|
Serella posted:Oh my god, who do this? Even as a dumb kid I would never have made an animal into a soccer ball. Poor ham. If I had kids who did this to any animal, but something as fragile and defenseless as a hamster, I'm pretty sure I'd be trying to sell my kids to a pet store for the sake of the hamster. 
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2013 20:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:46 |
|
|
Serella posted:Oh my god, who do this? Even as a dumb kid I would never have made an animal into a soccer ball. Poor ham. I don't know anything about the previous owners, but yeah it's pretty sad. I knew a kid in high school who talked about kicking his hamster down the stairs whenever he was having a bad day. I'm pretty sure the guy ended up committing suicide a couple years ago after someone publicly accused him of spousal abuse, so that's the kind of person that does these things. Fraction posted:^^^ Tortoiseshell guinea pig. There's an ingredient list on the "more info" tab of this page: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=17303 I'd list them here but there are about 50 of them. I buy it mostly because it's the only hamster food my nearby store sells that doesn't have sunflower seeds in it. Thanks for the advice, I figured spoiling her was more for me than her, so I'll try to keep it healthy and not too frequent. e: Wow that post was way darker than I meant it to be. Here's a picture to lighten the mood:  (she is fogging up the glass with her nose) 
Sumac fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Apr 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
cubivore posted:Yeah, I know she's tortoiseshell, I mean the white mixed with muted tortoiseshell colors on her back. I think it looks cool and I'd love to know what it is. Is it just tortoiseshell? Can't tell from that pic, but it could be roaning, which by the way, is the cause of lethal whites.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2013 20:52
|
|
|
For you chinchilla-owning goons, how much do yours drink/pee/poop? Smokey drinks at least twice as much water as Dexter (1 bottle every couple days, Dex can go a week between refills) and his bedding is always a lot wetter than Dex's, and his poops are much larger than Dex's. They both have identical living conditions and get the exact same food/hay/everything. Is one of them broken or is this something that varies between individual critters? Dex is about 5 and Smokey is around 2 years old if that would matter (but Dex didn't drink/pee/poop any more when he was 2 than he does now, but his first couple years of life were pretty rough before I adopted him).
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 04:19
|
|
|
Back when Oscar was alive he'd do everything more than Charlie. His poops were bigger too. He was about twice his size and age so that's always what I attributed it to though.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 05:03
|
|
|
cuntvalet posted:If I had kids who did this to any animal, but something as fragile and defenseless as a hamster, I'm pretty sure I'd be trying to sell my kids to a pet store for the sake of the hamster. God, finally. Now I can let my 60 ft burmese have the experience of capturing it's live prey. I don't normally crosspost, but goddamn:  Why isn't that illegal?
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 05:05
|
|
|
Fluffy Bunnies posted:
Because they're just mice, man. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 14:49
|
|
|
Awesome Kristin posted:Back when Oscar was alive he'd do everything more than Charlie. His poops were bigger too. He was about twice his size and age so that's always what I attributed it to though. Dex is older and slightly bigger than Smokey, so who the hell knows. As long as they're both healthy otherwise I guess I won't worry too much about it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 15:38
|
|
|
Aww I think Jenna is getting used to being handled a bit more. She let my mom pet her the other day.  Also is it normal for a guinea pig to be really happy when certain people are around? She's fairly happy when I'm around especially with food, but when my boyfriend comes over she goes nuts, wheeking and popcorning and everything. I think she likes the voices he uses when he talks to her?
