Feeling much better today! We had playtime right after I got my shower. First I checked on Shikoni, he came running over as if to say, "where ya been?" He got up on my hand and arm, sniffed around and back down. Well, I got my shower and a cup of coffee, got the bathroom set up, and then the little snot wouldn't have anything to do with me! I had to chase him down, of course, as soon as I cupped my hand around him he was back up on my arm as if it had been his idea all along.

Well, he had a blast. One snag; I had forgotten to hang my robe back up on the back of the door, so he didn't have anything to climb up. He kept running over there, jumping, then back to me. So I stood by the door -- that was it; he'd run up my leg, jump onto the towel and hide. We had a really good time today, he was on the curtains, the hand towels, the door towels -- he even for the first time jumped over to the sink, explored my coffee cup; just had a blast. I didn't want it to end, unfortunately it had to. Got some pretty good pix, I'll upload them probably on Sunday.

Washi and Kioko were awake when I got up; looking for the Treat Lady. After playtime with Shikoni they were in their pouch, so I got it down and took them in. Kioko did nothing but crab the whole time! Now, he's crabbing and even lunging through the pouch; yet I can put my hand in and pet him, no problem. I really think it's the light, overhead flourescent; I'll have to figure out another light source so I can still see.

Washi didn't want to come out either, I had to tempt him with a dab of grape jam in a bowl (I had the camera, so couldn't do a licky treat - need another hand!) Once he came out, for the first time ever, he ran up my arm and onto my shoulders, back and forth; sniffed my face from both sides; it didn't last long but it was really pretty cool.

Dinner last night: frozen shrimp, mixed berries, mixed vegetables, with a little leaf lettuce thrown in. Bowls this morning: Washi and Kioko, almost completely empty, just a half strawberry and one lonely blueberry; Shikoni, about a third of his fruit and greenbeans left. He's getting on an anti-greenbean kick, won't touch them. I'll have to give him nothing else for his veg one day, see what he does. He used to love grapes, then suddenly one day he wouldn't touch them, and hasn't eaten more than two grapes the the last two years. Funny little guy!

I've decided to move Shikoni into my room on Sunday, and then on Tuesday after work I can move both cages into the library. I can sleep in there on the futon as long as I don't have to work the next day, I just want to make sure old grumpy Kioko doesn't overreact to having a new glider too close, and get aggressive with Washi. I have the small cage to separate someone into if that happens. Just trying to be prepared ...

I haven't been feeling well. Monday night diarrhea, so no play time Tuesday morning, though I did go to work. This morning I woke up with a slight fever and chills; again no play time, and I am not going to work. Hope I get over it today.

Not much new. Washi is still very friendly, pokes his head out of the pouch to say Hi or comes running to the cage door. Kioko still is not. And sweet Shikoni ... sure hope I get to feeling better so I can play with him!

Dinner Monday night: spring mix, bell pepper, ground beef, pomegranate seeds. All gone. Dinner Tuesday: pork tenderloin, broccoli and cauliflower, a tiny dab of mashed potatoes no butter, pomegranate seeds, strawberry yogurt. All gone, except Shikoni didn't eat all his yogurt. No surprise there, it's not his favorite food.

Everyone's really sleepy today. I've been up since 2:25, and not a peep from anyone -- well, some crabbing from Kioko when I checked the food bowl. I'll check later to see if anyone got the runs from the pork; I gave it to them once before with no ill effects, but I want to make sure.

The weather has been so crazy! Saturday warmed up to about 65; Sunday even warmer. Monday cold, windy and damp; Tuesday not windy, high was about 38, frozen mist or light snow on and off all morning. Today will be an in-between day; tomorrow and Friday will be in the 70s; then by Sunday again cold. I wish it would get one way and stay there; preferably cold, since we have about 7 months of 85+ days in a normal year. Aargh, this Texas weather makes me insane! No wonder I'm sick!

Had the boys out this morning. Holding the pouch on my lap, I tried to tempt them out with freeze-dried pears, they love that treat but ... they love the pouch more, it seems. I got Washi completely out and on my leg; he stayed long enough to eat his little treat and ran back up. I tried to close the pouch so he couldn't get back in; no dice. He found the opening and disappeared! Meanwhile Kioko is in there yelling his head off; and yet ... they both let me pet them while they're in the pouch. They just don't want to be held, or to be loose except in their cage. They sure know I'm not going to hurt them; they seem to regard me as the Treat Lady. Whenever I come into the room at night they both come running over to see what I have -- usually nothing, but they're ever hopeful. Washi will nip at my hand; yesterday he got me pretty hard and I had to Psst! at him.

