*melts again*

So, PP, how in the world do you find it possible to reprimand that angel of a cat?

Ohhh, thanks so much for the tips and the link!! -- I'll definitely put those to practice tomorrow.

Robby sounds like a real sweet bird, wild rose!

I have 6 California Newts named Frodo, Sam, Gollum, Bilbo, Pippin, and Dori.
I used to have Merry too, but......... .........I think you get the point.
Dori was named after a dwarf from LotR (they're all named after hobbits except for him, because my sister and I are obsessed with Lord of the Rings), because we raised hem from an egg, and while he was still a tadpole, we thought he was a different kind, so we named him after a dwarf instead of a hobbit.
For a little while, actually, we thought that Dori was dead, because we kept him in the same cage as the others, but in the water section (the land kind of sloped off into the water; he was still a tadpole, so that's why he was in the water), and we would find him every day and feed him tiny worms and watch him grow and stuff, but one day we looked for him, but he was GONE so we all panicked and thought he was dead or something and got all depressed and all that good stuff . (Wow that was a long sentence ) But then my sister was feeding the others a few days later, and she lifted up a log and there he was!! And he was no longer a tadpole!! He was a fully developed newt, except tiny, like an inch long at most. Naturally, we all went crazy and spent the next few hours just sitting there and staring at him in disbelief.

Yea, so that's basically the most exciting story I have about them. They're really awesome, but they're really slow and kind of boring sometimes . When we feed them, they sit there and s....t....a....r....e...............at the worm for like a minute, getting closer and closer until their nose is against it, AND THEN they strike. Half the time, though, they don't even get to strike because the worm gets away before they're "close enough" (LOL). They're getting better at it, though. The success percentage is going up.

And that's basically all I have to say about them. Oh, wait. One more thing.
(Don't tell anyone). I'm technically a criminal, because we picked the newts up off the side of a hiking trail, and took them home, and later on we found out that that's illegal.

So that's REALLY all I have to say about them, so I think I'll just submit this GIANT post now.
(I'm really hyper right now, sorry )

PP~how old is Aravis? She sounds like a kitten, but looks fully grown. All of my cats would chew on cardboard boxes, etc. when they were teething. Yours just sounds like a handful!

Just a warning to all you dog owners: Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in sugarless gum and other foods is TOXIC to dogs. Especially Ice Breakers Ice Cubes gum, which has a huge amount of Xylitol in it.

Teyla got into my purse and helped herself to about 10 pieces of the gum. Her liver enzyme ALT was 1644 (normal range is 10-100)!!!!! If I hadn't taken her to the vet when I did her liver would have quit and she would have died. She was on IV fluids for a couple of days and now she is home and on a medication to help her liver to continue to heal. Her latest ALT (yesterday) was 280. She gets it checked again next Friday. She is doing well otherwise; she is her normal self.

By the way, Xylitol is only toxic to dogs; apparently, it does not affect any other animal (including humans) in this way.

Pattertwigs Pal your cat is sooooooooo adorable, so cute and loveable, I just love her, she looks so sweet (even though you mentioned that she is a little imp )

Thanks. She can be sweet when she chooses. It sounds like you are having fun with your birds. Animals are funny when they get jealous. Keep working on Sophie. It took us a year to tame Blitzen.

It's so funny to see how Robby looks at me if I am eating something in front of the cage. He cocks his head a bit to the side and looks at me with an eagerness in his eyes as if to say 'you are going to share some with me aren't you?' and how can I resist....I can't

Aravis likes to stick her nose very near my food but the only thing she has actually tried was my milk.

So, PP, how in the world do you find it possible to reprimand that angel of a cat?

I'm just evil I guess. I usually end up petting her soon afterward.

PP~how old is Aravis? She sounds like a kitten, but looks fully grown. All of my cats would chew on cardboard boxes, etc. when they were teething. Yours just sounds like a handful!

She's three in years but she does act more like a kitten. She is a handful. Cute but a handful. She gets in less trouble now though since I have locked the cabinets and locked up the toilet paper and Kleenex. Lately she has been jumping up on the counter in the kitchen. I'm glad Telya is doing better. I'm praying her levels will be back to normal soon. That dog of yours also sounds like a handful.

I just couldn't resist posting a couple more pictures (if I'm going overboard just let me know and I'll try to resist the temptation).

I'm glad Telya is doing better. I'm praying her levels will be back to normal soon. That dog of yours also sounds like a handful.

