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RazorBunny posted:Is there a sure-fire guinea pig treat I can give her? Slices of sweet bell pepper; or sprigs of fresh fragrant herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, fennel, basil.
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Nov 15, 2012 15:20
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Awesome, I have both small paper bags and fresh herbs already at my disposal  I don't think my friends have done much to try and get her eating fresh veggies, they've only had her a short while and she was kind of a surprise adoption. Eventually the husband wants to get her a couple of friends and build her an awesome enclosure and all that, but with a baby and a home business it hasn't happened yet.
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Nov 15, 2012 17:26
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alucinor posted:Slices of sweet bell pepper; or sprigs of fresh fragrant herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, fennel, basil. One of my guinea pigs would go absolutely ballistic for cilantro, so definitely try this.
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Nov 15, 2012 18:06
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Another for cilantro here. Every guinea pig I've ever owned has gone nuts about cilantro. That, and brussel sprouts. Never had a single one that would go for peppers, though. It was so weird.
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Nov 15, 2012 18:12
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I have a lot of fresh cabbage in the crisper, can I give her a little of that? The rats are taking a million years to eat it all. I don't really know anything at all about guinea pigs beyond what I've picked up in this forum.
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Nov 15, 2012 19:03
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So in theory Sunday I will be coming away with the pigs. The problem is the old cage I used to use as a carrier is still up at my parent's because I didn't think to ask them to bring it last time they were down here. Am I stuck with paying ~$40 at Petco for one of the crappy cages and using that or is there a good alternative? They need to be comfortable and safe for a 40 minute drive (and later this month a 2-2.5 hour drive each way).
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Nov 15, 2012 22:01
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RazorBunny posted:Awesome, I have both small paper bags and fresh herbs already at my disposal Those long thin paper bags that they put alcohol bottles in are great. My pigs loved those things.
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Nov 15, 2012 22:25
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Saint Darwin posted:So in theory Sunday I will be coming away with the pigs. The problem is the old cage I used to use as a carrier is still up at my parent's because I didn't think to ask them to bring it last time they were down here. I prefer airplane approved carriers for transport rather than small cages - the latter can easily fall apart if you don't carry it perfectly carefully. I know a lady who was carrying her two pet chincillas out of her vet's office in a superpet "my first home" cage. She lost her grip for whatever reason, the top came off the base as she was fumbling for it, they slipped out of the gap, and they ran straight into traffic and were both hit. She was a rescue volunteer and was devastated. Personally I love these top-opening carriers. Much easier to get them in and out. Also you can easily use a tiny bungee to strap on a water bottle for extended trips. Alternatively, check with your local county animal shelter and see if they have used carriers that have been donated to them that they might sell you for $5-$10. I always have several dozen extras laying around that I eventually foist off on the local county shelter. Edit: found the actual model I like at Amazon
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Nov 15, 2012 22:50
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Would just burgling the one we use for the cat be OK? I'll put blankets and such in the bottom and I can rig up a bottle. I'm sure for the 40 minute trip there's no problem, I'm just concerned they might get antsy for the longer trip.
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Nov 15, 2012 23:09
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Saint Darwin posted:Would just burgling the one we use for the cat be OK? I'll put blankets and such in the bottom and I can rig up a bottle. I'm sure for the 40 minute trip there's no problem, I'm just concerned they might get antsy for the longer trip. Oh definitely, if you already have one, just use that. They'll suck it up for the longer trip. They're most active at dawn and dusk, so they'll probably snooze most of the trip anyhow except around those times.
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Nov 15, 2012 23:25
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Man the cage is quiet with Kuro gone. There's no (loud) wheeking, chewing on the bars or fighting at all. Just two very chill boars getting along. I guess he was the herds designated troublemaker? 
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Nov 16, 2012 00:18
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cat with hands posted:Man the cage is quiet with Kuro gone. There's no (loud) wheeking, chewing on the bars or fighting at all. Just two very chill boars getting along. That black pig reminds me of the one I used to have  (though he had a white stripe down his face). Errol wasn't a troublemaker though, he was just a wheeking slut for attention and veggies. I miss that little guy  .
