k i know im late on posting this but

[hadla]

i just wanted to say thank you for making me feel like i fit in. it seems like all the other forums i go to that i dont fit in with everyone else. so anyway, my intro: im heather, im 21 and i live in CA. i lived in louisiana for most of my life until march 2006. i moved my 3 year old gerbil with me then(she died around the end of november). i didnt know gerbils were illegal here until about a month after we moved from a gerbil book that i found in the library, but i figured that shes old and i wouldnt have her much longer anyway. ever since i realized having gerbils wasnt what i thought it would be(and i started loving hamtaro), ive wanted another hamster so i finally have one. the good thing is she has never bitten me or never tried to but she doesnt like me picking her up much so i just have to get her more used to me. im hoping to get her like my favorite hamster templeton was, i would pick him up while he was sleeping and rub his back then he would go on sleeping in my hands. he was the best hamster ever. i started looking around yesterday for a big cheap clear bin to make penelope a cage, but i havent seen any i liked. i will write more later, i need to fix somethign to eat before i have to go to work. ttfn.

EDIT: ok when do i get to be something other than a newborn pup??? how many posts do i have to make? or is it based on how long ive been on the site?

[souffle]

Welcome hadla and glad you are enjoying being a member here. I also think this is the friendliest most helpful site I go on! I think it is the number of posts that moves you through the hamster ages but I am not sure when they change! :wink:

[Minicooper]

Welcome heather. :D Yes I had a great welcome when I joined, People on this site are so friendly. Dont worry about your rating. Nobody will treat you differently.

[SnuggleHam]

I'm so pleased to hear you are having a good time on hamster central Hadla! My main goal as the admin is to make sure everyone is friendly and personable.. and no cliquishness, I hate that! So Its nice to know we are keeping a positive atmosphere.

I was surprised at first to hear gerbils are illegal in CA, but now that I think about it they could probably easily survive in that environment and become invasive if some escaped. What did you mean by gerbils not being what you thought they would? I own six gerbils myself, even bred them for a short time. :)

My first hamster will probably always be my favorite, she was also very gentle and would allow me to handle her very easily. I'm sure your new hamster will come around, it takes time and lost of treats!

You certainly have lots to say about your rodent history, you should make yourself a profile on the site!

Ranks change with forum posts, its just something fun to show your level of participation on the forum :P This is how its set up.

Newborn Pup Minimum Posts - 1
Hamster Pup Minimum Posts - 40
Adult Hamster Minimum Posts - 200
Senior Hamster Minimum Posts - 300

[Intense125]

I'm also a brand new member and have received nothing but friendly advise and positive comments concerning a medical problem with my female ham. I've recommended the site to other hamster-owner friends of mine. I'm sure your experience will be as positive as mine has been ... in only a week's time! Welcome! :wink:

[SnuggleHam]

I've recommended the site to other hamster-owner friends of mine.

Thanks Intense! I hope to see them register soon! :D

[Hana]

Hi!
Yeh I agree, everyone is so helpful and kind! :D

[bubbles]

Hello. I am new too and I got a great welcome on this really friendly forum. I agree with you Hadla :lol:

[hadla]

I was surprised at first to hear gerbils are illegal in CA, but now that I think about it they could probably easily survive in that environment and become invasive if some escaped. What did you mean by gerbils not being what you thought they would? I own six gerbils myself, even bred them for a short time. :)

My first hamster will probably always be my favorite, she was also very gentle and would allow me to handle her very easily. I'm sure your new hamster will come around, it takes time and lost of treats!

well i read about gerbils being tame and stuff so i wanted to try them out after having hamsters for about 6 years, but i wasnt able to get one from a breeder and instead i got two "males" from a petstore, which of course one was female and they had babies, so i thought i had a chance to try taming one of the babies, but she bit me whenever i tried to hold her or whenever i stuck my hand in without a treat in it.

and from my experience with hamsters, they dont bite at all so ive wanted another hamster ever since. its like i started with hamsters, tried gerbils, but realized im a hamster person. although before i got penelope, i was very tempted to try mice because theyre so fun to watch.

after i make a new cage for penelope, i think i might try getting 3 female mice for the 10 gallon cage. id love rats cause one of my friends had them and she loves them and she got me to like them, but they would need such a big cage, cause i know its better for them to live in pairs or groups, like mice.

oh and i havent mentioned, i did have a guinea pig about 5 years ago(impulse buy and begging my mom at the petstore cause he was such a cute little baby), but it turns out im allergic to their fur cause every time id hold him or give him a bath, my arms and neck would break out in an itchy red rash(along with sneezing) so my mom gave him away.

so after being through other types of rodents, i know im a hamster person, mostly cause i guess i know so much about them and ive had the most experience with them. i would also love to try having a chinchilla at one point when i can afford it.


