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So the gerbils have really settled in and are far cuter than I could have imagined them being  . The only issue is that they don't know how to use their wheel. They'll gladly climb on top of it or dig underneath it, but they don't run on it. Should I be concerned? They seem to spend most of their time digging and making a really cool little tunnel system. They have a lot of chew toys and love tearing up paper towel tubes. They're even pretty friendly and will gladly sniff hands and walk all over me. I've even tried to show them how to use it to no avail. Are they just extra derpy or am I worring too much?
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May 13, 2011 13:35
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I think some gerbils just never figure it out or have no interest. With my previous pair, one of them could run in the wheel and the other only knew how to fall asleep and pee in it. This dynamic was sometimes annoying because Brownie would pee in it and then Skippy would go for a run, causing a lovely splatter effect on the wall and carpet. Speaking of gerbils, my family finally convinced me to get a new pair. They are a very sweet, spunky pair of sisters. One is yellow and the other is grey, but they have the same white markings. I haven't taken a good picture of them yet because they still hide whenever I go near the cage. I'm thinking of moving them to a smaller cage because they seemed more comfortable in the temporary one they lived in during Easter.
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May 14, 2011 18:08
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I have 2 gerbils from different lots. They don't live together because of the fighting, but only one of them has ever figured out a wheel, the other one just crawls under it. His cage is super-deep with bedding so he can tunnel around and such, the other one is in the wheel for hours a day.
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May 14, 2011 20:16
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How close to the pad can you snip a spur or foot growth on an pig without risking bleeding and infection?
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May 21, 2011 10:07
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Highly dependent on the spur. Snip a little, then if it looks ok snip more. I usually play it conservatively. Just be sure you have styptic on hand, and do it during working hours in case he flinches and you need a vet. 
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May 21, 2011 13:53
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I have 2 guinea pigs in a 2x4 grid enclosure. I just cannot give them much floor time, I don't have a living arrangement which makes it viable. I am debating expanding it to a 3x4 or 2x5. I have a little quasi-covered area at one end where they get their hay and I cover the other end of the 1x2 with a sheet, so they have something over them. They have two pigloos to hide in. They move them all around the ecnlosure. I am debating fixing them permanently into a part of the enclosure or getting something else for them to hide in. My thought was that this would leave the middle clearer and give them more room to move around, is this a good or a bad idea?
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May 21, 2011 20:14
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I would not permanently affix the pigloos. Pigs don't run through the center of a cage as much as they run along the walls, so allowing the pigloos to be in the center and keeping a clear "runway" around the sides is the best option. Additionally, moving pigloos is a very commonly observed behavior among pigs, so it probably fulfills some instinctive nest-making behavior; it also seems to be an enjoyable behavior in that it's often accompanied by pleasure sounds. I also usually move them to new locations once a day, and this simple reconfiguration provides a degree of environmental enrichment that a static environment would not. But expanding the cage in lieu of floor time is a great idea. I'm down to just two pigs and they're in a 3'x7' enclosure. They get no floor time at all, but they don't need it - they can now engage in zoomies around the walls whenever they feel like it. Either of the sizes you mention should be great.
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May 21, 2011 21:02
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I suspect my pigs have broken the laws of thermodynamics. What happened to all that food I put in your cage while I was at work?! Half a grocery bag of fresh timothy with a bit of clover, dandelion and bell peppers.
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May 22, 2011 00:40
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cat with hands posted:I suspect my pigs have broken the laws of thermodynamics. What happened to all that food I put in your cage while I was at work?! Half a grocery bag of fresh timothy with a bit of clover, dandelion and bell peppers. Give them about forty-five minutes and you'll find out where it all went. (Also known as the "poo mountain" effect.)
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May 22, 2011 02:36
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Went to a guinea pig rescue yesterday that the sweetest lady runs out of her house. There were a pair of 7 week old girls that we fell in love with. They were shockingly social for that age, apparently because they have been at the rescue since birth basically. Can't take them home for a few more weeks because we are moving, but I'm really excited. Forgot to take pictures though 
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May 22, 2011 21:15
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I took pictures of my newly acquired gerbils. Sorry for the low quality, taking pictures of gerbils is hard. Sunny, the friendly and industrious one  Smokey, the sneaky and weird one  Sunny is larger and heavier than Smokey, but they're sisters from the same litter. They're both shy but they are coming around more every day. They accept treats from my hand now and they're getting better at not running away when I approach!  This is their home. At first, I worried that they were uncomfortable here. However they've been a lot more active and friendly lately, so I probably won't downsize after all. I love it because they can't kick anything out and it gives them room to run. They arrange the shavings into huge mountains and tunnel through them. The downside is that the cage part is heavy and a pain to clean. Also, the wheel spinning causes the whole thing to shake and make a lot of noise. Sorry, gerbs, but the wheel's not staying in overnight.
