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Fashionably Great
Jul 10, 2008
Sorry guys, unfun subject matter here:

I realize there have been threads over wild mice in the past, but I just rescued one from my cats. I'd go drop it off in some field somewhere so it'd be out of my house, except for one problem.

The mouse, I'm calling Stumpy, only has his hind legs due to the jerkasses who found him. I thought he had three, but apparently I miscounted because he seems to walk on one stump okay. I don't want to kill the little guy if it's not necessary. However, I know the likelihood of a wild mice surviving in captivity is low already, and a double amputee is even less so. Is it better to just let him go outside where he'll probably die, keep him inside in an old mouse setup I have where he'll probably die, or just take him out of his misery now? :( He's moving around okay right now and doesn't seem to be bleeding.

Here's a picture of the little guy, it doesn't show his legs (or lack of) but he's cute for an intruder:


edit: nevermind. He just keeled over on me before I could do anything else. RIP Stumpy 2009-2010

Fashionably Great fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Jan 2, 2010

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Gustav
Jul 12, 2006

This is all very confusing. Do you mind if I call you Rodriguez?
Can anyone tell me off-hand what type of hamster I have here? It's definitely dwarf-sized, but I don't know enough about the various subspecies.

Tried to google it, but only got more and more confused.

And can I safely assume it's female from the lack of obvious gonads? I've only had syrians, rats and gerbils and none of those leave any room for doubt.


Nereid
Sep 17, 2009

I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

Gustav posted:

Can anyone tell me off-hand what type of hamster I have here? It's definitely dwarf-sized, but I don't know enough about the various subspecies.

Tried to google it, but only got more and more confused.

And can I safely assume it's female from the lack of obvious gonads? I've only had syrians, rats and gerbils and none of those leave any room for doubt.




Looks like a fancy dwarf - but it's hard to tell genders on dwarves, their gonads are smaller than normal rodents

Lady Hardcastle
Sep 24, 2007
I've been internalising a really complicated situation in my head
okay Pet Island I need some help...

I got 2 female mice from the pet store on 17 December.. I've been sitting in my room where the cage is today mucking around and hearing this squeak, which they don't seem to do much, so I thought I'd open up the cage and the wee house thing and take a look to see what the hell they're up to...

There are 2 little pink babies in there.

I'm really confused because now I don't know if I have a male and a female, or whether one was pregnant before I got her, or even which mouse they belong to. I don't know how long they've been in there, they look small. I cleaned the tank yesterday but decided not to take out the paper from their house cos they'd stuffed it so meticulously - I guess I know why now.

Anyway.. isn't 2 babies.. not many for a mouse? Do you think she's eaten some? or the other mouse has eaten them? Do I need to do anything special? I have so many questions... really didn't expect this to happen!

Anyway I'll go do some internet research but thought I'd check in and ask here first... any help would be really good. Thanks!

Nereid
Sep 17, 2009

I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar
Males have pretty big gonads, it's hard to miss. Chances are she was already pregnant when you got her.

Crash BandiCute
Nov 8, 2004

Dona Nobis Pacem

Awesome Kristin posted:

Still curious about adding another hamster in with the one I just got.

Robos definately enjoy the company of others as a general rule. I have four and thankfully they get on wonderfully. They playfight a lot but I've never had any injuries except one small scratch to the nose. However, there is a smaller chance that some don't get on. A serious injury like bites of the ears or tail resulting in blood is something you have to watch out for - robos who don't get on have a penchant for attacking rears. Try to check that both are eating - sometimes one can scare the other off.

If you do introduce a second, do it sooner rather than later whilst your ham is still young and new. Robos I find are good stimulation for each other, which is great for a pet like robos that often don't do very well with human interaction. However, you must be prepared to permanently seperate them if they do fight seriously.

Cowslips Warren
Oct 29, 2005

What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?

Grimey Drawer
All this talk of rodentia makes me want another piggie. :( But I think Cartman the evil mousecatching kitten would make its/their life hell! drat cat has already snuck in the mouse room when we're cleaning cages (14 cages, drat) and stole a fuzzy mouse from the bucket. Thankfully we got it back unscathed.

For the pregnant mouse, sometimes the litters are small, and sometimes mom makes them smaller. Unless you end up with a male mouse, the four will be fine together (one male mouse plus three females equals a lot of babies and one happy male) overall. Sexing can be done when they're furred and running around, but as stated above, the gonads are pretty drat obvious.

Lady Hardcastle
Sep 24, 2007
I've been internalising a really complicated situation in my head
thanks guys, appreciate the tips... just gotta wait and see I guess! :shobon:

Lumi
Apr 26, 2006
I watched the sky.
Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting a hamster for my girlfriend. We did some mild research and basically she wants two hamsters, and seems to be partial to dwarfs at the moment. Couple of initial concerns and questions:

Googling around seems to indicate that there are no breeders in the Vancouver area. Is there some other method of finding breeders? How big of a deal is it compared to getting one from the pet store?

What sort of habitat is good? Initially we looked at the Habitrail Ovo Suite for Dwarfs and it seems kind of fun, but there seems to be a bunch of bad reviews in addition to good ones, so I'm rather wary, and it seems to be pointed out that it's not that great since there isn't a lot of open space for them to run around. We want some fun accessories for it too since it's fun for us and also these are supposedly pretty curious little guys. The frustrating thing is that there seems to be no universally agreed on best 'fun' habitat.

Crash BandiCute
Nov 8, 2004

Dona Nobis Pacem

Lumi posted:

Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting a hamster for my girlfriend. We did some mild research and basically she wants two hamsters, and seems to be partial to dwarfs at the moment. Couple of initial concerns and questions:

Googling around seems to indicate that there are no breeders in the Vancouver area. Is there some other method of finding breeders? How big of a deal is it compared to getting one from the pet store?

What sort of habitat is good? Initially we looked at the Habitrail Ovo Suite for Dwarfs and it seems kind of fun, but there seems to be a bunch of bad reviews in addition to good ones, so I'm rather wary, and it seems to be pointed out that it's not that great since there isn't a lot of open space for them to run around. We want some fun accessories for it too since it's fun for us and also these are supposedly pretty curious little guys. The frustrating thing is that there seems to be no universally agreed on best 'fun' habitat.

If she wants two hamsters, she's going to have to choose some kind of dwarf, as syrians can't live together. I can answer the habitat question. The Habitrail ones look fun, but there are a lot of problems with these kind of enclosures. They're hard to clean, tubes can come apart and hamsters can be lost, and sometimes as you said they don't offer enough room for the hamster to just run around. A plastic aquarium with bars at the top is what I use for my hams, and I put fun things into it. The absolute best thing they have is flat pieces of wood which slot together. Every time I clean them out, I rearrange the wood into some new shape to keep them stimulated. They love to climb on it and hide inside. You'll also want a wheel, and basic cardboard tubes are great. My hams also have a soft pouch for them to sleep in, which they really like and use all the time, but which needs to be replaced every two weeks or so because they absolutely destroy it and it gets dirty inside. These fancy cages with all the tubes are really more for the human's enjoyment, because you can keep a hamster very happy and stimulated in a more basic set-up with fun things placed inside.

alucinor
May 21, 2003



Taco Defender

Lumi posted:

Googling around seems to indicate that there are no breeders in the Vancouver area. Is there some other method of finding breeders? How big of a deal is it compared to getting one from the pet store?

Check out the shelters first! Petfinder shows 5 hamsters at shelters in Burnaby, Surrey, and Coquitlam. They probably have more who aren't even listed, most shelters don't bother putting up every hamster. Most don't even have pictures, so if she's set on two you'll have to check to make sure they aren't syrians.

SubbyMinx
Dec 30, 2009

Lumi posted:

Hey guys, I'm currently looking into getting a hamster for my girlfriend. We did some mild research and basically she wants two hamsters, and seems to be partial to dwarfs at the moment. Couple of initial concerns and questions:

One question I have to ask is, what type of dwarf hamster do you want to go for? There's various different breeds, the three most common being Chinese, Russian and
Roborovski hamsters. All three have different traits, likes and dislikes, life spans etc. Choosing a breed first will help with choosing a habitat as well. For example: Chinese hamsters LOVE to climb. So putting them in an aquarium would be a bad idea. But putting them in a wired cage would be great, as they can climb up and over the top at their pleasure. There's a lot more info online about the different breeds, so check it out. The UK store, pets at home, gives some good advice here.

quote:

Googling around seems to indicate that there are no breeders in the Vancouver area. Is there some other method of finding breeders? How big of a deal is it compared to getting one from the pet store?

I can't give you any advice about buying from a pet store. Being from the UK, pet stores are decent, reputable sellers, often selling better animals than independents.

quote:

What sort of habitat is good? Initially we looked at the Habitrail Ovo Suite for Dwarfs and it seems kind of fun, but there seems to be a bunch of bad reviews in addition to good ones, so I'm rather wary, and it seems to be pointed out that it's not that great since there isn't a lot of open space for them to run around. We want some fun accessories for it too since it's fun for us and also these are supposedly pretty curious little guys. The frustrating thing is that there seems to be no universally agreed on best 'fun' habitat.

Personally, my two male Chinese dwarf hamsters live in the old Rotastak system. Originally, they lived together, with two tall stacks and tubes running between the two (and around the leg of our tv stand). They had more than enough space between them, including two of everything... two feeding areas, both with water. Two wheels, two different bedding areas. (Although they took to sleeping in the tubes!) Unfortunately... and this is a warning here... they started fighting. Lots of chasing each other and squeaking going on. We kept an eye on them, but they still seemed to get along at other times. Then one day we noticed a large tuft of fur missing off one hamster's bottom. There were two options here: they'd caught mites, in which case we had to separate them to stop the spreading, or the fighting had gotten too far, again meaning separation. Thankfully, all we had to do was make sure there was one hamster in each stack, remove the connecting tubes, and plug up the holes. Sorted!
(Thankfully it wasn't mites, otherwise my gerbils would've been at risk as well)

So in short, I think I'm trying to say, make sure you have provisions to separate them if things get nasty.

On to more advice about habitat: If you choose to go down the wired cage route, don't buy one meant for Syrian hamsters. The wires are far enough apart that dwarfs can easily escape. There should be specialised cages where the wires are close enough together for dwarfs and mice. It might be labeled as a mouse cage for this reason.

If you opt for the habitrail or rotastak systems, make sure you get the ladders to go up the straight tubes. Syrians are big enough to go up without (as are gerbils and other rodents) but dwarfs need a helping hand.

And one last, obvious, point (but I still have to say it.) Make sure you get a same sex pair. The gonads on males are quite obvious, so check before taking them home. The last thing you want is to be overrun with hamsters.
(This was how I got my first two gerbils. A work colleague of my dad's had a "same sex" pair that had babies. 40 gerbils later, and they finally worked out how to sex them!)

P.S. Apologies for such a lengthy reply. Once I start typing, I can't stop!

RumbleFish
Dec 20, 2007

When it comes to the plastic habitats/cages, I've never cared for them. Well, I did as a kid, which I think is the intended audience. But they were fairly difficult to clean and take apart, and in my experience, they were extremely escape-prone. One of my hamsters was particularly determined and had little trouble bending wires or chewing through plastic when he set his mind to it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, and maybe they're more solidly built nowadays. But I stay away from those setups and just go with aquariums for peace of mind.

Megalodon
Dec 10, 2007

BITCH, I'D RATHER KEEP MY PTSD THAN HAVE YOUR BITCH ASS TRY TO HELP



DUNSON'D

RumbleFish posted:

When it comes to the plastic habitats/cages, I've never cared for them. Well, I did as a kid, which I think is the intended audience. But they were fairly difficult to clean and take apart, and in my experience, they were extremely escape-prone. One of my hamsters was particularly determined and had little trouble bending wires or chewing through plastic when he set his mind to it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, and maybe they're more solidly built nowadays. But I stay away from those setups and just go with aquariums for peace of mind.

