We're Moving!!

Holy goodness!!! Boxes everywhere!!! 

I prayed that it'd happen, but I never thought it actually would. After graduating from Western Carolina in December, I never thought I'd get a job. It was a long two months of unemployment, and I got really lucky securing this one. In fact, I got the initial call from the employer because his wife is best friends with my former professor --- who I had listed as a reference on my application! It's a frighteningly small world, especially in Western North Carolina.

Yesterday, I took Chris along for house hunting, and I found a beautiful little apartment in the heart of a glade of tall trees. There's a laundromat, pool and fitness center on site. The management is quite friendly, and after I showed them pictures of what a chinchilla actually looks like, they melted over the adorable face of Nimbus! It's a beautiful apartment with a walk-through closet, small kitchen, two bathrooms, closet space, utility room, balcony and a curved staircase to a loft second floor (I've never had a second floor before!) So, I'm very excited.

Let's move out!

There are a few things I wish I could change, but the same applies here, too, of course. I wish the new place had more windows for both Sparta's and my benefit. I'm a huge lover of natural light. Right now, the weather is fantastic. All the doors are open; the windows are open!! It's beautiful! Also, the balcony overlooks the parking lot, but why am I complaining?! Seriously, I'm 22-years-old, and this is my first job --- my first place where my full-time job isn't being a student. There will be other homes, and if I really hate it, well then, the lease expires in a year. I can tolerate a year. As long as my pets are happy, so am I.

Sparta (back) and Sansa (front)

What I hate the most is leaving Sansa and Chris behind. Sansa cannot come. I've written on several occasions about how much she tortures Nimbus. It's her natural predatory instinct to go after Nimbus. I'm very lucky with Sparta that he couldn't care less about the fuzzy rabbit-squirrel jumping around the living  room. Sansa will always see him as dinner. But, I've come to love Sansa. She's an absolute pain and gets into everything, but she's just the sweetest little kitten. I hate saying goodbye to her when I just did the same thing to my cat Binx back in July. I was heartbroken. However, Sparta and Binx didn't get along. In this case, Sparta adores Sansa. He calls for her in the morning, waking the dead in order to play with his best mate. They give each other baths, they chase each other across the entire house, and they nap together in the sun. How can you communicate with your pet that they won't be able to see their best friend anymore? How do I tell Sparta that he won't see Sansa again after the 28th? It brings me to tears. I just keep asking myself "What have I done?" I don't know why I let her into the house in the first place when I knew this was how it would end. But, thankfully, Sansa has found a home. If we were just packing up the house and pulling away with her watching us from the driveway, I'd really be losing it right now. The very image of that sentence in my head makes me want to run to the bathroom and vomit. I don't understand how people can do that to animals or what the animals must be thinking. But, Sansa has found a good home, and she'll be very loved there.

Chris can't come either. He has to stay and finish his bachelor's degree at Western Carolina for another 10 months. If we end up in the same town after his graduation, well, that'll be an interesting journey. There are two positives to this move concerning Chris: 1) It's only 2 hours away. I never made it to Kentucky because of the snow before I was offered this job. So, I'll still in the neighborhood. 2) It's Chris's hometown. The majority of his family lives within a 15-mile radius from my new apartment, and so he won't be spending all his gas money to come see me. When I'm at work, he'll have something to do. He can visit his mom and dad and his high school friends. He won't just be sitting at my apartment staring at the television waiting for me to come. I played that game once... I was in a long distance relationship for nearly a year. It was torture. I was a student. He had a full-time job. Every time I visited, I sat in his apartment waiting for him to come home from work. Every time he visited, he sat in my apartment and waited for me to come home from class --- or I skipped class, which is just as bad. Our relationship was made up of how to say goodbye as quickly and painlessly as possible (For skeptics who believe long distance doesn't work, I will say that we made it through our long distance relationship. Hilariously enough, it was moving in together that ultimately led to our very nasty, painful split.). In this case, it will be different because Chris won't be relying on me as his sole source for making the trip. Still, our nightly routine of making dinner, caring  for Nimbus as he hops around the house and watching "Storm Chasers" or "White Collar" will be at an end. I will miss his company more than anything else. He is my best friend. Whether or not we'll ever be officially more than that (again) is still up for debate. It goes back and forth. But, that will never change the fact that I love Chris, and him not being around to share my day makes life look a little dimmer. The thought that it will just be me, Sparta and Nimbus again breaks my heart.

