Amy's furkids & more: 2011

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Well, I have some rat kids in the house again. My kinda-best friend (well, we don't really hang out/talk often anymore)'s mom had 3 rat girls. Her mom is a hoarder of stuff (but not animals). I've been going over to my friend's house randomly over the last 8 months (since Ryan and I split up), and the rats have always had a disgustingly dirty cage - no toys, no hammocks. They were fed bird seed & puppy chow, maybe an occasional saltine cracker if my friend's mom or her sister felt like giving them one.

I always felt bad for the girls and wanted to take them so I could foster them & adopt them out to someone who would love them....but her mom kept saying she had someone lined up at her work who wanted to take them as pets. Well, I went over to my friend's house last night and the rats were still there...rotting away :X. She convinced her mom that I should take them....so, I did.

I got them a new cage because there was no way they could keep living in the hamster cage (in which I feel is even too small for a hammie). I got lucky because PetSmart is selling out of their "All Living Things" cages, so I got a fairly decent cage for just $40. Thankfully I had fleece in garbage bags in my closet, so I could cut it up to make some liners for the cage. I also had lots of extra bunny toys, which can be used for rat toys. I do still need to get them a litter box and sew up some hammocks, though.


The one blue rat is VERY skinny....like probably a week or two away from starving to death :(. She is just skin and bones. The black capped girl is also skinny, but not as bad. The agouti dumbo girl, however, is pretty hefty for a female rat.

I plan to fatten them up by feeding lots of meaty baby foods, eggs, Ensure/baby oatmeal mixes, and bits of whatever healthy dinners us humans are eating. I bought them a bag of high quality senior dog food as a staple, but still need to whip up a homemade grain mixture (various kinds of healthy organic cereals, pastas, nuts, etc).

Once these ladies are at healthy weights, then I will go ahead and adopt them out :).


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I am glad that I took them, because if I hadn't, then they would have just sat there and rotted away because no one in that house was doing anything about them :(.

They also have 2 tree frogs (I think) in a 10 gallon tank. I don't know how they are still alive because I can't imagine they ever get food. I am pretty sure they probably need a heat lamp and humidity in their tank...in which they do not get. Every time I peer into the tank they are sitting in a water dish that never has any water in it. This has also been going on, that I have noticed, for 8 months...so I am sure its been WAY longer. Most of you know that I HATE frogs and am terrified of them...but I can't help but feel bad for them too.
 
Wow maybe ask around see if anyone you know likes frogs.
 
Alicia - I talked to my friend today and she said she will look for a home for her mom's frogs. I told her to call the local zoo and see if they could take them, since they take in surrenders. At least at that point, the frogs will receive proper care AND have a forever home.

Peg - it's because deep down, you loooove adorable ratties :p.
 
Oh, and the rat girls need names (I do name all my fosters). Any ideas? I like people names :p.
 
For the blue one....Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt all sang the blues...

:D
 
undergunfire wrote:
Peg - it's because deep down, you loooove adorable ratties :p.
We're currently having a problem with mouse in the rabbitry and as much as I HATE them....I keep finding myself laughing at their antics and wanting to cage and domesticate them (I'm not).

We're using the traps where you trap and release them and they're ok...but we're releasing them away from the house.

Edited to add: I say this....because after watching these mice....ratties are ... more acceptable now?
 
Poor rattums! :( Thank goodness you were able to rescue them.

That's awful about the frogs. Are they whites tree frogs? I freakin love those guys and they do need heat and humidity.
 
You are a saint for thking in the girls! I for the life of me can not figure out why people get pets and fall out of love with them and just forget that they have them! I could never do that NEVER! I am sure they are enjoying the clean blankets to sleep on! They look very sweet!
 
I hope you find another grooming job, I've been on both sides of the fence of the salary issue. For me getting paid hourly has been better the salary. Your smart for just taking the offer and looking for something else.

It is quite an honor to be inthe presence of Zeus. He's a cool bun.
 
Rats...
Well, the rat girls are slowly gaining weight. We still have a while to go, but thankfully weight is being put on. I pulled out my sewing machine (finally, after 9 months), and am going to sew them some cage liners & hammocks. So far, they don't really enjoy hammocks though. I also wish they would use their cage better...they mainly hang out on the bottom level!


Fish...
We cleaned out & took the 5 gallon tank back to Walmart. So, the 10 gallon tank now has 1 female guppy, 1 black neon tetra, 1 male betta, 3 black skirted tetras, 2 oto catfish, 2 ghost shrimp, and 2 mystery snails. They are all doing wonderfully and are very happy.

The 36 gallon bow front tank is all set up with 3 Goldfish and 3 mystery snails!

I will update pictures of the tanks later.


