Going on Vacation

Hey guys. We are going on vacation, leaving this afternoon. We will be gone all next week. I'm not sure how much I will be getting online, unless Dad got broadband! He's still on a dial-up and it drives my impatient soul nuts waiting for it to dial and then my pages load slowly!

So anyway, if I don't see you guys - have a good week! The doggies are going to be boarded again. I hate that. I am so nervous! They seem to really have a blast there, though. Maybe Nala can work some of her wiggles out while we are gone!

 

Where does you dad live? Oh, yea, and have a great time and be careful. We'll miss you!

 

Not just Dad - we are going to visit both my parents in Appleton, WI. Hey, don't we have a WI person out there?

 

I think we do. How long will it take you to get there? Where are you again? MO?

 

I wanna go!!!!

 

KS. It's about an 11-hour drive. I'm thinking Pam and Rusty are the WI people...

I'm going alone with the kids (and a short tailed opossum, Berry).



My husband is staying home to paint the house (or so he says). He is taking care of the cats and mice (he'd better!) but I am going to board the dogs so he won't have to deal with them. He works longer hours than I do and has no idea how to feed them, and with him painting the house it's just easier and better for the dogs to be at the kennel.

On a sadder note, I had two of the mice PTS last night. They both had huge tumors and one was really, really bad. The other would have lasted longer, but she would have been all alone and I figured maybe she would rather go before it got really bad. Poor babies. :cry:

 

:cry: Sorry about the mice! Why didn't I know that you have a short tailed opossum, and how did you end up with one?

 

Here's the story on that. A couple of years ago, the kids wanted to get a small pet. My daughter wanted a rabbit, but I did research and determined we were not prepared to care for a rabbit (much as I would love one!). My son wanted a ferret, but I KNEW we couldn't handle one of those! So we ended up getting 2 mice. They were nice, but we were clueless and did not socialize them well enough, so they were difficult to handle.

My daughter was disappointed and wanted a hamster like one of her friends had. But every hamster I have ever touched has bitten me. So, we went on a small animal search to find her the "perfect" little critter.

Our search took us to a local pet shop that carries some rather exotic critters. (I knew nothing back then about avoiding pet store animals.) We looked at several, but fell in love with this tiny little baby short-tailed opossum. We were told how easy they are to take care of, but at least I had enough sense to go home and verify before buying him.

I did my research and we went back and got him! He is a marsupial, so he doesn't chew everything constantly. He doesn't bite. He's shy, so we used to handle him every day but that fell by the wayside. As a result, he would rather not be handled, but my daughter can still pick him up and hold him and he doesn't panic or anything. He definitely likes her best.

He has some health issues. His first winter was fine, but last winter I don't know what was different - the humidity must have been too low for him and his poor little ears dried out and some of the outer portions fell off. I was horrified! It doesn't seem to bother him, though.

We noticed a long time ago that one of his front feet turned inward. I figured it was an old injury and there was nothing to be done. But now it is worse, so I am going to bring him to the vet when we get home.

He is supposed to eat raw fruits and veggies, plus things like eggs, crickets, wax worms, meal worms, etc. He is an insectivore. But he won't eat the fruits and veggies well so we compromised with baby food. He also has dry kitten kibble available constantly (I managed to switch him to Innova, LOL).

He's a good little guy and easy to care for. They are also solitary critters and will kill other STO's, so there is no temptation to get more. If I ever got another, I would go through a breeder to avoid the health issues of pet stores. I would also raise it from a baby to ride in a pouch worn around my neck so he would be used to the family.


***edit***
Oh, and he has a prehensile tail - it's non-weight bearing so he doesn't hang from it, but he can pick stuff up with it. And it holds on to your finger! He's about the size of a hamster, but skinnier. When we got him at 6-weeks-old, he was the size of a grown mouse. He's originally from the rain forests of South America.

 

How interesting. I like the idea of checking out different types of pets from the norm. We used to have an exotic pet store in our town, but I believed it closed some time ago. Well, Berry is a cutey pie, Van Gogh ears and all!

 

OMG I would freek. REmember my oposum story!!!!! *shudders at thougth*


He is kinda cute though...

 

The typical North American opossums are HUGE and MEAN. This little guy is a cutie.

 

YAY! I'm outta here. Off to go home to get the dog's food in the cooler and cry on their heads before the kennel lady gets there. Am I the only one who obsesses about other people driving with my dogs in the car?? But it was so much easier than taking them out there - it's a good hour drive ONE WAY and not on our way at all (it would have been when my parents still lived in Cincinnati) and I really didn't fancy tacking 2 hours on to an 11-hour drive. Ugh.

I'll miss all of you and try to pop on when I can. I definitely don't want to miss Dukesdad's "Name that Breed" trivia question.

 

bye! Have fun!!!!

 

Bye Have Fun & Drive Safely!

 

Jamiya-
Yout little Berry is very cute. I have sugar gliders. They're small insectavore marsupials. I feed them Zookeeper's Secret, it's a semi-moist pelleted insectavore diet, along with fresh fruits and veggies and some fresh proteins. I order it online and it's not too terribly expensive, didn't know if you had checked out any other diets for him or not, i've been really pleased with this stuff.

 

Have a blast and be safe!

 

I'm sorry to hear about your mice.

Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

 

Someday - I have tried some of the insectivore diets but Berry won't eat them. I'll have a look at the one you use and see if he likes it. He's a picky little guy!

I love sugar gliders. I didn't think we were ready for those guys, though. They need more attention and live a long time, comparatively speaking.

 

Jamiya, It's Sat. morning and you're here... does that mean you have arrived at your destination?
I'm not from Wisconsin, but from Washington, actually....the state, not the capitol.... the one WAY up there in the far northwest corner
BUT, I've been to Wisconsin.....loved it there, in fact. But I don't think Rusty's been there. Although I'm not sure....sometimes we think he might have been a trucker dog. He has a huge interest in big rig trucks....whenever we pass one on the freeway, he will put his little paws up on the window and look out at it, like he's looking for something.
So....it's always possible he's seen a lot of this country, who knows?
Anyway, enjoy your stay. The little possum is very cute. Ever had an experience with Chinchilla"s (sp?)? They are cute little furballs too.

 

have a good time!!!!