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My pigs are good about pellets but if I drop any number of vegetables in they freak out and eat them ALL no matter the quantity It's pretty impressive
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Dec 6, 2013 00:42
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:My pigs are good about pellets but if I drop any number of vegetables in they freak out and eat them ALL no matter the quantity This seems pretty common with rodents. I know chins will also self regulate pellets and hay bit will eat as much treat as you are willing to give.
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Dec 6, 2013 01:14
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So we're coming up on one week of having our one-month-old piggies. They're from the same litter and have been cage mates since birth, and when we got them from the rescue last week they were the only two in their cage, so they've certainly been a pair prior to being with us. Thing is, they're squabbling quite a bit. While we were first holding them at the rescue, we tried putting them in the same cuddle cup for a minute and they got into a straight up nasty fight so that we had to separate them immediately. When the lady who runs the rescue saw that, she threw in a second hidey hutch for free (we were only going to get one at first). She didn't seem alarmed by it, so I assume it isn't a huge problem, and they haven't fought that quite that badly since we brought them home, but they still don't like to be near each other. They spend all their time each hiding in separate hutches, and when we try pulling one of the hutches out, the bigger one immediately bullies the smaller one out of the remaining hutch with some aggressive sounds and makes her run to the other end of the cage, where she's visibly scared to be exposed. Just as I was typing this there was a slight altercation with some high-pitched hurt-sounding squeaking and the smaller one hauling rear end away from the bigger one's hutch. Oddly, when we get them out to hand feed them or just hold them, if they don't see each other for a couple of minutes one of them will go into a frantic sort of wheeking that the other one will respond to in kind, until we put them back together in the cage, so I guess they do miss each other when they're separated. So is the fighting in the cage just typical dominance behavior, like they're figuring out the pecking order? When should we expect them to get over it, or is there a chance they're not totally compatible? Are we delaying them figuring out the alpha relationship by giving them two hutches to separate to? Also, it's totally normal that they still hide from us in their hutches anytime we're in the room or they even hear us coming, right? I knew to expect that they'd be skittish; think I'm just getting impatient wanting them to watch them go about their piggy business even though I know it's gonna take some time.
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Dec 6, 2013 04:17
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The only time you should worry about separating "fighting" pigs is when blood is drawn. Chasing, rumbling, shrieking, humping, nipping, all these things are normal dominance behavior. The reason why they're going at it is because it's a new environment, so they have to work out who's boss of this new territory. It should settle down. Having extra hides won't be an issue, but avoid getting involved in their disputes unless they really start to go at it. (And in that case, for God's sake use heavy gloves. A berserk guinea pig will gently caress you up.) And yeah, guinea pigs hide. Right now, they're still not sure you're not a condor. You may be just fattening them up to eat them. Over time, they'll warm to you once they solidly associate your presence with tasty vegetables, but especially in the beginning they're going to be wary as hell of you and will freak out whenever they see The Claw swooping into the cage to pick one of them up. To help things along, I'd suggest not pulling them out for a few days, just letting them get used to the new place. Be nearby, speak to them, associate your presence with things like feeding time. Sit quietly and watch them. Once they get over the initial fear that you're a predator, you'll be able to catch them out and about on their piggy business more often.
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Dec 6, 2013 06:17
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Guinea Pig DEFCON guide: DEFCON 5 - WILL YOU STOP TOUCHING ME Squeal, rising in pitch and volume. "You're invading my personal space." Not necessarily a cause for alarm, but if you hear it a lot someone's being an rear end in a top hat in the cage. DEFCON 4 - THEY SEE ME ROLLIN Rumblestrutting. Guinea pig purrs, waggles his butt low to the ground. In pig language, "Look at me I'm the boss." If other pigs submit, may lead to chasing and humping, even among same-sex groups. If another pig rumbles back, it becomes Jets vs. Sharks. DEFCON 3 - YOU TALKIN TO ME Face off. Guinea pigs get into close proximity and raise their heads. Dominance display, the submissive pig lowers his head first. If neither one backs off, could be a problem. DEFCON 2 - SAY WHAT AGAIN MOTHER FUCKER SAY WHAT ONE MORE GOD drat TIME Chattering teeth. Universal sign of "if you don't stop whatever you're doing, I'm going to gently caress you up." Pay attention if you hear this. Precursor to bad poo poo. DEFCON 1 - STITCH THIS JIMMY Furball. Guinea pigs launch at each other and become whirling dervishes of teeth. Will surprise the gently caress out of anybody who's never seen it because you just don't think of guinea pigs being able to do this. Separate immediately. Do not use bare hands, or you may end up needing stitches.
