Alexa and Twix

Yesterday, Friday the 26th, Alexa the guinea pig was adopted. Alexa was transported to Life Long Tails Small Pets-Big Hearts with the help of our volunteer, Kitty. She spent over 4 hours of her day picking up Selena and Alexa from someone that didn't want them anymore. Alexa now has a permanent home with a family that will always love her.
We also have a new arrival , a male guinea pig named Twix. He is an adorable boy that is all different shades of brown. He is short haired, but has some loose long hairs on his bottom area. I will trim them a bit shorter because they tend to get a bit soiled with urine. He has been a little scared, he isn't used to the new place and everything around him. Despite being scared , he has still been a nice piggy.
pictured above is Alexa.

Jules

Just moments ago, Jules the rat passed away in my arms. I found him lying in an uncomfortable position on the wheel in his cage. Normally he lays in a hammock or a hanging cube. He never even used the wheel, only Vincent does. I knew immediately something was wrong, his breathing was shallow. I picked him and cradled him. Seconds later he took his last breathe.
Jules arrived with his best friend, Vincent. Jules was 2 to 2 and half years old. He was severely underweight, arthritic, blind and had chronic respiratory problems. His breathing was labored and wheezy when he arrived. After antibiotics and nebulizing the wheezing and rattly sound went away, but he always had difficulty with breathing. Dr.T diagnosed him with having scarring on/in his lungs from so many URI's all his life. He had a great appetite and loved bananas and baby cereal. I knew he wouldn't be with us for very long. I still wasn't prepared for today being the day. Good-bye Old man Jules.

Nugget, Spencer, and Reese

I have the very sad news that Nugget the hamster passed away on Tuesday night. He did seem to be improving slowly on the antibiotics. He was sneezing less and breathing better. I was shocked and very sad to find him passed away in his favorite sleeping place. He loved to sleep inside his little hanging cube style hammock house. He would horde all his food in his pouches and take the food up into his home. He slept with his piles of food. I also gave him baby cereal and baby food as a soft food for him to eat, since he had such bad teeth. but he was able to eat some solid foods too. He was such a great little guy, I wish he had an easier life. I will miss him. He taught me many things and new experiences with trimming teeth. Thank you for everything Nugget. Rest in Peace.
There is fantastic news about Spencer the hamster. Spencer arrived with hind end paralysis. We believe it was due to being mishandled by a young, small child. He has now regained a lot of movement in his back legs!! He can get up on his legs and walk. Although his walking is wobbly and awkward looking, he isn't dragging himself anymore! :) He can even walk along in a wheel! I give him the wheel for a couple hours a night for physical therapy. To help him regain even more use and muscle mass in those back legs. I don't want him using the wheel too much, he could aggravate the injury that he hasn't completely healed from. Despite all the improvement and healing he has made, I have to remember he isn't 100 percent. And he may not ever be 100 percent, I never fathomed he would have regained any use or movement in his back legs, but he did! Spencer you are amazing!!
Monday night we took in a guinea pig named Reese. He was bought at a local pet store, and after a physical exam at a vet he was found to have malocclusion. He has dental problems. He has angled molars that have formed into sharp points. The person who bought Reese didn't have the means to have Reese placed under anesthesia to have his teeth worked on, and he would probably need to have it done every 3 to 6 months. Instead of returning him to the pet store, she searched for a rescue to help him and found Life Long Tails Small Pets-Big Hearts small pet rescue. We were told he was having troubles with eating and pooping, but he has been an eating ad pooping machine since he arrived. I was ready to have to syringe feed him critical care, but I don't feel a need for it. His weight has been steady and even gaining. He has a vet appointment next week, he will have his teeth re looked at by our vet, and we will also probably make another appointment for his teeth to be worked on. he is an adorable light brown , short haired guinea pig. He has red eyes and the cute little crest of fur on his head.

Peter and Piper, Nugget the Hamster

The two little parakeets ( Budgies) have been adopted! Peter and Piper were surrendered back in November of 2009. They were waiting patiently for their new family. Now they are as happy as can be! We have had a couple wonderful updates on how much they are already loved.
We have some grim news about Nugget the hamster. Nugget arrived in October of 2009. He clearly had teeth and jaw issues. His teeth were growing sideways and were almost growing up into his mouth. A trip to the vet and he had his teeth cut and filed down. Within two weeks , his teeth had grown back right to where they were before. His jaw doesn't line up the way it should, so his teeth do not meet up for usual wear and grinding. His teeth also grow completely sideways. He then went in for another teeth trimming. We then decided to have him placed under anesthesia and try and pull out his incisor teeth since they would obviously cause him trouble and discomfort every couple weeks. Unfortunately, his teeth could not be removed. So , I took him in for trimmings for a few more times until I learned how to it myself at home. I felt confident enough after seeing Dr.t Do it so many times and his instructions on how to do it on my own. Nugget and I have been keeping his teeth in good shape for a couple months. Until recently, a new medical problem showed up. He started sneezing and breathing heavily. He went to the vet yesterday and was diagnosed with a severe upper respiratory infection. He is now on antibiotics but his prognosis is poor. I am keeping hope for him, he is a tough little guy. He has shown great strength despite so many issues thrown his way. Please get better little Nugget.

