Thank you and babies!

Thank you to Martha for your generous donation towards the little ones. your gift will help the spays and neuters we have coming up. On Monday, Arnold the rat is getting neutered , Diva, Miss.Fancy Pants and Tippy the rabbits are getting spayed. We will be getting Ohana the rabbit spayed and Hudson the rabbit neutered within the next couple of weeks.
Thank you to Jen who provided a loving foster home to Glamour the rabbit. She has decided to adopt her as well :) She also brought cereal and guinea pig food for everyone. Thank you!
The baby rats are now 2 weeks old, and their eyes are almost open. There are many different colors and even 3 dumbo ones. I plan on getting pictures soon. They are still staying in the nest and Momma rat is protective of them. I will need to come up with many names, even for Momma.

Adoptions

Over the week, Wario the rabbit, Damien and Gizmo the chinchillas and Glamour the rabbit, have been adopted!! :) All these little ones were in foster care. Thank you foster parents for all your help! We couldn't do this without you.

Isabelle's baby

Isabelle is a female guinea pig that was surrendered with a male guinea pig , they were together in the same cage. It was unfortunate that Isabelle was already pregnant before we separated the male in a different living space. Isabelle delivered 2 babies on March 20th, 2010. Both babies were doing well, until yesterday, I discovered one had a rectal prolapse! I rushed the little guy to the vet, and Dr.T went to work on him immediately. After about 15 minutes Dr.T came out to tell me bad news. Part of the little guy's colon had already become diseased. He said we could amputate the diseased section, but that would leave him with very little colon. Then he would have had uncontrollable diarrhea for the rest of his life. The only humane and kind thing to do for the little one was to let him go, and not wake him up from the sedative. He was so very young :(
Isabelle's remaining baby is running laps the cage right now, and Isabelle seems in good spirits too.

The Hamster Family

I know these pictures are very disturbing and incredibly sad. I want to show everyone how these poor hamsters were treated ( and left untreated) and were then abandoned. These are the hamsters that were left alone in a classroom after the teacher "finished." They were not abandoned for very long before maintenance and other teachers found them. It is very apparent that they have been in the state they are in for quite some time. They all have some degree of fur loss and scabby , irritated skin. They are seeing the vet tomorrow.
We hope to give them relief of their skin issues very soon and quickly. Then they should start to look and feel better.

Daisy and Tessa

On April 1st, Daisy the guinea pig went home :) She is such a special guinea pig, she was born blind and deaf. Then yesterday, April 2nd, Tessa the female dwarf hamster was adopted.
We also took in 5 dwarf hamsters that were abandoned, they were formerly classroom pets. The majority of them have fur loss, one barely has any fur at all. I will get an appointment for them as soon as possible. Figure out why they are bald and treat it. They were living on Pine bedding which is bad for hamsters and any small pet. They could be highly allergic to it and the balding is from living on it for quite a while. They are now on Carefresh bedding and fleece. I will have our vet look them over and then we have a better answer as to why these poor babies look so badly. I will also take some pics, even though it is so sad to see. I will keep everyone updated on them and we also need to come up with names for them.

Help

I really do not like asking for help with funds, I feel as if we are begging. But I know that if we do not write or ask for help, people will not know the little ones are in need.
We have some spays and neuters coming up and, also , more than likely, another ferret adrenal surgery. On April 12th we have 3 rabbits getting spayed. We are getting Diva, Miss. Fancy Pants and Tippy the rabbits spayed. That will cost about $300. Also on April 12th, Arnold the rat is getting neutered. That will be close to another $80. Arnold came back after being adopted. He started showing severe signs of cage aggression. We are getting him neutered to help calm his cage aggression, then he will be moving to a foster home. Today we took in a male ferret, who is already diagnosed with adrenal disease. The best and most permanent course of treatment for adrenal disease is to have the adrenal tumor surgically removed. Shots and implants only take away the symptoms, while the tumor remains and grows. We always go for the best treatment for the ferret to help them have a long and happy life ahead. The adrenal surgery can cost anywhere from $200 to $300. I do hate throwing costs out there and "begging" for hep with money. I just want to show everyone what we are up against in the month of April. So far, vet costs are going to be high. That is what brings me to asking for help. We are not incorporated yet, any checks need to be filled out to Ray and/or Rachel Murphy. We do not have a bank account for the rescue yet. Therefore we cannot cash any checks made out to Life Long Tails. Donations can be sent to - 4 Wellworth place , Cheektowaga , NY 14225.

Last month we took in the 21 rats. 2 males have been adopted and 4 males are now in foster care. Over the weekend, one of the females had 14 babies! She didn't even show signs of being pregnant , she was as slim as can be. She must have been with a male right before she was transported to us. This bring up our numbers , A lot! We would appreciate any help as far as bedding (carefresh or aspen), food, toys . The rats also love cereal and tofu. We would also love any treats for the rescues in the form of fresh vegetables and fruits (just no iceberg lettuce or celery please) .
Thank you for chipping in with funds or donating supplies and/or food. It means a lot to us and the little ones.
If I have not sent out a thank you to someone who has donated or gotten back to anyone who has called or e-mailed, please sit tight. It has been extremely busy this month ( March) . We will get to everyone. Thank you for being patient.

Nizzle

I know I haven't posted in a while. I do need to catch up on the many adoptions , surrenders and even birth of babies.
What I want to write about first in this entry is about Nizzle the ferret. I am not sure if everyone remembers the female ferret, Nizzle, that arrived with adrenal disease. She had a tumor on her right adrenal gland. We fund raised for her , and many wonderful people contributed for her surgery. She went in for surgery to have that tumor removed. But sadly, what was found was grave. The tumor was incredibly large and could not be removed. Also given the size of the tumor and how quickly it grew, Dr.T was certain it was cancerous. Just this weekend , Nizzle fell very ill. She was rushed to All Creatures Animal Hospital, because Dr.T wasn't in on Saturday. A large tumor was found on her stomach, her cancer had spread. Nizzle passed away on Sunday :( Her foster Mom misses her so much. Loosing such a special companion is very difficult.
I want to thank everyone who donated and chipped in for Nizzle's surgery. I truly wish the outcome would have been much better for her. If only the entire tumor could have been removed. She did enjoy a few more months of love and comfort with her foster Mom.