Tuesday, October 30, 2007

There is happiness with adoptions




There are a couple of good stories, very happy adoptions :)


Autumn the bunny that has been with us and up for adoption for almost a year now, has finally found her forever home. She has always been a moody and difficult bun, that is why it was hard to find the right person and home for her. It takes someone willing to take on the challenge and with a lot of patience and understanding to deal with Autumn. But as moody as she is, she is adorable and does have her sweet moments. Thank you , Carrie, for fostering her for us for so long. And thank you Nicole, for adopting Autumn and giving her such a nice home.


Will the rat was adopted too. He went home yesterday with a nice couple. They have another rat, his name is Charlie. Charlie's partner recently passed away to old age and a tumor, and Charlie was left all alone. Now he has a great friend with Will, I received a nice e-mail today that they bonded instantly and are best buddies. They also left me a cute picture, I'll see if I can attach it to the blog.


We have a new arrival, a female bunny that someone found outside and took to HEART inc. The rescue HEART inc, was unable to keep the bunny and called us to see if we had room for her. And we did :) She is a pretty brown and white bun with straight ears, she is very mellow and handle able. She is using her litter box 100 % too , such a good girl! Now we need to get her spayed and think of a name for her.


The parakeet and 2 finches have an appointment with Dr.T on Thursday.


Here is a picture of Autumn and Will and Charlie the best friends

Sunday was a sad day




on Sunday morning I went over to greet Fagan, and found that he had passed away during the night. I was not expecting this, he ate his critical care very well the night before. I really thought and hoped he would overcome this like he did before, which was four months ago. He started eating and pooping again like normal. I still cannot believe he is gone. I am in grief over all the losses we have had recently, Jade , Champ, Tawney, Kodiak and now Fagan. Even though many of these guys were very ill and couldn't be treated, I still feel a lot of guilt over so many passing. Our house isn't the same without these guys. We sorely miss Jade's affection and bushy tail, Champ's vocals and outgoing personality, Tawney's purring as we pet him, Kodiak's greeting us as we approach the cage and now dear sweet Fagan. I knew we'd loose some pets as we rescue , especially since we take in rescues for "hospice care" and disabled, special needs ones, but many times I forget how difficult it is to say good-bye.

Here are Fagan pictures

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Fagan and finches


I am afraid that Fagan is still not doing well. He went to see Dr.Fijas on Thursday and nothing was found wrong with him just like the last time he shut down on us. He trimmed his teeth down , but he told me they weren't bad at all, not enough to cause him to not drink or eat anything, and there are no sores or abscesses in his mouth. X-rays were inconclusive, nothing wrong showed up. But he has lost a whole pound! that is lot for a small bunny! I am still giving him critical care and Sub Q fluids, last night as I was giving him this I noticed a lump in him. It doesn' t seem to be attached to anything, not his skin or anything inside, I can move it around all over, but it feels very hard. It wasn't there when we were in to see Dr.Fijas, funny how that happens.

One of the society finches is open mouthed-breathing now, i fear this is a result of them being left outside on a cool evening and exposed, they weren't covered up in any way. I hope we can get him better ASAP. I'll call for the earliest (urgent) appointment for Fagan and the finches ( I'll take them both).

I always fear birds becoming ill that are found outside that is why I always get them checked out and wait quite a while before placing them up for adoption. Honestly, that is true for any pet that is found outside in the elements.
Here is a picture of Bandit, the ferret, laying in between Daddy, Ray's, legs. He just turned 6 and a half years old.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Martie , Parakeet and Rocky Road




I took a nice picture of our cat Martie , he looks really handsome doesn't he?
There are a couple of new arrivals. One is a 7 month old male guinea pig, his name is Rocky Road. His previous owner is moving into a place that doesn't allow guinea pigs and "had" to give up her piggy. He is very cute. He is frightened of the new place and many new smells, but I am sure he'll settle in soon. I'll be making an appointment real soon for Dr.T to check him over.
Our good friend , Judy, called about parakeet they found in their backyard, eating from their bird feeder! This bird is so hand tame and sweet, he was definitely some one's pet, and we will hold onto him in case an owner shows up around Judy's and look into any local ads in the paper and Internet for anyone looking for a parakeet that matches the description of the one we have. Judy did bring the parakeet us, she wasn't equipped to handle the sudden bird in the house, plus she rescues cats and has many more than we do.
Fagan is doing the same, he was loved by our friend Ann, who will be volunteering her time to love and socialize the rescues. She brushed him and gave him raisins which he did eat right up. So he does have somewhat of an appetite, if a sweet tooth still. Hopefully he'll be back to eating and pooping like normal very soon, I really worry about him.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Kodiak and Fagan


