Wednesday, 17 August 2011

The Hamster!

Phoebe
 1Year Old
Syrian Hamster













Phoebe is the second ever hamster I have had in life. She is ginger and white in body and has cute black button eyes. As you can see from the photo above, she is a very cheeky character. Phoebe came to live with us when I got a phone call from my mum asking if I wanted another hamster (it had been several years since my first) because my Aunt knew someone who's hamster has given birth, not long after taking it home from the pet shop. It was just after Christmas, January 2010 when she was finally ready to leave her mum and come live with us. I brought everything new, cage, accessories etc. Ready for when I would meet her. I was at college the day she was delivered and my mum kept teasing me with photos, sending them to my mobile during the day, I just couldn't wait to get home and meet her. 

I got home and found a tiny little hamster sitting in my cage looking so adorable and cute. I let her settle in for the night before handling her anymore than she had been handled by mum. I can gladly say that she has never bitten me! She once bit my mum, because she had been eating! (her fingers smelt like food) but Phoebe soon let go and got confused! Poor girl didn't know what was happening when my mum shouted "Ouch!" 

Phoebe enjoys her evenings outside of her cage, running on the furniture, on the floor or in her ball. (less than 20 minutes at a time!) Though snuggling has a limit lately, unfortunately as she has began to have bladder problems and can sometimes 'leak' urine, and hamster urine stinks!! So I usually snuggle her with an old tea-towel which gets washed each night.

Phoebe has brought happiness and fun into our home, she is constantly making us laugh and smile at all the little things she does, getting up to mischief! I wouldn't change her for the world and we are lucky to have her here. I hope we still have a few more years together yet! 

Many thanks for reading about Phoebe, please continue to follow my blog on the animals.


Tuesday, 16 August 2011

The Bunnies!

Toffee
5Years Old
Dwarf-Lop










Toffee is my second rabbit. My parents went out and brought him from a pet shop after I had adopted a red eyed white rex rabbit named Harvey from a farm while we was on holiday in June 2006. They went out and brought Toffee because we all thought that Harvey would love a friend to play with. The pet shop sold us Toffee as a girl, though a few weeks later it was clear Toffee was in fact a boy. After the boys were neutered, it was a couple of months and Toffee developed something inside of his eye. My parents took him along to a number of different vets to try and figure out what was wrong. They ended up going to a eye specialist and finding out via the Internet that Toffee had a worm inside of his eye. A couple of days later he cost us over £600 to have his eye removed. Though his disability has not affected him in the slightest. It probably helped that he was still young and had plenty of time to adapt. Toffee was particularly friendly while Harvey was still alive, he seemed to be the bossy one of the two but as soon as Harvey became ill and died Toffee became depressed and depended on us for company which helped him become more human-friendly. 

Now Toffee is the most friendliest bunny I own. He will happily hop over to you and see if you have anything yummy to eat and he enjoys nose-rubs. He has now been with us for 5 happy years, and I don't regret a moment of them! I also hope we still have more years together as we have become so close recently.  

Toffee currently lives outside in the garage with three other companions. He has daily access to the whole of the garden while someone is home to keep a close eye on every-bun. He enjoys his daily binkies around the grass and sunbathing in the sunshine (when we have some!)  


  Daisy 
3Years Old
Mix Breed










Daisy is my third rabbit. When my first rabbit Harvey died Toffee became depressed and in-need of a friend. I didn't want to get another pet shop rabbit after the trouble we had with Toffee. So I looked online in search of a rabbit rescue! I finally came across a rescue not too far away and decided to make an appointment to go meet the bunnies. When I got there she only had a couple of female rabbits in for rehoming at the time, Daisy was one of them. She told me all about her, how no-one wanted her as she was 'aggressive' and 'territorial' I felt a little sorry for her and decided everybun deserves a second chance so I said I would have her. The rescue got her spayed and vaccinated before rehoming her to me. I had to go through a home check as well. But as soon as she was home and bonded on the 1st April 2009 she was perfectly fine and did not show any signs of her 'aggression' or 'territorial behaviour'. And to today I still haven't seen that behaviour from her! Only to keep the other buns in line ;-)

When we first got her home, she was a little nervous and not human-friendly but would not bite or anything aggressively. Over the two years we have had Daisy she has blossomed! She can be such a sweet girl when she wants you attention and nose-rubs! But other times she may binky off in the opposite direction! 



