Visit the Ware Manufacturing Inc. Web site and check out their line of animal habitats.

Many have criticized the fact that Leona Helmsley left $12M (twelve million) in her will to her dog, a lucky little white Maltese named Trouble.  However, experts agree it is a good idea to consider what provisions you have made to ensure the care of your pet(s) will continue should you pass away.

Read more here:  http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2007-09-03-pet-trust_N.htm

Click here for more information, photos and videos of the event.

Nedda Wittels caims she can communicate with animals.  Her amazing life story can be found here:  http://www.viewzone.com/animaltalk.html

I came across a story in Uncle John's All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader about a pack of gorillas that invaded a small town in Guinea to reclaim one of their baby gorillas which had been taken alive earlier by a hunter named Ntsama Ondo.

"Shortly before midnight, the gorillas entered the village in single file, ignoring the gunshots fired by villagers to scare them away, before retiring.  The next night they came back, and this time, they angrily beat on the doors and windows of the dwellings.  Faced with the determination of the gorillas to recover the captive
youngster, and learning who was responsible for the pack's anger, the village chief ordered Ntsama Ondo to release his prey. Immediately, the assailants returned to the forest with shouts of joy, savouring their victory!"

More can be found here: http://www.petting-zoo.net/~deadbeef/archive/3150.html

I've boycotted most models found in Superpet's line of Crittertrail cages.  They are flimsy because they are made mostly of plastic.  They take a long time to assemble and disassemble.  There are a lot of parts which makes for broken and lost pieces, the worst being the tiny plastic clips that hold the cage together.  They're just awful!  The only reason I enjoyed the line of cages in the first place was their ability to be interconnected by funnels and their bright colors.  I have several old Crittertrail cages that I've decided to sell off in classified ads.

However, the Crittertrail Outlook is an easy-to-use model.  I have two of them and I'll be keeping them.  I would indeed buy more if needed, too.  They are like a guinea pig cage - unsnap the big clips on each side of the cage and boom boom, you're done.  Funnels can be added and a nice, large, solid wheel is included.  Easy to take apart and easy to clean.  Their only flaw is that they could use more ventilation, but drilling extra air holes into the base can easily resolve that issue.  Despite their being made of plastic, I've never had any type of rodent attempt to chew through it.

After being "on the run" for seven long days, Eloise is now safe and sound.  I found her inside of an empty cage I had put on the floor to lure her.  She has now been transferred into a new, fortified habitat - no more escapes for her!

She had been living in this large, ZooZone rabbit cage:

Until she chewed a hole right through the side of the plastic bottom and escaped, that is!

Now she is living in this Ware Manufacturing double-level ferret cage:

Plastic free, escape free!

Crazy Joe Davola passed away yesterday.  He was nearing his third birthday, which is a long, full life for a hamster.  Nonetheless, I am very sad and I will miss him.  He was full of energy and liked to climb and jump around like a little monkey.  He was always doing "crazy" things like climbing the outside of his wheel instead of running on the inside, this his name.

Why do pet deaths always seem to come in waves?  I've been told by other multipet owners that it is common.  When it rains, it pours. 

From my experience, none of the animals will pass away for a while now, but when someone does again, more than one will go.  It's so frustrating.  I've been through this 'death wave' a couple of times this year and it never gets any easier.

Crumbs the hamster came to live here in September of 2005.  Tonight, I found her deceased in her pet igloo. I am sad that she is gone, she was a wonderful little hamster.  She was very calm and enjoyed being handled.  She was also very photogenic and is the star of hundreds and hundreds of photos in my pet gallery.  In her youth, she enjoyed exploring all of the interconnected cages and was quite energetic in her wheel.  Towards the end, she preferred to remain cuddled up in her pet igloo taking long, long naps.  I'm going to miss you, Crumbs!

Emily passed away peacefully in her sleep approximately two weeks ago.  She was nearing her third birthday, which is a long, full life for a rat.  Nonetheless, their lifespan never seems long enough to me.  I miss her a great deal, as does her cagemate Julia.  Emily was a very affectionate rat, one of the gentlest of the bunch.  Always there to greet with a kiss and a climb on the shoulder.

I feed the feeder crickets I feed Marvel my gecko a variety of foods.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, quality flaked fish food and Fluker's brand products. 

I like Fluker's because it has a quality line of cricket products, such as Fluker's Cricket Quencher, which is a hydrating gel used to provide a 'water source' that is safe for the crickets (they will often drown in bowls of water).

A week and a half ago, Hershey, my youngest ferret, cut her foot on a floor vent while exploring.  The cut sliced one of her toe nails - the bleeding was instant and profuse.  Luckily, I was there to notice it right away.

It was an awful moment.  Hershey is such a tiny ferret and so the bleeding terrified me even moreso - I worried she could bleed to death.  In a weepy panic, but without hesitation, I wrapped her in the very shirt I had on my back, placed her in a travel cage and rushed her off to the vet.  There is no time to think twice in situations like that.

The vet was worried about infection as well as Hershey re-opening the wound with every step and so she kept her under close observation.  The wound was not stitched - antibiotics and rest were all it needed to heal. 

After one week and one day, she was finally able to return home.  It was a long, anxious week and I was so thrilled when I was finally able to take her home.  We are all happy now that she is back, safe and sound with her sisters, Scamp and Sugar. 

Eloise has escaped...again.  This time, she chewed a hole right through the side of the plastic base of her cage.  I haven't seen her in two days despite my meticulous searches.  She is fine, though.  I know this because the pile of seeds and water I have been leaving out for her has been accessed.  I've left her cage out and chances are, I will find her fast asleep inside in a few days, which is usually the case. 

Another rat has found its way into my family.  She was abandoned by her former owners, left outside to fend for herself in increasingly cool weather.  Luckily, a woman found her in a rainstorm and had the sense the bring her inside.  Although she could not keep the rat, she took the time to find somebody to rehome the little one, and so, here I am, with a new female rat who I have named Murielle.

Poor Murielle - signs of her rough life are apparent.  She is missing one eye, she has a callous on her left hin leg, her fur is thin and she is thin.  But, I am confident that with a lot of TLC, she will regain her weight. 

For a rat who has endured so much stress, Murielle is surprisingly friendly, calm and loving.  I am delighted by her arrival and I look forward to caring for her.

It's great to be back after some hectic summer days. 

Horton, a beautiful male Syrian hamster, joined our family this past month.  He was adopted from a family out of town and he travelled quite a ways to be here.  He managed to escape on two different occasions - the latter escape lasting almost one week.  I was distressed beyond words while he was loose - but he is now safe and sound in an extra-secure habitat.

Speaking of escapees, Hershey the ferret has devised a new method of escaping the ferret habitat and I find her out and about, wandering the house, on most mornings.  She is quite tiny for a ferret and it is difficult to contain her behind regular-spaced bars.

A few new fish have joined the 55-gallon tank - some smaller algae eaters and a few more tetras.  The plecostomus and the leopard danios were getting too large for the tank and have been rehomed in a friend's 250-gallon tank.

All of the other animals have been doing wonderfully.