Bunnies...
The love-buns are doing super well. I got them started on veggies last night and they are enjoying them. Morgan is a bit skinny because I think Molly hogs down a lot of the pellets, so I am trying to balance everything out with some veggies. They are just living the spoiled house bunny life...good eatin', big cage, and lots of run time in my bedroom - they decided they'd rather hang out in there then in the living room...probably because its noisy out here with the tv :p.


Dog & kitties...
Both are doing good, nothing new in their world.


Finley & I...
We are great!! Work is both busy for us right now because it is spring break and the weather is getting nicer (75+ degrees!). We really enjoyed our vacation to LA this past weekend and surprisingly didn't spend a lot of money at all, so that is good.


Work...
I decided that I am really just getting screwed pretty bad by going on salary, so I am filling out an application to Petco's grooming salon and will be checking out some grooming salons in the area to see if they are hiring for a groomer. I am upset because I love (most...haha!!!) of my clients (mainly the dogs), but I need to be able to make as much money as possible, so that I can move to Austin, TX this fall. Also, I was the only one who was forced to go onto salary and I think my boss knew she would trap me into it because I can't be without a job.

So, my plan is to look around for another grooming job and put my 2 weeks notice into the shop. Thankfully I work at a different place on Mondays and can always switch to working full time (Mon-Fri) there and still make enough to just barely live each month...but I'm glad to have that job to fall back onto while I look for a grooming job. I am hoping that my boss will realize that I am serious about leaving and switch me back onto 50% commission so that I won't leave. If I leave, then she is really screwed because she doesn't want to groom, so that would leave only 2 groomers who are already maxed out on dogs each day....AND she would have to close down Saturdays for grooming, which is something she will not want to do. She could look to hire another groomer, but experienced groomers (if they are smart) won't take her salary offer (she will try to screw any new groomer, too)...AND it is really hard to find good groomers.

Hopefully things work out. I am just not willing to work for someone who is okay with screwing me over, just so that they can pocket more money for their personal expenses (not the business'). If she wants more money for her personal stuff, then she should be grooming her own dogs and making the money herself...not cutting my pay and making me basically pick up her slack.

Just in the past 2 weeks I could have made $500 extra if I was still on 50% commission, but being on a crappy salary took that away :X.
 
The blue girl rat isn't doing so well right now. She is breathing rapidly, doesn't want food or water, and isn't being active. She has also secluded herself from the other two girls (who are bouncy & active). I've seen this plenty of times before...and all I can do right now is try to keep her comfy and get her to the vet in the morning on my way to work.

She has gained a bit of mass in the last 10 days, but not as much as I would have liked. I have tried every sort of food & force feeding to get her to eat...and it takes a lot to get her to eat, and when she does...its barely anything. Maybe being starved for so long as done some damage on the inside that is catching up to her.

Rats just go downhill insanely fast :(. I'm just glad that I have had 10 days to have been able to show her the love she has never had before.
 
I'm so sorry to hear :(Do you think she will make it? I guess she was just so neglected for so long. What a pity. At least she can go peacefully if she does, knowing what it is to be loved like you say. :pray:
 
*hugs* You are an angel to her.
 
The sweet blue girl is still with us. I checked on her this morning and she was breathing normally and sleeping in the hammock with the other two girls. When I got home a bit ago she was also still breathing normally...and all the girls are still sleeping in the hammock (lazy rats!). So, I will just keep trying my best with her and see where it goes. None of the girls are sneezy, so there are no signs of URI's...which is a very good thing.

I also found a lump under the agouti dumbo girl's arm pit. I'm going to keep an eye on it. Tumors in female rats are very common.

I think I am going to name the agouti girl "Willow", but the other two still need names!
 
Rats....
The blue girl rat is still hanging in there and doing well, actually :). I think maybe giving her metacam on Wednesday night really helped her, as far as the pain went.

I may have found the 3 girls a home already, but I want to talk with the person more and see their house before I make any decision. They have rat experience, as well as 6 kids who can also pay attention to the girls. I just want to see how the kids act and make sure they don't have reptiles. You just never know sometimes...even if you ask a million questions and have a good feeling. Rats are just "rats" to some people, even if they seem like they love them. I really just want to make sure they go to a good home...not one where they will be neglected again.


Buns....
They are really loving their nightly salads. I also upped their pellets, and Morgan seems to be gaining a bit of weight already. Molly sprints for the salad, while Morgan eats pellets...then when he is done he goes for the rest of the salad while Molly runs for the pellets. I think its odd that they are eating alone, but its a good thing for Morgan....Molls is a hog!

I put some craisins in a plastic easter egg and they are going nuts to get them out. The egg has little holes in it, so they can smell the craisins.

Oh...and I noticed at Petsmart today they had Oxbow timothy cake treats on sale for $3.67 a bag, instead of $4.99 a bag :shock:. So, I got a few of those since they love them. I'll probably go back and get more this week.


