The Road to Introductions Has a Few Bumps

We started the process to introduce Rossby and Sprite to CB and Foehn again. The first stage in that process was to move their cages within about 18 inches of each other. We did that about a week ago and so far so good. They have been out on the sides of the cage checking each other out.  It has been uneventful and none of them seem to be stressing out over it.

Today we began phase 2. Both pairs got clean pouches, but we mixed the fleece blankets each of them have been sleeping with together. They both have some of their own and some of the other pair.  None of them were too sure about this at first. Since I was cleaning cages today we hung CB and Foehn's pouch in our bathroom while the cage was being cleaned. They weren't quite settled in when I shut the door. When M went back in later they were both asleep in M's sweatshirt, which was sitting on the bathtub, instead of the pouch.  On the other side of the house, Rossby and Sprite settled in pretty well to their pouch. The different-smelling blankets didn't seem to make much difference to them

When the cages were clean and back together I lifted Foehn and CB out of the comfortable nest in M's sweatshirt, placed them in the pouch and hung it in the cage. Foehn and CB came out of the pouch, but it wasn't long before CB was back in and sleeping.  Not Foehn. She seemed to be stressed and did not want to go into that pouch. She ran and the wheel and climbed all over the cage. We figured she would eventually settle down with CB.

When I checked on her some time later I found her curled up asleep in a small watering can toy in their cage. No blankets, no CB - just Foehn looking rather tired and forlorn.

M took the toy with Foehn out of the cage, and Foehn climbed out. We put her back in the cage and she ran around a bit, ran on the wheel, and finally decided to join CB, who now had poked his head out of the pouch to see what was going on. They have been asleep since, except to have their mealworms. M noticed that Foehn had arranged all of Rossby and Sprite's blankets on one side of the pouch.

Life After the Ladies

It's been almost a month since we lost Cirrus. CB and Foehn knew something was different but seemed to be fine after a few days.  We still have not received the final necropsy report on Cirrus, but when M was in to see Dr. W. with Sprite two weeks ago Dr. W. told her that Cirrus not only had tumors in her lungs but also on her trachea. She was not in good shape.

Recently CB and Foehn seem to be more active during play time, but that is likely related to the warming weather. Rossby and Sprite are as frisky as usual. More importantly, Sprite has seemed to settle down quite a bit (and not skunking as much as she used to), so we have decided to try and start the introduction process again. This weekend I moved Rossby's and Sprite's cage within visual range of CB & Foehn. We'll begin swapping pouches in the next week or so and then start swapping cages. When they all seem comfortable with the arrangements we'll attempt to introduce them again. We'll just take our cues from them. I have a better feeling this time around. Cirrus and Sprite seemed to have the biggest issues in the past, so hopefully Sprite will have an easier time of it. She is older as well (she and Rossby were a year old on April 14), and hopefully the maturity will help.

The Ladies are Together Again

Cirrus on her favorite toy, the wheel

The day after my last post, during morning yogurt time, M mentioned that she thought Cirrus was having trouble breathing. Her breathing appeared to be a little labored, and her nose wasn't its characteristic pink, usually a sign of low oxygen in the blood.  Over the weekend she wasn't very interested in her mealworms and her energy level seemed down.  After holding her weight steady for the past four to five weeks, she was down to 57 grams at her weekly weighing yesterday, her lowest weight since she has been with us. Yesterday M carried Cirrus in a pouch inside her sweatshirt to keep her warm and Cirrus slept there content the whole day. The first thing this morning we called our vet to see if we could get her in to be checked out. Even though they were booked not only today but for the week, they gave us an appointment this morning for a half hour after I called. Off to the University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic we went with Cirrus.

We got in right away. After getting some preliminary information from us they went to put Cirrus on oxygen for a few minutes prior to her examination. Dr. W. came in, examined her, listened to her breathing and her heart, and said that there was some noise on both inhale and exhale. In addition, her heart sounded "muffled".  Dr. W. said that she felt there were three possibilities for Cirrus' distress - pneumonia, a congestive heart problem, or tumors. We decided to go ahead with an x-ray to find out what was going on. We were hoping for pneumonia. At least that would be treatable.

M holding Cirrus after she woke
from from the x-ray anesthesia,

We were expecting to wait for 20 minutes or so while the x-ray was being done, but it was only a few minutes before Dr. W. came out to talk to us - they hadn't even finished the x-ray scan yet. She said it appeared Cirrus had at least three tumors in her lungs, with a fairly large one in her right lung. Part of the reason her heart sounded "muffled" was because the tumor was blocking the heart.  Obviously the cancer had metastasized rapidly. Dr. W. said she could give medication to reduce the inflammation which would keep her more comfortable, but it was only a short term solution.There was really nothing more that could be done at this point. We made the difficult decision to let her go. We were able to spend some time with her after she woke up from her x-ray to say goodbye, and we were there with her at the end. Neither of us thought that we would be coming back home without her today.