This is my experience as well. I used to always have those colorful plastic cages as a kid, and my hamsters managed to chew their way out every time. An aquarium is going to be a lot easier to clean and probably cheaper.

Nereid
Sep 17, 2009

I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

Megalodon posted:

This is my experience as well. I used to always have those colorful plastic cages as a kid, and my hamsters managed to chew their way out every time. An aquarium is going to be a lot easier to clean and probably cheaper.

This. My hamster currently lives in a wire cage because he likes to climb and I spoil him, but he's gotten out twice in the past week and he's going to be moving into a fishtank as soon as I can get home.

I've had three dwarf hamsters in my time, and all of them came from the same PetCo, and were very well lived - you could contact local petstores and see if they have any dwarf hamsters up for adoption, but keep in mind that you will probably never be able to handle one of these since they will most likely be poorly socialized and it will be an uphill battle to get them to be even grouchy.

The cool thing about dwarfs is that if you have two of them, they'll be happy; but they're happy by themselves. Robos are far more social and need friends.

RumbleFish
Dec 20, 2007

Megalodon posted:

An aquarium is going to be a lot easier to clean and probably cheaper.

Yeah, one of the worst parts about the plastic cages is how drat expensive they are. All the attachments and expansions are fun to play with, I won't lie; I sometimes go through that section of the pet store and reminisce about the setups I used to have. But paying $35+ for the privilege of building a clunky plastic contraption that my hamster can easily get out of is a little steep.

SubbyMinx: There are plenty of fun and exciting rodent toys that you can get for your guys. I enjoy picking up different things from the pet store to see how they'll react and play. It's fun to give them some stuff from around the house too, like paper towel tubes. You don't need a deluxe habitat to give them exercise and mental stimulation, if that's what you're worried about.

SubbyMinx
Dec 30, 2009

RumbleFish posted:

Yeah, one of the worst parts about the plastic cages is how drat expensive they are. All the attachments and expansions are fun to play with, I won't lie; I sometimes go through that section of the pet store and reminisce about the setups I used to have. But paying $35+ for the privilege of building a clunky plastic contraption that my hamster can easily get out of is a little steep.

SubbyMinx: There are plenty of fun and exciting rodent toys that you can get for your guys. I enjoy picking up different things from the pet store to see how they'll react and play. It's fun to give them some stuff from around the house too, like paper towel tubes. You don't need a deluxe habitat to give them exercise and mental stimulation, if that's what you're worried about.

I wasn't worried about stimulation in the slightest. I always wanted the rotastak stuff as a kid but as you say, they're pricey. So of course mum said no. The only reason I have the rotastak now is because I got a HUGE batch load second hand for £40 (Roughly $65) By huge I mean about £250 worth (just under $400).
To be totally honest, I wouldn't have bought my gerbils if I didn't have the Rotastak stuff. Half of it was still boxed anyway, and the gerbils came with one of the triangle pods (something we didn't have). Well, the cost was basically for the triangle pod and the gerbils were free.

The only thing I will say with the rotastak systems, and this probably applies to the Habitrail stuff as well, is that they can take up a LOT of room. Our 3 cages (2 hamster ones and one for the 2 gerbils) probably take up about 1m x 2.5m of floor space. It's also about 1.5m high in places.

It's actually changed a little since this photo (it gets minor re-modeling when washed), but this is the set up before we separated the hamsters from each other:


You can clearly see the two stacks on the left (one for each hamster now) and the triangle pod and other stuff on the right for the gerbils.

RumbleFish
Dec 20, 2007

My bad, SubbyMinx; I confused you for the poster who originally asked about the Habitrails/plastic cages. :)

SubbyMinx
Dec 30, 2009

RumbleFish posted:

My bad, SubbyMinx; I confused you for the poster who originally asked about the Habitrails/plastic cages. :)

Easily done, no biggie. :D This way I got to show off my critters homes, even if I haven't shown them off yet. Although saying that, you can see both gerbils and one hamster in that photo... if you know what you're looking for of course!

