alucinor posted:

PS if you want to drive down to Chapel Hill this week I'll give you a pair of intact, unbonded rear end in a top hat males who like to climb out of their cages to terrorize one another.

Awesome Kristin posted:

If you want to read more about chinchilla stuff from us, go ahead and click the question mark under my name as well as Aquatic Giraffe's name and read the posts we've made in this thread. We've made some replies to other people asking about chinchillas in the past.

Awesome Kristin posted:

I can tell he has a lot more energy than before. Also, before I got Oscar, Charlie used to really enjoy scratches behind his ears and on his chest. As soon as Oscar came along he seemed to stop enjoying it so much. Now I can tell he really wants attention because he resists those things a lot less and is actually accepting attention again. He's a little but more intense with his people-watching.

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Like this:

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Yes, yes it is. He's stares much more than Smokey. He's also a lot friendlier.

Pew! Pew! posted:

My hamsters and guinea pigs both have had the same issue. I'm pretty sure it's just a reactive "oh god my feet are off the ground I'm gonna die" thing that some of them have worse than others. Even my rats have it to some degree but as soon as you plop them on a shoulder, they're calm as can be.

furushotakeru posted:

Sadness

cat with hands posted:

Man the cage is quiet with Kuro gone. There's no (loud) wheeking, chewing on the bars or fighting at all. Just two very chill boars getting along.

I guess he was the herds designated troublemaker?

Captain Invictus posted:

Hamsters can gently caress each other up in seconds if they so choose. And you'll have a bastard of a time separating them before they do some serious damage. The day I separated the momma and daughter was the day I went over to say hi, they both came up to the glass, look at each other, and then just fuckin' WENT AT IT, teeth bared, squeaking loudly, and one took a few good bites out of the other's shoulder before I managed to separate them.

Syrians are solitary and don't seem to enjoy anyone's company for very long. It's sad, but that's their disposition.

Captain Invictus posted:

I took all five of the Hamster Family out for pictures. Some were not happy about it, others were TOO happy about it, and one of the cream colored boys was completely indifferent and bored about it.

http://imgur.com/a/x5siy

Some of the flash shots make it look like they've got mange or something, that's not the case, they've all got very thick fur. There's a non-flash and flash subsequent shot of one hamster that shows what I mean.

Also, I got a shot of the little girl was licking my mousepad for whatever reason, and Chip took a distinct interest in the mouse itself.

Pardalis posted:

Fatly hamster needs to run.

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.

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

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Apparently Dexter is so intimidating that my 40 pound dog is terrified of him, and considers any toy that goes in the vicinity of his cage as a lost cause Dexter has no fear, he'll punch the dogs in the nose through his cage bars. The dogs no longer even sniff the chinchilla cages because they know they'll get punched with tiny fists of fury.

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

Kluliss posted:

I think I was a bit silly...the collective noun for Guinea-Pigs is a 'Panic' isn't it?

The pigs needed a bath due to being annoying mounty boys after we changed the cage layout (also any tips for getting dried goo out short of shaving them because I made this face when I discovered crustiness and it still isn't gone completely despite the bath ), so me, thinking to myself 'well they're sort of herd animals so maybe it'd be less stressful if I bath them together.'

...I was so wrong...for a little while it was fine, Ozzy was accepting bean-sprouts as bribes...then Dio decided he wanted out of the sink, which set Ozzy off and suddenly I had a sink full of furious Guinea-Pig which honestly, if I hadn't been worried they'd get out and fall, I'd have been laughing my arse off.

However, they're now happy in their cage after some good run-around floor time, and they've munched their way through some Excel Herbage, thank you Octopuppets for the link It smells amazing, they love it, and honestly, £12 for 3kg isn't too bad given that it's not poo poo and I want my piggies happy and well-fed, and am lucky enough to be able to afford it for them. It may get interspersed with slightly less amazing hay if they go through it too quickly, and I really need a hay rack because I can't monitor how much they're eating versus the stuff they're smooshing into their bedding, but I really do recommend it if you can afford it.

I am finding that now that we're giving them floor time and basically bullying them with cuddling, grooming and food, they're getting a little less skittish. The do love to rearrange their cages though

I leave you with a picture of freshly washed and dried monsters, see how fierce they are after shaking and fluffing themselves up as much as possible :3

(dio on the left, ozzy on the right)

cuntvalet posted:

I decided to put off the guinea-getting from this weekend (since I only have a one day weekend this week) and do the pick up on Thursday (next weekend I have a three day weekend so it'll mean more time to adapt to eachother, etc.). That means this week is building and collecting go time.

A few questions:

Do guinea pigs climb? Is it okay to put them in a pen as opposed to a cage or does that guarantee the Great Guinea Escape?

A Sloth posted:

Guinea pig armour was sold for charity recently for $24,300.00



eBay listing




I would if I where you. My hamsters pee and poo in their bedding a lot and I clean their beds at least weekly. The smallest one barely has a smell to his mess. Just a very slight popcorn like smell.

Sirotan posted:

My bestest pig ever, Fuji, was put to sleep today. She was 8.5 years old. My mom sent out this piggy obit to my family. It's super sweet and I can't help but post it here, since I've posted a lot about Fuji in this thread over the years:

Oxford Comma posted:

Edit: I've been told by others that PI is actually the right forum to post this question in. If I'm wrong, please accept my sincerest apologies and I'll delete this thread and ask elsewhere.

