ABC's Blog

[JadeIcing]

So I deleted your double post and also edited your pictures so they didnt run together stretching the page. Should be easier to read now.

 

[ariusshadow]

JadeIcing wrote:

So I deleted your double post and also edited your pictures so they didnt run together stretching the page. Should be easier to read now.

Thank you so much.

 

[ariusshadow]

So, I'd forgotten to mention this:
When I was cutting up the roses about a week and a half ago, our new neighbors were outside.
She asked me, "Cuttin' roses?"
I told her "For rabbits."
"They eat the petals?" She asked.
I said, "They'll eat the whole thing."
A week later, she shows up with a bag of baby carrots for my buns. They're very pleased. ^^

 

[kirbyultra]

ariusshadow wrote:

So, I'd forgotten to mention this:
When I was cutting up the roses about a week and a half ago, our new neighbors were outside.
She asked me, "Cuttin' roses?"
I told her "For rabbits."
"They eat the petals?" She asked.
I said, "They'll eat the whole thing."
A week later, she shows up with a bag of baby carrots for my buns. They're very pleased. ^^

Aw, your neighbor's so thoughtful. That's really nice!

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

ariusshadow wrote:

So, I'd forgotten to mention this:
When I was cutting up the roses about a week and a half ago, our new neighbors were outside.
She asked me, "Cuttin' roses?"
I told her "For rabbits."
"They eat the petals?" She asked.
I said, "They'll eat the whole thing."
A week later, she shows up with a bag of baby carrots for my buns. They're very pleased. ^^

Aw, your neighbor's so thoughtful. That's really nice!

Yes, they are. But I haven't got a chance to thank them yet. Hoping I see them outside again soon. We're not exactly on knock-on-your-door terms yet.

 

[ariusshadow]

So I've been utterly sick the past few days. Throwing up, unable to eat, but no stuffy nose or anything. Just my stomach. Despite that, I had Ecresi come over today to help me clip the buns nails. (All of my buns must be bun wrapped in a towel in order for us to do them. Which gets fairly stressful.)
Jasper went first. She was, by far, the easiest. She was very calm until having to find the different feet to clip. And an apple chunk made everything better in the end.
Nymh was next. Because he was Ecresi's, she already knew what was to come. I'd never done his nails before. He was very unpredictable. Squirming with no warning at all. I think it was just easier for him to wiggle around because he's so small. We got him done, though, mostly at the expense of my precious Yu-Gi_oh towel, which now has holes in it. :grumpy: Cerainly lives up to his nicknames, "Nymmy nymmy nom nom", and "Little nom". Like the others, he was given an apple chunk afterword that made all forgiven and forgotten. Also, after the nail clipping, I noticed Nymh had a mat behind his ear. Like a retard, I pull him into my lap with the brush, and no protection. I now have a Nymh-sized bite mark that he gave me, through denim, no less, that bled. On my upper thigh, too. That hurt. :shock: Of course, I think to put the body pillow between my lap and the bun after I've been bit. I'm so smart.
Luna wasn't that bad. She was last. Ecresi is one of the people that just doesn't connect to Luna. Aside from the disproportion of her body aggravating her (which I think is kind of funny. I think her disproportion's cute. ), just Luna's general angsty attitude made Ecresi loathe having to do her nails with me. But she was fairly good. A little squirmy, which was to be expected. But she really wasn't all that bad. An apple for Lunie, and all were happily back in their cage and eating their apples chunks.

On another note, Nymh is now getting harness trained. I know I said on somebody's blog just recently, that I would never use them because I was afraid of my bun slipping out of them. But Nymh's just too cute to not take to PetSmart when we go. :biggrin: So he's now using the harness that Jasper long since grew out of. And he's doing fairly well with his training. He doesn't really mind running around in a normal free-range with just the harness on, which is a good sign... His problem is when the leash is attached. Oh, how he hates it. But he's slowly getting over it.

