hey guys and gals.. the first day of my GP is incredibly reclusive to her hide-house. i know its sorta normal, but not coming out for food, even though i've placed the food bowl and water bottle as near as possible to her. is this normal? will she only come out when she is sure that there is no one watching her? just got her from another fellow forumer/breeder today.

thanks for the advice. i changed to a low water dish and put it below the water bottle. maybe she will come to a realization that the water comes from the bottle. hehe.

one thing is that when i first picked her up and transfer her to her cage now, she doesnt wheek, or make any sound.. as soon as i put her down, she runs for the hide-house. this afternoon i checked again.. i tried to put some hay for her in the hide-house, and can see that the breathing rate increases when there is a sudden sound. guess she is still scared.. but i did notice she made a low grumbling sound.. is this an improvement? what would happen if i start petting and rubbing her every now and then?

thanks for the advice again.

thanks, townberry. she came out for short walks just now.. i lured her out with cucumber and apples.. i pet her head quite a few time whenever im around.. sorta getting to be a routine too...

not sure if it is okay, but i tried rubbing her for belly a little bit, and she seems to relax, and not "scrunched" up (like when she is scared, i guess)

lotsa pee+poo in the hidehouse, thats for sure. i dumped it all on the litter pan.. hope she can train herself.. haha

a quick question: i have a "dimsum" tray made of bamboo. is it dangerous for a GP to chew on bamboo? im thinking of filling it with hay and make it into sorta like a lounging area for her..

haha i already bought the basket even before i brought her home. in fact, i had everything prepared one week before she came home..

im gonna try to make a "half-deck" with a ramp like what you have in the picture when her buddy comes in. Anyways, here is my 2 month old Yu Wat (cantonese). my GF named her on a whim.. haha


im guessing, having her butt up the corner is kinda like security that she wont get attacked from the rear.. lol..


a messy eater, but at least she is out and about..

dont mind the "good morning towels though.. it seems i prepared my fleece wrongly, and pee aint wicked away..

i tried red bell pepper this morning. one bite was all she took. after that, its been lettuce and cucumber.. first time heard her wheek this afternoon, when i open the fridge door and begin preparing her luttuce.. feels satisfying!!

will be trying carrots tonite..

i've seen her using the back legs to scratch her face/ears once.. is this a sign that i should take her to a vet? and although she poops an awful lot, nothing abnormal about the stools though..

that is great to hear.. maybe some bugs around.. because i realize she dragged a piece of lettuce inside the hide house, and i didnt see it until i cleaned her cage just now. she prefers to eat in the hide house.. huh..

im no expert, but i think i see signs of toilet training progress.. the litter tray was practically wet! all i did was transfer the poo in her hide house to the litter tray (every few hours, since she poops so much), and it seems in these few days, she got the hang of it. i've now removed the hay inside the hide house and stacked a little on the litter tray.. because i think she likes to pee/poo around hay..

wish me luck.. no wheeking today.. but when i rub her tummy, or pet her head, there is this low purring/rumbling sound... i think she is trying to tell me "don't touch me when im eating"..

spoke too soon, i guess.. i removed the hay, and she starts to pee/poop everywhere~~~

back to square 1, i guess.. but it is only day 5 at a new place.. doubt she even trusts me yet, let alone potty training..

but she is wheeking half the time, whenever i run the tap water to prepare lettuce for her.. good sign, i suppose..

and i realize she scratches more whenever she is in her wooden hide house.. maybe the pee soaked into the wood.. time to get a plastic one..

harima kenji from school rumble? try giving him shades + "beard", and we can start to have GP cosplay.. tri-colour is abby? where you take ur GP for outing?

Hey everyone,

i suspect my Yu Wat has lice/mites, because i notice some hair inside her hide house, and she scratches her face from time to time.. but she wont stay still to let me check, since its only been a week.. i think she is very scared of me after i tried to hold her down to check.. tried to bribe her with cucumber to stay in my hands, but failed..

could be fungal as well, since she did pee/poo inside the wooden hide house..

anyways i think i should just herd her into a box and bring her to the vet for a general checkup.. any good vets near ampang?

no bald patches yet, but im damn worried, as she is scratching and keep doing the "twist-shake" motion..

just checked the vet list thread, but thanks to you too.. called dr vellayan already.. will be going tomoro evening, as im working now. anyways, i think its a good idea to bring her up for a general checkup too..


to quote my girlfriend: "EWWWWWWWWWWW".. think i'll start changing the litter pan everyday.. haha but to me, the poo don't smell. their pee does.. is this normal? am i normal?

im using fleece, but i do line the hidehouse with towels, as she seems more comfy, and seems to like digging under the towel..

