Lucy takes a self-portrait

I've been busy making jewelry and preparing for upcoming art shows, so I've been a little absent on the blog recently.  I thought I'd drop in briefly on this rainy day and share a little clip of my dear sweet Lucy watching a live video of herself on my hubby's phone (and taking a few self-portraits in the process).

First Easter with the Chins

This was our first Easter since getting the chinchillas and, silly me, just had to pick up cute Easter-themed treats for them on a recent trip to Petsmart.

I picked up a Loof-A-Bunny which Lucy and Goose seemed to like best.  I was curious to see if they'd go for the ears or the tail first....  Lucy went for the ears.

And Goose the tail.

There was a little rivalry over the bunny.

Silly me should have bought them each their own.  Lucy and Goose get along famously, snuggling all day every day, and they only get into minor disagreements when treats are involved.

I also bought a pack of Mini Alfa-Carrots which I thought were adorable.

They weren't as big of a hit as the bunny, but I think mostly because they're so similar to the hay cubes they eat daily so they weren't as indulgent.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Catching Up

It's been a little while since my last post, so I thought I'd stop in and share a picture of the chins.  This was taken yesterday (while they hung out in their little cage while I washed the fleece I use to line their larger cage).  I've really enjoyed watching Goose grow over the few months since we brought her home and seeing how the relationship between her and Lucy has blossomed.  They can be so incredibly tender towards each other and it's fun to watch Goose learn from and imitate Lucy.  Lucy has the habit of biting down on the horizontal bars of her cage and just sitting and watching whatever is going on around her.  Goose started copying Lucy yesterday while she did this and I found it amusing so I took a photo of them.  Aren't they adorable?

I have a full weekend ahead.  Tonight I'm dressing up as Daria and enjoying a low key Halloween celebration.  Tomorrow I'm checking out the Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show here in Lexington.  Then on Sunday I'm going to apple picking with a group of friends!  Hopefully I'll have some photos of the weekend to share with you in a few days!

I hope you're all doing well and that you have some fun weekend plans of your own.

Goose

Today I thought I'd share a few photos of our baby chinchilla, Goose.  I tried to get some photos of her earlier today but she wasn't cooperating too much.  She spent a few minutes pondering escaping her cage and then retreated to the back corner of the cage.  Hopefully she'll let me get some more photos of her soon.  I want to get plenty of pictures of her while she's still little (she's around two months old at the moment).

Check out the photos I took of Goose's big sister, Lucy, that I shared a couple month's back.

I just love my chin babies.

Chinchilla Love

Tonight the hubby and I welcomed a baby chinchilla into our family.  We named her Goose and I captured the first moments as we held Goose up to Lucy's cage for them to meet for the first time.  Lucy was overwhelmed with excitement and her reaction was too adorable not to share.  :)

Hanging Out

Thought I'd drop in an say "Happy Monday" and share a little picture I snapped of Lucy while she was napping in the silliest position ever.  Her cage is in my office, to the right of my computer, and it brings me so much joy to get to look over at her throughout the day and watch all the cute and funny things she does.

A New Addition

I turned 25 at the beginning of the month and for my birthday my darling hubby surprised me with the option of getting a hedgehog or another pet of my choosing.  At that point I had two hermit crabs, Ziggy and Lady Stardust, who I introduced here, but had been off and on curious about adding a more interactive pet to the family.

 I'm mildly (okay, maybe extremely) obsessed with two-toed sloths and find hedgehogs absolutely adorable.  It wasn't until my hubby suggested a chinchilla on my birthday that I really even knew what they were.  Of course I had heard of chinchillas, but I had never seen one in person or really given them much thought.  I had no idea they were such popular pets.  After visiting with a chinchilla at a local pet store, doing lengthy online research, and watching countless YouTube videos, I had pretty much decided a chinchilla was the right choice for me. 

Hubby found a listing online from someone local who was looking to find a new home for her chinchilla.  Last Sunday we meet with a teenage girl and her father and we decided to bring this adorable chinchilla, Lucy, home with us.  Originally we were going to purchase a chinchilla from a pet store, but they seemed so nervous and skittish and we figured finding a chinchilla from a breeder or current owner would be a better option.  Lucy had a sweet and playful character and she seemed like a good fit for us.  Lucy's previous owner had kept her in a smallish cage and I knew immediately that I wanted to give her an environment that would allow her to jump and play and live comfortably.  That same day we bought Lucy this huge cage (3' x 2' x 5') and she seems to love it!

She spends most of her time relaxing in her Timothy hay house and on this granite slab that stays nice and cool (chinchillas prefer temps between 60-70 degrees).

She makes quite a show when she's running and jumping around her cage, going from one level to the next and having all sorts of fun while doing it.

Lucy is crazy about her Timothy hay house.  She relaxes in it, sits on top, enjoys it as a snack, and uses it as a trampoline as she hops from one level of her cage to the next.

At this moment it was the perfect little spot to enjoy some lunch.

I hope you enjoyed meeting Lucy, dear readers.  You'll likely be seeing lots of her in the future as I'm rather smitten.

The Band Was Altogether

My 24th birthday was this past Friday and my niece and nephew, knowing how much I had adored the hermit crabs I had in the past, brought me two sparkly shelled crabs for my birthday. I named them Ziggy and Lady Stardust (because of their sparkly shells and, well, because who doesn't love a good Bowie reference), and until this afternoon they had been hanging out in the tub in our guest bathroom. Today I went our for lunch with a friend and afterward we stopped into a pet store so I could purchase some sand for Ziggy and Lady's tank as well as a few other accessories and essentials for their new home.

I decided to give their tank a bit of a land and sea feel with a sandy area with coral and their water dishes (one with plain water and a deeper dish with salt water for soaking), as well as an area covered in coconut fibers and a little hollowed out log for hiding. I spoiled them with two food dishes, one for dried shrimp and the other for dried fruit. I also feed them fresh fruit and vegetables at least a few times a week.

I tend to shy away from the look of a lot of traditional hermit crab accessories sold which are often obnoxiously neon in color. I prefer a more au naturale look for my crabitat.

If Ziggy and Lady are anything like my past hermit crabs, the clean separation of the two areas probably won't last long. With my other crabs, I would often wake up to find they had completely redecorated their tank! They love to move things around and make a mess of things. For now I like the style and set up of their tank, though I'd love to find a branch of some sort to position on an angle in the back right corner (behind the log) of the tank for the crabs to climb on.

Ziggy and Lady didn't waste any time getting acclimated to their new space. Lady hid behind the sponges in her water dish the entire time I took these photos, so I didn't get a great picture of her. Maybe I'll share some more photos of them later when they're feeling playful.

Ziggy did let me take a few pictures of him though. I hope they enjoy their new home! In the least, it's a step up from the bathtub and there's plenty to do and see, drink and eat. :)