Carrot nibble stick and chicken bone

 
Watch Ronnie and Derek enjoying a carrot nibble stick and the remains of a chicken bone.

The carrot nibble stick was bought from Tesco and they enjoy it a lot. The packaging says it should be an occasional treat despite coming with a plastic hook to hang it with, so I hang it in their cage just for short periods. Ronnie and Derek also have a honey nibble stick, bought from Carrefour during a Calais day trip, which permanently hangs in their cage as they’re not massively keen and so only nibble on it occasionally.

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This info has been added to the Care page.

Sleepy and Close

 
See below some photos of Ronnie and Derek keeping each other cosy in their house!

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Derek and the pea, Ronnie and the bean, the ‘Ratty Plumbers’ and the Gravy Train

 
Yesterday, Ronnie enjoyed a green bean and a bit of leftover gravy, while Derek sat in one of the coconut shells holding a pea in his mouth! They then enjoyed a plum for dessert.

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Ratty ‘plumbers’ – enjoying a plum

Resting, sleeping (and praying?!)

 
Some recent photos of Ronnie and Derek resting, sleeping and (apparently) praying!

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Eating again

 
Enjoy some photos of Ronnie and Derek eating!

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A ‘tail’ of woe

 
On Wednesday evening, Ronnie started squeaking loudly when he moved in any way that caused his tail to move upwards. It seemed the source of the pain was at the base of the tail where it joins his back. By Friday morning, he was obviously still in pain whenever his tail moved upwards, so I took him to the vet that afternoon.

As there were no other symptoms (he was eating, drinking, defecating and urinating normally and had no loss of energy), the vet was satisfied there were no major problems and that the tail may have been slightly injured, possibly during a play-fight with Derek, and it’d cure itself. Something similar happened to Ronnie’s tail in July (but obviously to a much lesser extent in terms of pain) and that cured itself within about 10 days.

The vet prescribed Metacam to Ronnie, an anti-inflammatory and painkiller which is primarily used for dogs. He takes a daily dose and the problem should be cured within a week. If not, he’ll need to have an x-ray, but things are looking positive as the pain’s mostly subsided since taking Metacam.

I initially gave the medicine in the morning so it’d be in his body while he was sleeping and would assist the healing, but this meant it wore off by the time he was active at night, so I started giving it to him in the evening instead to cover his active hours and ensure they’re as painless as possible while his tail’s healing.