New Guinea Pig Arrivals

I have placed Daisy the guinea pig's adoptability on hold. She is starting to show an all too familiar pear shape, which may mean she is pregnant. Our vet didn't feel any embryos or anything obvious in her when she went to the vet almost a month ago. But he did say she could be in the early stages. She was housed with males before she arrived here, so it is good possibilty. A Guinea pig's gestation is 2 months to 2 and half months long. We should be able to tell for sure with Daisy in 2 weeks to a month, when her shape is obvious. Or I may take her to Dr.T for a confirming.
Last Friday we took in 4 guinea pigs. A Mom and Dad guinea pig and 2 babies. The babies are old enough to be away from their Mom. A found the babies to be a male and female. Now Mom is with her daughter , and Dad is with the son, they are housed separately. Since they were all brought to us in the same cage together... the Mom will have to be watched for being pregnant. We have named Mom, Isabelle and her daughter Inca. The Dad's name is now Ollie and the son is Orbit.
On Tuesday 3 more guinea pigs arrived. These are all boys. They were in desperate need of a nail trim. Their names are Black Pearl, Tommy and Maxwell.

Motorman's Teeth and Piggie Ear Tag

Motorman had a very rough day yesterday. When Dr.T had Motorman under the anesthesia, he found other teeth that needed to be pulled out. He then had five teeth taken out! My poor boy! It needed to be done though. I just feel for him. He was in surgery for two hours. Dr.T had to work the roots and all out, and Motorman has dis solvable stitches in his mouth. When he arrived home he was still groggy and only wanted to sleep. He can only eat wet food for two weeks, no dry food. He also has pain meds he needs every 12 hours. He is in much better spirits today, he very affectionate. He even joined my under the covers this morning to sleep with me. He is bouncing back, but his lower jaw is swollen and sore looking. I just want him to heal quickly.
We had 4 Guinea pigs surrendered 4 days ago and 3 surrendered yesterday. I will tell everyone more about them tomorrow. I just want to say that I noticed the adult male of the group of 4, has a metal ear tag pierced through his ear! To me this is shocking and I feel for him. That must have been painful and very uncomfortable when it was done. I googled for more information on the tag since I had never seen that before. I guess people that show and breed commonly do this! For identification. There must be a much better way to identify a piggie. A couple web sites say it doesn't hurt them at all when it is done. I find that very hard to believe. It is something else , now, that makes me sad and doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Motorman's Dental

Tomorrow our family cat , Motorman, is going to the vet for a dental and to have a bad tooth extracted. I am a bit worried about it. He is 14 years old, going on 15, and he will need to be anesthetized for this procedure. I am nervous, but I trust Dr.T and that everything will be okay.

Rose Hips

I just gave the chinchillas some rose hips to eat. Linus, Lucy, Harry and Hermione love them. They are a great source of vitamin C and are a healthy treat for chinchillas.

Selena

Selena the guinea pig caught the eye of her new Mom after being on Petfinder.com for only a couple of days. She is a beautiful girl, and she was just adopted yesterday, Friday , January 5th. She will be greatly loved and cared for with her new family.

Tiki, Cocoa and Phineas

Tiki and Cocoa the female guinea pigs have been adopted. Tiki met Cocoa at Life Long Tails Small Pets-Big Hearts. Tiki is the boss in the guinea pig relationship , but they do get along very well with each other. I am very happy that they are now home, together.
Phineas the rat was also adopted. Phineas arrived with his brother Phil. And unfortunately Phineas bossed around Phil and was rough with him frequently. When I discovered that Phineas had injured Phil, I had to separate the two. Phil found a home quickly, but Phineas waited for many months. He now has a home where he will be introduced with males and females after he is neutered. The person's rat colony is in need of a bossy and dominant rat, she is hoping that Phineas will live up to his nature and personality... he was certainly that way with Phil!
Tiki is pictured on top, then Cocoa, then Phineas

Spencer

Here is Spencer! He is paralyzed in the back end. I had just given him a "butt" bath. He needs a daily cleaning to keep off urine that accumulates from having no movement in the rear area. Without his butt baths he could wind up with urine scald. He doesn't seem to mind his baths too much :)

baby bunny pictures

Here are the highly anticipated pictures of Sara's babies!!