Fostering Animals: My time as a Fur Baby Foster Mom!

"Bun don't eat that! No! Why must you try to chew on the recliner when you have a huge pile of toys in front of you?" Steps on bunny poo, sighs, "Did we forget our litter box manners today bun bun?"

     This is often how a day starts in our home. I am a state of Kansas licensed foster for the Riley County Humane Society as well as one of the exotics coordinators. Rabbits are what most often come into our program, with guinea pigs being a close second and then birds and ferrets. My house is the starting point for the foster program; I check eyes, ears, teeth and toes on all incoming fosters and get them set up with supplies and a house(pen/cage). I often foster many animals long term myself, but many are just with me for a quarantine period and then they are off to their permanent foster for the duration of their stay with RCHS.

     Being a foster parent can be extremely rewarding as well as trying. Some days you feel very overwhelmed; like when you are trying to teach a bunny or ferret proper play manners or how to use a litter box and maybe they just are getting the hang of it. To be honest some days you want to pull all your hair out and scream; until that one day, the day where all that you have been teaching them, clicks. Then every ounce of time spent rehabbing is completely worth it! The little things like this then become a huge victory.

     Most of the animals that come into our program come in pretty rough shape and wont have been properly groomed or trained and many are terrified of humans in general. My job, as a foster, is to teach, love, and rehab this animal so I can help it find a "fur"ever home. RCHS pays for all the animals supplies and vet visits, as most all rescues with a foster program do, so all I have to do is provide my time and love. I have fostered many rabbits, guinea pigs, and ferrets as well as a chinchilla and out of all of my fosters, I have foster failed twice. A foster fail, is what we in the rescue world call it, when the foster falls in love with their foster baby and chooses to adopt them themselves. I have adopted a rabbit and a chinchilla.

     In 2013 we adopted Gus Gus, a chinchilla who was no longer wanted by his owner. His brother had recently died due to neglect and when his owner graduated vet school she decide she no longer wanted him. She decided it would be to difficult to find a place to move into, in the state she got a job, that would accept her having him as a pet. I had owned chinchillas previously, many years before and decided to take him on as a foster. I wasn't long after that, that I fell in love and puppy dog eyed my boyfriend. Jon finally agreed that we should adopt this little fellow and give him a home where we know he would be loved for last 12+ years of his little life. Gus came to us in a cage that was barely fit to house a parakeet and he was about 4yrs old and extremely leery of humans! It has taken us a long 2yrs and many cheerio's to rehabilitate him to the point where he now enjoys head pets and will great you several times a day to give eskimo kisses as well real kisses on occasion.

     In 2014 we adopted Jack, a bunny who came in with toenails so over grown they were curling under and he couldn't even clean his face properly because of it. He was highly neglected and had no clue there was life outside his cage. I don't even think he had ever done a proper bunny hop or tasted a fresh vegetable in his entire life! He had urine scald all over his hind legs and anogenital region and it took months to heal. He was in short, a miserable bunny! I can remember the first night I had him though, extremely clearly. We brushed his coat and trimmed his nails while he cowered in fear, but that all changed once he realized he could touch his own face and ears with his paws again. He patted his face and realized his toenails were no longer hooking his nose or mouth if he tried to groom himself and a look of sheer disbelief came over his face. He then went to town on grooming his little face and ears like it was some sort of magical event. It was so amazing to watch and you could just see the light that it brought to his little eyes. It was a site that I will never forget.

     Over the last 2 years I have had many animals that stressed me out and many that brought utter joy to my life but I loved them all and found each and every one of them "fur"ever homes. One of my favorite and most rewarding experiences though was probably with a guinea pig that I dubbed Ginny, after Ginny Weasly of course, because she has reddish orange fur. Ginny was dropped off our our local shelter and was extremely pregnant! She was only about half way through her pregnancy when we brought her into the program but, she was as large at that time as most guinea pigs are full term! She had much more growing to do. We happened to take her in over college winter break so I had lots of time to dedicate to caring for her properly.

     Ginny really didn't seem to interested in eating a whole lot at first; as she was extremely uncomfortable, but would perk up and start to nibble if I laid her on my stomach or bed and talked to her and pet her. So Ginny spent the next month of her life sitting on my lap or laying on a extra soft cushion my my bed, eating everything she pleased and watching tv with me. At night she slept in a very large comfy cage right next to my bed so I could talk to her throughout the night and hear her in case she went into labor. She was a very unusual piggy; she seemed to crave my affection more than any other guinea pig I have ever owned or met. I truly feel in love with this little amazing creature.

     Ginny was a very high risk pregnancy, as she was well past the time she should have been retired and her pelvic bones had very little give at her age. We also were unsure if she had ever had previous litters and if she hadn't that would make the risk, at her age, much higher. Guinea pigs usually have around 1 to 7 pups with around 3 to 4 being the usual, but of course Ginny had a heck of a surprise in store for us!