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Dec 6, 2013 06:28
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My wife had a legitimately insane pig at one point. He would literally go from perfectly peaceful, just playing with everyone else, to defcon 1 instantly. Seriously, he would be a happy pig one moment and then trying to kill his cagemates the second with nothing to set him off. He would be absolutely berserk for a while, then he would realize that everyone else is hiding from him, would calm down, and start wheeking because he was lonely because no one would come near him. He eventually got rehomed when he caused another pig to lose an eye.
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Dec 6, 2013 06:45
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Thanks kazmeyer, that's really useful info. I just took pity on the smaller one and gave her a strip of bell pepper in the cage, which she happily started eating (albeit with some nervous-sounding squeaking), until the larger one literally ran over, chased her off, then ate the rest of it. I assume this is also normal and I shouldn't get involved? I just want to make sure they're both getting enough to eat and the bigger one isn't hogging all the goodies. She had a much higher birth weight (something like 140g vs 90) and is visibly bigger than the little one, even though they're from the same litter.
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Dec 6, 2013 07:25
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My first guinea pig, Pepper, was the biggest guinea pig I've ever seen. He was over a foot long and weighed six pounds but was definitely in shape as he could run ridiculously fast for his size, and would hump the daylights out of anything. When he peed, it would leave a spot the size of a paper plate, and his poops were an inch long. He lived to be eight and a half years old before finally doing the "lose 2/3 of my body weight in a few days and die" thing, and went totally peacefully unlike basically any other pig I've had. I loved that little rear end in a top hat, him and Junior, my 7 year old chinese dwarf hamster were bros. Junior would ride around on his back and Pepper was cool with it, though occasionally he'd try to hump Junior, so I'd need to keep an eye on them.
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Dec 6, 2013 10:36
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The grocery store near me started giving their pigs real greens.  It only took like 2months or so of me buying things and surreptitiously stuffing it in their cage. Little fatasses were gripping the bars and shaking them when I walked by. Eifert Posting fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Dec 6, 2013 |
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Dec 6, 2013 13:04
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Our three girls are the most willful set of pigs you've ever seen. There is rumble strutting every day, and often times they will do the head raising. They never get past that though. You would think after being together for over 2 years they would have sorted this out by now.
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Dec 6, 2013 13:21
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My pigs are sisters and never do a dominance thing but refuse to share the same part of the cage unless they're busy being scared of something. If one gets startled and runs into the igloo usually the one in the igloo will run out a second later with a small rumble. Sometimes one will start sniffing the other one's face and there will be some stressed "no no stop" wheeking but that's as far as it goes. I've just never seen two animals be so lukewarm to each other, they peacefully tolerate each other and that's it.
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Dec 6, 2013 14:33
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Tabemono posted:Thanks kazmeyer, that's really useful info. I just took pity on the smaller one and gave her a strip of bell pepper in the cage, which she happily started eating (albeit with some nervous-sounding squeaking), until the larger one literally ran over, chased her off, then ate the rest of it. I assume this is also normal and I shouldn't get involved? I just want to make sure they're both getting enough to eat and the bigger one isn't hogging all the goodies. She had a much higher birth weight (something like 140g vs 90) and is visibly bigger than the little one, even though they're from the same litter. Alpha pig always gets dibs on food, water, and hides, and larger pigs are often the dominant ones. The best way to deal with that is to have two water bottles, two pellet bowls, and always put plenty of veggies and hay in the cage -- in two piles on either end, if necessary. Still, even that sometimes doesn't beat the social hierarchy; I've got two water bottles, and I've seen the beta pig sit quietly and wait for her sister to finish drinking, completely ignoring the full water bottle not six inches away. Once their dominance issues settle down, it'll be less of a problem, but you can always provide treats during lap time to make sure each pig gets their share if things continue. Dead Inside Darwin posted:My pigs are sisters and never do a dominance thing but refuse to share the same part of the cage unless they're busy being scared of something. If one gets startled and runs into the igloo usually the one in the igloo will run out a second later with a small rumble. Sometimes one will start sniffing the other one's face and there will be some stressed "no no stop" wheeking but that's as far as it goes. I have a pair of sisters who are about six years old and have been together all their lives, and they only share a pigloo when I'm spot-cleaning the cage or otherwise menacing them. It's all down to individual personalities, pigs bond in different ways. In my original herd, the two sisters who started it were rarely openly affectionate, but when I got more pigs and one was pushed far down on the totem pole, her more dominant sister would often pull down a wad of hay from the rack on top of herself and carry it, looking like a mobile haystack, across the cage to deliver it to her timid sibling. kazmeyer fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Dec 6, 2013 |
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Dec 6, 2013 14:57
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kazmeyer posted:I have a pair of sisters who are about six years old and have been together all their lives, and they only share a pigloo when I'm spot-cleaning the cage or otherwise menacing them. It's all down to individual personalities, pigs bond in different ways. In my original herd, the two sisters who started it were rarely openly affectionate, but when I got more pigs and one was pushed far down on the totem pole, her more dominant sister would often pull down a wad of hay from the rack on top of herself and carry it, looking like a mobile haystack, across the cage to deliver it to her timid sibling. That is adorable and only makes me want to get a 3rd pig for further social interaction I would but I'm having a hard enough time trying to find out when I can take these girls in for a yearly checkup. And nail trimming. Because I've been unforgivably bad about that because I get scared I might hurt them. If there was a guinea pig grooming service that would come to my house and do that I'd pay extreme amounts of money.
