WARNING A VERY LONG CUP OF TEA POST!!!

I am so sorry that I have not done an update in a while on the spikey babies. I have been so incredibly busy with them all and have been hand feeding some babies which has taken up heaps of my day & eve. 

Starting with baby Mo. She had to go stay with Monica for a while as she was not weaning and would not come off her milk. Monica having way more experience took over her care for a little while as she has plenty of weaning tricks up her sleeve!!!. Finally she was weaned. She is not a very big meat eater (I had no influence over that one I promise lol!). She loves her biccies and meal worms atleast and I know once she gets out there in the big wide world she will get into the insects and slug eating naturally (eeewww!). So Mo came back to me last weekend and I nearly fell off the chair when I saw her!!!. She is massive and is now weighing in at 520g. Going to share some pic's of her.

These pictures were taken by my friends beautiful talented Daughter Ellie when Mo was a few days old. 

This is our big girl today!!!!. Hasn't she grown!!!. I have done a video of her tonight which I just need to sort out and will get it posted over the weekend for you. I will take some better pic's too. It's been great as I have been getting her out in the garden in a big cage this week. Have had to wait till late afternoon though as it's been too hot. She is starting to adopt hoggy ways as I made her a cardboard box house stuffed with shredded newspaper and while she is out there she curls up and sleeps in there so she knows the sleep at day awake at night routine already lol!!!. Eventually I will keep her out there in the cage over night to get her used to that. You have to do it all in stages that she is comfortable with as she will not survive if you just dumped her out there. That would break my heart. It is so going to be hard anyway letting her go but really hoping she will stick around. I have got to handle her less and less as soon as she is out in the garden full time as she needs to get wild. Really don't think you would be human if you did not get attached. She still sucks on my fingers and all her quirky little ways I am so going to miss. Not so much the sucking fingers thing now as her teeth are getting sharp!!!. 

Feeling sad today as the two babies I have been looking after have contracted ringworm. It flared up 48 hours ago and I have had to give them back to Monica. They need treating but unfortunately they are too young and tiny to have the proper treatment yet. They are having antibiotics and will be bathed in natural things that their little bodies can tolerate. I feel bad as because of the treatment I am on for my RA my whole immune system is compromised so Monica will not put me at risk. Even when I cut myself now within hours it gets infected. Mostly I can treat it myself at home but sometimes I have to go on antibiotics. The risk of septicaemia is really high too which I definitely will not be wanting. 

So I am keeping everything crossed for them as they have had such a sad start to life. They were found in someone's garden and in the nest Mum had two dead babies and these two and the nest had been built on top of an ant nest so poor things were being bitten alive. Mum is in at the centre being treated and is doing good but far to weak to look after the babies. They all had puncture marks on them when they were taken in poor things. Monica named the babies HUFFY and PUFFY!!! this has been so appropriate as they continuously make huffy puffy noises and always curling up in a tight ball, very uncooperative little things!!! I am guessing now though that as they were being bitten by ants that was their protective mode and each time they are touched they think they are being attacked. I will keep you updated on these little babies. I have lots of photo's which my Mother in Law took in the week but she needs to download and email them to me so will post those too when they arrive.

So sorry for such a long post but I know many of you love reading about them and have received quite a few emails asking after them all. Bert & Simone are good, a little ratty with all of this hot weather though. I will leave you with a photo of the furbabies.

Ok so I left three!!!. They love to sit on the bench, Simone loves to watch the pigeons and clearly Bert loves sniffing the camera. 

Thanks for dropping in and for your support and interest in my animal antics.

Hugs Clare, Bert, Simone and Mo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx