The bell toles for treats, plus claw woes

Posted by: Tamandua Girl / Category:

Hyzzie decided to hide in the closet with us where it's dark and safe. That's right old pup we'll claw their eyes out if they bring the fireworks in here. She's on the floor though rather than climb up into the closet nest.

She woke me though so I came to get my special treat.


Mom changed the blanket in the closet. I liked the other better even if it was dirty and I'm not pleased with the washer being clean either, even with the jungle blanket. So I am protesting by sleeping in my princess hammock.


I am enjoying my hammock day. It's good to start off the new year snoozing in a hammock.
Noozing away New Year's Day

Mom blended up some Aurora soup. Then she blended up some special blue cheese goo. I got up because that demanded a taste test to ensure the blue cheese was royal worthy. My job done I went back in my hammock for a nap.


I am the stuff your dreams are made of
I am the stuff your dreams are made of
Pua over me in bed ~ Pua's mommy

I see you are awake

I see you are awake

I jingled the bell last night. I got my treat then I jingled it some more but mom refused to get back up, saying she already gave me my treat. I jingled the heck out of it and pulled it off the hook and onto the shelf with me.

I got the closet today. Aurora has moved back into the washer.


Got up. Had a good groom. Talked my way into a snack. Then back to bed.


Aurora rang the bell. She was stealthy. She rang it quietly once mom had the lights off and was in bed. Mom assumed it was me but she got up and saw a moving bell but no one on the shelf. A closer look showed Aurora moving around a sleepy me in the nest. So mom gave her a bit of yogurt and her soup.


Mom got up early to work this morning and I came and jingled the bell. Mom was like, do you really need a treat right now? I moved over to the fancy bells and stuck my nose to one and jingled it and looked at her. Yes, yes I do, RIGHT now.


I tested at 156 blood sugar tonight. That's not bad considering I've been stealing yogurt from Aurora, though she's almost weaned off of it now and just gets some topped on her soup. She balked at topping with blue cheese instead though. We may try sour cream, there's hardly any sugar in that.


Mom slept through my bell ringing even after I pulled it up onto the shelf so I had to go wake her up in person.


Mom bought Aurora some sour cream. She mixed a bit of water with it so it was runny like she likes then added the tinniest bit of vinegar to make it a bit more sour like yogurt. It worked. Aurora said that's delicious and ate her afternoon snack then I stole the rest from her after I finished my blue cheese.


Oh we almost forgot. Happy Birthday Hyzzie. She's 14 so that's like her 70th or so in human years

I see you, I need treats
I see you, I need treats

I will ring these bells with my nose

Mom grumbled that my jingling of the bell woke her during a good dream. Well, she shouldn't be dreaming when I need a treat.


Aurora's in the washer sleeping upside down under the jungle blanket. I got the closet nest to my self.


I have the washer today and Aurora has the closet. I think she tried to come join me after she had a late meal but got spooked by the odd beeping noises from the other room(grandma's game show).


We are both in the closet today. Aurora makes a good mattress.


My blood sugar tested at 147 last night. Better than last time but we should be able to get that lower. The issue may be my stealing Aurora soup. While it no longer has yogurt it does have extra ground beef to make it smell less buggy for her. This means I'm getting less of good additives like sweet potato and chia though I get chia in my blue cheese too. We'll try weaning her back onto pure food. All this weaning talk but we can't make sudden changes with Aurora.

Also mom just ordered powdered sweet potato. It says one scoop equals 1 cup fresh stuff. This will be good.

Oh also we may spice it up a bit and add a wee bit of cayenne pepper, the Capsacian in it has proven in several lab studies to increase insulin production and in turn lower blood sugar. We've occasionally had some in the food in the past and not minded.


Aw poor Aurora. She’s started her period and it makes her more jumpy scaredy cat. She ran when mom offered her, her treat. Mom added a bit of yogurt and she took it once mom was well away. Then she went to mope on the shelf. Mom tried giving her a bit more and Aurora saw the hand and lifted her arm flinching back to block a blow. I don’t know what happened in your past Aurora but mom would never hit you.

Aurora moping
Aurora moping
on the lower shelves


I was sleeping in the washer with Aurora, got up a few times to drink, got up and had some snacks, slept with her a bit more then I decided to go sleep in the closet nest.


You glued the sink drain tube in and it now is not only unplugged but has holes in it too, okay, but why are you looking at me?


I got up had a treat and snuggle and headed right behind the washer to the sink drain tube. Mom sprayed anteater repellent back there and said she's going to find a fix for this issue tomorrow. The only issue I see is that nasty smell.

Naughty Pua
Naughty Pua
She took to poking holes in the washer drain tube. I took to removing the tube when not in use. She took to unplugging the sink drain tube that goes back there too. I tried gluing it in. She poked holes in it and unplugged it anyway. I took this photo of her going after the damaged tube again for posterity. This area is now fenced off.

Mom saw no anteaters in the closet nest so when mom came to give Aurora her evening treat and didn't find her in the washer with me she was a bit concerned. Mom went back to the closet thinking she missed her. Well, she kind of did Aurora was sleeping balled up on one of the lower shelves that have no bedding. She is so odd sometimes.

Aurora slept here all day
Aurora slept here all day
Today she was back in the washer

This also shows how old she looks. It doesn't normally come through on camera.


We were playing in my princess hammock when it came unhooked some how. Aurora must have fallen from the tower as her claw was broken down deep enough to bleed. She's clotting okay and she got a little treat to calm her down. I wasn't phased or hurt since I was still on the tower but I wanted a treat too. Guess we need to switch to those loop things instead of hooks.


I'm a bit worried about mom's mind. She covered the washer drain tube in a wool blanket and fenced off the back of the washer and drier with a chicken wire fence. I don't think that tube is chilly and we don't have chickens. Wait how am I supposed to reach my drain tubes now?!

Well, I didn't find my way past that annoying fence keeping me from my tubes but I did pinch mom awake to demand my treat.

Poor Aurora's got a sore claw. She wanted to do her usual darting around as mom got her food ready but when she went to climb back up she tried to grab with that claw to climb and kept going ouch and letting go. Finally she just forced herself to push through the pain and climb up but she has stayed up and we are sleeping in the closet nest. Not only did she break her big claw night before last but it appears to have pulled a bit too as there was blood down around where it meats the flesh.

I'm keeping her company.


Aurora now has an appointment at the vet tomorrow. Her knuckle and part of the hand is swollen and purple. Hopefully some antibiotics will fix it. She is stomping around really upset right now after mom cleaned it and put some smelly stuff on it to try and help.


After much exaggerated pacing, climbing around(not recommended when you have a broken claw and injured hand, Aurora), in and out of the washer, closet nest and cave, left her with the lights off for a while but didn't calm her down, she finally settled on one of the bare closet shelves. Well, at least Aurora's settled. Let's just hope the vet's treatment doesn't include a recommendation of daily dressing changes or she will never get any rest.


Okay I gotta confess I lied about not finding my way past the chicken fence but I thought no one would find out. I pushed my way under it and unplugged the sink but I didn't go all the way down to poke holes in it as I didn't want to get stuck.


Aurora is back in the closet nest with me. I was making lots of cooing type noises at her as we resettled ourselves into better positions. She always takes the best spot.


I'm up and having a groom before midnight. Just to be a bit different.


Rang the bell and had a snack. Time to hit the hay for a few more hours.

January 16

I don't know if mom really thought that bungee was going to hold the fence in place enough to stop me but, fail, drain tube unplugged.

January 16
Mom came up to the closet shelf and stuck Aurora in a sack and took her. She did that so she'd not claw at the shelves on the way down like she normally would. Aurora growled and complained but she got shoved in the crate anyway. Oh she wasn't kept in the sack. When I realized Aurora wasn't coming back right away I complained a bit myself. I'll let mom tell the rest.
-------
Aurora was a good girl at the vet though she didn't like it. She complained most the way down, she was cursing me out, then I remembered she likes music and turned the radio on and she was much calmer. On the ride home she was mostly quiet except when we slowed or stopped. She knew we were headed home. She also covered herself up in the blanket. When let loose at the vet she was nice she even came over and put her paws up on my lap for a bit. She is always more confident when not in her own room, which is odd.

