Pictures of the orphaned baby hedgehogs! I am pleased to say they are doing well and gaining weight. They aren't as fat and happy as they would be with mommy, but we're doing the best we can as mere non-prickly hoomans.

Well...hubby is kinda prickly....

I would like you to know that my husband allowed me to take these pictures at great sacrifice. It was MY turn to do the feedings, but I couldn't take pictures AND feed, so he took my shift, allowing me to get these shots. What a trooper!

Then again I take all the night shifts and top them off before I leave for work in the morning...so he can bite me. :)

And please pardon the coloring in some of the shots. My husband's tshirt was yellow, the blankies we wrapped them in were yellow, the kitchen was cream and yellow...it confused the poor camera. I think you can get the idea tho.

Without further ado...first baby getting fed...

Pardon hubby's mouth. *sigh*



This one is the messiest eater. :)


Baby number two's turn!


Eating from a dropper is hard, messy work!


Last but not least....Baby Three!



You have to fall in love with that face...you just have to!



Here's a pic of all three of them in hubby's hands, just to give you an idea of how tiny they are.

And here's a movie of them all jostling around, looking for the best spot to snooze. :)



But here's the most exciting part...later we caught them EATING SOLID FOOD! Yay!

We will keep giving them the formula until they are 6 weeks old, but any extra mouthful they get helps them that much more. Yay!



And there they are! :) Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Shopping Carts, Orphaned Baby Hedgehogs, and a Crazy Legged Frog!

So we stop by Aldi's on the way home from work because I need to restock on ice cream drum sticks...you know, the kind with fudge in the middle? Oh, yeah.....

/drool mode

So we stop by Aldi's, and they have the shopping carts you have to rent for a quarter. If you are kind enough to return the cart to the corral after shopping, you get your quarter back. Lo and behold, we get a cart with a quarter still in it! The last person hadn't taken it out of the coin slot. How nice for us! We get to shop free today! Drumsticks, breakfast sandwiches, and cheap strawberries...you are MINE!

When it's time to leave my husband asks if we should pocket the quarter, or pay it forward.

Me: Oh, pay it forward! We thought it was a nice thing to happen to us, so let's let someone else have the same experience.

Hubby: I agree!

Me: And if the next person decides to keep the quarter....MAY THEY BURN IN HELL!!

Hubby: What if it's a sweet little old lady who really needs the quarter?

Me: Then the quarter should be worth BURNING IN HELL for!

Moral of the story: I think my job is getting to me. :)

I could have possibly been stressed because I was up very late last night. Sadly, we found a momma hedgie had died, and left three little three week old babies behind. This is the first time we've ever had this happen. We've had mommies reject the babies, and fostered them to other moms or, on one memorable occasion when we didn't have another mom, to a lactating rat.

Note...the rat became a beloved member of our household. She was never named, but known for the rest of her life as momma rat. She use to love sitting on the pig's nose. Ah, the mind of a rat. :)

Anyways, I had to take these little babies away from their poor dead mommy, and I had no idea what to do with them. We ended up just giving them warm water to keep them hydrated until a store that sold kitten formula opened. Then I got to go to work while my hubby got to stay home and mix, warm, feed, and clean up kitten formula every two hours. So far the babies seem to be doing well, but we aren't! If a baby hedgie doesn't want to be fed it just curls up in a tight little ball, and all you can do is wait him/her out. They are sweet, tho, and very pretty colors. We'll hang in there and do our best with them.

How am I going to let these guys go after hand feeding them? I'll be too attached! Must not think that far ahead....must not think that far ahead....

On a happier note, I finally got a chance to make something that had been bouncing around in my head. Then he stared at me all night. Introducing...CRAZY LEGS FROG!!


Is that little guy nuts, or WHAT? :) So far he's one of a kind, but I do plan on making more, as well as other types. Crazy legs clown? Crazy legs kitten? I have no idea...I'd love suggestions. :)

He already sold, but his brothers, sisters, and cousing will be showing up soon at LaurelsZoo on Etsy...keep an eye out!

I'll try to post baby hedgie pics soon...when I get a break between feedings!

Laurel's Zoo on Etsy
Laurel's Zoo on ArtFire
Laurel's Zoo on 1000Markets
Laurel's Zoo!

William vs The Evil Air Conditioner

He lost.

We're not talking about a window unit here. We're talking about a full blown central air conditioning unit installed on the outside of the house. Still, William is 120lbs of full blown geriatric pig here. He should have been able to take it head on. Or at least not crawl under it and get stuck. Come on, William! Pigs are suppose to be smart!

It was a beautiful sunny day, which may be one reason he crawled under it. William is a pink pig, and pink pigs in the sun are like metal in the microwave: Lots of sparks and screaming. But we have trees. We have bushes. Why did you pick the shade under the air conditioning unit?

Did you choose it because there was lovely, cool dirt underneath it? Well...fooled you! That was not lovely dirt! That is where we dump the ashes from the BBQ pit to keep weeds down! Ha ha!

What bothers me the most, tho, is how my husband handled the situation. He heard the pig screaming, ran outside to see what was going on, and quickly assessed the situation as 'pig stuck under air condioner." What did he do then? He grabbed one of his legs and pulled him out.

No no NO!! How could he do that to me? You run inside, grab the video camera, and get at least 30 seconds of it BEFORE you pull him out! Have I taught you nothing in all those years of living with me? Don't give me that 'he was upset' speech. He's healthy, his heart can take 30 seconds of video!

Remember when William was a baby and got his head stuck in a popcorn bag? Remember how our youngest daughter ran and got her video camera before she saved him? I raised that child right. Remember when our youngest son fell asleep on the beach and woke up to find his sister had not only buried him, but given him ginormous boobs? Remember how he held still for pictures before leaping up to kill her? I raised that boy right. Those are movies and pictures I will treasure forever. But will I be able to treasure a video of Willy stuck under the air conditioner? No.

I've been robbed.

Okay, so Willy is a bit traumatized. He FINALLY went back outside, but refused to step off the ramp, much less go into the yard. I've tried to explain to him that the air conditioner is firmly attached to the house, but he ain't buying it. If he sets foot on grass it might get him again. This means Willy has not pottied in almost 24 hours. And since no outside means no food, he also didn't eat for almost 24 hours.

I did finally feed him. He kept following me around the house making noises like a clarinet with a broken reed, promising not to poo on the floor if I would just please feed him. I'm a sucker, I fell for it. It was just so heart wrenching, sitting there in the bathroom while he shot piteous pig squeaks under the bathroom door.

Yes, he can shoot pig squeaks under doors. He has to get on his knees so he can cram his nose right up against the bottom of the door, but he does it well. It's very amusing to watch from both sides.

Anyways...where was I? Oh yes! Ticked at husband!

Ah well, whatcha gonna do? The moment has passed. All we have to remind us of the event is a traumatized piggy, who is a deep shade of ash on one side. At least until we get him outside and give him a bath.

I'll be sure to get some video of that. :)