|
Get them some stuff to chew on, if you haven't. Might calm their biteyness.
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2013 00:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 06:51 |
|
|
I have accidentally adopted two guinea-pigs which are coming to me at the weekend...oops! I'm getting two un-neutered males, about 2.5 years old. As they're never likely to meet girl pigs (and I'd check beforehand anyway) is there any point putting them through the procedure to neuter them? They're a little timid but they're not bitey (apparently) or aggressive - are there any health benefits to neutering that I've missed the info on whilst reading this thread? (I'm about halfway through and catching up...thought I'd better find out as much as I can before I get them!)
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2013 08:35
|
|
|
So I've heard that if you put some food in the palm of your hand and your gerbil sits and eats on your hand, it's pretty much tamed. I did this with a unsalted almond and it worked with one of them, but the other grabbed it and zoomed away. I'm not sure how much water this theory holds, but how exactly do you tame a gerbil? I've been handling her basically everyday for four months and she is still, bittey/nibbly, flighty, and somewhat hard to hold without dropping. Do some gerbils just not stop being jerks? Also, I hope that almond was okay for them. I read on the internet that any unsalted nut is okay for gerbils in pretty small doses, so I hope that's true. EDIT: Also I really got to find a water bottle for my aquarium, cause god drat if it isn't annoying having to refill bedding filled water bowls every hour, or even worse, knocked over water bowls Zetsubou fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Jan 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2013 12:35
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:I have accidentally adopted two guinea-pigs which are coming to me at the weekend...oops! I'm getting two un-neutered males, about 2.5 years old. Before I get to the main question, a little background: did you know that all male guinea pigs need to have their anogenital cavity and penile sheath cleaned regularly? Not doing so can result in impaction. In my horrifyingly extensive experience with pig asses, neutered males tend to have dirty penile sheaths, and clean anogenital sacs. Intact males tend to have clean penile sheaths, and filthy nasty anogenital sacs. So cleaning a neutered boar is a lot more personal, but a lot less unpleasant. Also in my experience, my neutered boys tend to live 8-9 years, but intact boys tend to only live to 7 or thereabouts. So there does seem to be a longevity effect. Neutering also cuts down on the risk of mammary tumors, so between all these factors, yes I would get them neutered if a) I had a good vet who could provide good aftercare, and if b) money were not an issue. If either of those is a concern, don't bother, just prepare for more unpleasantness at bath time. And getting a larger cage - in the range of 10 sq ft or bigger if you can do it - makes a HUGE difference as to how funky their asses get, as well as to how hormonally aggressive they can be with one another. I keep pairs of boars in 3'x7's and their asses are usually far less unpleasant than the males I take in who have lived in petstore cages.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2013 16:37
|
|
|
alucinor posted:Before I get to the main question, a little background: did you know that all male guinea pigs need to have their anogenital cavity and penile sheath cleaned regularly? Not doing so can result in impaction. Yup, I researched enough to know about the impaction before agreeing to take them; I'm viewing it as part of the process of owning piggies - I wouldn't baulk at it if it was a tiny human who needed help, so I'm not going to ignore something which could be detrimental to their health just because it smells  I didn't realise that neutering would have that profound an effect on the lifespan of a guinea pig, that's a pretty huge thing, giving them another quarter of their lives again. I'll have to think about it pretty hard though, the operation is still a risk however you look at it. As for cages, the one I'm getting is about 3' wide and 4' long so it's not quite as big as yours, but I will be looking into extending it - can I do that upwards with a gentle ramp to a second floor, or would it have to be outwards? Apparently they're not aggressive with each other but if I can make them even happier, I will. Does anyone have any experience of taking piggies for walks - there're loads of untreated green areas (yes I'll be careful not to let them eat just any old thing) nearby and I'm thinking that when the weather's not being ridiculously cold, I'd like to take them for exploring walks. I do grow plants already so I'll plant a few more that they can be fed, and as they're apparently getting a little chubby, I'll be swapping their diet around - currently they're being fed mostly pellets with a little fresh stuff in the evening...I'll be using pellets as treats mostly, the majority of their diet is going to be veggies with the odd bit of fruit thrown in and just a small amount of pellets for when I'm out during the day. *and hay, I know it's important just forgot to write it in... I'm getting them on Sunday - once they're home I'm planning on settling their cage into place, let them have a little bit of an explore, and see if I can get them to take a few tasty treats from me, then I'm going to let them hide in their cage until the evening before I give them floor-time and see if they'll accept careful handling. Does that sound sensible, is there anything I should do differently that first day? Kluliss fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Jan 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 13:48
