wildlife case update - IV

Things are starting to pick up here! More and more animals are coming, and baby season is underway! Only a matter of time before it all hits. This 70 degree weather ain't bad either :)

Old Cases (Link to previous update--here):

1. Opossums (babies, grp of 9) - Still doing fabulous. Transferred 4 of them to another wildlife center because they had a single baby who needed some friends. PAWS has a limit of 30 opossums, so we were eager to unload a few.

2. Bald Eagle (asper suspect, healed wing injury) - Still no progress as far as endurance goes. Some people were working on a bunny hutch near the flight cage and this guy flipped out and started banging into things. He had a cere injury and a laceration above his eye that were cleaned with nolvasan and bleeding stopped with duoderm. Moved to a padded raptor box for a day to chill out, then went back to the flight.

3. Opossum (adult, L leg luxation) - Still on the hill in small mammal caging. Still improving and acting more like a regular opossum. Hissing and displaying his teeth for us. Should be ready to go soon, I would imagine.

4. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant, orphan) - I actually hadn't seen this guy for a week or so since he moved up to Ekker caging. All feathered, eating well, just needs to get a little better at flying and he'll be out of here.

5. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female, window strike, gasping) - Left her on oxygen for the night, but she didn't make it until morning.

6. American Crow (adult, head trauma, WNV suspect) - Euthanized. Condition worsened.

New Cases:

7. Canada Goose (adult, poisoning) - Came from another center with something in his throat (turned out to be fishing lure/hook) and presenting poisoning symptoms. I learned how to do blood work and did a fecal on my own. Started on chelation therapy and giving tube feedings. Unfortunately, he did not survive.


8. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (adult, missing tail feathers, cat attack) - Recieveing antibiotics because of the cat attack, but not visible trauma aside from the tail feathers. Waiting for them to regrow or possibly releasing after meds are complete (he is very flighty and capable).


9. Mallards (six so far...) - First baby duckies are here!! Peep peep. Everyone loves baby ducks :) Just orphans, all are doing fine.


10. Gosling (infant, orphan) - Only one. Tried to put in with mallards, but the bigger group of 4 beat him up. And the smaller group of 2 huddled up under him like he was mom. We have an adult CAGO in the runs missing secondary flight feathers, so we sent the gosling in there with it. At first the adult was scared... of course the gosling ran right up to the adult who was hissing at it. Eventually they got along okay... not bffs, but good enough.


11. Opussoms (infant, group of 6) - Mom was dead, hit by a car. 6 babies in her pouch. They smelled AWFUL and one already was riddled with fly eggs. They were extremely cold, so put them in the incubator to warm up. Then, cleaned off the nasty that was on them. Then, gave subQ fluids and let them warm up some more. They all seemed to be fine. These 6 put us at our limit of 30... no more opus for us.

12. Bald Eagle (adult) - Another one of these guys. Seems he was poisoned (pesticides this time). Waiting for room in the largest flight pen...

work update - III

Work has been insanely slow... probably because of that holiday that just happened.... what's it called... oh right, Easter! And it has been raining so people aren't going outside to discover orphaned animals. Next weekend should pick up a lot because its gonna be 70s and sunny!!

Onward....

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies, grp of 9) - Still doing good. On tube feedings, starting to be more active and get into trouble. Peeing and pooing on their own! This is a big deal because it takes forever to stimulate 9 opossums after feeding... the feeding itself takes me about 30sec/opus but the stimulating... probably 2min/opus... do the math... it is a long time...

2. Barn Owl - Dirty oil bird, remember? He was washed 4x and kept for a day in the hill raptor cage. Released by a volunteer on Sunday. So YAY!

4. Bald Eagle - Still nothing new with him. Just needs to get his endurance and conditioning for flight but the creance flying hasn't ocurred yet. So we (and he) waits. In case you wanted to know, he eats 2 quail or 5 herring a day.

5. Opossum (adult) - Left leg use is still improving, just giving him time. OPUS are non-native, so during the busy season (summer) PAWS has a limit to how many can be taken and the level of treatment provided (no surgeries, etc.).

6. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - Moved to Ekker (bigger flight cages for songbirds). He is flying and no longer being hand fed! Just waiting for him to be old enough to go.

7. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female) - This is the bird we had to go capture after he collided with a window... he didn't survive through the night due to internal bleeding.

8. American Crow (adult) - Suspected West Nile Virus, but test results hadn't come back. No improvement, so euthanized.

New Cases:

9. Opossums (babies, grp of 11) - These guys came in on their dead mother after she had been hit by a car. All were in great shape. They are older than the group of 9 by quite a bit, they probably had started leaving mom's pouch. They are cute because they'll hold hands and things :) Also, they are at the age where they start to pretend like they are going to attack or bite you. If you open their cage, they all sit there with mouths open wide, and one even fake charged me. They are in the 75g region, so they are still small and barely have teeth... not so intimidating. Just mind-blowingly cute.

Since they came in on a dead mom, they have to be on Clavamox (antibiotic) because of the bacteria/toxins that may have been in her milk. If there is a moral to be learned here it is this: IF YOU RUN OVER AN OPUSSUM, CHECK TO MAKE SURE IT IS INDEED DEAD AND THAT THERE ARE NO LITTLE BABIES HANGING AROUND!

10. Eastern Grey Squirrel (young, eyes open, 131g) - So, we have about 15 squirrels, but this one came in yesterday and is more interesting than the others. I actually had to go on a rescue mission for this one because the lady didn't have a drivers license and couldn't bring him.

The reason he need to come ASAP is because he was the victim of a catbite. Cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths that can make an otherwise non-fatal injury deadly. They need to be started on antibiotics as soon as possible. I actually SAW the cat that did it. How nuts, right?

The lady acted like she couldn't fathom how on earth her cat was doing this and explained to me that he doesn't get along with her 4 other cats so she can't keep him in the house.... HMMM... maybe you shouldn't have the cat then?? She also told me that young birds come in and eat the catfood in the garage and the cat then eats them and it just made her "sick to her stomach." HMMM #2... at the very least don't put food down where birds will find it and be lured into the cats domain???

Squirrel had a deep puncture wound on right side. Applied a pressure bandage to stopt he bleeding after flushing the wound with Nolvasan. Started on Clavamox.

MORAL TO BE LEARNED HERE: DON'T LET YOUR CATS LIVE OUTSIDE. Indoor cats live MUCH longer (10-15 yrs) than outdoor cats (2-4 years) too. Plus, you can save money on medications and things because you don't need to worry about feline leukemia or fleas or whatnot.

wildlife case update - II

Never heard from anyone, but I imagine no one reads these. People on my LJ liked them though, so I'll keep copying them over. Read them or don't... whatever!

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies) - Nothing new with these guys. Still cute as ever! Two of them were holding hands when I went to feed them.... squee!

2. Barn Owl - Finally washed him off. He is clean and free of whatever oily substance that was on him. Now receiving ocular medication for a scratched cornea (OS) 2x daily (BID). Cere injury healing nicely and is now stable!! Plan to move him outside today.

4. Bald Eagle - Nothing new to report. Now shares the flight pen with a Golden Eagle.

5. Opossum (adult) - Greatly improving since being moved outside. On 2x/day (BID) feedings of catfood/quail/fruit. Starting to use hind left leg appropriately.

6. Northern Flicker (adult) - Euthanized. Showing no improvement for spinal trauma, bilateral paresis remained.

7. Thayer's Gull (subadult) - Euthanized. No improvement, and trauma near break site.

8. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - Nothing new here. Doing well, and growing strong!

New Cases:

9. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female) - The biggest commonly seen woodpecker.... very pretty. We went on a rescue mission for this one. Some lady called in saying she heard a thud and the woodpecker was laying on the ground, probably hit her window. She couldn't catch it. So we hopped in the truck and went to her house to grab it. It was quick and easy. She was open mouth breathing but nothing obviously wrong... set her up in a cage and she was perching.