so far, there is less pee on the fleece.. she seems to like peeing on the "good morning" towels, and on the litter pan lined with hay.. maybe my fleece is not wicking the liquid.. soemthing wrong with how i prepare it, i guess.. any advice?

twist-shake = like how a wet dog would shake dry after a shower.. definitely not the "happy" kind.. always follows with a face scratch..

maybe the noise around my place is constantly putting her on "scared" mode.. she is more nervous than when she first arrived..

she will eat vege/fruits which are placed on my hand.. sometimes i put it to her mouth, she also will eat.. she will wheek when i open/close the fridge door and the sound of running water in the kitchen will make her come out and stand up, waiting for me to feed her..
but when i try to pet her, there is always this purring sound.. and sometimes will use her hind legs to scratch/kick my fingers..

the "maiden heart" is really difficult to understand..

my Yu Wat has been at my home for 9 days now, and sometimes, she still drags the food into her hide house.. when she is not too hungry (no wheeking for food), i always lure her out with greens...

its nice that you can cuddle with her.. mine is always on hyper-scared mode.. she tried to nibble on my fingers this morning..

what if my Yu Wat becomes foreverscared after i remove her hide house? that'll be like the scar of her life..

i let my Yu Wat smell my finger all the time when i give her her veges.. hope she will recognize my scent soon and connect the dots herself..

she has not shown much hostility to me, but when my gf was around last night, Yu Wat didnt come out much.. pissed off my GF a little as well.. Keep saying Yu Wat doesnt like her

im so glad i have Yu Wat and my GF

i just tried picking up my Yu Wat and cuddle with her.. she makes this sound, which supposedly mean she is happy, but she seems nervous.. though i cant be completely sure, since this is my first GP, anyone else care to share their experience?

as a note, she also makes the same sound when i stroke her back from head to tail, using my fingers like a comb. After a few stokes, she just seems to "melt" to the ground..

cant be too sure.. coz she seems so reluctant to let me pick up...

anyways, im giving her a small piece of treat whenever she lets me pick her up and cuddle.. 1/4 slice of an apple.. should be a good idea, right?

and i removed her dome already.. digging into/under the fleece towels now.. always have to re-line it every now and then... think its a good sign though...

sounds like something i can try.. thanks for the tip.. btw, i built a c&c cage.. 3x2 and now adding a top 1x2 level.. got practically everything from daiso, except the coroplast..


wow! blackie looks so deliciously evil in the lower left pic!! Definitely Like!!!

you can practically get everything at Daiso stores..

wire grids, baskets (as a hay rack, if you want), connectors and/or cable ties, ceramic bowls, plastic bowls (just cut away an opening and turn it upside down, to make its hide house), fleece (100% polyester).. those morning towels, can get at practically any hardware store..

get some good hay, pellets, and 1 pig or 2, bring to a full boil and leave it to simmer for at least 20 minutes before serving.. oh wai-

Yu Wat nibble on my hand while i cuddling her just now.. not pain, but kinda sudden.. thought she will concentrate on her veges.. and she prefers to poop on places with hay + hidehouse.. think the initial setup was wrong d.. so now a bit messed up.. About the hay, since i bought a big bag from Chinchilla during his promo, i only loosen the part i need.. most of the time, i leave the leaves out.. just give the stalks... will try to give her some leaves in a paper bag now...

sungai wang, pyramid, the curve... others i dunno.. since i work in BTS, i walk to daiso at least once a week to see what kinda toys i can buy for yu wat
oh yeah, u might need brush/pan as well.. daiso got lots sizes/colors/shapes/functions..

for sg wang outlet, it is 2 floors up from the information counter.. at the arcade machine side of the building.. big red sign.. cant miss it


pic from google/blog.. if im not allowed to post it, please let me know..

This post has been edited by lum_yu_wat: Jun 12 2011, 07:32 AM

can start off with something like this.. i removed the bottom 6 grids to make a 1x2 second level.. didnt update my pics.. paiseh..


then just cut the coroplast according to your cage size.. if u cant find a single piece as big as your cage, can always join them together first, then shape it accordingly.. i used masking tape, and my Yu Wat never nibble on them..


then just fill in whatever accessories you might have..


as a note, i didnt use the square one as they didnt have it in stock.. but i imagined i could achieve more or less the same result using the rectangular one.. the square grid is 29.5cm x 29.5cm.. rectangular one is 26cm x 33cm.. so mine have a bit more length to it..

all can be found at this website

im not sure how they sleep, but the hay is a MUST for feed, and optional as bedding.. personally, since my Yu Wat likes to do her business on hays, i wont be using it.. maybe you will have a different result.. all GP are different, but you cant escape cleaning their pee/poop

btw, i now have her hide house on the litter pan, and she hasnt dirtied anything else.. so peaceful.. haha