A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper

A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper
Ever wonder what its like to share your world with a bunch of crazy critters? Tune in to find out!

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

May Day

Holy cow - the first of May.  I know its May Day but I want to call a mayday emergency because we can't be into the 5th month of the year already - time is too fast.

Let's look back at April - it was a good critter month.  Lots of time spent with the baby ferrets.  They are doing so well and becoming such a part of our little zoo family.  They are just a few days over four months old.  I adore them and my favorite aspect of having them is seeing my Madison girl play with her new ferret siblings.  She is so happy!  Things in April were rough with Clooney - he was a meanie to the babies.  Violet was the first to tire of that and she doesn't take any lip from him.  Finn has gotten to that point as well but it took him longer.  I think by the end of May we will have achieved peaceful co-existence.  The other major milestone we got past was the ECE hurdle.  Clooney got the ECE virus 21 days after Madison came to live with us.  We have made it well past the 30 day mark with no symptoms so I think we are in the clear.

As for the kitties - we had a couple of minor health issues.  Ollie exhibited the signs of an Urinary Tract Infection which we treated with colloidal silver which seemed to work very well.  Phoebe got her annual swollen lip from her seasonal allergies - there was ALOT of pollen out there.  She too got the colloidal silver treatment and her symptoms were over in a couple of days.  Both of them seem to be happy and healthy and full of energy.  Aggie and Zoey are both going strong - no health issues to report.  Aggie has been particularly tolerant of the babies - I think she is getting soft in her old age.  Zoey is her same curmudgeon old self.  She is still infatuated with the kitchen counters - its a losing battle we have stopped even trying to fight.

Emma is doing well - no health issues to report.  She is spending some time outside while we do yardwork which is nice.  She is very protective of the babies.  She tries hard to be a good dog - sometimes her neurosis get the better of her and cause her to do things that make me a little nutty.  Most of the time I am pretty lucky - she is a pretty chilled out dog.  I do love her to pieces.

And last, but certainly not least - my little Nigel Hedgehog.  He is doing great - happy, healthy and active.  He seems to be loving life.  He doesn't seem to mind the babies.  He is the little adventurer - no more leaving him out on the bed or the cat tree.  Used to be he would just hang out and snooze - now he finds a way down and he is off and running.  You will recall the hedgehog happening with the stuck toenail - that was an April event.  He has had a bit less out of cage time with the chaos of the new additions - but I am working on that so he doesn't think he can cop a snitty hedgehog attitude.

All in all - April was a great critter month - and I look forward to what May has to offer.  There will be vet visits for the babies - in late May or early June - that should be fun!  :)

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