Two hours later she started making a loud noise like she had the hiccups or something. Dr. John looked at her and got her started on oxygen. She also gave an IM injection to dilate the bronchioles to improve her breathing. She thought the bird had a deep coracoid fracture that was bleeding into the lungs. Also, he wants us to give her fluids to flush her system.

She was still alive when we left last night...

You can tell she was female by the absence of a red patch on her cheek.

Male Pileated Woodpecker

Female Pileated Woodpecker

10. American Crow (adult) - Swelling on left side of head. Probably some sort of head trauma. He was stable though and in good condition. Gave fluids and will watch him to see if he improves.

11. Spotted Towhee (adult) - Came in with a wing injury and some sort of spinal trauma as evidenced by improper use of the tail for balance and weak grip in the legs. Probably another window strike. Bleeding internally due to a double coracoid fracture... died during the exam.

Moral of all these stories: Put stickers or streamers up by your large windows, so birds don't smack into them. Try to keep feeders away from large windows too!! A window strike can kill birds :( :( :(

Other news, I learned how to do fecals and gave my first subcutaneous (SQ, under the skin) injection in the scapular region. YAY!

wildlife case update

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies) - All nine babies are still doing just fine. One has their eyes open, and it won't be long before the others do too which means no more butt wiping for this lady..at least for now. SO CUTE. I squee for them even if they are a handful. Currently, we are tube feeding them (inserting a tube directly into their stomach through the mouth) full-strength formula 5x a day. I don't know how much you know about possums, but their life history is very interesting... babies are born and then crawl into the pouch... seems like that would work, but it does!

2. Barn Owl - Motor oil owl, remember him? Well, he was stable the first day, eating well. On Sunday night, he looked pretty crappy. The rehabber on that night drew blood, said it looked okay. We also gave oral fluids. Today, same story, not worse, but not looking better. He is still receiving oral antibiotics (Clavamox) for his cere injury (right where the beak attaches to the face) and

3. Rufus Hummingbird - Recieving hand feedings of nectar and sugar water, but this little guy sadly was euthanized. He had a fractured coracoid (kinda like a shoulder blade), causing him to have a droop in the left wing. Nothing can be done because they need to have excellent flying abilities and their bones are just too small to repair in most cases.

New cases: Some of these came in new, some are old, but I didn't mention them before.

4. Bald Eagle - Originally had a broken wing, but someone kept him in their barn on straw for 8 months before taking him to be treated somewhere. Grrr... seriously... what are people thinking... they are gonna have a pet bald eagle? Anyway, luckily the wing healed well enough on its own so the extension and flight are not impaired.

But, since he was on straw (harboring moisture and germs), he may have Aspergillosis (a very aggressive type of fungus). He has issues with stamina and being short of breath. He is in the large flight pen and on Sporonox for the fungal problem. He was supposed to be taken out to start creance flying (pretty much tying him on a leash and letting him soar), but that never happened. Not sure, something must have came up.

Not Bald like you would expect because it is a young female. Males are the only ones with that white head.

5. Opossum (adult) - Has some sort of issue with his hind left leg. Radiographs didn't show anything, it may be a soft tissue problem. Giving him some food, subcutaneous fluids (under the skin), and time to see if it improves. Originally in caging in the ward, but moved him to the hill small mammal caging outside yesterday. Seemed to be eating more and moving around more actively. Opossums are the sweetest, they are so meek and timid... which you totally wouldn't believe based on their teeth and hissing.


6. Northern Flicker (adult) - Someone found him in the yard. You can tell it is a male by the presence of red throat patches (first pic) which are absent on females (second pic). They are such beautiful birds. This one has bilateral paresis of the legs, so he hasn't been standing or feeding. Thinking it is some sort of spinal trauma caused by a window strike? Currently, receiving tube feedings of fons (slurry of cat food+other stuff) 3x a day plus Meloxicam.


