posted on September 11, 2000 06:31:34 AM new
Okay, not REALLY, I love my pets and wouldn't part with them, but someone is obviously sick, and despite the fact that 90% of my house is tile flooring, they've managed to find FOUR carpeted areas this morning on which to let me know their tummy is upset!!!!!
posted on September 11, 2000 08:00:50 AM new
Sheri: Try feeding some carrots to a different dog each day. The dog poo turns a bright orange which may help determine the culprit.
Irene
[ edited by stockticker on Sep 11, 2000 08:05 AM ]
posted on September 11, 2000 08:03:32 AM new
don't you just love it when your pet leave something for you by your bed for you to step on first thing in the morning?
posted on September 11, 2000 01:35:06 PM new
Lostafuzz - now I understand your name!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one with a hedgie!!! I have 3 cats, a ferrett, a hedgehog, a turtle, and 8 dwarf hamsters. You should have been there last year when both of my female hammies had two sets of babies each within a 3 week period. We had 23 hamsters at one point!!! YIKES
At the moment we are pulling out all of our carpets and putting in hard surfaces just to keep the mess to a manageable level. I do love waking up covered in fur babies though!!!
posted on September 11, 2000 03:24:59 PM new
You guys mean... hedgehogs can be pets? They're so cute, I'd love one! What are their habits, and what special care do they need? Do they live in cages like hamsters? Would my cat identify a little hedgehog newcomer as dinner?
posted on September 11, 2000 03:58:03 PM new
sjl1017: Yep, when I was thinking of a username I looked at my keyboard and it dawned on me, Lotsafuzz.....EVERYWHERE! LOL
I've thought many a time about getting rid of the carpet. I've had one of my dogs since I was in the fifth grade, poor thing is so old she has some bladder problems.
Have you gotten your ferret paper trained yet? ROFLMAO (private joke for ferret people....ferrets can NOT be paper trained...the closest you can get is finding where they like to go and putting paper there. Works most of the time).
Rainybear: Hedgehogs *can* be pets, but I don't recommend them to many people because of the care invovled. Like ferrets, hedgehogs are NOT 'cage only' animals (like a hamster), not even close. Also, hedgehogs, like ferrets are prone to some really strange (and deadly) diseases.
If you really want a hedgehog, here are a few tips (but nowhere near a complete list of 'To Do's": 1) You can keep a hedgehog in a cage BUT they need plenty of roaming time. 2) You need a box of dirt...that is how they wash themselves. 3) You have to very careful of tempature as hedges will hibernate if they get to cold. 4) They need a special food (available at most pet stores) Do NOT feed them regular cat food!! If you *must* use cat food, use Science Diet (and get some hedge vitamins).
5) NEVER drop a hedge...their spikes go inward and you can kill them.
As for the cat, well it really depends on the temperment of both animals. My cat hates everyone and everything, but has never attacked any of the ferrets or the hedge (although the ferrets *love* harrassing the cat...poor thing will need prozac pretty soon). We actually had a dog that thought one of the ferrets was his! They palled around all the time.
As with any animals, introductions MUST be suprervised....and don't think that five minutes will do it. When I bring in a new member of the family we have weeks of introductions. Starting out with very short periods of time.
Opps...kind of rambled on there....got on one of my favorite topics! LOL If anyone has any ferret or hedgehog questions, feel free to ask! If I can't answer them I will find someone who can: [email protected]
posted on September 11, 2000 04:00:18 PM new
RainyBear - you can have African Pygmy Hedgehogs as pets. I think the European kind is too big and not as domesticated. But, to answer the question, you can absolutely have them as pets. They are pretty easy to care for. Ours lives in a large rubbermaid type container only because the glass ones were too heavy for me and my bad back to contend with. He has a "house" and some rocks and twigs to climb on and we take him out daily to "play." Ours eats a combination of pre-packaged hedgehog food and cat food along with the occasional mealworm (ick - that's hubby's job). Other than the weekly cage bedding (wood shavings) change over and the daily fresh water and food he's a piece of cake to deal with. Much easier than the ferrett or the cats.
Ours is pretty shy and not too sociable but lots of others are very friendly. The cats tried a couple of times to mess with Loofah (our hedgie) and learned really quickly that those quills are no fun to deal with. So now they just leave him alone. There are some great websites regarding hedgies but I have them bookmarked at work so I'll have to post them tomorrow if you'd like.
posted on September 11, 2000 04:01:21 PM new
Rainybear: Another important thing about Hedge's is that they are really night animals. You can try to get them to change their sleeping habits...but good luck! LOL
My hedge doesn't have a cage (she actually has her own room....yep, I do have sucker tatooed on my forhead), the only time I see her is in the middle of the night. It is funny though, because she walks along the side of the wall and I can hear her scratching her way though the house.