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:Does anyone have any experience of taking piggies for walks - there're loads of untreated green areas (yes I'll be careful not to let them eat just any old thing) nearby and I'm thinking that when the weather's not being ridiculously cold, I'd like to take them for exploring walks. edit: misunderstood what you meant by untreated. A nice clean lawn or garden is a great place for piggy adventures. Just make sure they can't get too far away, and bring treats. Neddy Seagoon fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Jan 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 13:52
|
|
|
Neddy Seagoon posted:edit: misunderstood what you meant by untreated. A nice clean lawn or garden is a great place for piggy adventures. Just make sure they can't get too far away, and bring treats. as in no pesticides - I don't have a lawn myself and didn't want to have to get a pet carrier out in order to cart them around, was hoping to be able to walk them short distances to grassy places and let them have a mooch around. I would definitely bring treats though, reinforce that walkies are good 
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 13:59
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:as in no pesticides - I don't have a lawn myself and didn't want to have to get a pet carrier out in order to cart them around, was hoping to be able to walk them short distances to grassy places and let them have a mooch around. I would definitely bring treats though, reinforce that walkies are good Yeah, I figured that out two seconds after what I originally wrote  . That's definitely fine. My old boys used to love running around the back lawn wheeking their heads off between mowing the grass and exploring under the flowerbeds.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 14:10
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:as in no pesticides - I don't have a lawn myself and didn't want to have to get a pet carrier out in order to cart them around, was hoping to be able to walk them short distances to grassy places and let them have a mooch around. I would definitely bring treats though, reinforce that walkies are good Be very, VERY careful about keeping watch for dogs, cats and other predators. All it'd take is one prey driven animal to see a pig on the ground and pounce and it'd be a dead pig on the other end of the leash. I've seen the occasional person walk a rabbit before and it terrifies me.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 14:17
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:Does anyone have any experience of taking piggies for walks - there're loads of untreated green areas (yes I'll be careful not to let them eat just any old thing) nearby and I'm thinking that when the weather's not being ridiculously cold, I'd like to take them for exploring walks. I do grow plants already so I'll plant a few more that they can be fed, and as they're apparently getting a little chubby, I'll be swapping their diet around - currently they're being fed mostly pellets with a little fresh stuff in the evening...I'll be using pellets as treats mostly, the majority of their diet is going to be veggies with the odd bit of fruit thrown in and just a small amount of pellets for when I'm out during the day. *and hay, I know it's important just forgot to write it in... I've had the best luck making fences from the grids they use for the homemade cages to contain the pigs. They'll tend to skitter off at the least sound or shadow, so they're easy to lose if they're not contained somehow. Are they getting any hay? The majority of their diet should be hay, and lots of it. (Grass hay if they're adults, with alfalfa mixed in if they're <1 year). I generally aim for around 70% hay, 20% veg, and 10% pellet.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 14:26
|
|
|
Neddy Seagoon posted:Yeah, I figured that out two seconds after what I originally wrote It's a Friday and excellent, they'll be going places once it stops being a frozen wasteland here then!One other question in general about Guinea-pigs - how do I know how heavy a pig should be for the size? I'm guessing I should more be watching for rapid weight loss/gain than anything else?
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 14:26
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Be very, VERY careful about keeping watch for dogs, cats and other predators. All it'd take is one prey driven animal to see a pig on the ground and pounce and it'd be a dead pig on the other end of the leash. I've seen the occasional person walk a rabbit before and it terrifies me. Yup, I will be careful - there are plenty of cats but they all dislike me because I chase them off (I hate cat-doings in my yard plus the 'singing' is the worst sound in the world.) Given that I live in Newcastle, UK, there aren't *too* many predators and the ones there are, are usually on leads. Plus there're loads of places the dog-walkers and so on don't go. I will have a collapsible safe-place for them with me though so if we stop in an area they can have somewhere to hide. Rodent Mortician posted:I've had the best luck making fences from the grids they use for the homemade cages to contain the pigs. They'll tend to skitter off at the least sound or shadow, so they're easy to lose if they're not contained somehow. I'm going to get some sort of grid I can use but they don't really sell the stuff the c&c cages are made of here except for extortionate prices (as far as I can tell) but I'll keep looking. They will get hay - as far as I know they're getting hay currently but I don't know what sort, how much of their diet etc. The people who own them currently are only giving them up because they're moving in with parents while they scrape together a deposit, and they do seem to know what they're doing - they're definitely happy, healthy guinea-pigs. I appreciate the info on the %age distribution of the food types though, that's going to be a big help come Sunday!
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 16:10
|
|
|
Alright my chinchillas are destroying corner litter pans at a ridiculous pace lately. Anyone have any suggestions for a ceramic or glass litter pan? That would be heavier too so the little assholes can't drag it out of the corner.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 20:53
|
|
Caught Cubs Posting
|
Baking dish from goodwill?
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2013 22:30
|
|
|
That's a pretty good idea. It's just weird that no one has gotten into the indestructible litter pan business what with the way chinchillas like to destroy everything plastic placed in their cage.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2013 06:14
|
|
|
Is there a good visual tutorial on how to set up a split aquarium for gerbils (to see if they'll clan up or not)? I feel dumb as hell, but everything I'm reading is just impossible for me to envision.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2013 15:14
|
|
|
This is Bear. :3 I originally went into Petsmart that day just for stuff for my cat, but when I saw this little guy poke his head out of his igloo and walk up to the glass, I was in love. He was "returned" by a family that had kids who lost interest.  I'm not at all sure how old he is, but from what I could find online about how to determine a hamster's age (without asking a vet), I'm guessing he's around a year old. Does anybody here know of good ways to help determine age? Also, I wanted to pick up some more toys for him and I was wondering if anybody had any good recommendations.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2013 23:40
|
|
|
Scooty Puff Jr posted:This is Bear. :3 Aw, that's a cutie!  But offhand, I can't really remember how to check for age on hamsters, not that they live long to begin with either. As for toys, uhh.. empty toilet rolls for crawling around in and chewing? Besides a wheel, do hamsters even care for toys/things that can't be chewed on or eaten?
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2013 05:40
|
|
|
Fluffy Bunnies posted:Is there a good visual tutorial on how to set up a split aquarium for gerbils (to see if they'll clan up or not)? I feel dumb as hell, but everything I'm reading is just impossible for me to envision. Quick googling came up with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4UCGhtelJ4 http://www.egerbil.com/splittank.html At least to me that looks easier to build than a completely separate "mesh window" with the wire mesh attached between two wooden frames. She's using aquarium sealant to attach the wooden parts to the glass, which according to my knowledge is safe even if the gerbils chew it. Don't quote me on that though. But anyways, it should also come off cleanly if you remove it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2013 07:04
|
|
|
Ssthalar posted:As for toys, uhh.. empty toilet rolls for crawling around in and chewing? Besides a wheel, do hamsters even care for toys/things that can't be chewed on or eaten? Yeah, good point. I bought him a pack of twigs to chew on the other week, but he hasn't really taken too huge of an interest in them. I can tell he uses them a tiny bit, but eh. However, within five minutes of putting a toilet paper tube in his cage, this happened:  So I think it's safe to say he likes it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2013 07:18
|
|
|
Malalol posted:
Lookit dem balls. LOOK AT THEM.
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2013 09:32
|
|
|
Rodents sure do have balls
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2013 09:45
|
|
|
^ cosmo is used for education often and you get little kids petting his balls and asking Whats that? lololololol. I got a chinese dwarf a few weeks ago. I'm in looooooooooooooove! When I was a kid, I used to be nuts about small furry animals and I had tons and tons of hamsters (irresponsible and of course my grandfather had to take care of ALL of them because I was like... 8. ) now that I'm older Ive developed a hatred of those little things. Confession: I'm terrified of them and associate them with stinky biting speedy fkers that roll on their back and assault you with rodent fangs. The robos make up for it by being terribly cute. But the chinese has always been a fav. and our newest batch had one with a white spot on its forehead. I had to have it I'ved noticed that ALL the chinese ones we get in our store are very timid and slow, they are never EVER out and dont use the wheel (in the day time probably) compared to some Ive seen in other stores(male ones) that are running on wheels, running about, etc. I'll see all the other species being active occasionally despite being nocturnal. How typical is this? When I hold them (mine included), they don't really move and just...stay there? I think its super adorable and a lot better than spazzy hams running off your hand but I'm attributing it to being terrified to death and hoping I won't eat it. Curious if she'll start being more active as I handle her, because I purchased one for a friend a few months ago and it is also the same way (and used as an education animal too). I did have a chinese when I was younger and it was active as well, also a male- that walked around on my hand and explored. Come to think of it, man. I remember getting that hamster, the dude sold us (my sister and I) a chinese, and this white hamster which I believe was a campbells and those tiny rear end hamster/parakeet cages and said it was okay to keep em together because thats what we did. .....they were actually fine. Theres my PI confession for the way and super awful in retrospect. I'm glad they didn't kill each other. I need to find a good hamster food too. Did some googling and that Harry hamster- whatever its called seems like a popular choice. Our store doesn't carry it for whatever reason and has the rat/chinchilla variants. Is bird food absolutely terrible for it? I've been offering it bird food too (zupreem fruitblend plus cockatiel sunburst) which has: White Millet, Safflower, Wheat, Buckwheat, Canary Seed, Cracked Corn, Sunflower Chips, Oat Groats, Oil Sunflower, Canola, Red Millet, Cantaloupe Seed, German Millet, Flaxseed, Hemp Seed, Raisins, Cashew Pieces, Coconut Shreds, Walnut Pieces, Carrot Granules, Pepitas, Papaya Granules, Pineapple Granules, Almond Slices, Ground Corn, Brown Rice, Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Oat meal, Sucrose, Canola Oil Theres added sugar and raisins/coconuts which are probably bad? And obv. whatever pellets/vitamins aren't balanced for a hamster but I'm wondering if I need to either 1. DONT GIVE AT ALL 2. Okay, mix with lab blocks/hamster food 3. Go ahead, feed it. Malalol fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Jan 31, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2013 21:30
|
|
|
Someone linked me this today, thought I would share: http://geyserofawesome.com/tagged/guinea_pigs  I bought one.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2013 22:14
|
|
|
We've got that poster hanging above our pig cage. It is awesome.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2013 22:22
|
|
|
After many, MANY attempts at catching this guy with a snap trap, I managed to catch it alive with a cartoonish bowl-propped-up-by-a-stick-with-a-string-tied-to-it-trap.  He is currently in a 20g tall aquarium that I was using as a grow out tank, so it's dirty, but secure. I gave him a little water dish and some of the food he's been eating. He (At least, I'm pretty sure it's a he) cleaned the peanut butter off traps without setting them off at least a dozen times, where it's family/friends failed. I have to respect that intelligence, bravery, or luck. Is it possible to keep it as a pet, or should I transport it far, far away from my house? What kind of animal is this? I don't expect it to ever become a cuddly pet or anything, but I can get the standard mouse aquarium set up for it if keeping it isn't inhumane or otherwise a bad idea.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 08:23
|
|
|
Do not ever keep a grown wild animal as a pet. Especially vermin.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 08:42
|
|
|
So should I kill it, or relocate it?
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 08:51
|
|
|
If you want to relocate it, it'll have to be a sizable distance from your house, I know squirrels can track their way back to a nest from 10+ miles, so probably that far if you want to release it. It's wintertime so it may simply starve or freeze to death with no stores built up for the winter, and releasing it close to a neighborhood or city area would be irresponsible, damaging to others, and also often comes with hefty($5000+ was what we heard for relocating squirrels in our area) fines if caught. If you know of any heavily forested areas 10+ miles from your place, you can release it there and it might give it a fighting chance. It's up to you, really. I very often kill them, and this is coming from someone who loves rodents. I used to like squirrels, too, but that was until we started having an infestation in our attic. I've killed nearly forty of the bastards, and they just keep finding/chewing new ways in. Can't poison'em because it'll kill my dogs if they get ahold of one of the bodies. If the mouse is clearly a young one, I'll usually release it somewhere, but full grown ones usually take a toilet trip assuming the trap somehow doesn't kill them. Captain Invictus fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Feb 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 09:13
|
|
|
Okay, well, I figured it was worth a shot. Anyway, thanks for the answers. I'm sure this has come up earlier in the thread, but I've forgotten where it was, if it was.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 09:22
|
|
|
We got two guinea-pigs last week :3 they're total idiots which greed levels that outweigh their fear...almost... We've had them almost a week, so far we've got them to come out from under cover for feeding (they get hand-fed until they won't come to us any more then we stay by the cage talking to them (we must sound really weird) whilst they eat from the bowls of veg they get. They have plenty of hay in there, water, and some pellets (which they only seem to eat as a last resort). The only problem is that they run away from hands most of the time. They're incredibly skittish and there's no chance of being able to pick them out of the cage without them freaking out and I don't want to stress them like that unless I'm going to get a happy piggie out of it. I've heard about towelling them which would be great if I could get them to accept me picking them up and putting them into the towel...  They do make some happy noises though, they're pretty food-motivated which I am using to my advantage, and in the entire week, despite me trying to stroke them whilst they're eating, they've not tried to bite/nibble me, though there have been toothy displays.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 12:14
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:We got two guinea-pigs last week :3 they're total idiots which greed levels that outweigh their fear...almost... That sounds all kinds of normal. Our pigs freak out from HANDS OF DOOM and I've had them for four years. Once they're picked up they cease caring. Bribing them with food is pretty helpful in a pinch, when our pigs freak out when we clip their toenails they are easily pacified by continually feeding them bean sprouts. It is actually really funny to see how much of their interactions with you are governed by sheer unjustified terror.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 12:34
|
|
|
Try herding them onto something you can pick up, like a little basket or pillow.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 12:35
|
|
|
Bastard Tetris posted:That sounds all kinds of normal...It is actually really funny to see how much of their interactions with you are governed by sheer unjustified terror. That's what I get for prey animals as pets...but yeah, massively motivated by food... Clockroach posted:Try herding them onto something you can pick up, like a little basket or pillow. I tried picking them up, just put one hand behind them and slid the other beneath them...I still have all my fingers... I also have a vibrating guinea-pig...he's made one chirp and is just periodically vibrating...he didn't wriggle to escape, didn't flinch, just sat there vibrating. He was looking around as well so not frozen with fear? Maybe? Please tell me I haven't traumatised my piggie for life 
Kluliss fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Feb 2, 2013 |
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 12:49
|
|
|
Funny thing is, even with the unjustified terror the best defense mechanism my guinea pigs have is vibrating and licking fingers aggressively. I had one that bit but it was more like she held peoples' hands in her mouth and gently moved them away. Guinea pigs are weird, that's why I love them.  Other rodents:   Lenin is about 2 years old now according to his former owner. He's yet to have any health issues.  Still not the most social of rodents, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 14:25
|
|
|
Rodents can go downhill real fast, unfortunately. If he starts having any signs of sickness or starts getting dirtier, ask around. And guinea pigs do indeed bite, and hard. I have two scars on my thumb from when my first guinea pig nearly bit clean through it because I had some food on it. Good lord, I haven't thought of him in ages. He lived to be 9 years old, was 13 inches long and weighed nearly 6 pounds. He dwarfed every single other pig we ever owned by half again as much, and was jet black. He was a real monster sometimes, and I was horribly allergic(discovered that fact after we got him), but I still loved'im so.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2013 14:35
|
|
|
So, my two female gerbils kind of smell. I always clean out thier aquarium every two-three weeks and give them sand baths everytime I clean the aquarium. I use aspen for their bedding. Most people say that gerbils don't smell but mine kinda smell musky. is this nothing to worry about or am I doing something wrong. EDIT: I wouldn't say the smell is overbearing at all but their is some kind of smelly gerbil business going on. This might be a stretch but could this be because they are in heat? They are about 5 to 6 months old now and sometimes and both of them try to mount each other even though their both female. They've also sometimes come up to me, jump on my arm and pee a tiny amount on me, which actually really smells. Zetsubou fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Feb 3, 2013 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2013 11:43
|
|
|
How big is the cage? If it's too small there might be an ammonia buildup that's making it smell.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2013 12:02
|
|
|
Kluliss posted:We got two guinea-pigs last week :3 they're total idiots which greed levels that outweigh their fear...almost... My pigs flip the gently caress out if you try to pick them up and run behind and under things, but once you actually grab them they just sit there quietly squeaking to you.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2013 23:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 06:51 |
|
|
Fraction posted:How big is the cage? If it's too small there might be an ammonia buildup that's making it smell. That could possibly be it. My dad got me the aquarium in a garage sale so I have no idea how many gallons my aquarium is. To be honest it looks like to me that it could be anywhere from 12 to 20 gallons. I'm planning on getting a bigger aquarium soon. Anyone know if it matters if the aquarium I buy for my gerbils was used to host fish in prior?
|
|
#
?
Feb 4, 2013 12:56
|
|