7. Thayer's Gull (subadult) - This guy is such a freaking punk. He is the bane of my existence right now. He had a wing fracture and is in a wing wrap to stabilize it while it heals. But, he won't eat on his own. Meaning I have to tube feed him 4x a day! He gets this fish slurry stuff which is a nasty gray watery paste made of milk and ground fish. It is a pain to make, and a pain to tube because it is thick and requires a lot of pressure to push the syringe plunger down. I'm always shaking because it is so hard. Plus, this guy bites and is just generally nasty in true Gull-fashion. Seems every time he is up for feeding, everyone is pretty eager to let me take care of it... ;) Oh well, I'm on to his tricks!


8. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - There are two kinds of pigeons in washington... the band-tailed and the rock pigeon. Rock pigeons are the ones you see in your city streets en masse with pink legs. The Band-tailed are native and very sensitive--they also have yellow legs. This guy is just young and getting tube fed 4x a day, but last night, I felt his crop (kinda like a holding sack for undigested food found in the chest in pigeons/doves and on the right side of throat in other birds) and could feel seeds in there, so he is starting to eat on his own! YAY!!

There are also 4 bears and 1 bobcat waiting to be released. The snow in the mountains needs to melt before they can make that happen. It should be extremely exciting when it finally does though!

Essentially, I am a tubing and medicating machine. Bam bam! Do you guys actually read this stuff? It might be only interesting (or comprehensible) from an insiders view. Is it too medical? Let me know, I can keep you posted or I can maybe make this private or something! I like to look back at it from time to time because I'm still learning my medical terms and conditions.

work update

First off, LOVE LOVE LOVE this job!

I got yelled at by someone on the phone. He was an ass, and I don't care that he yelled at me. It just wasn't very pleasant. I answered another phone call, but it was about a bunny which I actually know something about, so all was good until she asked me for our address and I didn't know it... doh!

Okay, now with that out of the way. Summary of the (notable) cases:

1. Opossum - Came in with head trauma--fractured skull, bleeding from mouth/ears. Suspect Euthanized after the physical exam, but she was a female and had nine healthy little babies in her pouch. I've been tube feeding those poop machines for the past few days.... their poop looks like mustard.... I love when their little tails wrap around my fingers.


2. Barn Owl - Covered in who knows what... oil? Brougth in because it wasn't flying, couldn't find anything physically wrong. Started him on antibiotics just in case.


3. Raccoon - Adult raccoons are very very aggressive and mean, in case you didn't know. This was a possible distemper case which is a very nasty nasty disease. I almost had to push her to the back of her cage with a ramming bar (not really, but that is what it looks like) so we could give her and IM injection to knock her out. Ended up using a vaccination pole because she was too heavy to lift up on the catch pole. Ended up euthanizing because of the distemper risk.

4. Rufus Hummingbird - Won't fly. I love these guys. They are just SO tiny. It is unbelievable to me that I've held them in my hands.


A bunch of other non-specific cases came in too--bunny, squirrels, etc.

i gots a job!

In case some of you haven't heard, I FINALLY got a job! A job I will love: Wildlife Rehabilitator's Assistant at PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood, WA.

I'm excited to finally stop looking. It is only a seasonal position (through the end of September), but hopefully, better economic times will be upon us by then! Or maybe it could evolve into a year-round position.

Now Kevin needs to get his job (I totally think he has it in the bag), and all will be well!

becky tagged us kevin... you better do it too.

Instructions: Answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own. Then tag eight other un-tagged people.

What are you wearing now? socks, undies, and a t-shirt with penguin drawings on it... i just woke up.

Do you nap a lot? no, i used to in college, but not anymore.

Who was the last person you hugged? i got snuggles from my kitties when i was sleeping! i snuggled back :)

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately? uh, long grey sweater.

What's for dinner? going out with some people to a burger place... hopefully they have good veggie burgers.

What was the last thing you bought? i bought a cupcake from cupcake royale last night. kitty hugs bakery still wins my heart though.

What are you listening to right now? the crows cawing outside my window and my lovebirds tweeting away.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? is teleportation a super power? i want that one.

