Vermin Village

Well, the room is shaping up nicely. I am getting a cupboard/shelf set up in it for the miscellaneous stuff. I'm also cleaning the cages. I have to find a home for the 8 bags of food and 4 more bags of bedding. The full play area will be back up by the end of next weekend. Yeah!

Tumors Suck

I'm so bummed. I found a tumor on Tweek and she is having surgery on Monday, March 17th. Today, while doing the weekly check on Sam, I found a tumor on her back leg. I'm so bummed. Sam will go for her pre-op appointment on next Saturday. Poor little girl. I feel bad because her cage mate, Zelda, will be by herself. I'm thinking I should introduce her to the other two girls so she can start bonding with them and then introduce Sam and Tweek to the three of them. That would be good for all of them to have so many companions of varying ages. We shall see how it goes. Tumors suck. I don't care if they are benign or not, they suck.

Veggie vs. Rattie First Strike

The six pack brothers started the wave - Tip, Top, Brick, Braque, Crinkle and Mr. Wiggles surveyed the scenery. They moved.

The first wave of ratties shot forth. They entered the Parsley Forest determinedly. Parsley parts flew around the cage. They clutched it in their mouths, they hauled it up and down the 4 stories. One even took it for a ride in the Wodent Wheel! It was a parsley massacre.

The brothers spotted little round red bodies originally hidden in the Parsley Forest. An army of grape tomatoes stared unblinkingly back at the 6 pairs of rattie eyes. The war was lost before it began. The ratties moved in for a second strike. The poor tomato soldiers never had a chance. No trace evidence of their existence remains here.

Then the ratties spotted a limp foe. Cooked green beans. Shivering on what was previously the Parsley Forest floor. The beans huddled in a pile. The ratties didn't bother to hide their superiority. They sauntered over and walked by the forest remains as if to say..."you aren't worth eating...believe you are safe." Then one by one, the ratties promptly snatched an unsuspecting bean. There was no resistance.

This was repeated in 16 battles. In only one did the tomato prevail...albeit a bit wounded. Pip, just like her human papa, does not like tomatoes. One bite and the medical brigade came and removed the injured soldiers from the battlefield.

Tomorrow...kale, bananas and celery intend to enter the fray. Will they return?

Reporting from the battlefield, this is the Rat Slave. I have to go and peel some potatoes.

The image to the left is actually the brothers Rico, Baxter, Worth and Mosco. They have a hammock, a house, and other stuff in their cage. What do they sleep on? The Parsley Forest floor!

Tweek's Weekly Exam

I did Tweek's weekly exam last night and found a lump on her shoulder. :-( It is very soft. She is scheduled on Monday for a check of it. Hopefully it will be something minor. She is running all around and playing so she appears to be dealing with it ok.

Tickle's Time & Legacy

Tickle, the rattie on the left side, joined his brother, Mr. Chuckles, at the Rainbow Bridge on March 1, 2008. He was 2 years and 1 month old. They were both adopted from the Oregon Humane Society in July 2007.

Tickle was an outgoing rattie, more so than his brother Mr. Chuckles. Tickle loved doing pirouettes on my shoulders, bruxxing and boggling all the time. As he got older, he loved to snooze in his hammock and while he was in it keeping himself covered with a paper plate or a large piece of paper.

After his brother's passing, he would not bond with other ratties so he lived alone. I made sure to spend more time with him.

Thursday night he seemed a bit "off" to me, but was still active and playful, eating and drinking. Friday night he took a turn for the worse. He'd have periods of his normal self and other times where he appeared to be having seizures. He also had trouble keeping himself clean so I had to do it for him. I spent the night holding him. Saturday showed no change and his playfulness was lessening and he was showing very little interest in food. He was starting to feel cold, even with the heating pad. I knew it was time to let him go.

My husband made the call and we brought him to Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital. I was so upset that I started bawling before we even got in the car. When we got there, I balked and said they had to check him first to make sure that I wasn't imagining anything. No, we were supposed to bring him, his sounds were really bad. The doctor was really nice to our little guy and I got to stay with Tickle and hold him.

After he passed, I wrapped him in the last hammock I made for him from green polar fleece that he didn't actually use. I brought his remains home and placed him in the freezer to await transport to the Oregon Humane Society on Monday for private cremation.

Tickle and Mr. Chuckles may not have been with our family long, but their legacy will live on here. They were such good ambassadors that they charged us to stepping in for 37 of the 39 ratties that currently live with us. (2 are from a breeder so are not rescues.) Each rattie is special and has a story, some good, some not so good, and a few downright harrowing.

Tickle and Mr. Chuckles will never be forgotten. I take solace in the fact you are together again. I know I will eventually stop crying but right now...

Rest in peace my gentle little giants, the Founders of Vermin Village.

Tickle (1/2006-03/01/2008) and Mr. Chuckles (1/2006-11/15/2007)