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Dec 6, 2013 18:34
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The best way to handle toenail trimming is just to get in there and do it. The first time they'll freak out and act like you're murdering them, and if you do manage to draw blood you'll feel insanely guilty. But as long as you don't do something nuts like shear off an entire toe, that blood will clot, and the next time you go in it'll only be about 90% as bad, then 80%, and so on. Just take it slow, keep the clipping shallow at first until you get a good handle on it, and work through the problem. If you have to, you can do one foot at a time if it's easier on your nerves. A little bit of practice and you'll be able to whip a pig out of the cage and trim all 14 (16+ if you've got polydactyls) toes in a matter of a minute or two. Keep treats on hand for toenail day. Great way to calm a panicked pig or to apologize for hitting the quick is with spring mix.
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Dec 6, 2013 22:18
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I ordered a much better pair because I was using this tiny lovely set that probably wasn't making it any easier. Also re: my earlier question about the sounds, they've gotten MUCH more vocal recently. The one who doesn't flip out as much at bag crinkling will be sitting around and just make a "SQUEAK" every few minutes, it's the same kind of squeak she yells at the other one when there's unwanted sniffing or when I scratch too hard/quickly and she wants me to calm down. She is acting totally normal and when I pick her up and hold her she's acting fine so I don't know why. I don't think it's a pain squeak it's the "stop it" squeak Honestly if I had to guess she's doing it because she's bored. I rearrange stuff in their cage and do things like hay tunnels (it's adorable seeing them wheek while navigating through a giant ball of hay) but I don't know if it's super thrilling. Are there any toys and such I can get? My old pig liked a cat jingle ball and would carry it around in his mouth, but the plastic bits would break off so I stopped giving it to him. Adult Sword Owner fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Dec 9, 2013 |
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Dec 9, 2013 05:11
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:I ordered a much better pair because I was using this tiny lovely set that probably wasn't making it any easier. What are you using to cut? I've found that cuticle nippers, like these work better than the normal pet nail clippers.
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Dec 9, 2013 10:47
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Chin Strap posted:What are you using to cut? I've found that cuticle nippers, like these work better than the normal pet nail clippers. I can't find them in my order history on Amazon but the ones I have right now are a really small crappy pair. The one I just ordered looks a bit more solid and easier to control http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ACVZ458/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is for pets but it looks way better than what I had, though looking at it now I'm much less impressed than earlier. I'll cancel it and get yours. 1/4 jaw I assume? e: drat, 'We weren't able to cancel the following item(s) from your order'. I'll give these a shot and if they suck as well, I'll eat the cost I guess. Adult Sword Owner fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Dec 9, 2013 |
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Dec 9, 2013 15:21
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 This is Mothra. I haven't had hamsters since I was a kid, but this one went home with me within approximately ten minutes of dropping by the animal shelter to get a copy of my cat's adoption papers for the vet. NEVER AGAIN!  It's been over a month now and she really is a sweetheart...except for her unfortunate obsession with gnawing on the bars of her cage, which is both obnoxious and possibly leads to brain damage (if my obsessive internet research is to be believed). I don't want to positively reinforce the behavior by taking her out every time she does it, and I'm not sure how safe it is to put bad tasting gunk on the bars of the cage. Does anybody here have experience with rear end in a top hat hamsters?
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Dec 13, 2013 21:38
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Benya Krik posted:
Have you tried Bitter Apple Spray on the bars? It might prevent him from chewing on them because of the taste.
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Dec 13, 2013 22:06
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Serella posted:Have you tried Bitter Apple Spray on the bars? It might prevent him from chewing on them because of the taste. I did try the apple apray, but all it did was teach me that Mothra is motivated by sheer spite (I thought it was just yogurt snacks). Anyway, I put some lemon juice on the bars tonight...maybe that will do the trick. Reckon I shouldn't worry too much since she's pretty  to begin with.