     Four days after Christmas Ginny blessed us with a wonderful gift; she had 8 beautiful babies but unfortunately only 5 made it. Due to her poor prenatal nutrition the month before we got her, one was only about half developed, one was a runt, and one was an absolute giant and all three had severe birth defects; but we were left with 5 beautiful healthy baby piglets and for that we were extremely grateful! She blessed us with 3 boys and 2 girls that I named Piglet, Flynn, Minnie, Cleo, and Meeko; after some of my favorite Disney characters.

     Guinea pigs are born very unique among rodents. They are born precocial, which means with a full coat of fur, their eyes and ears already open and functioning and with a full set of teeth. They can also start to eat solid food with in a day if they wish too, though most just nurse and don't begin to explore the hay and pellets in the cage until around 1 to 2 weeks old.

    In no time flat the piggies grew and were old enough to put up for adoption. We were able to adopt out both girls together and all 3 boys as a trio to loving "fur"ever homes at 8 weeks old. It was bitter sweet watching them go to new homes, but it was all worth it when I got to see the looks on the childrens faces who's familys were adopting them.

                                                 

Lastly it came time to adopt out my Ginny Pig. She was probably the hardest foster to let go that I ever had. We had spent two and half months bonding and I had taken to her because she was like no other guinea pig I had ever met, or I venture ever will meet again. She was like my tiny shadow when I was home and where ever I was she could be found. It was an extremely hard decision to adopt her out instead of letting her become a foster fail but it was what I was meant to do and what was best for her. I knew it was the right thing to do the day I got a phone call from a previous adopter asking if we had another other adult female guinea pigs yet that were needing a buddy. She had gotten hers, she adopted a few months earlier, adjusted into her home and was ready to find her a play mate. Sure enough we introduced the two girls and they bonded immediately! Ginny was happy, she finally had a play mate and was going to go to a wonderful home. I still get pictures and videos of her from her adopter to this day and she is doing amazing in her new "fur"ever home.

In the end Ginny and her babies were the fosters that reaffirmed all of my amazing feelings about fostering animals. I finally felt like I belonged and had a purpose in life. It is an wonderful feeling that can only be described by one simple word: LOVE!

My fosters over the last 2years

If you want to look into becoming a foster parent for animals please check with your local shelters and rescues to see if they have a fostering program available. Fostering is one of the most effective ways you can give animals a second chance at a happy life. Many people find fostering a very rewarding, hands-on approach to helping homeless pets and please remember adopt don't shop!

Within a few hours they can run and within a day they can eat solid food although they do need to nurse from their mother for a while. - See more at: http://www.guineapigtoday.com/2011/09/14/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-guinea-pigs/#sthash.DFoObUkt.dpuf

Toys for Small Exotics: Not just a chew stick!

In this article I want to focus on small exotic mammals and birds. As many owners of these types of animals can tell you these species need toys for a multitude of reason and each species may have a specific type of toy it prefers. Unlike the predatory tendencies of cats and dogs; chinchillas, degus, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and most birds are hard-wired the other way as they are prey species. Compared to cats and dogs most of these animals have less "fight" in them and are more easily stressed. This makes stress management in the form of play time with toys, all the more important to their well-being.

Not all small exotics enjoy the same type of toys so you may have to try a variety before finding the one that's right for your pet. There are several types of toys to choose from such as; burrowing/digging, tossing, chewing, hitting/batting, or rolling toys and each one provides your pet with a different sense of enjoyment. Toys can also be made of many different types of materials; many of which you may already have laying around the house. What is for certain is that without challenging activities your exotic pet will get bored; especially if he/she doesn't have nonhuman friends to keep her company. This could lead your pet to feel isolated, which often leads to depression and/or destructive behaviors. If you have ever had a destructive pet then you know how frustrating that can be for you, so just imagine how frustrated your pet is! 

Burrowing/Digging

Rabbits, hamsters, degus, gerbils and the occasional guinea pig love to dig, and many enjoy digging tunnels or digging out material at the end of pre-made tunnels. You can get cardboard concrete forms from building suppliers or the cardboard tubes from carpet rolls; which make great, inexpensive, chewable tunnels. You can also stuff newspaper, towels, or paper towels into one end of the tunnel, providing lots of digging opportunities. For rabbits who like to lie in, rather than dig in, a tunnel, you can buy cat tunnels made of nylon and synthetic sheepskin; however, you need to make sure your rabbit doesn't chew on these as ingesting this material will be harmful to them.

Of these animals bunnies have the potential to be the most destructive. If you have a digger on your hands, you will also need to provide them many opportunities to dig or you will find that they could take it out on your carpet or furniture! Luckily there are a lot of easy and cheap options. A cardboard box, large litter box or dishpan, or even a large untreated wicker basket; filled with hay, shredded newspapers, old magazines or junk mail or any other safe shreddable material, should do the trick. If your fluffy likes to shred its own material you can safely give them an old phone book you have ripped the covers off of or a news paper folded up and let them go to town on that.

Tossing

Some small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and and birds enjoy tossing stuff around and some rabbits have even been known to play a game of fetch with you. Some safe and cheap toys you can provide them would be; metal bowls, hard plastic baby toys/keys, or slinky's. Some animals also like to toss around empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls. Just make sure that you monitor your pet with hard plastic toys until you know if they will try to eat them; most will not and prefer to just play with them, but some will gnaw with intent to eat. I monitor all use of plastic toys personally, with animals that can chew and reserve them for supervised playtime, just for my own peace of mind. With birds it's not as necessary as many of their toys are made with hard, thick plastic naturally.

