update central

Just some assorted pics from yesterday:








So Yogi still balks at eating anything different from Hiko. Even going so far as to - this morning - turn away the whole dressed quail I got out for the Triad and instead eat CGH chunks with Hiko. WHAT, YOGI, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?

ASIDE: I can't tell if it's an overture of bonding, or if it's some way of being dominant without being "typically" dominant (Yogi did try alligator rolling Hiko, but Hiko screams like he's dying, and since none of my guys have ever been THAT vocal, it freaks Yogs out like nothing else, so he tries not to really touch Hiko now, except for occasionally licking Hiko where Yogi would typically scruff and roll). /ASIDE

Pixie beheaded the thing, and Hiko decided to run around with the head in his mouth before stashing both *that* and the mangled body. "His" spots, which he will try to defend (and I say "try" because no one really pays attention when he does, ahaha), are the two big crinkle tunnels I joined together. God, does he love those.

He also played around with a day old quail yesterday. Don't know if he ate it, though.

I'm currently over at the Holistic Ferrets forum trying to update my organ ratios for everyone's diet. I have a feeling I've been a bit off (for one, I think I've managed to overfeed on bone, somewhat. Not bad, but a bit too much. And I have to make sure I'm getting the liver amounts right, along with adding in some kidney on a suitable schedule). Work, work, work ;D

Other than that - I pumpkinized them yesterday. It's weird, because although both Sian and Hiko prefer plain pumpkin instead of the soup I make the Lovebirds, Sian likes hers warm-warm, whereas Hiko likes his cool (and, boy, does he enjoy the pumpkin. I think it's because he still misses his sweets that he got with the kibble and the candy treats he was fed. So, it satisfies that as well as does a lot of *good* things for him, too. DOUBLE WIN).

But for today, they still have the dressed quail and a few of the CGH chunks, so *no one* is getting food until all that's gone. I want to see what Hiko's going to do with the quail (and by extension, if Yogi will then eat the quail *with* him. My weird, ickle boy *loffs*).

In other non-food news: Hiko plays a *lot*. He doesn't really play with the Triad or me, but he plays by himself, and I think he likes that (if the amount of dooking and chuckling is anything to go by). But every single toy in that room is carried, nosed, rolled and/or tossed around. It's nice to see, because my guys are so damn spoiled (and right from the outset, too) that they've never really been like that. They played, but nothing of the levels of sheer joy and appreciation that Hiko has.

Although ... I have noticed an increase in tunnel-play and wrestling in the Triad (Pixie and Yogi were having a blast the other night - they wrestled and played for about 30 minutes, which is a lot at one time. For them, anyway - ever since he came. Pixie will once and a while play with Hiko, and Hiko has attempted to play with Yogi, but those episodes don't usually go on for long.

Still, everyone's getting benefits, so I can't complain.

Also, he's been pretty good with the biting thing. He only bit me (third time, total) yesterday. My dad wanted to see my "little white rat" in person, so I took him down for a visit. Towards the end, I could tell that Hiko (trying to be good) was getting a little ... overexposed, and when he bit me (which wasn't a real big surprise, I almost knew it was coming), it was more like a way of telling me "I'm a bit nervous, make the new guy go away now." So I did, and Hiko calmed back down pretty soon after that.

Aaand - I managed to clip some of his nails by myself. He didn't fight the scruff, but he shook so bad that I couldn't do his hind nails. I'll need help doing those. Nails are still long, but they're more manageable than before! Afterward, he was a little pissy, hissing out of the blue (talking smack, I call it) and puffing out his tail, but he didn't bite or anything else, so \o/

Of course, I did my guys' nails, too. Well, Pixie and Sian's (Yogi got lucky - he was sleeping like a baby, and I didn't want to disturb him), and it was a good thing, too. Pixie's nails weren't long, but for some reason she was constantly getting stuck in the carpeting D:

I'm still caging the Triad at night, and still leaving him out. I think that's the best set up, because I can tell everyone starts getting really annoyed around bedtime. So I'm being proactive so I can skip the middle-of-the-night shrieks of anger/irritation that had been the hallmark of Hiko's first two nights with us. I still want to get him his own cage, though, and after weighing my options (the 141 or another 142) I've decided the 142 is a better bargain at $200 rather than just a single story for $150, kthnx.

... yep. TTFN ;D