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Archive for August, 2008

Hamsters the Escape Artists

August 13th, 2008

I guess every hamster owner has had an experience of their hamster trying to escape, successfully or with failure. I’ve learned my lesson from her e & there, so now I always:

Double check that every door is closed properly.
If the door is loose, fasten it with an extra lock (a birdcage lock makes a good one).
All openings (including openings for extensions & tubes) are securely fastened.

Here are some other owners’ experiences:

After watching that, you should know that buying a cage specifically made & marketed for other animals, e.g. guinea pigs, chinchillas, will only give your hamsters an opportunity to escape through the gaps between the bars (especially true for Roborovski hamsters).

Posted in Hamster adventure, Hamster care, Hamster videos | Comments (5)

Everything Comes Down to Poo

August 12th, 2008

If any one is a Scrubs fan, they must know that everything comes down to poo.

Yes, you can tell whether a chin isn’t feeling well or is healthy just by looking (& maybe touching) at their poopie.

I notice that if Tubby hasn’t had lots of roughage, such as hay, his droppings tend to be small & hard when squeezed (I wash my hands afterwards .. don’t worry). Also, when the chins have had lots of protein intakes, you can tell by the size of the poop. Before, Tubby was on Kaytee (even though the Forti-Diet line has about 17-18% protein, it’s also got other unhealthy toppings in it), his poopies were small. Then, I ugraded to Traditions (which has 17% protein), which made his poopies bigger. Then, I recently changed to Mazuri (20% protein) & his poop size became real big!

Since chinchillas do eat leaves & fruits in the wild, I’ve recently started introducing fresh fruits to Tubby & Winnie. Since they’re not used to this diet (& there’s a lot of controversy about giving chins fresh fruits), I’ve only given them a quarter of a grape each week (besides, a quarter of a grape has less sugar content than raisins ). I notice that their poopies ahve become nice, big, & squashy.

So, make a note to yourself: when you notice or suspect that something’s wrong with your chin (especially when it comes to digestive or tooth problems), look at their poopies .. as they might have the answer to what’s going on with your chinnie

Some useful references:

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Introducing ..

August 11th, 2008

*drum roll*

The no named Russian Campbell dwarf 0_o

I adopted her because she couldn’t get along with her previous cagemate (who is apparently 4 years of age & blind!). After I brought her home, I decided to get 2 more Russian Campbells thinking that dwarfs do better in pairs or trios.

So far, they haven’t been getting along very well. I’ll wait for a month, & then see if they’re getting used to each other or not. If not, I guess the old lady just prefers to be alone. She’s supposed to be a year old (she’s already silvering). I notice that when I put the old lady & 2 young girlies together, the old lady tends to start the fight. She may be traumatized from her past experience of being attacked by another hammie. Maybe the age difference plays a factor?

She was apparently born with a birth defect (but hasn’t hindered her from eating like a normal hammie) & she has a (battle?) scar right under eye. She hasn’t bitten me, but she’s nervous when handled. As for the other 2 girlies, one is beige with red eyes & the other is grey with black eyes. The beige one is fine when being handled, but the grey one is mean! She’s bitten me twice & I guess it’s my fault (I tried handling her the very first day she got home). After my busy period has passed, I’ll try to tame all of them, especially the grey one.

None of them have names yet. Any suggestions?

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DH is Gone!

August 9th, 2008

I went to see Daddy Hamster this morning for his routine morning snack & HE’S NOT THERE!!! The thing is, all doors were locked & openings closed! I don’t know how he could’ve managed to escape! I looked in every crack & spaces he could’ve possibly gone to! I couldn’t find him!!!!

I found poop on the kitchen floors so I think he’s hiding under the fridge …. which I have no way of moving. Even if I get help to move the fridge, I’m afraid I might hurt/crush him in the process.

So I’ve left a piece of cucumber near the fridge for him & all I can do now is wait. I just hope he’s ok .. his cage is normally placed on a table & for him to get down that means he’d have to fall. Last time my Robo escaped, she got so stressed out she got wet tail & I had to put her to sleep.

**UPDATE**

So, I opened the bottom of the fridge & it looks like DH couldn’t have been down there .. it was super dusty 0_o

Eerrrghh where else could he be?

**UPDATE**

I was watching TV & suddenly, I saw DH running around under the futon! He was INSIDE the futon all these times & I guess he decided to come out in the evening when he’s awake! HAHA! I’m so happy to see him not injured at all. I gave him a piece of cucumber & he gobbled it down. Poor guy must be so hungry.

~Happy Ending~

Posted in Hamster adventure | Comments (3)

Baby Hamster’s Day Out

August 8th, 2008

Inspired after reading this article, I decided to take BH out yesterday a little after noon. I think BH would’ve enjoyed it more if he weren’t so sleepy. I used a small exercise pen to enclose a small area where BH would be safe. He didn’t move around much .. I think because everything was new to him. And then I heard loud ‘cawing’ noises, similar to crows. I looked up & didn’t see any birds, but I saw these 2 guys:

And I never noticed until I zoomed into the picture that this tree bears some fruits (I don’t know what fruits these are) ..

Uhm .. never knew squirrels make those kind of noises. Maybe the squirrels were either threatened by BH’s presence or they felt like pouncing on him. Anyhoo, we weren’t out for long, because it got super windy & I don’t think BH liked it too much.

$BH\'s Day Out$

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Thoughtful Thursday

August 7th, 2008

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but knew what to do with it.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement

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Killing A Roomie’s Cat

August 6th, 2008

I found this article, & it’s about a woman who was sentenced for killing her roommate’s cat. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but the poor cat had been ..

kicked, stomped, put into an oven, submerged underwater in a bathtub and placed in a clothes drier ..

The woman had also killed 4 other cats, a bird, & a hamster. She told the Judge that

she felt remorse for killing the animals.

EErrrggghhh!!! Foooolliiishness! Why would she do something like that??

Posted in News, Rants | Comments (2)

Dog Island

August 5th, 2008

I found this website through another blog, thinking that this Dog Island place sounds way too perfect to be true. I read the pages, trying to scrutinize every bit, looking for clues as to whether this place really exist or not & I really thought it was a joke when I read this (taken from the “Directions” page of the site):

Because of recent threats from anti-freedom activists, we’ve had to make our land office a maze to get to. However, if you would like to come visit us, come to Tallahassee, and look up all the dog grooming professionals in town.

Arrange their names alphabetically, and then you’ll see that their names relate in a way with the street names of downtown Tallahassee. When you realize this pattern, start at “A” and go through “W” each time marking your way with a piece of red tape on the door.

We will be watching and will approach you and your dog if you appear correct.

Hahahahahaa!!! And then I found this and this that just made sense of all that mumbo jumbo.

Posted in News, Rants | Comments (0)

Funny Chins

August 4th, 2008

Chins learn fast, because they’re smart cheeky things Here’s a collection of videos (not mine) of the funny tricks that chins can do.

Posted in Chinchilla videos | Comments (0)

Pimpin’

August 1st, 2008

I decided to upgrade Baby Hamster’s cage to a cooler space, because I’m planning to use his old CritterTrail X for some new additions to the family Check out his brand new house: