Bella had multiple tumors crop up not long after her first surgery for tumor removal. Given her age and the number of tumors that cropped up, the decision was made to keep her comfortable as long as she was comfortable. Sadly, that was until today. I picked her up to give her some cuddles and one of her tumors had ulcerated. She has been wrapped in her blanket and awaits private cremation.
Her favorite thing to do was stuff her hammock full of newspaper!
Rest in peace little one.
The lives of the lovable vermin of F.A.T.E.
Showing posts with label -d_Bella(r). Show all posts
Showing posts with label -d_Bella(r). Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Ratties Move....New Cage Purchase
Libby has been moved to the downstairs BC-6. She is living next store to Bella. Bella has been moved from the home with the 5 girls. They do ok, but Bella has 4 tumors and Libby needed a friend. Bella was ok with the other group of girls but she was not so bonded that she didn't like the change. She seems to love having a part of a cage to herself and still be able to visit with Libby.
Libby also has a small tumor and she is also pretty old. :( So they are two little old ladies that hang out side-by-side in their hammocks.
Mimi and Junior were moved back downstairs into a BC-6. Junior still gets a bit nervous around a lot of noise but he so enjoys hamming it up when he knows you're looking at him. These are the 2 I hope to put the 2 spayed girls with. Mimi is also spayed of course.
Sherman and Luke are in the lower BC-6. They have lots of fun. I've thrown in lots of newspaper in all of the cages and they've gone to town with making nests. It cracks me up to see the 2 boys in their hammocks with newspaper all around them. They have blankets too but it must be something about the paper. lol
Upstairs, the BC-7s are waiting to be cleaned. Remi is currently hanging out downstairs while this is happening. Remi will be moving into a split BC-7 with Cricket on the other side. Hopefully they will get used to each other so the divider can come out. Potter and Joey are also in a carrier waiting for the BC-7 (they used to live in a BC-6). I've downsized the room to 2 stacks of BC-7 and moved all of the BC-6 downstairs. Of course the 4 custom multi-leveled cages are still up there.
Trixie, Pixie and Boo have moved into Tickle Tower! (Remember Boo is neutered.) So far so good. Since Libby has moved downstairs, she was living in the upper level of the Tower, there was more room to move the 3 in. Boo doesn't know quite what to do. The tower has lots of stuff for them to play in and hammocks to sack out in. Sadly, the matriarch, Shäst, has really slowed down. I'm hesitent to move her though. I put everthing she needs on the level she stays on. Although water is available on all levels. She spends most of the time in the hammock. I don't want to move her out because her friends Lucy and Nona are good company for her and take care of their old friend.
I did purchase a used Quality Cage, BC-11 1/2 cage from a private party. I went to Quality Cages and purchased a stand, as shown in the picture. I also had extra doors made for easier cleaning. I also need to purchase 2 more doors to cover the nest box holes, but that is not a problem! Turns out they made a new product for the chinchilla cages. It is a powder coated metal shelf. So I got 3 of those to try out in this cage. I'll see how they work and might order more, maybe even wider shelves. It's so exciting. The cage is very big, but if I keep it downstairs, which is where it will eventually end up, I can just roll it out the front door to clean. Currently, this cage is in storage.
Anyway, it has been very busy at the village.
Libby also has a small tumor and she is also pretty old. :( So they are two little old ladies that hang out side-by-side in their hammocks.
Mimi and Junior were moved back downstairs into a BC-6. Junior still gets a bit nervous around a lot of noise but he so enjoys hamming it up when he knows you're looking at him. These are the 2 I hope to put the 2 spayed girls with. Mimi is also spayed of course.
Sherman and Luke are in the lower BC-6. They have lots of fun. I've thrown in lots of newspaper in all of the cages and they've gone to town with making nests. It cracks me up to see the 2 boys in their hammocks with newspaper all around them. They have blankets too but it must be something about the paper. lol
Upstairs, the BC-7s are waiting to be cleaned. Remi is currently hanging out downstairs while this is happening. Remi will be moving into a split BC-7 with Cricket on the other side. Hopefully they will get used to each other so the divider can come out. Potter and Joey are also in a carrier waiting for the BC-7 (they used to live in a BC-6). I've downsized the room to 2 stacks of BC-7 and moved all of the BC-6 downstairs. Of course the 4 custom multi-leveled cages are still up there.
Trixie, Pixie and Boo have moved into Tickle Tower! (Remember Boo is neutered.) So far so good. Since Libby has moved downstairs, she was living in the upper level of the Tower, there was more room to move the 3 in. Boo doesn't know quite what to do. The tower has lots of stuff for them to play in and hammocks to sack out in. Sadly, the matriarch, Shäst, has really slowed down. I'm hesitent to move her though. I put everthing she needs on the level she stays on. Although water is available on all levels. She spends most of the time in the hammock. I don't want to move her out because her friends Lucy and Nona are good company for her and take care of their old friend.
I did purchase a used Quality Cage, BC-11 1/2 cage from a private party. I went to Quality Cages and purchased a stand, as shown in the picture. I also had extra doors made for easier cleaning. I also need to purchase 2 more doors to cover the nest box holes, but that is not a problem! Turns out they made a new product for the chinchilla cages. It is a powder coated metal shelf. So I got 3 of those to try out in this cage. I'll see how they work and might order more, maybe even wider shelves. It's so exciting. The cage is very big, but if I keep it downstairs, which is where it will eventually end up, I can just roll it out the front door to clean. Currently, this cage is in storage.
