HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: bcs33424@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Bryan Siegfried)
Subject: Re: Hamster question
Reply-To: zig@uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 21:28:47 GMT

tmg3@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (TINA MARIE GUERRA) writes:

>I have a problem with my hamster that was given to me as a Christmas present.
>He was supposedly the runt of the litter and was really scared of people at
>first.  He has since became very tame and loves to crawl into my hand and play
>outside of the cage.  But when I took him out of his cage when I first got
>him, I noticed a bad cut on his rear leg.  I thought this was because he was
>the runt and was "picked on" by the other siblings.  Since he has become more
>tame, I noticed the cut looks worse and have found a smaller cut on his other
>hind leg.  He doesn't limp and he loves to run in the wheel in his cage; in
>fact, he doesn't seem to notice the injuries at all.  Is there anything I can
>do to help these heal? I feel horrible not to be able to help the little guy!
>Any suggestions? Thanks!
>                             Tina

	Have you tried treating its wounds with hydrogen peroxide
or some first aid ointment?  If you can stop infections the 
wounds should heal faster.  Immobilizing its legs might help the
wounds to close, too.  Unfortunately, I don't think this is a viable
option for hamsters.  They're just too small and too active to be
able to restrain them.

	Whatever you use to clean its wounds out with, try not to 
cause it too much pain.  While you can explain to a little child
the reason for the sting, and maybe even get it accross to a more
intelligent pets (cats, dogs, buns), I think you stand to lose 
your hamster's recent hand training if you hurt him too much.  That's
why I would recommend a first aid ointment.  They don't usually
hurt very much, and are often more effective.  One cautionary
note:  drugs that work on people aren't guaranteed to work on animals,
eg. Tylenol is lethal to cats.


-- 
Bryan Siegfried							zig@uiuc.edu
Solvet saeclum in favilla
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: twallace@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Todd Wallace)
Subject: Re: Hamster question
Organization: George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 20:32:45 GMT

PLEASE don't use an ointment that will hurt your hamster. I have
used Neosporin very successfully on a sick gerbil with good
effect. It does not sting at all and wounds treated with
Neosporin seem to heal MUCH faster. You can get Neosporin at any
drug store.
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: swoodcoc@nyx.cs.du.edu (Steven Markus Woodcock)
Subject: Still More Ferret-Related Knick-Knacks Found
Organization: The Good Guys, Inc.                                 
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 93 07:16:23 GMT

Greetings Fellow Ferret Fanatics!

   You may remember my recent post regarding ferret figurines from Russia
that my wife and I found just after Christmas.  Well, we're on a roll just
now I guess, as we've just found another ferret-related knick-knack.

   While visiting a store called Victoria Hightower (another collectibles
shop) we ran across a pewter item with a hologram of the world at the
top.  The thingy is intended as an ecological piece and is covered with
various animal species that are endangered including, of course, the Black
Footed Ferret.  The ferret is very prominently displayed at the front
center of the piece; all of the animals are named on the back of the
piece.

   The price for this baby was $50.  The lady at the store said that most
stores should either have these items or be able to order them.

   Good luck!


Steven W.
Proudly Owned by Missy, Newone, Zebulon Pike, Minx, Slinky, and Puck

--
    "...Men will awake presently and be Men again, and colour and laughter and
 splendid living will return to a grey civilization. But that will only come 
 true because a few Men will believe in it, and fight for it, and fight in its
 name against everything that sneers and snarls at that ideal..."
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: gdc@apollo.hp.com (Gary Connors)
Subject: Re: Skunks as Pets - Old Postings?
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 21:23:44 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

Hi,

I wish to speak in defense of skunks.  My skunk was
VERY playful and not TOO destructive.  He did learn
from a swat on the butt when he started clawing the
furniture and never seemed to hold a grudge.  He
litter trained much easier than ferrets and, due to 
their heavy build, was much easier to limit access
to places I didn't want him to go.  I had him several
years and he never turned mean.  I would love to get
another but unfortunately, they are illegal in most
states so I now have a ferret.  Ferrets are the next 
best thing.  I've had three so far.

