Heroic deeds
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wolfpuck (imported)
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Re: Heroic deeds
thanks, i really should get myself a real pet at some point. the company would be nice.
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sapient (imported)
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Re: Heroic deeds
On the issue of pets: I have no pets on my own, because partly I don't think I'm responsible enough. But sometimes I get to borrow the pets of friends when they go abroad. (Appearantly THEY think I'm dependeble enough...)
I nursed a chinchilla for a year and a half, for a former girlfriend. They are close to rats and other rodents. I found him to be very social and affectionate, more so then most other rodents i have encountered. But in their very own way. They seem to be to small to completely take in the full size of a human, so they socialize with the part closest to them. If it's the hand, they treat it as they would a companion. (Chinchillas are roughly fist sized, so it probably triggers their instincts. I would scratch him, and he would cuddle up to the hand and sort of purr like a kitten.)
But he often tried to climb up to the level of my face, so he could look into it. When I sat against the wall, he liked to jump up on my shoulder and nibble my ear. That was very nice, although they are rodents with very sharp teeth mind you.
He often "talked" to me, to sort of know I was around when he was in his cage and couldn't see me. And if I said something back, made any kind of noise really, he would go on. That was very cool. We "talked" for hours sometimes.
Despite all warnings about the danger that he would chew through electrical cables he only really did that once. When one was interfering with his favorite "tunnel" behind the bed. He probably thought of it as root and tried to remove it. He couldn't understand what made him hurt. I removed it (and replaced it with a whole one) and made sure it didn't interfere with his running and he never touched them again.
One drawback though, they are impossible to house train (though the feces are small, dry pellets). A vaccum cleaner is necessary. But they are extinct in the wild and are normaly only raised by fur-farmers, so having one as a pet is really an act of animal conservation, kind of.
I nursed a chinchilla for a year and a half, for a former girlfriend. They are close to rats and other rodents. I found him to be very social and affectionate, more so then most other rodents i have encountered. But in their very own way. They seem to be to small to completely take in the full size of a human, so they socialize with the part closest to them. If it's the hand, they treat it as they would a companion. (Chinchillas are roughly fist sized, so it probably triggers their instincts. I would scratch him, and he would cuddle up to the hand and sort of purr like a kitten.)
But he often tried to climb up to the level of my face, so he could look into it. When I sat against the wall, he liked to jump up on my shoulder and nibble my ear. That was very nice, although they are rodents with very sharp teeth mind you.
He often "talked" to me, to sort of know I was around when he was in his cage and couldn't see me. And if I said something back, made any kind of noise really, he would go on. That was very cool. We "talked" for hours sometimes.
Despite all warnings about the danger that he would chew through electrical cables he only really did that once. When one was interfering with his favorite "tunnel" behind the bed. He probably thought of it as root and tried to remove it. He couldn't understand what made him hurt. I removed it (and replaced it with a whole one) and made sure it didn't interfere with his running and he never touched them again.
One drawback though, they are impossible to house train (though the feces are small, dry pellets). A vaccum cleaner is necessary. But they are extinct in the wild and are normaly only raised by fur-farmers, so having one as a pet is really an act of animal conservation, kind of.
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wolfpuck (imported)
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Re: Heroic deeds
a very wonderful story, the chinchilla sounds adorable. everybody loves their pets. what ever happened to the chinchilla?
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twaddler (imported)
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I'm going to have to check into those.-
sapient (imported)
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Re: Heroic deeds
He got very old, for such a small animal. In the end he was 14 years old, if I remember correctly. He was tired, not so active anymore, and lost most of his eyesight. But the last time I saw him, he still lighted up when he could smell my hand and greeted it with joyous talking. He died soon after.