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since peach's lump didn't go away with antibiotics, she's gonna have to get surgery next week to remove it.  a bit nervous about post-care but i assume the vet will give us some tips on what she needs. i have to say though, around this time last year, i never would've expected myself to be someone who hears the $250 surgery estimate for a hamster i got for $15 and goes "yes, absolutely, do what you gotta do," but goddamn if i'm not attached to this little rodent. just want her to be okay!! eta: it turns out the lump was a (mildly?) malignant tumor, but they got it all out, her stitches came out this morning, and she's back to running on her wheel, digging in sand, and enjoying hamster life. she hated being in a smaller cage during her recovery period so i'm glad she's finally perking up again. Obnoxipus fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Sep 8, 2022 |
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Aug 15, 2022 20:37
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Black Forest Ham died this morning. I was given him about a year ago in one of those horrible plastic death traps. Dude was chill as hell but wanted to see everything I did in my room; he'd sit up and demand attention and would take food from my hand with eagerness. I noticed him not running on his wheel as much the past few weeks, and his black fur was getting gray. So less time in his hamster ball (he'd run all over and run into the cats, on purpose, I think) and wheel. I gave him a chunk of apple last night, and he rolled onto his back with it, just eating away with a look of bliss. Rest well, little hamster. Your sibling/bought at same time and given to me at same time, Chicken, is doing okay.
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Sep 20, 2022 15:08
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Sorry to hear it. Interested hamsters are the best hamsters. Sounds like he went peacefully and while happy, though, and you can't ask for more.
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Sep 20, 2022 15:17
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Sep 22, 2022 15:57
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hell yeah
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Sep 22, 2022 18:31
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please give me some recs for hamster treats and toys I can leave in their cages. so far, my current crew have been incredibly disinterested in chew sticks and basically any wooden toys, but they absolutely love those colorful puff sticks and generally devour the sections I break off for them either immediately or within a day. I also give them these types of papaya treats, a couple pieces at a time, and they of course inhale those.
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Oct 1, 2022 04:56
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Things to keep their teeth down, like baby carrots, apple slices? Melon rinds with a little melon on still?
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Oct 1, 2022 14:38
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https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/721904093148348469/975027378445234236/IMG_3797.jpg?width=606&height=606 https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/721904093148348469/975027378097094666/IMG_3796.jpg this was my sweet boy tealeaf before he passed on. degus are the loving poo poo. he would bite my nails for me every time i had my hands in his cage
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Oct 3, 2022 06:47
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What a dapper boye <3
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Oct 3, 2022 07:46
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about a month after we got our hamster de-tumored, she's started growing another one!!!! very cool, very great. we'll be taking her to the vet, of course, but i really hope this doesn't keep happening. maybe it's because she's my first ever hamster, but i've been an upset mess thinking about this. just want her to be okay, man.   here are some pictures of her being a willing model for the 0.2 seconds before she teleported away to attack the carpet again
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Oct 19, 2022 14:48
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She’s adorable, and here’s hoping for a good outcome
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Oct 19, 2022 17:33
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Dayton does a 180 but does not really like being bothered by noisy humans https://i.imgur.com/7RgAeNh_lq.mp4
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Oct 24, 2022 06:56
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woke up at 1 in the morning for some reason, checked out the hamster cages when I got out of bed, and Chichi was laying down out in the open, breathing rapidly. I quickly scooped her up, with no resistance or curiosity from her so I knew it was bad, and made a warm cup of water to syringe to her/mash up food into if necessary as she was very cold. she rested in my hands for a few minutes before starting to struggle super hard out of nowhere and I knew it was over, that's how a lot of my hams have gone right at the end; rage, rage, against the dying of the light. She coughed up blood and so I can only assume something catastrophic internally happened. she was running around with a corn pop I gave her earlier today, she wasn't as frenetic as she usually is, and I guess that should have been a sign. poor little girl. and my other ones are getting sluggish and old too. I hate thinking about "time to get new ones" but with rodents, that's just how you do.
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Oct 31, 2022 06:43
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Captain Invictus posted:woke up at 1 in the morning for some reason, checked out the hamster cages when I got out of bed, and Chichi was laying down out in the open, breathing rapidly. I quickly scooped her up, with no resistance or curiosity from her so I knew it was bad, and made a warm cup of water to syringe to her/mash up food into if necessary as she was very cold. she rested in my hands for a few minutes before starting to struggle super hard out of nowhere and I knew it was over, that's how a lot of my hams have gone right at the end; rage, rage, against the dying of the light. She coughed up blood and so I can only assume something catastrophic internally happened. she was running around with a corn pop I gave her earlier today, she wasn't as frenetic as she usually is, and I guess that should have been a sign. I'm sorry for your loss. 
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Oct 31, 2022 09:46
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I should take more pictures and videos. I just haven't lately, and I really should.
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Oct 31, 2022 09:55
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poo poo, I'm sorry. I still miss Black Forest Ham. Somehow his frantic sibling Chicken is still kicking around.
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Oct 31, 2022 14:58
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Cowslips Warren posted:poo poo, I'm sorry. I still miss Black Forest Ham. I don’t know that I could bear giving a being with such a short natural lifespan as a hamster such a clever name. I’d end up with like a line of them, Black Forest Ham the First, Black Forest Ham II, Black Forest Ham the Third, etc
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Oct 31, 2022 15:03
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Ok Comboomer posted:I don’t know that I could bear giving a being with such a short natural lifespan as a hamster such a clever name. He and his sib were given to me last year in those horrible plastic cage monstrosities. Chicken freaked out in a 10 gallon aquarium so he went to live in a mouse rack tray, where he sees me barely once a day, and he is a lot calmer with such cover. Black Forest Ham was cool in a 10 gallon and would run over when he saw me and demand a treat every time. The morning he died, I gave him a piece of apple, and he gripped it and crunched down with such love for apple, dude flipped on his back and just lay there eating with a look of bliss on his face.
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Oct 31, 2022 15:09
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we're going to have to say goodbye to peach on friday; she has multiple tumors that can't be removed without permanently altering her quality of life, and the fact that they're growing so quickly (went from tumor removal to new lump to multiple massive tumors in the span of less than three months) means that it's better to limit her suffering. she's clearly less active and mobile, since one of them is right by her leg. which is all stuff that i'm telling myself, but i didn't think it would be so difficult to make the choice and keep on existing. we only got to have her for 13 months, that's not nearly enough time for her or us.  this was her on the first day we got her, she was so tiny and barely even looked like a hamster.  recent pic. i'm going to miss her so much. edit: sorry for huge images, phoneposting Obnoxipus fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Nov 9, 2022 |
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Nov 9, 2022 21:15
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I'm sorry. It never does get any easier. But you gave that little fuzzy a really good life.
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Nov 9, 2022 22:21
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My condolences. She looks a bit like my old boy, who's approaching 2.5 years now. The hunch, kinda squinty look is definitely a sign they're winding down whether due to health or age. You did her well though, even with apparently terminal tumors, she looks relatively okay other than that, no major skin issues it looks like. Small consolation I know, but she looks like she's led a good life. I have been debating whether to swing by the pet shop I've gotten my hams at before and got Chichi from, or look into a breeder. Is there a directory for hamster breeders or anything like that, I'd like to find one near mid-to-eastern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire if I can.
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Nov 10, 2022 09:58
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Captain Invictus posted:I have been debating whether to swing by the pet shop I've gotten my hams at before and got Chichi from, or look into a breeder. Is there a directory for hamster breeders or anything like that, I'd like to find one near mid-to-eastern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire if I can. If you're interested in adopting a rescue ham, the Modadnock Humane Society in Swanzey NH has some Winter White dwarfs that were born at the shelter. I lost Mr. Banjo last week who went suddenly and peacefully in his sleep. Today we adopted the mother of the litter born in the Modadnock Humane Society.  This is Edamame.
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Nov 14, 2022 00:16
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edamame is adorable! swanzey's a few hours out, so I'll look into something a bit closer, but I'll keep it in mind, thanks!
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Nov 14, 2022 11:28
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-CHA posted:If you're interested in adopting a rescue ham, the Modadnock Humane Society in Swanzey NH has some Winter White dwarfs that were born at the shelter. I lost Mr. Banjo last week who went suddenly and peacefully in his sleep. That’s a very pretty critter
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Nov 14, 2022 20:41
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Captain Invictus posted:edamame is adorable! Darth TNT posted:That’s a very pretty critter Thanks! She's a very friendly little dum dum who's personality can be summed up as: No idea of what's going on, but just happy to be a part of things.