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 21:10
|
|
|
cuntvalet posted:Aww I think Jenna is getting used to being handled a bit more. She let my mom pet her the other day. Does he give her treats? We used to have a guinea pig that knew my uncle's voice because he was a giant sucker who made it rain veggies on her. Just hearing his voice would send her into paroxysms of joy -- or more likely, anticipation of food to come.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2013 22:30
|
|
|
Serella posted:Does he give her treats? We used to have a guinea pig that knew my uncle's voice because he was a giant sucker who made it rain veggies on her. Just hearing his voice would send her into paroxysms of joy -- or more likely, anticipation of food to come. Sometimes, he'll usually fill her hay for her and talk softly to her its pretty cute.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2013 19:00
|
|
|
My friend's guinea pig knows my voice and wheeks when I arrive at their house, because I bribe the hell out of her.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
Hello everybody, long time animal lover and lurker of PI. I own two hamsters and some sort of dog/Tasmanian devil mix. Anyway, back the the hamsters! I was given a hamster from my GF about a year ago. He is some sort of dwarf and I really wish I knew what he was so I could be more specific! He's small and white and fluffy maybe that can give some of you an idea or be an incredibly vague description. The other is also adopted and again can't give you the slightest idea what the hell species he is! He is much much bigger than the other guy. Probably a rat without a tail who knows! I do love him, though, just the same as my lil' guy. He's my question! I recently found a massive lump on the side of my lil' guy. Now that means one of a few things; 1. A tumor 2. an abscess 3. a fat hamster I was hoping it was 3, but it's painfully obvious that he's got a tumor. I had no idea that they could rapidly form and how massive they can get in such a short time. Real bummer. So I was wondering if any of you guys dealt with this before. I know I have very few options here. Hamsters, as we know, very short lived and a vet bill could be costly. Family is lacking in funds after we had to get my crazy crazy CRAZY , but lovable, dog spade. pic of him in his healthier days 
ShortyMR.CAT fucked around with this message at 06:57 on Apr 22, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2013 04:25
|
|
|
I'm sorry to say this, but it's probably best if you had the vet put him down if it's a cancerous tumor(which it probably is if it's growing that rapidly). Cancerous tumors grow extremely fast in rodents, I had a chinese dwarf that had a tumor grow to the size of her head in a few weeks. The vet took a sample and put it under a microscope and said they could see the cancer growing on the slide. We decided to put her down right there to end her suffering, I was holding her as they injected her and she weakly bit my thumb and held on as she fell asleep for the last time.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2013 05:57
|
|
|
I figured as much. I've held animals as they were injected during my schooling, but it's gonna feel off knowing it's my pet. I'll give the local clinic a call to set something up. Maybe we can get a few more months out of him, but I really can't let him live in pain for any longer.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2013 07:00
|
|
|
It's going to grow huge and seriously impede his movement and quality of life, and must hurt like hell. It's probably best not to string it out.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2013 07:02
|
|
|
Oh, no, I meant if we could possibly treat it. Big ol' "IF" there. But that is wishful thinking. I'll call tomorrow to set something up for my guy. quick update: looks like he didn't make the night. Wish I caught this sooner so I could have ended his pain earlier. Looks like he'll be running on better wheel now. I'll miss him. ShortyMR.CAT fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Apr 22, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2013 07:42
|
|
|
So one of my degus feel from about 3 feet high a few days ago. She chipped a tooth, but otherwise seemed okay. Not to big a deal I thought, she's a rodent, her teeth grow fast it will be work out and replaced in a few weeks. Just resoled to keep an eye on it. Last night I noticed her pawing at her teeth, kind of stroking them almost. So that sent up an instant red flag, but she was still being very social, and eating okay, so again just watched her close. I got up and started feeding my degus this morning, and she had blood all around her mouth. I got on the phone to the animal hospital, and while talking to them her tooth fell out in my hand. So I rush her straight in. Well, good news terrible news situation. The vet says the tooth broke cleanly, and she's 95% sure below the gum line. It will regrow no problem given time, no bits of broken tooth up inside her gums. The terrible news? The vet felt some asymetrical bumps under her jaw, and that combined the the fact she has always drooled a bit while eating points to a congenital mouth disease where her cheek teeth don't wear properly, and grow down in to her jaw bone. I'm told it can be treated, but often comes back in as little as 4-12 weeks requiring another treatment. Said treatment essentially being grinding down her teeth. I've been a wreck all morning, cried the whole way home from the vet. Still need to get the results from the x-ray later today. But yeah, felt like posting something about it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2013 14:54
