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Big Bug Hug posted:Thats funny. What color was it? Maybe it had been bred from wild rats (sometimes called Wharf rats?) Giant rats would be pretty cool >.> It was just rat colored, dark brown, seems like it had some greyish markings, more like speckles not splotches. Mighta had some white on the belly (this was 20 years ago). It was the most lethargic lazy thing I ever saw, it'd eat, and sleep, that was about it, when you held it it'd hardly move, kinda slowly climb up on your shoulder maybe but the most laid back animal ever. But as an avid herpetologist, I've seen LOTS of rats, and since my biggest current snake is an 8 foot boa, I buy and actively seek out the largest rats I can get my hands on (I dread using bunnies as feeders). The biggest "jumbo" rat I've ever found is at least half the size this monster was. New topic: I used leftover grains from brewing beer this weekend, it was roughly 2 pounds of dark roasted barley malt (Imperial Stout yeah), I added whole wheat flour, about 4 eggs, some leftover eggdrop and chicken noodle soup (instead of water or milk cause I'm out of milk and I had some leftover soup that needed using up), then I baked it. Anything likely to hurt a rat in this mix? If so my dogs will love it too, or my goats. Wonder if my turtle would eat it (I'm kidding). OH yeah I threw the eggs in whole, shells and all, here's a picture for fun: 
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Jun 30, 2010 05:23
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Grimster posted:It was just rat colored, dark brown, seems like it had some greyish markings, more like speckles not splotches. Mighta had some white on the belly (this was 20 years ago). wild color is called agouti
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Jun 30, 2010 05:31
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Superconsndar posted:wild color is called agouti So is there a rat that gets that damned big? And is Chong (of Cheech and Chong) level mellow? Cause I wanted this rat BAD he was cool as hell. If I can find out what he (maybe) was I'll start searching for one. He'll live like a king trust me, no boas in his future.
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Jun 30, 2010 05:54
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Grimster posted:So is there a rat that gets that damned big? And is Chong (of Cheech and Chong) level mellow? Cause I wanted this rat BAD he was cool as hell. Maybe it was a gambian pouched rat? Different species, but looks pretty much exactly like a pet rat made huge. In other news, found the coolest water bottle (also something that the crazy rat lady who told me about Bi-Odor had). It looks awesome because you can fill it from the top and not need to remove from the cage (except for periodic cleaning of course). I normally won't shop at PetCo, but I'm willing to go there to pick one of these up. http://www.petco.com/product/108714/Super-Pet-Top-Fill-Small-Animal-Water-Bottle.aspx The reviews on this site were mixed, but the rat lady had at least 1 on each of her like 20 cages, so they can't be too shabby! EVG fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 05:57
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EVG posted:Maybe it was a gambian pouched rat? Different species, but looks pretty much exactly like a pet rat made huge. That this chick called it a "belgian wharf rat" but it really was a "gambian pouched rat" would not surprise me ONE BIT. quote:In other news, found the coolest water bottle (also something that the crazy rat lady who told me about Bi-Odor had). In other news, if it had a straight, not slanted watering tube, I'd get a few. I have these: http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Rodent-Cages with the 500ml bottles per cage.
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Jun 30, 2010 06:16
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EVG posted:Maybe it was a gambian pouched rat? Different species, but looks pretty much exactly like a pet rat made huge. I have something like this for my ferrets. It's a super pain in the rear end to clean. The type of mount where you're basically bolting it on is awesome, though.
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Jun 30, 2010 08:23
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EVG posted:Maybe it was a gambian pouched rat? Different species, but looks pretty much exactly like a pet rat made huge. Huh, they also live significantly longer than normal rats, which is neat. I'm not sure how I'd feel about a 2 foot long version of one of babies though.
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Jun 30, 2010 08:44
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Here's how I'd feel about it:  Everyone I know would freak the gently caress out though.