Thanks for the prayers! And yes, she is a handful. But she's a Jack Russell Terrier. They are known for being handfuls! I'm just thankful that she doesn't destroy walls and furniture like some JRTs are known to do!

I just couldn't resist posting a couple more pictures (if I'm going overboard just let me know and I'll try to resist the temptation).

Keep posting! They are great pictures! She is so cute!

I know this is a double post, but I wanted to post an update on Teyla.

She is fine. Her liver enzymes are back to normal!! In fact, all of her labs are normal. And she is back to her normal self as well. I still have to give her the liver preventative medication until it's gone, but that's it!!

I'm so glad that Teyla is feeling better
I though I'd post a cute picture of Robby, I took it recently and I love the way he came out

My turtles Bart and Fedya are no more they passed away yesterday. It was a rather unpleasant surprise for me. I came home from dance class and found that they had both died. I'm not exactly sure of the reason, could be a something in the water, I had just changed it that day, it could be something else. I don't know. We had a little funeral for them today, buried them under a tree near my secret garden. I already put their tank away and put two roses where the tank used to be, as well as two candles, one for Bart and one for Fed. I'm still in a state of shock, but I know I'll get over it soon. I miss the two of them though, especially Fedya, he was my favorite. Now all we have are the two birds Robin and Sophie

In loving memory of them

Aw, I'm very sorry about your turtles, wild rose. I know losing pets is hard. I had a golden hamster once named Sandy, who died three weeks after I got her. Then I had a gerbil named Patches, who was black with snippets of white on her, and she died too. We next got a pair of gerbils, Daisy and Ginger. Daisy died first, so it was sort of upsetting to see Ginger all depressed afterwards.

We have a little pet cemetery in our backyard, with rocks as grave markers.

Aww, the turtles are so cute in that pic! I'm sorry for your loss wild rose.

My guinea pig, Abby recently died of old age. I miss him, but... at least he lived a long, happy life.

~Riella

Awwe I'm sorry wild rose. I know how you feel too... A few years ago I had 2 gerbils... which eventually turned into a total of nine (accidental breeding with the exception of one) When they died, most of them died within days of each other. I don't know if they got sick or something, they usually acted fine until they died or were about to die... My dad thinks some of them were just so heart broken over the loss of their relatives

I'm so excited- I get to go home on tuesday for break and I get to see Patchy and Daisy again I'm just so nervous about how Patchy's going to react... I wish I could have broughten him with me, but its better for both of us if he stays home.

thanks everyone, it's nice to know that there are others here who know what I'm going through
It's been a little over a week since my dear turtles died, and I've gotten quite used to the fact that they are gone. All though sometimes I'l suddenly think 'oh I have to feed them' or 'oh I have to remember to turn on the light in their tank'. I'm going to go and visit their grave tomorrow and put some flowers there that I made from paper.
Our bird Robin has gotten very bossy the past few days, if we're late with the feeding, or forget to change his newspaper he throws a huge scandal, which is very unlike my dear easy going birdi. He's also getting a bit lazy, when I open the cage door to let them fly, Sophie flies out almost immediatly, while Robby sits for a while, contemplating if he should leave the cage or not. When he finally does fly out, he'll just perch himself on the curtain rod and watch as Sophie flys here and there. Both our birds started liking the band 'Disciple' when I turn it on, they try to get closer to the music and listen intently

I'm glad you'll be able to see your pets soon wolfloversk

I saw my animals last week and Patchy remembered me, in fact he acted like I had never left

This is such a relief to me...

and Daisy went through the week without trying to bite me she definitely grew since I was gone...

My dad switched the brand and type of hay we give to my rabbit, he seems to like this better so I think we shall stick to it...its a mixture of Timothy and Alfalfa, rather than just Timothy hay, which is what we used to get him.

^^ We used to give our guinea pig Timothy Hay all the time. I'm not sure if guinea pigs eat Alfalfa though... do you know?

I used to have a rabbit when I was about 5 or 6. His name was Bundles. I don't have a picture of him, unfortunately...

~Riella

To get this blog going again, I thought I would ask a question of all you pet owners/animal lovers out there!

Are you getting your pet a Christmas present? If so, what?

I am one of those who has a stocking for each of animals. For my cat, I got her some treats (she doesn't really play with toys) and for my dog, I got her some really squeaky toys (she loves them!).