|
Post by pinky on Jul 7, 2012 20:56:26 GMT -4
A lovely tribute to Chewie.
I can't see the photo; I get a page saying that the pet can no longer be found.
Katie, I told you about Tiko/Chewie's listing, didn't I?
Petfinder is a great thing. All of my 6 rescued hams came from there.
I have 6 buried in my back yard. I try to plant things there but the deer eat everything I put out.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jul 7, 2012 20:45:09 GMT -4
Welcome, jay!
That's a handsome little boy you have there!
Good that you're getting a bin. My guess is that he's running partly because of the novelty and partly due to stress. The old digs were insufficient, but they were familiar. Now he's in a tank, where he's more out in the open and vulnerable; he can see out and people can see in. New sights and smells and sounds now that he's with you--maybe he's sensitive to all the stimuli. Does he have a hidey of some sort where he can take refuge from the world? Is he untamed (and therefore more stressed by these big things called humans)?
The fact that he's not nesting or burrowing says to me that he's not settled in--he's not made a part of his world his own. (Where does he sleep?) The sooner he can be transferred to a permanent home, the better.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jul 7, 2012 20:28:37 GMT -4
I'm sorry that you lost Bernie, but glad that you have a visual remembrance of him. He was a handsome man. Was he old enough to pass on naturally?
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 25, 2012 23:24:01 GMT -4
Back from my trip. Gave Ping a once-over and found another tumor, this one on the right side of his chest. You'd never know it to watch him--he still will run fast on the wheel and make fast movements in the cage to avoid being picked up. However, to me he looks really small, as though the tumors are sapping his resources. I think he was glad to see me today when I picked him up from the sitter--lots of interest and lots of running around. All we can do is hope that whenever the end comes there's minimal suffering. If that means euthanasia, so be it. But I can spoil him in the meantime!
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 25, 2012 21:07:23 GMT -4
Cute! Why does it say "TURD" in the background of the one photo??
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 17, 2012 20:29:08 GMT -4
Katie, why must you be anonymous? You will make a far stronger argument if you identify yourself as a bona fide resident, one who owns and walks a dog and has had experiences that didn't go wrong, but could have. You need to tell your stories. You don't need to identify specific dogs or owners, but you do need to use facts to make your case. "I've seen dogs off-leash; could you please. . ." is not compelling--talk about what's happened and what could happen. If you were startled by that German Shepherd, have the reader imagine some 80 year-old lady walking her little dog and having that shepherd run up. If you can effectively convey that this is a disaster waiting to happen, action may result.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 8, 2012 23:52:40 GMT -4
I think you've made a sound decision based on facts and your circumstances. It's sad to exclude them, but you've given many of them good lives in the past. Enjoy the memories, and put your energy and $ into taking care of the critters who better fit your lifestyle. You will worry less and enjoy them more.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 8, 2012 23:44:56 GMT -4
Update: The tumor has grown some. Ping will still run fast on his wheel in fits and starts, and when he walks or runs you can't tell from his stride that something's up, but in general his activity is depressed and he sleeps more. I have also noticed that the cage has a new odor, and whereas he used to smell almost not at all, he now has that odor at a slight level. Pix: I find him sleeping in his Buddha position a lot these days. The tumor is to the left of his two left paws. Tumor is to the right of the yellowish scent gland discharge. He gets kale or other green leafy every night, so he's fortified in case he has a bleed. He has access to a lot of food, but as he is still small I'm clearly feeding him and the tumor. Doing what I can for my boy. Time will tell.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 3, 2012 16:35:04 GMT -4
A half-pint canning jar is not much larger in diameter than a ham-sized tube, and so with patience one can get the critter to pee in it. I have also extracted bedding, cut out soaked areas of towel tubes and extracted them, and rinsed out wheels to get samples, though these are for yes/no determinations only since there is a dilution factor introduced.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 3, 2012 16:30:15 GMT -4
I get a zero on this test. No clue. Just tell us! ;D
|
|
|
Post by pinky on Jun 1, 2012 15:01:40 GMT -4
Fifty, and none fight??
It's taken a while, but I've figured out how to take decent ham photos! Mable's eyes can glow even in ambient light, so of course the flash accentuates it.
What is kinda cool is that the eyes of mottleds who have the gene glow to some extent regardless of the color. So if one takes a shot of a black mottled, the black eyes will have a subtle red glow.
I am having a hard time telling if the hemangioma is growing. If it is, it's doing so only slowly. But no surgery, regardless. What happens, happens. He seems to have better days and lesser days, but basically he's ok.
Mable's urine glucose is definitely less. If the strips are a true quantitative measure than it's down by 50% or more.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on May 28, 2012 12:45:41 GMT -4
Seen the tank before, of course. Maybe you should store books and stuff in it to preserve it. With me, when the tank's plastic rim wears down I can no longer hang a metal wheel on it. Placing wheels on the bedding is futile with gerbils. Beautiful charming photos; some of the best I've ever seen. On the feet? Seen that before, too. No danger of running off?? Glad the seeds are working! I had a scare with Jason a few weeks ago. For one day he showed clear symptoms of serious FLUTD. And then it all, thankfully, went away. Maybe prayers helped. Yes, I figured some had seen it, but it's a cool story. Thanks for the compliment on the photos. They both are pretty cooperative. You are probably remembering the one of Fuzz years ago on my bare feet. No, she's really a good ham to have out and about--she's not that fast and she doesn't nip when having her location corrected. What is FLUTD? Feline leukemia U___ T___ D___ ? I've changed my mind--the hemangioma is growing. It will eventually get in the way or wear him down (it already is) and I may have to make that icky decision we all don't want to make. Let's not go there. I've already cried about him twice recently.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on May 27, 2012 11:08:20 GMT -4
The Pingster is holding his own, a little less active, but I think the hemangioma is not growing. I've decided that I can't bear the thought of him dying on the operating table, and so I'm not opting for surgery. Breakfast time: His strange Buddha meditation pose: And finally, my favorite Ping photo of all time. You can see that he must have tussled with a littermate when he was young. Mable: I think the fenugreek seeds are working! Her test strip indicates glucose, but it doesn't turn as dark as before or as quickly as before. I am giving her ten a day, and she loves them. Of course, they could be adding to her chub, since she's got about 5 extra grams on her, but if they do the job I just have more to love! Two notes: (1) she has the ruby-eyed mottled gene, and so her eyes glow no matter what I do with the camera; (2) the "CRITER" you see in the one photo comes from when I had my first hamster, Critter. I was living with a family, and the 6th-grader was artistic and wanted to decorate the aquarium. She spelled Critter's name wrong, but that made the decor all the more endearing, and, despite the fact that that tank has been through 14 years of cleaning and the artwork is wearing away, it has sentimental value and I can't bring myself to remove it!
|
|
|
Post by pinky on May 20, 2012 23:55:06 GMT -4
She's ten months only--a relative youngster for me. Ohh nooo! Sprouting gonads! Too funny! Will post later about the Pingster. . . . we ended up at the vet yesterday. . . . he has a "bloody tumor." He is 26 months and so it's not clear if surgery makes sense. He is also a Robo, and so very small.
|
|
|
Post by pinky on May 12, 2012 14:16:56 GMT -4
Conflicting evidence: blood glucose is normal, but urine is still full of it. Could be worse, though. No ketones, which is good. I will continue her on the fenugreek to see if the urine returns to normal. She is otherwise healthy, said the vet, so that's good news too.
|
|