new bunnies

So far, Sweetie the rabbit has not had her babies. She has gained quite a bit of weight, her belly is nice and round. I've added an a enclosed (covered) cat litter box in her cage that she can go inside of and feel secure enough to have her babies. Here's a nice picture of her lounging in her cage, look at that belly:)

We also have a new arrival, a female dutch rabbit. She was given up by her owner because the landlord would not allow her. She is around six months old and is a spunky girl with a sweet personality. We are working on litter training and also thinking of a good name for her.

I have started a 10 gallon saltwater fish tank, small tanks like this are normally called Nanos. I plan on only having one or two small fish that are alright in a small aquarium, some hermit crabs and shrimp, probably a couple snails too. I am hoping to learn a lot about saltwater tanks and care, I already have with the research and reading I have done so far. I already have crushed coral and the saltwater mixed. I have ordered a small protein skimmer for nano tanks. And I am planning on getting the fish and invertebrates from liveaquaria.com. I hope this will be a success, I really will enjoy a saltwater tank. I know I'll soon desire a larger tank just like I did with freshwater, We (husband) now have a 75 gallon tank that started out as a 20 gallon. With such a small tank and no quarantine (extra tanks) we still won't be able to rescue any saltwater fish. We do still have an extra 30 gallon tank for freshwater rescuing, but it is occupied by the three goldfish that were found in a bucket outside in February. Those goldfish are still up for adoption.

I'll leave a cute picture of Calvin the rabbit in his wicker basket.

losses

I am very sad and depressed to say that we lost Zachary the 8 week old rabbit. He went in on Friday to have exploratory surgery on the inflammation and wound around his neck ( that appeared to be something embedded around his neck) he stopped breathing within five minutes after being under anesthesia . The vet called me at work to let me know what happened and I was in tears. The surgery wasn't performed therefore nothing was ever found. But our vet did send out some samples of the inflamed tissue for pathology. I was devastated, along with many co workers who fell in love with Zachary's picture and my stories of him. We have Anthony and Envy his brother and sister they are doing great and will be spayed and neutered in 4 weeks, then adoptable when they have fully recovered. That was what I wanted for Zachary, he went too young. I hope he is now at peace and pain free.
On a much brighter note , Stachu was adopted. Stachu was a good sized , healthy guinea pig and as adorable as could be. His new Mom fell in love with him instantly and he's now happy in his forever home.
We also have a new bunny here. A little girl that has been living outside since the October storm that hit the Buffalo, Western New York area. The weather was awful that day and has been since. I am shocked this little girl has made it outside for so long. She apparently had been living in an outside pen with other bunnies. The October Storm caused an opening in that pen and bunnies escaped. This girl had been living in a neighbor's backyard. When the neighbor let the owner know that her bunny was in her yard, the owner didn't care and did not seem to even want the bunny back. Attempt to catch her and bring her indoors failed for months, up until now. And now it appears that our girl is also pregnant. The good Samaritan that had fed her outside for many months and also caught her and brought her in, has brought her to us now. the good Samaritan is unable to keep her. She will deliver and raise her babies here, and once everyone is able to be spayed/neutered we'll have it done and find them loving homes. I'll keep everyone updated on progress and developments. Right now, our girl is drinking away, eating away and lounging on some fleece blankets.
That's all for now. I'll leave you with a picture of Stachu and of Zachary. I won't take any pictures of girl bunny until she is more settled in, we hate to flash a camera at them right away. She is beautiful though, a multi-colored rex, mostly white.