|
|
|
I'm really sorry to hear that letgomyAgo.  You probably don't need me saying it, but I have heard of people who have guinea pigs with tooth issues (typically with their molars) that require frequent vet visits to get the teeth ground down. They seem to manage ok, though I would guess it's a fairly pricey thing to have done constantly, but it's maybe an option available to you if you choose to go in that direction.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2013 15:33
|
|
|
We've just gotten degus. They're awesome little guys, very active and so much fun to watch. It cost a small fortune to buy them and all their stuff but so far it's all been good and we love having them around. It's been only two days since we've had them but I'm wondering if anyone can shed some advice and tips for keeping them? They're both males and seem to get along quite well together, but one is much more adventurous than the other. Yesterday I propped my hand into the cage holding a treat and Austin took very little hesitation in approaching me, grabbing the treat and trotting off to eat it. Diego, on the other hand, took 10-15 minutes before he felt comfortable coming up to me, giving me a quick sniff then bolting away from me. and leaving the treat behind When we first got the degus, Austin was quick to jump out of the transport cage and into his new home whilst Diego took his time - about 5 minutes. When we walk past the cage, Austin is usually not too bothered but Diego tends to run away to someplace hidden. At the pet store, we saw two caged degus that would spend all their time together. Austin & Diego tend to do their own thing but will occasionally stand next to each other. Is there anything we can do to boost Diego's confidence in us? Or is Diego acting the normal way and Austin is just kind of oblivious to the world? In terms of snacks, what's best for them? I know sugary ones are bad, so what should we use instead? The people at the pet store suggested some dried fruit stuff but is that a good idea?  Austin.  Diego.  Enclosure.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2013 10:15
|
|
|
Angelwolf posted:In terms of snacks, what's best for them? I know sugary ones are bad, so what should we use instead? The people at the pet store suggested some dried fruit stuff but is that a good idea? I started reading up on these because of your post and degus have always crawled a bit under my radar. They look kinda like squirrels without the whole puffy tail syndrome going on Anyways. Finnish Gerbil Association (no english so no link, sorry) page had a lot of information on these guys too and the general answer regarding snacks was that you're not allowed to give them damned near anything. Even fruits and berries seem to be bad. Only snack the page says are okay are small pieces of carrots with their normal food. As for normal food, they recommend 50%/50% chin/pig pellets and hay. edit: Noticed the last picture. The page heavily warns against anything plastic because they chew it and can die horribly. Also says they don't need a wheel. So seeing as it's also plastic, you might want to toss it. Fewd fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Apr 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2013 12:13
|
|
|
I love piggies so very much -- they are like little noisy fuzzy potatoes, and they always crack me up. Unfortunately, I have a rather big dog. She's not vicious, but she has a very strong 'play' instinct; if something runs, she's gonna chase it. Does anyone have experience with dogs and piggies, especially larger breeds? Would they just get super super stressed out? Also, is it difficult devoting your time to a creature that doesn't live very long? I've never 'discovered' a dead pet, and I'm not sure how I'd deal with a piggy dying on me. Edit to add: I would not just let the piggy and the dog run free together, obviously. I mean would the dog coming up to the pen stress them out, etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2013 22:45
|
|
|
I also have dogs and rodents. I have chinchillas, but a lot of what I did can also be applied to pigs. I would set up an ex-pen around your pig's cage as an extra dog barrier so your dog can't get right up at your pigs and snuffle around, and work with your dog with sitting quietly and being a good dog around the pig cage and teach him that your new fuzzy friend is not a toy. I'd also give your piggy plenty of places to hide away from where the dog could see him. Both my chins have houses up and away from the dogs, but since a pig can't climb I'd give him a house in the far back corner of his cage away from where the dog might be sniffing around that he can use as his safe zone. We taught my one dog from day one that the chinchillas were not toys and he was not to touch their cages, and now he sees them as his little herd he must protect and won't let my other dog near them Pigs live a good long while for rodents (6-7 years) so it's not really that short of a lifespan.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 01:22