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Nov 16, 2012 04:05
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Ugh, I just noticed that I accidentally got Living World Classic food for Rats instead of the hamster mix. Will this be unhealthy for my hamster, or not make a huge difference? It looks like there are a lot more sunflower seeds and corn, less of the other kinds of seeds, and the hay/whatever pellets are a lot bigger. (But my hamster mostly just leaves the pellets strewn about near his dish, anyways.)
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Nov 17, 2012 15:08
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Living World Classic Rat Food posted:Ingredients: Wheat, corn, barley, red milo, wheat shorts, white millet, black oil sunflower seed, dehydrated alfalfa meal, oat groats, flaked corn, wheat middlings, flaxseed, ground wheat, ground corn, soybean meal, dried green split peas, dehulled peanuts, dried banana, dried papaya, raisin, safflower seed, corn gluten meal, calcium carbonate, dried beet pulp, cane molasses, salt, dicalcium phosphate, DL-methionine, calcium L-ascorbyl-2-monophosphate, lignin sulfonate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium propionate (preservative), sorbic acid (preservative), magnesium oxide, choline chloride, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, artificial colors (Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 6, Titanium Dioxide), manganous oxide, zinc oxide, vitamin E supplement, niacin, vitamin A supplement, calcium iodate, d-calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt carbonate, biotin. Living World Classic Hamster Food posted:Ingredients: Wheat, white millet, corn, red milo, wheat shorts, oat groats, dehydrated alfalfa meal, wheat middlings, black oil sunflower seed, dried green split peas, flaxseed, ground wheat, ground corn, dried banana, soybean meal, safflower seed, dried papaya, dehulled peanut, dried carrot flakes, dried carrot, calcium carbonate, corn gluten meal, dried beet pulp, orange oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), salt, cane molasses, magnesium oxide, lignin sulfonate, dicalcium phosphate, DL-methionine, choline chloride, calcium propionate (preservative), sorbic acid (preservative), biotin, cobalt sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, folic acid, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, artificial colors (Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 6, Titanium Dioxide). Eh, ignoring all those vitamins and all the crap that's in the food, they look pretty similiar. I'm sure the rat food will be fine for your ham. AFAIK most small animals except like guinea pigs and rabbits will ignore alfafa pellets. They aren't exactly exciting!
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Nov 17, 2012 15:15
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I'd pick out the sunflower seeds to save for treats though. They're pretty fatty.
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Nov 17, 2012 15:16
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That's a good idea. Thanks to both of you! At least I only got a small bag of it. Also, unrelated, but I bought my hamster a medium flying saucer wheel recently, and I don't think he quite *gets* it... he seems to think it's just a fancy chair to sit in while eating from his food dish, haha. Which is, at least, pretty adorable. thexerox123 fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Nov 17, 2012 |
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Nov 17, 2012 15:25
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I did an experiment in middle school with very young pet store mice where I fed one group nothing but junk food seed mix stuff with no pellets, and the other group got nothing but pellets. The pellet group ended up almost twice the size of the seed group when they were finally grown. But they were never excited about their food like the seed mix mice, so there's that. So hey, the hypothesis that a balanced diet is best gets proven once again
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Nov 17, 2012 17:58
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So today I've been having trouble with my brown gerbil. For some reason today she is in a very bitey mood, she's not frightened or anything cause she doesn't bother trying to hide or run away when I put my hand in, she just comes up and either nibbles on it or like today, takes a chomp out of my finger (which bled a whole lot for a total of like 30 seconds.) I will admit that maybe she bit my finger cause it may have smelled like food, but she also bit another person in the house who didn't have smelly food hands. So how can I teach her to not bite people? Like I said, she doesn't seem afraid or anything, she just likes to take chomps out of fingers like they are toys. I've tried things mentioned on the internet like pushing her nose away if she bites but it doesn't seem to be working. Any ideas? (She also has a fascination with biting noses and ears too.) EDIT: My other white gerbil is basically a saint though, however is incredibly anti-social. I guess this is what people mean by gerbils having a lot of personality. Zetsubou fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Nov 18, 2012 |
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Nov 18, 2012 02:42
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I get my pigs tomorrow assuming I can find 2 who like me and get along! I unforuntaly did not get time to put a top on the cage so I think I will have to enforce "no cat in the room" until I can get that. I might see if I can find some boxes to collapse and put on top until then (with supporting bars) just in case somebody is dumb and leaves the room open. I don't think the cat will attack the pigs, but she is really into things that move, and if they freak out and run if they see her, she might get more interested than she should be. I'll get pics up when I have them and if I am not probated by then for having posted in YOSPOS.
