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Fluffy, he should be fine. Just give a little extra paper towels for him because he will pee on and through them! I never had a hamster as a kid, but was recently given/adopted one, a little white robo named Beanie. A fellow fishkeeper was looking for a new home for her (and what is one more cage when our spare room is a mouse breeding room), and what struck me as odd was that her past owner was so worried about her going as snake food. I was open with him: I do keep and breed snakes and breed mice to feed them. What kind of loving MORON would give a snake used to eating mice a hamster? For that matter, why would you use a tiny hamster as food at all? They tend to bite harder than mice do! Anyway, perhaps the logic of this helped get me Beanie. Pics to follow. She is a cute button of a thing and is discovering food outside of bagged seed 'diets.' Like vegetables and small bits of eggs and the like. One day I want to get another piggie or two. The backyard is full of grass and weeds the tortoises are not keeping down fast enough! And we kinda need another few mouths to get rid of some of the excess salad anyway...
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Mar 21, 2010 07:48
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Cowslips Warren posted:
Good thinking, a few piggies is probably the cutest way to convert your lawn into poop.
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Mar 21, 2010 11:39
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Last hamster/aquarium questions, I swear. I know one of the big issues with putting a hamster in an aquarium is air circulation to keep ammonia from building up. If I planned on getting a wire top to prevent escape, etc., in my 18 inch high tank, what would I have to do to make sure that air circulation doesn't become a problem? Is it just a matter of more diligent cleaning than with a cage? Also, and I don't know if my tank is tall enough to warrant this, if I were inclined to add a second floor or something, do they make things like that fitted to various enclosure sizes, or is there a particular way to make them yourself?
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Mar 22, 2010 19:04
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I was over at my girlfriend's house today inspecting a couple of her hamsters, both girls. The first one she caught getting hosed by a boy hamster that had somehow lifted the roof off his cage, the spidermanned in-between two adjacent tanks into hers. It's been about two weeks and she doesn't show signs of pregnancy. If she is pregnant I know it doesn't show till very late but her abdomen feels uniform. She's been slightly more aggressive since being hosed but otherwise isn't showing any signs. I have a feeling that I'm just going to be told to wait a few more days and if babies pop out she is pregnant, so I guess that's not even worth asking about. The second one she reported feeling odd. This one has some sort of bulge towards her hips. At first I was worried it was a tumor or a cyst. But then I felt movement inside, almost like a kicking or scratching. This is very odd indeed, because she hasn't, to anyone's knowledge, been near any of the boy hamsters. They run around on the floor of her room, but never at the same time. There's a tiny chance she managed to sneak out of her cage, into one of the boy's cages and back again, but she's never had the strength to climb the water bottle and there's no way anyone could have gotten into her cage. Apparently she's been more lethargic lately, which is what started the investigation. So there's something clearly up with this second hamster. Last time we took a pregnant hamster to the vet they couldn't determine if she was pregnant (she gave birth 2-3 days later), so they aren't really hamster experts. I know hamsters get tumors like crazy but she's under a year old and this is a uniform bulge that apparently has something moving under it. Any ideas? I'd be happy to take it to the vet should a reason become apparent. Also, how the gently caress does a celibate hamster get pregnant? Is she giving birth to hamster jesus?
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Mar 24, 2010 00:30
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Update: The second hamster has given birth to hamster Jesuses. We still have no idea how a female hamster gets pregnant without being hosed. Very strange.
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Mar 24, 2010 10:01
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McCloud24 posted:Last hamster/aquarium questions, I swear. They sell fitted enclosures, you can find them at even your local walmart. Also, if you have a hamster, clean the cage once a week or it will stink to high heaven. The build up of ammonia (this isn't a fish tank with, you know, actual fish in it, so it's not going to be a life or death issue) isn't going to be an issue if you just clean the tank. Airflow shouldn't be an issue unless you don't have a wire covering for your tank. Don't worry, it's not bad to keep a hamster in a fish tank, it means that they can't get out, which is far better than any other enclosure that you can buy.
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Mar 24, 2010 18:03
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You know what this thread needs? More goddamn Chinchillas!  Seems Pompeii and Ava are getting along a lot nicer now. This has been a much longer process than most websites would lead you to believe, maybe our animals are the exception though. I think when we move to a new place in July I'll build them that cage I've always talked about, a sweet rear end cage...
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Mar 30, 2010 23:55
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I finally got my act together and took a picture of my hamster cage! It has to be cleaned often, is a giant pain in the rear end, and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. All the detachable bits do make spot cleaning a little easier though since I can just seal off an area and clean designated bathroom spots between total clean outs. Despite all this, I love it and I can't go near this contraption without feeling happy. Otis seems to like it too: 
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Apr 12, 2010 20:35
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Checking in on this thread after a few months. I got some great input from you guys about how to handle them and provide. We have 2 gerbils that we were unable to acclimate to each other (resulting in a lot of blood on my behalf when one of them bit me while being separated) named Graham and Thunderhorse. But I have some  pictures, so I thought I'd share. Thunderhorse chilling in his Fortress of Solitude   Thunderhorse again, in his bath/house/bathroom, telling you to get off his lawn.  Thunderhorse again, hanging out with me. He seems entirely content just sitting on my shoulder.  Graham in MEGAMODE defending his castle.  Graham dug to the bottom of his terrarium and decided he'd sleep there. This is him smooshed against the glass. robotsinmyhead fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Apr 21, 2010 |
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Apr 21, 2010 03:19
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My 1 year old Syrian hamster died this morning. His skin looked a little blue last night, but he was otherwise completely himself, even demanding to be let out of his cage for a trip around the apartment in the ball. He was my first, and I honestly didn't expect him to only last a year. This kind of sucks. I thought I'd have at least 2 years with him. Here is a photo of Leonard carrying around a little pancake from a couple of months back.
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Apr 28, 2010 15:29
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Naffer posted:My 1 year old Syrian hamster died this morning.  That's a really cute picture of him.
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Apr 30, 2010 19:59
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RizieN posted:More goddamn Chinchillas!  Have a look at this beautiful goddamn chinchilla. She was last seen being awesome in her huge rear end cage where she is right now being awesome as usual. She is about the most beautiful goddamn chinchilla in the whole world and chews on expensive electronics and/or shoes and/or cardboard and/or anything all the time. RESPONDS TO "DUSTY" (except it actually doesn't) By the way, if anyone's an expert on figuring out the gender of these things, we could use some help... chinchilla fucked around with this message at 23:19 on May 1, 2010 |
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May 1, 2010 23:12
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quote != edit sorry
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May 1, 2010 23:19
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chinchilla posted:By the way, if anyone's an expert on figuring out the gender of these things, we could use some help... I googled "sexing chinchillas" (with some trepidation) and found this result complete with pictures. : http://www.huggablepets.com/huggablepets/sexing.shtml
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May 2, 2010 01:48
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Yeah, we took her to the pet store and they helped us figure it out. Thanks though, and many goondolences for your hamster.
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May 2, 2010 01:50
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Would definitely recheck this on your own. Pet store employees aren't necessarily the most reliable founts of information, even about sexing which seems so drat basic.
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May 2, 2010 02:16
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Rodent Mortician posted:Pet store employees aren't necessarily the most reliable founts of information... This is a ridiculous generalization considering how many PI goons also work in pet stores.
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May 2, 2010 02:35
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RizieN posted:You know what this thread needs? Indeed. This is Dexter.  He enjoys giving pedicures.  I think that all chinchilla owners should have this shirt: http://www.snorgtees.com/chinchillin-p-823.html?osCsid=7acdb2e32ea1e8c7138453c0da420ae1 Also for the whole sexing chinchillas thing, Dex is an un-neutered male and it is quite obvious, so if your chinchilla isn't spayed/neutered and you don't see big ol' balls hanging out it's probably female. Question: Dex has gotten a bit big for his "starter" chinchilla cage, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good bigger chinchilla cage.
