ABC's Blog

[kirbyultra]

Glad you had a couple days' rest away from the crazy roomies

Your guide for bunny sitting may just rival mine! Mine is 9 pages long in a word doc. Page 1 is a short 4 point list of what HAS to be done day and night + weather check for climate control. I posted it on the door so that before he leaves the apt, he can check the list real quick. The rest is in-depth on the routines of each of my buns and bunny basics, plus emergency contacts. It's more for reference. I have already gone through important stuff face-to-face.

 

[ariusshadow]

I'm actually really thinking of editing it, and making it more organized and professional... And easy to follow. Also thinking of adding an emergency contacts list, and editing my "Bun 101" section and "Rat Nevers" section... This way it's not so fine-tuned to just Tricia and Eric, and can be used by anyone. Also, thinking of adding a section on cage cleaning in depth. Because, even though I never plan for it to be necessary, you never know.

 

[ariusshadow]

Time for an image overload, guys.
So we went to the store yesterday and I got a ton of junk. All for the animals. X_x
I got Bok Choy and Cilantro for the buns, and baby food for the rats. As well as a ton of other dried food for the rats, some craisins for both, and some other stuff... for the animals.

So, here's what the top of the rats' cage now looks like, covered in their supplies. I have a wooden board underneath it all so they can't chew on it.

Now, I have a project staring me down... I want to put these mesh screens I bought on the litter boxes to catch the poop. So that we're not wasting litter. But I've yet to figure out how the heck I'm attaching it to the litter boxes. :?

Next on the list of things to update, is, I bought Bak Choy for the rabbits. I know I mentioned this. But I've actually decided to test them on it today. Jasper didn't seem to approve of the whiter stalk-part, but she ate it eventually. The other two sucked it down like nobody's business. Jasper was never one for fresher stuff, unless it's Romaine.. She prefers her pellets. But I think this was a good change of taste for her. After a few days go by, and I can guarantee the Bak Choy has no negative effects on their systems, I'll test the Cilantro on them.
On a similar note, while we were at Wal Mart, I saw this cheap four-pack of bowls. White ones. For a buck. I nabbed them and tossed them in the cart before boyfriend could even argue. The minute we got home, I grabbed the sharpies and went to work. If you haven't guessed it yet, the bowls... we for the animals. :biggrin2: The buns now have personalized veggie bowls. :rollseyes I swear my world revolves around them.

Jasper got hearts because she's my little princess. :biggrin: Nymh LOVES wild/fresh foods, so he got a flower, and Luna got a star because.. well... She's Luna. And she has a star on her side.

I tried to do Eye Shots of everyone. But Nymh wouldn't hold still.
Here's Jasper's...

Here's Luna's...

I love Luna's dual eye color. The blue just disappears halfway up her eye and turns to brown. :biggrin2:

Okay.. Next thing to share is.. The Jackpot.
This is a normal practice in our household now. When we got the bail of hay, we split it half and half with Ecresi. With our one half, we had 2 garbage bags full and a huge rubbermaid tote to the brim. Here's what we have left in bags:

And the tote's relatively untouched. But the rubbermaid works like a big ziploc. And keeps all the smell and freshness in. When I mention the "Jackpot", all the buns in our house spaz. The Jackpot is the tote. And sometimes, I'll let the buns 'Hit the Jackpot'. Like so~

This was Luna's first Jackpot. She was elated.

"Om Nom Nom!"

Luna looks like such a goofball sometimes. :biggrin2:

Next, Jasper's turn. She'd only hit the Jackpot once before.

Unfortunately, I'd only gotten one picture before she jumped down. :shock: Never seen a bun reject the Jackpot before. I looked in her cage to find that the lil stinker pretty much ate ALL of her rack's worth that day. No wonder she wasn't interested!

Nymh, as usual, wouldn't sit still... But I got two bad pictures of him before he jumped out with a mouthful of hay. :biggrin2: Made me laugh so hard to see him in a greedy corner like a rat.

Next, I have to share a little shoot of Jasper. Since Nymh and Lunie seem to be stealing all the limelight lately.