Ratty update: The black and white one really would rather have nothing to do with me. She doesn't like to be pet or handled, or even touched. The tan one's ready to walk right into your lap, then just keep going. The only real interaction I get with the black and white one's when I've hand-feeding treats. Which is a good thing.
Next issue is finding out how to keep the tan one from chewing on the bars of the cage. She wants to door to open so badly, she just chews on it. And all you hear is her teeth grinding. :nerves1 It worries me so. I've had a hamster permanently damage her teeth doing this. And I just hope I find a way to stop her. I can distract her a bit, but she comes right back to it a few minutes later. Now I go to do my research.

 

[undergunfire]

Your new rat girls are sooo cute! I have 4 neutered boy brothers myself :biggrin:.

Your new girl that bites the cage bars may have never really been let out of her cage, that could be why she always wants to come out now if you have been taking her out a lot. Rats loooove their freedom.

Also...as far as hammocks go, just get some wash clothes and hang them up! Rats don't need anything super fancy. Actually...send me your address in a PM and I will send you some hammies . My boys are 1.5 years old now and are lazy "squishies" and don't enjoy any hammocks besides cubes and pocket hammocks...so I have some extra hammies here that never get used that I don't mind sending along to you .

 

[ariusshadow]

undergunfire wrote:

Your new rat girls are sooo cute! I have 4 neutered boy brothers myself :biggrin:.

Your new girl that bites the cage bars may have never really been let out of her cage, that could be why she always wants to come out now if you have been taking her out a lot. Rats loooove their freedom.

Also...as far as hammocks go, just get some wash clothes and hang them up! Rats don't need anything super fancy. Actually...send me your address in a PM and I will send you some hammies . My boys are 1.5 years old now and are lazy "squishies" and don't enjoy any hammocks besides cubes and pocket hammocks...so I have some extra hammies here that never get used that I don't mind sending along to you .

:shock: That is way awesome of you. <3 Thanks so much. PM sent. :biggrin2:

 

[ambervida]

xD Ari The girls are so cute. And by chance where did you and hb get the racks? >.> So I can get one for Miss Moe and stop picking hay out of my bed x-x;;

 

[ariusshadow]

Dollar store.

 

[ariusshadow]

Well, Nymh's getting over his harness/leash training slowly, and I've decided for him to only get roses as a positive reinforcement of having the harness on, so that he'll think harness=roses. Which he loves so much. I want to take him to petsmart at some point this week, but I don't know when we'll have the time...
I had to start freezing water bottles for my buns today so they'll have something cool to lay against. And Jasper can have something cold to tear apart. :grumpy
Also, I've been running about to price parts for the 3-story NIC I want to build. This probably won't be until after we move. (Yes, we've decided definitively on moving.) But I'm pricing stuff now because Amber (a friend IRL, and fellow RO'er), is building her bun a free-standing 2 level NIC, so she's going to the places I'll have to go to anyway. So I'm pricing now, buying later, while she's buying now.
The idea I have for the NIC is a 2 level for Jasper, on the bottom, a 2 level for Luna, in the middle, and a one-level for Nymh at the top. Nymh likes being held enough that taking him in and out of his cage is okay, and Luna will get a ramp, removable when not in use. All 3 buns will have 30 1/2 sq footage of space to themselves, on the base floor alone. Nymh, due to his size, I decided, he didn't need more. They all get ample free time.
The whole cage is going to cost me a mint, but because it's so diverse, and can be taken down and reassembled however I need it in the future, it will be well worth the price. I may never have to buy another bunny cage! I'll need 4 sets of NIC! :shock:
To make you faint, the cage will stand 70" tall (about 6ft), and be about 5 feet long, and a little over 2 feet deep. The cage, in NIC, will be 5 high, 4 long, 2 wide. Nuts, ain't I? :big wink:
Ratty update: I think I'm settling in on the name Komorebi for the tan and white girl. The full translation of this word is: "The beams of sunlight coming through the leaves and hitting the ground." It's the entire picture, in one word. It's also my absolute favorite Japanese word. 1, because of what it means, and 2, because, even as a translator (amateur), I often use the term "untranslatable". Because, when translating a song, this phrase doesn't exactly flow. Aside from it being my favorite Japanese word, I think it fits her, somehow. Just the strength of the term emotionally for me, seems to fit her well.
The girl that gave me the rats also just sent me their baby pictures. They were so cute! I'll have to upload the pics another time, as I'm not home at the moment, and am at Amber and Ecresi's house.

