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« Last post by BigBen on September 11, 2017, 11:05:02 AM »
Hello, all!
I moved from New York to Connecticut a couple of weeks ago. It has been very stressful packing up, moving, and now unpacking. I weeded out a lot of stuff, but there's still so much, and we are combining three sets of household goods: my sister's, my father's, and mine. The house is full of boxes, and I can't remember which box holds which important bit of stuff, because towards the end of packing up, I just had to throw stuff into a box to get it taken care of.
The animals moved safely, but my big, beautiful, custom-made chinchilla cage wouldn't fit through the door of my bedroom. I have a spare CN but couldn't find the bolts to put it together, and had to keep running to the hardware store to find bolts that worked. The girls are really upset with me, from being grabbed, stuffed into a carrier, cooped up for almost two days, and then when I finally got the CN together, I had to grab them again to get them into it. They weren't happy about that, either, especially since they'd had the run of my bedroom for a couple of days.
The rats are all fine, except that Bartholomew and David have colds, and Bartholomew is not responding as well as I'd like to the Orbax. The rats came through better than the chins, though, partly because the movers were able to move the DCN without my having to take it apart. I don't believe I had time to start a thread about it, but after the West Side Highway boys died, I decided to adopt some problem rats from MRR. I got Louise, who was "unadoptable" because of her age, plus three boys who I believe were Hallbrook rescues (I'll have to re-check with MRR): Matt, David, and Peter. Matt was a biter, but we have come to an understanding. In fact, right from the beginning, he always listened to my eeps and moderated his bite; it just took him a while to get the understanding of just how gentle he needed to be. Now he occasionally grips my finger as though he's going to bite, but it's always with a twinkle in his eye (and I don't think I'm imagining it, either, lol!). Apparently Louise had a lot to do with reforming Matt. The boys' fosterer told me that when she and the boys were introduced, Matt tried something with her, and she shut him right down. They occasionally still have nose-offs, but Louise seems to have clearly established who's boss. Louise is frighteningly active for a girl her age, but the boys are all adorable cuddle-monsters.
As companions for Bartholomew, I adopted two Hallbrook rescues, a mother and daughter pair. The Hallbrook situation must have been awful, because the mother, Mary (originally Momma Bourne), is anxious and hostile. She has calmed down quite a bit, but she will still occasionally bite with intent if I stress her, though she is now willing to heed my eep. I don't think she hates me, but she clearly doesn't really trust me. Martha (Holland) was a pinky when rescued, so she's been socialized somewhat. She is skittish, but likes to sniff and lick my fingers, although she is very wary about being picked up. Out of the cage she is very timid and hides between my legs or in my clothing. Although Bartholomew was not happy about having cage-mates at the beginning, he has now become best buds with Martha and cuddles with both of them. He has greatly helped them to start trusting me (Martha much more than Mary, of course). He is still his lively, outgoing self, and when I took him to the vet's he was an instant hit with the staff.
Moving has been very stressful. Did I mention that moving has been very stressful? Well, it's been very stressful. My sister and I get along great, but my father has very different politics from ours, so we have to be a bit careful about our discussions. Dad is also quite deaf, and my voice seems to lie mostly in the frequency range he has the hardest time hearing. Fortunately, my sister's voice is fairly easy for him to hear. Dad is also getting frailer, which upsets him, because he wants to carry his weight of the household chores. It's not an issue for my sister and me; we'd be perfectly happy to let him coast, but he needs to feel useful, so we try to find things for him to do that don't tax him so much. Fortunately, the more active he is, the better he feels, even if he gets sore from the activity. So he can still do a fair amount if he paces himself.
My old e-mail address ended with my Internet subscription at the old address. There's a different ISP here in Connecticut, so I wasn't able to transfer service. Once I moved, it took a while to get my computer unpacked and set up, and it died shortly after I started using it. So I had to unpack Mom's computer and move my hard drives over. I lost my e-mail address book in the process, so anyone who wants to get in touch will have to e-mail me at the new address. I don't want to post it openly, but my profile now contains the correct e-mail address, so you can reach me by clicking on the e-mail icon under my name and picture.
It's been fun getting reacquainted with the area in which I grew up (greater Bridgeport) and getting to know a new town. I have vague memories of driving around this neck of the woods forty years ago, but the area has changed so much that, even if I had been better-acquainted with the map, it would still be hard to recognize things. My hometown was mostly woods and fields when I left in the mid-seventies; now all the land has been built up and there are houses, stores, and restaurants everywhere. The Trumbull Shopping Park, one of the country's earliest malls, has grown beyond recognition. I used to know where the original building left off and the additions started; now it is all completely different. (I'm not keen on shopping, myself, but my sister and niece are shopping fiends, so I only go to the mall with them, because they know it like the back of their hands. Much safer with a tour guide, lol!)
I hope to get back to GM on a more regular basis in the very near future. The past five months have gone by in a whirl, and I am hoping that the pace will settle a bit, now that the move is over. Cheers.
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thank you for the resources everyone!
The trick is that testosterone continues to be in their systems for up to a month. 
Although many say it is not necessary, I like to get painkillers after surgery, either a vet shot that lasts about a week or Metacam oral. Then when you get them home after surgery when they are groggy and hurtin' cowpokes you can try putting something yummy on their backs, like real chocolate pudding, for them to lick off each other and see if that works. It just may take up to a month for them to really mellow.