|
|
|
Hey Angelwolf, avoid the dried fruit for your goos for sure. It's still far to high in sugar content to be anything but a very occasional treat. What I used to hand train my degus was rolled oats. That absolutely love them. As for boosting confidence in you, degus are very scent oriented. You can take an old shirt, wear it for a couple of hours then put it in their cage. They'll investigate it in short order, chew it all to hell etc etc. But they'll get used to your smell, and they'll learn it's not associated with threat. So once you've got that down, just offer a pinch of oats from your hand now and then, once they're comfortable taking food that way, make them put two paws up on your hand before rewarding. More or less just continue on like that until they're hand trained, it usually doesn't take long. Degus are quite intelligent and make associations very fast. Some can even be trained to do simple tricks. Now, comes the somewhat hard to hear news. Degus can develop dental disorders extremely easy, many are predisposed to to, it's genetic. What happens is their cheek teeth wear improperly causing overgrowth. The upper and lowers grow in to each other and run out of room to grow. They then begin to grow downwards in to the jaw bone. If left to long this usually winds up fatal. If it's fixable, the vet will rasp their teeth down, basicly a little dremil tool grinder. Sometimes this fix gives relief for as little as 4 weeks. You can help counter this by providing a diet based most of timothy hay, like 90% of their food should be hay. It helps to keep the teeth worn down. If you notice your degus drooling, or having a squinty eye with a bit of discharge around it, get them to the vet. It's a really crappy disorder, I was informed I'll be losing my favorite degu in the next few weeks to it. Just have her home on pain medication now to say good bye Edited to throw in some pics of my girls: Brimley and GlaDos saying hello with Nibbles in the background. She's not overly social.  Brimley and GlaDos having dried rose petals, one of their favorite treats  Brimley sitting pretty for the camera  The mansion the night I finished building it. It was kind of sparsely populated then, has much more stuff in it now. It's 6 feet tall, by 4 feet long, 3 feet deep. 4 full levels and 1 half level, connected by various ramps and ladders.  A shot of the old cage, which was far far to small, they only spent about a week in it. Degus honestly need about 15 000sq cm for a single one to live comfortably. That cage was 2000, and it was the biggest the pet store sold.  One last picture of Brimley, she is my most social and loving degu. Rides around on my shoulder, sleeps in the hood of my sweat shirt. It is unfortunately her that I'll need to put down shortly. Breaks my heart.  Double edit ftw: Angel you might want to pay very close attention to Austin's health as well, that's generally not a natural coloration for degus. They can be bred for it, but it sometimes results in problematic blood lines. Be very careful of their tails as well, they can drop them as a defense mechanism. They don't grow back however, and it's a painful and messy thing to have happen. letgomyAgo fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Apr 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 03:56
|
|
|
Up until recently I had two gerbils, but yesterday one of them died. RIP Tesla Now I only have a single gerbil, and she seems really stressed. She's darting around her cage and seems a bit agitated, and I assume this is because she's missing the company of another gerbil. Should I be concerned for the short term? I know they're social animals so I want to get her another partner as soon as possible, but is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable for the time being? Bone fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Apr 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 15:37
|
|
|
Fewd posted:
Ditto on getting rid of the plastic wheel, but I do suggest getting a wheel for them. We have three degus, and their wheel has become the centre of their social universe. Even when they're not running, they love to just hang out on it, groom each other on it, have little degu conferences on it Be careful with your treat-giving. Rolled oats are pretty starchy - I'd suggest maybe one or two at a time, no more than once a day. letgomyAgo posted:
Boy, do I know what that's like. We lost two degus due to locked-tongue (basically their molars grow inward over their tongues, making it nearly impossible for them to swallow). It's pretty hard to detect, because degus almost never show illness until it's far too late. In Fanny's case, she was still interested in food (and to us, it looked like she was eating it) right up to the very end. It turned out she was lumping it all in her mouth and spitting it out later, unable to swallow any of it For Jacob (female, due to a "breeder" who was incompetent at sexing degus), we noticed the problem in time to get her teeth trimmed; problem is, some degus will keep getting tooth overgrowths for the rest of their lives. A month and a half later we had to take her back to the vet for another trim (which, as it involves anaesthesia, is very dangerous). She didn't wake up from the anaesthetic.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 21:30
|
|
|
I'm very sorry to hear that, and yes it can be so hard to detect the problem. They're excellent at hiding pain. We didn't know a thing was wrong with Brimley until she was at the vet for an unrelated matter. But yeah, just keep a very close eye on them for any drooling, or any squinting of or discharge around the eyes. The former usually indicates an issue with lower cheek teeth, the latter is uppers. Sometimes if you're lucky drool will just turn out to be a bone spur, or some uneven wear. It entails anesthetic, but it is usually corrected and with proper diet doesn't return. Oh, and if you do offer a wheel make sure it's at least 12in in diameter, and preferable solid all around, and on one side. It's not pretty when a degu gets its tail caught between the spokes. That one in my pictures is gone now, was unsuitable.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 22:32
|
|
|
I take it Degu teeth are different from other rodent teeth and can't just be clipped back down? On the rare occasion when one of my hamster's teeth have overgrown, I'll just clip them with a pair of model clippers down to an appropriate length. It's a hassle getting it in their mouths because they clearly don't like it, but better than slowly starving to death because they can't even open their mouths.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2013 23:24
|
|
|
The front teeth can be clipped, if you're careful (and your degu will let you); it's the molars that are troublesome, and require veterinary attention.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2013 00:33
|
|
|
HappyKitty posted:The front teeth can be clipped, if you're careful (and your degu will let you); it's the molars that are troublesome, and require veterinary attention. Ohhhh, that's the part I missed. Gotcha. So it's kinda like Wisdom Teeth but lethal?
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2013 00:35
|
|
|
Yeah, it's a lot like that. The teeth just keep growing and growing, and if they can't go up, they have to go somewhere. That somewhere is usually down in to the jaw bone, or bursting out the side of the gums for lowers. Uppers tend to make their way in to the nasal cavity. Both situations result in death quite often, or expensive corrective surgery that is often only a temporary, short term fix. I did find a vet that would be willing to attempt tooth extraction for brimley, but it's not a viable option for me, or her really. They would need to take 10 of 16 teeth, it would be an incredibly dangerous and invasion operation, and it would cost me around $10 000. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd do it for her in a heart beat, but drat I just don't have that kind of money.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2013 01:55
|
|
|
Thanks for the advice about the degus! The boys have been fine with the wheel so far, they love to run on it a lot but they've never chewed it. We've got plenty of wood and chewable toys in the cage for them and they have fun chewing them up (including their house). We'll keep an eye on them to ensure no chewing the plastic goes on. It's the same wheel they had at the pet store and that didn't have signs of chewing either. We stopped giving them dried fruit only a day or so after having them and have instead given them sunflower and pumpkin seeds which they really appear to love. Are these ok to give frequently? They've both become a lot more sociable and will come to the door when it's opened. If your hand is there, they'll usually jump onto it. Austin is happy to climb around you but Diego is happy to jump on then jump back into the cage a few seconds later. He'll occasionally let you bring him out, though. We've since gotten some dried grass too which we've been told is good to give them as treats or as training aids. We've given them Rice Crispies (breakfast cereal) as well which they also seemed to kind of enjoy. Austin has let my partner tickle his belly by rolling over and letting her go to town, but Diego is still a little more cautious. I've not had a 'tickle invitation' from either of them yet but they will occasionally let me rub them behind their ears. Do you know of any specific problems with blue degus? The pet store people said they were rare so we felt kind of happy about that, it didn't really occur to us that there may be some kind of defect. They did at least tell us about the detaching tails though. Quite spooked out about these dental problems though. I do hope nothing bad happens to them. I'm sorry to hear about the degu losses too, they're sad to hear about. That's an amazing mansion you have for them too, I'm sure they'll love it! But are you not worried about them chewing the wood it's made from?
