Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Flu, an adoption, and many new arrivals


I have been quite sick all week since late on Sunday evening. It all started with body aches all over, then a sore throat, chest pressure, etc. I didn't go into work on Monday and Tuesday, I didn't even feel like leaving the bed. Now it is Thursday and it is mostly in my head, head pressure, pressure in my ears, sneezing, congestion.. Blah. And to top it off one of my filling fell out on a molar tooth and it exposed a sharp edge that has cut into my tongue , ow! And the dentist was off today. This has not been a great week for me. I have been taking lots of fluids and vitamin C, I hope so much this passes really soon.

Especially since we have a road trip planned for Pennsylvania on Saturday. On our way there we are stopping mid-way for someone who wants to adopt Pip the hamster and her neighbor who would like to adopt Rudolph and Ginger Bread. Then on to Allentown PA, where we will meet with Mario and Luigi the sugar glider's new owners. It will be a big adoption event! We will have a car full with gliders, rats and a hamster, but what a happy event it will be. Ray and I won't be able to do this very often, since he only has off of work on weekends and I normally do work on the weekend, this is a rare thing for us. I wish we could transport adoptables more often. Adoptions have been going well anyway, without transport and many times new owners are willing to travel. Ray and I just love that this worked out, and that a couple more adoptions have come up along the way. We will be staying at a bed and breakfast overnight and head back home on Sunday. our plans of staying at the Poconos didn't work out, we were unable to book a one night stay.

I am behind on posting due to this awful cold or flu or whatever it is. Last week Bling the hamster hamster was adopted, I will add a picture of the adorable little guy. We also have many new arrivals. We have 9 very gorgeous and stunning female guinea pigs. Their owner devleoped such severe allergies that she was led to giving them up, the timothy hay that they eat caused asthma attacks. These piggies are so well taken care of and are very personable. Also arrived were 5 hamsters, they were breeding non-stop and thankfully they arrived since a female was mixed in with the boys. On Sunday, Ray helped with a surrender while I worked, 14 degus and a bunny named Benjamin were also brought to us. Their owner became disabled, and taking care of them proved to be too much. It was later on that day when I started to feel the effects of coming down with something, from there on , I have been too ill to do anything else. I am hoping to be back to myself soon and get back on track.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Ms.Mouse and her sisters


I wanted to post a quick entry to let everyone know that Ms.Mouse , the little mouse with the tumor, passed on today. She passed underneath her favorite igloo house alongside her 3 sisters. I will also be retiring her sisters from being adoptable, they are reaching senior age, they are over a year old. It is unfortunate that mice don't have a very long life expectancy. They will spend their remaining life in their familiar , comfortable surroundings here at Life Long Tails.
Good bye Ms.Mouse. Your shiny black fur and sweet personality will always remain in my heart. I would like to think that you have found your way to our beloved Rugby, the mouse we lost years ago.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Margo and Mini Margo- updates on New arrivals- Jo Jo


First off , the two girl guinea pigs Margo and Mini Margo just went home today. Jenn is their new Mom and despite the wintery weather they stopped in to see the girls and adopt them. The girls were bundled up in their cozy new carrier, all wrapped up in a blanket ready to go home. A happy day for those two, and what sweet piggies they are. I'll add pictures of them.

Jojo the Quaker parrot didn't like me too much the first day she arrived here. I don't blame her, she was stressed. By the next day, she allowed me to pet her head and scritch at those pin feathers that must be awfully itchy. Now she will step up for me onto my hand and cuddles under my chin while making soft purring noises. She is still picking her feathers under her wings, and it looks as if the feathers on her legs may not come back in, she really damaged the feather follicles. Feather picker or not, what matters most is happiness, well-being and health. Many times feather picking starts out as a stress factor, a change in routine or boredom and even when many things improve with their lifestyle and everything is better, they still pick out of habit. Many times an area that has been picked stays bald even when the destructive behavior has stopped. Feather picking is such a broad and complex issue.. it is hard to pinpoint it's origins or resolve it completely. JoJo is a great bird no matter what. She still doesn't like Ray, she shows her displeasure at him with beak wide open, but we will persevere to try and socialize her to not stay a one person bird.

Now I am cutting up some fresh papaya, the birds, hamsters, rats,guinea pigs and especially the sugar gliders love fresh papaya. I'll also give the sugar gliders some carrot, blueberries, brocolli and superworms.

Soon it will be off to bed, I may watch some Scrubs and Friends before I fall asleep. Good night.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Pizzazz and Cashew, Kluski noodles




Yesterday our little bunny pals, Pizzazz and Cashew were adopted. Pizzazz and Cashew arrived here together. The were rescued from a neglectful backyard breeder and then were brought to us to be fixed and placed. Angie and her family were searching for a smaller sized bunny for their little Holland Lop boy, Vinny. They had their eyes set on Pizzazz or Cashew, but as the night went on, it was apparent that those two bunnies already had a frienship and love for each other even though they were housed in seperate pens. Their pens were next to each other so they could still see each other , and sniff and lick each other's noses. I had seperated Pizzazz and Cashew after they arrived as soon as I knew they were male and female and not fixed yet. Angie and her wonderful kids decided to keep the duo together and adopt them both, such big hearts they have :) I hope everything is going well, and Vinny isn't too upset with the new additions, hopefully they will become great friends and make a trio together.
After the adoption I then cooked up some kluski noodles ( my favorite) , I rinsed them until they were a nice temperature and gave them to the birds, hamsters, mice and rats. The rats and hamsters inhaled them! It was so cute to see them pick up a noodle in their front paws and start gobbling away at it. I wish I had taken pictures.
Here are pictures of Cashew and Pizzazz. Two very sweet and adorable buns, they will be truly happy.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Rabbit fixings