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May 2, 2010 03:21
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Nereid posted:This is a ridiculous generalization considering how many PI goons also work in pet stores. There's not nearly enough goons to work every pet store in the nation. Most pet store employees are just retail employees trained through the store's own information systems, which are notoriously bad. It's not their fault, they just need a job to pay the bills and most of them like animals alright and seem to enjoy their jobs, but the sources they're taught from are not that reliable. There are some knowledgeable pet store folks, but they're far and wide the minority. Aquatic Giraffe posted:Question: Dex has gotten a bit big for his "starter" chinchilla cage, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good bigger chinchilla cage. My foster chin is in the Quality Cages Chinchilla mansion, and I like it pretty well, overall. It's pretty pricey, but even as an old dude he makes a lot of use of the room.
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May 2, 2010 13:34
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Indeed. This is Dexter. Chinchillas are awesome looking. I don't have the space to keep them though. With the recent passing of Leonard Hamster, I picked up Howard and Simon from an animal rescue this morning. They're two brothers that are about 8 weeks old, and were surrendered to the rescue when their mother, a pet-store hamster suddenly gave birth, presumably because she was stored with a male hamster at the store. I'm going to separate them into two cages in the next couple of days. Here's a short clip of them running in the same wheel together on the way home from the rescue.
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May 2, 2010 19:46
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Question: Dex has gotten a bit big for his "starter" chinchilla cage, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good bigger chinchilla cage. Here's what we got for our second, larger cage: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Deluxe-Multi-Level/dp/B000CMHWZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1272848406&sr=8-1 With pictures! (But note that we've surgically grafted the old cage on top of the new one, it doesn't come like that.)  Click here for the full 786x1434 image.  Click here for the full 726x1132 image.  Click here for the full 618x1150 image. It's not a bad price and she loves it. Some of the amazon reviews say that the plastic parts are awful and will kill her, but she never chews on them, even though she chews on EVERYTHING else. They also say chinchillas don't like ramps and slides, which is bullshit. Ramps, slides and jumping on and off of things are her LIFE. Also here's some pictures from before she got so fat. 2.jpg) .JPG) Click here for the full 768x401 image. .JPG) Click here for the full 576x768 image. .JPG) Click here for the full 768x576 image. Oh and we have a hamster too  Click here for the full 768x576 image.  Click here for the full 994x912 image. chinchilla fucked around with this message at 14:27 on May 3, 2010 |
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May 3, 2010 14:23
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chinchilla posted:Here's what we got for our second, larger cage: http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Deluxe-Multi-Level/dp/B000CMHWZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1272848406&sr=8-1 I was actually looking at that cage in Petsmart the other day. I tried asking an employee about chinchilla cages but they barely even knew what a chinchilla was, much less what sort of things a chinchilla might need. I'm glad Dex isn't the only one who squishes into places that are seemingly way too small for him. 
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May 3, 2010 17:08
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Yeah, well, check the av. I guess it makes them feel like they're in the Andes.
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May 4, 2010 01:17
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Piggies are almost at 1.3 kilos, time for diet?
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May 4, 2010 23:05
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chinchilla posted:They also say chinchillas don't like ramps and slides, which is bullshit. Ramps, slides and jumping on and off of things are her LIFE. What a fun home for her! You inspired me to renovate Gus's cage -- he's always had shelves and tubes, but now he wants ramps and slides! I gotta ask, do you ever worry about the spacing of those bars? I was told that chinchillas can break their legs from bouncing off the side of the cage if the spacing is big enough for them to get their foot caught in.
