Reeses has passed

Sadly Reeses has left us.  He passed away today.  He is survived by his brother, Nutella.  He was 3-years-old.  Rest in peace little guy.

Assistance to other rescues

Small animal rescues tend to band together to assist each other where they can.  Particularly since most operate on a minimal budget.

We've been trying to help out where we can for the Baseline Church Guinea pigs (Beaverton, Oregon), http://baselinechurchpigs.com/, by assisting the group with food and bedding needs.

To date, we've provided
 
November 2014: 10 pounds of guinea pig food, 4 white fleece blankets, 37 pounds of Aspen Bedding

December 2014: 74 pounds of aspen bedding and 50 pounds of Oxbow Guinea pig food.

Additionally FATE has donated a large cage to Best Friend Rodent Rescue in Everett, Washington in December 2014.  This cage was purchased when it was found up for sale as it was used and $20 vs. New and $100.00.

And finally, a 33# bag of Harlan 2018 was sent to the Small Animal Rescue Society of BC.  (Yes in Canada.)  This group has taken MANY animals in from the United States.  http://smallanimalrescue.org/

We'd like to thank our donors for making these donations possible.

Roscoe says goodbye

Sadly Roscoe left us today.  Roscoe was the third of my rats to meet my Grandma Peggy and the second rat that has ever stayed at my parents house.  His favorite food was, everything, but he LOVED french fries.  His nickname was #FrenchFryShark because he'd "break" up the cage to get one.  They were fried but usually unsalted.  :*)

I will miss this gregarious little soul that had horrible beginnings and still came to be a loving rat.

Rest in peace little Roscoe.

Bartholomew Kisses Us Goodbye

My kissy boy Bartholomew was put to sleep today.  He had been suffering from hind end paralysis.  Seemingly overnight, he become completely paralized and stopped eating.  He couldn't even hold himself up.  As his quality of life would be greatly diminished I spent several hours sitting with him while he drifted in and out of sleep.  He will be greatly missed.  He was my tv buddy.  He loved to sit on my chest and snuggle in the blankets while I watched television in the evenings.

He was preceded in death by his brother Lentil (aka Oliver).

Rest in peace my kissy boy.

N.S. Mangy Passes

N.S. Mangy came to the Village from a pair of friends that rescued him and his 2 buddies.  Sadly Mr. Hood passed a few months ago.  Tonight I walked in the room to check on them for the night and found that N.S. Mangy had passed.  N.S. Mangy was a sweet, shy old man.  He was dubbed N.S. Mangy when he came here for "Not so mangy."  When he was originally rescued, they didn't think he'd make it he was so ill looking.

He always greeted me at the door when I went in the room, waiting for his grub and a brief scritch.

Rest in peace little guy.

Woolsey Passes

Sadly Woolsey passed.  I found him curled up in his burrow.  He was a sweet, gregarious hamster that will be greatly missed.  He was 2 years, 8 months old.  Rest in peace little Woosley.

Helping Others

We like to document our helping of other rescues for the public.

In June 2014, FATE did the following:

1. Fundraiser held for Best Friend Rodent Rescue, www.bfrr.org.  After fees, FATE collected $349.37, we have already sent $258.62 to Dr. Kamaka, the balance will be paid as soon as the $90.75 check clears the account.
2. Fundraiser held for a little female rattie that needed an emergency spay, we raised $212.26 ($220 less $7.74 fees for Paypal).  FATE paid the difference from our account as the spay was $244.22.
3. We sent 2 bags of 2 cubic feet of Clean and Cozy, a pound of Oxbow Essentials for Hamsters and Gerbils and 1 pound of spray millet to Small Paws Big Hearts Sanctuary in New Jersey. Value of $60.36. www.smallpawsbighearts.org/

We are very glad to help out in this small way.  We also want to say thank you to our donors for making this possible.

Roscoe and Bartholomew

These boys don't live together, they didn't even come in together, but I did take pictures of them today so I thought I'd throw them up.

Bartholomew is happy because he has a nice clean cage and a new box to shred.  I swear he is part gerbil! He just loves to shred.

Roscoe, aka French Fry Shark, was happy to have his litter box cleaned.  He is exceptionally fastidious and uses his box.  I didn't have to train him.  He's the second boy I've had that just used it.

This is him "breaking," like he does for french fries, hence the nickname, French Fry Shark.

Rodent Diet Changes

I made some changes to the commercial diets served here.  The rodent mix has not changed.

species	commercial food	source
rat/ mouse	Science Selective Rat*	Whatever has the best deal.
rat/ mouse	Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat Food*	I order mine from Drs Foster and Smith
hamster/ gerbil	Mazuri Hamster/Gerbil Diet #5E10	I order directly from Mazuri.com.  They have free shipping.
hamster/ gerbil	Supreme Hazel Hamster	I order mine from Pet Mountain.

