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Post by vacampbell on Feb 26, 2008 10:24:36 GMT -8
If your gerbil really smells bad or something, can you use a damp cloth and wipe them off, then dry them? I've done that in the past and it works well, though they do smell bad when they're wet. But putting them in a sink with water, laughing at them, then putting it on youtube is ridiculous! Gerbils, in general do not smell. they produce little urine and are clean animals. I guess if for some reason they have gotton dirty and haven't cleaned themselves then you could use a damp cloth. The important bit would be making sure they were completely dry afterwards.
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Post by kittymoose on Feb 26, 2008 12:00:46 GMT -8
When it got REALLY hot last summer, I took a small saucer and put about 1 cm of cool water in it. I put the saucer on the table with skit (not forcing him in or anything) and skit would walk right up and put his paws in the cool water. Just the front ones though. I assumed he liked it, because he was the one that put his paws in the water. I just sort of let him. I figured if he didn't want to be in the water, he wouldn't go in the water. He also rubs his head against the water bottle sometimes. I don't know if that's accidental or on purpose.
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Post by RitzieAnn on Feb 26, 2008 18:43:29 GMT -8
Yes, exactly, he CHOSE to get his paws wet. Putting a gerbil in a sink with water is totally different.
When we're outside playing on the balcony, there's no place for a water bottle, so I have a dish out too. NONE of the (13) gerbils would play in it, but one of them would sometimes jump over it/ in it because going throug it was faster than going around it. But NONE of them would play in it, or sit in it.
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Post by SilverGerbil on Feb 27, 2008 8:59:21 GMT -8
Yup exactly! I've given cyd and dixie a bowl of water to see what they made of it (ages ago) and their reactions were funny they were curious and poped their noses in and feet in but you can tell that they really didnt like or want to be in the water.
Its like cats, would you in all honesty drop your cat in a bath tub fulla water...no cos the cat would scratch you to pieces! Beacuse you know and they do that they HATE water! (Except my cat darcy -sigh- something wrong their)
xoxox
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Post by RitzieAnn on Feb 28, 2008 10:54:15 GMT -8
Its like cats, would you in all honesty drop your cat in a bath tub fulla water...no cos the cat would scratch you to pieces! Beacuse you know and they do that they HATE water! (Except my cat darcy -sigh- something wrong their) xoxox Dexter got into the tub with me once.... more than once. Now if I want my bath to involve getting "clean" I shut the door so he cant' come in.... or else he's more than likely to join me. But back to the gerbils- it's TOTALLY different doing it by CHOICE, vs being PUT in water.
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Post by w1lk1nson on Apr 27, 2008 8:22:21 GMT -8
God, its disgusting that people do that when they know its cruel. Why would anyone want to do that just to make people laugh? They could take a video of their gerbil ding something that they do naturally that is funny (eg. jumping off something, climbing cage, etc)
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Post by haggis on Apr 28, 2008 16:22:01 GMT -8
their can be times to use water to wash gerbils or hamsters or any rodent, for instance, my brother putting my hamster on a table which had just been sprayed with polish, but not wiped yet, so still quite wet. Looked at the bottle and it said the usual 'may be hazardous', 'use in a ventilated area'. My hamster was covered in the stuff, and i as the warnings imply its atleast slightly poisonous, i assumed it could easily kill a rodent, and as rodents groom so much, i had to get it off fast and i didn't think(or want to risk) a sandbath to get it all off.
so a basic guide, for EXTREME cases, to give a rodent a bath. 1. fill a container/sink/whatever with about 1cm of warm water, and wash hands, obviously not in that sink. 2. Get someone to warm a towel with a hair dryer. 3. Put your rodent in the water and wash him/her. use your hands to wash/(scrub if necessary) them, don't try to dunk them under or anything, and try to do it as fast as you can. My hamster really didn't like it, so i doubt your rodents will either, so yeh, be quick, like seconds. 4. Put your gerbil on the towel IMMEDIATELY and wrap him/her up and scrub not too hard, but firmish and quite quick, my hamster actually seemed to like this bit. The main thing with rodent baths, their fur clumps together leaving a lot of bare skin and the water obviously can cause them to get cold quick. So scrub them until their fur has completely unclumped and pretty much dry. 5. Then just keep them in the towel for a while or snuggled in your hand, somewhere warm, just so if their are any little damp bits left, which there shouldn't be any of but safety first, they won't get cold, give them a treat to nibble on, piece of fruit maybe, whatever, something to calm them down and enjoy. 6. Let them back into their cage, and give them something nice, another treat maybe or especially gerbils a nice toilet roll tube to chew on.