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May 6, 2010 06:23
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I've never seen her do that kick-flip thing in the cage. She does it everywhere else, though, so I guess she just knows better. She does climb up the bars sometimes, which is pretty amusing, and she doesn't seem to have any trouble jumping down. e: Hey, by the way, MollyMonster posted:And running on his wheel. Where'd you get the wheel? We tried a few, but they were unsteady and Dusty wouldn't go near them. chinchilla fucked around with this message at 14:16 on May 6, 2010 |
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May 6, 2010 14:12
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chinchilla posted:I've never seen her do that kick-flip thing in the cage. She does it everywhere else, though, so I guess she just knows better. It's not about knowing better, it's just that she hasn't had the bad luck to botch a jump and get a leg caught in there. Broken legs are one of the most common things you see in chinchillas, and they can be onerous to deal with. Amputation is not that uncommon in severe breaks.
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May 6, 2010 15:03
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chinchilla posted:Where'd you get the wheel? We tried a few, but they were unsteady and Dusty wouldn't go near them. It's a ChinSpin. http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_19&products_id=1802 They also make Flying Saucers which look extremely cool. However, the Quality Cage rep told me that chinchillas are most likely to adapt to flying saucers when they are babies because the learning process might involve flying off a couple times. Since Gus is a dignified adult, we opted for the no-learning-curve wheel.  We've had it for years now with virtually no problems except for replacing the bearings once. ChinSpins also have an high resale value, so even though it's kinda expensive, it's worth it. You see them pop up on the Chins&Hedgies forum from time to time, usually around $40 plus shipping.
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May 6, 2010 15:43
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cat with hands posted:Piggies are almost at 1.3 kilos, time for diet? I wouldn't worry about it too much unless they start showing signs of having difficulty getting around. Pig weights can vary substantially, I had one girl who ballooned up to 1.5 kilos shortly after we got her (leading to a serious pregnancy panic), but I always knew she was healthy and mobile enough because she never had any difficulty leaping into the suspended hay rack at the end of the cage so she could just lay there and munch. On the other end of the spectrum, I had a girl who never broke 900g in her life. So if they're still running around and not lethargic, I wouldn't worry about it overmuch.
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May 6, 2010 21:58
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I think one of my gerbils is about to kick the bucket. Was checking on them in the morning and she was mostly limp and looking drowsy. There are some signs of diarrhea on the fur. She wouldn't drink or eat anything I offered (not even sunflower seeds  )She's almost 4 years old too. Don't know what there is left to do.  e: She was put down at vet an hour ago. Goodbye little buddy. Fewd fucked around with this message at 09:01 on May 7, 2010 |
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May 7, 2010 05:36
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Hey guys. Quick question. I have a robo hamster that won't use her dust bath but is looking rather oily. Is there anything I can do for her? Edit: I'm sorry about your loss Fewd.
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May 8, 2010 12:10
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Awesome Kristin posted:Hey guys. Quick question. I have a robo hamster that won't use her dust bath but is looking rather oily. Is there anything I can do for her? My gerbils won't use theirs either. They jump inside and start digging all the sand out (rather violently) then making GBS threads inside it. We have to take them out and put them in a little plastic tub with the sand in, and just throw the sand on them. They seem to enjoy that actually, but the don't get the idea that they can do it themselves.
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May 8, 2010 15:27
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MollyMonster posted:
I got Dex a flying saucer wheel a while ago because the wheel his previous owners gave me with him was incredibly noisy and too small (they got everything for him when he was a baby and never bought bigger sizes when he grew). It took him a couple hours to figure out but he got the hang of it. He fell off a couple times, but didn't fly off because he hadn't figured out how to get it going fast yet. He's a little less than two years old so he's definitely not a baby anymore. The flying saucer is so much better than his old wheel. So quiet. Best $20 or so I've spent on the little guy so far.
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May 11, 2010 06:58
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Well look who turned 5 today... I've had a lot of guinea pigs over the past decade or so, but for whatever reason have never had one made it to the ripe old age of 5. Happy Birthday, Fuji. 
