Goats!

After a while of waiting, I finally got goats on Dec. 27. I got an angora goat plus a family consisting of a mama Boer mix and her two adorable kids. The angora's name is Kambali, meaning "rug" in Kannada (a language of India, not to be confused with our northern neighbors); and the mama's name is Trisa, meaning the number 30 in Bengali (since 30 is her ear tag number). I haven't yet named the kids.

Goat Shelter Finished

I finally got the goat shelter completed, so hopefully this week I'll be able to get some goats!

Mouse Problem

I don't hate mice. I've had mice as pets in my teens. But there are mice in the house, and they are really hard to get. I refuse to use glue traps, since they are inhumane. I've tried my ferrets, but they aren't able to catch the mice. The classic wooden snap traps are hard to use. But eventually I'll think of something.

Goat Habitat Slow in the Making

I still plan on getting goats, but I'm not sure when I can get help for it. It's been too chilly and wet to build, but I'm looking into ways to get it done quickly. Here's my backyard where I intend for the goats to live. I may expand the fence.

Holiday Frisky and Alpaca Friend

I just got a new small animal garment for the holidays, and was trying it out on Frisky.

I've been making a habit of watching the neighbor's alpacas and equines every now and again. This alpaca has decided that I am her friend. I'm delighted to have an alpaca friend.

Rodents... What are they anyways?

There's nothing new to report, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on small pets and the public reaction to them.

Rodents. Many of us love them, but unfortunately many people hate this most misunderstood group of animals. Rodents happen to be the largest and most diverse group of mammals. Right now, I only have one rodent species as pets: prairie dogs. Most people do not hold the correct idea as to what a rodent is or isn't. People tend to think that all small mammals with relatively cone-shaped faces are rodents. Then they lump a bunch of non-rodents into the category of rodents as if the group isn't large or diverse enough. Scientists classify animals by their skeletal structure, paying close attention to the teeth. They don't concern themselves too much with the size or body coloring of the animal.

I'd also like to address the fact that ferrets are not rodents. This is not to say that it's bad to be a rodent. Rodent is neither an insult nor an opinion. Ferrets are not rodents because they do not have the prominent upper and lower incisor teeth typical of rodents. Instead, they have prominent canines, usually with six small incisors between them, much like a dog or cat. This places them in the order Carnivora. More specifically, Mustelidae.

Rabbits too, are not rodents. However, they have been classified in the past as rodents, and are much closer related to them than ferrets are. They are considered Lagomorphs, since they have an extra pair of incisors that rodents do not have.

I made this video several months ago:

"Neigh"bors pets

I am still planning on getting goats, but there is nothing new on progress on building a goat shelter. My landlord's son is supposed to help me out with it.

I am considering re-homing my prairie dogs Allie and Nicky. Allie requires constant attention that I simply don't have the time to give, and she will be lonely without Nicky, so he would go with her. The constant cage chewing and banging is too loud for my quiet lifestyle. The other prairie dogs, Lakota and Booboo, do not demand as much attention.

I've been observing the neighbor's mini-horses, mules, and alpacas lately, and here is my favorite of their mini-horses. I like how her blond mane and tail contrasts her brown body fur.

Planning on getting Goats

I thought since I now live in the country, I can get some type of farm animal. The landlord approved of goats, so that's what I'm planning on getting. The photo I took of my backyard 2 weeks ago is the future home of at least two goats. The photo of adorable goat kids below, however, isn't mine; it's from Wikipedia.

Rex and Vrada

Here are my male Netherland dwarf buck Rex, and my female Flemish giant doe Vrada. Note their size difference. I know it's generally not recommended to breed different breeds together, but if I were to let them, I'd like to see what comes out. Vrada was successful with a mini-lop buck, but I was surprised due to his much smaller size. Rex is even smaller, so I kind of doubt it will work. If it works, I promise to find really good homes for the kits. Vrada really likes Rex, and grooms him. I personally think they make a very cute couple.

New Home

I am glad to say that my move went quite well. All the critters are just fine, and don't seem to be too stressed out.

