|
I have a 3ish year old female jungle carpet python, which I recently adopted from my friend. She used to eat about 2 large, frozen/thawed rats for him every 14 days, but since moving in with me hasn't shown much interest. So far, I've only been able to get her to take a single live rat. When she first moved in with me she showed much more interest in prey as well, and has since then decided to either ignore it or react defensively. In one ridiculous instance, I left a live rat in there for several hours and both it and the snake ended up asleep. She also seems to be striking above her prey (when she strikes at all), and even in the one instance where she ate for me, missed about 7 times before finally hitting. Anyone run into this before, or have any ideas on how to get her eating regularly again?
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2009 21:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 13:37 |
|
|
Not sure if this warrants its own thread, but... In the spirit of Christmas, a friend of my boyfriend's (I use the term loosely; they see each other perhaps once per year) met up with him for dinner today and casually dropped that his guinea pig needed to be rehomed, because he doesn't do anything besides feed it. No cage cleaning or whatever. So I somehow got volunteered? Can someone give me a one-post quick and dirty about guinea pig diet/care? A few quality brand names of pellet, maybe a veggie medley I could use? I don't know how old he is or how long he's been living alone. I was told there was a cage, but I'm certain it's a dinky pet shop one. I've been promised help building a C&C cage for the little guy. I'm going to take a look tomorrow, and see what we're dealing with. I'm nervous about this! But I just landed a new, sweet job (sweet) and have been wanting to add to my family. Opportunity sometimes doesn't want to wait, and just smashes the door down and comes in and makes himself at home. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 03:30
|
|
|
Irukandji Syndrome posted:I've been doing a lot of research on breeds - a small or medium sized dog that can socialize well with cats (we have three) is pretty much a requirement here. One of the breeds that intrigues me most is a miniature pinscher. Miniature Pinschers are generally friendly and wont pester the cats in the long-term, but their playfulness might lead to a few minor altercations until they get used to each other. Another group of breeds you might want to look into are spaniels. They have the same friendly temperment as their larger cousins(retrievers and setters), and they're active enough to be playful and great to take outdoors but not so energetic that they get hyper like other breeds might.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 03:59
|
|
|
CompactFanny posted:Not sure if this warrants its own thread, but... Guinea pigs are sort of like rabbits in that they do best with a decent amount of hay in their diet, such as timothy hay. It helps to grind down their teeth, which continually grow, and you want to avoid dental issues if at all possible. Some amount of guinea pig pellets can be good, as they will be fortified with vitamin C if they are meant for guinea pigs, but the main staple should be hay. Fresh vegetables are good too, but avoid much fruit.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 04:09
|
|
|
Our neighbors have a black lab that they leave outside ALL day. I'm talking 6am to 7 or 8pm. There is an electric fence and the dog hangs out in the front yard. Now, we live in Raleigh, so it's not a big climate issue (although come July it might be) but we've been having some sub-30 degree weather the past week and this poor dog is laying in the yard all day. They leave their garage door cracked so he can squeeze in there (and lay on the cold concrete!?) and he has water and a few toys. Does this seem completely retarded to anyone else? I don't know how to address it (or if I should) but my instincts (I have two dogs) tell me that this is both neglectful and dangerous (I'm worried about exposure). Advice?
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 05:11
|
|
|
CompactFanny posted:Not sure if this warrants its own thread, but... Lots of people are talking about guinea pigs in this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3048807
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 05:30
|
|
|
I felt like a stupid cat tricks thing didn't deserve its own thread and decided to just ask here. So my cat loves to play fetch with small round things he can fit in his mouth. This isn't the surprising part, nor are the items he normally plays fetch with. Beer bottle caps (which my room mate and I toss for him because he whines whenever we get a new beer), milk rings, twisty ties that I tie in a circle, you get it. Thing is, when hes done he'll always take the toy and store it in his food bowl. Well, I feed my semi-daily, just adding another cup from the bag as he runs low. Well, every now and then I have to clean his toys out of the bowl so he can eat the food thats collected under them at the bottom. Sometimes, like just now, I'll end up pulling like 15 bottle caps out. Anyone elses cat do this?
