So I might be getting a cat.

[cloudwalking]

Interesting hamster fact:  they were only discovered in the late 19th century (1890s, I believe), although there is an 18th century text that may or may not be describing one.  This is especially odd because there are a ton of species of them, ranging all the way from Germany to SE asia.

EDIT:  Guess I might as well add my hamster story.  I got a hamster from a pet store.  A bit later (not sure how long, exactly, this was like 15 years ago), the fucking thing gave birth.  It was unknowingly pregnant when I bought it.  And it, well, did what hamsters are known to sometimes due to their babies:  cannibalize them.  I'm fairly sure it traumatized me.  It severely grossed me out and I released the thing into the wild a couple of days later.  This was of course before I got off on that sort of shit.

a friend of mine once bought a mouse, not knowing it was pregnant, and it gave birth to like 10 babies or something. didn't eat its babies, but as soon as the babies were old enough they all escaped through the bars of the mouse cage and got into the house. they all died without their mother of course.

my friend and her family were finding stinky, rotted dead baby mice all over their house up until like a year afterward. i don't think they ever found them all. i remember hearing her mom scream once when she was doing laundry and there was a dryer-fried baby mouse mixed in with the underwear load. jesus.

[TVC15]

Do these Tegu not have sharp teeth or something?  It like didn't even break skin before eating it, and it got some good bites in there.  Teeth or no, I'm surprised the hamster survived that long, and even more impressive, it survived so long before he shit himself.

It doesn't offend me or anything.  Interesting to watch.  The animal flesh I regularly consume goes through much grosser shit than that.  The hamster didn't even have the indignity of having his skin ripped off.  I think about what animals go through to be our food, and I almost want to become a vegetarian, but god damnit, Taco Bell is so god damned delicious and chicken is the best food ever. 

[TVC15]

If I had to pick between legal gay marriage and chicken, I'd go for chicken every time.