Where I am now is in the country but within a couple miles of stores, etc. Here is a picture of the land I'm renting.

We are moving!

...and by "we", I mean me and all my critters. We'll be moving to a house 30 miles east of where we're currently living. I'm really excited about it! There is more woods and nature, and I can't wait to see what wild critter visitors I get! I may also get some other animals to live in the back fenced area. Stay tuned to find out what those animals will be.

Booboo and Lakota might be expecting again

It's possible that Booboo and Lakota might be having babies again, because they were exhibiting mating behaviors last Thursday (Oct. 10.) If they had a successful mating, they should have babies in mid-November. It's a strange time of year for prairie dogs to reproduce, so it's not really that promising. Here they are, just woken up from their nap:

Bunnies still nursing at 17 weeks!

Yuki and Sophia are ready to be separated from their mom, but they were still nursing at 17 weeks. As of today, they are 4 months old. I've read that rabbits will continue to nurse as long as they are still with their mother.

Frisky Stealing Socks

Nothing new about the critters this week. But here's a video of Frisky Lucius stealing socks.

Rabbit Growth Slowing

Yuki and Sophia's growth rate seem to be slower, indicating they're probably approaching their final weight. They are now currently 5 pounds 9 ounces according to my scale, but they feel heavier than that.

Rex the Netherland Dwarf is featured in my latest episode of Pet Profile: Pet Profile: Rex

In other news, I have a new Zazzle store: Andrimal Friends

Want a Ground Squirrel

I was wanting to get a ground squirrel yesterday, so I got a ride from someone to a pet store that had one. Unfortunately, it was a Tuesday and it just so happens that the pet store is closed on Tuesdays. Go figure when it's convenient for you to go somewhere on a certain day, the business has to be closed on that day. But anyways, I asked the guy inside and he said they didn't have the ground squirrel. Oh, well.

No pictures today, because I'm late getting this blog in and I don't feel like uploading any. But all critters are doing fine.

Beware of the Hormonal Prairie Dog!

Well, it finally happened. I have been very careful since getting my two male prairie dogs Booboo and Nicky. But yesterday, Nicky bit me very hard on the joint of my index finger when I was trying to reach for Allie. Perhaps he was trying to protect her. Around this time of year, male prairie dogs undergo rut, and their personalities can be very nasty. Neutering is highly recommended, I'll either do that, or rehome him. I haven't decided yet.

As for my rabbits, Sophia and Yuki are now at 5¼ pounds. My adult male Netherland dwarf Rex, is only 3½ pounds. Here are Rex and Sophia together.

Bunnies still nursing at 12 weeks!

Here are Yuki and Sophia as of now. On Saturday, when they turned 12 weeks old, I saw them still nursing! Weirdest of all, they weighed 4 lbs. 13 oz; which is bigger than their father was!

Now to the prairie dogs... Booboo is going to be featured in my Pet Profile series on Youtube. Here he is:

Pet Spotlight: Jasper

My rabbits Sophia and Yuki are still around 2 kg (4.4 lbs.) They're almost as big as their dad was.

This week I've decided that Jasper should be featured in my next Pet Spotlight video: Pet Spotlight: Jasper

Pet Spotlight: Yuki

Here is Yuki. She and her sister Sophia now weigh 4 pounds 5 ounces, and growing at a rate of approximately 35 grams per day on average. I've decided to start doing videos of each of my pets one at a time individually, and I've started with Yuki.

Pet Spotlight: Yuki

Fat Booboo

I haven't talked about my prairie dogs in a while, but here's Booboo. He is looking like he'll need to start a weight loss plan. I have my prairie dogs on mostly a Timothy hay based diet, but it's possible there are trace amounts of corn and other ingredients in their food that may cause obesity.

Onto my rabbits. Yuki and Sophia haven't grown a whole lot in the past week; they're still less than 4 pounds. But they look like they're almost the size of their 15 pound mom with this bad camera angle.

Frisky's Change

My rabbits Yuki and Sophia are still growing; they are about 3 and a half pounds each now.

On the ferret front, we have celebrated Jasper's first birthday on August 1. I have his father, Frisky Lucius, who has changed quite a lot since he was neutered. Below is a picture of him in June 2012 and August 2013. He was neutered in September 2012, about a month after his son Jasper and daughters were born.

Birthday Boy Jasper

On August 1, Jasper the ferret will turn one year old. His dad is Frisky. Here is that little cutie who has a very short attention span especially when trying to take pictures of him.

On the rabbit front, Yuki and Sophia are now over 3 pounds each.

Yuki and Sophia

I've decided to keep 2 of the baby Flemish giant / Mini-lop mix bunnies, and I've rehomed the 3 others. The ones I'm keeping are two girls who I've named Yuki and Sophia. Yuki is Japanese for snow. Sophia means wisdom, but it's close to the Gujarati word for white, which is Sapheda. That was my original intention for her name, but I've decided on Sophia instead. Yuki is the one with the straight ears, and Sophia has one ear lopped down. Currently they weigh 2 lbs 10 oz.(1190g).

Baby Bunnies Growing Fast... and new bunny

The baby Mini-lop/Flemish giant mix bunnies are growing pretty fast. At the last weighing 3 days ago, when they were 5 weeks old, they averaged 768 grams. The 2 girls are both bigger than the 3 boys. I will be rehoming 3 and keeping two. Also, I got another new bunny. I know, I probably shouldn't have, since I have babies that need homes. The new bunny is an adult male Netherland dwarf named Rex (not to be confused with another breed of rabbit called Rex, which he is not). The reason why I got him is because he was free and he was of the color variety known as Otter which I always wanted.

This one I'm keeping.

Here's Rex! Inny cute?

Rex means "king", and he looks like one sitting on this chair which he thinks is his throne.

Bunnies

The baby Flemish giant / Mini-lop mix "oops" litter is now one month old. They're really cute as you can see by the pictures. They are growing very fast; they now average 602 grams.

Pet of the Day; Daddy Rabbit dies

This is going to be a weekly blog, with new information on the goings on of my pets posted every Tuesday.

All Critters
I had a flea problem, so I administered Revolution to the critters who needed it. They were all the ferrets, and the mama rabbit Vrada. The prairie dogs seem immune to fleas, luckily for them. There is a website, Pet of the Day, where 6 of my pets have been featured in the last 14 years, two in just this last week.

Rabbits
My male Mini-lop rabbit, Gwiyeoun, had an illness for several days, and he eventually passed on to bunny heaven. The vet said it may have been a GI tract issue, and that it's likely it was something he ate. For now on, I will monitor what my bunnies are getting into and make sure they're eating all the right stuff. At least he has passed some offspring on to this world shortly after leaving it. Below are the babies, who are 24 days old now. They weigh an average of 350 grams each. I have 3 males & 2 females (if I was able to determine gender properly).

Prairie Dogs
Allie was pet of the day for June 27: Allie, Pet of the Day

Ferrets
Molly was pet of the day for July 1: Molly, Pet of the Day

My ferrets

Here are my 3 ferrets; Frisky, Jasper, and Molly. Frisky is the father of Jasper. Last year, I purchased a pair of ferrets and decided to let them breed, which might not have been my best idea. Fortunately, the kits as well as the mother found good homes, and I kept Frisky and his son Jasper who was born August 1, 2012. They then got neutered in September. Later, I got a third ferret, a female, Molly. Jasper, Frisky, and Molly

Frisky

Jasper

Molly

My Prairie Dogs

Here are my prairie dogs, Booboo, Lakota, Allie, and Nicky. Booboo and Lakota live in one cage, and Allie and Nicky live in another. Booboo and Nicky are males; Lakota and Allie are females. Last February, Lakota and Booboo became the proud parents of 5 babies, who all found good homes. I wanted to keep one, but the demand for them was so high. Lakota with a baby

Allie

Booboo (the dad)

Nicky

A pup at 12 weeks

Mel, the last pup to be given a home