Nother weird thing they do: They 'foam' from the mouth and rub the foam on their bodies. Mine ate a carrot and ended up looking ORANGE!!
posted on September 11, 2000 04:06:58 PM new
Lotsafuzz - my IT guys at work hate me because my laptop is always full of cat hair!!! I never knew about the dirt thing with hedgehods, I've never done that. And the one time I tried to let him have his own room, he wrecked it. Something about hedgie poop is like superglue!!! So he's cage bound when we're not around to look after him and his wanderings. Same goes for the ferrett-monster. He and my youngest cat are pals. Must be the kitten mentality. The Ferrett has completely torn apart the baseboards under my kitchen cabinet and has a stash of god only knows what under there. He's unbelievable with the klepto thing.
I've had the colored hedgie experience but mine was green. I gave him broccoli once...and only once. There is something very disconcerting about your pet drooling on himself and then turning green. At least the mealworms are not colored!!!
Now it's my turn to ramble!!! I guess I'll stop now.
posted on September 11, 2000 04:18:59 PM new
sjl: I am sure there was a time that all my cloths didn't have a 'fur' collar, but I sure don't remember it! LOL
My ferrets have the run of the house, but we put them in their cages at night. Of course we had to 'ferret proof' the house....much like kid proofing, but more intense!
One of my boys is in the process of 'stealing' a 6 foot, bright lime green pool floatie to stash under the couch....quite a sight to see! Anytime a wallet, shoe insoul, belt, beanie, ect ect ect goes missing we head for under the washer...then under the coach...then under the beds....you get my drift.
We figure if all six of them start working together, the humans in the house (and the cat) are all in big trouble!
We named our hedge Charmin...as in, "Don't squeeze the......" Not like she answers to it or anything! Although, the ferrets will, when it suits them, answer to their names!
posted on September 11, 2000 04:52:22 PM new
I couldn't imagine my Ferret (Slink) having the run of the house, much less six of them. He's hard enough to keep out of trouble. He tore a hole in the underside of our box spring and was hiding up inside of it for a while. Now the bedroom is off limits to him. I can picture a ferrett trying to stash a six foot blow up toy under a couch. I've watched mine try to drag a partially deflated balloon into a four inch square hole under my cabinets. He's tried to drag a sneaker under there too. Unfortunately, spatial relations are not a ferrett's strong suit!!! We did find our wedding pictures under the couch along with a bunch of video tapes.
My favorite is the weasel war-dance. Especially when he dances himself into a wall or off the couch. And who can help but smile when he chukka-chukkas at you? Whoever said a ferrett a ferrett could be paper trained was an out and out liar. I think we're paper trained and he just does what he wants. Fortunately, they give themselves away just before they "go" and if you're quick enough you can get the paper into position first.
Because of the hours we keep and the fact that the youngest of our cats is losing interest in him we've been seriously considering finding Slink a new, multi-ferrett home. I hate to admit to being a bad ferrett mommy but, he's just not getting enough attention right now. Big time guilt. Now look who's rambling!!!
posted on September 11, 2000 09:26:39 PM new
ok, let's see - prior to moving to Washington we had all of the following at the same time:
1 bunny (name was bunny bunny (2 yr old named it)
1 6 ft dog trained monitor lizard
4 bearded dragons
2 chameoleons
4 different variety snakes
Tank full of mutt fish
1 Rat (too cute to feed to snakes and 1 yr old loved him so he became a pet)
1 iguana
Amazing enough the children all loved the snakes the best!! Grossed me out as the snakes gave me the willies.
One time we babysat this guys snake for one day - 7 foot long 3 feet wide something or other - well my hubby painted the snake cage and put him in too soon - yep he got paint all over him. I had to assist with a snake shower - I had to hold his head while the paint was cleaned off or he would die. The biggest pet challenge I have ever had
Anyway, the agreement when we moved was that we are done with reptiles and when we move to our new home next summer w/land we will get a large dog (Newfoundland), horse etc.
posted on September 11, 2000 09:44:24 PM new
Loofah and Charmin - what great names for hedgehogs! OK, you guys have convinced me that I don't need a foamy little creature running around the house, even though they do sound like fun (nocturnal or not). "Hedgehog" is part of one of my eBay ID's, and part of one of my email addresses too. I guess that's as far as I'll get with hedgehogs.
Boysmommy3, you're moving to a place with land? Let me guess... someplace not too close to the city! I wish I could do that. Not only do I fantasize about keeping hedgehogs as pets, but sheep too.
posted on September 12, 2000 12:10:56 AM new
Well, we thought we had a large brood! But ours are no where near as exotic as everyone else's! 5 1/2 cats and one larger dog who would like to be a cat here. My husband says we have our own petting zoo.
And boy do I know about lots of fuzz! It amazes me when we move a piece of furniture and could make a whole nother cat out of the pile of fur we find But they're our kids and we wouldn't change a thing...except maybe add a greyhound or two!