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 14:14
|
|
|
That's absolutely adorable. Have you considered buying him a new food bowl and letting him use the old one for storage? He cleans up after himself. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 16:57
|
|
|
Yiggy posted:I felt like a stupid cat tricks thing didn't deserve its own thread and decided to just ask here. You probably shouldn't give him milk rings, and definitely shouldn't give him twist ties. They can pull the milk rings apart and eat the smaller part, but more pressing is the fact that the core of a twist tie is often a thin piece of metal. What our two hockey/soccer playing cats really love is the milk cap, which is safe because it's all one big piece. When they get bored of playing with it (when he stores it, I guess), just put it in a drawer and he'll think it's an all new one the next time you give it to him.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 17:45
|
|
|
My sister's cat will fetch milk rings too, but when he's done playing with them he just leaves them wherever. I tried to teach Charlie to play with them - he bats them around and has a great time, but then he starts to chew and will gag himself, so we gave up on that. When my mom remodeled her kitchen and moved the fridge she found over seventy of them, as well as assorted other cat toys.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2009 17:47
|
|
|
Hi again PI, I had a quick question about dogs. Some of my coworkers bought a miniature schnauzer from a pet shop a while ago, but they're having a hard time training him because we're all at work about 10 hours a day, so the dog is left alone in an apartment for 10+ hours every day. Because he's left alone, he usually does something bad and they punish him. Yesterday the dog was chewing on something that was off limits and one of them grabbed him by his scruff and lifted him to about shoulder height and started hitting him. I freaked out of course but they said it was ok to pick up the dog like that. I've heard of people scruffing dogs but is it really ok to pick up a dog so high by just his scruff? I'm worried that they're going to seriously hurt him one day. If it matters, the dog is 6 months old and weighs about 10 or 12 pounds.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 05:07
|
|
|
Skinote posted:I have a 3ish year old female jungle carpet python, which I recently adopted from my friend. She used to eat about 2 large, frozen/thawed rats for him every 14 days, but since moving in with me hasn't shown much interest. So far, I've only been able to get her to take a single live rat. When she first moved in with me she showed much more interest in prey as well, and has since then decided to either ignore it or react defensively. In one ridiculous instance, I left a live rat in there for several hours and both it and the snake ended up asleep. How long ago is "recently"? How often are you attempting to offer food? Stop offering her live. She's taken F/T so she almost certainly will again if you are patient. Snakes can go a *very* long time without food, especially snakes large enough to eat 2 large rats in a sitting. DO NOT leave a live rat in with her again. EVER. EVER EVER. It is VERY dangerous for the snake.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 05:58
|
|
|
Tojai posted:Hi again PI, There are so many things wrong with what this person is doing I'm not even sure why the scruffing thing is what you were most bothered by. They should not be hitting the dog. They should not be leaving it where it can chew on anything it shouldn't be while they are gone. They should not be leaving a puppy alone for 10+ hours. They should not have bought a dog from a pet store. Your coworkers are morons. Tell them so and then distance yourself.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 06:02
|
|
|
Believe me, I know the situation that dog is in is horrible.  Myself and another coworker have been trying to get through to them for weekss and we are finally making some progress because they are actively looking for another home for the dog. The reason I was so concerned about the scruffing was because I thought that by lifting him so high and not supporting his back end, they could be putting in immediate physical peril. I've read PI for years, I know that the dog needs to be crate trained and exercised but I know he's not going to end up needing a vet visit for it either. The scruffing really worried me. The progress we have made so far is that the dog has all its shots, is scheduled for a neuter, and they are trying to find a home for it. I just want to make sure the dog makes it that long. I'm reluctant to distance myself at this point because then they might decide to keep it and go back to their old ways. EDIT: to add, we have also gotten them to stop rubbing the dog's face in his poop and pee. I'm really trying to do my best here with this dog.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 06:17
|
|
|
Tojai posted:EDIT: to add, we have also gotten them to stop rubbing the dog's face in his poop and pee. I'm really trying to do my best here with this dog. Holy crap! People actually do this? If it's being left alone for 10 hours a day no wonder its not house trained. It sounds like you are concerned with how high they are picking up the dog... lifting it 6 inches or 6 feet off the ground isn't going to make a difference to how it affects the dogs back..unless they drop him of course. Scruffing usually refers to grabbing the dog by the back of the neck and shaking lightly, not actually picking it up off the ground.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 06:56