It's not infected and pretty much as described before. The broken claw tip clotted and is no issue. The base is damaged to where it bleeds all the way around but at this point it just did that while her hand was being held. The bottom base is ripped apart from the finger pad. In a dog she'd have trimmed the nail all the way back to give it a chance to heal as it grows back, not an option in tamandua as the bone grows out into the claw. If it doesn't heal because she keeps using it we can try splinting it, though the odds of that succeeding are pretty slim as it would be near impossible to keep on for any length of time. We were given the stuff for it, some moldable splint plastic and strong sticky stretchy tape but it's not the vets first choice of things to try, just if needed. In the mean time we had two options topical or oral(or injectable) antibiotics. She'd normally just do topical and not prescribe systemic antibiotics for normal animals. We went with oral antibiotics but we have surgical "scrub" to dab on to keep it a bit less germy. The issue with tamandua is they like to dip their claws into their food when they eat and they eat several times a night. So there's no realistic way to keep it sanitary.

She said it is okay to take with milk products so she can get a "treat" of yogurt twice a day with anitibiotics mixed in.

We did forget the anitinflmitory/pain meds but that would be metacam and we have some on hand for Hyzzie's bad days so she can still do that for a bit.



Aurora goes to the vet
Aurora goes to the vet

She broke and tore her claw

She broke and tore her claw
The finger pad ripped from the claw some and it bled around the claw where it meets the skin all around and the tip broke down to the quick.

I want to go home now
I want to go home now

I want to go home so bad I can taste it

Aurora's chin wrinkles
Aurora's chin wrinkles
Or are those old lady waddles

was trying for a shot of her claw, it's the left one.

Waiting for the Dr to say she can go
Waiting for the Dr to say she can go

It's a bit chilly and scary
It's a bit chilly and scary

January 17 (2am)
Had my treat then moved to look down on mom in judgment. 
Pua watching me
She must have misunderstood because she came to say hi. I turned my back on her. You stole Aurora and were mean to her.

No snuggles for you.

You still need to give me treats though.

11AM
I was so mad at mom that I didn't wake her to give me treats even once last night. I mean if she really loved me she'd have stayed up all night plying me with treats to make me forgive her.

4PM
Aurora took her antibiotic laced yogurt just fine today though she waited till she thought mom wasn't looking.

I got the closet to myself. It's kind of nice to sprawl out.
Pua getting comfy in the closet


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December

Posted by: Tamandua.Girl / Category:

Someone made it onto the desk and went across last night. And someone spilled a cup of chia seeds mom foolishly left there.

Silkworm Pupa
Silkworm Pupa

Beaker is sleepy
Beaker is sleepy

Morning, Got blue cheese?
Morning, Got blue cheese?

We've been sleeping in the closet but are back in the washer today. Mom put the jungle blanket in there. Sure love that jungle blanket.


Got up and had my snack and mom came to say hi to me in the closet nest. I hugged her real tight with hands, feet and head. Sometimes you just feel like you can't hug someone tight enough or long enough.



Mom was extra tired and had a bit of a headache so we found where she was hiding the unopened ants, helped ourselves and let her sleep. I did wake her at 6am for some fresh soup and blue cheese though.



Beaker(chihuahua) is a crazy dog the snow is up past his shoulders but he insisted on a walk/run around the block anyway. He was bounding through the snow so hard it pulled his jacket off a few times but he just stopped and waited for mom to put it back on. The kids out playing on their snow day got a kick out of him. One called him a snow princess till he realized Beaker is a boy.

I've been out in that stuff before and don't like it. Beaker is nuts. I think he wants to go back out.




I did not poke holes in the washer drain hose but I did unplug the sink drain hose.

Mom has now made up a huge batch of diabetic friendly anteater food. She did forget to put my joint supplement in though so I'll have to get that as a treat with blue cheese. I'm cool with that.

Man less treats, more achy joints. I don't think I like this aging thing. I may turn into a grumpy old lady like Aurora. To wake mom for my morning treat I just yelled at her instead of coming to politely poke her awake.