 

[kirbyultra]

Wow that's tall but are you sure NIC can stand 5 high? I ask because I was using NIC for some other reason and while I was putting it together It didn't feel like it could withstand a ton of vertical pressure. A board, some toys and a bun sure. But 5 stacks high with stuff on each level?

I could be wrong though - maybe someone w/ more nic experience can comment better. I've never seen NIC cages go beyond about 4 panels high I think.

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

Wow that's tall but are you sure NIC can stand 5 high? I ask because I was using NIC for some other reason and while I was putting it together It didn't feel like it could withstand a ton of vertical pressure. A board, some toys and a bun sure. But 5 stacks high with stuff on each level?

I could be wrong though - maybe someone w/ more nic experience can comment better. I've never seen NIC cages go beyond about 4 panels high I think.

I just re-checked Alicia's "Zoo Crew Cages through the Ages" post. She does have at least one 5 high. Just might need a lot of zip ties, and I may swap Luna and Nymh, so Nymh's in the middle, for more support, since a floor will be both below and above him. I'm also thinking of zip tying a 1 x 2 or a 2 x 4 to both sides for support, one that will reach the whole 6 feet so it doesn't wobble. And Luna will just get a more creative way to get out of her cage without being picked up.

 

[ambervida]

And with out her biting you : X Once I get the pics off my mem card I'll post the picture of you and Moe together. Plus Ecresi's in the pic too. Bwahahahaha. K now I'm going to bed.

 

[ariusshadow]

ambervida wrote:

And with out her biting you : X Once I get the pics off my mem card I'll post the picture of you and Moe together. Plus Ecresi's in the pic too. Bwahahahaha. K now I'm going to bed.

Luna never bites. Just makes a lot of verbal fuss.

 

[ariusshadow]

so, the buns have an indefinite roommate at the moment (excluding Luna since she's in the hall). A friend of ours is having family issues, and she's staying in the guest room until further notice. I don't particularly care for the idea, because it hinders my ability to spend time with the buns a little. I can't exactly go in and torment my buns while she's asleep. But, since she's still in High School, for the weekdays, at least, she doesn't really hinder morning feeding times, or play times... So I can't really complain, I guess. I picked a ton of clover earlier, mostly for Nymh, who's lovin' the idea of a partial wild diet. I'm thinking of taking him into the backyard tomorrow on his harness, since he's doing so well with it. If I do, I'll be sure to get pictures.
Also, I've decided to not neuter Nymh just yet. Ecresi and I have been wanting to stud him for some time, and now, we're seriously thinking about it. Obviously, we'd have to find potential homes for at least 5 kittens, and wait until we move and get settled, and have a better place to do it and junk. But we are talking for the future, here. We had several does out of the ones we own in mind. Muu, her Holland Lop, which we're afraid of her temperament being a problem with a new mother, and also, Miso, who is a harlequin rex / Flemish mix. Very small for a Flemish mix. Only Flemish you see in her is the ears.
I will post about this on the more appropriate area of the forum as well, but, I'm curious if there's any known complications with Jersey Woolly's being a smaller breed of bun, and the size difference maybe causing a potential problem in a mating. We're not breeding show buns, obviously, so we don't care if it's a mix, but we're really thinking of trying it out at some point.
Ratties: We have a gutter tubing thingy... And it's going in their cage. xD It's this big plastic accordion-like tube for gutters and it was like $10, so we're gunna zip tie it to the top of the cage so they have something in that there blank space. It's not the most aesthetically pleasing color, as it's a 'yard-work' green color, nothing bright or fun, but it will certainly keep them busy, I hope.