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Jun 30, 2010 09:51
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Wikipedia posted:In September 2008, the FDA and CDC have lifted the ban on pouched rats as pets in the United States. They are still illegal to import from outside the U.S. Well, that caps it-- someday, I am going to get a giant pouched rat, and I am going to name it Beef. More info on giant pouched rats as pets. ... Plus, they can detect tuberculosis and land mines..! HOW HANDY IS THAT?! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APOPO http://www.apopo.org
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Jun 30, 2010 11:30
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Cucarachita posted:For reference we live in Colorado. I'm not familiar with websites that would cater to this sort of thing, I doubt Petfinder would have too much about rats. Petfinder shows 7 rats in Colorado Springs, 3 in Golden, 8 in Denver, 5 in Ft Collins. Two of the organizations are rescues, the others are shelters, so the former may be a better bet.
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Jun 30, 2010 14:47
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Amiss posted:Well, that caps it-- someday, I am going to get a giant pouched rat, and I am going to name it Beef. I have my mission now. I'm betting this is the rat she had, this was in the early 90s and her dad would have easily been able to bring such a thing home as part of his travels.
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Jun 30, 2010 16:49
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I have always, always, always desperately wanted a gambian. Didn't they lift the ban on them recently?
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Jun 30, 2010 16:51
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Amiss posted:Well, that caps it-- someday, I am going to get a giant pouched rat, and I am going to name it Beef. I've been wanting one of these guys for years. Someday when I have a house and enough space, I will get one... Maybe. I've always liked that they live longer. But the problem with having one would be locating a good vet and figuring out proper nutrition requirements, etc. In other news, Neko is freaking huge. If you guys remember, its the rat that I thought had an internal mass. Here is her previous xray if you forgot I just weighed her and she is 635 grams. She is massive. As far as I can tell she is doing okay. She basically just hangs out in the hammock all day long. Lately she has gotten even more skittish than she usually is, though. I keep thinking the time is coming soon, but she is eating fine and seems okay for the most part. Raella is doing great. She had myco a few months back and a few weeks on baytril/doxy and it cleared up right away. She does have a couple mammary tumors, but since she's over 2 years old I feel uncomfortable getting them removed. Ugh. I love her so much, though. I took her to work and she was totally fine with everything, getting passed from person to person, and riding on strangers' shoulders. Though she kept trying to come back to me, it was cute. Is anyone interested in seeing pictures of how huge Neko is? I might take some tonight. Updating the FAQ later tonight, too. Carebear fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 16:53
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Superconsndar posted:I have always, always, always desperately wanted a gambian. Didn't they lift the ban on them recently? Yeah, they did it when they unbanned prairie dogs. Unfortunately they're still pretty rare. I think they breed kind of slowly comparatively and are fairly expensive. But one day, I'll have one too. Until then, I sponsored one of the mine seeking rats at http://herorat.org
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Jun 30, 2010 17:27
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alucinor posted:Petfinder shows 7 rats in Colorado Springs, 3 in Golden, 8 in Denver, 5 in Ft Collins. Two of the organizations are rescues, the others are shelters, so the former may be a better bet. Yup yup, took a look and I was surprised to see the Dumb Friends League had a few so I may check them out. The breeder we ended up considering turned out to be a bitch and refused to let us actually meet a rat in her rattery and said we had to pick one from her site and she'd ship it to us....WUT. It's not a goddamned t-shirt, its a rat!
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Jun 30, 2010 17:43
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Cucarachita posted:Yup yup, took a look and I was surprised to see the Dumb Friends League had a few so I may check them out. A lot of breeders have closed ratteries and don't allow people in to control the risk of disease being brought in. I had a closed rattery. Most people do. If people wanted to pick a baby in person I'd generally meet them somewhere. My rat room was totally clean and I had tons of pics and videos of how my rats were kept, but I didn't allow adopters in. One trip to the pet store and back was enough to kill my entire colony of 40+ rats and destroy years of work. Dunno if that was her reason, but it usually is, and it is a valid one. I'm not taking an adopters word for it just because they promise they hadn't handled or been near other rodents for several hours before coming in.
