This is "baby bear"....Bear got sick on December 5, 2011 and we immediately rushed him into the emergency care center......

His symptoms were lethargic and significant weight loss along with being very pale (gums, ears, nose).  His temp was 102.4 which was normal for a ferret and pulse was 250 which is also normal for a ferret.  He had severe itching and no this was not due to fleas.

So, we get there and the vet did what he could but told us he didn't know all that much about ferrets.  no big suprise there, because they do not know much about exotics.  anyway, bear was put on prednisone and given a critical care formula that i was to mix up and feed.  suprisingly he wanted nothing to do with this mix so i did some research (always researching pet stuff) and came up with a formula that i was sure he would like.  low and behold he loved it.

Here is a recipe so any of you ferret owners can print it out and keep it handy for when your ferret is stuck ill:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup whipping cream

6 oz jar of gerber vegetable and chicken baby food

mix well and keep in refrigerator.  this mix will only last for 48 hours so be sure to toss it and make a new batch (that is if you have any left after 48 hours because our babies love this!)

now, you may be asking why the whipping cream?  whipping cream is used for the high fat content and its very palatable.  if your ferret has significant weight loss like our bear then you want to put weight back on him in a hurry.......IT WORKS!  I started out by spoon feeding every 2 to 3 hours around the clock and this is very important in a sick ferret.  their digestive system will empty out, per say, in three hours.  you want to keep him or her hydrated also and i did this by mixing the marshalls pellets 2 parts water and 1 part pellets and spoon fed the soupy part.  also began giving a cat hairball remedy and alternated it with nutracal for ferrets.  the nutracal is a high calorie supplement and also much needed at this point.

after just a couple feedings and medication and supplements we started seeing the pink come back into his ears, nose and mouth.  after a few more feedings we noticed some weight gain!!!!  a couple more and he had alot more engery!!! 

i do have to say that feeding around the clock is very exhausting but well worth the time and effort.  just try not to fall asleep in the ferret bed lol.

So its been 2 weeks exactly and i am begining to add a little less whipping cream and a little more water as i don't want him obesse....he has alot more weight on him now and getting playful....

the above pic is not a very good pic and will try to post a better one soon.

he will need to go back to the vet to check his red blood cell count in two more weeks as his levels were 14 and should be over 30 which means he is/was anemic.  she said it can take a good 30 days for his levels to come back up. 

so off i go for a feeding!  hugs

rebuilding our hearts and homes after the flood of 2011

As some of you know, we were flooded pretty badly this past week when ppl opened their flood gates. I, personally have never been through anything like this….I never want to go through it again. When the water began rising I really didn’t know what to expect or how bad it was going to get. When the basement was half way full I realized what kind of disaster we faced. The power was still on and half of the house remained on throughout the entire ordeal. We realized that all our pet’s food was in the freezers in the basement and we had lost all of it. We had just enough upstairs to distribute during meals and would run down and grab more as we needed it. Needless to say, it was all gone. That started my panic. What were we going to do when we run out? And we still face this problem. We have had a couple donations so far for them but not enough. All of our food was lost also, with the exception of what we did keep in the cupboards and the refridgerator. The cost of replacing all the food we had for us and pets is going to be more than we have now. We have both lost days at work which we count on as many people do. There was no reserve.

Some of you also know that our cockatiel aviary in the house was damaged and they had to be moved out to a cage where they waited upstairs until a local rescue, wings over Williamsport, could come to pick them up. They are safe and happy and in foster homes until they can be adopted out. I can’t tell you how hard I cried. We miss them very much and love them tremendously. It will take some time to repair that room and we had no where that we could put them in the meantime. A very special thank you goes to peggy hoffman for her quick rescue and loving care of them.

You hear people say “oh, that can be replaced”…..the awful reality is…this doesn’t make us feel better. The simplist things to other people, tears your heart up, right down to the last yard ornament that you bought with your new husband.

I stood on the deck as the waters swept away 2 years of landscaping in our back yard….as I watched one of my yard ornament ducks begin to wash away….I thought of the day my husband and I bought it the previous summer. I ran off the deck and into the fast rushing water and began collecting what I could. I even ripped off some “hens and chicks” and drug them back with me to the deck. They are now in a pot of dirt on the deck….SALVAGED! I, never being through this kind of thing, did not realize the danger. I had resin duck in hand, when I spotted a small bunny floating….tears started to flow as I reached out and picked up this baby bunny hoping it wasn’t dead yet and I could revive him…..I picked him up and relief hit me like a brick and I just started laughing. It was one of my resin bunnies!

　

　

So we have begun the clean up…we have running water back in the house. I go through all these times when I just cry then I start working again.

To everyone who lost their homes and some, their lives…my heart and thoughts are with you. I keep asking myself “how could this have happened?” as I am sure you are asking yourselves too.

We will get back on track and we will be okay….some people can’t say that because their lives and homes were washed down the river with the flood waters.

basement

WHAT A WEEK!

well, alot has happened this week....as some of you know we rescued a momma cat and her kittens from drowning by a neighbor....the danville spac (no kill shelter) will take them all but not until the babies are 8 weeks old.  if you want to know more about this please go to my face book page and and then go to "notes"...you will find all the info and pics there.

the kittens are doing great and the momma is doing extremely well.....she is friendly and trusts me to pick up her babies and inspect them and hold them.  she isn't real sure about other people yet so i'm giving her and the babies as much quiet as i can while still caring for them all. 