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May 12, 2010 02:05
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Awesome Kristin posted:Hey guys. Quick question. I have a robo hamster that won't use her dust bath but is looking rather oily. Is there anything I can do for her? I tried mine with the dust bath (remember you have to use sand and not actually dust) about five times before they started using it properly a little bit. Then one got a grain of sand in her eye and I had to remove it with a cotton bud very very very carefully. I gave up after that. Generally as hams get older they do look a little oily, their fur maybe thins a little too, but it doesn't harm them. Maybe perseverance will do the trick for you though.
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May 13, 2010 23:13
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Mouse question! Somebody dropped off two male mice at my work a few weeks ago. She got them for a class project with no intention of keeping them after that.  That being said, they're males, and I have no way of knowing if they're related. I took them in and they currently reside in these sweet digs. Click here for the full 480x720 image. I'm having a big problem, though. I originally only had the top cage pictured. They bickered from time to time, so I expanded it to give them some more space to spread out. One (Texas Toast) is extremely submissive while the other (Cheese Sandwich) is the complete opposite. Toasty seems to enjoy human interaction while Cheesy runs and hides from me any chance he gets. Anyway, after expanding the cage, things got better. They'd cuddle up together and groom each other and were just so happy. Overnight, however, Cheesy has been kicking Toasty's rear end. Within days, he went from looking perfectly normal, to having a huge patch of fur missing from his butt covered in blood. Everything I'm reading is telling me to either separate them ASAP or not separate them ever, as they'll be miserable in solitary confinement and unable to ever be introduced again. I moved around their stuff: tubes, bowls, huts, in the hope that it will mix up the smells a bit. I'm super worried, though. Toasty doesn't deserve this. I know they should be separated but I don't want to doom them to living alone forever.The mice in question (Cheesy, left. Toasty, right):  Click here for the full 720x532 image.
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May 14, 2010 05:59
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You're not really dooming them if they're getting hormonal and not getting along. That's extremely common in male mice, unfortunately. I know you don't want to split them up, but Cheesy can actually kill Toast, and TBH I'd take Toast to the vet to get some antibiotics if he's already gotten his rear end kicked to the point where he's bleeding.
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May 14, 2010 11:30
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Same thing happened with my Chinese Hamsters. Both male (Simon and Trevor), used to live in one big cage. Unfortunately, they started fighting, and (same as you) we spotted a tuft of fur missing from one's butt (don't ask which - they're identical!) A quick separation of cages, and they're both happy as Larry since! So long as you have enough caging for each little guy to have enough space (which it looks like you do) I'd separate them before any further damage is done! We kept our two hamster cages next to each other though, so for the few (and it's been very few) moments that they get lonely, they can poke noses at each other through the bars! Only seen that happen about twice in the 5 or so months they've been separate. SubbyMinx fucked around with this message at 11:42 on May 14, 2010 |
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May 14, 2010 11:39
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If the idiot only got them for a class project, they were probably bought when they were snuggly babies, and are now only getting to the point where their hormones are kicking in. It's only going to get worse, males will kill each other from instinct. From what I've read, to replace the need for companionship males need larger cages (splitting that setup in half is a good amount) with more enrichment and more out-of-cage play time. If you don't have a whole lot of free time/space to devote to that I would look into adopting one out. :/
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May 14, 2010 15:01
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Thanks guys. As much as I hated separating them, it wasn't fair to Toasty. I sectioned off the mouse pad, so they now have separate condos. I've been noticing that everywhere I'd read said to give them enough space to claim their own spots, but Cheesy was claiming EVERY spot. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I think my little guys will be much happier now, and I'll put the cages next to each other in case they ever want some company. Oh, and I'm going to go to the store today to pick up LOTS of toys. Quick update: I changed the bedding in Toasty's side so that it doesn't all smell like Cheesy. He's exploring areas he was never able to before. He already looks so much happier.
Megalodon fucked around with this message at 17:04 on May 14, 2010 |
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May 14, 2010 16:55
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