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Jun 30, 2010 17:48
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Skutter posted:You have to get a video of this. I'll try. Carebear posted:I've been wanting one of these guys for years. Oh god yes! Theyre really hard to find in the UK and i dont think im ready yet. Mostly im worried they'll kill my other rats. *faint* HOW MANY WALNUTS? Biggest rat i had was called Ketchup. She was loving enormous, 1.3kg, a foot long excluding tail and I had to hold her with both hands. Her hands were so big she could grasp around my finger. She hated being handled but was so big she just couldn't get away. She squeeled whenever you went near her so we called her piggy. She had a minor lump removed but developed a respiratory illness not long after. Thats a cd spindle and disk for scale.   Here she is puffing up and getting aggressive  Balanced on one hand. Im just holding her belly her limbs are dangling.  Shoulder rides were hard  THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY HUH? 
Slidje fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 17:52
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Superconsndar posted:A lot of breeders have closed ratteries and don't allow people in to control the risk of disease being brought in. Totally understandable. Still seems iffy when I can't actually meet the little one I'm considering. I guess that's the way it goes.
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Jun 30, 2010 18:00
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Rodent Mortician posted:Yeah, they did it when they unbanned prairie dogs. Unfortunately they're still pretty rare. I think they breed kind of slowly comparatively and are fairly expensive. But one day, I'll have one too. THANK YOU for the link to this. I finally have a charity I can actually care enough to donate to!
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Jun 30, 2010 18:10
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I am so in love with these girls. They've been sweet and nothing but fun so far.  Trudy is an adventurer. She's figured out that when I have the cage door open, she can climb around the outside of the cage. This includes squeezing in the tiny space between the wall and the cage.  We're a little worried that one of them could possibly be pregnant, because we went the pet store route since it was the only local option. They only had females in the store, but who knows how they were kept before that point. Joan has a bigger belly than Trudy and is a little more standoffish. Hopefully that's just a little chub and not a bunch of babies on the way. 
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Jun 30, 2010 18:11
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squidtarts posted:Flat rat
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Jun 30, 2010 18:12
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Superconsndar posted:A lot of breeders have closed ratteries and don't allow people in to control the risk of disease being brought in. I had a closed rattery. Most people do. If people wanted to pick a baby in person I'd generally meet them somewhere. My rat room was totally clean and I had tons of pics and videos of how my rats were kept, but I didn't allow adopters in. One trip to the pet store and back was enough to kill my entire colony of 40+ rats and destroy years of work. How does that work exactly? I don't doubt your word on it, it's just surprising that it would lead to 100% fatalities.
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Jun 30, 2010 19:36
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shadysight posted:How does that work exactly? I don't doubt your word on it, it's just surprising that it would lead to 100% fatalities. In 2006, I brought home SDA. As best I can tell, I must have picked it up walking through Petsmart- it's carried in mucous membranes and can live on your body for several hours IIRC. I was pretty strict about changing clothes, washing my hands, blowing my nose, and usually even showering after going to a pet store or being around someone else's rats before going back in my rat room. That one time, it apparently wasn't enough. Over the course of the 4 or 5 months I battled it, I ended up losing roughly 40 of I think 48 rats to secondary infections from SDA. It destroyed my rattery. Sendai and SDA are the main reasons most clubs no longer sanction rat shows, and most breeders have closed ratteries. Edit: In fact, my outbreak was added to the RMCA outbreak tracking guide: http://www.rmca.org/Data/#ga That Warner Robins 2006 entry was me. 
Supercondescending fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 19:57
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Superconsndar posted:In 2006, I brought home SDA. As best I can tell, I must have picked it up walking through Petsmart- it's carried in mucous membranes and can live on your body for several hours IIRC. I was pretty strict about changing clothes, washing my hands, blowing my nose, and usually even showering after going to a pet store or being around someone else's rats before going back in my rat room. That one time, it apparently wasn't enough. Over the course of the 4 or 5 months I battled it, I ended up losing roughly 40 of I think 48 rats to secondary infections from SDA. It destroyed my rattery. Sendai and SDA are the main reasons most clubs no longer sanction rat shows, and most breeders have closed ratteries. My condolences Now I have something new to read up on. It boggles my mind that something could be that fatal and easy to spread.
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Jun 30, 2010 22:26
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Carebear posted:Is anyone interested in seeing pictures of how huge Neko is? I might take some tonight. Updating the FAQ later tonight, too. Always interested in rat pictures!
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Jun 30, 2010 23:35
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Rodent Mortician posted:Yeah, they did it when they unbanned prairie dogs. Unfortunately they're still pretty rare. I think they breed kind of slowly comparatively and are fairly expensive. But one day, I'll have one too. I'd love a gambian rat. Think about how awesome it would be to take it for a walk.  Also, thanks for that link. I'm definitely going to look into donating to them.
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Jul 1, 2010 03:28
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are rats supposed to be as big as your head
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Jul 2, 2010 00:30
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OMG I'M SO EXCITED I JUST GOT RATS! I have not been in a situation where keeping pets was feasible for a while, but now I am! And it's awesome! I read through most of the last thread, all of this one, and I feel like I have a pretty good handle of what to do to keep these guys happy. They are sadly from a pet store, as I was unable to find a breeder or a rescue in my area But there's a certain joy in knowing that your pets could have been snake food.So here they are! This is Sir Dexton Lawrence Keeds, Gentleman Explorer  And this is Balls  I could not get a very good picture of Balls, because he's mostly been chilling in the dark corner in the back of the cage, emerging only to stockpile edamame or attempt to consume my consumer-whore blue-colored bedding. Sir Dexton has been working his way around the cage and scooting back into hiding whenever he sees me coming. I'm going to give them the night to get used to their new surroundings and then start working on socializing them better tomorrow morning, and hopefully snap some better pictures. Oh, this is the cage they live in.  I think I might have gone a little overboard, because this thing is almost as big as my dresser, but if nothing else it will be fun. Well, it will be if my rats ever leave the back corner and play with all the fun poo poo I bought for them. Quick concern: Dex has a bit of a cough, or a sniffle, or a something. He makes a little tiny rat-sneezey sound every now and then. Or maybe he's chirping. I have no clue. He wasn't doing it in the car, so I'm thinking it's the dusty bedding. His breathing sounds normal other than that little sound. The plan is to go to walmart tomorrow to get some fleece instead of carefresh, and some better way of attaching that screen to the cage. Do you think this is a wait-and-see situation or a take-him-to-the-vet situation? What's something to watch for that would mark a take-him-to-the-vet situation? Thanks so much
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Jul 2, 2010 06:48
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Well. I just picked up a couple of cages on clearance and I think I'm finally going to switch from mice to rats for the dogs. Just fed off the last of my mice last night and will probably be picking up two girls today. I highly doubt I'll start working on my "breed healthier rats" project from these though. Partially because I'm familiar with all the pet store stock here and the fact that it's all pretty much crap and it's currently my only option for feeders, and partially because my apartment is small and I just don't have the space for more than two moderately sized cages or so. I just wouldn't be able to do it on the scale necessary to do it properly right now. Either way, whatever 2 girls I bring home will be very spoiled for supplying me with excellent whole raw meals and training lures for the dogs. I'm excited to be done with mice, they smell awful and bite and eat their babies and they suck.  Definitely looking forward to how much easier rats are to deal with.Since the girls, if not their offspring, will pretty much be pets I'll post pics today or tomorrow when I get them.
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Jul 2, 2010 13:51
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Superconsndar posted:training lures for the dogs What sort of training requires rats or mice? What kind of dogs?
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Jul 2, 2010 15:49
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Slidje posted:Shoulder rides were hard What up fellow Indian guy with a rat on the shoulder? Obviously taken at a different time of year. Also, I must warn you, pic is very very large. 
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Jul 2, 2010 16:27
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Grimster posted:What sort of training requires rats or mice? What kind of dogs? ratting and groundwork. they also make really great high-value flirtpole lures for dogs that don't give a crap about toys as lures (mine) Mostly they make excellent sources of whole prey meals for a raw diet though. I get to control exactly what they eat and what goes into them, and therefore, exactly what's going into my dogs. It's nice to break up "60% RMB, 30% muscle meat, 10% organ" prey model frankenmeals with ACTUAL whole prey as much as possible. 
