Ren's WILDlife

[RandomWiktor]

I had the pleasure of meeting Alicia (JadeIcing) and her critter family yesterday My medical treatments are an hour away in CT (hence the three hours a day - an hour drive there, an hour in treatment, and hour home), and incidentally only about 45 min from Alicia's town. So long as my day was already going to involve a silly ammount of driving (I had a different, seperate doctor's appt that morning that was also an hour away), I figured why not drop of the foster gecko at her lovely new home?

Alicia is an absolute sweetie and what gorgeous bunnies! I wish I'd brought my camera. I got to meet her fuzzy new lionhead foster, the little girl who was going off to her new home, as well as all of the residents - including the famous Ringo! All of her bunnies were absolutely beautiful and very well cared for, which is refreshing to see since locally Steve and I are about the only half decent rabbit owners I've encountered. I also finally got to meet Jax and Bo, who I've heard so much about, in the flesh. Seeing how healthy and happy they were gives me every confidence that Isadora is in a FANTASTIC home.

I think that for all its flaws, the internet is especially wonderful on one regard: it allows people to connect with others of shared interests that they would have never encountered otherwise. I've met so many awesome people via the web, and placed many animals in excellent homes as a result. Nice to finally meet one of the good people of RO!

I have basically no personal updates. I've been too busy to think, forget take photos of critters or even make any meaningful observations aside from "You guys alive? Healthy? Eating? Ok good." I hate being this busy. Today I start overnight pet sits, which should calm things down a bit as a certain fiance won't be able to vamp all of my time.

 

[JadeIcing]

RandomWiktor wrote:

Alicia is an absolute sweetie and what gorgeous bunnies! I wish I'd brought my camera. I got to meet her fuzzy new lionhead foster, the little girl who was going off to her new home, as well as all of the residents - including the famous Ringo! All of her bunnies were absolutely beautiful and very well cared for, which is refreshing to see since locally Steve and I are about the only half decent rabbit owners I've encountered. I also finally got to meet Jax and Bo, who I've heard so much about, in the flesh. Seeing how healthy and happy they were gives me every confidence that Isadora is in a FANTASTIC home.

I think that for all its flaws, the internet is especially wonderful on one regard: it allows people to connect with others of shared interests that they would have never encountered otherwise. I've met so many awesome people via the web, and placed many animals in excellent homes as a result. Nice to finally meet one of the good people of RO!

Why thank you! I was in awe of our new little girl that it took me a bit to be make sense of everything. I can't thank you enough for letting us make her part of our family. We are in love with her already. When we came back shehad eatenthe meal worms. :biggrin:I love that you liked meeting our crew. We try to give them the best possible. It is a work in progress but one we love to work on.

It is awesome when you get to meet people from on here. You are number 7 for me. :biggrin:

 

[slavetoabunny]

I also think it is wonderful to meet internet friends. I have met many and look forward to meeting many more in the future!

P.S. Daytona Beach is a great winter vacation destination for all you Northerners.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Noooooo! *pounds head against wall* I JUST adopted out a leopard gecko and got a request to assist... drumroll please... another leopard gecko. I didn't turn it down since I obviously have the supplies, and it's in rough shape; it's a baby that's REALLY skinny because the people were told by the store it didn't need live food and would do fine on canned dehydrated bugs. Grrrrr.

Pics soon.

 

[JadeIcing]

RandomWiktor wrote:

Noooooo! *pounds head against wall* I JUST adopted out a leopard gecko and got a request to assist... drumroll please... another leopard gecko. I didn't turn it down since I obviously have the supplies, and it's in rough shape; it's a baby that's REALLY skinny because the people were told by the store it didn't need live food and would do fine on canned dehydrated bugs. Grrrrr.

Pics soon.

:shock:I got ideas that I am going to slap myself out of. :big wink:

 

[RandomWiktor]

Hey guys! I'm working on a website for my rescue work as I may be getting my own place soon and am hoping to go 501(c)(3). The site is still under construction and very simple at this point, but any feedback about content (aesthetics are to come; this is just a "skeleton") would be appreciated. I'm hoping to add: downloadable educational info, profiles of "residents," and contact info as soon as I'm done with the other sections. It also needs a serious spell-check. Clicky

Also: Here's the new foster!

Finally, to keep this on topic as a bunny blog: Brindam is being very good with me but is getting psycho-aggressive with everyone else She bit my dad deeply, drawing blood and causing a minor infection. She's been boxing, growling, and lunging at my mom as well. Any ideas on what she's turning into such a nasty thing? Is it jealousy as our bond grows? I'm confused and alarmed by this behavior.

 

[JadeIcing]

You are trying to kill me.

 

[undergunfire]

Wow...she is so skinny . I LOVE her "eye shadow", though!!

 

[Myia09]

Ugh that poor patternless!
So freaking skinny!

 

[fuzz16]

the gecko is so skinny..hopefully you got him in time to help him

 

[RandomWiktor]

Only time for quick updates.

- Brindam has been getting fat again. I found out why; my mom's been sneaking her carrots and apples every friggen day. This move NEEDS to go through, and fast.
- Foster rattie is still slowly but surely taming. No adopters yet though
- Red Eared Slider continues to improve but still not eating. Great news though: it DOES have two eyes! I pulled out a plug of rotting meaty stuff from the bad eye and there was an eyeball under it!
- New gecko is eating, passing urates and wastes - good news, kidneys aren't shot! To be tested ASAP for parasites.

 

[JadeIcing]

RandomWiktor wrote:

Only time for quick updates.

- Brindam has been getting fat again. I found out why; my mom's been sneaking her carrots and apples every friggen day. This move NEEDS to go through, and fast.
- Foster rattie is still slowly but surely taming. No adopters yet though
- Red Eared Slider continues to improve but still not eating. Great news though: it DOES have two eyes! I pulled out a plug of rotting meaty stuff from the bad eye and there was an eyeball under it!
- New gecko is eating, passing urates and wastes - good news, kidneys aren't shot! To be tested ASAP for parasites.

Sneaky mom!

Atleast she is taming. The right home will come in time.

That is freaking awesome!!!!

That is good news as well. I am in love with this sweety!

 

[RandomWiktor]

Sitting on my couch with Leo stubbornly head-butting my elbow in hopes of being petted, I realize that I haven't had a moment to just sit down in front of a computer long enough to blogin quite some time!

So what's the scoop? Let's break it down:

Foster Updates
Turtle:
The RES with the horrific eye infection and respiratory infection is slowly but surely recovering. Last I checked in, the major concern was his refusal to eat.

After trying very unsucessfully to use my feeding tubes, which were a little too small, I frantically called around to vets, rehabbers, rescuers, etc. looking for anyone who would help me out (new tubes take weeks to arrive). I had a tremendously rage inspiring conversation with someone who came highly acclaimed as a turtle rescuer. He told me, point blank, that since it was a RES and a male to boot, it was not worth saving because it is a common, valueless species. :grumpyI told him that whoever said he loved turtles was badly mistaken and I was sorry for wasting his time.

Thankfully, a wildlife rehabber who is currently being treated for cancer took the time and energy to get back to me with some great tips - and even a willingness to tube feed after she finished recovering from surgery. Thankfully, her advice has gotten the turtle to a point where it can be safely and effectively force fed as its eyes finish recovering. The turtle has had three successful feedings. Silversides are the easiest shape to force feed, but they aren't very nutritionally efficient, so I've been gutting them and filling them up with a paste of kale, papaya, bloodworms, organ meat, vitamins, calcium, and probiotics. Already he is far more energetic. He's not out of the woods, but he can certainly see the light filtering through the trees.

Gecko:
The emaciated leopard gecko was seen to a vet and had a fecal performed. The conclusion? No signs of parasites or disease. This lizard was literally just straight up starved. It makes me very angry, but I'm also glad that his only challenge should be putting weight on. And we're making good progress already!

Arrival:

Yesterday:

Rat:
The rat is gradually becoming more tame. Lately, she lets me pet her even if someone else is in the room and even standing by the cage. I'm trying to get my family involved in petting her as well so that she gets used to more people. The next step will be convincing her that it's OK to be picked up; I think I'll start by luring her onto my hands covered with a towel with treat bribes. Currently, any attempts to pick her up result in pretty serious biting.

Forgive the poos; I hadn't cleaned the cage yet that morning.
I've been giving her a ton of enrichment. Recently, I built her a little model car and stuffed the interior and spokes with treats. She enjoyed it:

Other:
- Penny Dreadful has still not found a home, but I am continuing to work on her handling. Since she's very energetic/high strung, I'm going to start working on training her to do some simple tasks, increasing her human contact and hopefully giving her an outlet for her energy as well.
- The five healthy common goldfish babies should be heading upstate to live in a huge goldfish pond within the next month, woohoo! The sixth, with the jaw deformity, will be staying with me until he needs to be euthanized (these deformities tend to get much worse as the fish grows until it can not eat).
- The crowntail betta is now available for adoption, fully recovered!
- The plakat betta is almost up to weight and will hopefully also be fore adoption soon.

Bunny Updates
Not much to speak of here! Everyone on my end is healthy and doing well. We had a nail trim day earlier this week; based on what I'm reading, my buns are pretty exceptionally well behaved for this matter. Which is funny since they're badly behaved in just about every other way. Brindam continues to be very aggressive towards everyone but me, however, which I am concerned about.