Jasper enjoying a phone book :biggrin:

So I sit on the bed to take pictures and the little stinker jumps up, and nudges her head under my hand... And I start petting her. She wears the pants in this household for sure. :laughsmiley:

Jasper enjoying the small handful of Jackpot hay I used to freshen the community bowl.

And here she is chillin' with her boyfriend. These two are hitting it off so well... I can't wait until I can afford to get them fixed... I want them to bond so much now!

Okay, so I confess. I broke one of the rules the other day. I had Nymh in my arms and Jasper free-ranging. And they GROOMED each other! I was ecstatic. I can't wait to bond them now. I'm waiting on baited breath for a job... Even though we want to stud Nymh, I can still get her spayed and bond them... I don't know, though. I'm unsure if I'm going to wait. I suppose it depends on how long it will take to get ourselves settled enough to have a litter... Only time will tell.

I have 2 last pictures to share. One is a fail little doodle I have of a lop I found on google. I was stuck on hold for a doctor's office for like ever and got bored.

And finally, a cute little "The End" shot. Thanks, Jasper. Really.

 

[kirbyultra]

Love the picture update! Luna's goofy shot looks a lot like my Toby's look of disapproval :biggrin:

 

[cheryl]

Great pictures!...good idea on the bowls...they look cute.

Your bunnies are just precious..

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

Love the picture update! Luna's goofy shot looks a lot like my Toby's look of disapproval :biggrin:

:biggrin2: That picture made me laugh SO hard when I first took it. For some reason, the angle and her expression just had me hysterical.

 

[ariusshadow]

cheryl wrote:

Great pictures!...good idea on the bowls...they look cute.

Your bunnies are just precious..

Thank you.
And the buns thank you, too.

 

[ariusshadow]

So I'm sitting here like a tart, wondering how to put the screens on the boxes, as I will probably be cleaning them tonight or tomorrow... And facepalm because I belong on a RABBIT FORUM.
So I asked. xD
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=58493&forum_id=93

 

[ariusshadow]

I'm probably going to scare everyone away here.. But.. I need to be deep and emotional for a bit..

...I was just told that a friend of mine.. No.. Not a friend.. a sister... A little sister... She's 16. And she's somewhere between a sister and a daughter to me... And I was just told by her real, older sister, that she might have cancer... And that's all I was told. No one from the household is answering my IMs on MSN at the moment, and that's the major way we communicate when not face to face... I'm losing myself slowly as time goes on... And I notice Kitty, the older sister, is, too. Kitty suffers from a long distance relationship, where she only gets to see her boyfriend once a year. And she might not this year. She lives in an overcrowded house of mismatched people who come from all horrible backgrounds in one way or another. I used to be in that household, too. But Boyfriend and I moved out... She's adopted her younger sister. Not legally, but physically. She cooks, and cleans for her, wakes her up for school, and has hot food on her plate every day for her. And Kitty was losing it. The stress of the unpaid bills, and the too-tight living conditions was ruining her. And our roommates are ruining us here... And even Damion.. The one that started his little 'boarding house' of friends... Even he was almost crying yesterday... Even he's losing it.. Everyone's so stressed out.. And ready to just call it quits in their own way.. And now we find out that Luna might... I'd say I'm overwhelmed... But that word seems so insignificant at the moment...

My mother almost died 3 times from cancer. I've seen it eat away at people. I quit smoking to avoid it. I'm surrounded by it no matter what I do. Cancer seems to follow me wherever I go.. My grandmother died of it, my mother almost died of it 3 times, my friend's father was.. technically dead... for 3 minutes... Because of it.. And... Another close friend of mine has it.. And I fear I have it... And now.. Luna.. I don't know what to do.. I'm at a loss for words... Why can't life just go jump off a cliff and leave me the hell alone...?

 

[hln917]

Wow, I'm so sorry. Poor girl, andat such a young age.

My brother in law's cousin passed away last Friday from cancer. He was 56. To me that's still young, I'm sure you're thinking it's old at your age. He was married with no children. I can only imagine what she must be going thru, to lose a partner. On the way home from work today, I was thinking if I can go thru what she did. I hope I'll never have to find out.

Stay strong Ari, she'll need you for support.