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May 22, 2011 21:46
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What brand of tank-topper is that? I'm strongly considering getting either gerbils or mice in the near future, and I'm currently in the information gathering stage. If it's gerbils I'd like to get a tank-topper like the one you have to give them more space, but I haven't been able to find any information online to help me. Any words of wisdom you could pass on would be greatly appreciated! 
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May 22, 2011 22:13
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I'm no expert, but personally, I'd recommend a tank topper for gerbils even though I have only brief experience with other cage types. Plastic cages aren't great because most gerbils will chew the poo poo out of it and wire cages with no tank will invite them to kick all of their shavings and poo out. Really, all of it. I ordered my my tank topper from this website. I've been using it for about six years now and it's still in good shape. As I mentioned, the main downsides are that the topper is kinda heavy and difficult to clean because it has many nooks and crannies (which are always somehow peed on.) Also, if I want to take a gerbil out, I need to wait for them to come upstairs or I need to remove the topper, which is kind of a pain and probably scares them. The ramp is angled so that you can't reach into the tank well. Luckily, all but one of the gerbils I've had learned to come upstairs for treats if I went over and talked to them. I've heard that cage toppers aren't good for smaller mice because they can get their feet trapped between bars. The same probably applies to baby gerbils, but I've never had really young gerbils. One nice feature of this topper is that it comes with a hook so that you can retract the ramp if you don't want them going upstairs. I did this when one of my previous pair, Browny, had a temporary problem with one of her feet. Overall, this cage has served me well over the years. The gerbils love running up the ramps, jumping off the ramps, and climbing up the walls. You can fill the bottom tank with lots of shavings so that they can dig all they want.
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May 22, 2011 23:08
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I love your setup! Your girls are also super cute I just wish someone would make a tank topper for a 15 gallon. I'd love to get some more space for them, but it seems by picking a weird sized tank that I just won't be able to get one for them without building a custom set up with a 10 gallon topper.
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May 22, 2011 23:40
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Chin Strap posted:Went to a guinea pig rescue yesterday that the sweetest lady runs out of her house. There were a pair of 7 week old girls that we fell in love with. They were shockingly social for that age, apparently because they have been at the rescue since birth basically. Can't take them home for a few more weeks because we are moving, but I'm really excited. Forgot to take pictures though Rescue lady sent pics! This is Heidi: And this is her sister Edie: EDIT: One sec table breakage.
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May 23, 2011 01:16
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Okay trying again. This is Heidi:  And her sister Edie:  3 weeks until we pick them up!
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May 23, 2011 03:23
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They're cuties, especially the little full-body mohawk, but: a) goddamn, perching a baby pig on the arm of a chair to take pics? That's a recipe for disaster. b) Is that crap in front of her what they're being fed?  Is this rescue listed on Guinea Lynx? This makes me very anxious that you're getting animals who have had shockingly bad or at least misinformed husbandry. I know I should be more charitable and not all guilty-until-proven-innocent but man I've been burned too many times to not be ultra paranoid. Also just to combat any misinformation you are given, here are some care documents based on GL recommendations: http://www.allcreaturesrescue.org/documents/BasicPigSetup.pdf http://www.allcreaturesrescue.org/documents/Common_Mistakes_in_Treating_Sick_Cavies.pdf http://www.allcreaturesrescue.org/documents/New_Guinea_Pig_Health_Doc.pdf http://www.allcreaturesrescue.org/documents/NC_Shopping_List-GuineaPigs.pdf Edit: vvv Yeah I should clarify; I'm not saying not to go ahead and get them, just saying, be prepared for the worst in terms of their health (ie they might need mite treatment ASAP) and also the possibility that everything this rescuer tells you about husbandry might be incorrect. alucinor fucked around with this message at 15:07 on May 23, 2011 |
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May 23, 2011 15:02
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They are pretty cute though, can't wait for you to get them and maybe give them a better home than they are getting now?
