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Post by lucille on Dec 14, 2014 11:33:04 GMT -8
oh no - the rats would come when I called them lol. Congrats on the new litter!! I'll be looking for a post with pictures of the babies : )
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Post by gerbillover9612 on Dec 14, 2014 12:35:18 GMT -8
Congrats on the new litter <3 xx
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Post by qtoffer on Dec 16, 2014 13:26:15 GMT -8
That's an amazing setup! I used to have SAM/Crittertrail tubes for my mice, but they weren't as nice as the ones you have. The flimsy plastic joints kept popping open and they were very difficult to clean - of course, mice pee everywhere! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Arwen (F) and Eowyn (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper Goldberry (F) 11/12/2011 - 20 gallon with 20 gallon topper
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Post by crittercrazy on Dec 16, 2014 20:44:52 GMT -8
Lucille and Gerbillover9612- thanks! I guess the pressure is on for me to post pictures now. And Lucille, that's neat about the rats coming when called! I had read that they were really smart and trainable that way, so I guess that's true huh? Though I suppose gerbils can learn to recognize their names, not sure if that's quite the same though. Qtoffer- I have the same tubes, and I just have to agree with what you said about them being flimsy/etc. I was actually going to ask where you got the tubes you have Lucille. . . ?
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Post by gerbillover9612 on Dec 17, 2014 11:06:46 GMT -8
Hhahah, no pressure but pictures would be nice :') hehe jks, its up to youu
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Post by lucille on Dec 17, 2014 12:16:52 GMT -8
Yeah - the crittertrail tubes suck!! there's a few in Jack Jr's set up just to shim up areas where the habitrail ovo tubes won't work but because of those rungs on the inside I do wake up to Jack Jr gnawing on them sometimes - they're just too tempting that way. He knows though - when I say 'HEY MISTER!' he looks at me all crazy eyed and then darts off to go chew on something made of cardboard lol. They also suck cause he can't turn around in them so it freaks him out
the tubes I've used for the setup are habitrail ovo tubes and they're cheapest if you buy them in bulk on ebay or amazon. To get the setup to not be different clashing colors though I had to get dwarf habitats and then sell off the tiny tubes that come with them - habitrail is the best right now for color scheme since its possible to get tubes that don't clash horribly - all the tubes are shades of subtle blue or green with blue or green connecting rings except for the U-turn tubes which are pink for some reason and then the habitats are orange. I don't know why the industry thinks that people who like rodents are also color blind? But the habitrail ovo tubes have MUCH better connectors - my fattest cat actually stands on parts of the structure and it doesn't break open (does freak me out though!) However I find the tubes themselves are made of much thinner plastic than the crittertrail or the sam - gerbils are less likely to chew on them cause they don't have as much crap that sticks out and tempts them but at the same time I think if Jack Jr ever did want to make a break for it he could make quick work of the ovo tubes . Which is why I sleep in the living room now lol. He's really shown no signs of wanting out though - I think he understands that his enclosure is the only thing separating him from animals who could eat him. Now for people who have some crittertrail tubes that pop open, you could always get a few packs of the habitrail ovo (or playground or mini - anything that says habitrail lock connector) rings and switch them out - its tight but they'll still fit and lock. I've run across a few older ct tubes that they ovo locks wouldn't fit - but when that's the case you can make it work by popping out the white plastic locking part and shaving a little off one end with a razor to make more room. I've pretty much done nothing for 3 months but acquire and modify things for this setup - I looked down the other day and was like 'dang... I should trim my toenails sometime' lol
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Post by ermygherdthecuteness on Jan 30, 2015 1:35:50 GMT -8
I looked down the other day and was like 'dang... I should trim my toenails sometime' lol LOL! I loved it! I have really enjoyed checking out your set up there, its pretty amazing. And also I now have bulk habitrail tubes on my amazon wish list. I work retail so my girlies get a constant supply of new cardboard boxes to run through that we connect together and play around with, but nothing permanent outside of their ten gallon. Although...they do have free range to explore my very large desk and all the interesting things that are stored on it...with the exception of the cord bundle that is now hidden since one of my little ladies killed a set of speakers with one quick chomp. oook...got on a ramble there, sorry.