 

[hln917]

On a different note, I love the eye shots of the buns. Such a great idea.

 

[ariusshadow]

hln917 wrote:

On a different note, I love the eye shots of the buns. Such a great idea.

Thanks. I just love Luna's eyes... They're so unique.

Thank you for your support... I just hope I can stay strong for her.. ray:

 

[ariusshadow]

So Steph's biopsy surgery was today. According to her sister, she's really mellow about the whole thing... But that's always the way, isn't it? The subjected person is perfectly fine, while everyone else is flipping out... We don't know when we'll know the results.. They didn't tell us... So we're all just waiting on baited breath until then...

 

[ariusshadow]

I put the mesh on top of the litter boxes. Nymh still refuses to use his box. Which I still think is because he's not fixed. I'm putting up with it, though. Luna and Nymh now have corner pans. Jasper's keeping a box. It works better for her because she's a bigger bun.
We leave on the 17th, and the buns have been tested on cilantro and Bok Choy and all is well. So that's two more things I'll have to stock up on before we leave.
I'll have to keep an eye on Luna's foot. She seems to have overgroomed the bottom of it. And there was blood on my bed. I don't know if over-grooming was the cause. But it's the only thing I can think of. I'll just keep an eye on her. It's scabbed up now. If it gets worse, I'll make a post in the infirmary section. And continue to hunt for a job.
There's a job fair for disabled people this week that I'll be going to. And running myself ragged to try to get something.. At this point, I'll take anything. I've been told to go to manpower.. But that place scares me. They mostly deal in factory work. Now I was doing factory work at 16. I can handle it mentally. I love it. But.. With so many physical problems.. Unless it's light labor, I'd be totally disqualified, and probably laughed right out of the building.
Going picking when the sun comes up. Running low on clover.

 

[ariusshadow]

While I was on my walk picking, I came across a ton of pinecones, which I eagerly scooped up. We're now stocked on those.
Also... I found a kitten. But couldn't catch it. There were no signs of mom or litter except a dead pigeon next to him. I'm wondering if mom caught dinner and a car scared her off... I've posted on Craig's List and contacted the SPCA, who refuses to do anything. The building the kitten ran into when I tried to pick it up is behind a locked chain link fence, and the store doesn't open until Monday. So I'll be calling them first thing Monday morning and slinking around their building until then in hopes of catching it.
Boyfriend was with me while I was hunting it down. He was insisting to just call the SPCA and leave the kitten... It's not that he doesn't care.. he just doesn't as much as I do.. I now feel like it's my sole responsibility to catch the kitten and foster it myself. Which I'm willing to do if I can catch it.
The poor little thing seemed like it wouldn't last the night without mom... It was too young, eyes only just opened, and when I touched it, it was cold... Like, no body heat to speak of... I'm now regretting not scruffing the little stinker when I had the chance... It may have cost it it's life that I didn't...
On a worse note, we may need to put Luna up for adoption... She has a problem with her foot. It's on and off bleeding. There's bloodstains on the floor, on my bed, in her cage... And I can't even tell what's wrong. And the more I try to look at her foot, the more aggressive she's getting. Which means all the work I've been doing to get her to react better to human interaction may get destroyed just from this. If her foot doesn't heal by the time we leave, I will be putting her up for adoption. Because we cannot afford to take her to a vet. And I won't be getting a job fast enough for it to matter...
No matter what I try to do to help animals... It always gets ruined in the end..

 

[ariusshadow]

So last night, I went to let Jasper out after Eric and Tricia (who will be watching the buns when we leave) left. I walk into the bun room to find the floor covered in potato chip crumbs, a plate with ketchup on it shoved somewhere it didn't belong, in reach of buns, a bottle of elmer's glue on it's side, in bunny reach, and a lollipop stick with wire wrapped around it ?) in bunny reach. I was livid. I've now had the honor of chewing out Tricia, as she was the last to leave, and setting up a rule of no eating in the bun room... I really wish I could find someone else that could care for them.. I don't want to have to be terrified of my rabbits getting sick... But I don't want to get stuck not having a summer vacation, either.. I plan to be away, at my mother's house, for 3-4 weeks (combined- not all at once) this summer. I don't need to be panicking that they didn't clean up after themselves every freaking morning... :grumpy

As for Luna's foot, at the moment, it seems... okay I guess. I can't get a terrific look at it.. It looks almost as though the fur was pulled completely off the bottom of her foot. Which is making me think that it was an over-groom.. But I don't think a bun would do that much damage to itself... Would it?
Regardless, we've decided that, if it doesn't start to heal by Thursday, we'll have to put her up for adoption... We leave on Thursday.

