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YES. It's very important they stay warm enough. In the wild, the cooler air makes them hibernate. Problem with domestics is they can't wake back up and die. Most sources I have read and my good friend who has one says 70-85F is good. Here's a caresheet on it: http://hedgehogcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9 And the site I go to for chinchilla stuff is VERY good and they also have a hedgehog section. That website is Chins-n-hedgies. I think some posters here have some. They have very particular needs (especially as food goes from my understanding) but are nice critters. If you get yours a wheel, be prepared for poop city. I'm not too experienced (I was looking to get one before, never did) so check out chins n hedgies and the hedgehog owners here.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:06
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| # ? May 16, 2024 00:30 |
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So all hedgehog species are sensitive to temps? I figured that some of them like the European ones would be used to some cold weather. Edit: Looks like the european ones aren't domesticated. Probably not a good pet for my apartment then.
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Jul 10, 2012 14:32
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 Nothin much. Just Cinnamon wanting to say hi. We got her at the end of March and while she won't take skritches, she's coming around. When I'm even close to the cage she comes out of wherever she is and does this  I think it's because I have all the sticks though.
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Jul 10, 2012 20:55
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Those ears! Wow. Maybe they just look big because they're pink. Does anyone else have a chin with a curly tail? I don't remember if I've shared a picture of Charlie's tail, but it curls around like a little pig tail.
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Jul 11, 2012 00:00
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Awesome Kristin posted:Those ears! Wow. Maybe they just look big because they're pink. No but I guess they're rare!  She is all ears, they're bigger than Vincenza's.
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Jul 11, 2012 00:54
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Awesome Kristin posted:Those ears! Wow. Maybe they just look big because they're pink. Smokey's curls up more than Dex's but I wouldn't classify it as "curly" really (or maybe he just keeps it closer in to his body whereas Dex just lets his hang wherever. I swear he is the chillest chinchilla). His tail hair is about twice as long as Dexter's though, it's really poofy almost like a squirrel. Seconding that Cinnamon's ears are enormous! Is she done growing or will she grow into them?
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Jul 11, 2012 01:12
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Smokey's curls up more than Dex's but I wouldn't classify it as "curly" really (or maybe he just keeps it closer in to his body whereas Dex just lets his hang wherever. I swear he is the chillest chinchilla). His tail hair is about twice as long as Dexter's though, it's really poofy almost like a squirrel. She's done growing. She's about 4 She's part bunny.
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Jul 11, 2012 01:39
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SmellsOfFriendship posted:She's done growing. She's about 4 That reminds me! Every time someone new comes into the house or meets the chinchillas (certain friends, or maybe the maintenance guy or whatever) they always ask "Aw are those bunnies?" What's strange is that they automatically pick a type of animal to guess instead of just asking what they are.
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Jul 11, 2012 01:46
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I get "Are those gerbils?!" No. Not even close.
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Jul 11, 2012 02:54
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:I get "Are those gerbils?!" I have twice gotten "Are those rats?" 
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Jul 11, 2012 15:35
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Ishkibibble_Fish posted:I have twice gotten "Are those rats?" Makes me wonder, do people only know of like two or three animals total? "Hm, not a dog, cat, or giraffe. What could it be?"
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Jul 11, 2012 15:57
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You would think if you don't recognize an animal that you could just ask what it is, but nooo.
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Jul 11, 2012 16:15
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My husband and I were climbing Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath and rounded a corner to discover this little guy: Thought you rodent goons might like him
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Jul 12, 2012 03:56
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I can't tell if Smokey was having a bad dream or a seizure  He was making some low grunty squeaks and I went to check on him and he was laying on his side in his house, twitching and making those squeaks. I poked him and he sat right up and acted like his normal self, and even took a treat from me without hesitation. So, was he just having an intense dream about running or should I haul him off to the e-vet? Nearest exotics specialist is over an hour away, and the closest thing I can find is an animal hospital that seems to have the mentality of "We'll look at anything and give it our best shot!  " Better than nothing, I guess. They don't specifically say they treat chinchillas but have a thing on their website about how they'll even treat pet squirrels, so I'm assuming a chinchilla would be ok to bring in.I'm worried about my little guy  Edit: Now Dexter is all butthurt that Smokey got a treat and he didn't  Little fatass.Edit #2: I left for an hour to go work out and came back and he's chilling on his shelves being normal. I guess it was just him having a nightmare, but I'm still gonna keep an eye on him. Problem! fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Jul 14, 2012 |
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Jul 14, 2012 01:00
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Hey there folks with tiny fuzzy creatures! I don't know if you frequent the Nutrition thread, so I'll be posting some info on a food recall affecting some rodent/small fuzzies diets that have apparently too much Vitamin D. I have no idea what common diets you guys use, so this may be completely useless for you! First link with Mazuri LabDiets for various small fuzzies: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm311992.htm Second link with a lot of fish diets and one Mazuri Guinea Pig diet: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm311998.htm Now to find the ostrich thread...
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Jul 15, 2012 07:04
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HelloSailorSign posted:Hey there folks with tiny fuzzy creatures! I don't know if you frequent the Nutrition thread, so I'll be posting some info on a food recall affecting some rodent/small fuzzies diets that have apparently too much Vitamin D. I have no idea what common diets you guys use, so this may be completely useless for you! Thanks for posting this, I actually do feed my Chins Mazuri but it doesn't look like they are recalling that line
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Jul 16, 2012 06:28
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I was recently gifted a hamster (moral: watch what you say around the time of your birthday) and he's a small grey thing that's sorta grumpy. He goes pretty nuts for apple pieces, but i read conflicting information about whether they're harmful or not. it's absolutely adorable so i hope it's okay! here's his full cage set up:  i've since added some toilet paper rolls and moved the water bottle to the bottom of the cage since he's yet to figure out the tubes. I plan on building a cage out of an acquarium and making ramps and shelves instead of the tubes, guessing he'd have an easier time navigating those? right now he spends his time when not eating/drinking either sleeping in a TP tube or in the little wood lodge he's got. my last concern: the food he gets is the local pet store's own home mixed brand and he eats it with great gusto when he forgets the apple, but i did find a shrimp head, is this cool or should i change supplier?
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Jul 16, 2012 22:16
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Apple slices should be fine as long as you're not feeding him apple seeds. Unfortunately I don't know much about hamster food but a shrimp head sounds kind of disturbing to find. I don't know if there's Oxbow brand hamster food, but that's generally the brand I trust for my guinea pigs' pellets and my rats' lab blocks.
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Jul 16, 2012 22:29
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Who wants to see a video of baby guinea pigs? These are the ones I posted pictures of before, and they're getting a bit bigger now that they're about a week old. [video type="youtube"][/video] Portals fucked around with this message at 03:10 on May 2, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2012 23:45
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i got a DSLR, so i've been testing it. my hamster makes an excellent subject when given a slice of apple. but drat does he look weird.
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Jul 18, 2012 22:05
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My hamster Joe died in my hand a week ago, and I went and got a new one since I can't bear to have an empty space where the hamster cage is. I got a really fat golden teddy bear hamster, one of three sisters in her cage. She was much more docile than the others, who all immediately ran up to bite my hand when I put it in the cage(that's my test, I go for the ones whose first instinct ISN'T to bite as hard as they can as soon as they see your hand). I haven't named her yet, but she's adorable.    She likes to sleep in awkward and painful-looking positions.   But the real kicker, I went to pick her up a few minutes ago, she was sleeping on her side and something was moving. She woke up and quickly covered it.  I tapped on the glass on the other side of the cage to distract her, and my jaw dropped when I saw five newborn baby hamsters in her nest, blindly writhing around and opening their mouths a lot.     tiny pink sausages.I called the pet shop, and they were greatly amused, and told me that I don't really need to do anything to care for them, mom will do the work, I just need to provide a lot of food for her. I'm being overwhelmed by the cuteness! It also explains why she became somewhat aggressive in the past two days. Man I hope she doesn't eat her babies though, that would be a total bummer.