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2013 13:34
|
|
|
Well, all the flat surfaces are made from MDF, which is indeed quite poisonous if they chew it. But degus can't chew a flat surface, they need an edge to work. What I did was clad all of the edges in the cage with kiln dried pine, which is perfectly safe for them to chew. In fact it helps a great deal in keeping their teeth worn down. As for specific problems with that coloration, no I've never personally owned any off color degus. The extent of my knowledge is that they don't exist in the wild, they're a mutation bred for that coloration in captivity. Much like some breeds of dog bred for one odd specific genetic trait, they can develop weird genetic/hereditary problems. Blindness, cataracts, deafness etc etc. Sort of like white ferrets often go deaf, it's part of their genetics. Or he might live a decade and develop no serious problems at all. As for the wheel, degus are voracious chewers. I've seen my three eat a 1/2 x 1 inch foot long board in a night. Reduce it to splinters. If they do take a notion to chew the wheel some night, there may not be anything left of it by morning. That said, they tend not to eat things they're chewing. They just like to chew. I've heard of the odd case where a degu was injured after eating plastic, but they do tend to just chew it apart and spit it out. It's likely fine to leave in so long as they can't get a tail stuck in it anywhere.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2013 15:24
|
|
|
I need some advice: My gerbil is probably in his final days - he's over 3 and a half years old and he's recently gotten very sluggish, not running in his wheel, his ears are laid back, looks like he's lost some weight, and it looks like he's breathing harder than normal. He's still eating and drinking, but he's just sort of zoned-out and a sleeping a lot. Is there anything acutely wrong with him that I can help alleviate?
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2013 14:56
|
|
|
robotsinmyhead posted:I need some advice: You'd need to take him to a vet to find out. Animals don't just die of "old," there's usually an underlying condition. He might have time left in him, or it might be kinder to have him put to sleep if he's in pain or very uncomfortable. Either way, a vet visit will be able to help you figure it out.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2013 15:17
|
|
|
Perfectly understandable - but it's sunday and I can't him into the Vet until tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2013 16:54
|
|
|
Birthday pig.  
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2013 00:49
|
|
|
A few days ago I got two Russian Dwarf Hamsters called Quark and Odo. This is their home (Deep Space Nine): And this is them:  Odo is the one sitting outside the security office (wooden hut), while Quark is the one nibbling away at Odo's security office (wooden hut). So far Quark is fine exploring, although he doesn't seem to know how to use ramps for going down, only going up. If he needs to get to a lower level he'll just lean over the side gradually until he flops down. I'm slightly worried about Odo, as he doesn't seem to like moving very far from his security office (wooden hut), but hopefully this will improve once he's settled in. They both sleep in the security office (wooden hut), but they also both do the toilet there. Is this normal? I thought they would always go elsewhere for the toilet. I've tried moving their soiled bedding to a different area to encourage them to pee there, but that doesn't seem to be working. Captain Hilarious fucked around with this message at 08:01 on May 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2013 12:17
|
|
|
Captain Hilarious posted:A few days ago I got two Russian Dwarf Hamsters called Quark and Odo. This is their home (Deep Space Nine): I wish your pics weren't broken because this is the best post I've ever read in PI. Please tell me Quark has big ears.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2013 22:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:46 |
|
|
Fix images and please tell me that Odo squeaks LOUDLY at Quark when he starts eating the office
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2013 22:17
|
|