Chewing

This is one of the most critical categories for many all of these animals. Chinchillas, degus, hamsters, gerbils, rats and guinea pigs teeth will continue to grow throughout their entire life. These animals need to have a way to wear them down constantly and toys are a constructive way to help them do this. Birds also need to wear their beaks down constantly as well; to prevent them from becoming overgrown, scissoring, or getting parrot beak. Do not give just them a chew stick! A critter who only has a stick, a log, or a piece of two-by-four to chew on, is going to be a bored fur/feather baby and a bored pet is often a naughty pet. Chewing toys are easy to make and you can be extremely creative with making your own. Cardboard and wood are generally the chewing preferences of choice for those with teeth. Keep in mind though that not all wood is safe for your small pet, as some can be toxic! Some safe types of wood are; apple, weeping willow, and kiln dried untreated pine; however, not many animals just want to chew on pine. Pine is better for building cages with or building other larger toys that you can attach smaller toys too for them to bat around or jump on. Stay away from; cherry, peach, apricot, plum and redwood, which are all toxic to small pets!

Hitting/Batting
Many small pets, like rabbits and birds, also love hitting or batting objects around. You can hang toys from their cage that can be poked, prodded, head butted and smacked around to help satisfy these needs. There are many commercial toys available to help with these; such as kabob type toys, that you often see in bird cages, these are also available for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets as well.

Rolling

Some small animals like rabbits or guinea pigs like toys they roll across the floor during play time. Hard plastic balls like those you give a cat, or large, rubber balls also work well; like the ones that you find in large baskets at drug/discount stores. You can also buy commercial toys that will roll that are made of wood such as willow balls or logs. There are also rolling treat/food dispensers that can keep your pet occupied for some time as well.

                                          Here is my oldest playing with a rolling treat ball

Lastly I want to point out how important play is not for just your pet, but for you as their owner.

A play-date with your fur or feathered friend is education at its finest and it's extremely useful, absorbing, and fun. If you play with your fur or feather kid often enough you will notice that play time is bonding experience for you both; but, it can also be a useful diagnostic tool. Once you’re familiar with your fluffy or feathery babies routine, you can use play time as a wellness tool to make sure your fur or feather kid is feeling ok. If you pay attention you will notice if your bun doesn't kick up his/her heels the same way or if your guinea pig isn't talking to you as much, or possibly your feathery friend isn't flapping his/her wings or strutting their stuff like usual. If you pay close attention you will learn to pick up these subtle cues to help keep your fur and feather kids happy and a happy fur/feather kid makes for a happy human!

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DIY Paper Mache Hide Out and Chew Toy

      Its been a few days since I last shared anything with you as I have been really busy caring for a sick bun bun that has the snuffles :( 

     Today I decided to try something new though as I fell like my chinchilla needed a new toy.  I decided to make my chinchilla a new hide out. This is a safe project your kids can get involved with & be creative with. Clean up is easy as a snap & its fun as well!  I am using 6 simple things I had laying around the house. For this toy you will need

Supplies

~ A Balloon

~ Newspaper

~ Flour

~ Water

~ A bowl to hold your balloon

~ Tissue Paper (Optional)

What your going to do is paper mache the balloon all over except for a circle opening where your lil critter is going to enter the ball. Or you could leave one opening on each end if preferred.

To make the paste your going to want to mix 1 part flour to 2 parts water & add in a pinch of salt

I used 1/2 cup flour and 1 cup water and then mixed til creamy. You don't want it thick or it will be a messy pain to work with! You will have to give it a stir from time to time as it will start to gel up on occasion at the bottom if your just working at a slow pace.

Here are some pictures at each step of the process. Please ignore the fact that the initial picture has a red balloon & the actual balloon I used that is green. My kitty saw the red balloon & claimed it before I could start the project.

Just make sure you blow up the balloon large enough for your lil critter to fit comfortably.

Here I added 2 layers of newspaper then left it to dry for about 12 to 14hrs

 This is going to be the opening where your lil critter will climb into their new hidy ball

This was the last step. I put on 1 more layer of newspaper for a total of 3 layers, then I put on some fun colored tissue paper to add some color(which was the 4th layer). I only did one layer of tissue paper but you could do however much you want. 

 Again let it dry for at least another 12hrs to make sure it is cure and here is the finished product! 

It doesn't dry as bright as it starts out as the flour makes it a duller color after it dries. But its still quite pretty. It is quite simple & was pretty fun to do! Next you can either put it in the cage as is or you can gently poke a hole or holes in the top of your creation & suspend it in the cage for your lil one to jump in & out of.

 I poked two tiny holes in the back of the ball & secured it with an animal safe twine so it wont roll on him while he is rolling around in his dust bath. 

This is a safe & fun project your kids can help with & that your pet will LOVE! Its safe for your pet to nibble on & play in.

I hope you & your lil critter enjoy this project as much as me & mine have! Next I may try one for my smaller bun bun :)

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