Chinchilla Nation » 2008

Archive for July, 2008

Hiatus

July 30th, 2008

I try my best to post at a regular basis. But since now it’s cramming time (exaaammm!!!), I decided that I’d take a break & focus on my studies. I find myself posting as a way of procrastinating (errgghh!!!!), when I really should be reading my materials instead.

But feel free to leave messages & comments, especially with the new chatbox thingy on the left

It’s been a long day … it’s exactly 3 a.m. now & I’m going to snooozeeeee.

But before I do that, here’s a recent picture (taken tonight .. another of my procrastinating scheme) of one of the Robo girlies in their new strawberry house:

Don’t forget to check out the newly updated album of the girlies.

Posted in Hamster adventure, News, Rants | Comments (2)

Do a GoodSearch

July 29th, 2008

I’ve been using this web searching service called GoodSearch. It’s like any other search engines (it’s powered by Yahoo!), but every time you search, you can donate money to a charity of your choice! I always told myself “o, I’ll donate to x charity once I have enough money” but that day never comes 0_o So, this is so simple & yet you know you’re doing something good for a cause that you want to help. Too bad it only works for participating non-profits in the US. I hope someday that they’ll expand to other countries. Ooo .. you can also shop online from participating online stores & GoodSearch will donate a percentage of the purchase price to a charity of your choice

As featured in the NY Times.

Posted in News, Thoughtful thursdays | Comments (0)

Chinchilla Commercial

July 28th, 2008

I thought this was such a cute ad.

After watching this, please don’t consider having a chinchilla farm to earn money

Posted in Chinchilla adventure, News, Rants | Comments (0)

Look What Winnie Did ..

July 26th, 2008

WARNING!

This post contains adult material that may be considered offensive.
You may choose not to read this post if you are easily shocked or offended or
if the standard of your community do not allow for the viewing of
sexually mature chinchilla materials!

So, I let Winnie out the other night. He was happily bouncing off the walls, jumping from his cardboard castle, running around & exhausting himself. Until ………… he did this unspeakable thing:

Do you know what this is? Hint: it’s sticky & the color is milky white.

Yep …. Winnie took quite a liking at my chair leg & decided to release all his bottled up galvanism at it .. which was quite hard to clean.

After he was finished, he gave me this look:

“What? I didn’t do nothing …………..”

How can you stay mad at that face?

I find it amusing that tonight, he tried to do the same …….. TO MY ARM!!! Of course I didn’t let him! Poor thing kept trying & trying for a few more times. I must give him props for not wanting to give up!

ps: I managed to clean most of the icky stuff, but there’s still some stains left behind -.-

Posted in Chinchilla adventure, Rants | Comments (3)

Animal Discrimination

July 26th, 2008

I’ve always had a profile on Facebook for Tubby (yes, me human posing as a chin). Surprisingly, there are many animal owners out there who are as crazy as I am & make profiles for their pets! I’ve always known about Facebook deleting these animal profiles, but I thought that it would never happen to Tubby.

I thought wrong!!!!!!!!! Tubby’s profile got deleted!! I’m very upset!!! I’ve actually learned a lot from other pet owners about how to take care of other types of animals & share fun information.

I notice how there are profiles of celebrities or more absurd profiles that just make less sense than an animal’s profile. Some of these animal profiles are real conservation animals & the reason for having their profiles up is to raise awareness. BOooo!!!! Facebook is discriminating against animals (& their owners too).

Posted in Rants | Comments (2)

Fish Pedicure

July 25th, 2008

I think I first heard about this when I was watching some travel show on TV. I can’t remember what country the travel show was about, but it might have been about Turkey or Japan.

Then, I saw my friend’s picture on Facebook doing the Dr. Fish treatment (that’s what it’s commonly known as). It’s just too strange … too strange. I kind of feel sorry for the fish .. are dead skin cells really nutritious for them? I wonder how long they live for just by eating dead skin cells.

