What is the danger of New Year’s Eve for a rodent?

The New Year holidays are a real challenge for pets and their owners. Many articles have been written about the dangers for cats and dogs during the New Year and Christmas, including our blog. Today we decided to pay attention to the smallest animals, which are also in trouble during the holidays – rodents. For these curious creatures, a Christmas tree with ornaments, electric lights and presents underneath is a temptation that can lead to a trap that can threaten health and life.

New Year’s dangers for rodents

If you keep a hamster, guinea pig or rabbit in a cage all the time, you don’t have to think about dangers. Nothing will threaten them. But for fans of free walks or traveling in the hands of the owner or near him, it is worth taking care of safety. What troubles await furry friends outside the cage?

Christmas tree

A tree with an incredible pine scent is sure to attract the attention of many rodents, but for the vast majority it is considered dangerous. Spruce and pine trees emit essential oils and resin that pose a threat to their health. In addition to natural unsafe substances, conifer branches may also contain chemical substances, which are used to treat trees, for example, against parasites. Cones and needles eaten in large quantities can lead to poisoning in small pets.

Garlands

Rodent owners know that there should not be any wires where their pets walk. In their need to try everything on their teeth, animals are sure to chew on garlands. Such experience may end up with injuries or stress. In any case, the holiday mood will be marred.

Christmas tree toys

Glass toys, having fallen to the floor and broken, will certainly cut their legs. Various parts of ornaments can be swallowed by a curious rodent. If they have sharp edges, internal injuries from the mouth to the intestines cannot be avoided.

Sparkly tinsel and sprinkles

These are perhaps some of the most dangerous Christmas tree decorations for both large and small pets. Entangled in metallized twisted strands, rodents risk death by suffocation. Small pieces, accidentally swallowed by the animal, can injure the mucous membrane of the oral cavity or traumatize the digestive tract.

Before decorating your pet with holiday tinsel by tying a bow around their neck or wrapping it around their torso, consider that a small piece of ornament swallowed can cause internal bleeding and death.

Festive noise

New Year’s celebrations are accompanied by the noise of guests, loud music, clappers. If for a human all this means fun, then for a pet – fright, fear, stress. Being outside the cage in the process of noisy action, rodents in panic will rush around the room, risking to get under the feet of guests, to fall from a height and break their paws, to get into a crevice, from which you can not get out independently.

New Year’s treats

The last and one of the most common holiday dangers for rodents, is the New Year’s table, or rather the flavorful dishes on it. Feeling the desire to please the pet, guests, and sometimes owners, feed them with all kinds of tasty treats: fried and smoked, cheese and sausages, sweets and salads flavored with mayonnaise. There are also quite safe products – fruits, but they are given in unsafe quantities. As a result, the animal suffers from a food disorder or serious poisoning, the symptoms of which are vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. If the help is not rendered in time, seizures begin and all this leads to the death of the rodent.

After New Year’s Eve, not only dogs and cats, but also rodents become frequent patients of veterinarians.

Safe holidays for rodents

It is easy to protect your hamster, chinchilla, guinea pig or rabbit from New Year’s troubles. It is enough to follow a few simple recommendations:

• Do not allow your rodent to walk near a decorated Christmas tree. Fence the tree with a high “fence” made of dense material. Connect the lights to the mains so that the pet cannot get close to the wires. Keep an eye on your furry friend while walking around the apartment.
• Don’t let your pet chew on snapped spruce twigs, it can be a health hazard.
• Don’t decorate your pet with tinsel or Christmas lights, even for the sake of spectacular photos. Safety is paramount.
• During the party, take the cage with the animal to a quiet room and ask guests not to enter. Let him be comfortable and relaxed in his home.
• Do not change the rodent’s diet during the holidays, do not give him anything from the table. The animal will not feel deprived if its menu remains unchanged during the New Year and Christmas.

If you really want to please a small pet, buy him a New Year’s gift, but only useful and safe.

What to give a rodent for the New Year?

Options with gifts for hamsters, guinea pigs or rabbits are numerous. It can be something small and tasty or big and grandiose. For example, a new spacious house – a cage with several levels and unusual mazes.

Cage accessories need to be replaced from time to time, so New Year’s Eve is the perfect occasion to buy your rodent a new wooden bridge, ladder or tunnel. By the way, you might also consider replacing the drinker or food bowl.

A wood or sisal toy is ideal, as is a walking ball for a small pet or a leash and harness for a large one, purchased at a pet store.

Some owners buy expensive grain food for their animals in honor of the holiday. But this is not always a good idea, because after trying something more exquisite, rodents often later refuse the usual diet, which creates problems for the owner. It is better to buy a guinea pig, decorative rat, hamster or rabbit a new treat in a pet store. It will be cheaper and the diet will not have to be changed.

To ensure that the holiday is not marred, be attentive to your little friends. Analyze the situation yourself and identify all the dangers of rodents in the days before the holidays, because there may be more than listed in the article.