I am afraid our friend and companion Kodiak had deteriorated to the point where it was best for him to be put to sleep. To ease his suffering. For those that are just starting to read this blog, the ferrets, Kodiak and Americana, came to us with Lymphoma, a horrible cancer. Kodiak's Lymphoma was much more advanced than Americana's. Both of them came here as a hospice stay, we provide them with love, luxury and comfort for their remaining days, weeks, months, years, however long they have. Each day with them has been a joy, these two ferrets perk up when their human comes near and get even more excited when the door to the cage is opened and they are let out to romp and play and explore, a favorite ferret past time. Seeing Kodiak become so ill from the cancer was difficult, he lost interest in food and became so weak that walking was difficult. He still lifted up his head when I was near , even though he couldn't lift the rest of his body. I gave him kisses and head rubs at his end, I held his head and told him "good-bye" Here is a picture of Kodiak when he was feeling good, he loved to watch those hamsters and always hoped one would jump into his mouth. Never happened though, sorry buddy.


Our head tilted rabbit is in GI stasis again, he has stopped eating and pooping. I started force feeding critical care and giving him sub-Q fluids the moment I knew he wasn't doing well. I am also giving him the same meds we did last time this happened to him. I have been consulting the vet over the phone about him, but I will call to get him in at the first available appointment on Monday. Let's hope he pulls through this as well as he did last time.


Saturday, October 20, 2007

pictures


I finally have a picture of what Bonnie's eye looks like now. She is so cute

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Preston, new arrivals and vet trip


First off, over the weekend , little Preston bunny was adopted. He was the bunny that was found at a local park in the Rochester area. Someone saved him from being hit with sticks. A bunch of kids were throwing sticks at him. The person that drove the kids away and scooped up Preston, brought him to us so we could find a home for him. ( we neutered him too) He has a great home with a family , there are 2 young boys that love rabbits. Their next door neighbor also loves rabbit and Preston himself. Preston will always have lots of attention and love.

Their are 4 new arrivals that came as pairs. Two guinea pigs were brought to us, they are males. There is allergies in the household where they needed to get rid of the piggies :( And it is unfortunate that the ones who bought the piggies did not know their ages and they didn't even have names for them :(:( They also have too long of nails and are filthy, they need a bath. I will wait a couple more days before submitting them to the stress of a nail trim and bath, they only arrived two days ago. They have seen Dr.T already , and they are in good shape despite their "neglect" with their nails and fur condition. They do have lice, and I will be giving them their first treatment of advantage tonight to kill all the lice, they will get another treatment in a month. They won't be adoptable until their last treatment next month. I have named them Micheal and Myers, Halloween themed names. The other new arrivals are two society finches. They were left outside in their cage, no one around, all alone, they were abandoned! And it wasn't very warm out! They are doing okay though, they tuck inside their little nest together a lot. I have named them Rocket and Bullet. They will be adoptable once they see Dr.T too.

Besides Micheal and Myers, Bonnie the sugar glider and Blake the hamster saw Dr.T today as well. We found out today that Bonnie does not have any vision in that eye, and she more than likely never will. When the cornea was perforated, the eye shrunk back, normally a sugar glider's eye is bulgy and bulbous, her's shrunk back and doesn't stick out the way a normal eye would. It also still has a milky covering. The infection is gone, her eye will never be the same, so she is special needs. Her other eye is perfect and has full vision. The abscess and corneal "puncture" is what damaged the other eye. I took Blake in because one of his eyes developed a white cloudiness in the center. Dr.T says it is an ulcer and he can tell it is healing. Blake damaged his eye somehow, whether from his own nails or something in the cage, not sure. I now have eye drops to give him to help the eye heal faster and better. He should be just fine :)

This is a picture of Preston the rabbit, what a sweet heart he is. I am so glad he has a good home.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