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May 23, 2011 15:04
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alucinor posted:They're cuties, especially the little full-body mohawk, but: I don't mind your concern, but this woman is awesome overall. Guinea Lynx has her listed, the name of the rescue is Wheek Care. Those aren't what they eat, it is just a very rare treat (Nibble Rings) she gives. Their diet is hay and lots of fresh veggies twice a day, no pellets. The mother and father was given up to the rescue while the mom was pregnant, because the owners bought the parents at Petland and were told it was two females. Lady who runs this thing is a vet assistant for the best guinea pig vet in Pittsburgh, and all around was amazing. I showed off my knowledge gained from this thread and she was impressed. She is even going to have the coroplast and a bale of hay ready for us to pick up when we get the pigs, getting the hardest part of shopping done for us. Sorry for defensiveness, but she is legit.
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May 23, 2011 15:10
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Chin Strap posted:Sorry for defensiveness, but she is legit. Don't be sorry! I'm the one who is being paranoid and I apologize for that. I'm familiar with Jul from GL and yes, she's great.
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May 23, 2011 15:30
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alucinor posted:Don't be sorry! I'm the one who is being paranoid and I apologize for that. I'm familiar with Jul from GL and yes, she's great. Yay Yeah I'm glad to have such a resource to be able to contact in case anything happens. 3 weeks can't some soon enough
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May 23, 2011 15:31
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I've noticed that when the pigs get a lot of fresh greens the poop come out looking normal but quickly deflates and shrivels. They don't seem to have any trouble passing it but I've switched to mixing regular hay and fresh grass just in case which made things normal again. The hay and fresh grass have roughly the same make up, mostly timothy with a dash of dandelion, blue grass and burdock. I suppose it could just be the early spring grass being more moist with less long fibers compared to the later crops?
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May 24, 2011 11:35
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It's the moisture content of the fresh grass, which is lost during the haymaking process. Immature/young grasses also have less dry matter weight and more moisture weight than harvest-ready uncut grass, but the long fiber content should be nearly the same.
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May 24, 2011 14:45
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alucinor posted:It's the moisture content of the fresh grass, which is lost during the haymaking process. Immature/young grasses also have less dry matter weight and more moisture weight than harvest-ready uncut grass, but the long fiber content should be nearly the same. Can it be harmful? I haven't had these problems previous years, but then I started to give the fresh stuff later during the summer. I know that in the winter when humidity creeps into single digits I have to give them extra wet foods like cucumber, otherwise the poopsicles come out dry and brittle. Probably painful to pass as well.
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May 25, 2011 00:35
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I was looking on craigslist a few days ago and found a woman who was trying to get rid of her year-old female mice, since she and her fiancée were moving out of state and didn't want to freak the little darlings out with a week long car trip. She was offering the mice for free, and $10 for the tank and everything inside. She was afraid nobody would want them since one of the girls gets barbered by her sister and has a big bald spot on her face (more on that later.) After emailing back and forth with her for a day, she decided to just give me everything for free since apparently I was the only person interested in keeping them as pets and not snake food. When I came to pick them up I was greeted with the tank.  (Not shown is the wire-mesh wheel that I took out immediately after getting to my car.) Now from what I've read online mice love lots of things to crawl on, in, and through, and after seeing the sparsity of their tank I decided then and there to spoil these girls rotten. one trip to Goodwill and the dollar store and I think I've made their lives a little more exciting.  I checked both pet stores in town and couldn't find the Native Earth lab blocks I've heard recommended so I bought the only food I could find that didn't have corn as the first ingredient, Reggie Rat. Whole corn was the second ingredient, but it was easy enough to pick the kernels out of the mix. I've read that mice and rats have close to the same dietary requirements so I hope this is okay. Now, to meet the girls:  Anna, the dominant one. Likes: running on her new wheel every since chance she gets. Dislikes: Hair on her sister's face.  Becky, the inquisitive one. She was the first out of the plastic hut when we got home and the first to decide my hand was a good place for a little grooming.  Carol, the skittish one. Definitely the most submissive of the three, she prefers to spend the majority of her time in her green tube and isn't much interested in climbing. She was, however, the most energetic one when I picked her up and would not sit still for a single photo. Unfortunately, she is also my main concern right now. As I said before, apparently Anna has the nasty habit of barbering Carol's face, and Carol has the nasty habit of itching her face raw. Linked for gruesome Please note, her eye does not usually look that small. I think she was blinking when the flash went off. She never opens the one eye all the way, but it usually doesn't look half as cadaverous. So here's my question, what should I do about Carol's face? Should I wait a little while before doing anything to see if all the added amusement will divert Anna's attention and give Carol some time to regrow her hair? Would you recommend I give her an antihistamine or something to help with the itching? I have a second tank I could move one of them to, to give the other a chance to heal. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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May 26, 2011 03:20
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Well I am sad to have to post that Fuji, my birthday pig from a few posts up, was at the vet this morning (3rd trip in 3 months) for a final x-ray which determined not only was the stone still there, it was now double the size. The vet is really confident that she will get through the surgery just fine, because for six years old she is a really spunky pig. I've scheduled it for June 3rd just to get it over with because I'll be an anxious nervous wreck all week. My last pig to have surgery died from the anesthesia so that is my biggest worry. That, and the stone coming back immediately after the surgery. Crossing my fingers, and looking for some positive thoughts from my fellow piggie posters. And of course, some photos: Mildly tolerating the presence of new rescue pig Matcha:  Apartment living sucks but at least grass can be grown on my balcony!  Edit: As a footnote, not trying to dissuade anyone from owning pigs, but if anyone tells you guinea pigs are a cost effective pet you can go right ahead and tell them they are full of poo poo. Three vet visits with x-rays (~$450) plus a surgery (didn't even ask the cost, probably in the neighborhood of $300-400) and I'll probably have dropped a grand on this pig before the year is over. And no I don't regret any of it. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 16:36 on May 28, 2011 |
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May 28, 2011 16:31
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What is that grass you are feeding them? That is neat, i've never thought of giving mine grass like that.