Despite the fact I love the Science Selective Rat food, I will probably have to switch to Oxbow exclusively due to the cost.

*Most of the rats and mice I get here are older  In the event younger rats are here, I'll bump up the nutrients with supplemental food.

L. Hamster Bin

This bin is actually for the daughter of a co-worker.  I found she got a Syrian hamster and I mentioned that the wheel they got with the cage would become too small.  I have some Giant Silent Spinners I'm offloading so I went on a quest for the perfect sized bin.

There are several bin options, I understand Ikea's large SAMLA bin meets the size requirements of at least 360 square inches of floor space, but Ikea was out of my way this weekend.

I ended up finding one at the Container Store.

33 gal. Clear Tote with Locking Lid - 28-3/4" wide x 21" deep x 18" h   http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/totesTrunks?productId=10010965&N=71235

Additional materials included:

• 3 repurposed doors from some martins cages
• 2 door guards from Quality Cages - http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=121_123&products_id=2143
• Piece of wire used for the front "window."
• zip ties

Tools include:

• Dremel (used to make the windows)
• Drill (used to make the holes to put the zip ties in)
• Good wire cutters
• And because I was repurposing doors, Jclip removers - http://qualitycage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=121_123&products_id=2142
• Dry erase pen
• Straight edge (you can use cardboard or even the long edge of a paper bag
• tape measure

Now there are plenty of videos online and written instructions online of how to make bins and I'm not going to prepare another one, I'm just going to put in the notes of what I did on each image.


This is the finished product.

You will note, all of the wire is on the INSIDE.  The wire edges are covered with what is known as door guards so there are no sharp edges to hurt the hamster.

Close up of the front.  I was able to purchase a roll of 1/2" x 1" wire from Ace Hardware; Home Depot doesn't carry it.  If you are making yours from scratch and not from re-purposed parts, I recommend you get all of your dimensions down and send the pieces you need (including the door) to a cage maker and have them cut and prep the pieces for you. You can order pre-cut wire from qualitycages.com, martinscage s.com or kwcages.com.  If you are feeling really into your planning, you can even have them set up the door for you.  The door I used on the front is a re-purposed door from a Martins Cage I got.  Make sure your door overlaps the door opening by at least 1 inch on all sides.

The image above is where I placed the water bottle holder and a close up of the door latches.

The image below is with the door open.  Again, door guards help protect the hamster and the pet parent.

This is the view from the insider.  Shows how nothing is poking out.

Inside view of the door opening.

Below is the second re-purposed door; I removed the latches from it.  This wire piece doesn't  need edging because the cage company cut it and it is already smooth.  I can run it along my face. :)

This is the third re-purposed door, also with the latches removed.  The side windows are great for additional ventilation but for also attaching the silent spinner to.

This is the view of the cage from the top.  It is about 525 square inches of floor space.  The minimum  recommended cage size is 360 square inches.

I hope the hamster enjoys his new digs!

I think I would like to make another bin cage and make a double one connected by ovo tubes (not critter trail tubes).  If I do that, I will pre-order the wire cut and door attached.  :)

Update:  Pictures of the happy hammy.  Photo credit: David L.

Baklava and His Burrow

 He was on his burrow when I opened the door. 

Hey!  Who are you?

I'm kind of busy!

I'll pose pretty for you.

I'm coming out!

Do you have a treat for me?

Treat taken to burrow.  Success!

Nutella in a Bathrobe

Nutella has an ear infection.  Last Saturday we went to visit SW Animal Hospital to get it  taken care of.  He takes ear drops, acidophilus and an antibiotic twice a day for 14 days.  Today I took a picture of him getting ready to take his medication.

I give you, a gerbil in a bathrobe!

Avalon and Lola

Avalon and Lola came to the Village back in March 2014.  I've not had the opportunity until now to post some pictures of them in their new digs!  They are sweet little girls that love their wheels and to play in their hides and tubes.

A top view of the cage with both girls in it.  Can you see them?  Those are medium fiddle sticks.  They spread their clean and cozy over their good mews.  Good Mews is grey so that is the grey pellets you see. :)

Front view of the cage.  They have 2 6.5" silent spinners, a flying saucer, medium fiddlesticks, an igloo, many toilet paper tubes.  The cage is 24" wide x 14" deep x 14" tall.  The wire is 1/2" x 1/2" mesh.  This cage is made by martinscages.com.