vet results

We are back from the vet, and I took in Chewy, Wilbur and Zachary the rabbit.
Chewy is in pain, Dr.Fijas believes either from his bladder or back. He jumps, squirms and cries out when he touhes those areas. We went ahead and took an X-ray, he does not have bladder stones (whew) and he may have an area of his back that is "darkened" So his problem more than likely is his back, but he may have a urinary tract infection or bladder infection. He is on Baytril now, an antibiotic and metacam for inflammation and pain. We are hoping for an improvement, and an increase in activity and eating and drinking with less pain and discomfort. Dr.Fijas told me that guinea pigs are not good candidates for any type of back surgery, so he could be on pain management all his life. I am also to give him critical care each day for now to help with eating and weight loss.
Wilbur has mange mites. That is the cause of all his itching and biting and all the fur loss and scabbing. He was given revolution and will get another dose in a month, that will clear up all the mites and he will feel so much better.
Zachary, poor little Zachary. He is one of he three baby bunnies we took in two weeks ago. He is close to 8 weeks old now. This little guy has something embedded in his skin that wraps around his entire neck. Could be a collar , string, rubber band, it is something and it is causing awful damage. Rabbits should never have anything placed around their necks. We are not sure if a child put something around his neck or what. The main thing now is to take care of it, get it out. He is going in Friday morning for exploratory surgery to find it and have it removed. He is on antibiotics and antinflammatory right now. I feel awful for him.
We are hoping all these guys get better soon and real quick. We are confident that Wilbur will be much better after his treatment. Are fingers are crossed for Zachary and Chewy.

Chewy

I will be going to the vet today with two guinea pigs.

One is our own guinea pig, his name is Chewy and we have had him for about two years now. He has a slight neurological disorder. He has had a very round, hard, plump belly. Which to me seems great, but I have noticed that th rest of him ( his shoulder area, ribs, hip bones) seem to be getting thinner and bonier while his belly stays very plump. this is setting off alarms in me that something is very wrong with him. He also hasn't been as active in his cage these past couple of days, I am very concerned about him.

Also going in is a guinea pig that was surrendered to us on Friday, his name is Wilbur. Wilbur has bald patches and scabbing. He is doing a lot of biting, chewing at himself and scratching. My suspicions is mites but I'll leave the diagnostics to Dr.Fijas. Of course Chewy will be in a seperate carrier from Wilbur and will not ome into contact with each other, so there won't be any contamination.

I am hoping that both of them are treatable and will get better real soon. Please think of Chewy and Wilbur. I will update about them after the appointment.

And I will leave a picture of Chewy for everyone to see.

taking the troops to the vet

Yesterday I took nine pets to the vet yesterday, I had six carriers with me. It just happened that I was of of work, and our primary vet had two openings and a cancellation. I took Sugar the rat, Pinkie the guinea pig, the three baby bunnies, two parakeets, Bella the ferret, and a society finch. I decided it was time to put Sugar down, she has been suffering with tumors. We initially had her tumors removed, she had four. But then another tumor grew in, this one on her stomach and it was inoperable. She had a couple more grow in , and it came time when I knew she wasn't enjoying life anymore. She wasn't snuggling in her fleece like she used to, and not eating as much. She was such a sweet girl and we do miss her a lot. Pinkie was surrendered to us about five months ago, she had a severe case of Seborrhea, an oily skin condition that caused a lot of fur loss on her. Our vet gave us a medicated shampoo, and a lot of her fur has grown back in, but she still has some baldness, so I brought her in for a follow up. Dr.T believes some more fur may come in over time, but she may always have baldness, there as permanent damage to the hair follicles. Her seborrhea is A WHOLE lot better, her skin is in great condition, so there isn't any reason why she cannot be adopted at this point. Her new Mom or Dad will just have to love her despite her bald patches on her back, and I am sure she will be loved she is a lover herself. Bella had her distemper shot and she did great. We found out that the bunnies are two boys and one girl, they are now in their own separate cages to stop any pregnancy and fighting. I've named one boy Zachary, and the girl Envy, now to think of one more boy name.
Also, Bella has been adopted. She now has a playmate, another girl ferret that is her same age, 4 years old. And she has a Mom and Dad, a young engaged couple that love animals and their pets. Way to go Bella, she has a good life:)

Beyond Cute!

three six week old rabbits arrived on Wednesday. Their owner did not plan on a litter of babies from her rabbit, her bunny had six total babies , she was able to find homes for three and brought us the rest. Once we have them sexed and separated and a couple weeks older we will place them up for adoption. We won't however be having any rabbit adoptions close to Easter, we abhor the idea of rabbits as Easter gifts, ( rarely are these gifts ever planned for or wanted). Here is a photo of the three, the cuteness is overwhelming! And they still need to grow into their ears :) Now, to think of some names.