Gary

-- 

================================================================================
 Any opinions expressed are solely mine,       Gary D. Connors
 nobody elses, and you can't have them.        Apollo Computer
From: milligan@stein.u.washington.edu (Paula Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Spaying a bun
Date: 5 Jan 1993 18:52:24 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Summary: Best to spay

In article <19188@mindlink.bc.ca> Jim_Sollows@mindlink.bc.ca (Jim Sollows) writes:
>Here are a few questions I am hoping somebody can answer:
>
>What is the ideal age to spay a bun? Can they still be spayed when they are
>older? Are there any problems with not spaying them if they are not around
>any males?
>


	I think they can be spayed as early as eight months, but the 
	vet can tell you that.  As for older buns, they can be spayed
	at any age after the early period.  My Betsy (a french/mini
	lop mix) was two years old before she was spayed.

	The problem, as I understand it, with not spaying (if she doesn't
	get grumpy--I don't think fertility is a comfortable state for 
	them) is that her body is *very* active with continous ovulation
	and the preparation her body makes for reproduction.  The high
	rate of activity wears her out, and she'll only live a few years.
	When spayed, she can live ten or more years.  

	One problem with an unspayed fem. rabbit, I think, is that she will
	almost certainly develop ovarian or uterine cancer.  I think she'll
	be happier and live longer if you spay.

	Maybe some others who are more knowledgeable about this will correct
	any errors I've made, or add to what is lacking.



Good luck.

 --Paula Milligan, Seattle.
From: milligan@stein.u.washington.edu (Paula Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: rodentia, new Bunny newsgroup
Date: 8 Jan 1993 17:20:18 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Summary: Another "Yes" vote

In article <C0IABv.HIx@srgenprp.sr.hp.com> almanb@sr.hp.com (Bob Alman) writes:
>Bryan Siegfried (bcs33424@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu) wrote:
>: twallace@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Todd Wallace) writes:
>: 
>: >Is there a rec.pets.rodents?   If not, there should be!  We
>: >rodent owners know how fascinating and fun they can be, but we
>: >might be boring other pet owners.
>: 
>: Remember rabbits aren't rodents.
>: 
>: 	Actually, a rec.pets.rabbits or rec.pets.bunnies
>                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>		    YES!
>		    Bob...........
>
>: seems more appropriate.  There seem to be a lot of rabbit
>: postsing, enough to probably warrant there own group.
>: This would make both rabbit owners and rodent owners happy,
>: and is probably more feasible than a rec.pets.rodents.
>: 
>: 	What do other people think?
>: Bryan Siegfried							zig@uiuc.edu
>--
>Bob Alman  1-707-577-4148 almanb@sr.hp.com

I'm with Bob and Bryan...although, I do have to say that I really enjoy
the ferret and pig posts--If I don't have time to read them, I just skip
to the bunny posts.  For that reason, it might be best to have a rabbit 
group (or lagomorphs?...nah! I've never heard of a pet pika, and it IS
the *pets* group).  That way, if I don't have time to read about other 
types of pets, I don't have to skip it and send it forever into data-
oblivion, I can just save the whole group for when I have time to read
it.

--Paula Milligan
From: milligan@stein.u.washington.edu (Paula Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Pig Owners
Summary: How would pigs and rabbits get along?
Date: 4 Jan 93 16:29:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: shelley.1i9oltINN8h6
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu

In article <1i7as2INN7v3@life.ai.mit.edu> mirsky@hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu (David Joshua Mirsky) writes:
>
>Does anyone out there own one of those small, Vietnamese pigs?
>I don't plan to buy one inthe near future, but I am curious about them.
>I'd like to hear any experiences people have had with them.
>
>Thanks 
>David


I've been wondering about the same thing; I have two house rabbits as
well as two cats.  How would all of these get along with a pot-belly pig?
From: tenny@euclid.uucp (Nathan Tenny)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Anybody know about prairie dogs?
Date: 12 Jan 93 00:07:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: pith.1it24iINNesp
Reply-To: tenny@euclid.uoregon.edu
Organization: Department of Mathematics, University of Oregon
NNTP-Posting-Host: euclid.uoregon.edu


Well, my girlfriend and I are contemplating blowing our Christmas money on
a true pair of prairie dogs; since they're rodents, we're hoping they will
breed rather easily (especially since it may soon be illegal to bring any
exotic mammals into Oregon for the pet trade).

