National Go Cook For Your Pets Day 2024 is on Friday, November 1, 2024: How to get live in maidnanny in Beijing?

Friday, November 1, 2024 is National Go Cook For Your Pets Day 2024. Providing the Latest on Pet Holidays/Animal Welfare Information ... Go Cook for Your Pets Day

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Many foreigners who live in China hire a local maid -- or ayi - to take care of their homes, children and pets.

Ayis can work either part-time and full-time. Part-time Ayis may work for several families a day while full-time Ayis work five to 10 hours a day, depending on the amount of housework and may live in your house.

With an hourly pay ranging from 7 yuan (88 US cents) to 15 yuan or more (the price may differ from place to place), you may find a dutiful part-time Ayi to accomplish most of your daily housework, and cook good Chinese food for you every day.

In general, if you stay in a two- or three-bedroom apartment, a part-time Ayi for two or three hours a day will suffice. However, if you have a villa or large house and have a family, one or two full-time Ayis will be necessary. Some people may even hire three -- one for cooking, one for cleaning and the other for children and pets. Those full-time Ayis will cost you 1,000 to 2,000 yuan a month, depending on their roles.

Normally, Ayis should have two rest days a week, no matter whether they are part-time or full-time. If you have a party or special event on their rest day, especially at the weekend, most Ayis will help you to prepare for such an event. Don't forget to thank them for their help, as this goes beyond their usual obligations.

Both part-time and full-time Ayis may have holidays at least once a year -- usually during Chinese New Year or the golden weeks in May and October. They may have a week-long holiday at Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and two or three days off for May Day and National Day in October. As most Ayis come from rural areas, they will return to their hometown for their holidays. If you hire a Shanghai Ayi, she may be willing to shorten her holiday. However, again, this would go beyond the call of duty.

Warning! Some Ayis have been known to use fake ID cards and commit crimes ranging from petty theft to kidnapping in some very rare cases. Thus, you should ensure your Ayi is qualified by using a reputable agency or by a recommendation from your close friends or colleagues.

Most Ayis are unable to speak any English. An English-speaking Ayi, which is not easy to find, will cost considerably more. So, you should know how to communicate with your Ayi. Learning some useful Chinese phrases or sentences will help. By the way, your kids may learn more Chinese, especially her hometown dialect, than you from your Ayi.

Generally, Ayi are skilled and competent but you should be patient if teaching her to meet specific demands.

It would be better to write a schedule for your Ayi every day. However you should make sure your Ayi understands your instructions and rules. If you have a Chinese assistant or secretary, who is willing to be your part-time interpreter or translator, use this.

You should be aware whether your Ayi can handle emergencies or accidents. If she cannot, you should make an emergency plan for her, containing the contact numbers of the hospital, your insurance cover, the correct way to deal with fire or other household emergencies and how to take care for your family if they are ill or meet with an accident. If you have a pet, you should also tell your Ayi which vet you prefer. Write the plan in Chinese.

Ayis should be covered by workers' compensation insurance or you should compensate them for lost working hours. Many insurance companies in the city have specific insurance for the service industry. State Employment Agencies

You should recruit your maid through a state employment agency FESCO,specialising in supplying Chinese workers to foreigners; and agree a written employment contract detailing her duties and wages.

Why do some men think staying home, taking care of kids, laundry, dishes etc isnt considered work?

National statistics show that the average housewife (if paid) should be paid in excess of 240,000.00 a year.

Think about it. Daily maid service, cook, launderers, nurse, "girlfriend", taxi service, purchasing, designer, decorator, social director, child care, bookkeeper, pet gestapo, "handy man", and the hits just keep on coming. 24/7/365. I want a two week paid vacation and sick leave.

My guess is that they haven't ever given birth either. Am I right, ladies? Can I go to work 8 - 5 and let them do my job for just a day or two? We'll see real fast who works harder.

When 5:00 comes, the whistle blows. Hmmm...for who?

iguana please help me, please?

I would highly recommend since you bought the iguana from a national chained pet store to take to a herp/reptile vet for just a new pet check over. Iguanas from pet stores can have mites and/or parasites.

For the toe ... the toe could be possibly swollen due to lack of humidity which didn't allow the toe to shed properly. Give your little guy/gal a nice warmish bath, and get some Mineral Oil (not cooking oil, not baby oil - Mineral Oil), after bath time just rub some on the toe area, will help w/ shed. The toe nail falling off most likely is due to poor health. Usually toe nails will not grow back but it may. The translucent appears is most likely a shed, sometimes iguanas can get bacterial or fungus infections while living in tank, you'll get to learn your iguanas shed. Blackish could possibly be a burn or stress color. Neosprin does't do much for sheds.