In the States, there’s only 1 place which offers this treatment, but they refer to it as “Dr. Fish Massage.” I don’t see how the fish can massage your feet ….. The fish are a type of minnow called Garra rufa, which were originally used in Turkish bathhouses to treat psoriasis patients .. which means that they would have to immerse their whole bodies. I wonder how that would feel … ticklish maybe? I don’t think I would try it if I had a chance .. I mean, isn’t it gross to share fish with other people? Interesting ..

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080301597.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish
3. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/fish_pedicures

Posted in News, Rants | Comments (2)

Daddy Hamster the Acrobat

July 24th, 2008

First attempt:

*Got in .. climb .. climb .. resting on water bottle .. time to explore somewhere else*

Second attempt:

*Trying to climb the other side of Tubby’s cage*

Posted in Hamster adventure | Comments (0)

Can This Be Comfortable?

July 22nd, 2008

This is where I found Baby Hamster sleeping this morning …………………………………….

Can you see that furball in the wheel? I find it truly annoying when Baby Hamster sleeps in his wheel. He has to always bring his bedding, his food, sleeps AND pees in the same place too! Errghh!!! Makes it hard for me to clean. The thing is, when I tried to dis-assemble the wheel so I can wash it, he didn’t want to come out! I tried rocking the wheel, but I found him closing his eyes & enjoying the rocking motion.

He normally sleeps in the observatory deck:

Posted in Hamster adventure | Comments (2)

Visiting Tinky

July 21st, 2008

I haven’t posted since last Wednesday, because I was away visiting Tinky (my sis’s dog).

Took a direct 8 a.m. flight, not knowing that I was going to be faced with a 3-day heat wave!! I’ve experienced 42°C while doing Bikram, but the burning dry heat felt more unbearable than a hot humid room. I was going to do some shopping, but the heat prevented me from doing a full-blown retail therapy. Instead, I took Tinky to the vet. She was wheezing the whole night & she sounded horrible! As if she had some furball or food stuck in her throat.

She’s a heavy girl & there was no way I would walk to the vet carrying a 20 pound dog on my shoulder. The poor girlie had to walk & she wouldn’t stop panting!!! I had to pour some water on her forehead to cool her down. For awhile, I thought she was going to get a heat stroke, since she’s a short-nosed dog whose breathing is probably not efficient when it comes to taking long walks when it’s too hot out.

Good news though. Vet said that the wheezing was probably caused by some viral & bacterial infection. She was prescribed some medication for the bacterial infection, but it’s up to her own immune system to fight of the viral infection. My sister was also worried about her extra eye discharge & thought that it could be a symptom of cataracts. Apparently pugs are genetically more prone to cataracts. The way the vet explained it to me is that cataracts in dogs pretty much develop the same way as they do in humans, i.e. can be due to genetics, diabetes, old age. She had clear discharge, which is nothing to be worried about. Besides, she’s only about 3 years old & cataracts usually affect older dogs (9 years+). Once the discharge becomes yellowish/greenish, it’s more symptomatic of cataracts.

I had fun visiting Tinky & taking her for walks (even though I know she hated the heat), but I was also glad to be coming home to my furry rodents who were happily oblivious to the weather outside

Posted in Doggie care, Rants | Comments (1)

Baby Hamster in a Duvet

July 16th, 2008

Sometimes, I like to take Baby Hamster out during the day, while he’s still asleep, & put him somewhere else. I know Baby Hamster probably hates me for bothering him in his sleep, but I find it so cute! One time, I put him on the sofa, & he managed to find his way behind the pillow to snuggle. Another time, I had an empty cereal box, which I stuffed with tissue, & Baby Hamster seemed to like the cozy dark nest that I made. This weekend, I felt like seeing if Baby Hamster fancies my duvet as much as I do. At first, he was walking around the bed. I think he was dazed & mad at me for waking him up in the first place. Amidst the thickness of the duvet, he found a folded area where he burrowed himself in. At one point, I forgot that I had placed him on the bed!! So he was there for awhile. When I went to get him, he was gone & I panicked!!!! Fortunately, I found him hiding in my dark, cozy, carpeted closet But that means that he had to jump off the bed to get there .. must have been quite a feat for a hammie!