March 25, 2014
Dear Pet Journal,
I can't believe it is the end of March and snowing yet again! But there it is, falling softly on the grass. At least it isn't sticking. I'm glad I don't have any outside pets.
Work has been fine. I find myself somewhere between duties and looking up various hedgehog info in any spare time I might have.
The cats are doing well. I think Ping is suffering a touch of jealousy/separation anxiety because of the time Jason and I spend in the office with the hedgies. Closed doors bother him. But at least he doesn't jump against the door trying to open it, like Willow. Or Panama, who just sits right outside the door, waiting for one of us. I think Pan is just hoping we will come out with food. And just because I'm mentioning the rest, I have to say Loki is doing the best. He is presently asleep on the couch. He has never had any kind of anxiety against the hedgies. I remember Jason telling me right after we brought Sebastian home that he went through the process of introductions while I was at work. He said Pan and Willow were nervous of Sebastian, that Ping kept his disinterested distance (that is Emperor Ping for you) and Loki approached Sebastian, looked at her (him at the time) and licked her head and walked away. Seriously? And I was at work?!?! I totally should have seen that.
Sebastian and Co. seem to be adjusting well to their new cages. A day or so shy of 6.5 weeks. Sebastian and Gayle are in one new cage and the boys are all in another.
Everyone seems to love the new fleece liners I put in the cages. Sebastian and Gayle both spend most of their time asleep under the fleece under the igloo. Gabriel and Tiberius are also both under the fleece, but only one under the igloo at a time. Beauregard, my grumpy baby Beau, has spent under fleece time, but seems to prefer to stay cuddled up close to the wheel. On the fleece. But not so much under it. They all seem to be ignoring the carefresh I put down on top of the fleece to make them feel more at home. I guess the carefresh is done for now. Into closet storage!
The new wheels all came in today. Big old chinchilla wheels. We already had one and we had also gotten some "silent spinners" mostly because they were out of chinchilla wheels. But the little slits on the spinners make me nervous. So, just so I would rest easier, we got more wheels.
Chelsea has rats and I think she will like a spinner for her brood. We'll figure out what to do with the other 3.
Oh my gosh! Watching all the babes try to take to the wheels has been just … awesome. They get on it, walk around a bit, turn around, run a little, stop like they are scared, turn around again, walk a little, turn around, run, and do it all again. It's so funny with the boys because one of the boys will get about halfway through this cycle and another boy will get on the wheel and try his own cycle. Except their running/walking/turning cycles of course do not coincide. Every once in a while though they will both get it at the same time and both be running in the same direction. And that makes my heart feel full. But then the third brother wants on too, and for all it's a big wheel, it's just not big enough for three.
Gayle though… Gayle got on her wheel and was off like a rocket! Run run run run, slow down… run run run run! I think the little girl has some serious nervous energy to burn off. I wonder if Sebastian ever gets to use the wheel at night?
Given issues with wheel time I'm thinking that by this upcoming weekend we had best have all 5 of our new cages ready for occupancy. I'm sure Sebastian is ready to be alone again, even though to my knowledge she was only ever alone for the first week we had her. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. And hedgehogs being naturally solitary animals, I'm pretty sure they will do just fine with socialization at designated playtimes.
I'm thinking one of those kiddy pools with the high sides for playtimes, or maybe a play pen like they had when I was a kid. Couple boys sometimes, couple girls sometimes. A wheel, a couple balls with bells, maybe live crickets sometimes just for extra adventure.
It's a random thought.
And pictures! I need a camera and some serious lighting. I NEED to click pictures of these little ones for posterity. And they are just so darned cute! I love the cats, I really do. But they just usually don't take to pictures well. The hedgies? They could be super stars in my home! Besides, I think they are doing good things for Rhiannon. After losing her mom, the hedgie pics I had been taking were the only thing she would even talk about with me. And they have opened a new world for us. <3 hedgehogs! And cats!
(this little journal spot is for everyone! what pet adventures did you have today?)
