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Dougal's Pet Corner
The place for your pet stories and pictures, let me have them |
| This issue we are beginning the
story of Gerbils. There are several important things to consider before buying a gerbil.
They are bright, inquisitive, very clean and make delightful pets. Like any other animal
though, they do have certain definite needs which should be considered carefully before
you acquire a gerbil. |
| Gerbils needs daily feeding. Their gerbilarium or cage
must be situated in a room with a warm, constant temperature. Time must be allocated each
week for thorough cleaning of their living quarters, as well as daily 'tidy-up'. |
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Gerbils are animals that live in colonies in their natural
surroundings. You should, therefore, keep a pair rather than a single animal. Gerbils
breed rapidly and care should be taken to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Breeding is not
recommended unless you are absolutely certain you can find good homes for the offspring.
If the family go away on holiday or for the weekend, it is important to make sure that
someone is available every day to feed, water and check the gerbils' genral health.
We will have more information next issue.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about getting a gerbil, please write in to the
paper, we will be happy to help.
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| Damsels and
Dragons |
High summer tends to be a quiet time in the birding
calendar, and rather than hang up their binoculars, increasing numbers of birdwatchers are
taking a keen interest in damselflies (Zygoptera) and dragonflies (Anisoptera),
collectively known as dragonflies.
Dragonflies share quite a few characteristics with birds. They are strong fliers and the
larger species can reach speeds of up to 36 kph. They are highly predatory on smaller
insects and accordingly have very good eyesight. They themselves, however are a favoured
food of some birds of prey, such as hobbies, and as a result, like small birds, they are
wary of a close approach by humans. Some can be quite tricky to identify and the
close-focussing ability of modern roof prism binoculars, several of which can focus down
below 2m., has made field identification of the different species significantly easier.
Leica's Trinovid 8x32BN focuses down to 1.8m. (about 6 feet) and through a Leica loan
scheme, and in distinctive red 'livery,' can be borrowed from Cley-Spy for a trial.
From a birder's point of view, perhaps the best thing about dragonflies is that some
species; the Red-veined Darter, Vagrant Darter, and Yellow-veined Darter are rare migrants
and can actually be 'twitched'. Furthermore, perhaps because of global warming, there
seems to be the possibility of adding new species to the British list. In the last few
years, Banded Darter, Scarlet Dragonfly, Lesser Emperor and Globe Skimmer have all been
added, and could the Norfolk Damselfly, last seen in 1957, be hanging on in a remote
corner of the Broads?
No rarities have turned up yet at the pond in the bird feeding area adjacent to the
Glandford shop, but grey-blue male Broad-bodied Chasers have been seen, as well as Common
Blue Damselflies.
Cley-Spy
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