Pet Feature ~Dash the Degu

I thought today I would introduce you to one of my babies- Dash the degu!
Pets are a pretty big part of my life, I certainly wasn't very old hen I first started asking for an animal to look after, though I must admit I wasted a years asking for a dog alone before realising that just wasn't happening :x
A few years ago I had a 'pet boom' where Dad seemed to allow me every rodent I requested, and the degus were a result of me asking to get some rodents larger than gerbils after my last pair had died and left behind a massive cage. I'd read up on them quite a lot and and found they could become very tame, so when I saw 4 girls being advertised for only £50 with a large cage, I rung up and was soon going to collect them!

The old owners told us that the four had been saved from becoming snake food as babies and had been happily living together as pets since then, about 18 months later. They hadn't given them names as they were hard to tell apart, so when I got home I started figuring out who was who and assigning names- in order of the photo above- there was Indie, named for music but decided her namesake should be the movie explorer; Juno, the matronly one (who Dash looks lot like now, come to think of it!); Dash herself, named because she used to like speeding away and finally Kendrix, who was slightly chestnut coloured compared to the others :]
Because they came with a cage they were used to I didn't worry about putting them into the cage I had initially planned for them, and they went to live in the conservatory. At first I used to barricade parts of the conservatory off and let them out to run around, which they quite enjoyed, but I didn't really foresee what little escape artists they were! After a few escapes leading to hours chasing them round the floor and furniture, it was decided that they could only come out into ourdoors pens from then on XD

Dash herself has changed a lot over the years. Starting off as a sleek, shy degu, she's now feeling her age a little I think, and has become a little more rotund and fluffy. She's never become as tame as the ones I read about online right at the beginning, or even as outgoing as her siblings, but she certainly has her own charms and moments of boldness, usually encouraged by a treat or two. (How do you think I got these photos? xp)

Considering she's been a solo degu for some time now, she's lasting well and other than a small teeth problem her health seems to be holding up too x3 She hates having her teeth clipped (understandably!) but it must be done and she is unfazed by it at the end when I pass her the biggest degu-safe biscuit I can find so she can go sit in her cage and get used to her new teeth length!
So that's my Dashie! Surprisingly, perhaps, not named after a My Little Pony :x Do you have degus? They seem like a pretty uncommon pet, although the ones at Pets at Home constantly change, so I guess they're getting more popular ^^



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Sunday Catch-up ~A Little Late

Awww man, sorry I'm so late on this post...I went to do it yesterday but what can I say? I totally got caught up in a Steven Universe marathon x.X I'm a sucker for cartoons. Anyway....

I had a busy enough week, on Monday I did a lot of washing and unpacking from Download and basically just relaxed the day away after that XD I got a few photos of my babies, they only stop still for sunflower seeds! Really, they are a strange couple of gerbs, they don't like any other treats! At least they're better for them than yoghurt drops I suppose XD

On Tuesday I went out with Dad for a bit of a tiki tour as we haven't had a chance for one in ages. We went first to Pistyll Rhaeadr falls in Wales. I'd not been in so long and it was good to see it again. We usually walk to the top but neither of us were feeling it and instead we went to the local shop and picked up some bits and pieces and had a picnic while watching the falls X3 It was a really nice relaxing way to spend part of the afternoon, I really felt I needed some time to just doss and watch something different.

When we decided to move on we went over to Lake Vyrnwy and discovered a couple of things over that way we'd not visited before- a small church up on the hill and a sculpture park on the other side under the shadow of the dam. It made the place a little more interesting, we even did a little bird watching in the hut built up near the tourist shop x3

The next few days it was back to same old, same old as I returned to work and got used to seeing lots of newbies around the place, usually a good thing as the old ones get a little complacent and we need newbies to refresh the lines, you could say! On Friday I got a Graze box...I used to post these every time I received them but lately I guess I've got used to getting them! They are still looked forward to though and this weeks was another good selection x3

Lastly on Saturday before I had to go into work as Dad was away I decided I needed to get out and get him some presents as both Fathers day and his birthday were fast approaching! I had some ideas in mind with a little help from my sister so had a good couple of hours mooching shops XD There were one of his 'main' presents- he loves the Kinks and this band is made up mostly of old members so I'm hoping it'll be a good show.
And that was my week pretty much. The weather has been up and down but I'm hoping it'll give us a few good weeks soon so we can get a little more time outside x3 Did you have a busy week?



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Sunday a Little Different- Introducing Austin and Morris!