I came down onto the desk to wake mom last night but when she moved it startled me because it looked different from that angle. This caused me to knock over her water which scared me more and I ran back up to the shelves but I got my treat and some more soup.

Aurora looking at me


Aurora looking at me


Coming down the cat tree
Coming down the cat tree

Hyzzie in the snow
Hyzzie in the snow
She loves that jacket even though it's too small

Beaker and Hyzzie
Beaker and Hyzzie

Pua
Pua
She just woke up and is about to go up for a nap in the hammock


Aurora's Christmas gift
Aurora's Christmas gift
Aurora's Christmas bells
Aurora's Christmas bells
Aurora liked to reach down and rattle the decorative lantern to wake mom to get her fresh food. So mom wanted to get Aurora a Dinner bell for Christmas but she didn't like any she saw so she got a few small bells and made thise string of bells for Aurora to jingle. Mom set them up early so she could get used to it.

I inspected it the first night and lifted it up. The jingle did wake mom so she gave me some blue cheese. Aurora has left it alone. So mom tried jingling it while Aurora had a treat. Aurora ran. This could take a little time.





Holes in the drain tube again? No I don't know what you're talking about.







PS, I also unplugged the sink drain tube.






Mom had a cup of raisins on the desk last night. I love raisins but my mouth was to small to eat them and I couldn't claw them up. They did get spilled allover though. Why does something I can't eat smell so good?

Note: Most places say we can open as wide as a pencil. Stewie would suck on mom's fingers so that's wider but he used her finger to help open his mouth that wide. He'd grab her finger in his hand then line it up to his mouth and shove his mouth down over it. I'm not that crude. I just lick up little bits of food. I have no teeth even if I did force one into my mouth.

Mom doesn't eat raisins when I'm around though. I'll pry her mouth open and lick up the tasty juice. she doesn't seem to enjoy this as much as me. Also she says they have too much sugar.








Aurora is in heat again so isn't eating much and is doing her rounds in the room. She always liked to go up and down the cage so hormones made her brave and she took her old route only now it goes between the head of the bed and the desk and she actually touched mom's arm with her nose a few times as she went up the cage.

Then she decided to sit on the desk and watch mom. She sat there so long mom started to think she was mistaken about who it was, so she very softly said "who are you" but at the first syllable Aurora ran.

It's like she's pretending mom's a dragon. Tiptoe past the slumbering creature and get a thrill, "I made it!" See it's really awake "OMG, run!" but she'll come to mom for treats and put up with being touched so she's not really wild. She's just weird.

Welcome to the slumber party.



Welcome to the slumber party.
I assume you brought treats for all?

Wait a minute

Wait a minute

Something is happening


Something is happening

Here it comes


Here it comes

*Yawn*


*Yawn*
Getting ready to yawn requires some flexes of the fist first.








So it seems Aurora may have a bug. She's not touched her food the last couple nights at all. Mom thought maybe she was constipated at first from not getting yogurt but now she thinks maybe she caught the bug the human family passed around. Anteater with a cold? Oh no!

Well, it wasn't serious for the people just they all had off sounding voices and were clearing their throats a lot for a couple days.

Aurora mostly moped around the night before last and didn't touch her food. Mom did hear an odd sounding sound from her a time or two.

Last night she was much more active but refused food and blue cheese so mom gave in and gave her some yogurt when I wasn't looking and she took that. So later she topped some food with yogurt(also when I wasn't around) and she got a we little bit of food while licking up the yogurt. So mom did that a few times. Other than that she was busy chasing me around and here and there she made this odd noise like maybe it was a horse attempt to growl or something. So maybe it's a "cold" and she will be better in a day or two.

PS, it wouldn't be that weird. While tamanduas have not been documented to get flu giant anteaters have. So an anteater catching another "cold" like bug from a human isn't a stretch. We'll see how it goes.

Yummy Christmas ants!


Yummy Christmas ants!

Have a very Anty Christmas Everybody!

Merry Christmas!
PS the larger version is especially cool. There is an ant on the tip of the tongue, legs around it like he's going for a ride.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Yummy!

