Laura's Critters

Gaia and Babies (photos above and below): This little Syrian hamster came from a local shelter; I bailed her the same day she was to be euthanized, and as I was picking her up out of the cage, I discovered that in the past 12-hours she'd given birth to 14 babies! (Oh, joy.) So she and the babies came home with me - she's still here, as are four of her children, but the other 10 were adopted out, thank goodness!

Hiya Ned - the little ones' squeaked a bit, but now that they're all grown they're quiet, for the most part.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060907-BabyHamsters20-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060913-BabyHamsters8.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060910-BabyHamsters60-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060915-BabyHamsters55-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060915-GaiaandBabies20-LowRes.jpg

I love how Gaia is using one of her brood as a stepping stone.

And yes, I love that photo, too - she stood on them a lot in her attempts to escape from their incessant demands (I also like the photo of her sleeping in the wheel while the babies stumbled around the habitat - she was so upset when the babies got large enough to climb into the wheel with her!).

I bailed these babies out of an OC shelter - there were apparently 11 in the litter, but these five were the only ones that survived. When I found them (in a back shed at the shelter, covered with diarrhea) there were two dead siblings in the cage. GRRRRRR.

Now they're healthy and happy and driving me batty (in a marvelous way, of course).

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061020-OCACSBabies3-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061020-OCACSBabies18-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061019-OCACSBabies24-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061019-OCACSBabies11-LowRes.jpg

This is Nod - sweet and innocent looking, but a great explorer and escape artist.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod3-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod4-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod7-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Blynken6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Blynken14-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken10-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken17-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief4-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief12-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief15-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble24-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble18-LowRes.jpg

Um, yeah, that's the downside of bunny caretaking - but we've gotten pretty good at bunny-proofing the place (though not before D. lost his drum machine, two VCR's, quite a few books, and his Les Paul).

Exactly my sentiment!

Btter man than me. I would have been making terrine de lapin at that point. How old are they?

Best guess is that these five are about eight-weeks' old - possibly up to 10-weeks' but that's pushing it.

good to see you posting again Laura! :)

Anyway, bunnies make excellent (though challenging) house pets. They're like cats in how they're more standoffish than dogs, but some do like to hop into your lap for snuggling. They can be incredibly destructive (books, carpeting, anything with wires, wood, furniture, etc.) but bunny-proofing isn't horribly difficult, so long as you can think like a bunny *laughing*.

We've three buns that free-range - the others are in habitats/large pens in the house. Check out the house rabbit society: http://www.rabbit.org for more information. Oh, and some (not all) bunnies can be house-broken to a litter box, which helps.

I'd never really thought about having buns as pets, but now I'm hooked - they're intelligent, curious, complex, goofy, and adorable. But they also have health issues and can be expensive to treat.

There's a whole lot to rabbits - they have an intricate social structure and do best with a partner; once they have bonded with another bun, they'll spend hours grooming each other and playing chase, and then they'll curl-up together and just watch the world.

Some rabbits do well with other pets, some don't - out of the three that are free-range here, two get along well with/ignore our cats. But one chases and terrorizes the cats, to the point where the cats panic when she hops into the room and hide way up on the furniture (or in the windows, where they miao to the passers' by, complaning about the harassement they're undergoing).

I have eaten rabbit sausage, in the past month or so. I suppose in retrospect bitching about musical gear seems relatively petty.

I was actually surprised that she didn't cannibalize any of the babies, especially since I had to handle them they day that they were born. She was an excellent mother.

when i shared a place with my brother several years ago, his girlfriend moved in for a couple months and she brought her bunny with her. often it woke me up in the middle of the night CHEWING ON MY BED. and then one time i caught it and almost strangled it (you know, night rages and all) but i did not. how could i really? but i still remember its beady eyes staring back at me, and its little heart pounding away. and i was like, damn, you are dumb and i am going to fix your stupid cage so you can never escape again. which i did. i think the bunny's owner had the cage purposely rigged so the bunny could escape, y'know, and "be free". :/

outdoor bunnies, i can deal with.

A trio
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up67-LowRes.jpg

This was a comfortable rabbit - they stretch-out like this when they feel safe.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up70-LowRes.jpg

As you can see, though, this doe's back was also severely urine stained (the brown fur is urine-bleached from the normal black).
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up69-LowRes.jpg

Really cute baby bunnies
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up72-LowRes.jpg

These rabbits just sat and observed the trapping / penning process.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up64-LowRes.jpg

Poorly lit photo of a dam and one of her kits
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up80-LowRes.jpg

The last photo - bunny at the water
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up76-LowRes.jpg

omg bunbuns

OH NOOOOOES YOU RAIDED WATERSHIP DOWN

El-alaurah

So we have a new arrival in the house - but s/he's only here for a couple of months - after that, the little one is going to an adoptive family, a foster home, or back to the shelter - I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period. Absolutely not up for discussion.

Anyway, this little one was dumped at a local shelter last night, by a guy who said that he was trapping rabbits and ended-up with this one in the trap. Which begs all sorts of other questions, like why he's trapping rabbits, what he's doing with the rabbits, where in the hell is he trapping these rabbits, what happened to this little one's siblings, and what happened to the mother? Makes me sick to think that he trapped and did something to the mother and that the other kits are in a hole staring somewhere.

I really hate some people.

But back to the little one - right now we don't know sex (can't tell on rabbits until three- to four-months), we're guessing that s/he's between two- and three-weeks old (should still be nursing and just starting on more solid foods). Of course, we can't produce rabbit milk for the little one, so I'm syringe-feeding KMR (kitten milk replacer) mixed with heavy cream and acidophilus. The bun is also getting some alfalfa mush, laced with carrot baby food, and has access to hay (which s/he's already nibbling on). I'm feeding the baby every three-hours, 'round the clock, and will keep that up for two to three more weeks.

Enough exposition - time for photos!

A perfect handful:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny22-LowRes.jpg

In the hay box:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny2-LowRes.jpg

Widdle feet!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny20-LowRes.jpg

Baby bunny butt!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny26-LowRes.jpg

Hiding with a stuffed duck (tomorrow I'll purchase a more appropriate snuggle partner for the little one):
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny6-LowRes.jpg

Wet whiskers and chin, following a feeding:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny23-LowRes.jpg

I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period.

impossible

Omg, but s/he's cute!

I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period.

impossible

Thank you. I appreciate your unwavering support in this matter.

Omg, but s/he's cute!

Yeah, I keep saying that too. And then D. says "Duh, it's a baby rabbit! There's no such thing as a not-cute baby rabbit. Hell, she could be eating the head of another baby rabbit and look cute!" I can't really argue with that assessment. G., on the other hand, keeps saying "It looks like a little Japanese stuffed animal!" (I have no idea what he means.)

Okay, so now the cutest thing that s/he's doing - when I take away the feeding syringe for a refill / rewarming, the little one cuddles up in my hand and repeatedly licks my fingers. Over and over and over. (She's doing what she'd do with her mother and licking to get the milk to come down.)

Tiny baby bunny tongue licking my fingers - GAH!

You have successfully found Nummymuffincoocolbutter

The Challenge:

The little one needs a name! Prefer gender neutral OR something that has similar-sounding female / male equivalents.

Edith / Edmund
Abagail / Abe
Edna
Joplin
Bunniliciousness Squared
Tuppence
Nelson or Nielson

Ideas?

(I kinda like "Nummymuffincoocolbutter" but that'll be a pain to write down on all the paperwork.)

So, um, another baby bunny was dumped at the shelter this afternoon; the little one is now all snuggled up with his / her sibling underneath a plush stuffed Tigger doll.

Photos:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha10-LowRe.jpg

Sleeping in a pile:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha24-LowRe.jpg

More snuggling
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha9-LowRes.jpg

After a feeding, the new little one fell asleep in D.'s hand:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-MochainDavidsHand1-LowRes.jpg

Now I need to come up with two names. Ideas?

Bun-Bun and Nub-Nub

OMG I AM DYING OF TEH CUET.

Back by popular demand :)

These little buggers spent two months, last fall, living in my bedroom. They're noisy, messy as hell, and just too damn adorable.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders13-LowRes.jpg

They slept all piled on top of each other:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders2-LowRes.jpg

Totally beepable noses:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders28-LowRes.jpg

And kissable faces:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders6-LowRes.jpg

What are they? Baby hedgehogs without spines or...?

They sometimes eat hanging upside down:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders9-LowRes.jpg

And sometimes they sat on the food bowl:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders12-LowRes.jpg

They'd run so fast in their wheels that they'd sometimes go flying off:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders6-LowRes.jpg

This is my favorite photo:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders10-LowRes.jpg

Odd facts about Sugar Gliders:

- The males have a biforcated penis
- The females have two uterus'
- The females can hold an embryo in stasis for 6-months
- The males urinate from the base of their penis so, in events of accidental amputation, they can still urinate
- They live in colonies and the males and females raise the joeys together
- Because they're marsupials, the unformed joeys are about the size of an uncooked grain of rice when they crawl out of the vagina and into the pouch.

These little ones are now living at a licensed animal rescue facility, in a gigantic habitat, where they enchant their caretakers.

Super cuet! In what way are they messy???

they probably shit and piss, for one.

and two

Oh, the baby brown bunnies did grow-up ... and they're still living in my kitchen! I never did officially name them, so they're called "Brown Bunny" and "Tan Bunny." Not terribly creative of me, I'm afraid. I'll track down some photos of them later.

In the meantime, here's some photos taken at a wildlife rehab place where I spend time.

Orphaned baby raccoon:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BabyRaccoon1-LowRes.jpg

Cute little bugger:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BabyRaccoon3-LowRes.jpg

A non-releasable raven, named Bandit:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Bandit8-LowRes.jpg

Owl recovering from a broken wing:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BlindOwl3-LowRes.jpg

Juvenile raccoons about ready to be transferred to an outside habitat and start the hacking out process:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-AdolescentRaccoons3-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-AdolescentRaccoons2-LowRes.jpg

Orphaned hummingbird:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Romulus5-LowRes.jpg

Feeding the hummer:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Romulus12-LowRes.jpg

Here's a domestic bunny that ended-up at the wildlife rehab place (someone found it in a park - she had severe puncture wounds in her sides):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny8-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny4-LowRes.jpg

James cuddling her:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny7-LowRes.jpg

She was adopted by a rabbit rescue friend, who named her "Brook" and she now lives with a male bun named Punky, who positively worships her.

Sugar gliders are messy in that they'll throw their food if they don't like it, they tend to be rather indiscriminate about where they urinate and defecate, and one of their main foods is a semi-liquid and sticky mixture, which they spread all over.

But damn, they're cute.

If you google "sugar glider sounds" I think there's some files available with them crabbing and other things.

Juvenile raccoons look like total bros.

<3

Please don't let this thread go unupdated for more than a year again, the critters & you rule! :-(

They are all adorable, this is like the cute overload section of ile.

those racoons look shifty!

More photos!

Here's a good illustration of why it's darn near impossible to wrap presents with the assistance of baby bunnies:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents13-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents28-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents30-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents35-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents38-1.jpg

I like the mean mid-leap look in the fourth one there.

And here's the Brown Bunnies, all grown up.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies20-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies36-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies37-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies42-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080801-TheBrownBunnies2-LowRes.jpg

Yeah, that's one of my favorites too, Ned. You have good taste *grinning*.

Little Wren (the lighter colored one) and Miss Pearl (the darker colored one - now deceased) -

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl13-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl11-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl10-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl9-LowRes.jpg

Miss Pidge (one eared) and Wee Willie (two eared):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/070226-Pigeon25-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080801-Pigeon5-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080801-Pigeon7-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/081124-PidgeandWillie21-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080819-PidgeandWillie3-LowRes.jpg