Aslong as you followed the instructions, then your little critter will be fine, but keep a watch for any sneezing or anything out of the ordinary and as everyone says, do not just do it cause you want to, this should only be done in the most extreme cases, such as the something posionious on their coat that they will groom off and ingest etc. Also, rodents have a lot of natural oils on their fur and skin, which are supposed to be there. These will get washed, although they will quickly replenish, its best to avoid a water bath at ALL costs, as these oils keep their skin and hair in good condition.
In 99% of cases, a sand bath or just a light scrub with a towel will do.
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Post by RitzieAnn on Apr 28, 2008 22:02:05 GMT -8
Anybody notice the thread died two months ago?
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Post by w1lk1nson on Apr 29, 2008 8:43:11 GMT -8
No actually, but Im really sad an do stuff like that!
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Post by fantasia23 on Apr 29, 2008 15:41:24 GMT -8
Mah gerbs love sandbaths. They practically dunk themselves in the tub of sand. Gets in my eye, darn it!
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Post by horrification on Sept 8, 2008 5:03:34 GMT -8
not everyone knows they are desert animals Then ya do your research before you get any type of pet!
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Post by RitzieAnn on Sept 9, 2008 2:47:01 GMT -8
Horrification- welcome to the forum, however, when you post, try not to pick threads that have been inactive for nearly 5 months, ok?
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Post by solitairedaxel on Sept 9, 2008 20:09:46 GMT -8
I must admit that one of my gerbils has been bathed in water twice. I think both times, the silly nit had managed to escape from his play area and run straight through cleaning spray. I washed him to be on the safe side, but I didn't actually put him in the sink. I put some warm water in the sink and let him sit on my hand (he had my arm to climb up to get out). The first time, he freaked totally and ran up my arm, so I had to sort of brush the water on him. Then I did the whole "wrap in towel" thing and he did the "let me out of this towel" thing...though actually once he was out, he'd go back in if I made a tunnel of it. The second time, he was calmer about it; he didn't run up my arm until I started putting water on his tail. He actually didn't seem to mind the towel so much this time; he went all quiet for a while and then when I looked at him, he was giving me a "is this over yet?" look. Then he decided to chew up the towel. In both cases, I kept him wrapped up in the towel and in my hands until he felt almost dry. Okay. Firstly, I wouldn't put a gerbil straight in water. Regardless of the level of the water. I put my hand in the water both times with him on it. Secondly, I use the water bath as a last resort if a gerbil has something potentially poisonous on him/her. Thirdly, I do not recommend it except as a last resort. I've only ever had to do it twice - to Mesieth as a youngster; he was such a hyper idiot, lol. Changing the tank and the location definitely helped; now if he escapes, he winds up on top of other tanks instead of a sprayed shelf. On occasion, I've had to wipe off somebody's paws and tail; after Mesieth, I figured getting them to run around on a wet cloth was less stressful and they certainly acted less stressed. Although they seemed to prefer climbing up me to dry their paws...
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Post by horrification on Sept 11, 2008 12:30:14 GMT -8
Horrification- welcome to the forum, however, when you post, try not to pick threads that have been inactive for nearly 5 months, ok? Sorry I didn't look at the date, i was just reading through and replied to that bit, realised afterwards, sorry.
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Jacky
Member
Pets are like potato chips: you can't have just one.
Posts: 171
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Post by Jacky on Oct 18, 2008 13:33:58 GMT -8
These are all so horrible! The water in the sink with the hamster was way too deep for safety, not to mention they should never get wet! Why do people torture their pets this way? T~T
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