Lumi
Apr 26, 2006
I watched the sky.
Thanks for the reply guys, a lot of it is quite helpful. :)

CagedLiberty posted:

aquarium with fun things
This actually sounds like a pretty decent idea. I'll take a look more into the things that I can put in there. What's a good sized aquarium for 2 hamsters?

alucinor posted:

pet shelter stuff
Sounds like a nice idea, but I'm not sure if it will be easy to find two hamsters that my girlfriend likes but will get along with each other, be the same sexed, and still be quite social and whatnot. I might look into it though.

SubbyMinx posted:

holy poo poo
Having been to the pet store, I think we're not crazy about the Chinese ones. There were two that were just labelled dwarf (this one had a black and white coat) and a winter white. What are some of the main differences between robos and Russians? I think I can go without the habitrail stuff, but might install some tubes anyway somehow. :)

I think I'll stick with the aquarium idea if that's the goon consensus, it seems much better thought out although I can't pretend the hamster is inside a spaceship pod.

SubbyMinx
Dec 30, 2009

Lumi posted:

Having been to the pet store, I think we're not crazy about the Chinese ones. There were two that were just labelled dwarf (this one had a black and white coat) and a winter white. What are some of the main differences between robos and Russians? I think I can go without the habitrail stuff, but might install some tubes anyway somehow. :)

I think I'll stick with the aquarium idea if that's the goon consensus, it seems much better thought out although I can't pretend the hamster is inside a spaceship pod.

There is always the option of buying some of the separate tube extension kits and just placing those inside the aquarium, give the little critters something to run through. Reminds them of their natural habitat after all.

Nereid
Sep 17, 2009

I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

Lumi posted:

Thanks for the reply guys, a lot of it is quite helpful. :)

This actually sounds like a pretty decent idea. I'll take a look more into the things that I can put in there. What's a good sized aquarium for 2 hamsters?

10 Gallon long should be fine.

Awesome Kristin
May 9, 2008

yum yum yum

CagedLiberty posted:

Robos definately enjoy the company of others as a general rule. I have four and thankfully they get on wonderfully. They playfight a lot but I've never had any injuries except one small scratch to the nose. However, there is a smaller chance that some don't get on. A serious injury like bites of the ears or tail resulting in blood is something you have to watch out for - robos who don't get on have a penchant for attacking rears. Try to check that both are eating - sometimes one can scare the other off.

If you do introduce a second, do it sooner rather than later whilst your ham is still young and new. Robos I find are good stimulation for each other, which is great for a pet like robos that often don't do very well with human interaction. However, you must be prepared to permanently seperate them if they do fight seriously.

Thanks a bunch for that! I have not done it yet and it's been since Christmas that I have had Bitey. Unfortunately due to recent events I just don't know if I can afford the bigger space and addons two hamsters might need or a separate cage in the event they don't get along.

I suppose I will just have Bitey alone.

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty
Well it turns out that our 2 gerbils are not capable of being nice to each other. We got a 2nd about 10 days after the first (it's been 2 weeks since then) and set them in different cages, though the cages butted against each other so they can see each other.


We let them out onto the couch sometimes where they can't get away, and just now, as I had them both out, they went into DEATHBALL mode where they turn into 1 twin-tailed, fur-flinging sphere of anger and rip the poo poo out of each other. In my attempt to pry them apart, one of them bit rather severely (holy poo poo I didn't know they could bite so hard).

I'd love to get them into the same cage eventually, but they really really are not getting along at all. Even supervised, they're way faster than me and I can't keep them from murdering each other, and my fingers.

SubbyMinx
Dec 30, 2009

robotsinmyhead posted:

Well it turns out that our 2 gerbils are not capable of being nice to each other. We got a 2nd about 10 days after the first (it's been 2 weeks since then) and set them in different cages, though the cages butted against each other so they can see each other.