 

[ariusshadow]

Luna's foot's better, almost totally healed. Still don't know what happened.

Ugh... I'm so TIRED of High Schoolers... I commend all mothers. These two apparently broke up. Like today. So now only Eric is coming over to watch the animals and he's by far the most irresponsible of the two of them. She's going to be training for work (yes, good for her, but now I'm screwed) this entire week. She just got the job yesterday. So now my animals are going to be cared for by a clueless, irresponsible, slacker of a high schooler while I go away for the week.. Ugh..

Roommates are getting worse by the day. Landlord's refusing to help in fear of getting sued or some such garbage. I've told him we're planning to move out the instant someone tells us we can. I don't need to be afraid of the people living in my house and I don't give a flying (censored) what the landlord's argument is. Screw him.

Jasper ate the plastic mesh stuff I put on the litterbox. So I'm trying the same stuff but a different way to see if it matters.

I had a few minutes to kill before my specialist appointment today. I walked down to the builiding I saw that kitten run into. To my utter shock, not only was I NOT laughed out the uilding, but had all 4 secretaries looking for it around the dumpsters. I was.. Amazed. To say the least. I couldn't stop thanking the woman for caring for the kitten that didn't happen to belong to anyone. That's when she told me why; they had 5 dogs on the premises. Just office dogs. "We all have a friend in animals here." I almost cried to find someone that cared that much about a random kitten... Especially some random secretary. They now have my information, and are keeping an eye out for it, and will call me if they find anything.

I'll be leaving at 3pm tomorrow. I still have to pack, clean the rat cage, shower, and feed the buns before leaving tomorrow. Suckage. The worst of it is, I'd have done it all today. But the specialist decided to give a cortisone shot in my ankle today. So now the entire leg's nothing short of useless. I can barely put weight on it. Ugh..

I'm never going away again. I've had it. I have no one suitable to watch the animals and no energy to put into vacations.. 21 and I'm complaining... I've been thinking of just going for disability. I hate it with every fiber of my being... (For me! Not for others! They have it, good for them! I just refuse to believe I need it..) But at this rate, I'll lose doctors if I get a job because I won't have time to make 8 appointments a week with a full time position...

Time for bed.. Ugh.. So ready to just see my dog at my parents' house... I miss the lil bugger...

 

[kirbyultra]

I've had cortisone shots in the heel of my feet before. I know all about the uselessness it can render you..... it sucks but wears off in a day or two, no?

I hate preparing for trips..... there's a million things to do for the animals, not to mention packing your own stuff. And stressing out over who's taking care of the pets. Good luck though.

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

I've had cortisone shots in the heel of my feet before. I know all about the uselessness it can render you..... it sucks but wears off in a day or two, no?

I hate preparing for trips..... there's a million things to do for the animals, not to mention packing your own stuff. And stressing out over who's taking care of the pets. Good luck though.

After my knee's cortisone shot (before January's surgery), it was just a little stiff. I didn't expect my ankle to render my leg totally useless. I figured it'd be sore... Had I known the risk of it rendering me like this, I'd have told my doctor not to bother this visit.. At the moment, it's just sore. But I haven't been doing the heavy housework I have to do just yet. So we'll have to see how screwed I am as the day goes on.