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Nov 18, 2012 08:31
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Guineapig acquired. I only have one really bad picture because I don't know what the hell happened to my phone's camera but pictures look like I coated the lens in vasoline. I tried wiping it off a few times and it persists. Also they move a lot since they're still in the OH CRAP NEW PLACE NEW SMELLS NEW GIANTS HASSLIN US EVERY 5 MINUTES phase. Haven't decided what to name them. They're 2 sisters that are 2 years 4 months old. They came as Pip and Zip but those are not good names.
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Nov 19, 2012 17:11
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Hehe, it looks like they are standing in a big box of snow. Glad you finally got some, I would have lost my patience with that place weeks ago and explored other avenues of pig acquisition.
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Nov 19, 2012 17:13
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They are precious. You should give them food names because all guinea pigs need food names. I forgot to post this here but after I rehomed my rabbits 4ish months ago I decided to adopt two pigs that were at the shelter shortly after because I have no self control (or didn't then, at least). And because I missed WHEEP WHEEP WHEEP all the time. Here's Cocoa:  And Boo:  They're great and adorable and in no way evil.  Okay, maybe a little evil.
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Nov 19, 2012 17:33
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Saint Darwin posted:Guineapig acquired. Congrats, those are cute as gently caress. Pew! Pew! posted:They are precious. This. Given their coloration I'd go with names like Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Clove, Coffee, Cocoa, or Pumpkin, in honor of the holidays. I had a pair of rabbits named Starbuck and Caribou because they came in during a coffee deprivation period. Pew! Pew! posted:And Boo: Boo is not a food. 
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Nov 19, 2012 17:48
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Boo was named Boo when I got her and it's too cute to change. e: Or her full name could be Boo Berry.
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Nov 19, 2012 17:53
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I think once Dex and Smokey are long gone (in like, 10-15 years) I want to get piggies again. I miss the WHEEK WHEEK WHEEKS whenever I open my fridge. We'd call the pigs our fridge alarms since they'd wheek their little heads off whenever we opened the fridge. I also have no idea what to do with leftover parsley. It's been years since I've had pigs and I STILL have a habit of buying extra parsley when I need some for a recipe to give to the guinea pigs. Too bad chinchillas don't like to eat fresh herbs  Back to chinchillas: I confirmed their Christmas lodging but the place suggested I bring my own cages for them since they're not sure if they'll have an appropriately sized kennel for them (they were going to stick them in cat kennels but they were worried they might be able to sneak out through the bars). The problem is they both live in chinchilla mansions from Quality Cage that are way too big to fit in my tiny car. Does anyone have any suggestions for portable cages that they could live in for a week while I'm gone?
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Nov 20, 2012 01:16
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Guineapigs need dapper british names for maximum adorable-ness .
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Nov 20, 2012 01:26
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Back to chinchillas: I still have my ferrets' old cage for travel purposes since it fits in my car, whereas their two-story FN cage doesn't. It's one of those cheap plastic-bottomed cages with a wire top that folds up, and is about 3 or maybe 3&1/2 feet long. Not optimal for full-time anymore since they don't spend as much time out of the cage as they used to, but it works for traveling since I bring them on a lot of vacations. I'd recommend picking up a decent small cage like this (Petco is having a 15-40% sale on cages right now) that fits in your car fully assembled (or at least is easy to break down and reassemble) and keeping that as their travel cage.