Yesterday evening I chased poor Washi all over the cage! I'd given them crickets; Kioko got the last one and Washi I knew would steal it from him, so I distracted him with a game. He sure can jump! Same thing, he let me pet him but wouldn't get on my hand or arm. Kioko won't come near me when he's running around, except to take a treat. I just don't know; maybe they weren't handled much before. I know Shikoni wasn't, with the two dogs and three little boys in his previous home. It took me a good six months to get him used to the idea. So -- patience!

Next week I move their cage into the library. It'll be interesting. I swapped out some toys yesterday, today I'll swap blankies. I'll do that again on probably Thursday.

Dinner last night: I made a pot roast, chuck shoulder. First I cut off a nice piece of beef and cooked it in the microwave for the gliders -- bad idea! It turned tough and dry, it was horrible (though Mike liked it just fine). So I gave them the last of the salmon that I was saving for Domino; carrots and celery, frozen berries. This morning in the brothers' dish there were two small pieces of celery left; Shikoni left a piece of carrot and half a strawberry. I'm glad they're getting enough.

I'm going to order some bee pollen and try Lucky Glider's recipe. I think that's the only thing I don't have; I wonder if it'll be at the health food store in Belton? And that powdered mix, whatever it is, I'll look it up. Make a small batch and see how they like it.

Cold and windy this morning! Saturday and Sunday were warm and windy, 20-25 mph. I'm sure getting tired of the wind. I only like it if it's raining too.

Mike's asleep on the floor just a few feet in front of the boys' cage. He has a big old tick on his shoulder -- yikes! I guess Mama didn't put his flea stuff on him, I'll have to ask. I don't want to do it and risk a double dose, that would mean serious vet time. Domino is due for his on Thursday.

Not much new to report. We're making s-l-o-w progress, Washi and Kioko and I; Washi starts to climb on my arm or hand when I offer, but always backs out. Kioko won't come close to me. Friday morning at bathroom time he did come out of the pouch (I had him alone) and onto my leg; he looked extremely startled to find himself out, and found his way back into the pouch in about ten seconds. Shikoni, as always, is delightful at all times.

Also, Washi is giving me little gentle bites, nips or whatever you want to call them; I think he likes me.

Bottlebrush flowers are all gone. Those boys love them! We're gonna have to find some plants. Ursula has one, I think she got it at that nursery in Harker Heights. I'll have to remember to ask her, I'm not driving all that way if that wasn't the source. Interestingly enough, Callistemon is in my houseplants book; looks like it'll be fairly easy to keep in the house -- for those up north. I'm not sure how much cold it can withstand; I do know that with just a little water it has no problem with a month or more of 100+ days -- not near as much as I do.

I got crickets yesterday; asked for $2 worth and got probably twice that many. So we have a surfeit of crickets. I brought eight in this morning in the pint jar; Washi of course was in that jar the second I opened the cage. Kioko stole his first cricket; they went like that until all eight were gone -- less than two minutes. It's pretty funny to watch Washi doing all the work and Kioko getting half the reward.

Thursday night Shikoni didn't touch and fruit or vegetables; the protein was hamburgers. He ate all of that but nothing else. I thought I was going to have to give him only fruits and vegetables, since he did this same thing Monday; but Friday and Saturday he ate everything, leaving only a few small pieces of cucumber and spinach leaves. I guess his diet is well-enough balanced; he certainly looks healthy, and is energetic and interested in everything around him.

I am somewhat alarmed at the sick gliders this week! There are all kinds of things: Tyzzer's (which I had never heard of!); cold shivering babies; possible HLP; Gizzy's seizures ... it's quite scary. (I sure hope Noah gets Gizzy to the vet. I like Noah and his GF [who remains anonymous] a lot. All that excitement about the joey, and the tarantula; and wasn't he the one with the tornado down his alley? And his helpfulness --- seems to me that they're pretty good people.) And the recent bouts of diarrhea, and the abcessed face ... I'm really grateful mine have been healthy so far. I've had enough trouble with Domino and Mike getting themselves into scrapes.

Cage cleaning today. Floor fleeces are washed, along with some corner hammocks, blankets and my only spare pouch. Some toys swapped out, so all that's left is changing the newspaper and wiping down bars. Once I get my laundry hung out I'll get the boys into their bonding pouch and around my neck. I forgot to take the sleeping pouch out last night, so of course that's where they are; the last two nights they've slept in the bonding pouch. They're as bad as cats about doing just the opposite of what you want! In fact, they resemble cats in a lot of ways; sounds like an interesting topic for an essay.

