Cleaning is an everyday thing at Animal Wonders. Not a day goes by that we are cleaning up after the animal residents, but sometimes we like to mix in a little more fun with the everyday business. Today Zoe and Chongo, the Amazon parrots, enjoyed time outside in the garden while I hosed and scrubbed enclosures, toys, and perches. I was even able to weed the garden as everything dried. They mildly watched me work and soaked up the UV rays. Tango, the Patagonian cavy, munched on grass as he sneaked in peeks at me through the weeds. He enjoyed his outdoor time as did Cheeks the rabbit. After our outdoor activities we all spent some time relaxing in the cool indoors. Oliver, the sun conure, groomed himself on my shoulder while I relaxed on the couch and read a book. Later, Jumbuck the bearded dragon, got some exercise running around the Reptile Room while we changed out his substrate, and Yucca, the Red-footed tortoise waited patiently for her turn to slowly explore the corners and say hello to all the other reptile residents. Kemo, the prehensile-tailed porcupine, let me know he was ready for dinner by grumbling loudly (he sounds like a chainsaw in the distance). I fixed his diet and spent some time changing his soiled bedding and replacing it with clean fresh aspen shavings. After he was smelling fresh, he enjoyed his favorite snack - corn on the cob. These are a few of the memories we made today. There's nothing like sharing your life with these amazing animals and I like to think of it this way:
Every day is cleaning day, most days we have fun while cleaning, and some days we make lasting memories of another great day with the animals. *I thought it might be nice to share a few moments of a day in our life at Animal Wonders. Just so you might be able to glimpse what we do on any average day. We always have a good time, even when we're just cleaning :)
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We are very excited to announce the arrival of our newest animal resident. Babette, the brush-tailed bettong. Babette's previous owner could no longer care for her due to severe medical complications so she needed a new home. Our own bettong, Quigley, has been looking for a roommate for almost a year now and we are excited to be able to give Babette a wonderful home here at Animal Wonders. Quigley and Babette will hopefully bond and become a great mated pair. If they can produce a joey we will be one step closer to helping conserve this amazing endangered species. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they become best friends and live happily ever after!
Thank you Spirit at Play! We had so much fun with the children and they seemed to love the animals too! Curly, the white-cheeked turaco started off the fun and put a big smile on everyone's face. It got better and better as each new animal was presented. Sherman, the hedgehog was a bit but Tango, the Patagonian Cavy stole the show. The children had a great time after the presentation with Animals In Focus. They held Lovie the lovebird, watched Sherman the hedgehog, and had a great up-close encounter with Tango. Then they voted on which animal they wanted to sponsor as a group and Tango won! Thank you Spirit at Play for sponsoring Tango and helping to support Animal Wonders!
Louie, our beloved sun conure, passes away this morning. He had been fighting for over a month against an unknown illness. We did everything we could to try and figure out what was causing his disinterest in food. He was on supportive care for the last month but failed to retain any nutrition. He was slowly wasting away. This morning his quality of life became the last straw and he was humanely euthanized. His body will be sent to a lab for further testing to try and determine the ultimate cause of death.
Louie will be sorely missed. His radiant personality stood out brightly and you could easily feel his pure joy for life. Louie came to us when he was just 2 ears old in 2007. He had a "scissor beak" where his upper and lower mandibles crossed, this gave him extra personality. He was a clown and a show off and loved to hang upside down from our fingers. Louie loved to snuggle and would climb into the top of your shirt, turn around, and peek out at the collar. One of Louie favorite things was to have us sing "Louie Louie" to him while he danced and did his best to sing along. Louie lost his cage mate, Igor, when he was 3 y/o. Very soon after, we adopted Oliver, and Louie had such a big heart that he welcomed Oliver into his home, no questions asked. Louie and Oliver were the best of friends and traveled to many shows together. They enjoyed eating, sleeping, grooming, bathing, and screaming together. Oliver will receive extra special attention in the days to come as he adjusts to life without Louie, as we all will. Louie, rest in peace little one. |
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