Three New Residents

Three new permanent residents arrived at Little Pets Hotel last weekend. Hugo, Diego and Carlos are my 3 new bundles of joy!

They are rescued Chinchillas aged 1, 2 and 6 years, all unwanted by previous owners, they have been given a new happy home with us at Little Pets Hotel, where they will be just as spoilt as all of my guests. So far, they have settled in really well and are gradually growing in confidence, with their individual personalities really starting to come through now. Hugo (on the left) is the greedy one who sneaks down to the food to get his fill whilst the other two are sleeping, Carlos (in the middle) is the wise one who sits and watches from up high with disapproval as Diego (on the right) bounds around causing trouble and getting his nose into everything!

Having always wanted Chinchillas, and having had every other type of small animal as a pet at some point or another, I am really pleased to have my 3 furry and very cute additions to the household!

End of a Busy Summer

The end of the busy summer season is here, and things at Little Pets Hotel begin to slow down for the quieter winter. This summer, as always, I have had some real characters in. Here are just a few of my favourite guests:

Sparkle
Meet 17 year old Sparkle the Cockatiel from Birmingham, West Midlands. He is a really cheeky chap whose favourite place in the world is on your head! He has a really cute but enthusiastic whistle, making it sound like you have builders in the house! We really missed him when he went home.

Harvey
Very sweet 3.5 month old Harvey came to stay in August and really stole my heart. Just at that perfect age where he is confident and mischievous but still so small and fluffy!

Charlie
2 year old African Grey Parrot, Charlie, from Kidderminster, Worcestershire is a real chatterbox. I have never laughed so much as when he came to stay. With no end of phrases, different voices and his love of playing ball, Charlie Barley always made me smile.

Nibbles & Crackers
These two 6month old girls came to stay in July from Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Such gentle girls, but they turned into munching machines whenever they were put out on the lawn!

Leo
14 year old Leo from Hagley, near Stourbridge, is a gentle old boy who, apart from a bit of arthritis, shows little signs of his old age. Leo is an absolutely huge rabbit who loves to snuggle up with you on the sofa but he knows what he wants and is not shy to let you know when he wants to go back in his hutch with a few stomps of his feet!

Coco
Coco the male ferret from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire came to stay in August. Not keen on being woken up and like all ferrets he is all or nothing. Fast asleep or wide awake, never anything in between! Coco is a very sweet but very lazy boy!

Matilda
Matilda the Lionhead bunny from Stratford-upon-Avon is a houserabbit who instantly felt at home. Absolutely gorgeous and the sweetest, most gentle personality, Matilda was really missed when she went back home to Warwickshire. Mornings were not the same without Matilda nudging my ankles with her nose whenever I stopped stroking her for a second to get ready for work!

Melvin & Parsnip
Such sweethearts who love nothing more than a cuddle but two of the laziest animals that I have ever met. The only thing that will get these lazy Guinea Pigs moving is food!!

Molly
Molly the hamster from Birmingham, West Midlands, absolutely loves exploring, whether in her exercise ball or roaming around on the table, the energetic Molly never stops for a rest!


All of the pets that have been to stay this year have been so lovely. So many sweet, playful, and adorable animals have been to stay with us that I cannot put them all on here so I have had to pick out just a handful. I hope that all of them come back to see us soon.

Rabbit Awareness Week

The 26th April - 2nd May is Rabbit Awareness Week (also known as RAW). RAW was designed because rabbits are often seen as an easy pet to keep that need little attention and so they can be overlooked. They are easily overshadowed in the home as well as in the public eye (such as vets and pet shops) by the more demanding pets such as dogs and cats. RAW aims to raise awareness for rabbit care and health and to bring rabbits into the limelight for a week. The hope is to remind rabbit owners of the importance of checking the health of their pet and gives some pointers on what to look for and signs of an unhealthy rabbit.

This year, RAW is focusing on rabbit obesity. Advice is being given about diet, exercise, the health implications to overweight rabbits, how to check if your rabbit is obese, and how to help it to lose weight. One in three rabbits in the UK are obese so if you have a pet rabbit then take the time to look up this information and give your bunny a health check.

For more information about RAW and rabbit health, go to www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk

As a part of Rabbit Awareness Week, events are being run around the country and a large number of veterinary surgeries are running free bunny clinics where your rabbit can get a full health check for free, checking his/her weight, teeth, nails, etc.

Near Little Pets Hotel, Vale Veterinary Surgery on the Birmingham Rd in Kidderminster is running a free rabbit health check service throughout Rabbit Awareness Week. Just For Pets (near B&Q and next door to Netto) is having a "Bunny Bonanza Day" on Sunday 2nd May. As well as a raffle, kids activities and goody bags, they will have a vet nurse in between 12-1pm who will give a talk and a question and answer session for all of your bunny questions. The RSPCA are also running a national campaign during RAW to try to rehome numerous rabbits that have been found abandoned over the Easter period.

To find other vets running rabbit health clinics and talks, as well as other bunny events happening near you go to www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk/event-locator and enter your postcode.

Little Pets Hotel in the News

Little Pets Hotel is on the homepage of the local paper this week. The kidderminster Shuttle posted an article about Little Pets Hotel on their website at 8am on 12th April. This article was the 2nd most read news item on the site on that day and was also one of the 'Editor's Choice' articles of the day. The story can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

Kidderminster Shuttle Article

National Pet Month 3rd April - 3rd May

National Pet Month is a registered charity which aims to make people more aware of the responsibilities and benefits of pet ownership. It applies to all types of pet, from large to small. This year it is taking place from 3rd April - 3rd May.

The main aims of the charity are to:

• promote responsible pet ownership
• make people aware of the benefits of pets for people and of people for pets!
• increase public awareness of services available from professionals who work with animals
• raise awareness of the role, value, and contribution to society of working companion animals

Little Pets Hotel supports the charity and strongly agrees with its message. Check out our latest care tip on things to consider when you are deciding whether to get a new pet.

For more information about National pet Month, visit the official website at www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk

Near here, the Blue Cross Animal Sanctuary are running events at Stourbridge Library, a charity ball is being held in Birmingham in aid of Hounds for Heroes, there are numerous dog shows and a chance for children in Sedgley and Netherton to meet a dog or a cat at their local library. Pet Days are also being run at Countrywide stores all over the Midlands throughout April and May. For more information on these events and to find out about other events taking place near to you, visit nationalpetmonth.org.uk/events and enter your postcode to search.

An Unusual Guest at Little Pets Hotel

This week, we have had a very unusual guest staying at Little Pets Hotel. Being a Zoo Keeper, I occasionally have to bring my work home with me, but luckily for me this doesn't come in the form of paperwork! Rudy, a Cameroon lamb, was born healthy and full of beans at the zoo on 22nd December but unfortunately, due to complications with the birth, his mum died shortly afterwards. So, it is down to the keepers to be Rudy's new mum and help him to grow up into a healthy ram. Being so young and without a mum, he needs bottle feeding throughout the day as well as lots of care and attention and somebody to play with. So, this week he has been staying with us. He is a real character and is growing fast. He follows us around and frolicks around the kitchen and garden, leaping as high as he can and then running as fast as his little legs will take him. He lets you know when its time for his bottle too, by bleating as loud as his little lungs will allow! We are really going to miss him around here when he goes back to the zoo but he is nearly old enough now to go into the paddock with the other sheep and lambs where he will be happiest, so I will have to let him flee the nest soon. They grow up so fast!!!