A couple of cold fronts moved through yesterday. At 10:00 a.m. it was really warm, about 65 but the air felt hot and heavy. By noon the temp had dropped, windy and dark clouds. Then the second front came along mid-afternoon, very strong cold wind.

My room is on the north side of the house with leaky windows. It got pretty cool in there! I got up around 11:00, had to get another blanket; the boys were fine, playing around. They really like that wheel! I'd turned on my reading lamp, they were both on the wheel just like people describe, having a great time. I was too sleepy to get the camera. I'm sure there will be other photo ops.

Woke me up barking, not really loud. I spoke to them and it quit. I just wonder what they're saying ...

When I finally got up, they came running to the cage door. I got some crickets, in a pint jar: put it in the corner of the cage, they can get in it and grab a bug. Shikoni really likes to do this; the boys are learning to not knock the jar over; and the crickets can't jump out. The method they use: one gets a cricket, and comes up out of the jar to eat; the other grabs the uneaten portion from his hand, the first one dives back in for another. This goes on til all the crickets are gone, at which point they usually do knock the jar down.

They're snuggled up in their pouch right now. I took Shikoni into the bathroom in his nest; usually he comes out and we play, but today he wasn't interested, kept crabbing at me like, "Mom, don't you know it's sleep time?!?" Wasn't interested in the molasses I had, which normally he likes. I took him home, put some molasses on the boys' treat shelf and the rest in his food area.

Dinner last night: shrimp, raw spinach, apple slices. Leftovers today: a few leaves of spinach; put them in with the crickets and mealies.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday morning on my way to work, I needed yogurt for the week's breakfasts; bought them some blueberry yogurt, watermelon chunks and frozen mixed berries, and left it all in the break room fridge. That's me all over! Maybe I'll remember to bring it home today.

As I was parking my car a big old grasshopper landed on the windshield! I guess the wind blew it that way. It stayed in the area between the hood and the wipers until I got out, so I grabbed it up and brought it in. That was Shikoni's wake-up snack yesterday; he LOVES grasshoppers! The only thing he likes better is big old grubs. I've even seen him pass up a mealie for a grasshopper.

I'm glad I waited to do Shikoni's cage, the new Stealth wheel came yesterday! I put his old free-standing wheel in the boys' cage; I don't think the walls are sturdy enough to hang a side-mount wheel. They played on it all night.

I washed the coconut from the boys' cage Sunday, it was dry yesterday so I put it in Shikoni's along with a corner hammock, swing, pouch and floor fleece from the new set. With the new wheel and still some of his old toys, it's pretty busy in there. I went to attach a bell to his fleece rope, and when I came back to hang it, he was in the coconut! He doesn't like new things, but there he was, in the middle of the day, in the coconut! I was pleased as could be.

Dinner last night: pork steak, fat trimmed then nuked; mixed vegs with celery; mango. This morning: Kioko and Washi left only a few pieces of celery. Shikoni left most of the vegs and one piece of mango. Sometimes he gets in a phase where he mostly only eats his protein. It lasts only two or three days, sometimes only one.

I posted a recipe for gingersnaps, hoping for someone to post their favorite cookie recipe for me to try. Those guys are so silly! I have to laugh, I really love the jokes - one of the things I like so much about this site, everyone has fun with it. I feel like I know so many of the people here, of course not the details of lives etc. but the spirit in which they live. The friendliness and generosity of all really gives me a lift.

Wanted to carry the boys on me, but I was baking and didn't think that would be a good idea. I made Pa's Cookies yesterday, 10 dozen. They are so good! I hope Mama takes some to her Christmas party Thursday night, she's made several kinds of low-sugar, low fat; so many people in the group have to watch their intake. Anyway, she is welcome to take some gingersnaps and some of Pa's Cookies as well. (I still can't believe we found that recipe so many years after Pa died.) I wish I had time to make several more kinds before Thursday, but it isn't gonna happen.

Christmas plans: no one's coming to stay, at least no one has mentioned it. Most everyone has to work including me; not on the actual day but the day after. So we'll have an open-house kind of thing with *cookies* and cold cut trays, a pot of San Antonio coffee, a bottle of Jack, etc. of Christmas Eve; and we'll get out the Thanksgiving leftover turkey, make a small batch of noodles and bake a butternut squash, salad, etc. Have a peaceful day. The older Mama gets the less commotion she can stand, and that'll be the time I'm moving gliders into the same room, so we really don't need a lot of visitors at that time.

