ABC's Blog

[kirbyultra]

Omg that sounds horrible. I hope they had the sense to not let them out together but judging by the work they've done and not done I guess it's not out of the question. Geez... High schoolers are not so trustworthy as bunny sitters huh? My college brother does an ok job of everything and he loves my buns. Yet usually I will find one or two things he missed, though not major and not a huge deal. The truth is no ones going to be as thorough as ourselves.

 

[ariusshadow]

I wouldn't mind if a day of pellets was forgotten. That's not crucial to their survival. And I tend to do that on some days, too. It's impossible to be a perfect little slave... But the way I came home.. They're lucky to be let back at the house at all. :\ What a disaster. And I'm so angry with the girl.. She had the nerve to be upset with me for saying he owed us money. Everyone else I told says he was responsible. So it's unanimous. He owes me. And he'll be lucky if we ever let him back in..

 

[ariusshadow]

So, Eric (Boy in charge of buns while I was gone) Agrees to paying me $24 in payment to the destroyed property and missing food we just realized yesterday. They've been told they're not allowed back in the house unsupervised at all. Either myself or Boyfriend have to be here.

I put up one of the stationary baskets with a fleece blanket zip tied to this inside (to deter hoarding), and the ratties shocked me by being CUDDLED together in it asleep this morning. Absolutely adorable.
I put more jungle balls on the jingle rope, and it's now hanging with the rope toy Boyfriend made. The other rope toys are hanging in various places and the tube is back in place. Rats are very pleased.

As for buns, I found new toys for them. Dollar store had the teething ring keys. I've wanted to get these for my buns for a while. To make it better, these have BUNNIES on them. I got 3 different colors, and now everyone has a set. ^^

I'll have to post pictures of everything soon. But not now. It'll have to wait.

On a less happy note, the idea of finding Luna a new home has come up a lot lately... Her aggression's worse since we left for my parents, and she's now hurting herself against the cage when not allowed out. Clawing, biting, ramming, throwing... I have to let her out or she'll hurt herself. So I let her out, and now I have to close my bedroom door. Because she's not allowed in my room anymore. She's eaten my computer's speaker wire twice, my microphone wire, and my headphones wire. I have no way to bun proof the wires in my room realistically. She's NEVER gone for wires before. (This started before we left, so it wasn't Eric and Tricia's doing). But that poses for a new problem. My rats are in here. And the air conditioner's out there. Closing my room means the rats will be sweltering. Which leads to, I have to keep the room door open, which means Luna's gotta go back in the cage and hurt herself again... The only other thing I can think of is to use something to block off my room. I haven't even been able to find a baby gate for cheap/free in my area. More or less 3! One for Boyfriend's room, since the a/c's in his room, the door HAS to be open ALWAYS, and one for the stairs.. And now my room? ..I've tried to find other things to use as a barricade to no avail... What a horrible situation.. I can't imagine giving up our fist rabbit just because of this.. But.. I'm not sure I can think of anything else..

 

[ariusshadow]

Oh, also, I'll have to take a picture of this at some point, too, but Jasper had decided to eat the plastic mesh that I sat on top. So I tried something else, which seems to be working fairly well. When I fill the box completely, and put the mesh under the tabs (the box is the bottom of a dwarf hamster cage), she doesn't eat it. For Nymh, it works perfectly. Looks like this might work out after all.

 

[ariusshadow]

Time for another photo update.
Let's start with the current damage report...
Luna:
Responsible for the death of my headphone wire, and the death of my speaker wire... Speaker wire was replaced, and she killed it again. Also responsible for the death of my unnecessary microphone wire. Luna is no longer allowed in my room at all. Even supervised. Better for the rats anyway. Lei won't be so anxious without Luna around. Jasper:
Responsible for the paint missing from the wall, and the chew marks in the molding.
Photographic evidence of the crimes:

Jasper is also responsible for the damage to Nymh's cage, example shown below...

...and the un-cleanable urine stain on the floor behind Nymh's cage. Even vinegar leaves the stain looking like so:

Jasper is also responsible for the wires seen here:

The nicks you see are really deep gashes, but my camera fails.

Nymh:
Responsible for the stain under Jasper's cage, and under the bookshelf, which won't come up, even with vinegar.

Also responsible for the recurring stain on the walls and urine in Jasper's cage from jumping on top and peeing over the side:

In order to fix these problems, I marched my slave butt down to wal mart to purchase THICK vinyl.

I tented it up over the top of the cages where the buns mark and, so far, this is stopping it. I just now checked on Jasper, and the plastic seems to have kept her pee out of Nymh's cage..........

....I really REALLY hate our landlord, at the moment. Someone came upstairs earlier, after I was just done putting up the plastic. They were here to look at the bun room, which really needs a new tenant in it. But we were paying rent (and I just found out, NOT for this month), so it was the bun room for now. Apparently, the person's moving in. Tonight. All the work I did needs to come down and we have to find a new place to put our rabbits NOW. No ifs, ands, or buts. And no one cares that it'll destroy our rabbits to have it any other way... We've decided we're moving next month. No notice from anyone, and we can't even argue because it'll just fall on deaf ears.. What a (censored)...

Also, I promised pictures of the keys. So here's pics of everybuns cage-toys:

Luna's:

Nymh's:

Jasper's:

Going to go clear out the bun room.. No idea what we're doing with the rabbits... =\... Oh well...

 

[kirbyultra]

Wow, what bad timing. Naughty little buns really did a job on the apartment. I hope you find a place for everyone and everybun soon

Those keys are so cute! I love that the keyring is a bunny. :hearts

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

Wow, what bad timing. Naughty little buns really did a job on the apartment. I hope you find a place for everyone and everybun soon

Those keys are so cute! I love that the keyring is a bunny. :hearts

I know! It was so perfect! I had walked from one end of the store to the other to grab Boyfriend and tell him I needed his tallness to get the "generic" keys from the top rack. I'd been after those furEVER and these were cheaper than Wal Mart's. As I led him to the spot, right in front of me were the bunny keys. I flipped- and crazily enough, so did Boyfriend. :biggrin2:So adorable~

At the moment, Luna is in the store room, under a table... And Jasper has been moved into the hallway where Luna was.. I don't think Luna will be able to free range where she is, though, and it worries me... I can barely feed her when I can't let her out. She attacks so viciously, so quick, I can't even get the food dish.
Now... To clean/move Nymh's cage...
As it is, I have to PRAY our only driving friend will be available today. If I can't get something to eat through the urine stains, we're in deep...:litterhealthy:

 

[kirbyultra]

You might wnat to try some vinegar with baking soda? Or just plain water and baking soda. Wear a plastic glove though, baking soda is really harsh stuff.

 

[ariusshadow]

Thankfully, vinegar's second round, and a magic eraser lightened the stains enough to let me relax. Nymh and Jasper are now in the hallway, Nymh on top of Jasper's cage. *Sighs* Never a dull moment.. And after all that, I'm too tired to clean the rat cage. Dx
Thanks for the advice, though, Helen. Had it not worked, I may have stolen the (censored) roommates' baking soda >->;;

 

[ariusshadow]

I've not met the new roommate for more than 30 seconds so far. But from what I can tell she's immature, and insecure. Joy. Apparently, she's afraid of being away from Mom and Dad for the first time, but just had a rough breakup with her husband.. Wait.. What?
Yeah, apparently, this chick was married while still living under her folks roof and is now terrified of the real world. Hopefully, this won't be for long. At the moment, she's in a trial period here anyway. And we're hopefully moving soon. She's on and off about bringing her kitten here. I'd be ecstatic, but she doesn't seem interested in the idea and wants to rid of it. So much for the one good point so far.
Yeah, I know I'm being overly judgmental. But I won't let it stain the clean slate. I'll treat her as I would anyone else until she confirms or denies my theories. But really..

I've yet to finish rabbit proofing all areas of the new play areas. Especially Luna's, as she's in the closet, though she doesn't seem to mind. She next to a window and covered by a table. She seems to like it.

OH I have a cell phone now. xD It's an older model, but more than good enough for me. Verizon's envy.. I think. x.x; The one that flipped open before the touch screen was implemented. Already have Jasper's pictures as wallpapers for both screens. ^^

And another bit of news... I inquired on Craigs List about this adorable little squidget.
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/pet/1819799530.html

I'll be discussing with them about possibly holding the bun until we move, in return for making sure she goes to a great home. I'll have to find out exactly when they're moving. And I LOVE that cage.. Totally changing the bun's name if I get her, though. *Eye twitches.* Cuddles is WAY too cute. I'd be more the type to stick a spiked collar on it and call it Killer. xD Seriously, though.. Not Cuddles..