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May 28, 2011 17:39
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Best wishes going out to Fuji. And seconding the grass question.
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May 28, 2011 17:44
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Diogines posted:What is that grass you are feeding them? That is neat, i've never thought of giving mine grass like that. Its something my mom put together for me since I don't have a yard to let them graze in anymore. Its just regular old yard grass, probably a Kentucky Bluegrass or similar variety. Pigs love grass, and its perfectly fine to just put them on your lawn to eat. Just make sure there are no weeds and the lawn isn't treated with anything. You can let them eat until they are full but I wouldn't recommend more than 30-45min of grass time because it could give them soft stools/diarrhea. And if you live in an apartment like me, I wouldn't recommend buying sod since you don't know what they've treated it with. Get a little window box that is at least a couple of inches deep and plant some yourself, it grows fast and is a great treat.
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May 28, 2011 17:50
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MrGreenShirt posted:Anna, Becky and Carol What sweet mice! I really like the look of that tank. There's so much for them to do in there. I can imagine them hanging upside-down from that rope and being goofs. I've never had mice so I can't give any advice on what to do about the face grooming issue. I have heard that for some rodents, with a trio, one might be ganged up on by the other two. Maybe that's what's going on.
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May 28, 2011 18:39
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Another mouse question: My mouse's back and front leg are starting to look rather a lot like the cadaverous mouseface earlier posted. The vet's first suggestion was to separate her from any other mice she lives with -but thing is, her sister died two weeks ago (cancer, there was nothing the vet could do, a two year old mouse probably wouldnt have survived being put under) and this poo poo started about two days afterwards. I've taken her to the vet since -first she suspected mites, so the house was sanitized, bedding thrown out, and all mice medicated. (The cat is fine and vet said he would be, not sure whats up with that... but then, the vets seem to always say its mites whenever the mice are doing weirdly, and it never is, so while I followed the directions, I didnt stress overmuch). She got no better, and vet visit week two I was told to put her on antibiotics, which so far havent helped either. Since this poo poo started just days after her sister died and she has never lived alone, I'm suspecting it might be stress/ unhappiness/ somesuch leading her to scratch her own skin to bits. But by now it's infected, and the infection will itch, so of course she scratches more. I'm hoping the antibiotics will do something towards helping the infection, but they havent so far. Whats worse, it doesnt seem to me this vet knows much about mice -but I have looked for a competent exotics/ very small animals vet in this damned village (Nottingham) ever since the mice came in, and cant seem to find one. I suppose taking her to London next time we go and try to find a vet who knows their poo poo might be a thing -but if this problem started with stress/ unhappiness, I might in fact be doing her anything but a favor by taking her to the vet all the time. I have no idea really what to do.
