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Pet Care Education

Practical tips and guides for caring for dogs, cats, and exotic pets at home.

Exotic

Keeping a Guinea Pig: Vitamin C Diet, Enclosure, and Socialisation

A guide to keeping a guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) for new owners in Indonesia, what it is (a social herbivorous rodent from the Andes, adults 700-1200 g, living 5-7 years), its unique vitamin C requirement (they cannot synthesise it themselves like humans, needing 10-30 mg/kg/day from diet, deficiency causes scurvy), enclosure setup (minimum 0.75 m² per animal, solid floor not wire, hiding spots, multi-level OK), diet (timothy hay ad libitum + fresh high-vit-C vegetables + commercial vit-C-fortified pellets, avoid iceberg lettuce/alfalfa for adults), socialisation (highly social, better in same-sex pairs), signs of illness (dental malocclusion, respiratory infection, calcium urolithiasis, scurvy), when you need an exotic vet, plus an FAQ for new owners.

19 May 2026 11 min read
Exotic

Keeping Ball Pythons and King Snakes for New Owners: Husbandry, Diet, and Safety

A guide to keeping ball pythons and king snakes for new owners in Indonesia, what these species are (ball python Python regius, docile and compact; king snake Lampropeltis, variable, corn-snake-style), basic husbandry (terrarium size + temperature gradient + is UVB needed? + substrate + hiding spots + water), diet (frozen-thawed rodent preferred over live, schedule by size), handling safety (avoid handling for 48 hours after feeding, never during shedding, avoid large pythons for solo owners), signs of illness (regurgitation + mouth rot + scale rot + mite parasites), when you need an exotic vet, plus an FAQ for new owners.

19 May 2026 11 min read
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