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Post by lucille on Jan 30, 2015 8:25:21 GMT -8
I'm glad all she did was kill the speakers and not chomp into something that was live tho! I wish I could let Jack Jr or Matthias H. Hamilton out to explore in various places but I'm too slow to keep up with them the times I've tried. Jack Jr doesn't seem to want to though - he likes being the boy in the bubble lol. And Mr Hamilton (he's the hamster) always wants to launch himself off of the kitchen counter when I let him run up there - it's so chaotic. Mr Hamilton is my first hamster and it's interesting how different they are from any other rodent I've lived with
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Post by ermygherdthecuteness on Jan 30, 2015 11:01:31 GMT -8
Lucille, me too! We were pretty freaked out when she comped the cord but we had been watching very closely while they ran around and had fun. It happened so quick! Now there is a crazy cardboard barrier on my desk to keep them away from cords, lol.
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erin
Member
mom to two gerbils <3
Posts: 80
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Post by erin on Jan 30, 2015 21:44:14 GMT -8
This is AMAZING! What a lucky gerbie xx
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dearmaria21
member
Ratchet and Clank are so cute!
Posts: 18
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Post by dearmaria21 on Feb 10, 2015 11:40:35 GMT -8
how do you keep your cat from trying to get the gerbil?
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keldamouse
Member
rest in peace my dear lovely Leela youre in our hearts
Posts: 374
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Post by keldamouse on Feb 11, 2015 11:46:09 GMT -8
Dearmaria,
Have you thought of putting acrylic with holes (small drilled ones) around your topper? otherwise maybe get rid of your topper and just add a bin topper with mesh only. Also I've heard it is a good idea to secure the cage to the base/stand so the cat can't knock it over. Someone did that on this forum and it was a really cool cat proof cage.
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Post by lucille on Feb 12, 2015 11:35:30 GMT -8
I'm just lucky - My cats like to play tag with Jack Jr when he runs through the tubes but they don't really try to get him - they just tap lightly on top of where he is as he runs through. He seems to think its fun and will provoke them if they're not chasing him already. If they really wanted to I'm sure they would have no problem prying open the tubes but I think they understand that if they do that then they won't have anything interesting to watch anymore. I've kept a close eye on things since I made the setup - I'm home A LOT and I've been sleeping in the same room and have come to feel comfortable with how the cats are around him - I'm sure there are lots of cats (and probably dogs) that would be more aggressive about getting to him though - If that was the case I'd be taking away the tubes and locking him up nice and tight in a glass aquarium for sure! I don't think there's anything I could really do to change a cats level of interest in getting at him - I'm just lucky that mine aren't real serious about it : )
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Post by eleda on Mar 11, 2015 14:31:42 GMT -8
you're definitely right when you say probably dogs. my brother has an adorable teeny dachshund named Butters. I let my brother baby-sit Jean Luc once (before I'd gotten Data) and once Butters caught on there was a gerbil in the tank he sat and barked at it incessantly because he wanted to eat my baby. Luckily, they were able to solve the problem by putting Jean Luc upstairs. Butters doesn't use their stairs on his own because he's so tiny its hard for him, (plus they're slippery for a dog) so he soon forgot about the little houseguest.
that was an amazing story about your rats by the way. I would love a relationship like that with my pet. my childhood dog never came when called and my gerbils identify me as "the food lady" and not much else lol
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Post by daisy on Mar 11, 2015 15:50:08 GMT -8
That's incredible! And I was pleased with my little 20 gallon tank set up. One question - how did you make holes in the side of the aquarium to connect the tubes?
Thanks.
Daisy
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