BML, groceries and Clyde


I am eating an Oreo cakester right now, and WOW, are they good! Very addicting too.
We did get the dryer fixed, it is working properly now. Fagan's (head tilted rabbit) pen was cleaned out really good last night and I brushed him, he is shedding like a wild man. There was so much fur on the ground after I brushed him that when Ray, the hubby, came downstairs and saw it he said " Who exploded!" I had to tell him that all the fur was just from Fagan.
Yesterday Clyde the sugar glider was neutered. We can't have him impregnating Bonnie. He did seem less active last night, probably sore, but he is eating and drinking. Bonnie's eye looks really good, it is clearing up. It seems like there will always be a white speck at the center where the actual corneal damage took place. I will make an appointment with Dr.T to evaluate what her vision will be from that eye, whether or not she is totally blind in that eye.
If all goes well, Both Bonnie and Clyde should be adoptable in a week or two.
I just went grocery shopping, and yes, as always , most of what I bought was for the pets and rescues. Lots of veggies and greens and fruits. I got tofu and baby foods. Most of the healthy food was for them , while Ray and I eat junk food, like Oreo Cakesters. I also stopped by Jo-ann Fabrics and bought 4 yards of fleece. I have been giving the hamsters and rats fleece to hide in and cuddle in. They like to sleep in it. If I had sewing talent I'd make hammocks and stuff with the fleece, but I really was a home Ed failure in school. I've just been cutting out pieces of it and laying it down in their cages to crawl into.
I have been hearing about great success with the BML diet for sugar gliders. And I have been thinking of switching over to it. I'll discuss it with Dr.T and see what he thinks of this diet. Here is a link to what this diet consists of http://exoticpets.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=exoticpets&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.isga.org%2Finformationcenter%2FHealthIssues%2Fanatomicalbreakdown1.htm I'll have to go grocery shopping again , I didn't buy all those ingredients while I was there. There are always errands to run.
The picture is of Tator Tot walking onto some fleece

Monday, October 8, 2007

Dryer on the fritz

Not much has happened today, just normal routine. I cleaned some hammies, and the sugar gliders, also cleaned Blaze the guinea pig. Now I'll clean and play with Kodiak and Americana the ferrets, once they are done, I'll play with Bandit the ferret. I'll also change out the 3 rat boys towels and hammocks, and give them some loving and attention.
Our dryer isn't working right, it is getting warm inside and is tumbling but it isn't drying. We do have a repair man coming in tomorrow. But it has put a halt on some of the cleaning I do. I need to clean Fagan's pen but he has mainly blankets and beds that need to go right in the washer and dryer, plus many of our rescues have beds, blankets, fleece and hammocks all which get washed and dried on a routine basis. Maybe that's why the dryer is protesting, heheh. Hope it is fixable. I dread the day something happens to the vacuum, I am constantly vacuuming up stray turds, hay and bedding. It is an unending process, but I'll do anything for these guys. Cleaning is the least I can do for them.
I'm going to head my way to the ferrets , good night everyone :)

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Pyro's adoption and crab cleaning




Today, Pyro the baby water dragon was adopted. His new Mom also had adopted a river cooter from us that she named Stella. Their Mom is a herp lover and going to college to become a vet tech.
I just added Preston the rabbit to our petfinder adoptable list. His neutering went well and he is doing great, he is ready for his new home.
Tonight I'll be taking apart and cleaning the 55 gallon hermit crab tank. It is always a huge task, but they need it and it is worth it, it always looks so nice after a good cleaning. I take all the crabs out and let them soak in some salt water while I clean them. I'll clean their extra shells that they move into and add some new ones.
Here are a couple of pictures of the hermit crab tank after a cleaning. The only thing I do differently now is that I add sand in half the tank.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Bonnie's eye

I wanted to let everyone know that Bonnie the sugar glider is doing excellent. Her eye isn't so painful or infected anymore and she is able to hold it open now. There is a film over the eye, which could be the corneal perferation still healing, or she may be permanently blind in that eye. Time will tell as she heals even further. I am so happy that she has done so well, with Dr.T and the clavamox meds and Neomycin cream she has improved greatly and will be OK :)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Geckos and Neuters

I want to start out by saying how dearly we miss Champ. We still feel his prescence and even hear him , He had a different sounding squeak, wheek, then the rest of the piggies here, mainly louder. It is crushing to us, Champ and Tawney were the main reasons we started Life Long Tails, and they are both gone. Their miraculous recoveries and second chance at a good life is what motivated us to start rescuing and do the same for many others. Although they aren't physically here with us, their spirits remain and everything that they taught us. They live through us and Life Long Tails. Now I a crying..
I will quickly type out this then I need to get a tissue. Pedro and Pablo the leopard geckos have been adopted, and I am so happy with their new Mom, they couldn't have found a better home and parents. They deserve to be fed better and paid more attention too. Now I know they won't miss a meal and not just get fed twice a week and will always be clean and happy. Thank you Sarah :)
Preston the rabbit and the 3 rats Davey Jones, Will and Jack were all neutered yesterday. They are doing well, all are active and eating and recovering. I will continue to post on their progress after surgery.
O.K. That's all for now, We just have had some really difficult losses this year and it is really catching up to me.