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pipelineaudio · 18th May 2010, 09:25 PM

Last night, swerving to avoid what I thought was a mexican spadefoot toad, I got out of the jeep to have a look. I found an almost hairless fleshy mammal going in circles. I figured it must have been bit by a snake and ran for it or something, but was soon to be squished by hanging out on the road.

I stuck it in a snake bag and took it home to place in an old rat cage. It is heartliy eating everything I give it and no longer spinning circles. I looked on my mammal guide and it seems to be a sonoran pocket gopher.

Why was it on the road? Why was it spinning in circles? Is there anything I should check for? This thing has absolutely brutal looking teeth and is totally gross ugly. Are they dangerous?

Looks like this:

http://richditch.files.wordpress.com...r-052a-720.jpg

tesscaline · 18th May 2010, 10:42 PM

Awwwww! How CYUUUUUTE!

http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_gophers.php is a fairly decent resource. You could maybe try to contact them to ask about the little guy you found. Or maybe a local vet might know enough about them to answer the medical questions you have?

quadraginta · 18th May 2010, 10:58 PM

If you can round up two or three more you could probably make a sandwich.

Check the "Welcome" thread. Hamster recipes should work okay.

bit_pattern · 18th May 2010, 11:10 PM

Could be a chupacabra

pipelineaudio · 18th May 2010, 11:49 PM

Its too big to feed to any of my snakes and amazingly in spite of its fearsome appearance it seems a lot nicer than the kangaroo rats I had that bit some of my lizards' tails off.

That ASDM link was cool! If anyone hasn't been there, its one of those MUST visit places to me.

edit oops typo on the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum...wonder if we could also make an AZ Mojave Desert Museum? Im straddling em both

tesscaline · 19th May 2010, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by pipelineaudio

Its too big to feed to any of my snakes and amazingly in spite of its fearsome appearance it seems a lot nicer than the kangaroo rats I had that bit some of my lizards' tails off.

Well, the link I gave seemed to say that they're "timid and shy", so I'd assume that means they're not ferocious in any regard

Quote:

That ADSM link was cool! If anyone hasn't been there, its one of those MUST visit places to me.

I did, actually, get to visit once when I was a young teen. It was pretty nifty!

18th May 2010, 09:25 PM	#1
pipelineaudio Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Wickenburg, AZ Posts: 3,674	Pocket gopher problems? Last night, swerving to avoid what I thought was a mexican spadefoot toad, I got out of the jeep to have a look. I found an almost hairless fleshy mammal going in circles. I figured it must have been bit by a snake and ran for it or something, but was soon to be squished by hanging out on the road. I stuck it in a snake bag and took it home to place in an old rat cage. It is heartliy eating everything I give it and no longer spinning circles. I looked on my mammal guide and it seems to be a sonoran pocket gopher. Why was it on the road? Why was it spinning in circles? Is there anything I should check for? This thing has absolutely brutal looking teeth and is totally gross ugly. Are they dangerous? Looks like this: http://richditch.files.wordpress.com...r-052a-720.jpg
	__________________ Can someone give me a better name for SLAG FAIRY? Last edited by Darat; 25th October 2010 at 12:00 AM. Reason: Hot linked photo removed

18th May 2010, 10:58 PM	#3
quadraginta What was the question? Join Date: May 2009 Location: Central Vale of Humility Posts: 7,964	If you can round up two or three more you could probably make a sandwich. Check the "Welcome" thread. Hamster recipes should work okay.
	__________________ "It never does just what I want, but only what I tell it."

18th May 2010, 11:10 PM	#4
bit_pattern Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 4,349	Could be a chupacabra
bit_pattern Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 4,349	__________________ "You are the epitome of the 'pigeon playing chess'. No matter how good I am at chess, you are just going to knock the pieces over, **** on the board and strut around like you've won something" "In this political climate, all of science is vulnerable to ideological attack when reality disagrees with political beliefs."

18th May 2010, 11:49 PM	#5
pipelineaudio Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Wickenburg, AZ Posts: 3,674	Its too big to feed to any of my snakes and amazingly in spite of its fearsome appearance it seems a lot nicer than the kangaroo rats I had that bit some of my lizards' tails off. That ASDM link was cool! If anyone hasn't been there, its one of those MUST visit places to me. edit oops typo on the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum...wonder if we could also make an AZ Mojave Desert Museum? Im straddling em both
	__________________ Can someone give me a better name for SLAG FAIRY? Last edited by pipelineaudio; 19th May 2010 at 12:36 AM.

18th May 2010, 10:42 PM	#2
tesscaline Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 4,037	Awwwww! How CYUUUUUTE! http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_gophers.php is a fairly decent resource. You could maybe try to contact them to ask about the little guy you found. Or maybe a local vet might know enough about them to answer the medical questions you have?

19th May 2010, 12:24 AM	#6
tesscaline Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 4,037	Originally Posted by pipelineaudio Its too big to feed to any of my snakes and amazingly in spite of its fearsome appearance it seems a lot nicer than the kangaroo rats I had that bit some of my lizards' tails off. Well, the link I gave seemed to say that they're "timid and shy", so I'd assume that means they're not ferocious in any regard Quote: That ADSM link was cool! If anyone hasn't been there, its one of those MUST visit places to me. I did, actually, get to visit once when I was a young teen. It was pretty nifty!