We let them out onto the couch sometimes where they can't get away, and just now, as I had them both out, they went into DEATHBALL mode where they turn into 1 twin-tailed, fur-flinging sphere of anger and rip the poo poo out of each other. In my attempt to pry them apart, one of them bit rather severely (holy poo poo I didn't know they could bite so hard).

I'd love to get them into the same cage eventually, but they really really are not getting along at all. Even supervised, they're way faster than me and I can't keep them from murdering each other, and my fingers.

I think this is why I'd never try to introduce a second gerbil/hamster/rodent. Any pairs that I've ever had have either been together since birth (multiple broods being put together) or have actually been siblings (my gerbils have almost identical markings).
Perhaps this is just my own laziness at even trying to get an unknown pair to live together. I'll go with Garfield on this though: "Some call it laziness, I call it deep thought" I'll just wish good luck to anyone who does try.

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty

SubbyMinx posted:

I think this is why I'd never try to introduce a second gerbil/hamster/rodent. Any pairs that I've ever had have either been together since birth (multiple broods being put together) or have actually been siblings (my gerbils have almost identical markings).
Perhaps this is just my own laziness at even trying to get an unknown pair to live together. I'll go with Garfield on this though: "Some call it laziness, I call it deep thought" I'll just wish good luck to anyone who does try.

Yeah I think we're done trying. They're gonna kill each other at this rate. We have 2 cages anyway, so it's not really a huge deal.

RumbleFish
Dec 20, 2007

robotsinmyhead posted:

Yeah I think we're done trying. They're gonna kill each other at this rate. We have 2 cages anyway, so it's not really a huge deal.

Yeah, while gerbils are very social animals and it is possible to introduce strangers, sometimes it's just not meant to be. Hell, sometimes it's not meant to be even when a pair has been together from birth or is related. Some animals, regardless of how social they're "supposed" to be, just don't play nice with others. In your case, keeping them with other gerbils would certainly decrease their quality of life and put them at a huge risk, so you're making the right decision even though it's not how gerbils are typically kept.

Fewd
Mar 22, 2007

#vmp #opsec #kolmiloikka #happoo

robotsinmyhead posted:

Yeah I think we're done trying. They're gonna kill each other at this rate. We have 2 cages anyway, so it's not really a huge deal.

You could try conditioning them with sunflower seeds or some other stuff they love. Every time you let them be together, give them a whole pile of seeds and they might be too busy munching them to kill each other and slowly get used to each other.

Might be a dumb idea but hey, if it works with them not trying to destroy "the ominous hand of doom invading our aqua", it might work with this too.

*edit* If you do try this, make drat sure there's enough seeds, otherwise a nuclear war is going to ensue when they're down to the last seed.

Rodent Mortician
Mar 17, 2009

SQUEAK.
If you decide to continue, you need to do at least two weeks of cage swapping with the gerbils. Move them every day to each other's cage. That way they learn each other's scent, and so when you put them together they're not living with a stranger because they know the scent.

I've had a lot of success with gerbil introductions done that way, whereas the "sitting next door" method has never seemed that successful.

cat with hands
Mar 14, 2006

When I shit I like to scream "WORSHIP THE GOD EMPEROR ON HIS GOLDEN THRONE." Mom hates it.

Our piggies are getting along fine now. We took out the divider after about one week and they've (mostly) behaved since then. All 3 got a vet checkup and mite medication.



This is Mampuku, largest and oldest pig in charge. Incredibly mild towards the other piggies, cares ONLY about food. He's a real chicken about everything else though.



Kuro is the inquisitive troublemaker. A real rear end in a top hat towards the others but loves to be held and take naps under the blanket with us.



Rorschach is the newest addition. I named him that because of the splotches, the fact that he's tiny but very strong for a guinea pig and doesn't take poo poo from kuro even though he's half his size. Very social, mild mannered and tidy. Stands on his hind legs like a Meerkat when begging for a snack :3:

Celexi
Nov 25, 2006

Slava Ukraini!
I just adopted a couple ( a female and male ) mice that decided to invade, and their cage isn't that "big". They seem pretty happy :unsmith: and don't want to get much out of it.
Doctor said they were clean of diseases, anything i should make sure they have in case they miss out their old freedom?

Bunnicula
Mar 22, 2007

skish skish

Gustav posted:



I'm a little late to the game, but I believe this is a Winter White hamster.

I agree that aquariums are easier to clean, but half the fun for me is watching my hamster run around his crazy habitrail setup. Speaking of which... I still need to charge my stupid camera and take a picture of it. I'm not sure I would have bought the habitrail stuff if he weren't a robo though... seems like it would be to small for a syrian. Also, I lost track of the cost, but it was probably between $100 - $200 which is just ridiculous. If you're not willing to spend half a day cleaning and drying tubes and stuff, don't do what I did :xd:

RazorBunny
May 23, 2007

Sometimes I feel like this.

Celexi posted:

I just adopted a couple ( a female and male ) mice that decided to invade, and their cage isn't that "big". They seem pretty happy :unsmith: and don't want to get much out of it.
Doctor said they were clean of diseases, anything i should make sure they have in case they miss out their old freedom?

Well, if you have a male and a female, you need to make sure you have two separate cages, and since you've been housing them together up to this point, you need to keep an eye out for the inevitable batch of little pink squirmies that they have likely already conceived.

Man-Rider
Mar 31, 2002
What is the excrement from dwarf hamsters like, and are they prone to having smelly cages the way some rodents are? I used to have a chinchilla and one thing I really like about them is that their poo is dried pellets that don't smell.

RumbleFish
Dec 20, 2007

Man-Rider posted:

What is the excrement from dwarf hamsters like, and are they prone to having smelly cages the way some rodents are? I used to have a chinchilla and one thing I really like about them is that their poo is dried pellets that don't smell.

Dwarf hamsters also poop dry pellets, but their urine is absolutely rancid, especially because they like to pee in the same spot of their cage. All of my hamsters, dwarf and Syrian, have smelled terrible compared to my gerbils.

Lumi
Apr 26, 2006
I watched the sky.
Two quick questions:
How are water bottles and other apparatus installed in an aquarium? Most of them that I see seem to be meant to be attached for cages and there seems to be no easy way to have it hanging.
And what are the criteria for a hamster wheel to prevent this from happening?

Fewd
Mar 22, 2007

#vmp #opsec #kolmiloikka #happoo

Lumi posted:

Two quick questions:
How are water bottles and other apparatus installed in an aquarium? Most of them that I see seem to be meant to be attached for cages and there seems to be no easy way to have it hanging.
And what are the criteria for a hamster wheel to prevent this from happening?

Aquarium magnets and duct tape work just fine. Just attach it so that the critters can't chew the tape or preferably plastic parts either if they're into that. I needed to get my bottle higher than ceiling so I cut a hole in the mesh cover on my aqua, taped a magnet on one side of the bottle and placed a dictionary on the other side to keep the bottle straight and through the hole. Would probably be simpler to take a pic than explain but no camera at the moment so...

And whyyy would you want to stop that wheel thing from happening, it's hilarious :3:

Crash BandiCute
Nov 8, 2004

Dona Nobis Pacem

Lumi posted:

Two quick questions:
How are water bottles and other apparatus installed in an aquarium? Most of them that I see seem to be meant to be attached for cages and there seems to be no easy way to have it hanging.
And what are the criteria for a hamster wheel to prevent this from happening?

There is a sort of shelf that slots into my aquarium with a hole for the water bottle to sit in.

Also, hamsters tumble about from wheels, it doesn't hurt them. just make sure to get a solid wheel and not one with bars because little feet and hands can get caught in those and that IS a terrible thing.

Man-Rider
Mar 31, 2002
Well fudge... I just learned that gerbils are illegal in California where I live.

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Nereid
Sep 17, 2009

I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

Man-Rider posted:

Well fudge... I just learned that gerbils are illegal in California where I live.

There are people who help people like you. The internet is your friend, you just have to look for them.

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