|
|
|
Yiggy posted:So my cat loves to play fetch with small round things he can fit in his mouth. My cat, Trinity, likes to play with hair ties. She'll pick one up, come sit nearby, meow, and drop it. If you throw the hair tie, she'll bring it back over and over again. It's awesome. And as an added bonus I never need to look for a hair tie, because there's almost always one nearby. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 07:49
|
|
|
http://www.facekitty.com/2008/04/the-number-one-cause-of-cat-da.html Is this true about Cod liver oil? My 12 year old cat has dandruff, she eats lots of dry food (she eats alot) and just had worms so there's two causes for dandruff. I was thinking if I could help her along with this? Also anyone know a good cat fountain? All the ones I've seen seems like they clog up after days or a week with cat hair and the like.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 12:41
|
|
|
His Divine Shadow posted:http://www.facekitty.com/2008/04/the-number-one-cause-of-cat-da.html The Drinkwell fountain is what I have, and it has good reviews from most. But like any fountain, you are going to have to clean it fairly often. I have three cats, and I clean my fountain once a week. Honestly, it takes like 5-10 minutes max to bring it to the sink, take the pieces apart, wash them out, and put it back together. It's not really hard.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 12:44
|
|
|
A lady down the road from us has two large white dogs which have long hair and are almost waist high. My wife and I are looking to add another pup to play with our 2 year old chocolate lab, Tate. At first I thought they were Samoyed dogs but after looking online, they are much much larger than that, but have the same style fur and tail. Any ideas on breed? Also does anyone have any insight as to how a chocolate lab and Siberian husky would get along?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 15:39
|
|
|
Quick cat question, we feed out two cats Toni and Pointsetta 3 times a day. They are both about 7lb's each so we feed them just under 3/4 a cup a day (about 1/4 cup per feeding)as the bag recommends (Blue Buffalo) but between feedings they meow and come running anytime we are near there food dishes. And if you open the pantry where there food is stored they run inside and sit and look at us expectantly. Is that normal? Or are we under feeding them? Our scale isn't very sensitive so it's tough to get an accurate reading of there weight.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 18:08
|
|
|
MarshallX posted:Also does anyone have any insight as to how a chocolate lab and Siberian husky would get along?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 18:36
|
|
|
DeathFlame posted:Quick cat question, we feed out two cats Toni and Pointsetta 3 times a day. They are both about 7lb's each so we feed them just under 3/4 a cup a day (about 1/4 cup per feeding)as the bag recommends (Blue Buffalo) but between feedings they meow and come running anytime we are near there food dishes. And if you open the pantry where there food is stored they run inside and sit and look at us expectantly. Some cats never stop being hungry. Sunny, our tiniest cat, would never stop eating if she could get away with it and begs nonstop for people food. If they look to be a healthy weight for their size, and they're staying pretty stable around it, I wouldn't be worried.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 21:40
|
|
|
MarshallX posted:A lady down the road from us has two large white dogs which have long hair and are almost waist high. My wife and I are looking to add another pup to play with our 2 year old chocolate lab, Tate.  Great Pyrenees? Not recommended for a person who is used to having a lab.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2009 21:55
|
|
|
nonanone posted:Some cats never stop being hungry. Sunny, our tiniest cat, would never stop eating if she could get away with it and begs nonstop for people food. If they look to be a healthy weight for their size, and they're staying pretty stable around it, I wouldn't be worried. Any way to get them to stop "begging"?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 00:02
|
|
|
I wish...what I do now, which works maybe 50% of the time, is push her away. Sometimes I have to just ignore her, or redirect her attention to a toy. When she absolutely will not leave me alone while I'm eating, say, steak or cereal (she wants the milk) I will pretend to sort growl at her the way the other cats do when she tries to steal their food. This is for human food. If she begs for cat food (aka runs over and starts meowing like she's gonna die every time I open the fridge) I just firmly ignore her and pretend to start shutting the fridge while she's trying to poke her nose inside. On the other hand, this is the cat, along with her partner in crime, got on top of the fridge, knocked down and opened and ate all their treats, then managed to open the freezer and get into all the thawing meat.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 00:31