Yummy!

What are you lookin' at?

What are you lookin' at?

Is this filled with ants too?

Is this filled with ants too?


Time to climb the window
Time to climb the window



Aurora and I were a bit restless. I tried sleeping in the hammock but went back in the washer to snuggle Aurora but then we kept squirming. Then I peaked out the washer and Aurora was looking too so mom gave me some blue cheese and Aurora got a bit of yogurt with some b vitamins in it. She thought that was great but I wanted to steal and left my treat to try and go in the washer to get hers.

So mom stuck me on the cat tree and I went up to the shelf to have my treat and then I decided to just stay in the closet. Aurora looked out for a bit wondering where her snuggle buddy went or wanting more yogurt. We are both settled now though.




I woke and went to the washer after my treat but was creeped out to find mom is making roast anteater, er, I mean mom has a heating pad in the washer on top of Aurora. Mom wanted to keep Aurora warm since she was in a mild state of torpor earlier. This means she was hard to wake and cool to the touch. See we anteaters naturally drop our temperature and heart rate when sleeping but when ill or stressed we can drop it more though if critical it can go to scary extremes.

This was just mild and kind of to be expected It helps us save energy when we aren't eating. It's how Aurora survived her serious illness before. We don't think this is serious though, still it's kind of scary for mom when she finds one of us that way, and annoying to the anteater who gets shaken awake to prove it's alive.

We have a game plan though. Aurora got some yogurt and took that when disturbed then the heating pad on her, which she seems to appreciate. If that doesn't spark eating real food then we can try some sage(It worked last time), if that doesn't work we can get b-12 shot from the vet, If that fails and it's been long enough we could try an antibiotic or/and see the vet. There's really no point in jumping to see the vet till it's been more than a week of not eating. You shouldn't wait that long in a dog but in an anteater a few days not eating isn't a big deal. We can go a long time without eating, due to the above metabolism slowing.

So yeah that might sound scary but no reason to worry much about Aurora yet. Actually being cool was probably an improvement. Last night upon waking she was extra warm to the touch and flushed






Mom topped Aurora's bowl with yogurt and she licked the yogurt off. Mom later gave her a bowl that holds a cup and a half and topped it with a whole half cup of yogurt. Measuring come morning she at a half cup of that. So she is being a picky butt and just wants the yogurt but the way we eat she can't help but get some real food this way. Maybe she is just faking to get the good stuff.

On the plus side I have been off the yogurt long enough I forgot why I ever liked it and wont touch the stuff now.

Aurora didn't get up till 2am, when she ate. Later she did chase me around and play with me a bit but she wasn't active all that long.

I chose to sleep in the closet so mom gave the heating pad back to Aurora since she doesn't have her snuggle buddy.




A peek at Aurora by mom showed she had moved but it looks like she did a half circle to have a different part of her near the heating pad rather than trying to get away from it, though she's got the blanket between her and it. I'm sure it's kind of acting like space heater in that small area.

She also reacted real quick to lightly poking the blanket to see where she was so no torpor. We'll try some sage tea mixed into her yogurt tonight. That worked real good last time. Makes her nice and hungry kind of quick though so would be mean to give during the day when she's sleeping.




I just woke and left the closet to join Aurora in the washer. Mom removed the heating pad so I wouldn't be freaked out again but I can keep Aurora warm now.




I'm so hyper. I went out but it's not that nice out. I keep begging for treats and darting back and forth but mom keeps offering me ants and blue cheese. I've had enough of those. I want more! #hormones



When mom first offered Aurora her sage laced yogurt last night she said no but I don't blame her because she was sleeping upside down and didn't want to move. Later mom tried again and she took it. It did seem to make her hungrier, at least she acted like it but didn't eat more. She ate around 5 am and had a couple other snacks but she's still just taking the top yogurty bit. Mom tried mixing yogurt and food but by that time it was late in the morning and Aurora basically just made a mess of it and left.

Mom is going to try making her up some food without any silkworm pupa in it. It's not like it's a new addition but it is pretty smelly and maybe she will react better to a blander food for now. At least she is getting something even if it is mostly just a bit of yogurt.

