Is 17-foot-long albino python UK’s longest pet?

Pythons kill by coiling around their prey and suffocating it and have even been known to eat deer and alligators but, to the Rice family, their 5.2m (17ft) long snake called Lilly is the perfect companion and quite a conversation starter.

For Lilly is also reckoned to be Britain’s longest pet. But having a minor reptilian celebrity sharing their  three-bedroom home comes with strings attached. 

She needs a giant heated tank to sleep in and, when she’s sliding across the Rices’ garden, must be kept under constant supervision. 

They don’t want to terrify their neighbours or have to pay compensation for ‘missing’ cats and dogs.    

According to Kim Rice, 45, Lilly’s charms are there for all to see. 

‘She has a wonderful personality and is very placid and is so laid back that children love her. Lilly is much less trouble to keep than my two dogs. 

‘We can let her wonder around the garden, particularly on the grass on a hot day, which she loves. 

‘But we do need to make sure she is watched at all times,’ added Mrs Rice from Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire. ‘If she wandered off she would give someone the fright of their lives. 

‘We bought Lilly when she was a baby. She is seven years old now which means she is still growing. We think one day she will reach about  20ft long.’ 

At least the family aren’t being eaten out of house and home. Lilly needs just one rabbit every three weeks. 

Chloe Rice, 16, has enrolled in an animal college to study reptile care. She hopes to become a head keeper at a zoo. ‘One day I hope I can care for more giant animals like her,’ she said.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/909544-is-17-foot-long-albino-python-uk-s-longest-pet#ixzz24b0l6EmN

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World's Ugliest Dog Mugly set to star in TV documentary

The World's Ugliest Dog: Mugly (Picture: AFP)

The eight-year-old Chinese crested dog beat 29 other peculiar-looking pets at the annual competition, held in California last week.

A triumphant Mugly has since returned to British soil, following his success across the pond, to promote his new documentary Mutt Ugly.

The former rescue dog attended a photo shoot on Thursday to promote the new show which will air on Channel 5 later this year.

It will follow Mugly on his American journey, beginning five days before he touched down in the US ahead of his triumphant victory.

Mugly is set to star in his own documentary (Picture: AFP)

Ahead of filming, a Channel 5 spokesman said: 'The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest proves there’s more to this year than the Olympics!

'We’ve no doubt dog lovers and viewers will love this fun documentary.'

Mugly faced stiff competition from hot favourite Handsome Hector for the coveted title, but impressed judges enough to grab the $1,000 (£641) prize and a year's worth of dog cookies.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/903587-worlds-ugliest-dog-mugly-set-to-star-in-tv-documentary#ixzz24axPSzVe

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Bella Mae: The Bulldog that survived 500 porcupine spikes to the face.

Pictuer from: elitedaily.com

This 3 year old bulldog Bella Mae is recovering from a porcupine attack that happened to her a couple of days ago on August 2 in Oklahoma. She was in her owner's backyard when she stumbled upon a porcupine. The owners had another dog who was also attacked by the porcupine, but Bella Mae had the worst injuries. Now, what I'm not sure of is whether to feel anger towards the owners or not. It seems like a very irresponsible thing for an owner to do, especially because they already knew that wild animals were going to their backyard pool for water because of the summer heat. I believe that if they knew about this, they should have taken better precautions when letting their dogs roam the backyard, at least keep an eye on them. With that being said, here's the news report video for you guys to see for yourselves. What do you think about this? Do you think the owners have the fault?

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Does my pet need lumpectomy for that small mass he/she has in the skin?

In Small Animal Practice is frequent to visit pets for masses in the skin. 

It is very important to check your pet's skin regularly and ask the Vet to examine any new lumps or bumps that are changing in size and shape.

Skin masses are various, different and can be found in every part of the body. Sometimes you can identify small pedunculate "skin tag" that should not arise suspicion; other times you can involuntarily find out cutaneous lumps (within the skin) that can be revealed as simple fat deposit. Lumps may be also found in the subcutaneous tissue or within muscles or bones. 

Lumps can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Both can be found in every part of the skin and the decision to perform a lumpectomy (surgical removal) depends on the nature of the mass, discomfort that the mass can cause to your pet, results of tests and owner's consent.

Before surgery a few tests are recommended: 

1) Complete blood test and urinalysis: help assessing your pet's general health before anaesthesia; it also provides clues about possible tumour spread to other organs;

2) Fine-needle aspiration: is a simple and painless procedure that allows to aspirate a tiny sample of cells from the lump and examine it under a microscope; it can be easily done by your Vet and the result is almost immediately available;

3) Biopsy: when a larger sample is needed to identify the exact nature of the pathologic tissue. A biopsy is usually sent to an external lab for additional testing and results are available in a few days;

4) Radiographs (X-rays): if the mass is suspected to be malignant, abdominal and chest X-rays might help indicate if the tumour has spread within the body (metastasis);

5) Advanced imaging: Ultrasound, CT (Computer Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) may be recommended to explore the extend of the mass to prepare for surgery or to check for signs of tumour metastasis. 

A lumpectomy is the surgical removal of a mass from the skin (or other tissues). The  number, appearance, size, growing rate and general health can drive the Vet in the decision making process. If a mass is suspected to be benign, a couple of reasons are valid to proceed with surgery: discomfort that the mass is causing to your pet and owner's consent. If a mass is suspected to be malignant, there are no reason not to proceed with surgery but the owner's compliance.

A lumpectomy is performed under general anaesthesia, all the rules of asepsis must be respected and a preventative antibiotic treatment and painkiller is given. Usually a 2 cm margin is removed together with the mass and the skin is reconstructed with stitches that can be removed after about 10 days. The cicatrix left depends on the size, location and reconstruction technique used but often wounds heal pretty well. Be sure to check the area daily for abnormalities such as swelling, bleeding or discharge. When the Surgeon decides to stitch a drainage under the wound, it should be taken out in 3 days. The drainage will allow the wound to heal better and the discharge to be drained outside and let the wound breathe.

The post-operative treatment is based on antibiotics and painkiller/anti-inflammatory for 5 or more days. Part of the post-operative treatment is also the Elizabethan collar that prevents licking or scratching of the area, so complications and infections. The collar should be taken for 10 days until the Vet takes out the stitches.

The prognosis for your pet will depend on the results of all tests your Vet has performed. The biopsy result can show a benign mass; in this case no further tests are needed. However in some cases, the biopsy can identify a malignant tumour and further tests must be performed in order to rule out metastasis in other organs. In this case, regularly checking your pet for other masses in the skin can represent an important factor since prompt intervention can improve a pet's prognosis.

Monica Giarrizzo

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Managing diabetes pets is not such a big deal! Tips for pets and owners by Monica Giarrizzo

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease characterized by low levels of glucose in the liver and high levels of glucose in the blood. It caused by the lack of production of insulin from the pancreas.

Caring a diabetic cat or dog could seem a formidable job, difficult to deal with, a challenge or sometimes an unwelcome commitment if you are not aware of some simple rules that can make life easier for the owner and his pet.

First of all, let’s try to recognize the condition and know the symptoms since “the quicker the diabetes is controlled, the more likely remission will occur”.

The 4 most important symptoms are listed below: “Learn how to recognize them!”

• Starving, drinking and urinating in the face of plenty! Polyphagia (PP), polydipsya (PD) and polyuria (PU) respectively.
• Weight loss

Once you recognize them and a treatment is planned, your pet has the possibility to achieve remission.

• Cataract is developed in the majority of dogs and cats and neuropathies (such as difficulty climbing stairs or a plantigrade stance) are common in cats.

If the diabetes is moderate to severe and it is causing problems to other organs, your pet has less possibility to achieve a remission.

But DO NOT FORGET! Diabetes can be taken under control and your pet can live a normal life.

The Veterinarian and the Nurse will explain you the disease and its treatment and it is important that you deeply understand them.

The treatment is based on subcutaneous injections of insulin. Depending on the type of insulin the therapy should be administered SID (once daily) or BID (every 12 hours) always at the same time.

The first aim of the treatment is the “STABILIZATION”

You and your Vet need to decide 3 things:

1. What we are aiming for? --> Stability
2. How we are going to get there? --> Routine
3. How we are going to stay there? --> Monitoring

Stability:

• for the Vet is the achievement of the right level of glucose in the blood (between 5 and 10 mmol/L;
• for the Owner is the understanding of the disease and the achievement of remission of clinical signs (PP, PU, PD and Weight loss)

3 important TIPS at this stage: diet, insulin and exercise .

“Keeping your pet healthy allows the insulin works”

Routine: “the daily routine”

Insulin treatment of a diabetic pet is LIFELONG.

For this reason, many Owners are compliant because the therapy is subcutaneous and not oral, or they do not know how to administer the drug, or they are not sure to be able to keep the commitment, or just they do not believe it is going to work. REMEMBER: this is the reason why you will hear Vets and Nurses talking about “What we can do” rather than “What we should do” because you will be the protagonist and with their support “you are going to make your pet better!”

TIP 1: don’t be a chicken and face up the situation! Your pet needs you and the veterinary team supports you with advices, flexibility, availability and effective use of the consulting time. “The Vet can give you the right syringe to use and can show you how to inject your pet. You will perform the fist injection in front of him!” Even kids can learn it!

TIP 2: Make giving insulin part of a pleasant experience for you pet (and for you!) because you will do it every day for long time, your pet cannot miss its daily dose, he/she cannot decide “I do not want it” and sometimes it could be difficult to keep them quite even just for a few seconds if they know that “It is injection time!”

