Life on the road seems glamorous and romantic because those are the stories that make it back home with us. Sometimes traveling sort of sucks, though, and that’s okay. It’s good to keep a positive attitude and make the best of things, but you’re allowed to sometimes think that the Chinese food in China isn’t as good as the Chinese food you’re used to back home (but keep these thoughts to yourself). We all have a few shameful, not-so-glamorous secrets that come along with being a traveler. Here are a few of mine: 1. I have no idea how to plan for the long-term. None. All I want to spend my money on is travel. I’ve spent so much time on the road that I have absolutely no idea how to function when I don’t have a trip planned and I have no idea what I’ll do when I have to stop traveling. Also, those things that normal people learned how to do, like drive a car without smashing it into a ditch? Yeah I never learned how to do those things because I was traveling. That’s terrible. 2. I have gone many many days without washing my socks. We can all agree that you never need to wash pants. But socks? This is revolting. But that’s just how it goes sometimes. I know every trick in the book for making smelly things not smell so bad, and I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed. 3. I don’t even want to talk about hygiene. Sometimes you just don’t have deodorant. Sometimes you also don’t have a shower. Sometimes you don’t have access to shower for a week. The worst is when you do have access to a shower but you can’t use it for whatever reason (can’t pack a wet towel, host is touchy about water usage, lack of privacy–the shower is built into the kitchen, or you would be dirtier after being in a shower that filthy). I don’t want to talk about dental hygiene except to say that I brush my teeth consistently–except when I leave my toothbrush behind. Unfortunately my toothbrush is my most frequently forgotten item. 4. Depending on a variety of factors (price, availability, pack weight, my hunger) I have spent long stretches eating only things you shouldn’t eat for long stretches. This includes four days eating only croissants and cookies, only ramen for two weeks, only food from dumpsters and gardens for one week. Our dear friend went almost a week on an all liquid diet while on the road in Denmark: only beer. Yum. 5. If a country doesn’t speak English, I get too embarrassed at my accent and lack of linguistic skills to speak at all. This is most troubling when I try to pass myself off as a native. Obviously nobody is fooled if I open my mouth, so I just do not say anything. I can’t tell you how many embarrassing encounters I’ve had with European cashiers when I think I’ll get by just by nodding and handing them big bills/making a furtive glance at the register to see how much I owe, only to be foiled when they ask if I want a bag or something equally unimportant. NO I NEVER WANT A BAG I JUST WANT TO NOT LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. Please. For once, give me that small respite. 6. There are some adventures I’m far too chicken for. I like to brag a lot about all the crazy things I’m willing to do, so here’s a list of opportunities I passed on: biking Death Road in Bolivia, eating fugu in Japan, and bungee jumping in New Zealand (or anywhere on the planet). I will never bungee jump. Never. And for all the sexual innuendos I make, I don’t really hook up with strangers. Syphillis isn’t a joke, and neither is my hypochondria. 7. There’s this one dog I love more than anything on the planet.Sometimes this sweet sweet dog makes me never want to travel again. I frequently curse all legal, financial, and practical barriers that prevent me from taking her with me everywhere I go.

In common with most species of reptiles, snakes are ectothermic or also called as cold-blooded animals. This means they cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need an external heat source in their enclosure to survive. Therefore when you keeping a snake, it is the best option for providing heat for your snake by getting a special heat pad. Snake heat pad has been known as a snake under tank heater is a convenient and effective way of warming up your snake’s enclosure. This device will help you to create the optimal temperature inside the snake tank. This post is the reason why you need a heating pad for your snakes.

Why do snakes need heat pad?

As suggested above, snakes are cold-blooded animals. In the wild, snakes receive heat from their environment. This is why they often hide under the rock or underground in order to retain heat. Some species of them such as corn snakes also prefer to bask on the top rock and receive heat from direct sunlight. In captivity, you should provide them an alternative heat source to keep them warm. And snakes also require a cooler place to decrease their body temperature. This is where the heat pad comes to handle. The best reptile heating pad will create the gradient temperature inside your cage. Snakes need the heat source to maintain and improve their internal functions such as digesting food, excreting waste, respiration and immune system. If they do not get enough heat, snakes will become sluggish, unconscious, less active, or even dead.

Heat pad vs the other heat sources

There are many options for heat sources that can provide heat for your snake’s cage. The heat lamp is one of those options. This lamp will be placed on the top of the cage and emit the heat downs. The heat lamp will suitable for the snakes that love basking such as snakes. However, the heat lamp dries out the air in the cage so you should only use this device for the snacks that require a low level of humidity. Using heat lamp, you also have to turn off the lamp at night to avoid bother your snakes. One more method for heating the cage is using heater cable. This is the cable that wrapped around the bottom of the cage but this is easy to overheat your snakes. For all the cases, you are recommended to use the heat pat. You can provide your snakes with the constant and proper temperature for 24 hours without upset their day/night cycle since heat pad emit no light.

Chinchillas have very sensitive digestive systems, so feeding them with quality diet in the properly way is essential to their health. One of the most important aspects of daily Chin care is providing the best chinchilla hay. This article explores the some factors that you may need to choose the right quality hay and also some problems that chinchilla owner often wonder.

#1 Can Chinchillas eat hay only for their diet?

The only hay diet that means feeding your chinchilla nothing but fresh hay, no pellets, no cubes, no greens, and no other treats. Normally, you will be recommend to feed chinchillas with 75% hay, 20% pellets, 5% veggies/fruits and the small amount of treats within a few days in the daily diet. The fact that pellets for chinchillas are made of hay too, although they can contain added some others ingredients, vitamins and minerals. This is why many chinchilla owner believed that your pets could eat a hay only diet. However, there are some things have to consider about it. Some chinchillas love to eat pellets more than fresh hay. This is the good way to provide them with full of nutrients. Moreover, in the case if you’re unfortunate to get the bad hay with poor nutrient, then your chinchillas will become deficient. Pellets are safer choice. It should be the best treat for chinchillas.  

#2 First cut vs second cut vs third cut

Many chinchillas owner do not understand about the different between the first cutting, the second cutting, and the third cutting. The first cut is the first growth of hay of the year. It is only best to feed chinchillas if it’s harvested when the grass is immature. Otherwise, it may include more weeds. The first cut is also hard, coarse, indigestible fiber that makes the hay unpalatable. The second cut has the higher qulity that the first times. The stems will be finer and softer to eat. It also has the better percentage of leaves to stems. The second cut also contains have more protein and fat contents. The third cut is even softer and finer than the second cut. It also offers the hay with more leaves than steams. However, this time will provide the hay with lack of fiber, what make it not good for chinchillas