~~MouseSlayer is not a cat =^..^= ~~
Yes, I'm MouseSlayer everywhere. It's a great name, so I use it!
[ edited by mouseslayer on Sep 12, 2000 12:12 AM ]
posted on September 12, 2000 06:12:08 AM new
We actually did have normal pets once. We had two kittens here when we moved here and they lasted 1 week. Didn't like the litter box but the back of my computer desk - too messy - scratching furniture etc. Would take the reptiles (they stay in their cage) over the kittens anyday. Owner of mommy cat took them back.
Rainybear,
yes, unfortunately the prices here in Seattle are nothing like they used to be when I grew up here. I work from home (my main job) as well as ebay a little so we can move anywhere. Hubby does construction as well as hand made porch swings and childrens swings. We have been looking all over WA and so far for what we want - relatively cheap, older fixer upper with land and a place where the sun shines we are settled on either the tri-cities or chelan. But will have to come back to Seattle once a month for my ebay shopping as the small towns have no designer anything I could sell!! I love Snohomosish but prices are very high - in the 200-300K range for a medium size house with land. We looked at homes in Chelan with acres of land for between 100K and 200K, ditto for outlying Tri-Cities.
Anyway, the rain is here now so it is starting to feel like Seattle after those months of sunshine!!
posted on September 13, 2000 01:38:28 AM newMouseslayer Greyhounds!?!
We had two, Rico and Tally (had to put Tally to sleep last year ) and they are the sweetest dogs! Gentle, loving, and quiet (ours seldom barks). I've heard them described as "40mph couch potatoes".
If you have a chance (and the yard) to adopt one, do so! You won't regret it.
We moved to southern Oklahoma last year to get a place big enough for everybody. Land prices are low here, but unfortunately so are wages.
Right now our menagerie consists of three dogs (greyhound, pointer, and aussie shepherd), six horses (who think they are dogs), two armadillos who visit us nightly, and a kitten who showed up four nights ago and sits under our mercury light in the wee hours of the morning. My DH and I agreed we shouldn't feed it because there is no way to put food out without attracting the racoons, opossums and skunks, but we've both been guilty of sneaking out food anyway.
But we're NOT going to name it!
[ edited by BlondeSense on Sep 13, 2000 01:39 AM ]
posted on September 13, 2000 01:54:37 AM new
I adopted my Greyhound two years ago & have never regretted it. What a sweetie.
A sad note regarding my dogs: came home at lunch today & was immediately informed by my neighbor that he thought my dogs had killed one of his cats. Sure enough, I did find a fatality in my back yard. This evening, when I came home, he approached me again & asked if I had found anything & if so, what color. I told him, apologizing, & he went away muttering that he had to break the news to his heartbroken family.
Now, please don't think me hard-hearted. I really like cats. But this neighbor is one I have mentioned before that has about 20 cats living in his front yard, that never go into the house, that are never fixed (currently two litters that I can see running around), and that come to my front yard & porch to do their business & to mark. It occurs to me that if the man & his family really loved those cats, that they would take care of them. One of my dogs just doesn't like cats, which is why *I* don't have one. My gates are padlocked & my dogs don't go roaming in search of feline taste treats. I feel bad for the cat, but I find myself feeling angry towards the neighbor who is the root cause of the incident. Hopefully they will *do* something about their cats...
posted on September 13, 2000 02:18:00 PM new
lotsafuzz,
Do you mean into the city of Seattle or an outlying area - really makes a difference.
In general I can make it in a couple of hours. It is 173 miles city center to city center. Then it depends on exactly where you are going.
If you do a search for yahoo maps and click on directions, type in origin and destination they give you step by step directions to anywhere. Very useful.
Are you taking a trip to Seattle? September is the prettiest month here - best weather etc.
posted on September 14, 2000 07:33:45 PM newlotsafuzz the half is the baby who's only half grown She'll be a full cat soon enough, but I'm gonna enjoy her babyhood while I can! I had a topic on the board a couple months ago asking for name suggestions for her. Her name is Pogo and she's now learning to be a purring lap kitty, oh and give kisses
Of course I've trained her well and she likes to help me when I'm on the computer...
BlondeSense & bunnicula-
We've been wanting to adopt a greyhound for a long time. We met a couple at an information booth several years ago and after doing research on them and learning of the atrocities that happen when they no longer make money, we just knew we had to adopt one. We have a racetrack here so it would be easy to find one. We have the yard now too, but not the money to feed and pay the vet bills for 2 larger dogs. We have a hard enough time keeping up with the cats!
But we'll have one someday!
~~MouseSlayer is not a cat =^..^= ~~
Yes, I'm MouseSlayer everywhere. It's a great name, so I use it!
edited cause I fergot how to add a pic!
[ edited by mouseslayer on Sep 14, 2000 07:46 PM ]
) and they are the sweetest dogs! Gentle, loving, and quiet (ours seldom barks). I've heard them described as "40mph couch potatoes".