Got Kioko and Washi's cage set up yesterday. It took longer than I had planned. It's a flimsy homemade rectangular box, no frame, two openings cut in and doors with wire-loop hinges. I was only able to use one door, they had the second one zip-tied closed. I found out it was because the door isn't big enough! The door I could use was really down low, I couldn't even reach the shelf to put food there, and it's the best place. So I modified the other door to open on the side, and it works much better. Gave them a pouch, corner hammock, bridge, tunnel and hanging toy from the new cage set. They loved it! Played a long time, no fussing. I put their fleece rope and feather toys, one with bell, in too; I heard the bell quite often throughout the night.

I didn't get Shikoni's cage done, I had too many other things to do -- laundry, cookies, and then a drop-in visitor who stayed til suppertime. I'll do it today and then take some pictures.

I had an escapee this morning! I opened the door to check the food bowl, and got distracted for just a minute, and Washi got out!!! My room is not glider-proof. I tried to catch him, have you ever tried to get a glider off a wire mesh cage when he doesn't want you to? Impossible. Then I remembered what I did with Shikoni when he was new; I put a mealworm into a pouch and held it close. It worked; in about half a minute Washi was in the pouch crunching away. I took him into the bathroom; he actually got out of the pouch and ran around a little while -- on me! He wouldn't get down onto the floor, he crawled around all over me then found the pouch and that was all she wrote. I took him home. Didn't bother Kioko this morning. Gave them a little honey in a dish.

Shikoni wasn't in a playful mood either. I took his nest into the bathroom, sat down and held it in my lap. After a minute he came out, climbed up my arm, then down onto the floor and to his favorite place. We played hide and seek for two cycles, then he didn't peek out -- his cue that he's done. I fetched him, back into the nest and home. He liked the honey though.

Dinner last night: we had stir fry chicken and shrimp. I gave them vegetables (frozen): broccoli, asparagus, carrot, red bell pepper, yellow squash. I cooked their chicken in the microwave, and two shrimp each, sliced apple and a small piece of orange. This morning: all three boys ate every bite, just tiny little scraps left.

No entry yesterday. I overslept. Managed to give Domino and Mike their breakfasts and get myself to work, then had a grueling day - 29 bags of leaves!!! I came home, bathed, got online to check on Nicole's thread -- I've really been worried about them, it surprises me how real and immediate everyone here is to me -- anyway, I was too tired to have any coherent thoughts.

Got mealies and crickets yesterday. (Our pet store hasn't heard of a mealworm shortage; I didn't belabor the subject because I don't want them to jack up the prices!) I haven't had crickets for the new boys, when I got mealies last time they didn't have any crickets, late shipment. Anyway, I gave Shikoni a cricket and he bit me! There's a big old hole in my thumb ... he was after the cricket, I know. That one got away but it left its leg behind, so I'm sure he caught it later. I gave him another without incident. I put four into a pint jar and took them in to the brothers. They didn't really know what this whole thing was all about, but caught on pretty fast - first one into the jar, then the other, twice. (When I give Shikoni the Jar-o-Bugs he usually gets two or even three at a time!)

One of the new boys started barking around midnight, Shikoni answered! It went on for about ten minutes. They were fussing all night, woke me up twice and I talked to them, it seemed to settle them down for a while. The third time I grabbed a spare pouch and took them into the bathroom to check for anything. Put the pouch into the sink and managed to dump them out, one at a time. Washi came out first and went straight into the other pouch; I folded the top and set it aside. Kioko finally came out -- nowhere to go! He's the one who was fussing, I know his voice by now - little crab bucket - and I got him onto my arm, then managed to hold him for just a minute and checked his tummy, his tail and two of his feet; everything looked OK. He climbed down my leg and started running around the floor. I sat down and put the pouch near me. He got in behind the toilet and up the fill pipe, I wished I'd brought my camera - Kioko the Plumber! Explored quite a bit, then he found the pouch and back in it.

Washi watched the whole thing from the safety of my lap. I looked him over too, everything looked OK. When Kioko got into the pouch on the floor, Washi ventured out and across my leg and into it with his brother. I took them home, got a nip trying to get the pouch into the cage! They're sound asleep now.

Friday night: we had cheeseburgers, and so did the boys. Raw spinach (which we use instead of lettuce), a small piece of tomato, mango. All dishes empty Saturday morning except for a few spinach leaves.

Saturday: the boys got salmon, frozen mixed veg, banana. The brothers ate everything, again just a few bites left. Shikoni left most of his banana; I'm not surprised, he usually shnubs banana and apples.