Today, the hubby, Ray dropped off two rabbits for a spay and neuter.Cadet came to us early in January, he was found lost and cold outside.And it was quite obvious that he was still intact :) River is a femalerabbit that arrived here as an owner surrender. She started becoming destructive and showed an attitude. I did witness her moodiness. When a female starts exhibiting behavioral issues many times it is because of raging hormones. A spay was definitely in order.Ray also picked them up from the vet and brought them home. They both started eating timothy hay when I introduced them back into theircages. That is a very great sign. They both received metacam tonight,an anti inflammatory and anti pain medicine. It will take time before we may see a difference in River. She will still have remaining hormone inbalances, before it starts to taper off. She also will be healing for the next couple of weeks. I am always happy when the surgeries go well

Friday, February 8, 2008

Ms.Mouse and Play Gym

We went to the vet yesterday and saw Dr.T. We took one of the 4 female mice that we have up for adoption. When we arrived back home from Florida, I noticed a lump on the underside of one of the mice. I was afraid of this news, but it is a tumor :( Dr.T told me about how mice normally have malignant tumors that spread easily, that he could surgically removed the tumor but opening her up would mean the cancer will spread even faster if this is the case. Before Ray and I started rescuing we did have a mouse we named Rugby, loved that little mouse, such a darling. It was devastating when after having her for only 2 months she developed a tumor on her side. I quickly said yes to surgery, wanting her to be better and tumor free. Her sugery went well, Dr.T did a wonderful job of removing it all and stitching her back up. For a week she did great, she was active and healing up really nice... until another tumor started to grow on her back and then another under her forearm. These tumors appeared before her surgical site had even healed. She quickly went downhill, she started to have labored breathing and became lethargic. We took her to the vet and it turned out that the cancerous tumor had spread ( creating more tumors) and invaded her lungs. We opted to have her put to sleep at that point. I wished so many good things for Rugby, and it saddens me that it didn't work out that way.. she is pain free now. We have had tumors removed from hamsters and rats before , and for the most part these surgeries are successful. They heal up and live normal lives without another tumor popping up, or a long time passes before another one appears. The only case of more and more tumors popping up was a rat named , Sugar, she was an albino, red eyed. She came to us with 4 tumors, and we had all 4 removed. a Month later a tumor appeared on her foot, we also had that one removed. Next a tumor appeared on her stomach and unfortunately this one was surgically impossible to remove.. she developed more tumors before her quality of life wasn't good anymore and we decided to let her go. I guess I have made my deicision already, although I am still torn up about it. Since the survival and success rate of tumor removals on mice isn't good since the cancer spreads after surgery, we won't have Ms.mouse's tumor worked on. We will keep her comfortable with her sisters until it is time to let her go. I feel that is what is best for her. For hamsters or rats , or other pets, we will still go for the surgical treatment, unless age or illness won't allow the pets to be anesthesized without complications. So sorry little mouse, I wish it was different.
On a good note, with the help from Ray, I built a play gym for the mice and hamsters. It is a large plastic storage tote that I added a grid rack on the top for air flow. We attached wheels to the sides, and made holes on the top and sides and added tubes, hide-a-ways and towers. Inside I placed boxes, toys, chews and a climbing basket. It is completely enclosed to keep the cats OUT! which is a must for here, I never trust the cats with the little guys or the birds. That is just a rule in this house. Each day I have taken turns placing single hammies or groups of hammies that live together into the play gym and I enjoy watching them explore everything and have a great time in it :) It gives them more to their life than just being in their cage or an exercise ball . I do love spoiling them and enriching their days :)

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Back from Vacation




Yes we are now back from Florida, it was very difficult to leave the weather there. On Friday and Saturday the temperature hit 78 degrees! And Disney was so magical and HUGE! There was so much to see and do. We went into many 3-d shows and flight simulators, loved the pirates of the Carribean ride. Animal Kingdom was wondrous and we stayed in Animal Kingdom lodge. The firework displays at night were fantastic! We didn't get to see Tomorrow land in Magic Kingdom or much of Hollywood Studios. We are planning to go again in the future. Once we have worked up another good savings of money, I am sure it will probably be years from now, considering much of our own money still goes towards food, bedding, toys, etc for the animals. Donations have been enough to pay for any vet costs and surgeries, we thank everyone who donates to assist us with medical care, it means so much.
Before we left I did not write about two more adoptions. Squiggy the female guinea pig found a great home. She is loved by many kids and adults alike. And Almond the little holland lop found a good home too. A loving family with daughters absolutely adore Almond. And Almond's sweet nature is perfect for them. A very good match.
I'll post a picture of Squiggy and Almond.
We have two new arrivals. Today, River the bunny arrived, she is an unspayed female that has a bit of an attitude. Since she has not been spayed yet her moodiness could be hormone related. We will make an appointment to have her spayed very soon and allow her to heal and adjust, before we can make any assessments on her temperment. Even if she remains moody, we will still place her the best we can with a rabbit experienced person who likes fiesty bunnies. And also, Jo Jo the female quaker parrot arrived today. She gets attached soley to one person , and any change in routine or attention has caused her to feather pick. She appears to also be moulting since she has many pin feathers coming in, she does look scraggely. But we love them all, no matter how they look or act , etc. They all deserve the best. Jo Jo is upset by our cats, so we have her placed within the bird room here where we keep the door shut, all cats must stay OUT. She has really settled into that room. She gets a bit frightened when I walk in, but I am sure she will get used to my presence and also Ray's going in and out of that room. She will need plenty of time to calm down, settle and acclimate. I understand her sensitive nature and emotional needs. She will also receive a full medical check up with Dr.T.