What is your favorite weather, and why? hot and sunny. i hate the cold. 90 degrees with the sun shining brightly and a slight breeze would be fantastic right now.

What time do you usually get up? 10-1030. i have no early commitments.

What is your most challenging goal right now? finding somewhere to work. it's okay because i should be winning HGTV's dream house in a week or so... :)

Say something to the person who tagged you: um, she's becky and likes all sorts of girly things :) which perhaps makes me her opposite?

Favorite Flower? eastern prairie fringed orchid--epfo! it is an endangered orchid native to wisconsin (yes, there are orchids in wisconsin!). i did a lot of work with them over the summer and they are rare and beautiful. i was lucky enought to see over 400 of them.


Favorite vacation spot? i haven't really vacationed anywhere too much. as a kid we only went to disney world and las vegas (great child destination, i know). i'd say anywhere with nice outdoor areas--i loved traveling to door county along lake michigan for work last summer, climbing the sand dunes all day long on the search for pitcher's thistle. climbing sand is exhausting.

Name the things you cannot live without: oxygen.

What movies can you watch over and over? house of mirth, pretty woman, and beetlejuice. i more watch tv series over and over (kitchen confidential, sports night, mary tyler moore).

What is your favorite tea flavor? i like many--vanilla rooibos.

Do you prefer to: make your own food, eat at a restaurant, eat takeout, or have someone else in your house prepare it? i make my own food, i know what goes into it then and where it came from which is very important to me. restaurants tend to be too heavy and add a lot of unneeded fats to their dishes.

I don't know anyone on blogspot, my journal of choice is LJ, so I will not be tagging... oi!

fabric mural

With me being poor and jobless, I needed a cheap project and I need to fill up the space on the wall behind my TV. Since I live in an apartment, I couldn't paint my mural.... After seeing a craftster post of how you could use spray starch and fabric to imitate those Blik surface graphics, I decided to bring it to the next level. I made many mistakes, but finally got the thing up and running.... and it is STILL on the wall (despite my cat, Rio's, efforts to pull it down).

You may want to test it on an unsightly area of your house to make sure no starch residue remains that can't be wiped off with a damp cloth after you deced to remove the mural/wall graphic/whatever you call it. I have really matte walls, and still had no problems with it... but better safe than sorry!

Materials/Cost Analysis:
Spray Starch - $1
Fabric (1.5 yrds brown, .5 yrds red, 1 yrd green) - $10
Wrapping Paper (Or you could use newspaper) - $2
Markers
Scissors

Total Cost = $13
Total Time = 4+ hours

1. Making the Stencil: To start, you need to draw your template/stencil. I did this on junky wrapping paper, but you could do it on newspaper if you wanted. Initially, I tried to keep my stencil pretty much all one piece. As you can see, my design is HUGE (8ft long/6 ft high), so I did the branches separately. Once you have everything traced or drawn the way you like, cut it out. I did the leaves and birds after I had the trunk mastered.... but you'd do the same thing with them.

2. Transferring Stencil to Fabric: Take the stencils you made and draw them onto the back side of your fabric with a marker or the like. Then cut them out using a very sharp shears so the edges won't be likely to fray.

Mistakes Made/Lessons Learned For This Step -
a. Make sure to flip the stencil over otherwise your whole design will be upside down when you go to put it on your wall. I didn't do this until about halfway through making everything VERY complicated.
b. Use a sharpie or other non-water soluble marker to draw on your fabric with. I used plain old markers and ended up hating myself for it later becuase the spray starch made it soluble and it was all over the place... including my wall!
c. No need to try and keep your design/stencil in large pieces. You can see my tree trunk is segmented because the weight was too great for the starch to hold up.... and it was impossible to smooth onto the wall with a giant piece.

3. Sticking The Fabric to the Wall: Put down a plastic garbage sack or the like to prevent starch from getting on your carpet/floor. Spray a generous amount of starch on the back of your fabric. Smooth onto wall.

