It's been a rotten couple of weeks :(

Well I've put this off for two weeks but it's time I faced it now :cry:

My worst fears came true and two weeks ago yesterday Squirt and Dumpling were taken from me very suddenly.

My two lovely boys fell victim to a lice outbreak here. Dumpling's death was to be expected I guess, he was very weak anyway. He had had a head tilt which had been very tough on him but he'd started to bounce back. I organised a cage for him so he could get about safely but be back in with his friends and this seemed to make all the difference. He'd been doing really well, he'd gained weight and being his usual cheeky little self.
But Squirt was a big fat boy of little more than a year old so losing him was a total shock. I can only assume there was something else, some underlying condition we didn't know about.

It transpired all the rats here had lice on some level so I've had to treat everyone and quarantine myself for the last couple of weeks. So Jake and his gang are still here, although they leave tomorrow. Some of the baby girls are reserved, as is Melody the hamster which is great news! So we should have lots of people leaving for their new homes in the next week or so (and plenty more waiting to come in too!)

It really has been a horrible couple of weeks. Losing my boys has been horrid, worrying about all the other rats has been tough, I've had flu myself, Dave has been recovering from an op and Fraggle the dog has been unwell. We found a lump on her face which needs removing but she also has an infection in her mammary glands and has been having a phantom pregnancy. As soon as she is over all of that she'll be booked in to be speyed and have the lump removed. She has been so depressed poor baby but a homoeopathic treatment (pulsatilla) has really helped and she is now bouncing round the house like an overgrown puppy again :)

Let's hope 2007 looks up from now on!