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Dec 14, 2013 06:03
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Benya Krik posted:I did try the apple apray, but all it did was teach me that Mothra is motivated by sheer spite (I thought it was just yogurt snacks). Anyway, I put some lemon juice on the bars tonight...maybe that will do the trick. Reckon I shouldn't worry too much since she's pretty Have you tried a few different type of chewsticks/toys? I had a hamster that was somewhat picky about which kinds he liked.
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Dec 14, 2013 06:22
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You could try putting Mothra in an aquarium instead of a cage.
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Dec 14, 2013 14:33
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Captain Invictus posted:You could try putting Mothra in an aquarium instead of a cage. And if you do this, make sure to keep it extra clean since the smells can't escape as easily.
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Dec 14, 2013 14:42
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thexerox123 posted:Have you tried a few different type of chewsticks/toys? I had a hamster that was somewhat picky about which kinds he liked.  I've found that spoiling a tiny animal is a pretty great way to neutralize my overwhelming urges to set fire to my workplace, so Mothra lives like a modern-day Caligula in a huge cage with a hammock, a Wodent wheel, and like 5 different chew toys (not counting the treat sticks). Plus, I'm feeding her Hazel Hamster w/ Oxbow and dried mealworms.  You guys are right, though--as cool as her current set-up is, the next step should probably be an aquarium.
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Dec 14, 2013 22:27
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The $1 per gallon sale should be soon at Petco (get her a 40 gal and see how nuts she goes digging)
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Dec 14, 2013 22:33
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Took pigs to the vet today. It was determined that they are in fact guinea pigs and in good health He couldn't find anything wrong with the one who has been making random squeals and said to look for an environmental change. Just then I put 2 and 2 together and figured that she started doing it around the time I replaced a burned-out bulb in the room where they live which greatly increased the brightness. Doh, sorry girls. In shame I bought another chewable tunnel for them to hide in, grabbed a few cardboard boxes and scissors, and made them a new hovel so they can squeal away.    Also the vet cut their claws for me since they badly needed it. The fatter one wasn't too bad but the other one started losing her poo poo and screaming and flailing so I had to burrito her with a tech while the vet did his job. She didn't bite him but she went for the clippers a few times when he was dealing with her front paws. Adult Sword Owner fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Dec 17, 2013 |
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Dec 15, 2013 03:46
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About 3 months ago my wife and I took in 3 chinchillas from someone who wasn't able to keep them. An older female and 2 younger males who had been caged together since, well, they were both males! Then we noticed one of the males was starting to get slightly...round. Then last week we noticed protruding nipples while we had "him" out for play time in the bedroom with us. Guess one of them wasn't quite a male as advertised(how you mis-sex a chinchilla is beyond me, its not like they are hard to tell apart)! Even if we had checked genders it would have been to late though, as they had already been living together and she most likely already bred by then. Yesterday these popped out:  We have the male and female in separate cages now so she can't be rebred. Neither chinchilla is particularly happy at this situation. But now we have little baby fuzzy chinchillas!
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Dec 17, 2013 17:20
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Khisanth Magus posted:Neither chinchilla is particularly happy at this situation. But now we have little baby fuzzy chinchillas! Baby chinchillas are the best.  It's amazing how quickly they start climbing and exploring!
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Dec 17, 2013 17:24
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Apparently baby chinchillas wrestle. It is the most adorable thing ever
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Dec 17, 2013 21:52
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Khisanth Magus posted:Apparently baby chinchillas wrestle. It is the most adorable thing ever Hm the video you obviously included with such a declaration isn't loading
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Dec 17, 2013 22:20
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:Hm the video you obviously included with such a declaration isn't loading We have not managed to get a video of it yet. Hopefully we can get one tonight.
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Dec 17, 2013 22:28
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Oh my god give me them I will love them and shower them with kisses forever 
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Dec 19, 2013 15:38
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So people are dicks. Some people left Gerbils in a box outside of my work in the cold. I went home with them today. They are the most adorable things and they are very young. 2 females, I named them Artemis and Athena. I put them in a spare travel cage for the moment. I will definitaly be looking for something larger. I just want to know if what I have is okay for a couple days. I have something like this I also purchased this I also got them a plastic wheel that will be safe for their tails and a wooden house. Right now they are on the same diet as my rats. A mixture of Harlan Teklad 2014 and Linda's premium organic rodent mix. Do they need higher protein? For bedding I am using a mixture of Carefresh, Aspen and Orchard grass hay. I will probably buy them a larger cage tomorrow. I just want opinions on how well I am treating them for Gerbils that were left at my works doorstep. Bonus picture! 