You certainly have lots to say about your rodent history, you should make yourself a profile on the site!

i know i know, ive been putting it off like i have with taking pictures of penelope. when i have another day off after today, i think ill do both, if i dont feel like going it later on today. ill also post pics of my other pets.

I'm also a brand new member and have received nothing but friendly advise and positive comments concerning a medical problem with my female ham. I've recommended the site to other hamster-owner friends of mine. I'm sure your experience will be as positive as mine has been ... in only a week's time! Welcome! :wink:

ive had a bad experience with wet tail. i think my first hamster had died from it, maybe my second did too, i cant remember, but ive never had any hamster with it since then. *knocks on wood* i wish i knew if templeton had died from old age or something else. all i know is i checked on him/her(i think he was a she now since i can see the difference between males and females but i always think of him as my little rat boy) one morning(he was about 3 years old) and he was bleeding from somewhere around his stomach or something and we couldnt get a vet appointment cause it was mardi gras(lived in louisiana about 45 minutes from new orleans) and the vets were all closed. now, the smell of cedar reminds me of him. i wish it wouldnt be harmful to hamsters cause i love that smell.

[SnuggleHam]

Its a shame you had a bad experience with the gerbils. I own six and have never once been bitten by any of them. When I bred them the mother and father were very trusting. As soon as the pups were covered in a light fur I started to handle them to get use to the human scent and being picked up. I have three female and two males left over from the last litter before I stopped breading. I don't handle them as much as I should, but when I do they are still very tame.

Still I find myself preferring hamsters. Gerbils are very quick and they chew everything which can be very frustrating, they have destroyed at lest three water bottles. You have to be creative and innovative when it comes to keeping gerbils. :wink: Once the gerbils I have now pass on I will probably just continue with rescuing hamsters.

I have also been interested in pet rats, and the only reason I havnt gone down that road is because I also realize they need rather large enclosures and I just don't have the room.

[pophammy]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Good to have you with us!

[hadla]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Good to have you with us!

thanks, i like your avatar

[racinghamster]

Hi and welcome! I have hamsters, mice AND gerbils! :) I love them all.

Mice are fabulous wee pets and females smell less and live harmoniously in groups. Males are notoriously difficult to keep together, even if they are brothers! I have three males (all brothers from the same breeder) and they all live as single lads. Chalky is a pink eyed white, Oddy & Tipsy are both Black and Tans. I plan to have a group of females at some point but i`m full up right now!

Just a word on rats. They do require a large cage and are also best kept in same sex pairs. However, rats suffer greatly from respiratory problems (they are born with a bacteria in their upper airways called Mycoplasma Pulmonis) which is a chronic airway mucosa and can plague a rat throught it`s life. Antibiotics can treat it, but this can be a long road and also a very expensive one, so do bare this in mind before keeping rats. x Mice can also carry the organism but to a lesser extent. I stopped keeping rats as a result of this.

[suga]

Hi - welcome to HC. Enjoy

[babyboos]

lovely to meet you and hear all about your past rodent experience
we are very glad you found us and I hope to see some pictures from you if you can
one thing you will find is we all love pictures of hamsters here so don't let your little furry be shy

[hadla]

yeah I read that females smell less than males, which is why I'd get females. The only thing is that I'd love a black and white mouse, but all the females I see at Petco are either brown or white.

Hi and welcome! I have hamsters, mice AND gerbils! :) I love them all.

Mice are fabulous wee pets and females smell less and live harmoniously in groups. Males are notoriously difficult to keep together, even if they are brothers! I have three males (all brothers from the same breeder) and they all live as single lads. Chalky is a pink eyed white, Oddy & Tipsy are both Black and Tans. I plan to have a group of females at some point but I'm full up right now!

Just a word on rats. They do require a large cage and are also best kept in same sex pairs. However, rats suffer greatly from respiratory problems (they are born with a bacteria in their upper airways called Mycoplasma Pulmonis) which is a chronic airway mucosa and can plague a rat throught it's life. Antibiotics can treat it, but this can be a long road and also a very expensive one, so do bare this in mind before keeping rats. Mice can also carry the organism but to a lesser extent. I stopped keeping rats as a result of this.

[LilaHam]

Welcome!!! Ull Have Loads Of Fun At HC!!!