Sena's DW :: Watermelon Life

Way back YEARS ago I used to own a pair of degus. Degus are South American ground squirrels, they look a lot like gerbils only way bigger, and the chew EVERYTHING. Also their tail skin will slough off if you pick them up by their tails, so like, don't do that. And you can keep two males together, they'll form a close bond, unlike with most rodent species. They are also very gentle and sweet and make really good pets. I adored them.

Mine were named Bedrock and Granite, and I had them for almost ten years. Bedrock passed away first, which was sad enough, but after that Granite started to get really depressed. He moped around and went off his food, was barely drinking even. But there wasn't much I could DO because I had gotten them SO LONG AGO and from a store an hour's drive away, and had no way of going out and just buying another degu to keep him company.

BUT at the same time, I had Ichigo. Ichigo was the last of my mice, plain brown, nothing special really, but she had been living on her own for some time and she was about a year-and-a-half old, getting up there for a mouse. She was doing fine on her own, but I knew she must get bored because she would chew mindlessly at the bars of her cage or stare into space for endless spans of time.

So. Knowing it was probably a bad idea, I carefully took Ichigo out of her cage and put her in the terrarium with Granite.

She explored the place while Granite sat up on top of the wooden cabin I had in there for him, just watching her. Then he decided to go introduce himself-- and that was that. The two of them absolutely fell in love with each other. They did everything together. Ichigo got Granite eating again, they built a nest together, they played together, it was downright AMAZING to watch.

Six months later, though, Ichigo reached the end of her life. I got up one morning and she was laying out by the food dish and couldn't seem to move. I watched Granite desperately try to get her up and fail each time. Then he started bringing bits of the nest out to her, tucking them in around her where she was laying. It was absolutely heart-wrenching to watch these tiny animals love so, so deeply even as they lost so, so much.

After Ichigo was gone, I purchased another mouse for Granite, but it was too young and had too much energy. It annoyed him and he didn't want anything to do with it. He didn't last long after that. He stopped eating again, and one day I found him dead in the terrarium.

But I learned SO MUCH about an animal's capacity for love from watching Granite and Ichigo. It's something I'll never, ever forget.

The last day or so Ichigo's been feeling sick. She's just been looking rough, and clearly feeling sorry for herself. Tonight instead of hiding out in the nest like normal, she holed up in the crook of the piece of driftwood that's in there for her and Bedrock to climb on...

And poor Bedrock doesn't know what to do! He's fussing over her and bringing her food, and has moved almost their whole nest out of their little cabin and spread it out around where she's curled up. He keeps snuggling up with her to keep her warm and grooming her. I feel so bad for him, it's like he's lonely already. ;___;

Honestly, the way he's acting is a lot like the way Tohru and Ryu acted with their babies, which wouldn't surprise me. Ichigo's so little in comparison to him I sometimes wonder if that's why he accepted her so easily; he just thinks she's a baby. So he's trying his best to take care of her, since she obviously isn't feeling good. And apparently degus (females and males both) are excellent parents anyway.

If Ichigo gets sicker (she's actually a year-and-a-half old now, so she's getting on for a mouse <3) and doesn't make it, I'll have to get him another mousie to keep him company. Not that I want Ichigo to die. They love each other so much, it would be really sad...

Granite died last night. When I got up this morning and fed everyone, he didn't come out to eat, and I found him in the little cabin.

It's weird... I've had Granite and Bedrock for seven years now. Longer than I've had Neko.

Besides which, it was Bedrock that was the sickly one; he kept losing weight and had big bald patches, so I don't see why Granite would be the one to go first.

And now Bedrock is really depressed; degus form very strong bonds (even two males like Bedrock and Granite), and get quite upset if they're suddenly sepparated. They're also much happier living with two or more of them together, they get lonely on their own... besides, having a companion can lengthen their lifespan, and not having one can significantly shorten it. Degus have been known to hurt themselves when they've been sepparated from their bondmates. I know when I sepparated them a while back when I thought Bedrock wasn't getting enough food, they both started pulling their own hair out, and Granite was chewing on the end of his tail...

I dunno, I should probably get another pair to keep Bedrock company until he goes, but that's another 7-10 year commitment, so... do I really want them for that long? I don't know... I can't decide, but at the same time I hate that Bedrock is so unhappy...

I really can't decide...

I had it pointed out to me by the helpful people at houserabbits that pine bedding is bad for rabbits (I knew about cedar, but I didn't realize pine was bad for them as well); so a couple of days ago I picked up some nice paper mulch bedding for them, and they seem to really like it, so we're all good.

Happy bunnies = happy Sena. =3

Yeah... and yesterday I emptied/cleaned my aquarium and converted it into a terrarium for Bedrock and Granite... and my place is a mess from it. -_-;; Le sigh... I have a huge bowl of river rocks sitting on my table, empty jugs of water by the smaller aquarium that my goldfish were transfered to, and a bag by the edge of the couch, that has all the plants and the filter in it...

Now I'm trying to work up the gumption to actually tidy it all up. :P

I had to go to the pet store today to buy rat/mouse and cat food, and while I was there I ended up picking up a little book on degus; it had information on health and overgrown teeth, which was why I got it. BUT. When I got home and started reading it...

WHAT THE HELL.

Everything I was told about how to feed/care for degus when I first bought them was crap! I have been maltreating them for five years without even knowing it! I was told they couldn't have sugar, when in fact they can and should have it. I was told they could only eat chinchilla food (w/out raisins), when they should eat a combination of rat food and guinea pig food, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and dry corn (for their teeth). They are also very fond of raisins and nuts of any kind.