Does anyone have any sage advice, either on breeding or just general care?

Thanks

	NT
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui)
Subject: A seasonal Bun? (was Re: Funny bunnies, or at least interesting)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 01:07:51 GMT

In article <C0GKp2.3E1@news.udel.edu> tedybear@ravel.udel.edu (Heather A Rothwell) writes:
[ ... Wild Bun story ... ]
>The third night was better, but I still recall being awakened by a bunny
>standing ON my face.  Oh the joys of being a bunn mommy :)  I would not
>trade it for anything, though.  
>Hope this brought a smile or two.

Yes, it was great!   |->)

A new topic, and a question: have you noticed that your Buns
tend to be far more active when they are changing their coat?
My big bundle of Bun is one big billowing fur ball right now,
and my whole place is full of rabbit hair. He started right
after winter solstice and has changed about half his fur by
now. BTW, the rabbit hair's softness also depends on how long
that bundle of hair has been on the Bun. "New" hair is by far
the softest.
-- 
Michael MY Hui  ~{~}  myhui@bnr.ca  Ottawa Canada
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: bcs33424@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Bryan Siegfried)
Subject: Re: rodentia
Reply-To: zig@uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:23:07 GMT
Keywords: gerbil, rat, hamster, mice

twallace@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Todd Wallace) writes:

>Is there a rec.pets.rodents?   If not, there should be!  We
>rodent owners know how fascinating and fun they can be, but we
>might be boring other pet owners.

	I'd be interested in seeing a rec.pets.rodents.  
However, there'd have to be a bit more discussion of them
to warrant there own newsgroup.  There's almost more 
ferret posts than rodent posts. (Maybe there actually are
more.)  Remember rabbits aren't rodents.

	Actually, a rec.pets.rabbits or rec.pets.bunnies
seems more appropriate.  There seem to be a lot of rabbit
postsing, enough to probably warrant there own group.
This would make both rabbit owners and rodent owners happy,
and is probably more feasible than a rec.pets.rodents.

	What do other people think?


-- 
Bryan Siegfried							zig@uiuc.edu
Solvet saeclum in favilla
From: veronica@hpgrla.gr.hp.com (Veronica Kerschner)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 01:07:38 GMT
Subject: Re: Pygmy Goat Information Wanted
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Greeley, CO
From: bickford@jimmy.dfci.harvard.edu (Paul Bickford)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Rat chewing -- help?
Date: 4 Jan 1993 20:48:18 GMT
Organization: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: jimmy.harvard.edu


  A question for all you rat-fanciers out there:

  What is a "sure fire" method of stopping a rat from chewing on something
that is not to be chewed on? Will something like a bitter apple spray work,
or would that just make the already yummy electrical cord that much more
delicious?
  I know that verbal commands are ignored, and physical contact should be
avoided on all species (ie: a good, hard swat). What alternatives are there?

  Notes: The rat in question is a little over a year old, is male, and has
a propensity to eat all things expensive. He is allowed to roam freely while
the owner is present, but obviosuly gets out of sight once in a while (when
the damage occurs). 
  The rat is also not mine, so all requests for "details" will have to wait
(I'm doing a friend a favor here, in other words). My rat has no such evil
intents in mind -- at least, she never gets away with any of them!

Paul
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|      <include standard disclaimer>         | Paul Bickford              |
| The opinions/information expressed herein  | bickford@jimmy.harvard.edu |
| are Paul Bickford's, and his alone.        | p.bickford@leotech.mv.com  |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dana Farber Cancer Institute  | "Ahh...we were just talking about you." |
|   division of Biostatistics   | "That's refreshing, Jenner --           |
|      and Epidemiology         |     usually you're screaming about us." |
|       (617) 632-3610          |           _The Secret of NIMH_          |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: nvonstein@memstvx1.memst.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: Re: Weighting down cage tops, snake cages in general
Date: 7 Jan 93 10:47:09 -0600
Organization: Memphis State University

In article <1993Jan5.065126.14297@athena.mit.edu>, remcat@athena.mit.edu (Rachel Emily Molenaar) writes:
> I use a huge atlas, and Madison (Ball Python) has not escaped since.

I use bunge (elastic) cords to hold the top of my ig's terrarium in place. 
They are really neat cause you can hook them to each other or to any place you
think might secure your cage/terrarium.  I have them going across the top to
hold the top in place and also around the bottom and hooked to the windowsill
to prevent the terrarium from being knocked over.  Even with my 7 cats, this
has held everything securely and there have been no escapes.  Also with the
bunge cords you don't have to worry about the top sagging from heavy objects. 
This may not work for everyone but for my particular setup it has worked well.

Nancy

 I also put a
> pillowcase on in between her(?) delicate nose and the abrasive wire cage top
> since I figured out where that sore on her nose was coming from. Also, anyone
> have an easy way to tell whether Madison is male or female?
> 
> On shipping: I am happy to say that Madison did just fine in a padded cardboard
> box (small holes punched)in the pets part of an airplane. Yay!
> 
> bye bye bye!
>                                           ___               ____
>   -\ /-   ||  |\  /|  -----  -----       /  / /   /| |   / /
>    0-0    ||  | \/ |    |      |        /__  /   / | |  / /___
>     o     ||  |    |    |      |          / /   /__| | / /
>    ---    ||  |    |  -----    |      /__/ /__ /   | |/ /___
>  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: brett@surfpix.princeton.edu (Brett Borowski)
Subject: Re: are chameleons (very) difficult?
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 14:49:37 GMT

There are chaemleons and there are chameleons.
"American Chameleons" are small, cheap ($3-4), and not really 
chameleons--they are anoles.  I don't think they're too tough
to keep, but I'm sure plenty have died in the hands of 
unexperienced owners....

Real chameleons, (the "old world" kind), with their socketed eyes,
extremely long tounge, and horns (0-3, I think), are VERY difficult
to keep according to one of the books I've read.  I don't remember
what the book was, but you didn't have to read into it to get the
picture.  It bluntly stated that chameleons should be "left alone."
And that many are injured because people use tongs to catch them and
that if one sees a chameleon in a store, it will almost surely be
dead in a few weeks.

Brett

-- 
brett@surfpix.princeton.edu		(Finger for more info...)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: aad@siemens.com (Anthony Datri)
Subject: Yee Hah!
Organization: Siemens Corporate Research, Princeton (Plainsboro), NJ, USA
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 23:10:54 GMT


From the recent traffic report:

1174  10000   279   65%   141   232.7     0%  0.03   0.6%  rec.pets.herp 
1241   8800   244   65%   101   149.6     0%  0.02   0.5%  rec.pets.birds 


8^)
-- 

======================================================================8--<
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: tmohler+@cs.cmu.edu (Tim Mohler)
Subject: Re: The Makeup of A Snake's Housing...
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 19:03:35 GMT

In article <1993Jan4.182117.15336@siemens.com> aad@siemens.com (Anthony Datri) writes:
>I'd figured on using rats, actually, but breeding anything at all isn't an
>option -- my allergies helped get me into herps in the first place.

I don't know what your doctor has said, but don't count out breeding because of
allergies. I'm allergic to cats, dogs, ragweed, tree pollen, grass pollen, flowers,
four kinds of moss, several chemicals.. the list goes on.

I haven't had any problems dealing with raising mice or gerbils.

Tim
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: pholland@iastate.edu (Paul J Hollander)
Subject: Re: Snake care sheet
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 21:33:15 GMT

In article <6206@rosie.NeXT.COM> Lyle_Scheer@NeXT.com (Lyle Scheer) writes:
>In article <1993Jan8.020519.16906@igor.tamri.com> donb@igor.tamri.com (Don  
>Baldwin) writes:
>
>(from the PARASITES AND DISEASE section about mites)
>
>> Putting a two inch square piece of a Shell No-Pest Strip or
>> equivalent (active ingredient = 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) in the
>> snake cage over night kills the mites.
>
>I had heard that this stuff is no longer available.  Am I correct?  Any good  
>alternatives?

I've seen strips in the Glades Herp price list.  Another place to try is a
farm supply store.  Trouble is, it's been a couple of years since I got one,
and I'm not sure where I picked it up.  I did check the local K-Mart a few
weeks ago, and they didn't have any in housewares with the roah motels and rat
poison.  I didn't check their lawn and garden area though.

Paul Hollander    pholland@iastate.edu
Behold the tortoise: he makes no progress unless he sticks his neck out.
From: pals@ipact.com (R. J. Pals)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: Re: Snake regurgitation problem
Date: 5 Jan 93 12:27:25 CDT
Organization: IPACT, Valparaiso IN

In article <1993Jan4.115409.1@bb1t.monsanto.com>, 
tjfeue@bb1t.monsanto.com writes:

> My Black Rat Snake has trouble keeping food down.  He eats a mouse
> and after 1-2 days regurgitates it.  It is barely digested.  I found
> him on a road trying to sun and attacking the bottoms of passing 
> cars about 3 months ago.  I'm getting worried since he's starting to
> have a noticable weight loss.  Any ideas?

At the risk of stating the obvious, this sounds like a classic case of
not enough heat in the cage.  What is the nominal temperature in there?
Is there a basking area which is warmer than the rest of the cage?

-- 
Randy Pals                |pals@ipact.com
IPACT, Inc.               |
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: bualat@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (Maria Bualat)
Subject: Re: Ball Pythons
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 00:03:46 GMT

In article <1993Jan6.130702.20071@ultb.isc.rit.edu> mds5597@ritvax.isc.rit.edu writes:
>and get a second snake. The last meeting I attended was about Ball phytons.
>They were real interesting and are the size that I am looking for. I thought I
>read somewhere that they are difficult to feed somethimes. Someone told me
>that if you get a hatchling you wont have a problem....is this true?

I got my ball python "used" so I've never had any problems feeding him.
Captive-bred balls usually won't give you any difficulties at feeding time.
Those taken out of the wild, however, are used to certain kinds of rodents
and take a while to get used to the ones we use for feeding purposes.

Ball pythons make great pets.  As one of my python texts puts it, "they
never get large enough to threaten other household pets."  (Unless of
course you keep pet mice.)

Maria
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Ames Research Center    | "If a woman has to choose between catching
Moffett Field, CA 94035      |  a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she
			     |  will choose to save the infant's life without
bualat@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov  |  even considering if there are men on base."
(415)604-4250		     |				--Dave Barry
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
From: rane+@cs.cmu.edu (Aaron Hughes)
Subject: Re: Free-roaming iguanas
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 15:34:15 GMT

In article <C0HzrC.9Lw@optimla.aimla.com> walter@optimla.aimla.com (Walter Hunt) writes:
>
>	Do any of the ig owners out there let there pets run free around the
>apartment/house constantly? One out of the two books I have suggests this as the

I have thought about it, but I feel that he is still a little small to let 
run around unsupervised.

>	He seems to hate his (55G) tank, constantly trying to escape, and
>looking depressed, so I'd like to let him roam around a bit. Only trouble is, if

Guido seems to dislike being confined to his tank as well - he gets very upset
when the top is removed and I put food or whatever into his cage - as soon as the
lid is moved  - he starts jerking that tail around and trieso hop out as well.

>	The final thing that worries me about letting him roam is that he hates
>to be picked up already, and I imagine that letting him roam free will just
>increase his independent streak to the point that I won't be able to handle him
>at all.

well, if I take Guido out of his cage (which is sitting on a table) and put him up
somewhere high (like on a bookshelf or on top of a door) he calms down and is very
managable, so if you are going to let him roam, find something that is easily
climbable that has some height to it (preferably higher than anything else in his
enviroment)

>Walter Hunt					walter@optimla.optimage.com
>OptImage Interactive Services Company, L.P.	walter@optimla.aimla.com
>11040 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite #300		netcom!optimla!walter
>Los Angeles, Ca. 90025				(310) 445-5718


-- 
Aaron Hughes        DoD#0482   		The Freedom Junkie	
rane+@pulsar.fac.cs.cmu.edu		Bad cop. No donut.


Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp