Some new arrivals

We had a few rats go off to their new homes last weekend which helped things to calm down a little here. Where we had been spilling over into the bathroom at least all the rodents are now contained within the rodent room!!

Sadly we've lost a few of the spiny mice. I don't know why really - many are doing really well and some who had bad injuries initially have healed well and gained a lot of condition. But others have died suddenly and without explanation. Maybe they were elderly, maybe it was the stress of all they have been through but it has been rather disheartening.

Still, we must be doing something right as in the last week or so we have had 7 baby spinies born here! They are incredibly cute and arrive in the world with fur and eyes open. These guys pictured here are just a few days old.

Today also saw the arrival of Erwine. If you've been visiting this site a while you'll know that we had to stop dog fostering as we had a tendency to fall in love and keep them! Which is how we ended up with six dogs.

But when we heard Erwine's story we had to come out of fostering retirement. Erwine had been kept in a brick built, windowless shed for the last eight years! Emma at Furry Friends had offered him a rescue space but then found out that he had a friend in the shed with him. We couldn't bear the idea of that poor dog - for whom Erwine had been her only company for years - being left there alone. So we said we would foster her. Then it transpired she was pregnant so we took Erwine instead. It turns out Erwine is Tara's Dad and the father of her unborn puppies!

Erwine arrived this morning filthy, emaciated, matted, dehydrated, with an eye infection and probable kennel cough. After a bath he slept most of the day but this evening has been looking a bit brighter and has had something to eat. His road to recovery will be a long one but it's obvious already that there is a very lovely dog waiting to be discovered in Erwine.

Even busier still!

Well after a busy weekend two weeks ago last weekend got even sillier.

A big rescue of spiny mice was taking place but we thought they were all placed in rescue. However when they were collected there were found to be a lot more than originally thought - about 400 altogether! So despite already being pretty full we ended up with 84 of them. Thankfully about 15 have now gone out on foster elsewhere but since most of the girls are pregnant I think those numbers will soon be replaced!!

So all week we've just been trying to keep up with all the cleaning and feeding. Eight of them went in to the vets on Friday to have tails amputated as they were badly damaged. Fraggle went in the same day to be spayed and have a lump removed from her face. She didn't react too well to the anaesthetic and was very confused and upset Friday night. She's much better now though thankfully.

Today we're anticipating the arrival of 9 rats from Birmingham so it's a very full house here right now!

This afternoon Widdle and Poop moved in with the four girl rats which was really nice. They seem to be enjoying their new home and new room mates :)

Phew! Busy, busy

It's been a bonkers week here!

Quite a few people off to their new homes at last which is nice. Although it has been sad saying goodbye to some who have been here a while such as Jake, Geb and Toby.

Over the weekend we've had a huuuge influx - 1 russian hamster, 8 roborovski hamsters, 2 chinchillas, and 12 rats! As well as the arrival of ex foster boy Pickle who has come to stay while his Mummy is in South Africa.

Everyone is doing ok after the lice business. Keeya has a little abcess on her throat but she's growing at a rate of knots right now so I think she's fighting it off ok!

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!

New Arrivals

Last night we were joined by some more baby girl rats and their two Mum's. Pictures and details will follow shortly.

Today I am mostly worrying about Squirt the rat who was looking poorly last night. He has a flare up of mites (which he has always been prone to) and is a bit limp and breathing funny. My concern is that it is heart trouble like Honey had. He is off to the vets this afternoon. I have also treated Dumpling for mites and his breathing is a bit noisy too.

When I'm not worrying about them I am pondering that Jake will be leaving me for his new home tomorrow, along with his new brothers. He is special to me anyway having been born here in a litter of just two rats, because I kept his Mum and sister and cos I met his Dad and Uncles who were absolutely adorable. But aside from all that he really is the most remarkable rat I've ever met. He is so full of fun and naughtiness and literally a laugh a minute. Every night I get distracted by the four of them demanding play and they are going to leave an enormous gap in the rat room. I really will miss them a great deal.

So please send healing thoughts for Squirt and Dumpling and keep everything crossed that I get through tomorrow without blubbing like a baby and making a wally of myself!!

Happy New Year

New year, new blog page, new resolution to post more regularly!!

I recently computerised all the animal records which has given me the capacity to see quite easily what we have done this (I mean last) year! So today seems like a good time to review 2006 and share with you what we have achieved.

It's a bit scary actually...in 2006 we took in 292 foster animals! This breaks down as

2 chinchillas
1 chinese hamster
8 degus
1 dog
24 gerbils
18 mice
178 rats
3 roborovski hamsters
54 russian hamsters
3 syrian hamsters

And what happened to them?

201 found new homes directly from here
41 were returned to Furry Friends HQ to be homed from there
12 of them died :( (this was mostly babies who didn't make it)
9 of them stayed here :D
29 are still here

That's a whopping increase on the 74 animals we took in during the 7 months of 2005 that we were fostering! It has been a busy year that's for sure. There have been a lot of wonderful moments and seeing pictures of some very special friends enjoying their new homes never fails to put the hugest grin on my face. There have been some sad goodbyes too but even so I am just grateful to have known these animals and had a chance to give them a little happiness before their time came.

So, deep breath, and on with 2007!!!