Involuntary backflips, all waking hours, to death

[Spectral]

From http://www.geocities.com/calhamassoc/GenDefects.html
"Behavioral Disorders
There are a number of genetic “disorders” which affect some hamsters in the US. I do not have research on them nor can I confirm the method of transmission of the disorders. I do know from my experience and the experience of others that they run in family lines. They are not confined to certain color or pattern genes. Above all, I know that they are not desirable traits and should not be perpetuated. (I would love to have any research on these if people are able to find any.) They also seem to be involuntary. The hamster cannot stop the behavior. Thus, hamsters that exhibit any of these traits should be retired as breeders. Their parents and siblings should also be retired. Additionally, anyone who has purchased from these lines with the intention to breed should be notified of the problem. Unless the traits are extreme, the hamsters would not have to be put down but can live out their life as pampered pets.

The first is “back-flipping.” This is common in the Campbells. The hamster starts on his feet, does a complete flip backwards, and again lands on his feet. Sometimes they add a bit of a twist and land facing a different direction than they started from. (This is different than a hamster who falls on his back and may roll or “swim” around the cage on his back.) Back flipping does not usually show up until they are at least 5 weeks of age – sometimes later. With some, it gets extreme. They back flip during all waking hours. For these extreme cases, it is best to have a vet put them down."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ovQNlafddw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ovQNlafddw

[Tatsumaru]

01:42 is a great faceplant.

[Miojo]

I'd love to have a Backflipping hamster.

[anerky]

Why does everything have to be a "disorder?" These guys are pushing the envelope for rodents everywhere and we label them as defective... eugh

I fully support their endeavors

[jo>.<el]

i backflip too, does that mean i have a disorder

[Churoflip]

DO NOT JUMP BACKWARDS JUMP UP!!!

Hes killing it tho

[anerky]

The hamster video is fairly mediocre. He's a total fatass and the sound effects are irritating.

Squirrels with behavior disorders are pretty badass though...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0PQrSN3JxY&feature=channel_page
posted a week or so ago :smile:

[Quinntin]

Is that a behavior disorder, maby he is just training.

[anerky]

...says a guy with blatantly malignant Backflipping Disorder

[Skippy]

Mate if I got locked in my bedroom all day everyday I'd probably do backflip until I died too.

[Badams]

that was disturbing.

[MeatMachine]

Imagine if humans were bred based on the tendancy to do backflips :O Cruel? Hilarious? SITCOM?

[Hite]

That squirrel had such perfect form, and control over it's body. I wish I had that much agility and nimbleness.

[Theme]

Aperantly we all have behavior disorders -_- we fail

[Munks]

My theory: Physiological Problem...
*Could be ridiculously off - but its what just came into my head*

It looks like they start to lean back first and the final flick of the feet shoots them up and they make the 'backflip'. It could be seen as maybe a lack of oxygen transport to the back muscles (Caused by genetics... not behavioral)...

When you get crap, you cant stop your muscle contracting (so u have to force it back by stretching or whatever) which is caused by a lack of oxygen in the muscles causing the ADP in the muscles to stay on the myosin keeping it connected to the actin. (When oxygen is low, there is a decrease in ATP production to release the myosin) Google The Myosin Cross-bridge Cycle if u wanna know more.

http://www.bms.ed.ac.uk/research/others/smaciver/Cycle.gif

Therefore if the hamsters have a lack of capillaries to the back muscles, they will have a short endurance and begin to spasm and contract causing the cramp, also depending on how bad their oxygen concentration available is to the back muscles the more frequent the cramp will occur, explaining why more are worse than others.

The flick of the feet to cause the backflip could be just a reaction of the hamster because if dosent know what the hell is happening and freaks out...



Again, this is just something off the top of my head so could be sooooo wrong! haha :)

something to think about tho :tongue:

[A_Wilhelm]

sounds interesting munks, I tend to believe though, that they would more likely just fall on the side and maybe struggle with their limbs unable to move if it were a cramp. At least that's what I would see myself doing with such a huge cramp, instead of doing a backflip. But I don't know of course.

Another possibility could be somekind of dissfunction in their sense of balance. Maybe they think the get upsidedown and try to correct their (in their mind) wrong position.
Also it looked like they often flipped when they walk against something, being vertical instead of their normally horizontal position may initiates the whole thing.
But yeah just assumptions.

I find it rather arrogant from humans to say that it has to be a disorder. Sure, if they do it all the time that's abnormal, but you only see that from animals in small cages, so it could be something like the plucking of their feathers, parrots get in captivity. So something more along the lines of self injurious behaviour.

But if it's just sometimes I think it's not right to strictly call it a disorder. It could be just some kind of play for them, and because they're alone in their cage, they play with themself. If a dolphin jumps out of the water, or a cat jumps in a tree, noone is calling that a disorder, nor is someone calling it a disorder when a young dog rolls around in the garden, or a kid does cartwheels or frontrolls etc.

It could be a kind of fluent passage between playing and pathological behavior due to captivity.

Or they're simply retarded haha.

[Munks]

sounds interesting munks, I tend to believe though, that they would more likely just fall on the side and maybe struggle with their limbs unable to move if it were a cramp. At least that's what I would see myself doing with such a huge cramp, instead of doing a backflip. But I don't know of course.

Yeah thats the thing i thought of, could be just small crap and the backflip stretches the back out to counteract it...
again, it was a long shot ahha :punched:

[alpha7158]

The hamster and squirrel are in a tiny cage. Bored stiff none the less. I can't think of anything better to do than tricking to pass the time!