Anyway, it has been very busy at the village.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Update on Bella and Tank
Bella came through surgery just fine. She's on pain meds for the next few days. Right now she's kicking it in the carrier and she'll move back in with her roomies tomorrow.
Dr. S was able to hear Tank's heart and it is dropping some beats. His lungs sound a tad better. He'll go back in 2 weeks to get rechecked. Hopefully he'll respond well to treatment. His 2 cages mates, one his brother, take turns keeping Tank company as he snoozes. Poor little guy now has 2 antibiotics twice a day, lasix and a blood pressure medication. Yikes!
Dr. S was able to hear Tank's heart and it is dropping some beats. His lungs sound a tad better. He'll go back in 2 weeks to get rechecked. Hopefully he'll respond well to treatment. His 2 cages mates, one his brother, take turns keeping Tank company as he snoozes. Poor little guy now has 2 antibiotics twice a day, lasix and a blood pressure medication. Yikes!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
To The Vet We Go
Well, turns out I was right, Bella does have a small tumor. Sammie and Bella are going to the doctor. Sammie too has a tumor. Right now, Sammie's tumor is growing a lot faster. Her surgery is scheduled for Monday, February 16th. Bella's surgery has been scheduled for Friday, February 20th.
Tank is also going in on Friday. He appears to be having some heart trouble. :*(
Hopefully all will go well.
Tank is also going in on Friday. He appears to be having some heart trouble. :*(
Hopefully all will go well.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bella and Her New Friends
Well, Betsy, Hannah, Gretta, Sammie, Brixton and Bella are getting along wonderfully. It appears I was incorrect with the lump on Bella. It disappeared by Thursday. This is very good news. The girls love their new cage set up and they are all very playful when I go in to visit with them. I don't know of a better group of rats where the introduction went so smoothly. I think it had to do with the age spread and how I worked up to the introduction.
Anyway just a quick note to let original parents know their kids are ok.
Yeah!
Anyway just a quick note to let original parents know their kids are ok.
Yeah!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Bella News
I did Bella's health check on Friday when she came in. Poor little girl had to suffer the indignity of me pressing on her. But I noticed she had a small part of her belly that looked a bit puffy in part. I check again this morning and the area had gotten bigger. It isn't an abscess, unless she did something to herself. It looks like a mammary tumor. At over 2 1/2 years of age, that would definitely not be uncommon. I spoke with her original parents to give them an update on how she settled in and said I would bring her to the vet to check her out and discuss possible surgery. Although she is older and carrying quite a bit of extra weight, I worry about the anesthetic. But I want to try as she is such a sweet girl and deserves the best care.
Meanwhile, she has integrated WONDERFULLY with her 5 new female cage mates. I couldn't be more pleased with how well they have done. 2 of the girls, Sammie and Brixton came to me as single girls and have been living together for some time. Then 3 girls, Gretta, Betsy and Hannah came from a friend that actually rescues another species and took these girls in. She felt they might do better with me due to my working with ratties. I was glad to take them in. These 5 girls have been living side by side in a divided cage. The divider has now been removed and they were put in a new cage where Bella joined them. I've been really lucky with these girls. I swear by the divided cages, or putting cages right next to each other no space. This way they end up pulling each others blankets through and getting used to each others' sent.
I hope the news goes well with Bella.
Meanwhile, she has integrated WONDERFULLY with her 5 new female cage mates. I couldn't be more pleased with how well they have done. 2 of the girls, Sammie and Brixton came to me as single girls and have been living together for some time. Then 3 girls, Gretta, Betsy and Hannah came from a friend that actually rescues another species and took these girls in. She felt they might do better with me due to my working with ratties. I was glad to take them in. These 5 girls have been living side by side in a divided cage. The divider has now been removed and they were put in a new cage where Bella joined them. I've been really lucky with these girls. I swear by the divided cages, or putting cages right next to each other no space. This way they end up pulling each others blankets through and getting used to each others' sent.
I hope the news goes well with Bella.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Bella Moves to Vermin Village
Bella's family is moving to Alaska. A month ago, after seeing her ad on CL, I wanted to make sure the family didn't feel pressured into just sending her to any home. I made the offer that if they could not find a good home for her, that she was welcome here. This was over a month ago. Last Friday I got the call that they had been unable to find her a good home. So arrangements were made to pick her up Sunday, February 1st.
She is a big girl. Even bigger than Mimi. She is so sweet. Since she was coming from a single rat home, she was able to move right into the village. Currently she is in a smaller cage (smaller than one I actually house my babies in), alongside her soon to be new cage mates.
Bella is over 2 and a half years old and was adopted from the Oregon Humane Society, so she fits right in with the other residents here in that she was adopted!
She is a big girl. Even bigger than Mimi. She is so sweet. Since she was coming from a single rat home, she was able to move right into the village. Currently she is in a smaller cage (smaller than one I actually house my babies in), alongside her soon to be new cage mates.
Bella is over 2 and a half years old and was adopted from the Oregon Humane Society, so she fits right in with the other residents here in that she was adopted!
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