Work-related question

[jay]

The small furry rodents that sometimes live in an assemblage of little chambers, connected by tunnels or passageways, with the habitat set out on a tabletop... are those hamsters, guinea pigs, or something else?

Comments

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

Hamsters. Guinea pigs are larger, almost as big as a small dwarf rabbit; the animals of which you speak are hamsters. Also gerbils would fit that description, or mice ... but given the choice between hamsters/guineapigs, I'd say hamsters.

[who-is-she.livejournal.com]

Habitrail....
heh.

I would have absolutely NO expertise in this area...
but I would call them hamsters.

but for the purposes of scientific experiments ( you said this was work related) I believe they use MICE.

my tai chi friend, Steve, actually has two pet RATS. he takes them out and lets them crawl around on him. It's truly bizarre to me how he can enjoy it.
:)

[bdot.livejournal.com]

are you talking about habitrails? those are for hamsters, primarily.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Umm, depends on what state you're in. In this state, they're probably hamsters. Guinea pigs are somewhat larger and usually don't have the elaborate setups you describe. In other states, they could be gerbils (I had these as a kid), but those are illegal here in CA.

[geekchick]

those are illegal here in CA.

Huh. I did not know that.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

So are ferrets. Which is one of the reasons why there was a guy running for Gov. on a pro-ferret-legalization platform. :^)

[geekchick]

I knew about the ferrets, my friend Steve used to bemoan the fact that he wasn't allowed to have one all the time. I'll have to ask if he voted for the pro-ferret guy. =)

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Gerbils are illegal here? Really? I did not know that. I bet it has something to do with feral gerbils being vectors for disease that could endanger things like salt-water harvester mice -- but then again, *mice* aren't illegal.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know. I just know that I had them in NY, and wasn't allowed to have them here. Or maybe it was my sis that wasn't allowed, since I was a teen and she was still a kid when we got here in the late 70's. And you never EVER see them in the petstores here, so I think it's still the case. I just don't know WHY. I suppose we could look it up on the Internet. After all "the internet knows EVERYTHING! And some of it's even true!" ;^)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

As long as they *could* be hamsters, I won't look silly ;-). The reference actually pertains to interconnected human habitats...

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Human habitats on tabletops??

And who says you won't look silly? I think it's WAAAY too late for THAT, Brian!

*ducks and runs for cover*

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

I was thinking gerbils. Gerbils are smaller than hamsters, so you don't have to get such a big habitat.

Then I read Dawn's post. Why are gerbils illegal in California?

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Supposedly they can get out, multiply ferociously, and eat all the crops. Because the weather doesn't freeze much, they don't die over the winter. That's what I've heard, anyway.

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

Hurmmmm how odd..... I'd think they'd have the same beef with hamsters guinea pigs and other small captive grain feeding animals

[geekchick]

Hamsters, most likely. Maybe gerbils. Definitely not guinea pigs.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Thanks... so "the hamster project" is appropriate, after all. Whew...

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I'd say, hamsters, mice, gerbils, or rats. Not guinea pigs--they're too big.

[sisterfish125.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, hamsters are usually fluffier looking than gerbils, and don't have much of a tail.

Gerbils are short-haired, sleeker, and have tails roughly the length of their bodies. Similar in features to research white mice, but with shorter noses.

Is this helping, or hindering?

Guinea pigs, as mentioned, are bigger (almost rat or small rabbit sized), usually with wild, fluffy hair, and little to no tail.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I actually haven't seen any, lately... it's a take off on the habitat layout.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

I can't really help with your question, but I am dying to know some context here. How is this a work-related question? I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out how small rodents would fit into any of the projects you're working on, and I just can't.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

That's because it's a new project... I needed a codename for internal use, and was thinking of HabiTrails by analogy.