Scooty Puff Jr posted:

A little earlier today, I went to Petsmart to get something for my cat and ended up walking out with a free guinea pig as well. (The employee said that they'd just been there a little too long, so they were willing to adopt them out to the right people.) She's about six months old and super cute.



The problem, though, is that ever since I put her into her cage, she's just been hanging out in the corner and not moving a whole lot... She won't even go into her pigloo. She's breathing and doesn't seem visibly ill, and the employee who helped me out said the pigs hadn't been sick (there were two other females with her). I'm wondering if maybe she's just freaked out by everything going on, and needs a few days to adjust? Or could it be that she's just gonna need a friend? I've only had her for a few hours, but I worry.

Dead Inside Darwin posted:

My pigs for some reason have gotten into the habit of losing their small pig minds whenever someone makes a rustling sound, even rooms away. One of them launches into the loudest SWEEEEEEEEEE I've ever heard and the other one starts running around and doing a quieter version. They have food and water and they do it literally right after I give them too many vegetables. If I approach them they of course shut up and bolt for cover. Is pigs?

Khisanth Magus posted:

So, I've never been able to get a video of the babies wrestling because they always stop as soon as you get close enough to take a video of it.



I do have this picture though! They are starting to become mini-chinchillas! Of course, they are all ebonies so it is hard to tell them apart, but we manage, because we have runt, squeaker, and non runt/squeaker. Squeaker is called that because it squeaks every time you pick it up, every time mom steps on it, every time she grooms it, etc.

Party Boat posted:

We've finally decided to give our two guinea pigs a bit more room and get them one of the C&C cages, and when it arrives I'm taking the opportunity to try toilet training them. Currently they have woodshavings for bedding, so I'm planning on switching to something else (fleece?) and filling a corner litter tray with woodshavings to encourage them to use it.

Has anyone else had success with toilet training pigs? Is this a fool's errand?

Sirotan posted:

Try putting some fleece over the towel. There's nothing they can really get a purchase on with fleece.

Party Boat posted:

A foot at the most, pigs can't climb or jump very well at all.

Captain Invictus posted:

Aaaaaand Sam just started giving birth. WELP

Sirotan posted:

It's the one year anniversary of me adopting two of my pigs (white one on top, Pom, and on bottom, Flora), and I'm celebrating with intense anxiety, after Pom just leaped out of my hands and fell about a foot on top of a wooden tunnel toy in the pig cage as I was putting her back. She hit her back left side and leg, and acted like it hurt immediately. She's now happily eating hay in the hay box but I'm all worried about some kind of internal injury. drat pigs.

Kluliss posted:

Is there anything you can feed a guinea-pig that's....more calorific than normal?

One of my pigs had a sebaceous cyst which ended up having to be removed after bursting and he's lost 100g since last Wednesday (though that 100g also contained a very large lump on his arse). Vet says the antibiotics probably made him feel blech and not want to interact much. He is eating, weeing, pooing, and I have plenty of his favourite things (spinach leaves, mint, basil) to tempt him but it's not working all that well - he'll take a couple of leaves then ignore everything else.

The pigs have permanent access to a frankly ridiculous amount of hay, a bowl of pellets and a bottle of water, they're given handfuls of leaves morning and night plus a bowl of veg (carrots etc) in the evenings.

I really wish he had the appetite of our other pig who is shaped like a butternut squash.

Adult Sword Owner posted:

If I pick up my pig 2 things will immediately happen

a) pee
2) she will spend the entire time pulling the loops out of the blanket

So I've resigned myself to just sitting next to the cage and petting her which she seems OK with

King Hotpants posted:

Vesper was kind of stressed out and bug-eyed when we got her. We think this is because she had a lovely time at the shelter (she also had some scabs, likely from a fight with another pig). She is much less "Oh god don't eat me" now that she's been here a few weeks. Her wounds have all healed up and hair is growing back. Happy pigs!

republicant posted:

Thank you guys for the advice! Is it normal to have to chase a pig down to take him out of the cage? He runs away from my hands and I'm careful not to hurt him, but I have to block him into a corner to pick him up. Will he get less scared of me as he gets to know me and be easier to pick up, or is that just part of their instincts as a prey animal to try to run away?

republicant posted:

My pig doesn't really seem to like me very much. Petting him involves blocking him from trying to run away while he vocally expresses his unhappiness. He's so high-maintenance and I don't mind but I was hoping to at least get to cuddle him or something. My boyfriend doesn't like the pig and wants to get rid of him and get a friendly bunny or a nice fluffy hamster instead, and I don't believe in getting rid of pets but it does start to sound appealing when I remember how unfriendly and not fun this guinea pig is. I've only had him for a week at this point, will he become friendlier and even affectionate with time or is that just his personality?

Instant Jellyfish posted:

Now I'm planning out a new, even bigger cage because it's not going to be big enough when the babby piggins are old enough to live with the big boys.

republicant posted:

My pig and I have this fun game we play where I tidy up his cage multiple times a day and he has tons of fun knocking things over, pooping everywhere, and pulling as much hay out of the hay holder as he possibly can... Honestly it's cute to see him do it, and I've accepted the fact that this is going to be a very high-maintenance animal so I just like seeing him happy. He especially likes trying to eat the bag I put his poop into while I'm cleaning his poop.

I wish I could ask him if he likes it here better than his old owners, but I think this looks like a happy pig.