So basically, they're horribly malnurished because they haven't had anything but plain chinchilla food for five years. =_=;;

And I feel really, REALLY FREAKING GUILTY about it, though I know it wasn't really my fault...

Anyway, so I picked up some guinea pig food, raisins and nuts. I also picked up some alphalfa hay for them (it's supposed to be good for them) as well as a half-dozen dried cobs of corn for them (as well as Yuki and Nashi! ^^)

Then when I got home, I opened up a huge metal bin (formerly a dog food canister), and dumpted everything in; guinea pig food, rat/mouse food, chinchilla food, raisins, walnuts, pecans and a couple of handfuls of cat food, and gave it a good stirring. The end. That's what all my rodenty friends are eating from now on, as well as lots of fresh veggies and some fresh fruit as well. ^^

I really, really hope that the new diet/lifestyle for Bedrock and Granite will help them both feel better, and help Bedrock gain weight and grow his fur back...

Mom and I had an appointment this morning (what else is new?), and she showed up early to pick me up... gah. I was on the computer, chatting with cassandracsenta at the time, so I had to bail all of a sudden, run around to get my stuff together, and then dash out the door. Meanwhile, Mom sits in the car and looks up at my window, waiting for me to come down. :P

Now, our chiropractor's office (for those who don't know, lol) is about an hour's drive away, in Bracebridge. ^_^; Which is okay with me, because it means I have a chance to chat with Mom for a bit... also, the only store that I buy animals from is about a block away from where we go for treatment, so I make Mom stop by there to poke around about once a month or so.

Today was one of those times, because I had a mission: FISH. For my aquarium.

I also needed algaecyde... but when I looked for it, it wasn't there. And when I asked about it, the guy said that they can't sell it anymore because it's illegal in Canada. O_o; Meep... I ended up getting a filter addition that's supposed to stop algae growth instead.

Whatever. As long as it works, I don't care what it is.

Then, as they were having a sale on fantail goldfish this month (1/2 price!), I bought five of them. *shrugs* You should see the looks I get when I say "I want five fantails... what? No, I don't care what they look like." I'd rather they weren't sickly (duh), but other than that, I don't really have a preference--though I did ask him to grab five that were different, so that I had a bit o' variety in my aquarium.

So, algae-filter thing and fish in hand, I hied myself over to the "small animals" section; I was looking for a water bottle for a terrarium (tank-habitat) and a little ceramic-type food dish. Found both. WHOOT.

About the time I was grabbing the dish, Mom pokes me and picks up this mineral-chew thing (a solid rock-type mix of limestone/minerals/vitamins/salt/etc. for rodents). Here's why this is so important; I have degus (a type of African ground squirrel, I named them Bedrock and Granite). They're adorable, and friendly, and I love them to bits.

They are also going bald.

Yeah. I have NO IDEA why! They're healthy and fine in every way, except that their hair keeps falling out. O_O; But... because degus are sort of diabetic, they don't have much they can eat. So Mom was thinking that maybe they were missing something in their plain-chinchilla-food diet that would contribute to the hair loss.

I asked the clerk if the mineral-and-vitamin-bar would be okay to give to a degu (since they're so touchy with what they can and can't eat), and she said yes, they give them to the degus at the store all the time. So I picked one up. Here's hoping the extra nutrients help a bit.

*shrug* I figured either way, it won't be bad for them.

So I've got a filter-thing, goldfish, a bowl, a water bottle, and a mineral-rock-chew-thing; next I poke through the food area and grab a bag of rat/mouse food. Mom gives me this O_o;; look.

At which point I turned around and told the guy (who'd gotten my fish) that I wanted two mice. >^-^< Ehehehe...

Again, he wanted to know what kind. I told him I didn't care what color/etc., as long as they were both of the same gender. ^^;; I definitely don't want a breeding pair... I ended up with females, not that it matters.

He got me two mice, and I took everything up to the cash. ^_^ Maaa... the problem with only buying things from one pet store (and one I only get to go to once a month at that) is that by the time I get there, there's usually ten things that I want/need to buy.

Anyway! I didn't even get to see my mice until I got home and put them into my little terrarium, but they're so cute~! =3 Sooooo~ tiny! One of them is dark brown with white patches (I named it Noriko) and the other is white with light brown spots around it's head and shoulders (I named it Ryuichi). Next time we're up there, I'm getting one more and naming it Tohma. XD

*giggles in a slightly unbalanced fashion*

So, overall: 2 cats (Osiris aka "Neko" & Triton aka "Tri"), 2 degus (Bedrock & Granite), 2 mice (Noriko & Ryuichi, and soon-to-be Tohma) and five goldfish. ^__^

I'll be getting more goldfish some time soon, too, assuming these ones don't die.

I've had my degus (Bedrock & Granite) for about four years now (I believe), and only now am I finding out that they should be supplied with dust for dust bathing--like you would do for a chinchilla. =_=;; I just read that in a pet magazine that I got when I took Tri and Neko to the vet last month...

Supposedly, dust bathing is good for them. I should let them do it once every couple of days or so. And because I love all my little furry friends and I want them all to be as happy and healthy as possible, I will be going out and buying dust for them ASAP.

...yup.

Now!

( That's an ENGAGEMENT ring! )

Nazoko just flings things at Nozomi a lot, doesn't she? ^^;;;