Mistakes Made/Lessons Learned For This Step -
a. First time I put it up, part fell down. This is becuase I didn't soak the pieces well enough. You need to really soak them, like dripping with starch. Yeah, it will drip down your wall, but you can just go back and wipe it off when you are done.
b. Make sure to get the edges extra well. They will be more likely to curl away from the wall.


Final Thoughts: I'm extremely pleased with the result, I just stare at it sometimes. After the initially falling down, nothing has come down since (granted it is only a day later). If you are doing smaller pieces, you should have no trouble keeping them up. I suspect mine were on the upper limits of what the starch could handle. The trunk is starting to 'bubble' because they are such big pieces, but it makes it more visually interesting and more like bark, so I'm leaving it that way... birds and leaves haven't bubbled at all though (they are less than 8x10" in size).

If you try it, GOOD LUCK!

CEREAL REVIEW: Jumbo Multi-Grain Krispies with a Touch of Honey

Jumbo Multi-Grain Krispies with a Touch of Honey. Wow, it sounds like a lot, try saying it... Jumbo Multi-Grain Krispies with a Touch of Honey. It doesn't really roll off the tongue. Luckily the latest cereal from Kellogg's rolls down the throat much better.

Basically take a normal Rice Krispie, embiggen it and add a dash of honey and you have the Jumbo Krispies. The same taste is there, and the honey makes you not have to add any extra sugar.

One of the most telling signs the cereal is damn good--after I had a bowl of Jumbo Krispies, I reused the milk for a bowl of normal Krispies, and they were a letdown. Kellogg's actually improved on one of their flagship products with the addition of girth!

Jumbo Rice Krispies truly can stand up to its cousins in Cocoa Krispies, Rice Krispie Treats Cereal and Rice Krispies with Strawberries--in that it's a slight update, slight change on a great formula.

There are really only two problems with the cereal. There's the aforementioned name problem (I was gonna try and call them JRKs, but then people might think I was making a lame joke), and then there's also the fact that it's not very crispy (errr, krispie). This actually isn't a problem for me, because I'm one of the 5 people in America who likes mushy cereal. However, legions of fans hate the mush, and they just might take it out on this cereal. Their loss.

This minor setback knocks it down to four out of five cereal pieces. Basically, if it stays on the shelves, I'll keep buying it--I'm already on my second box.

I salivate at the thought of making Rice Krispie Treats with these...

meetup

Last night, we went out with some friends for a change. New friends. There is a website called 'meetup' and there are groups for pretty much every interest and big city, so basically, you join and attend events planned by the organizers. Great way to meet new people with similar interests in a new city.

I joined because I'm shy. Since I'm not in college anymore, I don't really have an easy way to meet anyone, and it is very unlike me to just walk up to someone and strike up conversation. Really, how do people do that?

Anyway, so we went out with these guys a few weeks ago to play laser tag (which is way overrated imo). My first impression was that they were kind of clicky. Like they all knew each other and it was hard for us to break into the circle. I was bummed.

Plus, they brought a very creepy guy last time. He didn't speak the whole time. Wore headphones. Was really rude when asked questions by our waitress like 'what kind of ice cream would you like?' He just rolled his eyes like 'why are you bothering me with these questions, ugh.' I mean, if you were gonna act like that, why even come?

Back to the present. Or more recent past. We went out with them again, a couple new people this time. Ate at Typhoon, a thai restaurant. Good food (I had eggplant lover with fried tofu)--a bit on the spicy side for me and my tofu was overcooked for my tastes. After we went to someone's apartment to play Rock Band.

This is where it probably was apparent that I had too much to drink. I mean, I'm not one to be sloppy, so that wasn't the case. But, I did sing lead for a few songs. No one else wanted to so I figured as long as they knew *I* knew I couldn't sing, it'd be okay. Maybe others would try it to. I also sang a duet of sorts with another person there. Ha.

At this meetup, everyone was more outgoing and open. So, this shows me that first impressions aren't always right. Maybe WE were the ones not reaching out to them to talk last time, thus that is why they were talking to each other. All in all a good night, and I'm working through the sluggish next day syndrome currently!