Yea, you can use corn cob. But they like to dig and chew, so corncobs may be noisy when they dig.

Then should be alright. Duprasis have much less odour than hamsters. They take ages to stink up their tanks, but when using corncobs always be sure to check for mold and mites.

I can't.... reach.....



Hmmm... Was the wall always this white?

=.=

That's such a strange thought. Even though it may look like a sausage, but I won't be able to imagine the taste. LOL

Mana I hilang? Study, bf, animals, that's why.

That's expensive.... Anyways, the one facing the wall is available. He's palm trained and cute as heck!

Bite you? That's strange.... Maybe your fingers smell yummy! jk

He and his sibling have rarely ever bitten, but I didn't give them a hidebox or anything like a cave for them to hide in. I gave them a T PVC pipe and lots of toilet rolls. I've never tried sticking my hands into their hiding spaces as I consider that their 'private' quarters. I usually tap the bedding or the top of the tank gently and they usually come out to investigate.

Then when they come out, I lay my palm out flat and they usually sniff a bit before jumping onto my hand. Don't try to grab him as he's not from the Algerian line. Better if he jumps on your hand on his own. You don't necessarily need to feed him crickets, some holistic garlic-free dog kibble added into his mix would be good. You can try going to the pet shop and ask for some sample packs.

The next best food for any rodent would be lab blocks, when I brought in Prolab lab blocks and used it for my rodents back then, it gave me such wonderful results. Big, healthy, chunky hamsters and gerbils, but it's very difficult to always bring in as it's expensive and need to get it from Singapore on your own. Not to mention the short shelf-life and demanding storage methods.

Quite difficult. I can order but they won't send to KL. Now with the petrol prices and I think the price for the lab blocks have gone up. RM250+ for a 50lbs bag. That's for bulk purchase, 25lbs packed into smaller 5lbs bags are available at the same price, but buying the 50lbs bag is more cost effective.

Storage can't last more than 6 months from manufacture date and should be kept in a freezer to preserve the freshness.

All the hamster/gerbil feeds we get are actually 'pet' quality, lab blocks are processed for lab animals that need to be kept in optimum health and given optimum nutrition, so it's 'lab' quality, which is far better and far higher quality. 2 good brands of lab blocks are Purina Mill's Prolab and Harlan Teklad.

http://www.geocities.com/calhamassoc/QandA.html

Linda Price feeds her hams lab blocks as part of their diet. Lab blocks can be fed on it's own but some owners prefer giving variety. When I kept my syrians and gerbils solely on lab blocks, the results became more prominent.

http://labdiet.com/

The model I brought in was RMH2000. RMH stands for Rat/Mouse/Hamster

Healthy Pet or Breeder Select is always better than any softwood shavings.

You can try putting your fist in and let him sniff. Whenever he nibbles on your hand, discourage him by using your other hand and tap his nose with your finger.

If putting treats on your palm doesn't work, use you hand and lie it flat so he can climb on it. Use your other hand and hold a treat. Distract him with the treat and lead him toward your other palm.

Lol, that's one of the characteristics of duprasis. But the Egyptian ones don't really stay still for long.

This is one of my biggest boys, can see the size compared to my palm.

This post has been edited by Reanne: Aug 4 2008, 02:09 AM


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His parents are not very big, they're from the egyptian line but that big fella in the picture is his brother. It's the first time that pair produced such a large duprasi, but the others should be around the same size as their parents. The big boy in the picture is the exception.

Lol...

Little Casper propping on his chewed up cardboard. He's available and ready for a new home.






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Lol, no la. That one use phone camera neh, that's why look not so nice.

Females are more territorial than males. I had 2 females live together for quite along time and didnt show signs of fighting. But one day they fought very violently and injured the smaller female. Keeping one duprasi in one tank is better. All my duprasi are housed alone other than Pokey's latest 2 boys which is a rare exception as they don't fight. Other litters, the siblings do usually fight and squabble, but not these 2.

Me? I have 4 up for sale, 2 that aren't breeding(one retired, one too aggressive to breed) so basically are just there, and 2 more that are just there as well, the 2 Pokey's boys and one of girl of Pokey's. Altogether bout 11. All in their own tanks, except the 2 boys.

Lol, glad you like him.

He's from Egyptian line, sure very active.

Lol. So cute

He likes crickets, usually very fun to watch them chase the crickets around the tank. Sangel's boy isn't very interested in crickets, but Casper and his siblings love insects.

Getting crickets from those that sell fish and birds is good because they restock very often since they use for their fish and birds.

Can use forceps, or if you dare, your fingers and throw into the tank. Usually they can't jump out unless got something to step on.

Hmmm.... What if I make some baked crickets again? Wouldn't mind eating some myself

Egyptian lines is like that. The algerian line just sits there, acts more like a syrian ham.

Lol, I have not heard my duprasi doing that on their own, but when they are arguing or courting they will produce this chirping sound. Mongolian gerbils do make this sound as well when identifying family members or squabbling.

I feed my duprasis a mixed diet. A combination of organic ingredients and recommended brands. You can try many ways to combine ingredients to suit Casper's needs.

Firstly, a basic mixture of recommended brands will be your base. For example, Harry Hamster, Prestige, Xtra Vital, Hoppel-mobbel, Sluis and so on. A mixture of about 2 brands will be good enough.

Then from there onwards, you can make your own custom diet. Organic puffed grains, organic pre-prepared cereals, flaxseed, buckwheat, amaranth, hulled millet, rye flakes, rolled oats, triticale wheat, wheatbran, pea flakes, raw peanuts, raw cashewnuts, raw hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, dried berries such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, dehydrated fruit chip niblets such as papaya, banana, apple, mango etc. I usually dont use dried sweet fruits cuz it will become an ant magnet. I prefer the fresh stuff since I tend to buy fruits and veggie for my gliders.

Select a variety of basic carbs, then select the nuts you would like to add. Then maybe add more supplementary stuff like good kibbles. Eaglepack Holistic's chicken and rice or lamb and rice, California Natural's Chicken and rice, Solid Gold, etc.

Increase on crickets and mealworms as well as the added nuts will probably help him gain a bit of weight steadily. Remember, don't add too much nuts though they tend to love nuts, but moderation is the key.

Sprouted grains is another way, alfalfa, lentils, wheat, barley, buckwheat, even sprouted sunflower seeds! Great supplementary stuff.