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May 28, 2011 20:53
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Well, things seem to be looking up for Carol. The day after I took those pictures I moved her to her own tank (thankfully I already had an old tank, hut, food-dish, etc. from a previous dwarf hamster) and since it might be a food allergy causing her bleeding I gave her only grains and stale bread to start with. Miraculously she has stopped bleeding, scaled back her itching and I think I can start to see a little bit of her hair growing back! I figure I'll start giving her the normal food again on Monday (watching intently to see if it will cause the bleeding to return) and next week I'll return her to the original tank to see if the barbering will start up again or not. Also every time I walk past the first tank Anna will now quickly run up the rope and hang out at the top as if waiting for me to bring her sister back. I'll open the front of the tank and she'll dash to my hand, check to make sure I haven't hidden Carol somewhere in my palm or between my fingers, and then sullenly climb back down the rope to mope and mess with her bedding Shmee! posted:Another mouse question: My mouse's back and front leg are starting to look rather a lot like the cadaverous mouseface earlier posted. The vet's first suggestion was to separate her from any other mice she lives with -but thing is, her sister died two weeks ago (cancer, there was nothing the vet could do, a two year old mouse probably wouldnt have survived being put under) and this poo poo started about two days afterwards. Yeah, it sounds like your mouse has started self-injuring herself in mourning of her sister. If she's not too old, would it be possible to get her a replacement friend so she's not so lonely? I have also read that neosporin can be smeared lightly onto the mouses wounds to help with the infection. Good luck cadaverous mouse buddy
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May 29, 2011 03:28
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MrGreenShirt posted:
Thanks for the neosporin tip, I'll try that. As for getting her a mate goes, I wonder can such an old mouse adjust to having a brand new companion? And what the hell would I do with the new mouse if not... I also already have too many mice (the previous owner was treating them like poo poo, then got bored of them, and I'm a sucker). The other mice are brothers of the ailing one (whose name is Hattori Hanzo), and have lived one mouse per cage for their adult lives, since they would frequently try to murder one another. I wonder if taking one of the male mice to London to a proper vet and getting him fixed would be a thing -then he could live with his sister without bringing a kabillion trillion mice into the world. I understand that neutering a male is not a very serious surgery -is this at all an idea, would it risk the male mouse's wellbeing (they're all in excellent health, for two year old mice), what do y'all think? I'm glad Carol's better! Edit: Googled the Neosporin thing, and while some seem to recommend it, others say that it's not safe ingested, and their website says to not use it on pets. Better talk to the vet again I guess. Shmee! fucked around with this message at 13:16 on May 30, 2011 |
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May 29, 2011 12:47
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When it comes to pigs, any recommendations for water bottles? Or things to look for in one?
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May 31, 2011 02:57
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Chin Strap posted:When it comes to pigs, any recommendations for water bottles? Or things to look for in one? I have tried several different ball-bearing style water bottles and most of them leaked like no tomorrow. However, I have had a really good experience with the Oasis brand water bottle and water bottle guard. The metal guard makes it easier for me to pull the water bottle in and out of the cage without having to detach anything from the side. Also, I got the smaller 16oz bottle so that I wasn't wasting as much water when refilling it. I've never tried the style of bottle that has the spring in it. I think my older guinea pig would choke herself on it because instead of licking the ball, she insists on deep throating the entire spout. The baby guinea pig I have uses the water bottle as intended, so I know it works... my other guinea pig is just a perv I guess.
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May 31, 2011 15:10
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I have this brand water bottle and it works great: http://www.woodlandbird.com/text/WBuddy.html It looks like Lixit makes one of a similar style, with the stainless steel valves instead of the vacuum sealed ball bearings (which will always leak): http://www.lixit.com/node/809 I don't think it took much for my pigs to make the switch, they still like to play with it and drain out a bunch of water but I just put a small empty food bowl under the spout to catch it, and then empty it every day.
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May 31, 2011 15:17
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She made it through the surgery and I get to pick her up in an hour! 
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Jun 3, 2011 16:55
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Sirotan posted:She made it through the surgery and I get to pick her up in an hour! Woohoo! Glad to hear it. Hope all stays well.
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Jun 3, 2011 17:09
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My vet told me that pigs who have bladder stone removal surgery bounce back quickly and I really only half believed her at the time. But its true. Tonight Fuji was popcorning around in her little cage. She's probably happier being confined in there alone versus living with her two nutcase cage mates. And besides a few hours after bringing her home I haven't seen any blood and she doesn't act like her incision hurts her at all. For a six year old pig it's pretty amazing.
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Jun 6, 2011 03:23
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[quote="Sirotan"] Tonight Fuji was popcorning around in her little cage. She's probably happier being confined in there alone versus living with her two nutcase cage mates. Glad to hear shes ok. I'm beginning to suspect that most pigs doesn't really give a gently caress about their pack mates, they just get stressed out if there's no one else around to get eaten first when the big scary condor sweeps out of the sky.
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Jun 6, 2011 08:31
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