SINCE THE VERY FIRST DAY, you should let the pet associate the injection with something pleasant to them. For a dog it could be a treat, a toy or the lead “Ready to go out?”, for a cat it could be some humid delicious food or the door, “ready to be open for a trip outside!”. They will have the pleasant treat immediately after the small injection. Some of you might find easier to inject them while eating, others have to call their pet on a chair or on a table to get their attention. Whatever the method you are going to choose, make it a nice routine and half of the job is already done!

TIP 3: The owner of a diabetic cat in heathy general condition, stable, non-ketotic with a good body weight and no other complicated diseases can ask the Vet to prescribe an oral agent called Glipizide. Please, discuss the possibility of success with your Vet.

Another chapter of the “Routine” is the DIET. You will be explained that the diet is one of the 3 most important components of the therapy and it must be changed according to the needs of a diabetic pet. They will give you the right advices! 

To sum up, the diet must be low in carbohydrates and high in proteins. Canned food is preferred since dry food always contain high percentage of carbohydrates.

Discuss with your Vet the best diet for your pet and establish a plan for it as well: amount, time and type of food, making it part of the routine.

Your routine will include some EXERCISE for your pet as well, but if you think about it, it is already part of your routine and you should just adjust it in order to get a more successful therapy.

Monitoring: one of the crucial part of judging the appropriateness of a dose.

The BLOOD GLUCOSE CURVE: “the unknown mathematical and engineering complicated task that the owner is asked to do”. (Ironically!)

The blood glucose curve consists in the constant measurement of the level of glucose in the blood through the glucometer. It basically is a small nice instrument used in human medicine to measure the glucose in diabetic patients. With a special pen you sting a part of the skin (usually ear) of your pet and make it bleeding a bit. A very small amount of blood is needed for the strip of the glucometer and the result is immediately available. Your Vet will suggest you to learn how to do it or come to the practice to do it weekly (at the beginning) or monthly (when stability to achieved).

The importance of the blood glucose curve is that it will show the effectiveness of the treatment. Hyperglycemia (glucose > 10 mmol/L) is often detected and it is due to low dose of insulin; your Vet will be then able to prescribe you a higher dose in order to keep under control the disease and its clinical signs. Hypoglycemia (glucose < 5 mmol/L) is due to high dose of insulin; it is the most important to be detected in order to prevent its clinical signs: syncope or seizures. 

Your Vet and you will reach the stabilization and full monitoring when he finds the right dosage of insulin and you no longer see any PP, PU, PD and weight loss.

TIP 1: YOU DO NOT NEED TO DRAW ANY CHART OR DO ANYTHING CHALLENGING!

Organize a block-notes for your pet with 4 main points for each day: date, time, level of glucose and symptoms.

Eg: 16 Aug 2012  09:00 am  11 mmol/L  NO PP, YES PU, YES PD, NO Weight loss.

TIP 2: when you perform a glucose curve normal routine must be maintained. Even the stressful experience of been stung should became part of a pleasant moment. For example, choosing a special (proteinic) treat for the sting experience and the lead “ready to go out” for the insulin injection can make it works. Keep doing it everyday and do not give up because it becomes part of your routine very easily!

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Feline diabetes mellitus by Claudia Reusch

Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrinopathy in cats.

The incidence of the disease is increasing, most likely due to an increase in the occurrence of risk factors, such as obesity, physical inactivity, old age, male gender, being neutered, glucocorticoid and progestin administration.

The most important risk factor is obesity and it has been shown that obese cats are 4 times more likely to develop diabetes than optimal weight cats.

It is important to note that although obesity induces insulin resistance not all obese cats develop diabetes.

Diabetes typically occurs in middle-aged to old cats. There is a strong sex predilection since approximately 70% of diabetic cats are male. Approximately 60% of diabetic cats are overweight, 35% are normal weight and 5% underweight.

Most diabetic cats show the classical signs of diabetes, namely PU/PD (polyuria, polydipsia),

polyphagia and weight loss. 

About 10% of diabetic cats have overt signs of diabetic neuropathy, manifested as hindlimb weakness, decreased ability to jump and plantigrade posture. Lethargy and a dry, unkempt haircoat are often present, whilst physical examination may reveal hepatomegaly.

Cats with complicated diabetes (diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar non-ketotic syndrome) present with lethargy, anorexia, reduced water intake and vomiting.

Diabetes is diagnosed on the basis of clinical symptoms, persistent hyperglycemia and glucosuria and fructosamine blood concentration, rather than glucose, as it reflects the mean blood glucose concentration of the preceding 1-2 weeks.

Any concurrent disease may worsen insulin resistance and will hinder treatment success. In some cases bacterial urinary tract infection is present and pancreatitis is frequently associated with diabetes.

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