what a great day we had yesterday.
we went to our grandmother's birthday party which was great lots of family and friends. on our way back we stopped at a big pet store to choose fish for my new tank. guess what we walked out with...



misty.jpg (41 Kb, 72 downloads) misty is home

how cute

Owned by Chloe Trixie and Zoey and two crazy Guinea Pigs

Awww, so cute!!!!!!


I'm 33 weeks!

Misty is so cute, I love her pink little house. :

cuter than a "barbi doll", with a PRETTY PINK HOUSE TOO!

Just curious but did you research this particular pet before you got her?

I currently have one rescued mamma dwarf hamster and her two babies.


-Cass, Dan and Toddler Dylan as well as....
15 rats, 4 cats, 2 spiney mice, 2 hedgehogs, 1 house mouse, 1 Tortoise, 1 gecko, and 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!

cass, no we didn't research this particular pet but we have kept rodents before. also my sister did some research on the net since she got her. here there are no rodent breeders or rodent rescues so we could only buy them at a pet shop. as far as we know she is a Siberian hamster, we probably will get another one in a few weeks (there was only one in the store) she is very curios and used to handling (probably because she is so cute).
i looked for your pets they are just amazing. you probably have a lot more experience then us so i will welcome any advise you can give me. my fav are Speedy and Flower they are adorable what kind are they? we have 4 sand hedgies the kind you'll find in the desert they are almost extinct here so you can guess how happy we were when they had a new baby last year.

ummm, Maya....how come we have never seen pics of your sand hedgies?!? I would LOVE to see pics!!


I'm 33 weeks!

I would too Maya!!

I just really dislike people who get pets because they are "cute", or they think they would be fun to play with. I am a big fan of doing research on animals BEFORE they come into one's home. Do you know how to sex dwarf hamsters? Please make sure that they are BOTH of the same sex, so you can avoid breeding any unwanted litters.

If you need help with how to sex them let me know, as I have pics that show the difference between a male and a female.

Do you have pics of the sand hedgies? I would love to see them? I am just curious, but if they are almost extinct, is it legal to keep them in captivity? Do you have a pic of the baby?

My hedgehogs are African Pygmy Hedgehogs.


-Cass, Dan and Toddler Dylan as well as....
15 rats, 4 cats, 2 spiney mice, 2 hedgehogs, 1 house mouse, 1 Tortoise, 1 gecko, and 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!

Here's a pic of my two newest hammie babies. They are Campbell's Russian Dwarves, and feisty little things.

They are ten days old, and this pic was just taken about 15 min ago.


-Cass, Dan and Toddler Dylan as well as....
15 rats, 4 cats, 2 spiney mice, 2 hedgehogs, 1 house mouse, 1 Tortoise, 1 gecko, and 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!


Web_Picture_307.jpg (28 Kb, 42 downloads) My baby hammies

Cass they are cute little babies, even if you don't like cute. How do you like your new signiture? I just love Speedy and Flower.

well, as i said before we kept hamsters some years ago so we are not totally ignorant. we already learned a lot about our Siberian, and yes we know how to sex them. we are going to get another female. although misty seems to be building a nest. and by the way no litter is unwanted.

as for the hedgies - they aren't in a cage they are free (no pics - we don't know if or when we'll see them)and for some reason they prefer our yard. probably because it's safe and there's always leftover dog or cat food they can eat. we do not believe in captivity we never even keep our dogs on a leash. in the park close to my home there are several family's of hedgies i always see them when i'm walking the dogs. getting a picture is hard since i only see them at night but i'll try this weekend.

I am just curious, but if they are almost extinct, is it legal to keep them in captivity?

it's not the government who said they are extinct, it's one of the biggest companies we have for the protection of wild life - every year they publish a list of the animals that wouldn't exist in 10-20 years. we recently found the hedgies on the list.
nothing is being done anyway so why shouldn't they have a safe place to live ? and as i said they are free.

I like your way of thinking Maya, If possible try to get a pic of the hedgies, that would be something I have never seen before.

Yvonne

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Originally posted by maya:
and by the way no litter is unwanted.

