your bird from a pet dealer make sure you remember the following tips, this will definitely help you in selecting a healthy bird.

1. Always buy your bird from a reputed dealer, survey around for a good dealer in your area.
2. Observe the bird’s activity-
   always go for the birds which are more active and sitting on the higher perch. sick budgies will often occupy the cage corners and bottom.
3. Look for the feather signs-
   feathers must be smooth and display vibrant colors.
   DON’T mistake pin feathers as a bad health sign, pin feathers may appear during the molting phase.
4. The beak and legs should be clean without any scaly appearance.
5. Look for the parasites and worms-
   A bird with parasites can infect the whole colony or cage mates in just a few days so deworming your birds every 6 months is way too important.
6. Mostly the worms are nocturnal and usually come out during the night
   you can notice small white worms or spider-like creatures like crawling on the feathers.
   Detection of worms needs careful observation, just a glance is not enough to check them out.
7. Scaly beak, swollen eyes, or rough feet are some positive signs of a sick budgie.
8. Check the vent area, the vent must be clean without any sticky dropping.
9. Always choose a bird that doesn’t fly away to the other side when you approach the cage.
   Birds with this personality are much easier to tame.
10. A healthy bird won’t sleep for long hours during the day.

Try getting a younger bird (4–6 weeks old)) possible, young birds are much easier to train and tame,

Budgies are known to mimic human speech, while both male and female budgies can mimic human speech, however, young males are competitively better talkers in contrast to females.

Difference between male and female budgies.

Males -

• During the breeding season, the male flirts bob its head and sing around the females.
  somehow chirps of males are not ear-pricking while on the other hand, females have an ear pricking sound.
• Males try to impress females by feeding and preening them.

Male budgie (green) feeding the female (white)

• The cere of the female is usually white, brown, or tan in color.
• pink cere tends to darken with growing breeding age and changes its color to dirty brown.
• Female birds are more dominating.
• Heads of females are bulky in comparison to males
• Females make screaming and ear pricking sounds.

Females -

Talking abilities

Budgies are one of the best talking parrot species.

They can mimic human sounds and can have a vocabulary of more than a hundred words.

If you wanna teach your budgie to talk, make sure you buy a single budgie and spend a lot of time talking to him.

Budgies are very social, therefore a single budgie will consider you as a folk member and this gonna make him interact with you by mimicking your speech. males have better-talking abilities than females.

*note- not every bird learns to talk, so it’s okay if your bird is a slow learner or is not able to mimic the sounds at all. DON’T buy a bird just to make him talk.

Paired up male (green) and female (white) budgies

Breeding

Wild Budgies prefer spring and summers for breeding when the daylight is adequate, however, pet budgies can breed in almost any season.

Females can lay up to 4–8 white eggs.

Budgies do not care much about the nesting material, all they need is a nesting box or a hole in the tree.

• Females can breed up to the age of 4 to 5 years.
• Male can breed up to the age of 6 years.

budgies are physically able to breed after six months of age.

Click on the links below to get your budgie a breeding box of appropriate dimensions.

Common health problems

1. Scaly face disease — parasitic infections are the main cause of this disease.
   get your avian insect liquidator concentrate to rule out parasites,click here.
2. stress diarrhea — A change in environment can make a budgie suffer from stress diarrhea.
3. Cold — budgie can catch a common cold, symptoms are sneezing and discharge from nose
4. Mites — bird mites can very common in overpopulated bird colonies
   click here to get wormout gel for birds
5. Vitamin A and D deficiency — inadequate exposure to sunlight and vitamin deficiency may result in swollen eyes and bone deformity.
   Click here to get ferti-plus oil, a blend of all-natural oils and vita boost to boost up your budgie’s health
6. Obesity — may occur due to the high proportion of oilseeds in diet
7. Tumors

A budgie living in poor conditions may probably develop the following health issues,

Originally published at https://myanimalcare.in on March 24, 2020.