Cirrus was a very special glider, and she was M's favorite. We are both heartbroken to have lost her, but happy that she is with her sister again and not suffering.  Cirrus and Virga will always have a special place in our hearts.

Holding Her Own

Our worries about Cirrus seem to have been unfounded. She has been holding her weight at about 60 grams for the last several weeks and her activity level has been good. She still is usually the first up at night and waits for M to come and get her out of the cage. I think she likes the extra attention she gets before CB and Foehn climb out, if they climb out. I'm not sure if it has been the cold gloomy weather or what, but they have preferred staying in the comfort of the pouch after their mealworm snack. It's hard to interact with them when they stay in bed. On the other hand, I have a little fun with Foehn while she is in there. I pull out most of the fleece blankets and then one by one set them near the opening of the pouch. She slooowly sticks her nose out, and as long as the blanket isn't to far out, she will come out, grab the blanket in her teeth, and pull it into the pouch. If there are a lot of pieces this can go on for awhile. CB is content to stay in the back of the pouch and let Foehn make a nice nest of blankets around him. If and when the two of them come out to play they eventually end up in M's sweatshirt and settle in for a nap until it's time to scoop them out.

Early Riser

The last couple of weeks have had us worrying about Cirrus. For about a week and a half she had no interest in meal worms, which is totally unlike her.  They have always been her favorite snack and were the first thing she went for on awakening and coming out of the pouch. She finally started showing interest in them again this week and to our relief has been eating her allotment. She was down to 59 grams at her weigh-in last Sunday. For the most part Cirrus, Foehn, and CB have been eating well as a group, but of course we don't know how much Cirrus herself is eating at night.

The latest change in her behavior is that for the last week or so Cirrus has been waking up and coming out of the pouch between 8:00 and 8:45 p.m, and hour or so than she used to. We'll usually notice she's up when she jumps on a wheel for a spin. When M approaches the cage Cirrus climbs to the front to wait for M to let her out, then climbs on to M's arm for the trip into the office for play time. Cirrus is active in the office, although she does seem to be reluctant to jump the distances she used to. It may be that age is finally starting to slow her down (she just turned 10 in March). In most other respects Cirrus seems to be doing OK, but we still worry.

Someone Has An Issue

We still haven't merged the gliders yet but to be honest haven't made an attempt since before Christmas. There's been little opportunity with M recovering from her February shoulder surgery, but we're starting to think about it again. The latest little "setback" has to do with Sprite. Lately she has been "skunking" M when she takes them out, for example, for yogurt. Gliders can release a musky odor very similar to a skunk when as a defensive mechanism or when they are scared. Sprite's skunking has been very strong and we also noticed she is secreting a fluid when she does it. We thought this was at first just a coincidence, but Sprite did it to M on several occasions, and she does not skunk me at all. They both climb on to my shoulder from the cage every night for the ride to the office. When it'd time to go back to the cage, they either climb up my leg to my shoulder or I pick them up and place then there for the trip back.  I've never had an issue with them skunking me. So, we are trying to figure out why she is reacting this way to M. It could be some change Sprite is detecting in M's smell that we can't detect or something else fairly subtle. It also probably means a trip to the vet to have her checked out and make sure it is nothing physical. Before we make an attempt to get the trio and the pair together again, we probably need to get this figured out.

"Is It Yogurt Time?"

Mornings have been interesting if not fun the past couple of weeks.  M hasn't been getting up to give the gliders morning yogurt since her surgery, and I don't always have the chance if I have to work that day. Lately, however, they have made it difficult not to hang around to give them their morning treat.  Since we have gone back on Daylight Saving Time I come out closer to the time when they are  just starting to settle in.  They are usually in the pouch by 7:15 or so, although Cirrus may be still out from time to time. Rossby and Sprite are usually in their pouch, but not asleep. They listen for me to walk by the cage or make some other noise, Then, two little heads poke out of the pouch to watch me. If I come toward the cage they are out and at the door waiting for their yogurt. It really is sort of comical. Sometimes I deliberately am quiet and will come up to the cage and say" Does anyone want some yogurt?" There is wiggling in the pouch and then their heads pop up. Most of the time they will come and eat the yogurt right out of the small bowl I am holding, sitting on my hand eating and chirping away. Once they have had their fill they scramble back into the pouch and are out for the day.

Sprite and Rossby checking to see if I had their yogurt this morning.

Cirrus also responds to the "Does anyone want some yogurt?" question most of the time, and once she's eating Foehn and CB will usually come up to investigate. Sometimes all three of them are already sound asleep and don't respond.  Rossby and Sprite, however, wait as long as they can for their morning treat.