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Maybe not where you're from but here in the United States we have a terrible pet Overpopulation problem. There are several unwanted litters of cats, dogs, and various small animals. Shelters are overcrowded with animals simply because they are unwanted.

quote:

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we do not believe in captivity we never even keep our dogs on a leash.

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If you do not believe in captivity why do you own animals? I mean, you can't let your hamster roam your house free can you? Do you keep your cats inside? Dogs are domesticated, not wild animals. They enjoy human contact. Here in the US we have VERY strict leash laws, which are in order to protect both the humans who own them, the dogs who are owned, as well as innocent family pets and children.

It is irresponsible to keep a dog offleash if on a walk. It is the owner's resposibility to keep their animal safe from cars, people, and other dogs. What if your dog runs into the street and gets hit by a car? What if he bites a neighbors child? These are all things people here in the US consider, and dogs are only allowed offleash in most states in designated dog parks or beaches etc. Owners can be held liable if their dog hurts someone.

quote:

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nothing is being done anyway so why shouldn't they have a safe place to live ? and as i said they are free.

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I never said they didn't deserve a safe place to live. ALL animals deserve that, and more!

I, and as it seems others, were under the impression that these hedgies were your own personal pets. I did not know they were wild animals. I would love to see pictures if you get a chance to take some. I have never seen a sand hedgie before.

BTW, we have the same birthday


-Cass, Dan and Toddler Dylan as well as....
15 rats, 4 cats, 2 spiney mice, 2 hedgehogs, 1 house mouse, 1 Tortoise, 1 gecko, and 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!

What a coincidence you both share a birthday and you both love rodents I would also love to see pictures of your sand hedgies.

happy birthday Cass (sorry it's so late) - no wonder i enjoy talking to you so much. i love hearing your thoughts they are very interesting.

we do have a leash policy (every city makes it's own animal lows ) but since i live in some what of a country like community where everyone knows everyone and "their" pets there never been any problems. and we usually walk them in parks not the road. most dogs who might attack are on a leash. but it all depend on how you treat your dog and if it meets children and other animals when he's a puppy, etc.
for example : 2 of my best friends kept their dogs on a leash (almost at all times) and the dogs became so aggressive no could get near them. one of them even had to be fed from a distance they used to trough the food to him. no one could go visit them with out fearing that a "beast" will jump at them. they took the dogs to a behaviorist and he said that the only thing to do is to put them down.


If you do not believe in captivity why do you own animals? we do not own them we all share our lives if they want to leave they can. i will miss them but it's their lives.
you can't let your hamster roam your house free can you? i wish we could but buffy likes her too much.we do let her out in my sister's room.
Do you keep your cats inside? no they have a window they use to come and go.
Dogs are domesticated, not wild animals. They enjoy human contact.
if my dogs/cats found someplace they liked better i wouldn't deny that of them. that is actually how i got my newest Buffy. some big dogs were chasing her so we let her in our yard then we search for her owner for a month with the help of the city's vet (she has a cheep) but couldn't find him he was from a different city so how did she get here. 2 months since we found her turns out she belongs to a neighbor (they got her 2 weeks before we found her) but when they called to her she didn't go and when we walk her on their street with no leash (every day) she made no attempt to go home. so they decided to let us have her.
and anyway it works both ways they get food and safety and we get their friendship. and again if they wanted to leave...


It is irresponsible to keep a dog offleash if on a walk - you are right but it depends on the dog and where it lives. i guess i'm lucky to be where i am.

as for the pet Overpopulation problem yes it is a problem, i see your point i meant that litters were wanted by us personally. and if a pet was born in my home i'm responsible for it.

i will do my best to get some pics but the flesh on my digital is not very strong. they look a lot like your's Cass except their spikes are the color of sand.

Cass it's great to hear the other side of things, thank you for making me see it your way.

having treble using the full posting form so no pics and no funny faces - sorry

Cass and Maya, You both have very good points, I like the expression of opinion, I like hearing what it is like in another country.than my own..
Maya do you see the smiley face when you are posting? if you do just click on that and a whole page of emoticons will appear.then click on the emoticons you want to use.

for th past 2 days i couldn't use the full post form so no pics and no smiley faces.

it's o.k now for your help Yvonne

You Welcome Maya