 

[hln917]

Good luck with the new roommate. How old is she? Perhaps she's just nervous about being on her own for the first time.

Cuddles is adorable! Her face reminds me of my Cappuccino, two face! That'll be great if her cage was included. Will you be keeping her permanently or just fostering? Keep us posted.

 

[ariusshadow]

She's like 25. *Shrugs* Hopefully, we'll be out by the 15th so whatever.

Just a note: Landlord's officially an explicit name in my mind. He's now refusing to pay back our security. Illegal much? -.- Wtf... "I don't have the money to pay it back." Oh, bite me... ssd:

 

[ariusshadow]

Luna seems to be okay with her new closet home. This will be her home probably until we move. Our biggest problem is our calendar looks like a jumbled mess. Boyfriend was trying to get move in date for the 15th. Since we're all on DSS except for one person, that way we could get $650 back for the time we didn't live there. But we were planning to go to my parents' house on the tenth. So moving would have to wait until we come back. But then we'd have to do packing in our already insanely confined quarters and just leave the boxes on beds or something.. Because there's nowhere to put them.
Boyfriend's trying to keep our moving out away from the roommates. Because, yeah, they'll likely throw a fit. But we can't hide it forever. They're going to notice us packing away our dishes in the kitchen, you know?
Our current hopeful plan is to just start packing, and have the other household we're joining up with, just start moving while we're away. And they can get a lot to most of their moving done without us in the way. And it'll be easier for Kitty to move her puppy in with less people. Less people=less excitement. Kujo's extremely excitable. So we're hoping to keep the "OMG" factor down. x.x;
As for my parents' house. We're torn. Tricia and Eric will not be taking care of the pets. Kitty's agreed to help. We'll be taking two of the animals (rats counting as one for the moment), and she'll take the other two. But we have 2 sets possible and that's it. We have Jasper and Nymh, who have to go together. Because I plan to bond them, and they've already gotten an awesome start. And I don't want to break what they have. Ten days is too long. We may be taking those two and leaving the ratties and Luna to Kitty. But then that poses the problem that Luna came back with more severe behavioral problems last time she was at Kitty's... Probably because of the activity level of the house. And the dog. So then we're leaning to taking the rats and Luna with us and leaving Jasper and Nymh in the care of Kitty... *Sighs* What a mess...
On a brighter note, we'll be going to the beach (if the gulf spill doesn't (censored) us over..) sometime over those ten days. We're going to go to Connecticut's Sherwood Island. I haven't been there since I was very young. Aside from the oil, I refuse to go in the water. I won't even let Boyfriend go in. But I can't stop my father. x.x; My mother won't go in either.. I got stung by baby jellyfish as a young child there. And that combined with memories of finding seaweed in my bathing suit seriously turns me off to it. I go to collect wildlife and it's remains. I have a full horseshoe crab shell I found when I was a kid. Still in tact- eyes and all.
(Wildlife extends to hermit crabs and snails, for those of you bugging about the ecosystem or whatever. I have taken home a clam before.. But that really doesn't interest me anymore.) You don't find much awesome stuff there. Or, at least, you didn't back when I was there. No starfish or sand dollars... Nothing cool like that. Mostly crabs...
I'm also going for the shells. The tiny ones that get stuck in the seaweed.. the kinds with holes in them for stringing them together. Or kinds for hermit crabs, which I may or may not be getting when I go to my mother's. She's going to take us into Putnam County, where there's Animal Kingdom. This awesome pet store. I'm going to call and see what kind of hermit crab stock they have, since everything around here sucks. If they have any good ones, we'll be going there for that, and then taking them right to the new house when we take them home.
So, I think that's it for now. Update again before I leave for my parents'.. And probably with pictures.

 

[ariusshadow]

I'm texting back and forth with Cuddles' owner at the moment, discussing the price. She wants $100 for the cage and bun! That's not a rehoming fee.. = More like she's trying to sell her... But I'm ignoring that, and telling her I just don't think we can afford it. But she said it was negotiable... And I mentioned we were moving and might have to wait a few weeks to take her.. No answer back has me alarmed.. I hope I didn't ruin it...