Steve and I have been planning how to set up the rabbits if we buy this business. We have settled on a purchase price; all that remains now is having the lawyer confirm that everything is kosher, then deciding exactly how we want to break down paying for it. It looks like his parents are considering footing a large portion of it so we can pay THEM back without interest directly. It will also help us get a loan if it isn't a HUGE loan. But I digress. We plan on having the rabbits live pretty much outdoors since it isn't a huge house and none of our rabbits are true "house rabbits" per se. We're like to build, hopefully, 6x6 runs for each bunny (maybe bigger for Leon and Thanator if their bonding goes well)including a nest box, hay rack, and an underground"cooldown" area for the summer with anice, cool stone bottom.

Life in General Updates
The main reason I haven't been on is WORK! I am swamped with pet sits right now,and since I'm the one sitter who does overnights, I'm pretty much constantly staying over at clients' houses in addition to my mid-day visits. It's kindof dreadful honestly; I haven't slept with (as in sleeping, not anything else you dirty people) my fiance in over two weeks, and I'm lucky if I see him for a couple of hours every other day. And I've had to fit in all kinds of medical appointments between my visits, leaving me strapped for pet care and lesiure time. But, it's a lot of money; I'll probably be pulling in over $800 just in pet sits this month, which doesn't sound like a lot I know, but for me it'swhat allows me to do things like rescue skinny leopard geckos, buy organic food for my parrots,and upgrade enclosures.

There weather HAS been lovely though, and inbetween my sits, Steve and I have been hiking. Here's some pics:

Red Winged Blackbird

Wood Frog

Milkweed Bug Assassin

Jumping Spider (and prey) - we went sweep netting and this little guy hunted and ate right in our net!

Native Bee

I should have a pic of a leopard frog but the upload didn't work, grrr. I'll post something later, maybe.

Off to another pet sit *passes out*

 

[JadeIcing]

Love this update! I am so glad things seem to be going well. I am in love with that little guy. He looks so young to have been mistreated so badly.:grumpyThank god he is in your hands. He has the best care, hehe if not I would go gecko nap him. :nasty:

Isadora is little by little coming along. She is such a stuburn little thing. She fits in so amazing. We just adore her she is a tad spoiled at the moment.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Just got in an opossum as a wildlife patient. x_x Pic/story later.

 

[JadeIcing]

RandomWiktor wrote:

Just got in an opossum as a wildlife patient. x_x Pic/story later.

ray:I saw one run across the street yesterday.

 

[Daenerys]

Ooooo, possum! I don't care what most people say, I think they're adorable XD

I saw a possum walking around on campus once, but it was during the daytime so I was a bit wary.....what with their nocturnal nature and all...what would it be doing wandering around a crowded campus during the day?

 

[RandomWiktor]

Meet mah new wildlife patient! This little fellow found his way into a trailer - a hoarder's (not animal, stuff) trailer and couldn't find his way back out. He's too young to be independent, and is quite skinny from scrounging off of garbage in the house for days. He also has a minor puncture wound on his leg, I'm guessing from their dog. That aside, he's fairly healthy, and probably just needs a couple weeks of good meals to get up to release weight (they need to be about 3lbs, he's about half a pound, so juuust about weaned).

There is a chance that more opossums are still in the trailer, as there's a hole in the floor that they might have gotten in through. It's also possible that his family booked and left him behind - possums are a bit weird; mothers will not come back for babies that fall off of her back. I feel that if he had a mother in the trailer somewhere, he'd have been a better weight.

I'm kinda hoping for the latter as I really don't want to deal with a whole family of 'em. Opossums, babies at least, are VERY prone to MBD. They need a very expensive, complicated to mix, and STINKY diet if they are to grow up healthy. The food bill for this guy was $50 yesterday, and I suspect the mix I made will only last week, tops.:shock: If any more get trapped I may need to call in the cavalry and see if any other rehabbers can help, asI have enough expensive and time consuming critters for my budget and sanity, tyvm!

 

[Daenerys]

Awwww he is sooooo cute!!!

And $50 a week!? Oy vey! O.O

 

[RandomWiktor]

Yeah it's pretty crazy. They eat a lot and what they eat is expensive. I'll be fair: it's not quite $50 a week because some of it lasts more than a week (ie. a can of powdered Esbilac is about $20 but I don't go through a whole can in a week), but it's still quite a lot. They need a massive variety EVERY DAY. The base proteins are costly enough, then add to it the big variety of fruit/veg (and expensive fruit like blueberries and such, grrr)... they rack up big bills. Last time we raised a litter from "pinky" age to 3lbs, it cost us about $500.