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Nov 15, 2022 00:48
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I've been recently getting recommendations for this youtube channel, the videos I've watched from her seem good, informative, and most importantly, do not beat around the bush. they made me very uncomfortable in some spots, but in a good way, like this video she just put out which shows just how horrible a rodent mill is with video, visual evidence of inbred and genetically hosed hamsters, etc, and she provides links to those she believes are a bunch of ethical breeders in her video description. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fcAAhLLoZ8&hd=1 I think this was the video that first pointed me towards her channel, and it's a good one, about various hamster behaviors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UaYPn7HHDw&hd=1
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Nov 26, 2022 21:51
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Feelin' pretty bad y'all. Yesterday, Christmas, my guinea pig Tuna pretty much just up and died. I cleaned the pig cage and she was fine. An hour later, she's limp. I rush to the emergency vet and she's dead before we even get into the door. She was only 4. She had been occasionally squeaking while peeing and for the last two weeks her weight had been trending down a little bit so I was concerned maybe she had a UTI going on. The only reason I even found her limp like that is because I was going to hold her for a while on a white towel before heading to the family Christmas gathering to see if she maybe had any blood in her urine. Today I'm finally getting to the pig laundry and can see on the underside of the bedding that someone had bloody urine. It seems like quite a lot of blood but also not totally-fine-to-dead-in-an-hour amounts. I have four pigs including one with currently ongoing bladder issues (Tuna's mom) so I can't even be sure this is from her. Basically just beating myself up over not catching whatever happened even though I know there's nothing else I could have done. I wish I could just not do this to myself every time I lose one. Here's Tuna. The only pig of my current herd who really loved being petted. She was such a sweet girl and I miss her a lot. 
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Dec 26, 2022 23:31
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poo poo I am so sorry. Piggies are horrible with hiding illness, most animals are, and by the time we see it, it's usually too late. She looks like a great coin swine.
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Dec 27, 2022 00:16
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Or they’re great at being obvious with meaningless behavior changes so you blow a ton of money on the vet. Shout-out to my pig for refusing to eat treats or pellets and making me blow $400 on a vet visit to get “he’ may be getting fussy as he ages.” So yeah, don’t blame yourself. Pigs are weird, and you gave yours a great life.
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Dec 27, 2022 01:17
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Cowslips Warren posted:coin swine hee And thank you both. See I even know all this but dang it still hurts every single time. She did have a great life.
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Dec 27, 2022 02:22
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I have renamed them coin swine because it sounds just better. to be fair I also renamed my piggie Peanut to Cashew, as a friend's cat named peanut died right around the time I got her. Cashew doesn't seem to mind.
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Dec 27, 2022 04:09
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Pants Donkey posted:Or they’re great at being obvious with meaningless behavior changes so you blow a ton of money on the vet. Shout-out to my pig for refusing to eat treats or pellets and making me blow $400 on a vet visit to get “he’ may be getting fussy as he ages.” We took my girl Olive to the vet because she was drooling so we thought something was wrong with her teeth. After examining her for a long time the vet basically diagnosed Olive with being stupid and forgetting to close her mouth after she drinks water.
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Dec 28, 2022 04:40
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My wife and I have adopted three guinea pigs. Two are rescues from an abusive home (featuring very poorly supervised children with terrible boundaries) and the third was a solitary pig from when she was purchased to when we adopted her and she is still figuring out "how to pig" from the older pair and is not well socialized. Anyways, here they are. We named them for Greek and Roman goddesses and they seem to have really taken on the personalities of the deities they were named for: First we have Clio, named for one of the nine muses (specifically, the muse of history). As one might expect, someone named for a deity responsible for creative inspiration is very much     Next we have Juno, the largest of our three guinea pigs and one of two abyssinians. Named for the queen of the Roman pantheon, she is a majestic 1140 grams at her last weigh in, and has a calm bearing. She accepts being picked up and handled with grace and generally likes being combed or getting petted. Befitting her name, Juno is our head pig and she rarely moves fast-- she seems to expect the world to move to suit her, rather than the other way around... though she can be remarkably agile and speedy when she's stealing food from Clio. Juno and Clio are the oldest of our herd and are both roughly a year old and are very much bonded. Juno originally had a sister who did not survive the maltreatment that the trio were exposed to; she is now at rest, the poor dear. I've seen pictures of what she looked like before she passed and I wish I hadn't. Anyways, Juno tends to be quite curious and has been observed checking things out and then coaching Clio to follow her into whatever fascinating thing she has discovered.    