Edit:
They lowered the price to $75. I still don't like it, but it seems better than $100.. I told her on the 6th, we'd have a better idea. She said she's not moving until August. I asked if I could text her on the 6th to tell her how our finances are going. And I told her I'm excited. I wanted a lop next... ray: Praying we have the money.

 

[ariusshadow]

So, it's set that we'll discuss Cuddles' future on the sixth. I'm really pulled toward her, so I'm excited. And maybe I'm a serious "crazy old bun lady" but I'm in love with the cage just about as much. It's so awesome looking. I can't wait to meet her for the first time.

 

[ariusshadow]

Bah! Waiting until tomorrow has been grueling enough already! I'm really anticipating finding out if I can get Cuddles.. She's really pulling on me... In that.. special kind of way, you know? In that "you'll know" sense. I just don't know what I'll do if Boyfriend says we can't afford her tomorrow. I'll probably just spend the week in a trance... It's so strange.. I've never even met this animal and she's effecting me so... I'm so afraid that Boyfriend will say we can't afford it because the landlord won't give us the security deposit back... "I can't afford to"... Right.. As a thank you, when I was cleaning Jasper's litter box the other day, some of the crap spilled into a crevice in the floor. I left the nice little pile there, and in a few other little holes. Why should I go out of my way to clean up? He's not going out of his way for us. -_- I hope he's the one that ends up cleaning after my rabbits. Jerk. *Sighs*... I'll have to try to haggle down with them to see if we can do it.. I don't want it to seem like we're broke, though. =\ The less we pay, the less they think we have to support Cuddles later, you know..?
I hope we get her.. I want her so badly... I know Kitty got that feeling from her picture, too. Not as strongly, but that... "She should be mine" feeling.. It's almost impossible to explain right.. Unless you've felt it before.. People always say.. "When you see the right one for you, you'll know..." I know.. Cuddles may be the perfect one for me.. But that won't do me any good if we can't afford the down payment for her. =\ I might discuss with them that I'll be paying for gas to go get the bun, so I'll have that much less to pay for her.. But maybe if Kitty got the same feeling, since we'll all be living together.. Maybe she'll help me scrape together some cash... I hope I can find a way... It's far beyond want... I almost feel like I *need* Cuddles... I can't imagine how ridiculous that must sound... She's just a rabbit, after all.. And one I've never even met, no less.. But still.. I understand the need to have an animal in ones life.. Maybe.. This is a realization for me. I've always had caged animals before. But I've never been so.. obsessive over any of them like I am with the buns. They touch me in a way hamsters and rats just can't. Maybe rabbits were always supposed to be my true calling, so to speak.. Or maybe I'm just blabbering.. Whatever the reason... I just hope I can add her to the family.

 

[kirbyultra]

Oh Ari, I know when the bunny bug bites, it's impossible to ignore. You know your own situation best. But I would encourage you think about the animals you have now as well as what's best for Cuddles. If you get Cuddles how would it affect your life, would it be a lot harder on you and your finances? Would it affect your ability to care for the animals you already have? I don't often make a big noise about it on the forum but the truth is, I really hate to see when people get pet-overloaded and when something happens to one of them, they can't afford medical help and use it as an excuse to not get them the professional help that they need. I'm not saying that's you, but I just wanted to urge you think about contingencies and options, what's best for yourself and for everybun involved before you make a final decision about pursuing Cuddles.
:hug:

 

[ariusshadow]

kirbyultra wrote:

Oh Ari, I know when the bunny bug bites, it's impossible to ignore. You know your own situation best. But I would encourage you think about the animals you have now as well as what's best for Cuddles. If you get Cuddles how would it affect your life, would it be a lot harder on you and your finances? Would it affect your ability to care for the animals you already have? I don't often make a big noise about it on the forum but the truth is, I really hate to see when people get pet-overloaded and when something happens to one of them, they can't afford medical help and use it as an excuse to not get them the professional help that they need. I'm not saying that's you, but I just wanted to urge you think about contingencies and options, what's best for yourself and for everybun involved before you make a final decision about pursuing Cuddles.
:hug:

Helen, I thank you for caring.
I've had many animals at a single time before. I have been overloaded before. Finances are of no concern at the moment, and I'm far from being overloaded. Thoughts of bonding Cuddles (WAY in the future, obviously), with Jasper and Nymh when the time comes, has crossed my mind. At the moment, the only constraints we're on is getting the money *in time*, and space (maybe) in the new house. But Boyfriend seems more worried about space that I am. I know Kitty and I. We'll stack cages to the ceiling and lose our bed to make our animals happy... As for time.. It only takes for the check to be sent out, but if we don't have the funds before we go to my parents' house on the 11th, we might have to lose the opportunity altogether.
I know my limits from years of adopting caged pets. Though, I barely consider buns a caged pet, with all the extra hands on deck in the new place, I hardly think that being overwhelmed is a problem. We're going to the new place tomorrow, when we find out what Cuddles' future will be. It'll be then that we discuss where our pets' cages will go, as we're the ones that did footwork and extra expenditure, and then we'll pass the sheet off to Kitty's group, who we're combining with, so she can put in where she'd like her pets to be. If we see any problems, it'll be a discussion between us to find out what we think. I see no reason 7 buns (yes, count 'em, 7, when Cuddles is counted) can't live happily under that roof. Maybe I'm just overconfident in my ability to play tetris, but all will be settled tomorrow, hopefully.ray:

I really do thank you for your concern, though. I've been overwhelmed before. It sucks. Mostly for the animals, in the end. But this time, I really don't think I need to worry.

 

[usawan]

i hope that everything goes well with your move, sounds like your current room mates are a couple of :censored2:. at least living with people you know will make life that much easier, so that's one less stress that you have to worry about. i just hope that all the bunnies can get along without too much fighting/babymaking going on ! you will have to post photos of all the buns after everything is settled in the new house

cuddles is so cute...her hutch is really nice also ! you could even house two tiny buns in there if space demanded it and block off the ramp, or stack a cage on top if it isn't too high. having wheels on it will also make it really convenient to move around if people want to rearrange. best of luck to you being able to afford her !

 

[kirbyultra]

ariusshadow wrote:

kirbyultra wrote:

Oh Ari, I know when the bunny bug bites, it's impossible to ignore. You know your own situation best. But I would encourage you think about the animals you have now as well as what's best for Cuddles. If you get Cuddles how would it affect your life, would it be a lot harder on you and your finances? Would it affect your ability to care for the animals you already have? I don't often make a big noise about it on the forum but the truth is, I really hate to see when people get pet-overloaded and when something happens to one of them, they can't afford medical help and use it as an excuse to not get them the professional help that they need. I'm not saying that's you, but I just wanted to urge you think about contingencies and options, what's best for yourself and for everybun involved before you make a final decision about pursuing Cuddles.
:hug:

Helen, I thank you for caring.
I've had many animals at a single time before. I have been overloaded before. Finances are of no concern at the moment, and I'm far from being overloaded. Thoughts of bonding Cuddles (WAY in the future, obviously), with Jasper and Nymh when the time comes, has crossed my mind. At the moment, the only constraints we're on is getting the money *in time*, and space (maybe) in the new house. But Boyfriend seems more worried about space that I am. I know Kitty and I. We'll stack cages to the ceiling and lose our bed to make our animals happy... As for time.. It only takes for the check to be sent out, but if we don't have the funds before we go to my parents' house on the 11th, we might have to lose the opportunity altogether.
I know my limits from years of adopting caged pets. Though, I barely consider buns a caged pet, with all the extra hands on deck in the new place, I hardly think that being overwhelmed is a problem. We're going to the new place tomorrow, when we find out what Cuddles' future will be. It'll be then that we discuss where our pets' cages will go, as we're the ones that did footwork and extra expenditure, and then we'll pass the sheet off to Kitty's group, who we're combining with, so she can put in where she'd like her pets to be. If we see any problems, it'll be a discussion between us to find out what we think. I see no reason 7 buns (yes, count 'em, 7, when Cuddles is counted) can't live happily under that roof. Maybe I'm just overconfident in my ability to play tetris, but all will be settled tomorrow, hopefully. ray:

I really do thank you for your concern, though. I've been overwhelmed before. It sucks. Mostly for the animals, in the end. But this time, I really don't think I need to worry.

:thumbup