Loss

I've dealt with a lot of loss this year- from the loss of a boyfriend for several months to the loss of a dog, hamsters, geckos, and a chinchilla. Today, another chinchilla passed away.

This past Tuesday, Roxy, the hamster, passed away, but I assumed it was due to age as she was about a year and a half or so. But, yesterday, I found Cheech curled up toe Chiko trying to help him stay warm as he was loosing body heat.

I took him to the vet as soon as I could. The vet could not diagnose anything, as he hadn't shown any signs except for the current lethargy and labored/shallow breathing. Chiko was given a shot of B12 and Dex. The B12, like in humans, was a pick-me-up, so to speak; it was to help him feel better. Dex was to aid with circulation, breaking apart clusters of bad cells (as bad cells tend to cluster in one spot) and pushing through more good cells.

For a short time, it seemed to help, but Chiko quickly began to fade again. I was giving him a diluted apple juice mix every hour or so to help him with his sugar levels in attempts to give him a little energy to help fight the illness. It seemed to help for that brief moment, then he would regress back to lethargy.

Throughout the night, I constantly checked on him and tried giving him the apple juice/water mix. He stopped taking the apple juice at 2:00a.m. He died between 6:45ish and 7:30ish this morning.

I took him to the vet this morning for an autopsy. Dr. Hall is going to check for tumors, bleeding, clots, etc. Things that are somewhat basic and visible. If he cannot find anything visible wrong, I agreed to paying the additional fees to have tissuesif not the entire body, sent to Tifton. I want to make sure that whatever happened to Chiko will not happen to Cheech or my rats.

As, earlier this year, Chong passed away without showing any signs of illness. His autopsy showed nothing more than lung tissue damage, as the tissue were decomposing rapidly. He passed away on a Sunday, and the vet was not opened. Chong's autopsy was not performed until Monday afternoon. I still believe, to this day, that something was wrong with him, due to the fact that he was only 3 and a half, or so.

Because chinchillas are social animals, depending on what the vet or Tifton has to say, I may attempt to find another chinchilla to adopt. One that is around Cheech's age, 4 or 5 years. This would give him the socialization that he needs and is used to, and will help an older chinchilla in need of a home.

My chinchillas are housed in a 48T"x30W"x18D" cage with two balconies and a full level. They are fed Mazuir Chinchilla food and timothy hay, and housed on Aspen bedding. They receive nothing less than the best that I can afford. Weekly, bedding changes. Fresh food and water. Chews and treats galore.

Dealing with loss can be a hard thing to handle. And if you know someone that has lost a pet, provide sympathy and a loving heart and hand. If a child, ask they would like to have a funeral. Get all dressed up, have a service, and a proper burial. This will help the child's grieving process. It, also, shows the child that you DO care. Don't just flush his pet fish down the toilet, even a simple goldfish to a 5 year old is important.

It may take a long time for a child, or even an adult, to finish the grieving process, but throughout the entire process, as a friend or loved one, you should be there at all costs.

I can say from personal experiences, after six months having lost my dog to theft, I was still grieving over him. In order to push along the grieving process, I had to purchase another dog of the same breed, American pit bull terrier. Having entered my life, MIA has helped so much with the loss of Chance. Although, I still love and greatly miss him, she has helped fill the void. This may be an option to help aid someone's loss, but do give them plenty of time to grieve before trying to fill the hole. Sometimes this may be perceived as replacing the lost pet, but it's really filling a hole left behind.

Pit Bull Rehabilitation

In light of Michael Vick's dog fighting scandal, 53 dogs are in question of death. Should they be? My opinion...

Pit Bull Rehabilitation

BSL- Close to my Heart

I have a pit bull puppy names MIA. I live in Georgia. This could pose a problem one day. One day breed specific legislation could affect my owning a pit bull. I don't like that idea. It's not the breed's fault they have a bad rep. It's the humans creating the reputation. They're good dogs, with great histories! They were bred to be people friendly, dog aggressive, not aggressive all around.

BSL and Pit Bull Terriers

Why Do Animals Have Tails?

Ever ask yourself why do animals have tails? Many people find their dog's tail offensive as he runs by knocking things over. It really is a good question, when you think about it. Animals have tails for different reasons all depending on their habit and lifestyle.

Why Do Animals Have tails?

What? You want a specialty animal?

