squeakersquad's Xanga

Gerbil Declanning

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:44:28 GMT

I feared this might happen, given the dominant natures of both Topaz and Honey-Jade...but the family group has split. :(

At first I thought it was Topie being aggressive. Two days ago while cleaning their cage I noticed that Honey Jade had NUMEROUS scabs on her back. Bite wounds...and given their past scuffles it was more than clear that Topie had inflicted them. So I quarantined her in her own cage overnight.

As I discovered, however, she wasn't the only aggressor.

Last night while I was watching TV in the bedroom (my husband and I have different taste in TV shows) my husband called me out to the living room and told me that someone was bleeding all over the girls' tank.

That someone was Amber. The last centimeter of her tail had been degloved (the skin and fur removed with only the bone left--it's a natural defense mechanism) and was bleeding profusely. From the blood marks in various places in the tank it was obvious that she had been chased...and from the copious amounts of blood on Honey's jaw, it was clear who was doing the chasing.

So now it was Honey's turn to be removed. I put her with Topaz, but it was to be a VERY brief reintroduction. Topaz was clearly frightened, her ears folded back and thumping her hind foot. In the FIVE minutes I had them together Honey attacked her mother twice.

So to make an already long story short(er), Honey is in her own cage, and Topie is in her own cage. I left Amber with Citrine, as the two seem to be doing fine together. In fact, it was Citrine that was trying to clean up Amber's wound after the attack (there was a little blood on her fur too).

To a lot of gerbil trauma lately. Thankfully degloving injuries are not serious. They just bleed...a LOT.

E-Vet Redemption!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:04:16 GMT

Just when I thought my complaint to the veterinary center was being ignored, I finally received a response!

One of the veterinary managers apologized profusely for the incident, and has offered that the exotics vet re-examine Fennel and Chamomile for no charge. She also said that this incident would be addressed in a planned meeting with the emergency staff--so it looks like this sort of ridiculousness won't happen again.

I'm not the type of person who usually likes to make waves, but sometimes it does pay to be a pain in the butt. :P

Mama's Boy, Kissies, and the Ice Queen

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:40:01 GMT

Three different rats.

Three totally different personalities.

Remington, of course, is my sweet little man. He is truly a mama's boy, and doesn't even like my husband touching him (he will accept treats, however). I've heard talk of "heart rats", ratties that just scritch their way into your heart and are truly loving creatures. Rem-rem is indeed one of those special rats. :)

Fennel has really come out of her shell. What was once a skittish (but curious) rat has now become a full-blown rat adventurer...and a MAJOR kisser. I dunno if my skin is especially salty or what...but rarely a night goes by when she's not giving me little rat kisses.

...case in point. :P

Cammie is not nearly so outgoing as her sister, and in fact would much rather be left alone. (hence the Ice Queen moniker) She's a bit controlling, and will occasionally grab Fennel by the ear to try and drag her back into the cage. With her teeth.

I'm hoping it's just a phase.

A Rat-Phobic Emergency Vet

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:27:26 GMT

I know that not all people like rats. There is a sizeable population in the world that, in fact, fears the little squeakybeasts.

I did not, however, expect that a representative of that population would be working as an emergency vet. Least of all one that was recommended to me.

Chamomile and Fennel are still suffering from respiratory issues, and being that I work full time during the week, Saturday is about my only day to be able to take them to the vet. Unfortunately, the vet clinic that I normally go to was booked solid for the day, but they suggested that I take my girls to the attached urgent care/emergency vet clinic.

BIG mistake.

It became painfully clear early on that this was not the best choice. The emergency vet was clearly frightened of my rats. The only time that she touched either one was for about 5 seconds each when she attempted to check their breathing with a stethoscope. Neither she nor the vet tech bothered to check their temperature, or examine their noses for discharge, or even listen to their breath sounds. She was in the room for literally one minute.

I was told that she consulted with one of the exotics vets, which gave me some measure of comfort.

I was given Baytril for the girls, paid, and was sent on my way. It wasn't until I got home that I read over the diagnosis sheets, and what I saw bothered me immensely. She had written that respirations were normal, there was no nasal or ocular discharge, and they weren't sneezing. None of these three statements were true in the least. If she had actually looked at the rats, she would have noticed that Chamomile had porphyrin (that red goo) stains underneath her eyes, that Fennel's breathing was hampered by bubbling mucus, and that both rats were sneezing like crazy. (Fennel sneezed on me twice while she was in the room!)

She also noted that both rats were active. While that may have been true for that particular moment, I know for a fact that they were both agitated. They hadn't been out of their home cage since I brought them home three weeks ago. Almost as soon as I brought them home Chamomile went to sleep...and slept most of the rest of the day AND yesterday. Active, huh...suuuuuure.

So I wrote an e-mail to complain. Hopefully I will hear something back soon...