So now, I have exactly one week left before we head to our new home!!! Any ideas on how to make this as stress-less on Nimbus as possible?!?!? He'll be riding in the cat carrier for two hours, but I'll be in the car alone. If he gets it in his head to rip through the rubber mesh, ...we're in trouble! There will only be so much I can do to stop him besides pulling the car over. Let's hope he behaves! Right now, the plan is to have the chinchilla cage be the first item unpacked from the U-Haul and moved into the new apartment. But... yep, that's as far as I've gotten!

Can we go now?

A Night in Front of the TV (Video)

Chinchillas love to watch television!! In fact, many rescues leave on televisions or radios during the day to keep their chins calm while sleeping. Since I don't have cable, our only means of watching television is through NetFlix, which sadly does not transfer over from one episode to the next like it does on an Xbox. So, Nimbus watches NetFlix or DVDs at night, instead. His favorite film of all-time is The Hobbit: There and Back Again!

This video below was taken on Nimbus's birthday. It shows what a typical evening is like with Nimbus while I talk about certain aspect of chinchillas and ownership of such rodents.

One such topic is Nimbus's bunny. There will be a post about the bunny later on, but let me just say that "Napoleon Neapolitan" is a very special bunny puppet indeed. He and Nimbus have a very intimate relationship, and you'll see what I mean. If anything ever happens to that bunny...!!!! I explain a bit of the story, except for how Nimbus discovered his friend.

Nimbus begins by rolling on the floor. He's not doing it for fun. There's actually chinchilla dust coating the linoleum that spilled out of his dust bathtub. And then, captivated by the camera, he sprints over ready for his close-up.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from Nimbus and me! 

We love you for reading!

Nimbus is full of energy tonight, running around like he's got a secret Valentine of his own! Since his birthday, Nimbus has had good days and bad days. He's off the medication, and everything is back to normal. However, he sat sullenly on the dining room chair nearly every night for the past week. His fuzzy face had a dejected look pasted on it like he'd never be happy again. Once, he even fell asleep and it was 9 or 10 at night! He's had me pretty worried, but tonight, he's up to his usual tricks and scampering around the house like a proper chinchilla!

We're all going a bit stir crazy, to be honest. Snow fell for over 24 hours straight the other day, and we got a total of six inches, which is a lot for North Carolina. Nimbus enjoyed the snow! He decided it was quite delicious indeed!

The next morning, we let Sansa out as usual but this time, we brought Sparta along, too. You can tell that Sparta is a pampered indoor cat, who likes to believe that he's a wild tiger. He begs to be let outside, and then when I finally do, this is how he acts. Oh, Sparta!

I'm sorry I haven't been writing more - other than a few blurbs here and there. I've been focusing on my fiction writing lately. I want to work on it every day. Today, I got a huge chunk written, which is great because I was too under the weather yesterday to get anything done. I've gotten over that hurdle of "uh, what do I write now to get to Point C?" Now, that I'm past that point, I can start enjoying the process again and get these characters in a real pickle. It's been great for that these last few days. But, I promise to return to you all very soon. I have a whooper of a post to write about cages with a follow-up on cage accessories! That is coming, I promise, I promise, along with more of Nimbus's birthday videos!!

Hey, if you're following Chris and I with learning about some animals every day --- we're on American Woodcock, anaconda and Andean goose.

Also, I have some BIG news coming up!!!! Stay tuned! It's going to change a whole lot in Nimbus's and Sparta's life as well as mine!

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Nimbus the Snowman (Video)

SO MUCH SNOW!! SNOW EVERYWHERE!

Once again, my Kentucky trip has been postponed! It is pouring buckets of snow here, and... well, everywhere. My grandparents have snow down in South Carolina. My father has snow in Charlotte. There's snow all across Tennessee, so there's no heading to Kentucky.

In North Carolina, this is a lot of snow!

The snow started some time this morning and has been going ever since. According to the weather reports, it won't stop until 6 a.m. tomorrow. Chris and  I are huddled down with the pets, trying to keep warm and entertained! Since we thought I'd be gone on Friday, we've been celebrating Valentine's Day today. That means a whole lot of candy and later, we'll exchange our teddy bears we made at Build-A-Bear on Sunday. Yes, teddy bears... but Chris has never had a teddy bear before, and I wasn't about to stand for that. And, I find teddy bears irresistible.