Specialty animals include:

• Birds
• Reptile
• Ferret
• Rabbit
• Small Animal

Thinking about getting one? Read the following article:

Things to Consider Before Buying a Specialty Animal

Moving and Have a Reptile?

Read the following article for a few suggestions about moving with a pet reptile.

Moving With Your Pet Reptile

Problems with Your Reptiles

With pet snakes, a big problem can be mites. My Snake Has Mites! goes over a few solutions for getting rid of mites in your snake's enclosure.



Leopard geckos are usually pretty hardy little critters. That's why they're top on the beginner reptile list. But, sometimes they will stop eating. The following article goes over a few things to consider and some possible solutions to getting your gecko to eat again.

My Leopard Gecko Quit Eating

Ball Pythons

Ball pythons are by far my favorite snake. They're very docile and reach a decent length- not too big or too small. But the one thing I absolutely HATE about ball pythons is their known reputation for being finicky eaters. Feeding Habits of Ball Pythons will give you some guidelines when it comes to feeding ball pythons. Some tidbits and experiences of my own and stories of experiences of others. Hopefully, by reading the article you will figure out why your snake isn't eating and what you can do for him.

Feeding Frozen is another good article about the frozen feeder rodents versus live feeder rodents. Now, I will go ahead and say that I feed live. Not by choice, but because my ball python won't eat frozen. Now, his last feeding, he grabbed and fully took a thawed mouse before I gave him a live small rat. That, to me, means he's ready to comply. I'm choosing to wait 3-4 weeks before feeding him again, so that he's good and hungry. Then I'll be attempting a thawed small rat.

Caring for The Two Most Popular Pet Reptile

I have two bearded dragons. After researching and begging for one for probably two years, I finally got a baby bearded dragon for my birthday one year. She was so small. I knew right away she need crickets and veggies. Many people don't know that...

Bearded Dragons join leopard geckos on the top kept reptile. Although the two vary in size and diet, they are both docile reptiles, which make great pets, especially beginner pets. But, sometimes their diet, isn't followed through correctly. I've heard people say that they've NEVER fed their bearded dragon veggies. WHAT? Not good. Well, reading Bearded Dragon Diet you can see the different produce items that you can feed bearded dragons as well as how much to feed them.

Leopard geckos are one of my favorite gecko species. They come in SO many morphs (colors), ranging from tangerine, yellow, albino, jungle, red eyes, black eyes, etc. There are so many possibilities out there for the Eublepharis macularius species.

On top of that, leopard geckos are one of the most owned reptile species due to their ease in captivity as well as their very docile temperaments. But, just because many people own leopard geckos, it doesn't necessarily mean they know how to properly take care of them. Here is a basic caresheet for Caring For Leopard Geckos.

Mice/Rats Whats the Difference?

I have both rats and mice, well 3 rats and 1 mouse. I have had other mice in the past though. When I got my present mouse, I was under the impression that he would be similar to my rats... Wrong. Well, somewhat. He has similar diet and husbandry, just smaller scale. He has similar needs in general, but personality, it's just not the same. Read up before you make a decision between a mouse or a rat. To get you started, here's a brief article with a few this and that's.

Rats Vs. Mice as Pets

Rats, Rats, and More Rats!

Ok, so it's something my mom's not the proudest to admit... Her daughter has rats in her room... But, it's true. I do. I have three rats- a black hooded, black berkshire, and brown berkshire. And, no matter how much I swear they give kisses, no one believes me, and no one dares to try it. Ha. I love my rats greatly.

My rats experience tons of treats daily... Well, when I say tons I mean no more than 10% of their diet, but tons none-the-less. You always have to watch out what and how much you feed rats, as surprisingly enough they're not like the nasty New York sewer rats. The following article is a great listing of treats that your rat(s) CAN have.

Rat Munchies

Rats LOVE attention! To any rat lover, that's no surprise. Games and Toys for Your Pet Rats is a great show of fun that you can have with your pet rat.

I'm a constant worry-wort when it comes to my animals. Wondering if they're getting enough nutrition in their diet, attention, excercise. Like my chinchillas, my rats, too, hold a special place in my heart. I have compiled Signs of Illness In Your Rat in order to share a few symptoms that you can look for in order spot whether or not your rat is sickly or not.

Evolution of Reptiles

Reptiles have had an interesting start in life. I mean who would have thought that reptiles evolved from fish? I wouldn't have... Well, it's all in theory. This article give a short description about the evolution of reptiles.

