Today's JSVB post features depictions of animals in distress. However, it's not very graphic, and the hamster in question recovers completely. Even so, some material may be disturbing to some viewers. Scroll down only if you are okay with this.
"Smurf" is the name of a hamster in England who escaped from her cage, chewed the magnet off of a nearby toy, stuffed the magnet in her cheek pouch, and then was trapped by physics when the magnet affixed itself with unmovable force to the metal bars of her cage. Her owner family was out at the time for a few hours, and when they returned, they found their beloved pet left hanging in this unusual form of distress. The hamster required a trip to the vet and time to recuperate in a plastic cage until the magnet came loose. Considering the similarity of confinement and rehabilitation to that of a certain X-Men villain, perhaps her family should rename their hamster "Magneto". She recovered completely, which is good news.
Magnets in toys present danger to pets as well as people. I remember as a child owning a toy magnet set. Some of the magnets looked to me like little chocolate candies, so it's likely that I ate a few. A magnet on its own probably will pass through one's alimentary canal without incident. However ingesting more than one could cause severe problems, up to the point of being lethal. If magnets in the gut manage to pinch off a section of intestine, the resulting condition could require emergency surgery to remove the complication.
One problem is that magnets in toys seem to be a lot stronger today than they were when I was a kid. Rare earth magnets in particular are very strong for their size, which makes them an economical choice for consumer products. Some jurisdictions have outlawed rare earth magnets in toys because they are so easy for children to ingest.
Animal magnetism may be a desirable trait, but not when it's gained through gourmandizing!
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