I just went wandering around outside, and I couldn't see the bottom half of my snow boots!! Man, I wish I had a sled and a good hill!! We've got some awesome slopes around here, but they're pretty dangerous as far as backyard sledding goes. And if I wanted to use my own backyard, well then, the only sledding hill abruptly stops right at Scott Creek. WHEEEEEEE SLEDDING....and then.....YAY HYPOTHERMIA!

When we had a snow day last week, I desperately wanted to show Nimbus snow. Wouldn't it be adorable to see him bounding around in the snow??! Of course, that would kill him!! I would never do such a thing.

Today, we brought the snow inside instead!! I didn't have a clue how Nimbus would respond. For all I knew, he'd completely ignore me and scamper into his cage. I had no idea he'd do this!!!

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The Birthday Dust Bath (Video)

Nimbus turned 3 yesterday, and for the first time in 20 days, he was allowed to have a dust bath!!!

Dr. Wall declared that Nimbus is 100% back to health, and I was overjoyed, almost jumping around the vet's office with excitement. I wasn't even bothered by the bill. They showed me the injury, and there was nothing but a round scab on Nimbus's arm, about the size of the tip of a pen! It's exactly what we wanted to see. No more medication, and no more vet visits!!

So with a clean bill of health, Nimbus celebrated his birthday with a huge bowl of dust!! There shall be more pictures and videos to follow. We had a great amount of fun last night!

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One More Day!

Nimbus's birthday is TOMORROW!!!! 

I cannot begin to explain how excited I am. I'm really hoping that everything goes well tomorrow at the vet. I don't know how I'll be able to handle getting more bad news. We've been waiting so long for this moment, and if I can't give Nimbus a dust bath tomorrow after the appointment, I might I will break down and cry! Most likely in the vet's office!

It's been a long, slow process of recovery. And in every single moment, Nimbus has been the bravest little chinchilla in the world. He's suffered through all the vet visits, all the medications and the surgery itself without turning against humanity into a sour, angry critter and never once faltered in his love for play time. If anything, he's friendlier and more tolerant of human interaction! With everything he went through, Nimbus never slowed down. He's an amazing creature.

I'm still deciding what I want to do tomorrow. His vet appointment isn't until - this is going to suck - 2:45 in the afternoon. Yes, a 2:45 appointment for a nocturnal animal. This could be the last straw for Nimbus!

In all honesty, I haven't really prepared for his birthday. I've had my head in the clouds trying to get this whole job situation in control. Sadly, I was unable to travel to Kentucky yesterday due to bad weather... which means I'm in a bad mood. I looked forward to that trip for a week because I really need a break from this town. The interview is rescheduled for the end of next week, so I do have that to look forward to. It's not a closed door, just a postponed one. In the meantime, I sit at home caring for Sansa as she tears up the house wanting to go outside. The post operation paperwork for her spay surgery says she can't go outside until Monday, but I don't know how much more I can take. During the day, I keep her from hurting herself by detaching her from the curtains hanging over the door window, which she climbs like a clawed monkey. Then, in the evenings before bed, I sit on the floor in front of the chinchilla cage to bodily block her from Nimbus when he's put up between play times. Furthermore, I found bloody diarrhea in the litter box this morning. I'm 99% sure it belongs to Sansa, but you never know when something goes wrong like we found out with Nimbus. So, it could be Sparta! I'm on the look-out for the culprit, and I'm praying it doesn't end in a vet visit.

We're certainly going to celebrate tomorrow with that huge dust bath (vet willing), but I wish I could give him something unexpected like a different type of hanging toy. Still, money is tight, and this town is small. There aren't a lot of choices for small pet products. Well, the only way to know is to get in the car and head to town.

To the store!!

* * * * 

I've just returned from the store with birthday paraphernalia in hand. I must have stood in the small pet aisle of our local little pet shop for over half an hour. There just isn't anything there for chinchillas. Well, there is, but it's not chin safe. There were treat mixes full of dry fruit and nuts. There were hanging toys with all sorts of dye and unlabeled woods. I thought about getting the Ball Pen, like a McDonald's play area filled with those colored balls, but they're made of plastic and I wasn't sure if Nimbus would even bother with it. Then, I looked at carriers because of the recent vet visits and we might be moving. According to the packaging, it's suggested that you buy a wire cage that fits inside as well as the carrier (I see what you did there, Super Pet!). Aside from the fact that the pet store didn't have any of the smaller cages, I couldn't afford to buy both anyway. In the end, I found a grass play mat right as I was headed for the door. What luck! It was a very reasonable price, and Nimbus's current play mat is a disastrous health hazard because he pees on it. This one is made for a full-grown rabbit. I plan to cut it into two and place one in the usual spot and the other on a lower level. 

I know he'll love it because he always loves a good play mat, but I was disappointed as I walked out of the store. I love to spoil my pets, and I wish I had the financial resources to do it. I promised myself that when I get a job, Nimbus will get the birthday gift he deserves for being my awesome "bunny squirrel." Also on the list of items to save up for once I get that awesome job is a larger cage. But, that comes much later. 

In the back of my head, I know Nimbus will be overjoyed just to have the dust bath. He doesn't need more things in his cage to know that I love him. For the past couple of days, I've noticed his fur is becoming oily and separating. That dust bath will be the ultimate gift, and I hope to score The Squeak of Happiness. 

Chris and I will also celebrate with a double fudge chocolate cake! I shall try my best to make a little chinchilla face on top, but let's not get our hopes up. Nimbus, meanwhile, will be presented with a raisin on a plate! And, he will think it is the greatest day ever!

Teeth of Steel

3 MORE DAYS UNTIL NIMBUS'S BIRTHDAY!!!!! 

The house is buzzing with excitement these days. Nimbus's birthday is almost here. I still cannot believe I've owned him for a year now. All the moments of adorable-ness, all the moments of frustration, the destroyed remote buttons, the chewed homework, the stolen Hershey kisses, the flying pumice dust, the Cheerio tricks, all the moments of a fulfilling sense of companionship from owning a chinchilla. I won't lie. There were a lot of times I wondered why on earth had I adopted one of these crazy rodents. I wanted to give up. But, after this last month, I've realized just how much I love that ball of fluff. I'm a chinchilla lover now, but in reality, I'm a HUGE NIMBUS LOVER!! I may never own a chinchilla again, but I will always treasure whatever time I'm lucky enough to have with my Nimbus Cloud.

* * * * 

Chinchilla teeth can cut through anything, it seems like. Picture the scarab beetles from The Mummy (character spoiler in clip below). 

Ok, maybe they're not that bad, but the damage a chinchilla can cause is unbelievable. Arguably, the start-up costs will be the most expensive bills you pay for owning a chinchilla. In my opinion, it's damage control. Assuming your chinchilla never needs an emergency vet clinic visit like Nimbus, your chinchilla savings will go fast with the purchase of a sturdy cage and the accessories. However, once I move out of here, I'll be spending money on house repairs!!! 

This was where he first damaged the house.

This corner belongs in what is now Chris's bedroom. When I first moved into the house, it was my bedroom. But, when I chucked out my ex (We stayed in separate rooms. I don't know how people do this whole 100% living together in the same bed and all thing. Ya'll crazy and possess some insane patience!), I moved into the second bedroom, and the vacant room became the Chinchilla Room. It was such a relief. I could drop Nimbus off and let him run around without worrying about whether if he was under the oven or somewhere unsafe. He could no longer chew on my couch or get up on the kitchen counters via the couch. I would sit with him, working on my laptop or reading a book. However, I would also pop out to grab something to eat or homework I needed. I would take my time because Nimbus was safe and locked up in his special room. ...I returned to find him gnawing to China on the wall corner. The Chinchilla Room didn't last much longer for several reasons.

Baseboards are another treat. I hope I can paint this over with a few dabs of a similarly colored paint. It's not as noticeable as it looks. You can see Sansa's back leg on the left, and she's standing in the bathroom doorway. The baseboards face the washing machine/dryer. There's enough room for 1.5 persons to get through that little hallway. No one's really looking at the baseboards.

This next instance is my favorite because I didn't know it was scientifically possible! That is right next to the living room window overlooking the river.

It's mobile home wallpaper. That stuff is sucked tight into all the corners and seams of the house with tight perfection. There was no damage there before - no curled up edges, no miniscule tears. And then, here comes Nimbus. RIP! When I heard the noise, I whipped my head over and gaped at what I saw. How? What? But why?!? A beige strip stuck straight out of Nimbus's mouth, quivering from the motion of his whiskers. Then, he ate it like a potato chip!

Nimbus's teeth are not limited to walls and baseboards. They also greatly enjoy different objects and furniture in my living room. He either hates Will & Grace or that DVD box tastes like vanilla ice cream! 

My leather couch looks like a German Shepherd attacked it. Nope, just Nimbus.

I posted this on our Twitter page last night. I was sitting on the couch last night, and it was Chris who kept deterring Nimbus from getting behind the couch. Unbeknownst to me, the chinchilla wasn't attempting a behind-the-couch mission. He was chewing the heating pad cord draped down the back - something I'd completely forgotten about. If *someone* had just mentioned what the rodent was going after in the first place, we'd be spared a lot of grief, and I wouldn't need to purchase a new heating pad this week.

Finally, Nimbus's favorite not-allowed chew toy is a book or two. Clive Barker, Tolkien, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Irving, Rawlings... he doesn't mind. As long as it has pages and a spine, Nimbus is set on destroying a good book! To my English major friends, this is a punishable offense. Most likely by firing squad!

Clearly, I have more work ahead of me providing Nimbus with a safe household. You should not allow your chins to eat objects like these, and we try our best to discourage Nimbus from this activity. The couch is covered with blankets and pillows. The cat bed is pressed up against the bottom of the DVD shelf. We pay attention to where cords are in accordance to where Nimbus can reach. And, I say all this because I don't want you all to think I just let Nimbus jump around and get away with murder. These photos show past mistakes or lack of diligence on my part. Books, couches and DVDs are not snack items in any capacity. We do actually put out chew toys across the living room floor for him to play with, but it certainly doesn't look that way!

The point of this post was to get a laugh, a nod of understanding/sympathy and to ultimately point out (to a future owner) that if you're not in for the long haul, then a chinchilla is not a right pet for you. If you're in a smaller home with not many options for playrooms, these are what your belongings could look like. I didn't know this when I brought Nimbus into my home. I knew he'd chew, but I would have never pictured this. But, to me, they're just objects. As long as he never hurts himself, I'm not going to get upset over their destruction. I will discipline him and move him away, but the already inflicted damage doesn't cause me any concern. The heating pad... well, it was a disappointment, but its demise won't stop me from loving Nimbus. It's just one of the major aspects to consider before bringing in one of these bizarre, beautiful animals into your own. Chinchillas are not impulse buys!

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Kiss Trick (Video)

 SIX MORE DAYS UNTIL NIMBUS'S BIRTHDAY!

To keep Nimbus engaged and create a stronger bond with him, I've started teaching him a new trick.

He's learning to kiss on command through a reward system of Cheerios. The first night (Jan 30)  we began training, Nimbus picked up it surprisingly fast. He could clearly see that there was a Cheerio in my hand, but he also noticed that he couldn't have that Cheerio until he completed a specific action. Earlier, he'd been sitting quite still on the couch arm, so I walked up and started pecking him on the lips. When Chris handed me Cheerios, I left my face close to Nimbus's and said "Kiss" repeatedly. It didn't take long before Nimbus put 2 and 2 together to win his favorite treat.

Since then, we've practiced it each night. Here's a video of our progression from this morning. We've also started working on "Up."

He doesn't yet understand performing a kiss without an type of reward before him. However, with the repetition of the word "Kiss," I'm hoping he'll store this word in his memory and learn its meaning. Just like he knows what "Nimbus" means.

* * * *

In other news, I'm excited to travel to the western side of Kentucky next week. I've never spent time in Kentucky before, only passed through on other excursions, and am looking forward to checking out the town of Paducah. It seems like a great little spot in the Central time zone. I have a job interview there at a newspaper for their open reporter position. Hopefully, the weather will behave, and I can make it out there safely. It'll be a nice mini vacation as I get to stay the night. However, I hate being away from Nimbus. It'll be his second to last night before his final check-up at the vet. We're counting down the days.

Also, (this may interest some of you), Chris and I are reading up on different animals every day. While I despised homework, I do miss walking into a classroom and learning something new. Whether Chris enjoys it or not, he gets to listen to me read about three different animals a day in alphabetical order. For me, the knowledge is key if I ever change career paths to work with wild animals like the big cats or canines in the future. I also enjoy reading up on mammals, birds, reptiles and so forth to appease my love of nature. If you'd like to keep up with us, here are Wikipedia links to the animals we read about: Aardwolf, African Buffalo, Akita, African Black Crake (bird), Alaskan Malamute, and Albatross. We clearly read more than usual. It's been a relatively slow day.

As always, thank you for reading!!! Nimbus is doing brilliantly well in his recovery, and we're hoping future posts have happy, funny stories instead of medical setbacks and updates. 

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