A Brief Evolution of Reptiles

Choosing A Pet Reptile

When deciding upon getting your first reptile, it can be a hard decision. Trying to maintain a docile pet that you can hold, yet appealing. It's always best to do your research before purchasing any animal. Here's an informative article about the best beginner reptiles to have. The information in the article is taken from person experience and word of mouth from other reptile hobbiest.

Best Beginner Reptile

Once you have decided upon a reptile of choice, you then need to decide where to get it. Before You Buy Retail Reptiles... is a great article about retail reptiles. It goes over the pros and cons about buying reptiles from corporate retail petstores. Personal experiences were used as examples in the article.

Caring for Hamsters

Hamsters are a popular pet these days amongs both apartment dwellers and house dwellers. Many younger children want hamsters. They want to see them running throughout their room in the translucent ball. Hamsters do require a little work. You can't just sit and watch them take care of themselves. By reading Caring For Hamsters you can go see the basics to taking care of a pet hamster. The article discusses diet, behaviors, temperament, and housing.

But when it comes to hamsters there is one thing you should definately be aware of, and that's wet-tail, which is similar to diarrhea. It is caused by stress. Reading Hamsters With Wet-tail, you can find out what you can do to help a hamster with wet-tail, and what you can to do try to prevent your hamster from getting wet-tail.

Chinchillas

Chinchillas are very close to my heart. I received my first chinchilla for Christmas one year. He was so cute! And, I didn't even expect it. I had done my research, and asked, and got a semi-yes. But nothing definate. At this time, I volunteered regularly at Petsmart, and saw that they had one male chinchilla. I asked for him, and my parents didn't seem too keen on the idea, as it had been a while since I'd taken care of a furry pet; plus I already had a few reptiles and a dog in the house.
The next day, we went back to Petsmart, to get something that I had forgotten, crickets, mealworms, or something... I saw that the chinchilla wasn't there anymore, and began asking for a hamster. Turns out that the previous day when my mother picked me up, my dad was in the parking lot (supposidly at work). He ran in and bought the chinchilla, since they can't put anything on hold. He had already gotten approval from my grandparents, that they would house the little guy until the following weekend, which was Christmas. I had absolutely NO idea!!!
Luck for me I had done my research, or I would have been in for a huge RUDE awakening! But, at the same time, I was still surprised by somethings, such as how much they actually liked to chew! I expected some chewing, but I didn't expect to walk in my room one day and have the front of my ferret cage falling off because they had chewed the pieces that held the cage together off. Oh, and I say they, because in April, of the following month, I went back to Petsmart and got another chinchilla, and we purchased a bigger cage, a ferret cage.
But anyway, I have created a basic chinchilla caresheet for those who are interested in owning a chinchilla.

Did you know it takes OVER 150 chinchillas to produce one chinchilla fur coat?? Did you know that Jennifer Lopez has well over 10 of these coats? That means well over 1,500 chinchillas had to die in order to make Lopez a fancy coat. I am very fond of my chinchillas, and will never understand why someone would want one of these coats.

Chinchillas are very sensitive, cute, and furry creatures that are now found in homes across North America versus solely in the Andes Mountains of South America.

If you're thinking about getting a chinchilla, you should read the article below. It consists of a few tips and things that you may want to think about first:
Chinchilla Basics

Animals

I have too many... Ha... Well, it's true.

I have had dogs all my life. My experience with dogs ranges from volunteering weekly for 5 plus years are various dog rescues. Dog training for over a year. And just plain personal experiences.

As for my experience with reptiles; I have been researching reptiles for over 7 years, and have owned them for over 4. I have a small hobby business breeding leopard geckos, african fat tail geckos, and crested geckos. goreptiles.com

My experience with small and furry animals goes so far as 10 years off and on hands on experience and research. I was the certified specialist for a retail petstore, as well.

The list of my zoo inludes:

REPTILES

• 12 leopard geckos
• 5 african fat tail geckos
• 2 crested geckos
• 2 bearded dragons
• 1 ball python

SMALL AND FURRY

• 3 rats
• 2 chinchillas
• 1 hamster
• 1 mouse

DOGS

• 1 yorkie (mine)
• 1 pit bull (mine)
• 1 mutt: hound/heinz 57 dog (partially mine)
• 1 dalmatian (cute dog at the house)
• 1 st bernard/collie mix (my mother's)

Please take everything written in this blog as personal experiences unless otherwise said.