Our one dog, the dashand, i don't know how to spell that lol....is having cluster seizures yet ,again...they are getting closer together and more severe so how much longer he will be with us we don't know.  I can say that if there is any suffering we will not wait.  i believe there is pressure in his head and i say this because i see things that i have seen before in the dog i lost with the tumor a few years ago. 

we will be doggie sitting a blind dog next weekend.  a cocker spaniel, which are one of my favorite breeds and we are looking forward to it so much.  i hope she isn't scared and i will do all i can to calm her.  aslo going to move the coffee table and put some pillows around where she could run into something so she won't get hurt, and she will be in the living room away from the other dogs so they aren't jumping on her.  i'm sure we will be sleeping on the couch, unbeknownst to my husband, lmao, for the two days we will have her here. 

so i'm going to close now and begin repair work on my son's computer so that i can get to the other two computer repairs.......come monday its back to cage cleaning!  hope you all have a wonderful day and be sure to invite people to follow this blog that you think would be interested.  thanks again for reading!

paper mache part 2

well...i put on another layer today of the paper mache...then went to ac moore to see what i could find....here is what i came up with......three types of shredded paper some colorful, some wood pieces and sticks, some pom poms, and fake feathers.   i am stringing the stringed leather for hanging because i don't want to use something that could injure or wrap around their little bodies.  i bought crape paper for the outside and some non toxic elmers glue.  they may not be the prettiest when i'm done but the birds should love ripping and tearing. 
i spent a bit more on the stuff than i wanted to but still saved money by doing it this way.  mom just had to go over board yet again lmao.  i would have spent 65 to 100 dollars on premade pinata's and would have still had to fill them so i am figuring i got away cheap. 
was also thinking that making more around christmas time for all of them as gifts might be nice.  may enlist some help next time. 
hopefully pictures will be posted tomorrow.

paper mache is for the birds....literally!

I have decided to make my own pinatas for all the birds....something special for them to play with that mommy made.  Have you priced a pinata for a kid or a bird?  WOW!  I have priced them at $15.00 and up.  Now i needed one for the cockatiels in the aviary, the green cheek conure, the other two conures and phoenix.  Of course, all in different sizes to accomidate each bird size.  So, for the cost of the balloons, flour, and cray paper i will have made five pinatas for maybe the cost of 1 pinata if that.  I have spare foot toys and will pick up some special treats for inside.  The picture above is only my first layer.  This could take a few days but in the end my babies will have something fun to play with that their momma made them. 

As i was blowing up the balloons and waiting for them to pop in my face (lol) i noticed every single bird in the house watching me.  So as i worked i talked to them all and told them what they were and that they were for them.  Misha, my pomeranian, quietly and intently sat in the chair next to the table watching me and listening.  I told him i would next make each of them a special one of their own to rip apart and that there would be some special treats and toys inside. 

So, i'll let them dry for today and put another layer on them tomorrow and then get into the store and get my cray paper and maybe some shredded stuff for the inside also.  I'm really enjoying this!

ALRIGHT ALREADY, PHOENIX!!!!!!!

my day started out pretty well....then i got tired...everyone had been so quiet and peaceful so i decided "maybe" (huh) i could get a little nap in.  I gingerly laid down on the couch hoping against hope that none of the birds would catch mommy napping and throw themselves into a hoopla tizzy!  all was well for about 5 minutes...count them with me 1..2...3...4...5....then....tick, tick, tick, tick, ........tick, tick, tick, tick.  (phoenix has this little plastic dog toy that he loves to slowly shake back and forth and make the legs fall to make a clicking sound)....tick, tick, tick.....dammit!!!!  all's quiet for a few minutes....tick, tick, tick.....
i pick myself up off the couch and stomp my way up the steps...litterally i might add, and throw myself into the bed and cover my head.  along comes ferret number 1.....up and over me to  my head where she procceds to sniff my eye lids to be sure i am asleep before making her way to my ankle and latching on!  ferret on the floor!   i lay there thinking "what the hell did i do to deserve not getting in a small friggin nap?"........i lay back down, again covering my head and bundling my ankles inside the blankets where said ferret number 1 can't get to them.  then the phoenix screaming starts....oh dear god!  i ignore it as long as humanly possible....then throw myself over the bed and down the steps i go.....making wildly for the coffee pot!

baby mouse found...nursing back to health

we found this little guy sitting in the middle of the floor on one of our jobs.  i was very careful about picking him up at first.  looked like he was a bit dehydrator.  i think he lost his momma somehow and was on the verge of death.  turns out he is quite bonded to me already, been feeding the little guy puppy formula for two days around the clock every three hours.  can't tell you how tired i am lol.  he is doing very very well.  he is now also eatting bread soaked in water.  he likes that better than the bread soaked in formula.  today a lunch time he will get his formula as well as a bit of mashed bananna and we will see how he likes that. 

will post a pic of him now after two days in my care.  his eyes are wide open and very bright.  he is begining to run around his cage also.  

what a great little fellow he is too!  he will have a very happy life with us and hope that it is a long one, although mice only live 1 to 5 years.  i will have had a pretty cool little buddy. 

i am keeping him away from the other animals just incase he has any kind of disease and also vigorously washing hands after handling him.  he is only a little over two weeks old. 

at first we didn't think he would make it and my thought was we could atleast keep him as comfortable as possible until the end.  but after 12 hours he perked up and as soon as i put my hand down to him he jumps in it.  it is a sweet experience watching him take his formula and he watches me the whole time lol.