Ugh I'd be happier if Tricia was the one caring for the animals. Apparently, last night, they were exchanging "I'm, sorry, baby" comments on Facebook.. So tired of High Schoolers. Seriously. ssd: I mean seriously.. Who needs this? :expressionless

And thanks for the luck.. I'll need it. ray:

 

[ariusshadow]

Before I left:

I had a specialist appointment. The orthopedic surgeon. I see his assistant for the ankle's tendinitis. Which is nice. I like Dennis better, anyway. So, he talks about my problem with me for a while. And he says that he wants to try a cortisone shot. Well, I've had one of these in my knee before. After about 5 minutes of anxiety attacks over the needle, he finally gets it over with, and I limp my wobbly butt out. I had to do the litter boxes, of ALL cages (except Luna's, as she's not *my* bun, I make Boyfriend do it. ), and had to feed everyone, and pack, and shower, and whatever. Not fun to do on a tendon that feels like it's ripping in two pieces with every step.

Eric and Tricia show up unexpectedly. I tell Eric where the pellets are, that they're labeled, and set up, and all the veggie bags are downstairs, in the fridge, with the dates on them. He repeats it all back to me, asks if I'm sure it's idiot-proof. I agreed, and left open the bun guide on my computer.

The rat cage obtained a white piece of PVC pipe that forks- I got it for $2 from a surplus store in the area.

While I was gone:

It was an okay week. We had almost no communication with the kids that were watching the pets. This had me freaking out, as you can imagine, but I tried to have a good week despite it. My father is very against the dog getting trained. At all. Even though he's my dog, technically. So I asked to train the dog specifically to not bark on command. He told me "Yeah, just don't beat him.". I was... Beyond disappointed. I can't even fathom what would make him say that.. I was.. appalled with him. I decided not to train the dog after all, as he wasn't my dog anymore anyway..

We went to Nutz, an occult/new-age/hippie type store.. I got an amethyst point bigger than a golf ball for $4. :biggrin2: That made me happy~ I also went shopping in dollar stores and got a howlight bracelet, some socks with neon hearts P), and some stuff for the ratties: fleece blankets, baskets to hang as floating beds, and some cat balls.

We watched the house for my mother when they went away for the night for their anniversary. It was actually fairly bland for a night with the house to ourselves.

When we came back:

...The only word I could think of when I walked in and assessed the damage.. Was.. Livid. The floors were urine-stained, the baggies of pellets were untouched, the container of pellets was almost empty (WAY too much for 1 week of rabbit feedings), and there was garbage in my room, in Boyfriends room, on the floors, and my alter cloth was destroyed. The rats had managed to pull in a few feathers from my alter and destroy them, along with the alter cloth, and managed to destroy a bubble-wrap envelope too close to the cage. Also, my headphones were destroyed, because Luna was not allowed in my room, they were told this, and agreed to this, and she was let in. And the bathroom, she was in, which she wasn't supposed to be, and ate more of the potentially toxic plant. I told them, had it been the toilet bowl cleaner instead, she could have been dead.

Luna's the one with the most problems (digestive-wise). I HAVE to limit her pellets. I came home to her with enough in her bowl for three days. Needless to say, after discussing it with the kids, they're never watching my animals again, and owe me money for what the animals destroyed on their watch. I've called off all further vacations. I'm staying home for the summer. It's not worth it. Luna's got soft stool now, and is more aggressive, probably from not being let out more than once this week; Jasper's litter box needed cleaning, and I didn't have time to instruct them how to do it, so I spent 3-4 hours after getting in the door cleaning up after combined kids and animals, and Nymh's urine was all over the room and now won't come up because it wasn't cleaned. Which may have just cost us our deposit. And the girl has the nerve to defend him that I should have expected him to slip up. This is past a slip up. Nymh has vinyl in his stomach because they were careless, and has excess calcium in his urine, which would have never happened if I'd been home. And Luna has stool so soft I can barely pick it up. This isn't a slip-up. They're lucky I'm letting them come back at all. They're never to be here unsupervised again. Period.

Now:

Rats have all their new toys, the house is clean(er), and Jasper's enjoying having run of the bun room again.

No more vacations. I'm done.

Edit:
Friend brought up a good point. I trusted them to not be stupid enough to do half the crap they did. She asked me... "They didn't let Jasper and Nymh out together.. did they?"
After a second of thought... I don't know! I really can't trust inside myself that they didn't! And the worst of it is, I can't even trust that they'd tell me if they did. :/ I'm so done with going away! Never again!