Dear Pet Journal,
I can't believe it is the end of March and snowing yet again! But there it is, falling softly on the grass. At least it isn't sticking. I'm glad I don't have any outside pets.
Work has been fine. I find myself somewhere between duties and looking up various hedgehog info in any spare time I might have.
The cats are doing well. I think Ping is suffering a touch of jealousy/separation anxiety because of the time Jason and I spend in the office with the hedgies. Closed doors bother him. But at least he doesn't jump against the door trying to open it, like Willow. Or Panama, who just sits right outside the door, waiting for one of us. I think Pan is just hoping we will come out with food. And just because I'm mentioning the rest, I have to say Loki is doing the best. He is presently asleep on the couch. He has never had any kind of anxiety against the hedgies. I remember Jason telling me right after we brought Sebastian home that he went through the process of introductions while I was at work. He said Pan and Willow were nervous of Sebastian, that Ping kept his disinterested distance (that is Emperor Ping for you) and Loki approached Sebastian, looked at her (him at the time) and licked her head and walked away. Seriously? And I was at work?!?! I totally should have seen that.
Sebastian and Co. seem to be adjusting well to their new cages. A day or so shy of 6.5 weeks. Sebastian and Gayle are in one new cage and the boys are all in another.
Everyone seems to love the new fleece liners I put in the cages. Sebastian and Gayle both spend most of their time asleep under the fleece under the igloo. Gabriel and Tiberius are also both under the fleece, but only one under the igloo at a time. Beauregard, my grumpy baby Beau, has spent under fleece time, but seems to prefer to stay cuddled up close to the wheel. On the fleece. But not so much under it. They all seem to be ignoring the carefresh I put down on top of the fleece to make them feel more at home. I guess the carefresh is done for now. Into closet storage!
The new wheels all came in today. Big old chinchilla wheels. We already had one and we had also gotten some "silent spinners" mostly because they were out of chinchilla wheels. But the little slits on the spinners make me nervous. So, just so I would rest easier, we got more wheels.
Chelsea has rats and I think she will like a spinner for her brood. We'll figure out what to do with the other 3.
Oh my gosh! Watching all the babes try to take to the wheels has been just … awesome. They get on it, walk around a bit, turn around, run a little, stop like they are scared, turn around again, walk a little, turn around, run, and do it all again. It's so funny with the boys because one of the boys will get about halfway through this cycle and another boy will get on the wheel and try his own cycle. Except their running/walking/turning cycles of course do not coincide. Every once in a while though they will both get it at the same time and both be running in the same direction. And that makes my heart feel full. But then the third brother wants on too, and for all it's a big wheel, it's just not big enough for three.
Gayle though… Gayle got on her wheel and was off like a rocket! Run run run run, slow down… run run run run! I think the little girl has some serious nervous energy to burn off. I wonder if Sebastian ever gets to use the wheel at night?
Given issues with wheel time I'm thinking that by this upcoming weekend we had best have all 5 of our new cages ready for occupancy. I'm sure Sebastian is ready to be alone again, even though to my knowledge she was only ever alone for the first week we had her. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. And hedgehogs being naturally solitary animals, I'm pretty sure they will do just fine with socialization at designated playtimes.
I'm thinking one of those kiddy pools with the high sides for playtimes, or maybe a play pen like they had when I was a kid. Couple boys sometimes, couple girls sometimes. A wheel, a couple balls with bells, maybe live crickets sometimes just for extra adventure.
It's a random thought.
And pictures! I need a camera and some serious lighting. I NEED to click pictures of these little ones for posterity. And they are just so darned cute! I love the cats, I really do. But they just usually don't take to pictures well. The hedgies? They could be super stars in my home! Besides, I think they are doing good things for Rhiannon. After losing her mom, the hedgie pics I had been taking were the only thing she would even talk about with me. And they have opened a new world for us. <3 hedgehogs! And cats!
(this little journal spot is for everyone! what pet adventures did you have today?)