In the meantime, I have learned a valuable lesson. This veterinarian's phobia clearly hindered her ability to care for Fennel and Chamomile, and rest assured I will never subject my girls to that again. Nor will I subject my wallet to the cost of sub-par care. ($160 for THAT??)

If my normal vet is booked, I'll just high-tail it to Alameda East. (Yep, the same clinic from the show "Emergency Vets". They're about 10 miles from my apartment.)

The Two Adoptees

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:04:49 GMT

My husband and I picked up our two new girls last week...and I have to say that I am very glad that we were able to take them. They are beautiful little girls.

Meet Chamomile (left) and Fennel (right). Right now their cage is right next to my recliner so they can get used to being around humans. Their previous owner, as I mentioned before, was allergic and rarely interacted with them, so they're a bit on the skittish side. I'm slowly bringing them out of their shells, however.

Right now Fennel is the most comfortable with being outside. She lost her left eye to injury when she was younger, but that certainly hasn't hurt her personality. Already she's giving me little rat kissies. :)

Chamomile (Cammie for short) is still nervous. She is also very much a nipper, something that I'm trying to break her of as soon as possible.

Neither of them like to be picked up so far (again with their lack of human contact), and both appear to have upper respiratory issues. I'm trying them on tetracycline first, and if that doesn't work I'll get them to the vet for some Baytril.

Love and Loss

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:31:13 GMT

My sweet Daisy passed away yesterday.

I wish I had been able to do more to help her. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her the eyedrops and the tetracycline to control her respiratory and ocular symptoms...but apparently that was merely the tip of the iceberg. On Sunday I had her out for a little bit, petting her and cuddling her in my hand. Her belly seemed a little hard, and apparently it hurt a bit, because she squeaked when I picked her up and nipped me on the hand.

Whether it was a tumor, a systemic infection, or whatever...she crossed the Rainbow Bridge sometime yesterday while I was at work.

Best estimate has her at just under 3 years of age. She lived a decently long life for a gerbie...but it still hurts. Daisy was my dad's favorite. When he was at his sickest just before he died, he held her in his hands, and she didn't move a muscle. She just let him hold her. It's a precious memory...and I can just see her sitting on Dad's shoulder eating a sunflower seed.

*whimper*

Bye bye, baby girl.

I hope there are TONS of sunflower seeds in Heaven, 'cuz I bet she'll eat them all if she has the chance. :P

Preparing for Unexpected Adoptees

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:58:31 GMT

One of my husband's customers has a pair of male rats that she is trying to give away. It seems she is terribly allergic, and if she is unable to find a new home for the rats they will have to go to a shelter.

After a few weeks of contemplation, my husband and I have decided to take these little guys in. At first I wasn't sure that we had the room for two more squeakers...but talking to my husband convinced me that yes, if we organize things a bit, we will have plenty of room for another cage.

So for the next few days we'll be cleaning things up a bit and reorganizing things in the living room to make room for the new rat cage. Plus, I will be doing research into rat introductions...because this would be the perfect opportunity to integrate Remington into a family group!

Edit: That last idea will have to be nixed. The two ratties are GIRLS. XD

Dead Laptop, Gerbil Reunion, and Gratuitous Rattie Love

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:46:02 GMT

Yep...my laptop is absolutely toast...in a literal sense. The motherboard is fried, and the cost to repair it is hardly worth it given the computer's age.

So for now I'm computerless at home, and will probably remain so until December-ish. At least I have my computer at work with which to check e-mail and browse the web. I just won't be around on weekends much.

But I can say one positive thing about it: it leaves me plenty of time to play with the Squeakers. :)

Speaking of which...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have victory! Amber has now been fully reintroduced to her family! I'm both excited and relieved at the same time. Honey is still a bit of a bully, but now she mostly focuses her attention on Topaz (who quickly quashes any uprising--Big Mama is in charge!) and Ambie is in the clear. It took three weeks to fully reintegrate them, but it was so worth it for the positive result.

Treat time! Remington loves his peanuts...

...which he follows up with a side of toes. (just kidding...he was cleaning himself)

Then, time to relax.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:45:39 GMT

This is the sight that I woke up to on the 26th:

Sometime through the night, Citrine had squeezed through the tiny space between the top of the wire partition and the cage lid to join Amber on the other side. There were no apparent wounds, no evidence that the two had fought...just Amber and Citrine happily going about their normal gerbil business.

So literally the day after I wrote here bemoaning the fact that Amber would probably never be reunited with her family, her littermate decided to prove me wrong.

But this is one case where I am more than happy to be wrong. :) Go Ambie and Trini-Bean!

No Dice

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:33:22 GMT

Amber will probably never be reunited with her mom and sisters. I attempted a supervised reintroduction today, and Honey Jade instantly went on the attack.

Sigh.

Poor Ambie.

FYI...my laptop is toast at the moment. Just a heads up as to why I'm not around much right now. :/