So far I have yet to find a food that Washi and Kioko don't like. Everything we have on hand seems to be quite acceptable. I like trying new things; right now the persimmons are ready, sometime in January the loquats will be ripe, providing we don't get a really hard freeze; in April and May it's mulberries. I doubt we'll get any peaches, plums or apricots this year, we haven't had a good crop for several years because the trees are really old and because we don't spray rigorously -- or at all any more. Too many chemicals needed, at least in this part of Texas, and we just don't like chemicals, and really don't have the discipline to follow the schedule the way you need to. Oh well, there will be plenty of flowers!

Nothing new, the brothers still won't come out of their pouch in the bathroom. Sunday, when I have more time to play, I think I'll kinda push them out so they have to explore a little. Licky treat: molasses; Washi really likes it, Kioko not so much. However, I put the bowl in their cage and they both were on it, so I think what Kioko doesn't like is my finger! He'll come around, I'm sure.

Dinner last night: salmon out of the pouch, salad, mango. This morning: all three ate all of the salmon and most of the salad. Shikoni left just one piece of mango, the brothers finished theirs off.

The furnace went out again last night, right now it's about 62 degrees in the house. Have to call the propane guys to come adjust it -- again! Last winter it did this same thing. It's about eighteen or twenty years old, I sure hope we don't need a new one. Maybe they can just replace the pilot/thermocouple assembly. It took over an hour to get it lit yesterday, it's in a very awkward place -- in the basement, but up in the crawl space where on your knees you have almost no headroom. I don't understand why men install things like that: if they had put it in the exact same place but at 90 degrees from where it is, you could see everything standing up; the works would be about just below waist level instead of on the floor. Go figure. If you can do something in a practical way or an impractical way, most men choose the latter. I work with about twenty-five men, and I see it every day.

That aside had nothing to do with the boys, except to note that it's a little cool in the house and they want to stay snuggled up and warm. Sometimes you just have to rant.

Sunday: cage cleaning, toy-and-pouch swap; try to find some new lean protein source for variety. On hand I have salmon, shrimp and turkey; maybe I'll get a pork tenderloin for us and set aside a slice or two for them. We usually have chicken but with all this turkey (!!!) we don't have it right now.

I was reading the post about correct room temperature. I really think people worry too much. This is Shikoni's fourth winter with us, and we keep the house on the cool side, and he's been just fine. In the summer, we don't have central air, and we just don't turn on the window unit in the library. But even when we have company sleeping on the futon, and some folks want the AC on high with the ceiling fan on, he's still okay. He just snuggles up in his pouch. I know he prefers the warm, but they can deal with cold just fine.

No play time this morning, no one would come out of the pouch. First Shikoni, I can usually count on him to frolic around, but he didn't want to come out. I put my hand in and he curled up around it, let me pet him, we had some really nice cuddle time so it was good. Washi and Kioko weren't even interested in the licky treat, but it was strawberry yogurt which they had for supper yesterday, so not too exciting. But since I've given them honey twice, grape jam and molasses all in the last nine days, I didn't want a sugar overload.

After I took Shikoni home, and while I was taking the brothers out of my room, S. started barking -- the first time I've heard it in a while. We were in the hall just outside the library door. Well, the boys got perfectly still, their little heads up and alert; I was hoping they would respond but they just listened. I know they all three are aware of each other, I've been hoping for some communication across the hall. Can't wait to see what happens when they get into the same room. I'll have to be really careful that if Kioko gets agressive against Washi I'm there to stop it, I'll be spending the first few nights on the futon to monitor interactions. Thank goodness I'm a light sleeper. Christmas Eve! Hope there's not too much commotion here, I think most everyone who usually comes to stay has to work that weekend, I know I do, and Mark, and Jiji.
Well, we'll take it as it comes.

   

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snusie
Gender: Female
Occupation:Horticulture
Member since: Oct 29, 2008
Posts: 2962 View my pictures!
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My Hobbies
I work in horticulture for a good-sized city, so any gardening -- I love to read and work HARD crosswords -- also draw and paint. My News
Kioko and Washi came to live with me on 11/23/08: five-year old brothers. As of February '09, we're having great luck with bringing them all together into one happy little colony. Favorite Quote
1) ...I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center. ... Big, undreamed-of things --- the people on the edge see them first. Kurt Vonnegut, "Player Piano" 2) Beauty fades, dumb is forever -- Judge Judy, almost daily My Bio
Very old, b. 1957 in New Martinsville, WVa. Live in Central Texas now. I'm Mother to Ophelia, a 4-foot ball python; Domino, a regular cat; and Shikoni, Washi and Kioko, three lively gliders; and Step-Mother to Mike, a 13-year old former stray yellow shepherd. We and other humans all live together in quite surprising harmony.

   

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