 

[ariusshadow]

I was bored. So i went to Petsmart.com. And put everything I could ever want from the site into the cart. Just to see. Between rats and buns, the dream outcome is:

Merchandise Subtotal: $ 301.29

Estimated Shipping and Handling:
Based on ground shipping within continental U.S. $61.99
$5.99 shipping on orders of $60 or more. $21.02

Sales Tax: $0.00

Estimated Total: $342.26


Ha! they're spoiled, but certainly not that spoiled (thank goodness!)
I had a hutch, a run, tons of toys and treats and things no animal should ever need in that list. xD Welp that was fun.. Maybe next time I'll do Petco.

 

[ariusshadow]

Yikes! Petco was worse! xD

ORDER TOTAL $477.07

I can't imagine what our pets would be like if we had that kind of money... How spoiled they'd be. If I could, I'd give EACH bun their own room. xD Spoiled lil fluffs

 

[ariusshadow]

Well, today was very eventful. Tricia went home for now, due to school and junk. So no more roommate for Jasper and Nymh at the moment. As they were leaving, I decided to bring Nymh outside to test his leash/harness training. He did really well. And I notice he binkies a LOT more outside. He gets running and starts getting all worked up and just goes DOING~ It was really fun to watch him enjoying himself outside. It makes me really wish I could do this with Jasper and Luna. But they're just not cut out for the harness deal. Jasper was when she was baby. But she's long grown out of the harness, and the activity now. And Nymh takes to it much better, anyway. And he's easier to catch if he does (gods forbid) get lose.
So I have plenty of pictures of him outside. But first, I want to show you this lovely present Jasper left for me. Appearently, Tricia woke up to her getting a hold of the bag of rose leaves for Nymh from through the bars of her cage. The bag is utterly destroyed. And the funny thing is, she doesn't even like roses. She just wanted the bag.

Litter stinker.

So here are the pictures of Nymh outside...~

Munch break for some rose leaves I brought out with us.

Naptime~

The neighbors ended up catching me with him on the leash. They thought it was not only adorable, but hysterical. I'd caught Nymh eating a plant I didn't recognize and promptly removed it from him. "Hey, that might be good for him!" The guy said, rather disgruntled. I said that because I wasn't sure, I didn't want to risk it. I proceeded to tell him that I pick roses and clover, dandelions, and lilac for my buns, and the guy turned around a picked a red clover, excited to feed it to him. I quickly stopped him and told him only the white ones. He seemed unhappy that I was strict, but agreed, and I snapped a picture of the guy feeding him a white clover. All in all, I think Nymh made a friend. And, I found the guy hysterical. He was like a kid at the petting zoo. "Can I feed the bunny?!" xD

Then I thought I'd wait till the end to share these... These are totally unaltered images. They came out very awesome. Even if the one's a bit dark, I love these.

Then, after putting Nymh away, I decided to go across the street. There's an abandoned house with roses growing in the yard. So I nicked some for Nymh. I didn't even get 'em all. But here they are:

Here's my hand so you can see how many there are in scale. The pictures were taken on my bed, so pardon the pile of tuffies.

And the Ziplocs of roses and the clovers I picked yesterday.

 

[ariusshadow]

So, on the end of me getting a 'job'. I've been turned down for ALL jobs I've applied for online. I haven't tried Wally World yet, though, because their servers were down the day I tried. I used to be a Wal Mart cashier... And I was fired and told I could come back in three months or something. Well, it's been three years since then. I've been arrested, and gained an injury that keeps me from standing for more than 10 minutes at a time. I'm sure they'll want me back! /sarcasm
Anyway, as a makeshift way of making cash in the meantime, I've decided to start making pillows. I got FREE bags of pillows from Freecycle.com- someone nearby me had more pillows than they could count, and since I wasn't going to pay $15 per pillow just to stuff it, I got their pillows for free and I can just use that stuffing for my own pillows. I get the fabrics from Wally World's scrap fabric bin for like $1-$3 and I figure I can try to sell "Handmade Pillows!" on ebay for like... $10-$15... I haven't really even looked it up yet. x.x; Depends on the size/fabric I used and junk, too. So we'll see. Also need to look at the rates for flat rate boxes if I'm going to consider this. x.x;
Wish me luck finding a job so I can fix all my girl buns. That's my first goal after getting the d@mn job. >