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Jul 2, 2010 16:31
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Slidje posted:
ohgod its like a big fuzzy koosh ball
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Jul 2, 2010 16:33
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So I got a new Princess....Princess Daisy =D I'll have to get a pic of her, she's friggin adorable and she's a baby I also sewed together 2 lil rat hammocks. Went and bought some discounted fleece I saw in various patterns and made them. Surprising what you can do with about 2 bucks worth of stuff. I want a giant one myself they look comfy >_>
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Jul 2, 2010 18:38
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Pterodactyl posted:Quick concern: Dex has a bit of a cough, or a sniffle, or a something. Rats can get "huffy" when they are stressed or in a new environment. I'd give them a few days to calm down and get used to their surroundings before taking them to the vet. My rats get a bit choofy right after I clean their cage, but they're usually fine in an hour or so. Also, you must make a video of your rats using that slide.
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Jul 2, 2010 22:01
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Skutter posted:Rats can get "huffy" when they are stressed or in a new environment. I'd give them a few days to calm down and get used to their surroundings before taking them to the vet. My rats get a bit choofy right after I clean their cage, but they're usually fine in an hour or so. This. There's probably better signs that they're sick, but the "OMG, Get to the vet right now!" point is when they start being huffy, and not wanting to move around. My girls usually found a high point in the cage to do that. It can wait overnight sometimes, but you need to get on top of it right away at that point because they do not have a lot of resources to burn when they get sick. Edit: I prefer to quantify things. This is breathing poorly. This is lethargic, as opposed to lazy shadysight fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Jul 2, 2010 |
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Jul 2, 2010 22:56
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Thank you so much  As a neurotic quantifier, those videos were especially helpful.They're both actually completely silent today, so I have a feeling he was just being stressed out yesterday. As of yet, neither has ventured high enough into this monster cage to actually use the slide. I'm sure they'll get around to it, though, and I'll make sure to get it on film Edit: Ooh! Better picture!  I love how Sir Dexton looks like typical pet store fancy rat, and Balls looks like something you might find under your fridge
Pterodactyl fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Jul 3, 2010 |
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Jul 3, 2010 00:35
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Well I just put Lucy in a 10 gallon aquarium, which isn't ideal but it's what was on hand. Will the silicone hurt her if she chews on it? I really hadn't thought about it until I saw the big strips of it on the corners. She's been in there for like 5 minutes and hasn't done anything but clean herself yet but I'm watching to see if she goes after the silicone. Also I put in a water dish, and I'll replace that with a hanging water bottle later tonight or tomorrow. Bonus MMMMMM FEET 
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Jul 3, 2010 23:54
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CompactFanny posted:Well I just put Lucy in a 10 gallon aquarium, which isn't ideal but it's what was on hand. Will the silicone hurt her if she chews on it? I really hadn't thought about it until I saw the big strips of it on the corners. She's been in there for like 5 minutes and hasn't done anything but clean herself yet but I'm watching to see if she goes after the silicone. Also I put in a water dish, and I'll replace that with a hanging water bottle later tonight or tomorrow. I used tanks for maternity cages for years and never had issues with them chewing it. If they do nibble it they probably won't ingest it. ETA: If you leave that comfy bed in there, keep in mind that it WILL get destroyed in her "oh my god shred everything" nesting frenzy. If you don't mind then that's cool, but if you'd like to still have it in a few weeks I'd replace it with something you don't mind being destroyed. I used to buy cheap sheets of felt and cut them into strips for nesting moms. They're warm and don't have any loose threads that can wrap around tiny baby legs, and cost about 25 cents a piece. 
Supercondescending fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Jul 4, 2010 |
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Jul 4, 2010 01:43
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Oh! I DO have some felt strips in my scrap box.  But I knew she'd destroy that cuddle cup, I bought it specifically for the purpose. For now she likes to sleep in it, but I know by next week it will be in tatters.
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Jul 4, 2010 02:42
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