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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 10, 2010 22:26:16 GMT -4
I'm a little numb. I post all that stuff as helpful info for others. First time in five years no wheeking here. I was watching the rabbits, also, and they always seemed fine. Well, you know what I said about symptoms, and keeping them cool before any such appear. I HAD to try to get more into Chris. I had no choice. Meanwhile, some critters remain cool here in the bedroom with the a/c. They will stay here, cramped though they be, until it cools somewhat. I have a lot of updating with the Memorial gallery. . .
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 10, 2010 23:12:56 GMT -4
Maybe it is best if I add Chris' photo here and not post separately. This is him a few hours before he died. You can tell he does not look good. There is a much better photo of him, and others, here: >>http://kanez.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=RR&action=display&thread=1583<< That was from May of 2006, and the caption on the photo refers to an adventure they had when a friend had to care for them for a week. Jessie, and Chip, and Sam and Leslie and their mom (Jessica) also have photos on that link. Chris, and his long time pal, the late Frosty (in the back): They KNEW when they were going to get their chicory by the sound of the plastic bag. They wheeked loudly. I will miss that.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 11, 2010 16:23:13 GMT -4
I'm still quite sad, here, of course, and the place seems rather empty. More like something is missing, You know how it is. The weather is a little better so burial within days. That will be a super hard task. So be it. I had meant to work on my Fourth of July fireworks photos this week, but no time. Soon.
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tnh
Rodent Retreat Newbie
Posts: 19
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Post by tnh on Jul 12, 2010 13:50:56 GMT -4
I'm so sorry to hear about your small friends. We love our furry beasties, but our hearts take such a pounding when they die. Five at once is hard.
It was an awful heat wave. I hardly left my apartment while it was going on, and I worried about what it would do to my current hamster, Lucius, who has more fur than any other hamster I've ever seen. For a while there I was wondering whether he'd be more comfortable if I trimmed an inch off his perimeter, but my husband pointed out that if you're not certain it will help, you shouldn't do strange new things to an animal that's already unhappy. Next heat wave, I'm going to get one of those Blue Ice things, wrap it in a few layers of insulation so the cold leaks out more gradually, and see whether it's a comfort to overheated small furries.
It's a sad thought, but you can't be the only bereaved pet owner in the city. I know the authorities only announce the human death toll during heat waves, but there have to be a lot of companion animals that die of heat stress as well.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 12, 2010 15:34:30 GMT -4
Very nice post. And true. I posted a few times about my a/c woes - two not working when I thought they would. I watched for symptoms, but I told you Chris showed none until brought into the cramped bedroom (a/c cooled) where he stopped eating and drinking. I wrote what I did. Sam suddenly showed small symptoms. Others went quickly, suddenly, and cooling attempts failed. As I posted, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Next heat wave the a/c'd bedroom will get crowded. But those who needed the cooling have already passed. It appears rats and GPs are very susceptible; gerbs, spiny mice, and fancy mice much less so. I have done research showing the huge numbers of humans who died during heat waves, esp, te old and very young. The worst times were in the Thirties are earlier, esp. over a hundred years ago in the crowded tenements. Surely many many animals died too. Thanks for the post.
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Post by Hamsters82 on Jul 12, 2010 17:44:55 GMT -4
Aw, I'm so sorry about Chris. May he rest in peace and I really hope you're doing well. *hugs*
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 12, 2010 17:56:51 GMT -4
Thanks. Somewhat numb, morose, and with an empty feeling. And less chicory to buy. I am thinking of options for only a few, but not until the end of Summer. Six, or even 5, in three cages, was too many. Loads of work.
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tnh
Rodent Retreat Newbie
Posts: 19
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Post by tnh on Jul 16, 2010 0:43:03 GMT -4
It's a hard time when you can't even shop the produce aisle without remembering those who are gone.
I'm sure you're right about pets in the years before AC. I've seen statistics on the large number of human infants who died in NYC every summer of "summer complaint," and wondered whether that was really heat exhaustion.
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Post by pinky on Jul 16, 2010 12:09:16 GMT -4
tnh, good to hear from you, and your posts are very thoughtful ones. The A/C in my bedroom is not a new one; I always have it in the back of my mind that it could fail. Sometimes we have power outages, too. If it would have failed during the last few months it would have been ok, but now that Frasier and Ethel are with me I'm back to worrying again. That these new critters of mine are obese suggests that high temps would affect them more than they would most dwarfs, and dwarfs already have a lower comfort range than other hams. I have a ceramic plate in my fridge that I have never used, but it's there for if cooling is needed. Now I need to put a second one in there. Critter and Pinky lived with me in the PA apartment that had no A/C whatsoever, only ceiling fans. Thank God they were Chinese and so more temp-resistant. I am sure it was in the low-to-mid 80s in there sometimes, maybe hotter. Cross-ventilation was very difficult to achieve, and it certainly doesn't make its way into an aquarium.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 16, 2010 13:10:03 GMT -4
I learned some critters are much more susceptible: rats and GPs the most by far. The rabbits are just fine, for example.
I learned even with a slight symptom it is likely too late by then.
I learned fans are not enough for furries.
I learned not to assume the old a/c would keep working and that the one (new looking) a friend said she was giving me might not cool. She never said it might not, but she didn't know. I assumed it would. She meant well, but could have been clearer.
I could have checked the cooling on mine in Spring. The other she had locked away.
Let me curse the Summer again!
My concern with dwarfs is mites. No critter is more susceptible, so fast, to those insidious little things.
Ceiling fans. I have one here I need to try to install. Ugh in this heat. That would be in the dinette with no a/c there. I always hated home repairs.
Best to all your critters!
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Jul 19, 2010 14:00:00 GMT -4
Sigh. Looking at the empty cages here is depressing. I will store them asap, as it is TOO HOT consider any other option right now.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Aug 21, 2010 14:04:34 GMT -4
The only suitable days this Summer for a burial were on a weekend, which is problematic. Hopefully, soon.
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Post by pinky on Aug 22, 2010 11:04:43 GMT -4
DF, the weather will be cooler this week--so maybe?
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Aug 23, 2010 14:52:05 GMT -4
Today is cooler--but WET!! Digging through wet soil, even if no rain, is even harder and messier. It rained hard several hours ago.
We shall see about the rest of the week. But the ground has got to dry.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Aug 24, 2010 21:20:09 GMT -4
Still wet. Temps are great though, for me. 67 degrees F at 9:19.
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