|
|
|
DeathFlame posted:Any way to get them to stop "begging"? I may sound like a weirdo here but I actually did a little bit of "dog training" on my cat with this. She has to sit and be quiet for a second or two (on command) before I will put her food down or give her treats. I won't say it has eliminated begging, because it hasn't, but it has reduced it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 02:01
|
|
|
Lioness posted:
These are exactly them! Very beautiful dogs. Can you go into detail about why they are not recommended for Lab owners?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 15:13
|
|
|
I don't have much actual experience with them, this is just from a quick google.http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greatpyrenees.htm posted:The Great Pyrenees is a capable and imposing guardian, devoted to its family, and somewhat wary of strangers - human or canine. They are often used to guard livestock. When not provoked, it is calm, well- mannered, and somewhat serious. Courageous, very loyal and obedient. Gentle and affectionate with those he loves. Devoted to family even if self-sacrifice is required. It is very gentle with its family and children. It does best with children when it is raised with them from puppyhood. It has an independent nature, and may try to dominate a less secure or meek owner, and/or an owner who treats the dog as if he is human, becoming stubborn or territorial. Owners need to be firm, but calm, confident and consistent with the dog. Setting rules the dog must follow and sticking to them. A serious worker, but very independent. Be patient when training the Great Pyrenees, as it may be slightly difficult. It is important to socialize and train this breed properly to insure good citizenship. The Great Pyrenees is good with non-canine animals, and usually loves cats. These dogs do not reach maturity until they are about 2 years old. Some are not good off the leash and may wander away. The Great Pyrenees tend to bark a lot and some tend to drool and slobber. Labs are very easy going dogs who love to please, and love people and attention. They are smart and very easy to train. It sounds like the Great Pyrenees could take over a household and become very agressive if not trained properly. And, they're a little slow and don't train that well, so expect that to take a while. If you treated a Great Pyrenees like you would your lab, you'd have a major problem with him thinking he was the head of the household. With most dogs, this can lead to barking, snapping, or just plain ignoring you if you try to get him to do what you want. He could also become a "bad citizen" if he doesn't get lots of socialization as a puppy. Don't expect a Great Pyrenees to automatically be as loving and begging for pets with strangers like labs do.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 17:05
|
|
|
I think my cat, Charlotte, might be eating too fast. Every few days, she'll wander over to her bowl, eat, then a few minutes later, hack it back up. Occurs with wet or dry food, the dry food being much easier to clean up. She's currently getting dry food for sensitive stomachs, which has no effect. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be the problem, or how to help her out? Or, can you point me in the direction of a retailer that sells vomit colored carpet? The vomit machine: 
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 18:46
|
|
|
Do you free feed or are you giving her measured amounts? If it's the latter, try giving her just a small amount, then when she's finished that, wait a bit before giving her more. There's also the chance she has hairballs, next time she pukes up check it for cigar-looking things of hair. If that's present, get her on some canned pumpkin or some commercial hairball remover. Otherwise, your cat's just a pig Our cat growing up would do this, but with only one particular flavor of cat food, so we had to take it away after a minute or two to prevent barfage.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 19:08
|
|
|
Valrik posted:
I have this issue with my cat too. I'm not sure, as I haven't had all the tests run to verify it, but I think it might be a form of IBD, but I had also considered eating too fast. I've read up on IBD and one article was saying that the vomiting is more common when the stomach and upper portion of the small intestine are involved and diarrhea is more common with issues with the colon. This articlae recommended a low fiber food for the vomiting issue, and I recently started him on California Natural chicken and brown rice. He went 7 days without vomiting, which was a record for him. I'm still trying to figure it all out, but I'm hoping that this new food will help. I'm keeping a record of when he vomits and if I think it was right after he ate or not. This was one of the articles I was talking about : http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1322&aid=304 You may also want to talk to your vet if you haven't already to rule out other things.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 19:26
|
|
|
hhgtrillian posted:I'm keeping a record of when he vomits and if I think it was right after he ate or not. This calls for a google spreadsheet! Thanks for the tips!
