The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Rodents The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Rodents
Showing posts with label Rodents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rodents. Show all posts

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Contaminated By An Unusual Pet


In China, the tortoise has traditionally been regarded as auspicious animal auguring good health and longevity. So several weeks after retiring from his job as a driving instructor, 58-year-old Li Xianming spent nearly 3,000 yuan ($490) to buy a rare, imported species as a talisman for his life ahead.

However, Li's tortoise did not bring him good health. Instead, it brought him a painful infection, after he scratched his finger while washing the tortoise's glass tank.

"At first, my right middle finger started feeling itchy. Then a lot of small red welts started appearing," said Li. "After that, I started to have welts all over the back of my hand. I was quite scared."

To read more on this story, click here: Contaminated By An Unusual Pet


FOLLOW US!
/

Friday, December 26, 2014

St. Petersburg Woman Faces Dilemma After Rats Overrun Home


Picture of house with rats
St. Petersburg  - With hundreds of rodents running loose in her house, a St. Pete woman knows she has a problem. But no one can quite agree on how to help Florine Brown.

"The rats have taken over," she admitted. "They are in every room, pretty much, in the house."

The SPCA estimates there at 300 to 500 rats inside the home on 10th Avenue South. Brown said they are practically her family -- or at least their earlier relatives were.

She said it all started with a handful of pet rats two years ago, until some escaped. The rats did their thing, and pretty soon, a few rats had turned into a few hundred.

Browns said she called the SPCA a year ago seeking help, but the agency told her they didn't have room for the rodents. She didn't have the heart to fumigate.

"I want to save them," she explained.

Now the home is filled with feces and the odor is overpowering. Brown, 29, doesn't know what to do. She'd like to humanely trap and remove the squeaky squatters, but that's easier said than done.

"Everyone hates them but I just want to give them love," she added. "Everyone says bad things about rats and I've never been sick or had any diseases or anything."

FOLLOW US!
/

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Bomb-Sniffing Mice Are New Weapon Against Terror



Amazing bomb sniffing mice unveiled at Security Expo. These mice are capable of sniffing out a variety of explosive materials, narcotics and more. They may soon debut at airports across the globe.

When it comes to safety in the skies and the prevention of terrorist attacks, one company believes our best line of defense is a crack team of specially-trained rodents.

Yes, bomb-sniffing mice could well be the best way of tackling would-be plane bombers, according to security experts.

Forget sniffer dogs, pat-downs and X-Ray machines, these miniature creatures are said to be cheaper and much more accurate, according to New Scientist magazine.

Israeli researchers have designed a body-scanner style machine, but instead of taking an image of passengers, it conceals three teams of eight mice behind secret panels.

Air is passed over the passengers then pumped into the panels and if explosives are detected the mice run into another chamber, raising the alarm.

Rodents have a more acute sense of smell than dogs and don't rely on the same amount of treats and encouragement needed by their canine colleagues, making them less work for trainers.

In return for working two four-hour shifts a day, the rodents have comfortable cages and access to as much food and water as they want. And they can retire after 18 months.

The company behind the invention believes the mouse-powered machine could be the ultimate low-tech, low-cost answer to airport security.

And it would certainly solve the controversy surrounding full-body scanners which transmit 'naked' images to a member of the airport security team.

'Animals' noses are always a good solution, and the mice don't see you naked,' security expert Bruce Schneier told the New Scientist.

The first field test was run in a Tel Aviv shopping centre in December 2011 and the rodents picked out each of the 22 test 'bombers' who were carrying explosives.

The Israeli company hopes to find financial backing to expand the project, meaning a crack team of mice could soon be coming to an airport near you.


Bloomberg's Elliott Gotkine reports from Israel which is currently hosting a Homeland Security Conference. He speaks to Boaz Hayoun, chief executive officer of Tamar Explosives, who has developed an alternative to sniffer dogs.

FOLLOW US!
/