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Jul 18, 2012 23:14
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Frobbe posted:
I'm sorry but your hamster looks like a zombie. OMG super cute and gross babies! Congrats!
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Jul 18, 2012 23:52
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Captain Invictus posted:Man I hope she doesn't eat her babies though, that would be a total bummer. Be careful not to disturb the mum too much. Iirc, hamsters are supposed to be even worse mothers than mice, which seem to cannibalise at the drop of a hat sometimes. Make sure you give her protein-rich food. Something a lot of mouseries use is bread dipped in milk for new and expecting mothers, too. She is extremely cute and I hope you get to see the little fuzzballs grow up
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Jul 19, 2012 08:43
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Awesome Kristin posted:I'm sorry but your hamster looks like a zombie. Okay then, i'm naming him Zed. so in 2 years time i can go "zed's dead, baby, zed's dead"
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Jul 19, 2012 14:42
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Fraction posted:Be careful not to disturb the mum too much. Iirc, hamsters are supposed to be even worse mothers than mice, which seem to cannibalise at the drop of a hat sometimes. Make sure you give her protein-rich food. Something a lot of mouseries use is bread dipped in milk for new and expecting mothers, too. Yeah, I only replaced her food and water when she was asleep, and very carefully so as not to wake her. Her food is normal mixed stuff, I assume no nuts or protein-rich stuff in that(pellets don't have that either right), I'm lactose intolerant and so there's no "real" milk in the house, would Lactaid work or would that not be safe for her? So far she's taking great care of her babies. Is there a point when she will no longer try to eat them, or is it just a newborn thing for some reason?
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Jul 19, 2012 21:21
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Captain Invictus posted:Yeah, I only replaced her food and water when she was asleep, and very carefully so as not to wake her. Her food is normal mixed stuff, I assume no nuts or protein-rich stuff in that(pellets don't have that either right), I'm lactose intolerant and so there's no "real" milk in the house, would Lactaid work or would that not be safe for her? I'm not sure about Lactaid, but I'd definitely increase her protein somehow. You could get a little bag of low protein puppy kibble (think really poor quality puppy food), or a small tub of mealworms, and some more seeds to mix into her food. She needs plenty of protein and fatty stuff so she can produce milk for the bubs. As soon as they open their eyes, they should be fine for handling. I'd always advise erring on the side of caution, especially with a hamster, and even more so with a newly gotten hamster. Make sure when you do start handling, you aren't poking the mother out of the nest to get them - get her out first and pop her in a carrier or something, then replace her after, so she doesn't get upset.
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Jul 19, 2012 22:09
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Fraction posted:I'm not sure about Lactaid, but I'd definitely increase her protein somehow. You could get a little bag of low protein puppy kibble (think really poor quality puppy food), or a small tub of mealworms, and some more seeds to mix into her food. She needs plenty of protein and fatty stuff so she can produce milk for the bubs. Sounds good. The food mix I get my hamsters always has a ton of sunflower, melon, pumpkin, etc seeds, some beans, and a small amount of food pellets. I'll give a look into finding some of the stuff you described for her. Thanks! 
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Jul 20, 2012 00:13
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Fraction posted:I'm not sure about Lactaid, but I'd definitely increase her protein somehow. You could get a little bag of low protein puppy kibble (think really poor quality puppy food), or a small tub of mealworms, and some more seeds to mix into her food. She needs plenty of protein and fatty stuff so she can produce milk for the bubs. Poultry flavored cat food works really well if you can swing it. Chicken is best, but duck would work, and dog food is okay if you can't get your hands on that. Stay away from beef or fish formulas. And for the person who mentioned Oxbow hamster food, they do make a hamster/gerbil food. I forget exactly what they call it but they're little brown rings; no artificial colors or anything. The big bag that we got for in-store use says "Small Animal O's" on it, but I don't think that's what they call it. Comes in a red bag.
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Jul 20, 2012 06:13
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I was thinking the mealworms might be a good idea instead of the bread(since I don't want her to store it somewhere it might get moldy), would these ones be good for her, and how many should I feed her at once? Are they something I can provide her as a regular snack, or should they only be for the initial nursing period? I can go grab them real quick if these are suitable for a hamster and not just the reptiles/fish it says they're for. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11785679
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Jul 20, 2012 23:19
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Captain Invictus posted:I was thinking the mealworms might be a good idea instead of the bread(since I don't want her to store it somewhere it might get moldy), would these ones be good for her, and how many should I feed her at once? Are they something I can provide her as a regular snack, or should they only be for the initial nursing period? I can go grab them real quick if these are suitable for a hamster and not just the reptiles/fish it says they're for. I can't tell - are those live or dead/dried? (you want dried!) I have a huge tub of mealworms meant for birds that my mice get a treats. I'd mix it in with the food so that she can eat as much as she wants over the next couple of weeks. Mealworms are fine for treats long term; I wouldn't give them as a significant portion of the food mix long term though as they are obviously very high in protein. You will probably be able to find ones for birds in your pet shop; I'm not sure exactly if the ones for reptiles are fed differently or anything. E: this would be better - http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3876126 I'd suggest picking up some cheap, cruddy puppy or kitten kibble while you're there too. Just a tiny bag will help! Fraction fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Jul 20, 2012 |
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Jul 20, 2012 23:38
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I have to deal with looking at these faces every morning while I eat breakfast. Dexter get so very worried if I feed myself before him. "You're eventually going to feed me too, right? Mom? Please?" They're pretty good friends now so their cages got moved close together. There hasn't been any nipping or fighting through the cage bars, and sometimes they curl up next to each other at nap time
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Jul 21, 2012 00:14
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Fraction posted:E: this would be better - http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3876126
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Jul 21, 2012 01:10
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The mealworms I got were very small, and a few escaped the tweezers and fell into the cage, will they be a problem or will she hunt them down and eat them? I gave her around a dozen tiny ones and she inhaled them, barely even spending time eating them. edit: whoops, double post
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Jul 21, 2012 01:38
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If you feed live ones, you need to make sure she eats them ASAP. I wouldn't want to risk them chowing on babies!
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Jul 21, 2012 08:03
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What am i doing wrong with my hamster? he's losing fur like crazy and looks almost bald in spots. he's being fed regularly. i'll see if i can get some pictures. the fur is also all over his nesting spot. not anywhere else in the cage.
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Jul 21, 2012 19:35
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He could have some sort of rash. Maybe email a vet office send that picture you took along with a description of the problem and see if they get back to you. I'd also try googling to see if anyone else has experienced something similar. That might be why he looks so odd in that picture you posted. His skin looks unusually red, but I'm not an expert so I didn't know if it was a problem or just the way he is. I'm really sorry you're going through this. I know how it feels to go through the process of discovering something like this. Good luck.
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Jul 21, 2012 22:40
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Awesome Kristin posted:He could have some sort of rash. Maybe email a vet office send that picture you took along with a description of the problem and see if they get back to you. I'd also try googling to see if anyone else has experienced something similar. he's eating and drinking just fine. Neither his hay nor his bedding should be causing this, but i've changed both and removed the wood lodge he used as his nest site (it was wood, but no idea what kind)
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Jul 22, 2012 02:45
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I would suggest getting a bag of Carefresh, ditch the wood shavings and see if that changes anything.
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Jul 22, 2012 03:16
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Captain Invictus posted:I would suggest getting a bag of Carefresh, ditch the wood shavings and see if that changes anything. yeah ill get some of that tomorrow. carefresh also looks cooler than regular shavings
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Jul 22, 2012 08:40
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| # ? May 16, 2024 00:30 |
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Frobbe posted:What am i doing wrong with my hamster? he's losing fur like crazy and looks almost bald in spots. he's being fed regularly. Looks very much like a fur mite infestation in guinea pigs looks. Your vet should be able to treat it with a drop of topical medicine once a week for 6-8 weeks. DO NOT try to treat this yourself; the dose required is SO small that you could easily overdose if the doses aren't measured and provided by the vet.
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Jul 22, 2012 16:10
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