Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Update on the critters :) Happy 4th of July!!

Hi all, long time no post :) All is well here, just enjoying the slow loll of summer. Not so much the heat though, which came late and fierce. Bunnies are all doing well. Pearl delivered 2 DOA's. She had then breach. She's only had 1 previous litter and there were no issues, so I'm not sure what happened. First time I have ever had to assist a bunny with delivery. I will be rebreeding her in the fall, when I breed Plum. Priscilla palped positive so I should have a litter soon :) I found a stray bunny that the kids call Maycee - she is looking for a new home. Very sweet girl. She will stay with us until a forever home can be located. I will admit, she's not the prettiest girl in the world, but what she lacks in beauty she makes up in temperment! I also still have Bunny and Clyde, my foster pair, that are looking for a home as well. The ratty population is slowly fading. I had 2 pts last week, RRR Puck due to a very strange tumor that was inoperable due to location. It got so big it was hard for him to get around. I also had Bear put down. I have 3 more then I am debating on putting down. Havarti is only 19 mos but has already had 1 mammary tumor removed. She has a second plus a tumor under her chin that goes down her neck. It's small and she is doing well so far, but as soon as it gets in the way I am having her pts. There is concern she could lose part of her jaw in the surgery, and I think that would wreck her quality of life. Very hard decision, Harvarti is my baby. Jill and Petunia also both have mammary tumors. Pet is well over 2, perhaps over 2 1/2 and Jill is 26 months and has always been small and delicate. I don't want to put them through surgery at their age. I have 2 other girls over the age of 2 - April (27 mos) and Poppy (Pet's sister). They are doing extremely well, as are my other 3 19 month olds (Colby, Fontina, and Brie) and my 13 month olds (Syrma and Stratus). I spent so much on rat vet care in the last year that I have decided not to have any more after these guys go. It was a hard decision as I think rats are amazing little creatures, but they are heartbreaking to own at the same time. Cats are all doing well, as are the dogs, Penny (horse), and Sam (parrot). They are not overly fond of the fireworks but no one has been too bothered. We do have tricks that we do to help make the night more comfortable. For the horse, we feed her later. Penny is very food motivated and when she is eating, nothing else in the world exists. For the rabbits, we play the radio (which they are used to) and have the cooler and fans turned on high. Everyone else is in the house. Nikki still freaks out, she's the only one, so we just comfort her as best as we can and turn the tv up. We stay home with our animals - their comfort is more important then us having fun. I know when we have children we will have to do something here, but nothing outrageous or exuberant. We do expose our animals to noises throughout the year so it's not such a shock, but the combo of the noise and visual aspects of the 4th can still be scary.