Since most likely the national chained pet store gave you wrong information ... here is the care info I give to all ig owners on here ... best of lucky he/she will steal your heart in no time =)

Young iguana (8-12 months of age) should not live in anything smaller the a 55 gallon tank. Smaller the tank you can not process the correct temps threw out. Enclosure needs to be at least 1.5-2 times it's total length ... an adult you will need a space of 6-7ft tall x 8-10ft long x 4ft wide.

Temps:

never let drop below 70F ...

basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost

medium/middle (overall) 88-92F

cool 75-84F

at night 73-84F ... having a temp gun works the best to know what your igs body temp truly is.

*** NO HEAT ROCKS PLEASE ... they can cause major burns on the under belly ... igs dont feel heat from below so they will sit there not knowing they are burning themselves ***

- Depending on enclosure size, depends on wattage, but for basking light (along w/ UVB tube) you can use a house bulb for heat during the day, you don't have to use one of those costly basking bulbs you buy at the store (night if your house gets below 70 a CHE should be used - produces heat no light)

- Stick on glass thermometers do not work, they can read incorrect, get a good thermometer w/ a probe at the end, and place where your iguana is basking under and at his/her level, you will get more of a correct temp reading

Humidity:

Iguanas are tropical and do need humidity. Spraying/Misting a few times a day will help some, silk fake leaves (bigger then your igs head) will help hold some humidity, having a humidifier or vaporizer next to the tank will help (figure out a way to pipe inside would be better but think child proof also), daily baths will help and learn to go potty in the tub less mess in tank.

UVB: (12 hrs on during day - 12 hrs off during night no light)

US: ReptiSun 10.0 distance 8-10 inches from your igs body

Repti Glo 8.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

ReptiSun 5.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

UK: Arkadia distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

- You will need to adjust the distance as your ig grows

- Using a shop light from a home improvement store works the best, get one that has 2 tube plugs and using 2 UVB tubes

- The UVB listed are in tube form, using the 36-48inch tubes are the best more length for your ig

- Surface under the UVB tube lights need to be a flat surface if at an angle your igs body will not get the proper UVB threw out

- There are UVB's out there on the market now that can cause eye damange to your ig

- W/out UVB your ig may end up w/ MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease)

- UVB information that you may find interesting:

Floor covering:

BAD floor covering: bark, dirt, moss, sand, pellets are all bad ... at some point your iguana will try and lick swallow and then possibly cause blockage which will then need to be surgically removed or possibly death ... SAFE floor covering: newspaper (unprinted), paper towels, towels, vinyl flooring, indoor/outdoor carpeting - if you have any lose fibers from the carpeting or the towels please remove and replace - unprinted newspaper if you possibly can use is safer just in case your ig likes to try and eat the newspaper some ink may contain soy

Food:

Daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more younger igs may eat less then 1/4 cup) ... collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress ... some greens to give occasionally kale, bok choy, escarole ... adding basil for young igs sometimes helps them eat ... romaine is mostly water no nutrience, you can add small amount and occasionally in w/ the good staple greens (collard, mustard, etc) but do not make romaine just your iguanas choice of greens (or any other type of lettuce most of us humans eat) ... some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash ... fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas ... some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread ... if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana anything w/ small seeds like strawberries wait like 3 days before giving anymore ... watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday ... there are some foods that aren't good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure ... some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month ... corn igs can not digest ... carrots can block calcium absorption ... bananas are low in calcium best to give another type of fruit ... apples too much acid - appetite suppressant ... rhubarb is poisonous ... food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces ... spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration

Animal protein:

Iguanas are plant eaters, they should not be feed any animal protein. No meat/bugs, no dairy. If you ever give your ig iguana diet dried food, please read the ingredients there are so many products on the market today that clearly puts meat protein in there ingredients, usually w/ in the first 10 ingredients. Some that I am aware of that do MonsterDiet, TRex, Zilla, Wardley. RepCal Iguana pellets is one that is safe to use. Soak pellets before offering to help w/ hydration, only give a few pellets for you want the greens to be main diet.

Vet:

When you get an iguana you should take your ig to a herp/reptile vet that knows about iguanas. Just for a new pet check over. Your ig may have mites, parasites or other nasty things carried from the pet store. Plus if anything was to happen you know who to call w/out looking threw the phone book hoping you find a vet who knows something about iguanas.

(listed above)

Sites for you to read:

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A great book to read and have on hand:

Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan

Yahoo has some great sites for Iguana owners... these groups helped me and still help w/ questions .. if you'd like to join:

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