One behind the wheel.  See the bungees holding the wheel in place?

One in the tube and look at the doo on the wheel!  They've been in here 1 day. Dirty girls!

One in the igloo!

Honestly, one was here when I put the camera down. 

Finally you can see them both hiding behind the flying saucer!

Welcome Lola and Avalon!

Attaching a Wheel to a Cage

Normally I use zip ties for securing the wheel stand to the cage.  For my non-collapsing cages, this is exactly what I do.

For my collapsing cages for my rodents that don't bother the bungee cords, I  use small bungee cords to secure the wheels.

My collapsible cages have 1/2" x 1/2" wire as they are sometimes used for mice.  This means the bungee hooks won't actually fit through the wire.

This is a mini bungee purchased at Home Depot.  Fold the bungee in half.

Slip the loop through the wire on one side of the wheel stand, over the wheel stand and back through the wire on the other side.

Slip the two ends through the loop.

Pull tight on the ends.

Always secure the ties high, preferably behind the wheel.

I need 4 bungees to secure the wheel.  (When I use zip ties, I usually need 6 of those.)

Below is the wheel secured to the cage.  Note there is no bungee on the lower "bend."  My hamsters leave these alone, but no need to tempt fate.  The bungees are pulled so tight, the wheel can be left unsecured on the lower bend.

The reason I like using the bungees over wire and zip ties for the collapsible cages is the zip ties have to be cut and tossed and the wire, I'm not particularly fond of twisting wire.  I also don't like cutting wire and zip ties so close to the cage wire.

My preferred wheel is the Wodent Wheel, although my mice use the 6.5" Silent Spinners and flying saucers.

Bedding and Litter 2014

I've made some changes here to the bedding used in critter cages.

Rats typically get Native Earth Shredded Aspen Bedding.  I purchase this from www.pet360.com.  They have it for a fairly good price and I buy enough to get free shipping.

Gerbils and hamsters get Clean and Cozy that I purchase from drsfostersmith.com.  As of this writing they have the best price.  2 cubic feet for $29.99.  I also use Eco-bedding or strip shredded news paper for their burrows.  Petmountain.com used to carry the eco-bedding for the best price, but they no longer do so we are trying to find a good source for that.  Of course I can always shred newspaper in the papernator.

Mice get good mews with a little Eco Bedding and Clean and Cozy to use as nesting material.

Building a hamster or gerbil burrow at Vermin Village

Building a hamster or gerbil burrow at Vermin Village

In order to provide enrichment for the hamsters and gerbils of Vermin Village, I build “burrows” for them.

Supplies I typically use include:

• a refrigerator soda box (the long 12-pack version), but any box that will fit in your cage will do, however if you use a smaller box, you’ll want to have some cardboard to fold into a type of “tunnel” to get to the chamber.
• some type of hay or grass (today I’m using Kaytee Natural Bermuda Grass)
• Eco-Bedding or strip shredded newspaper
• Tissue, paper towels or a soft paper bedding like Kaytee Clean and Cozy
• Large fiddlesticks, made by SuperPet
• A zip tie

For gerbils, I provide toilet paper and paper towel tubes daily so that they can shred to their hearts content.  If you can’t seem to get enough tubes and you don’t have a lot of friends that can save them for you, buy the cheapest toilet paper rolls with the smallest amount of paper on them, you’ll go through them faster. :D

I have found that gerbils, at least the two boys I have here now, are particularly sensitive to aspen bedding (the only kind of wood shaving bedding appropriate for rodents), so I exclusively use Kaytee Clean and Cozy and Eco-bedding/shredded newspaper for them.

Let’s get started!

I attach my wheel to the cage.   

Then I put a layer of Clean and Cozy down.

Next I prepare the Fiddlesticks so they can be attached to the cage.

I bend the Fiddlesticks in half so they are at a 90 degree angle.  Then halfway through the side that will rest flat against the cage, I work a zip tie around one of the pieces.  This will secure the Fiddlesticks against the cage so it doesn't tip and block the wheel or worse hurt a critter.

Then I secure the Fiddlesticks to the cage with the zip tie.

Then I add a refrigerator box of soda along one end of the cage with the opening towards the front.  I fill the box with Eco Bedding and Clean and Cozy.

Then I go ahead and pile in the Bermuda grass (or other hay), Eco-Bedding.

 Finally I add the food dish and water bottles.

This cage belongs to gerbils Nutella and Reeses.

Silver passes

Sadly Silver passed today.  I found she had passed curled up in her burrow.  :(  Rest in peace little Silver.

Photos from Sir Trinogi's Vacation

Photos taken by Amara McCarthy.