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 19:44
|
|
|
Ceridwen posted:I may sound like a weirdo here but I actually did a little bit of "dog training" on my cat with this. She has to sit and be quiet for a second or two (on command) before I will put her food down or give her treats. We did the same thing with Charlie. If he wants a treat, he has to do a trick, either jumping to a certain point that we tap, standing on his hind legs, sitting or laying down, whatever. Pretty much now the only time he gets annoying is if one of us opens the pantry door (where his treats are kept). He doesn't beg at the table, though he'll sit and watch you pretty intensely if you're sitting on the couch eating something he wants. Basically I think the concept of not rewarding bad behavior works with all animals (even human children!), so just ignoring the begging can work if you're consistent.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 20:50
|
|
|
I've had my male betta fish for about a year and 5 months now, and have been feeding him the same fish pellets the whole time. He's always eaten them fine and he's been healthy and happy as can be. This last week though, he's stopped eating. At first he just wouldn't touch the food, but now he grabs it, chews it, and spits it out! I tried feeding him some flakes I had laying around, too, but he also spits those out. He swims around normally, and I don't notice anything wrong with him. Could he just be sick of his food? If he was though, would he even bother catching it and chewing it?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 21:41
|
|
|
What is the general consensus in PI on invisible fences?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 22:46
|
|
|
My fiance and I are thinking of getting another pet in a year or so, and after getting our first rabbit have come to really like unique pets that aren't cats or dogs (and the lease we have won't allow cats or dogs anyways). What animals get along well with rabbits? We were thinking of another rabbit and taking the time in the summer to bond them, but what about any other critters? I was thinking a ferret personally, but don't know if it'd get along with the rabbit.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 22:56
|
|
|
Fenarisk posted:My fiance and I are thinking of getting another pet in a year or so, and after getting our first rabbit have come to really like unique pets that aren't cats or dogs (and the lease we have won't allow cats or dogs anyways). Oh dear god, no. Ferrets are predators and will kill rabbits if they can. They were actually used in England to hunt rabbits up until the last century. Ferrets shouldn't even be housed in the same room as a rabbits, as their very scent will send the rabbits into a stress response that can end in shock and death (seen fairly commonly in shelters who unwittingly house them near one another). Contrary to anything you might ever read elsewhere, guinea pigs should also NEVER be housed with rabbits. They eat different things, have different behavioral patterns, and there are multiple documented cases of rabbits injuring guinea pigs, either intentionally (breaking their back through dominance mounting, chewing off their ears through over-grooming) or accidentally (kicking or squashing them). Additionally, rabbits have a naturally occurring set of gut and respiratory flora (Bordetella and Pasturella, most notably) which are inert and cause no problems to the rabbit host, but cause fatal infections in the pig. While there are known cases of cats and dogs peacefully coexisting with rabbits, the bottom line is that these are predator animals who have widely different physiologies and behavioral repertoires than rabbits. A rabbit is never truly happy with an animal companion other than another rabbit, so your original plan of a second rabbit would be your best bet. Check HRS for a list of reputable chapters and allied rescues, and they can quite easily help you find a match and perform the bonding with a minimum of fuss.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 23:11
|
|
|
Semper Ubi Sub Ubi posted:What is the general consensus in PI on invisible fences? They're not a good idea. Any dog can get through either by learning to charge through or being overwhelmed by drive (cat/squirrel/mailman/bitch in heat/whatever) and charging through numbly. Once a dog is out it knows it's going to get shocked again by passing through, so why go back? Not to mention that it doesn't keep outside factors from getting in to your dogs (strays or rear end in a top hat kids). I just think they're a terrible idea and I hate seeing them.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 23:40
|
|
|
alucinor posted:Oh dear god, no. Ferrets are predators and will kill rabbits if they can. They were actually used in England to hunt rabbits up until the last century. Ferrets shouldn't even be housed in the same room as a rabbits, as their very scent will send the rabbits into a stress response that can end in shock and death (seen fairly commonly in shelters who unwittingly house them near one another). God, I WISH my ferrets would do that. One once STEPPED on a frog without noticing it. drat things have no predatory instinct whatsoever. They do, however, still SMELL predator-y and move in a predator-like way, and I can only assume would terrify a poor rabbit if it caught sight or scent of them.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2009 23:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 13:37 |
|
|
Came home Thursday to a cat with a leaky eye. A warm compress made it stop, then a few hours later we see it's leaky/watery again, and also his brow ridge(?) is swollen. At that point we take him to the vet and they say he probably got knocked around by playing with the other cat. They did the UV test, where they give him drops then shine a UV light in his eyes, looking for scratches - they didn't see any, the surface of his eye is fine. So they gave me some ointment to give him (triple antibiotic - vetropolycin) three times a day in the eye. We've been doing that since Thursday, but he's still squinty (which we understand could just be from jamming medicine into his eye three times a day), and at the moment his eye is watery and his brow is slightly swollen again. We never even found any cuts on him in the first place, so the antibiotic was basically a precautionary measure. It's four days later, why is his eye still messed up? Is it time for another trip to the vet? Behavior/feeding/everything else is fine and dandy.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2009 04:38
|
|