Fish....
The stupid snails killed & ate one of our Oto catfish in the 10 gallon, so we moved the snails into the 36 gallon with the Goldfish. So now we have 4 Goldfish (we got another today) and 5 mystery snails in the 36 gallon. We don't be adding anymore to that tank.

We named our Goldfish after ourselves and 2 good friends (weird? maybe..haha!!). So we have "Finley", "Amy", "Brent", and "Sarge" :p.

In the 10 gallon we now have 1 male betta, 1 female guppy, 3 black skirt tetras, 3 black neon tetras, 2 oto catfish, and 2 ghost shrimp. We do weekly water changes to keep everything clean.

Sad news....our female guppy decided to have live babies (well after a month after our male guppy died). We saw 3 babies last night (when we think they were born), but now they are gone. We are pretty sure those dumb snails ate them. They were so tiny and cute, so I was really upset that they didn't make it.

More sad news...Brent (one of our Goldfish) lost one of his pectoral (I think thats the name for a front fin?) fins yesterday. He is swimming around & eating just fine, so we didn't want to take him back to Petsmart because we are worried they will just kill him. We are checking the water levels daily, to make sure the water is good & clean. We are going to do a partial water change tonight.

New 36 gallon tank (minus the new Goldfish and 2 other mystery snails)....

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Work....
I am really unsure about what I want to do as far as work goes :rollseyes. It is just a super tough decision and I am afraid to make the wrong choice. I don't know if I should just bite my tongue and keep working there on salary or take a huge risk and put my 2 weeks in....unsure if another grooming job will provide more pay & such for me. Its just really tough when I love who I work with and I love my clients. I don't want to go to another salon and not get along so well with my co workers. The co workers I have now are just so fun and are such great friends....I really love them and they are so supportive of me.

:holedig:


Humans...
We are doing really good with our healthy (still vegetarian) eating plan :biggrin:. We've been eating salads (lots of different veggies & black beans) nearly 2 times a day, as well as eating very healthy dinners. We noticed we were eating a ton of pizza (and spending money on ordering out for it) and Taco Bell. Winter time is just rough...you want to eat yummy fattening comfort foods, but it really catches up to you!

We went to Sam's Club today and spent $100 on fresh veggies, frozen fruit, big tub of yogurt, bulk cheese, and spices. I can't remember what else we got, but all fresh foods. Finley bought us a Ninja food processor - so we can make hummus, pesto sauces, fresh salsa, fruit smoothies, etc.

:eats:

Decided what to have for breakfasts has been the hardest part of this, so we decided to make fruit smoothies in the mornings - using a variety of frozen fruits, scoop of yogurt, scoop of protein, fresh fruit juice, and of course ice. We both like to sleep until the last second...so making quick smoothies to go in the mornings sounded like a good plan. Besides, they are delicious!!


Other talk...
I'm seriously considering selling my truck - it is 21 years old, costs me nearly $80 to fill up now :shock:, and has 217k+ miles on it. It runs pretty darn good, but really....I am spending roughly $200 a month for my truck (in gas & insurance)...and all I do is drive to & from work (across town). Whenever we go to the store or to the next town over to see our parents, we just take Fin's car since its little and gas is insanely cheap for it.

So, I'd like to buy a scooter :wiggle. Gas will be super cheap, as will insurance. The scooter will pay for itself in such a short time. Besides, I'll be selling the truck before we move to Austin this fall anyway. Its now gearing into being spring, so nice weather is well on its way. It also barely ever rains here, but when it does then Finley can just bring me to work before he goes in.

I've been searching online for a used scooter, so I don't have to spend $1,200+ on a brand new one. I haven't seen much, so the search is slow-going. I really want a retro style one!




My stepsister was in town from NY :biggrin:. She left to go back today :(....

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My brother and I :thumbup....

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Finley and I :love:...

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I plan on getting some bunny pictures tomorrow :brown-bunny!
 
You have a lot of cute pictures, very nice blog.

That really sucks about the grooming job. I wouldn't give them your two weeks until you have something lined up (that's just my opinion) That was a really sucky thing your boss did. Why did they make you do it and not the others?

Also I love fish tanks. I have a few my favourite is my brackish water one for my green spotted puffer.

I'm sorry to hear some of your fish are dying, I have some advice though. (If you want it of course, if not read no further! haha)
Your tetras are schooling fish and should be in groups of at least five, same with the guppies (they can get sick easier due to stress).
You also can't put much in a 10 gallon tank, so you probably have really high nitrates and amonia (do you have any testers?)
I'm glad you only have four goldfish (I never owned these, so I'm not sure what kind they are, but if they can grow more then three inches you'll need a bigger tank)
Also, moving fish tanks sucks. I wouldn't start your other one until you leave, it will be diffifcult to move all those tanks.
I would look into upgrading your small ones though for the amount of fish you have when you do set it up.
I've also never heard of snails killing fish, weird!
 

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