Fuzzy  
3Years Old
Lionhead








Fuzzy is my third rabbit. When I went to the rabbit rescue to get Toffee a friend I ended up getting him two! Ops! When the lady pulled out Fuzzy, my mum fell in love with a bundle of fur. Fuzzy is a lionhead and needs regular grooming. On the 1st April 2009 Fuzzy came to live with us and become Toffee's friend. After the girls arrived we started the bonding, it didn't take long and the three of them were great buddies. Fuzzy as top bun, Daisy second and Toffee as bottom bun. Fuzzy is the quiet one of the group even though she rules. But she is getting better with her grooming sessions and will let you do anything to her! She sits still until your finished. Her favourite hobby is to mount Daisy every now and then to make sure Daisy still knows she is boss! 

Fuzzy is getting better around us humans, sometimes she will even hop up to us to see if we have any treats to give and she even accepts a tiny nose-rub! But it isn't long before she turns round and binkies off in the other direction away from us. 

 George 
1Year Old
Dwarf-Lop
Harlequin

George is my fourth and final rabbit. George came to me on my 18th Birthday. 21st April 2010. A few weeks before I fell head over heals for him down at my local pub. The lady got given two rabbits who had an accidental litter and George was one of the results. When they were all older and running around I visited them and George came running up and licked my hand through the bars, my heart melted. "I want him" I bugged my parents for ages, every time we was at the pub I'd go see him. I decided I was going to get everything for him and bring him home after my birthday, so for my birthday I asked for bunny items! Such as a dog crate to keep him in and a run for the garden which was all until he could be bonded with the others. I got my gifts and I was all ready to go pick him up the following Thursday. Sadly on my birthday I had college... But when I arrived home I had a nice surprise. There he was... George sitting in his crate with a huge 18th balloon flying high above. A present from the owner of the pub. I was over the moon! and couldn't believe it! They had planned it all. 

It wasn't long until George soon settled in and started to destroy the place! He enjoyed eating wires, wallpapers and whatever was in his way! Some bite marks my dad still hasn't noticed, Shh! Anyway as soon as George was old enough we decided to get him neutered and vaccinated. While going for his neuter the vet told us that George has no 'plums' therefore he must be a she! Because by that time they should have appeared. OK I thought, that's fine I can call her Georgie! A little while after dropping 'her' off at the vets I got a phone call. "Hi Vicky, I have found George's 'plums' would you still like me to continue the operation?" "Yes please" So that was that! George was back to being a boy, just a late bloomer! We then had to go back to the vet several times to get his wound re-stitched, stabled and he had to have a collar on because he kept licking and pulling at his wound. A couple of weeks later and he was ready to be bonded to the group. 

The bonding went well and didn't take long at all! Daisy was a little madam but Toffee and Fuzzy soon stood up for George and but Daisy in her place. And since that day they have all gotten on great! There is a lot of grooming time in the garden between each of the rabbits. 

George is my 'big boy' because he is a larger rabbit, compared to Toffee and the girls, but despite his size he is the scaredy cat of the group and will run away from any sound or anything 'scarey'. But we love him all the same! He enjoys his food (Surprise surprise) and occasionally enjoys nose-rubs too!

Many Thanks for reading about the Bunnies, I do hope you enjoyed their stories and you continue following the blog.

A Warm Welcome

Hello and Welcome to my Mini'Zoo blog!
I'm Vicky and this blog is going to be all about my family of animals.
I will be introducing you to all of the animals who are currently living with us. We all have ups and downs, for example when we loose a much loved family pet or when we open our hearts to a new addition, our hearts are always being tested but that is part of having animals and having their lives depend on you. Some people admire my love of animals and some think it is silly to love animals so much and cry when they leave for the better place. But all I can say is... It's me. Someone needs to be their voice and thats where we come in, to help them have the best life possible that we can provide them. Even though we say "no more" another usually isn't too far away, whether it's an animal who's owner can no longer care for or an animal someone just got bored of, we try and find a place for them in our home and in our hearts. And if we can't help then we find someone who can.

Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to follow my blog.