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Post by claudettebillie on Oct 10, 2008 14:17:04 GMT -4
After losing Ralph- it's just been plain old boring here. I kept going downstairs to feed the gerbil that wasn't there. So I got a hamster to keep me.... busier. I hate to say it but it wasn't that hard when I lost Ralph, with his first stroke in February I didn't think he'd make it past 6 months, and he did. After his first stroke though I told myself that his months were limited and I got used to the fact of it and made his short life the best I could. Anyway- here's Daisy!  I got her last week and she's the sweetest hamster I could have asked for. In the store there was a huge selection and every single hamster was nice- so it was SO hard to choose! But she's a Teddy Bear hamster, so when I felt the longer fur I knew she was the one. I didn't think I'd get this lucky with her. |
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Post by Hamsters82 on Oct 10, 2008 17:27:59 GMT -4
She's adorable! She reminds me of my hamster Chewie.
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Post by claudettebillie on Oct 10, 2008 17:29:01 GMT -4
Thanks! Right now she's mad at me- she wanted to play but I had to put her back in the cage.  |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 10, 2008 19:16:45 GMT -4
That makes perfect sense, about Ralph. I have felt similarly with some pets. >> She reminds me of my hamster Chewie. << When I saw the photo as I was replying I immediately checked your post as I thought the same thing.  I hate hate choosing a hamster in a store. That is why the last five I have had were rescues offered to me - Celeborn, Butterscotch, Jerry, and the still living Cal and Eric. That store still has my name and e-mail; in case a rescue is needed in the future. Best wishes for you and Daisy. |
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Post by claudettebillie on Oct 10, 2008 20:28:32 GMT -4
<<That makes perfect sense, about Ralph. I have felt similarly with some pets.>> Really? I'm so glad because I felt bad that I wasn't crying over him. It was hard but the only time I was really sad was bringing his ashes back from the vet. <<I hate hate choosing a hamster in a store.>> Is it because you're supporting a store or of choosing?  If it was supporting I went to the small pet store- they have better quality and after Ralph I'm not buying rodents from Petco if there's another alternative. |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 10, 2008 20:36:51 GMT -4
>> with his first stroke in February I didn't think he'd make it past 6 months, and he did. << So Ralph was already on borrowed time and living longer than expected. Oh sure I would feel bad when one such of mine finally died, but by then it was expected and in some ways a release. With others who died way before their time or very suddenly I still cry thinking about them, especially Leslie the GP (way too soon), and Princess the beloved hamster - a very sudden stroke in front of me. Those were the worst. I miss Sam my fave gerbil ever, and that was bad too; I found him dead one day All are in the gallery in my signature. Choosing. I hate the choosing - and which ones to leave. I hate the idea of just picking one as he/she is cute; I try to pick the neediest. Celeborn and Butterscotch (see my above post, and Memorial posts about them up now) were lovely, but that only proves how stupid people are as they were dumped in pet stores unwanted.  I also would rather not support pet stores selling animals with live purchases. Rescues are one thing. The less breeding the better. I need to add both of those to my Memorial Gallery mentioned above. As soon as I can. |
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Post by Hamsters82 on Oct 10, 2008 22:13:05 GMT -4
I think all of us would choose to rescue an animal straight away, but when we can't we go to a good pet store or breeder. That's just the way things are.
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Post by claudettebillie on Oct 11, 2008 12:04:03 GMT -4
Yeah Ralph's last few days he WAS NOT happy. He had one of those tank topper things and thought that the ground looked much prettier if he brought some bedding up and pushed it through the cage bars and onto the ground. Mom was mad because he was making a mess so I put a mesh screen on the top of the cage and took the topper away. Ralph pushed all the bedding against his wheel, literally jumped on top of the wheel and would chew the mesh screen. So I figured he wasn't really gaining exercise from the wheel so I took it out and gave him a new cardboard toy every day but he soon learned that he could jump up to the screen, do a little "spider gerbil" move and hang from the screen to chew it for about 5 seconds, then he would fall down. So my theories are: 1. He fell from the mesh screen and hit either his house, the toy, or his water bottle, broke something and died immediately, or 2. He had another stroke and his little body couldn't take the stress from it and gave. I know he must have died immediately because dad said he was laying in the middle of the tank because I'm sure if he was living he would have hid in his hut. I'm just glad that my father found him dead first- I didn't see Ralph dead so I don't have the vision of him dead in my mind. |
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Post by pinky on Oct 11, 2008 14:03:46 GMT -4
Welcome back claudettebillie! The discussion about Ralph (RIP) is sad, but the news about Daisy is great! She looks soft to the touch and playful! I've never liked the looks of Petco animals. My Chinese came from small independent stores, and Mallory, my dwarf, is a rescue. Rescuing her was so gratifying, I must say. I've been calling her my PTSD--not Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but Post-Trauma Stressed Dwarfie. She had a litter while quite young, then was abandoned--so that was her trauma. She pulled out a lot of fur during that period. Since I've had her she's gone through two more fur-pulling cycles in the same area (pulls fur, then lets it grow almost all the way back before pulling it again) and is in the midst of cycle #4. I always say, "It's just fur," but I sure wish she didn't do it at all.  Don't beat yourself up about not crying over Ralph. In the back of your mind you knew he was ailing, and so at some level you were prepared for losing him. It doesn't mean you didn't love him any less. That you have looked for him to be around is telling--he had a place in your life and your heart. And he was SpiderGerbil! That's so funny!  Enjoy Daisy! |
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 11, 2008 17:57:13 GMT -4
In all honesty and candor, for all the reasons you described I would never put gerbils in a cage, with or without a tank topper.
The one tank topper I have (and got free) has spiny mice in it, and they seem happy enough.
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Post by claudettebillie on Oct 12, 2008 9:42:13 GMT -4
Yup my own little Spider Gerbil! ;D
Yeah I think he was doing the spider gerbil thing because he was looking for the topper- he really didn't like not having it and I was planning to get him his own 20 gallon tank but he didn't make it until then.
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If it was supporting I went to the small pet store- they have better quality and after Ralph I'm not buying rodents from Petco if there's another alternative. 
