(no subject)
I've been meaning to post, but never really felt like it. But I suspect I'll want to post in a few days, and need to post this first.
Back in late April, my hedgehog Sophie started showing signs of Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome. It's similar to MS. I don't know why someone thought it was a good idea to give a degenerative, incurable disease a name that sounds like something from a children's book or one of those stupid bobble-head toys.
The symptoms started pretty mild--she just had trouble getting to her feet after lying down--but she got worse pretty quickly. She could walk, but fell over a lot. I had to take her wheel away because she kept sliding off it. Then in June I started seeing blood in her cage. Turned out she had a mass on her uterus. That was treatable with surgery, but I didn't see any point in getting her spayed when the WHS was advancing so rapidly. Some nights I had to move her over to her food dish because she couldn't make it on her own, and the only reason she ever moved around at all was because she scooted on her side instead of walking.
In July I had her put to sleep. It was not an easy decision, but I think it was best.
I was going to wait for a few months before considering another pet, but I missed having something to take care of. Sophie was never friendly and preferred to be left alone, but she still required daily care. My evening routine was all messed up. I thought about sugar gliders and chinchillas, but then the hedgehog breeder posted pictures of the newest babies.
Part of me still feels a little bad about replacing her so quickly, but I'm really looking forward to bringing my new baby home. My room isn't quite ready--I packed up Sophie's cage and the flat surfaces got covered quickly, and I need to finish cutting the fleece into new liners--but it's really only an hour's worth of work to get everything set up. I'm picking the baby up Wednesday. I'm very excited and a little nervous.
There's been other stuff going on in my life, and I suppose some of that is more important than a pet--upcoming layoffs being the biggest--but right now the new hedgehog is my main focus. Renaissance Festival tomorrow is second. My priorities are probably a little mixed up, but it keeps the panic and stress to more manageable levels.
I shall hopefully have pictures of my new pet soon.
Back in late April, my hedgehog Sophie started showing signs of Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome. It's similar to MS. I don't know why someone thought it was a good idea to give a degenerative, incurable disease a name that sounds like something from a children's book or one of those stupid bobble-head toys.
The symptoms started pretty mild--she just had trouble getting to her feet after lying down--but she got worse pretty quickly. She could walk, but fell over a lot. I had to take her wheel away because she kept sliding off it. Then in June I started seeing blood in her cage. Turned out she had a mass on her uterus. That was treatable with surgery, but I didn't see any point in getting her spayed when the WHS was advancing so rapidly. Some nights I had to move her over to her food dish because she couldn't make it on her own, and the only reason she ever moved around at all was because she scooted on her side instead of walking.
In July I had her put to sleep. It was not an easy decision, but I think it was best.
I was going to wait for a few months before considering another pet, but I missed having something to take care of. Sophie was never friendly and preferred to be left alone, but she still required daily care. My evening routine was all messed up. I thought about sugar gliders and chinchillas, but then the hedgehog breeder posted pictures of the newest babies.
Part of me still feels a little bad about replacing her so quickly, but I'm really looking forward to bringing my new baby home. My room isn't quite ready--I packed up Sophie's cage and the flat surfaces got covered quickly, and I need to finish cutting the fleece into new liners--but it's really only an hour's worth of work to get everything set up. I'm picking the baby up Wednesday. I'm very excited and a little nervous.
There's been other stuff going on in my life, and I suppose some of that is more important than a pet--upcoming layoffs being the biggest--but right now the new hedgehog is my main focus. Renaissance Festival tomorrow is second. My priorities are probably a little mixed up, but it keeps the panic and stress to more manageable levels.
I shall hopefully have pictures of my new pet soon.