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Dec 20, 2013 01:15
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Gerbils in my experience are way happier with a deep fishtank full of bedding so they can burrow and do their thing; they don't really enjoy extra plastic tunnels and the like. Maybe others with more recent gerbil experience can chime in.
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Dec 20, 2013 07:07
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nunsexmonkrock posted:Gerbils I guess it's fate you end up with gerbs then. Regarding the food, many rat and mouse pellets or mixes are fine, as long as there's not too much nuts, sunflower seeds and such that'll make them lardarses. Veggies on top of that of course. If it's at all possible and you can figure out a way to facilitate food cups and such, get an aquarium instead of a cage. It's superior in many ways, but most importantly you can have a thick layer (10-30 cm) of bedding in there. Digging around and chewing everything easily replace most traditional rodent toys when it comes to gerbs. You can make a roof for the aquarium from wiremesh and if you wanna get all carpenter about it make a frame out of wood. Water bottle can be easily attached to the mesh or maybe aquarium magnet, but food cup can be take some effort to set up in a sea of bedding. I made a platform of this hard and dense as hell (no idea what it's called in English... or Finnish for that matter  ) plastic material I had at work and it worked out well. Superglued some wooden bars to serve as legs to lift it up from bedding. Then placed a thin drinking glass around each wooden bar to protect them and a sheet of paper between glass and aquarium bottom so they don't make noise. I also filled the glasses with bedding which made the platform very stable.
Fewd fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Dec 20, 2013 |
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Dec 20, 2013 07:20
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I know rats don't do well in aquariums because of the ammonia that can build up in it from urine. Is it different with gerbils? I will look at a few things today for them and probably purchase something better for them tomorrow than what they are in now.
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Dec 20, 2013 14:50
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nunsexmonkrock posted:I know rats don't do well in aquariums because of the ammonia that can build up in it from urine. Is it different with gerbils? I will look at a few things today for them and probably purchase something better for them tomorrow than what they are in now. Gerbils are creatures of deserts that produce very little urine compared to larger rodents like rats, so it's not really an issue.
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Dec 20, 2013 16:46
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Thanks so much for the information guys. I appreciate it. How would a 10 gallon do with one of those tank cage topper things? Oh yeah I also like to feed my rats small pieces of green bell peppers, carrots, various different greens too. Are there anythings that Gerbils absolutely should not have. I know what is bad for rats and won't feed those things to them but is there anything in particular amongst fruits and veggies that are okay for rats but not Gerbils? As special treats, I like to feed a single roasted unsalted peanut, smaller pieces of yogurt drops, dried whole wheat pasta, etc... around once a week or so. Although since they are new they've already had 3 and I've been spoiling them. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Dec 21, 2013 |
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Dec 21, 2013 05:38
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nunsexmonkrock posted:Thanks so much for the information guys. I appreciate it. How would a 10 gallon do with one of those tank cage topper things? Regarding food they got a pretty long menu of edible things. But like I said, try to avoid too many nuts and sunflower seeds as they do get fat. You should also have some hard food there as it helps with the teeth. Only things I've never fed them is the obvious ones like salt of course but also exotic fruits. I don't know much about them and I've read somewhere avocado will kill them dead. I'm not too familiar with gallon and liter tank sizes but saw someone mention 10 gallons per gerbil rule. But bigger the better, yeh? As long as you can reach the bottom. See whatever thing lists your local used poo poo for sale, as used aquariums can be grabbed cheap. Especially if they leak which doesn't matter one bit here. Of course bedding costs go up with the size, but hey, caverns! Fewd fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Dec 21, 2013 |
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Dec 21, 2013 07:13
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Yeah the Harlan Teklad 2014 are hard blocks so they should be good for their teeth. The organic mix I feed, is a suppliment so there are only a few seeds mixed in here and there. They came with some Kaytee crap that I just give them a tiny bit of it just to use it up. I gave them a ton more Orchard Grass today to burrow in and stuff and they seem to enjoy it very much. I think I'll get the 10 gallon with the tank topper. It's twice the size that my work would give them as abandoned Gerbils. I know it's not ideal but it's better than what they will get at work and they receive much more attention. I will look for someone to adopt them that can maybe put them in something larger and more suited for them...but I honestly think I'm stuck with them. They are adorable though. My husband will be taking care of them tomorrow and letting them run around in their ball and stuff.
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Dec 21, 2013 07:36
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