Anyway I've settled down and am sleeping with Aurora in the washer today.


So apparently Aurora has decided silkworm pupa are yucky. She ate three cups of the bland food mom made without it. Mom did make it with some yogurt in it, but Aurora wouldn't take the regular food with yogurt. She can wean the yogurt out of it. Not sure if she will allow herself to be weaned back onto food with silkworm or not. We got a huge batch of it. So for now mom is stuck making Aurora her own special food, instead of just turning mine into soup for her. But she's eating!


I heard a noise and peeked out of my washer but didn't come out. It was someone with a flashlight. I'd normally come out and see if mom was getting me treats while getting Aurora fresh soup but I think it was actually santa, so I closed the lid and went back to bed.


We had a fun Christmas morning. I got a bunch of clothes and some ants and blue cheese and avocado and tomato. Aurora had lots of her special soup. Then we played in the closet nest. I guess I pinched her too hard a couple times as she made a kind of mewing noise. Oh I was extra good before Christmas and didn't even poke holes in the laundry tube when mom forgot to remove and hide it. All bets are off from here on out though.

Hyzzie got a pretty new coat and they got a ton of toys and some treats. Jake got some treats too. He some how knew and showed up right when his gift was opened at the end.

It looks like Santa brought clothes

It looks like Santa brought clothes

I think I like this coat best
I think I like this coat best

This hoodie looks soft
This hoodie looks soft

These feathers are a nice touch
These feathers are a nice touch

Okay on with the treats
Okay on with the treats

Oh yummy ants
Oh yummy ants

Ants are the best
Ants are the best


Let me clean this up
Let me clean this up

Time for avocado fun
Time for avocdao fun



Pua got a new drinking bucket
Pua got a new drinking bucket
I failed to get a photo of her using it but she really likes it.

tangle of tamanduas
tangle of tamanduas

So let's say someone lied about being good and there was a flood. Santa doesn't come back and take the presents, right? He's too busy for that, right? Seems mom might have missed that one little to the eye, but big enough to cause a flood, hole I made in the drain tube that time she forgot to hide it. She needed to mop the floor anyway.

Aurora and I slept in the closet nest today so the washer has been hosed out and is ready for more pee, I mean slumber parties.

I have been naughty and sampling Aurora's new soup so mom will try removing yogurt in a few days when she makes a new batch of soup. I remembered why I liked it, it's yummy. I mean it must be. Aurora eats it.

So no one was too interested in the fancy Christmas bells mom got Aurora but she found a huge jingle bell for .50 a few days ago and hung that up. I've tried it but this morning I gabbed hold of that thing was jingling the heck out of it till mom got up to give me my treat.

Mom really wants Aurora to figure this out though. I wake her up enough already.

So I got up and rang the new jingle bell while mom was making Aurora soup. She gave me a treat then I tried ringing it a bunch more but didn't get more. Maybe the bell is glitchy. I should get treats every ring.

I got a bit too excited with the treat bell last night and it came unhooked and fell to the floor. Mom gave me my treat but didn't replace the bell. I had to go wake her up to get another treat later.

She replaced it this morning and I heard it so came looking for a treat. When I didn't find one I rang the bell with my nose then looked at mom and she got me one.

I rang the bell around 4 am and mom came to give me a treat and spilled ants in her hair.

So I begged for a treat and got my blue cheese and mom slipped into the closet to give Aurora a bit of yogurt with supplements for her. I tried to get to Aurora and left my blue cheese to steal but mom blocked my way. I kept trying to get around her and she kept moving. It was so frustrating. When I finally got there Aurora had eaten the yogurt so I went back to my blue cheese.

Hyzzie dog is hard of hearing enough she hasn't reacted to the fireworks yet. I guess there are some benefits to getting old. We haven't hit the big booms yet but in the past she'd have run off and hid already.

Aw she did hear to Big booms but there aren't too many

Hyzzie came to hide in the closet with us. That's right we'll claw their eyes out if they bring those fireworks in here. She stayed on the floor instead of climbing up into the nest with us.


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