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Nov 20, 2012 05:13
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I'm thinking about getting a couple of these The collapsibility looks like a nice feature since I don't have an abundance of storage space, plus they'll be easier to transport. I won't have to worry about them chewing on some cheapo plastic cage parts either.
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Nov 20, 2012 05:32
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Well, one bolted as soon as the cell phone went into camera mode, the other one is clearly too busy stuffing his face
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Nov 20, 2012 16:50
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Thanks for the piggy advice, guys. So much wheeking and jumping around! Definitely another animal I probably won't ever own due to allergies, though - handling her hay was killing me. I stuffed a bunch of hay down into a paper lunch sack and stuck it in a corner. When I left all I could see was the very end of her little butt poking out of the bag She treated the parsley with suspicion, but I offered her a sprig of fresh peppermint from my garden and she accepted that without question. And by accepted I mean ripped out of my hand and devoured. Her owner hadn't offered her mint before, which is funny because their yard is almost completely overrun with spearmint. I bet if they put an x-pen out there and let her wander around in the mint she'd be the happiest pig ever.
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Nov 21, 2012 01:46
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RazorBunny posted:Thanks for the piggy advice, guys. So much wheeking and jumping around! Definitely another animal I probably won't ever own due to allergies, though - handling her hay was killing me. I stuffed a bunch of hay down into a paper lunch sack and stuck it in a corner. When I left all I could see was the very end of her little butt poking out of the bag I have crazy hay and grass allergies, but orchard grass hay doesn't trigger them at all for me.
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Nov 21, 2012 03:18
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I haven't posted pictures of Lenin I don't think so uh, here are those.   He is very round.
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Nov 21, 2012 14:31
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Oh my god  He sort of looks like a teeny weeny hedgehog. He's adorable
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Nov 21, 2012 15:01
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Here's a quick question. It is getting pretty cold where I live so I was wondering if putting a small blanket over my gerbil's aquarium would be a good or bad idea. I imagine that they probably wouldn't like living in darkness all day and I am afraid that they might suffocate to death if I do put a blanket over it.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:35
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My house is like a sieve so I just keep the heater on in my room most of the time and keep the hamster family in there. If you get a fairly efficient space heater, it shouldn't cost too much extra to heat one room.
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Nov 23, 2012 06:22
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Zetsubou posted:Here's a quick question. It is getting pretty cold where I live so I was wondering if putting a small blanket over my gerbil's aquarium would be a good or bad idea. I imagine that they probably wouldn't like living in darkness all day and I am afraid that they might suffocate to death if I do put a blanket over it. I was also wondering this. Though I'm guessing you would want to use an old blanket that you don't care about, my gerbils would pull it through the bars and chew it.
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Nov 24, 2012 18:27
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Chewing on the bars... because you overslept by 3 minutes and I'm hungry goddamit.
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Nov 24, 2012 23:21
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Zetsubou posted:Here's a quick question. It is getting pretty cold where I live so I was wondering if putting a small blanket over my gerbil's aquarium would be a good or bad idea. I imagine that they probably wouldn't like living in darkness all day and I am afraid that they might suffocate to death if I do put a blanket over it. I don't think the airflow would be good enough in that situation with an aquarium. Chances are that any blanket thin enough to allow for proper circulation would also be too thin to trap enough heat. You could try getting the Carefresh-style substrate that looks like it's made out of recycled cardboard and putting a lot more in than usual. If you don't have any other way to heat the cage, or keep the room they're in warm enough, that will probably given them more insulation than a blanket would. e: Putting something like an electric blanket over half the aquarium might work too. Sumac fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Nov 24, 2012 |
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Nov 24, 2012 23:30
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Buy a cheap fleece blanket, cut it into thick strips and throw it all in there. They'll have a blast shredding it further, and they can nest in it when they're done. Or just get a tonnnnnnn of hay and throw that in. My mouse enjoys burrowing in hay v  v
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Nov 24, 2012 23:56
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Thanks for the answers/considerations. As a reward I'll upload some pictures of them when I'm not feeling too lazy. I've tried taking pictures of my gerbils before and it's hard as hell cause they won't ever stop moving.
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Nov 25, 2012 11:15
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