Today I thought I could go through my week with the few pictures I took few and far between, or just focus on something I'm very excited about...and it's always best to focus on the things we enjoy, right? For a little back story- I've kept gerbils for a long time now (up to 9 at one point!) until recently, when my last gerbil in a 10 year run, Newt, passed away. At first I decided not to get any more and cleaned out the tank Newt had lived in. But as I popped in and out of the room the tank had been in, something seemed to be missing. There was no scuffling or anyone to give loo roll tubes to. So when I last cleaned out my degu, I put some sawdust back into the tank and put a bunch of toys in there too. I knew I was just waiting for some new babies to pop up somewhere! I looked round the internet and some duprasi jirds- fat tailed gerbils, stood out to me, and I'd never kept any before. As I read up about them they seemed pretty easy to look after, very similar to the mongolian gerbils I've kept for so long, but I tried contacting a few breeders and no one got back to me. So I looked around for mongolian babies people had bred, but couldn't find anything that wasn't miles and miles away.

Then this week when I went up to Pets at Home for my weekly quota of locusts for my bearded dragons I peeked in at the gerbils they had and these two just stood out to me! A new litter of babies had come in and there were some adorable colours, but this time I really wanted a dove grey, and there was one! He is patchy too so distinct from the other dove I've had in the past. As you always keep gerbils in pairs I picked his companion also for his nice colours- a patchy cream, a perfect match for a grey :]

I haven't been through the Pets at Home adoption process in a long time but it was very through, even though I said I'd owned plenty of gerbs in the past I was asked lots of questions to make sure I knew both what I was on about and what I was getting into, which gives me peace of mind that had I asked any major questions that they could've been answered clearly and knowingly. It was good also to think that hopefully the boys' siblings will go to homes that are going to know what they need.

As I left the shop their names came to me- Austin and Morris! I'm a sucker for old cars and these matching names just seemed to cute to pass up for a pair of boys! (If there had been a third it would've been called Leyland aha...) When we got home I let them make their way from the boxes they were brought home in into their new home. They were unsure of the tanks' tiers at first but soon their gerbilly curiosity got the better of them and they were up and down and checking everything out! I left them alone to get used to the place.
Two days in now and they are are much more confident of their surroundings, even little Austin is jumping from tier to tier with ease :3 They will nervously take sunflower seeds from my hand though the sound of the tank lid opening and closing is apparently very scary to them still! Poor boys. I'm sure they'll soon come to realise it means treats and new food xp


Dash, the degu, is getting used to having roommates again as well. For the first couple of hours she just sat and sulked in her bed to avoid all the noise and new smells, but she seems to have gotten used to it again, luckily! Maybe she's realised the newbies aren't around to steal all her treats ;p
Have you ever kept gerbils? I really think they make such interesting pets! I'd love to see pics and hear stories x3



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Sunday Catch-Up #2

Another week gone, and it was another one where I didn't achieve much but managed to get a few pics.
Monday I was working, the weather was bad, I only managed to get a photo for my picture a day. Weirdly, Tuesday was pretty similar.

On Wednesday the weather picked up a little and I brought the dragons out to enjoy the sunshine a little on the windowsill before I had to go off to work. I think the natural sunlight is better for them than their UV bulb, and they do seem to enjoy sitting in the window, watching the world go by :]

The week didn't show a lot more picture opportunities until Friday, when my Graze box came. I love these little boxes XD I get one every two weeks to try and stop my snacking on sugar (it occasionally works xp) and this week's selection looks particularly good. Even though you choose which to receive and which you never want to see come through the letterbox, some weeks you just don't fancy the granola or flapjack XD I have been looking forward to trying their take on Miso since it was released though so this was a good choice, thanks Graze!

We had a tattoo convention on over the weekend at work and I had a little look around the stalls on Friday as we were doing the finishing details of set-up. This Ram's skull really stood out to me, I love animal skulls, even if they are a little morbid x3 I was half hoping to get a tattoo over the weekend but just haven't had time (or money really) to go. I do have a couple of designs in mind but they can wait.

Yesterday as my first day off this week I went out on an exploring mission. First I went to local Ironbridge then decided to go check out an ex-nursing home nearby that I used to spend a lot of time at as a kid. Now that it's not in use anymore they've put up a lot of fencing which is really hindering my exploring but I had a go! I actually tried to get a hold of the security that watches the place but no one would come out. I'm not even 100% if they were there or had just left the car behind to make the place look guarded. This photo is of one of the few places I could get to, I'm not sure if the creepiness comes across as well as I feel it when I'm there XD
And that's been pretty much my week. Next week I've booked off from work so I can spend a little time getting on top of all these projects I've set myself! I'm sure that means I'll be by here more often too, so hopefully I'll see you soon x]