Last but not least is our other abyssinian, Bellona. She is named for a Roman war goddess; initially I assumed that Bellona's portfolio basically covered strategy and martial skill, sort of like Athena in the Greek pantheon and was then rather embarrassed to discover that in fact Bellona is the goddess of bloodlust and slaughter. Bellona is a couple of months younger than Juno and Clio and spent the first few months of her life entirely alone and I think noticeably underfed; when we brought her home we immediately noticed that she seemed entirely overjoyed at the prospect of on-demand hay. Her original enclosure, which came with her, was also vastly undersized even for one guinea pig. She remains the smallest of our herd by a significant margin-- where Juno and Clio weigh in at 1100 grams or more, Bellona recently weighed in at around 980g. She is very high energy and excitable, even as she matures, and coupled with the fact that she lacked for guinea pig companions for so long her social skills are significantly under developed and to date we have not been able to successfully integrate her into the same space as Clio and Juno-- while Juno and Clio are physically far larger, when she gets very anxious Bellona can become very aggressive and previous attempts at introductions have ended with Juno spraying urine at her and Bellona biting big clumps of hair out of Juno. Given the size disparity, I worry about what happens if Juno gets pissed off and loses her temper. So for now Bellona lives in her own substantial enclosure neighbouring Juno and Clio's and from which she can communicate with the two bigger girls and observe them but they cannot get at each other. If we are able to some day integrate the herd we'd love that, but we accept the possibility that that may never occur and Bellona is home forever and will be loved and cared for regardless. It has been a real joy watching her grow up and mature; she does seem to be learning from Juno and Clio and lately has begun to very audibly wheek after being silent for months. Bellona frequently gets the zoomies and tears around her enclosure at great speed, and when given floor time she is extremely curious and eager to explore her new surroundings, sometimes at a very high rate of knots. She absolutely loathes being picked up, which generally provokes a fight-or-flight response... and since she can't run away that kinda narrows it down. Remember how I mentioned Bellona is the goddess of bloodlust and slaughter? Here's what her namesake did when last I took her to the vet:  So I put on new welding gloves to handle the little darling, which she proceeded to attack with unbridled fury:  God help the bird of prey that tries to nab something like Bellona. Good luck landing on a pair of ragged, bleeding stumps is all I can say. Anyways, here's the adorable little loon herself:    We've been caretakers of the girls since May/June and are continually blown away at how much personality is packed into such tiny little frames. They're clever, and tonight managed to convince my wife to feed them a second supper after they inhaled their evening vegetables that I fed them an hour or so previously and before my wife returned from work. All three were wheeking and putting up such a racket that she assumed I had been negligent in my duties and fed them right away. And now she, a doctor, gets to experience my world and know that she too has been outsmarted by a trio of rodents.
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Dec 30, 2022 04:56
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Those are some fine fine piggies. I remember when I was a nanny, the family had a doofy dog who was a bit slow. But he was loving genius when it came to dinner: I fed him every day about 3pm. So I fed him one day and left with the kid to run errands: mom 1 comes home at 3:30, and dog whines around his dish, so mom 1 fed him, assuming I had forgotten. She heads off to other poo poo; mom 2 came in about 4pm, and dog did the same whine and push at his empty dish. Meal number three. He only got one day of this because both of them asked me what time I fed Colby usually, and the ruse fell apart.
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Dec 30, 2022 05:13
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hell yeah
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Dec 30, 2022 05:36
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verbal enema posted:hell yeah Clio has some pipes on her and when she sings for her supper she's trying to hit the cheap seats. Juno almost never whistles at all and never when she wheeks; she's more the rhythm section.
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Dec 30, 2022 06:17
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Dang what a cutie. Got a real nice group of piggies there.
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Dec 30, 2022 17:59
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Sirotan posted:Dang what a cutie. Got a real nice group of piggies there. Thank you! Does anyone happen to have any suggestions on how to deal with static? Clio is having a really hard time when it gets cold and dry outside (don't worry, she is safe and plenty warm, it's just static). 
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Jan 5, 2023 17:16
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Humidifier will help both you and her with that problem. Dry air will cause the static and isn't particularly healthy for you either, it can increase the chance of catching an airborne virus. You really want to try to keep it between 30-50% indoors if you can.
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Jan 5, 2023 17:25
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Sirotan posted:Humidifier will help both you and her with that problem. Dry air will cause the static and isn't particularly healthy for you either, it can increase the chance of catching an airborne virus. You really want to try to keep it between 30-50% indoors if you can. Thanks for this. We have one in the bedroom, I shall move it out to where the girls are and get another one for us. I can't imagine it feels great to be walking around like an actual pikachu, and the virus bit is concerning given how guinea pigs don't have fantastic immune systems in the first place.
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Jan 5, 2023 17:29
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