Oh by the way: I finally came up names for my degus.

The first one I named days after I got them. He's got a very beaming personality, so it didn't take long for me to decide a name. It started when I were working on taming them both. I had food, and I was giving them treats of sunflower seeds and corn (though corn is probably not the wisest choice of treats with their intolerance to sugars). When he got full he would start to snatch food from me and start hiding it. I knew that degus were notorious for hiding food, but it was so cute! >w< He'd run around like an insane dog, trying to find the perfect place to hide his bone. When he found a place he dug the hole real fast and put it in then covered it up. Sure, that was cute... but then he pats it down! Too cute! I swear! xD
Well, first that was cute, but then the other degu finally comes out to get some food (much more shy) and what does the corn-hider do? He shoves him out of the way and snatches the corn I was giving him! I yell out, “Cheater!” The name stuck..
Especially after he chewed a hole through the cage and escaped when I had guests visiting and sleeping in my room at the time. It was a nightmare catching him! Especially since he's not yet tamed!
So, here's Cheater:



The main way to tell the boys apart is that Cheater has a scar-like marking on his snout that looks like a breath-right bandage that people who play football (or people who snore) wear. He also has strange markings on his back. I guess it's the way his fur is colored. The marking on his back looks like a “^” pointing upwards towards his head. Strange. He's also slightly darker in color than the other one. Just barely though, and it's only because while his fur is brown, the tip of each hair is black. Gives him a nice brindle-like appearance. Really pretty.

I felt bad though when one had a name and the other. I couldn't figure out one that worked. Last weekend my mom, grandma, and I were garage saling (southern thing I guess, I love it) and I finally figured it out. I noticed that Cheater sounded like Cedar. Cute. I dunno... I pondered and pondered. We went into the Habitat for Humanity store looking at furniture. I said out loud “Gah, it smells like Pinesol in here!” I guess then it just fit. The other degu's name is Pinesol. I kinda think it's cute :3



So here's Pinesol:



Pinesol is much softer in color. He's also softer at heart. While he was more shy at first, now that he's warmed up to me, he's much more trusting, and less jumpy and skittish of the two. He's more calm, collected, and elegant (though that's a bit weird to say about a rodent). Notice he doesn't have a brindle-like appearance, and he doesn't have the dark markings on his face. I have to admit... I generally hate to have favorites, but I have to say he's my fave.


Between the two, they both extremely remind me of the late gerbils, Pastulio and Nugums. Cheater is more like Pastulio: jittery, curious, hyper, and dominant of the two; and Pinesol like Nugums: calm, soft (both in appearance and attitude), trusting, and my favorite. I expect Pinesol to be much easier to tame. Nugums was easiest to tame too.

The lady I got them from most definitely did not have them tamed. I could tell when I asked her to put them in my traveling box for me. She chased them around with her hands and snatched them up. I can imagine their fearful thoughts: “EAGLE CLAWS AAAARGHHH!!!” lol

She said she got them from a rescue in Missouri City, TX. Never heard of it. Have to look it up. Maybe I'll be able to track their previous owners before her.

Anyway, so when I was going garage saling what we were looking for was a bookcase/entertainment center that had drawers/cabinet on the bottom and shelves above. What we're going to do is turn it into a cage, like so: [link]

Got the idea during that summer vacation when I was like “O.M.G. I NEED A RAT NOA. RAWRGARBLE”

Well, we searched for one from 6am to 3pm. No luck. Was so pissed. We go to Goodwill to look at all the rejects from other garage sales that were never bought and just dumped there, found the perfect one. Well, okay not perfect... it's made out of particle board and I wanted it out of real wood but fuck I was so tired of looking I just got it then and there. Was originally put up for $60. Not worth that at all. We got it at the marked-down price of $30. Which.. was all we were willing to spend.

So, that's what mom and I are going to work on this weekend, and probably the next. Gotta build the doors, cut wholes, add hooks, buy gear. All that crap. Currently I'm sketching it on paper, trying to make concrete decisions where I want everything. Since it's wood and not wire, I'm gunna have to be careful where I decide to put everything, it's permanent.

Well, I finally see why mom's so BLEH about me always getting more and more pets. I promised I'd pay for these guys, and I am... I've bought their food and all that stuff. The food is the greatest pain in the ass though. They don't sell that crap in stores... so I have to buy it online > A canister costs $12 with the shipping, and it only lasts two weeks. I just bought more today. Since degus have such a complicated diet, I pretty much spend over $23 a week for food on them. Gotta buy their daily vitamin food, which are the pellets that cost $12 online... Gotta get hay every other week... which they go through like candy (main part of their diet). Just bought 50 apple tree sticks for them too off of ebay, which is also main part of their diet. Yum. They'll probably go through those quick too. :0

I know, $23 doesn't sound bad at all, but I only get $20 a week in lunch-money-allowance. Looks like another reason to get a job... Other reasons to get a job: ~Regular vet checks for all my animal All costs covered for the degus (at least; it's the least I can do for mom allowing me to have such a 'nasty' animal in her house lol) ~I. WANT. A. CAR. A 1972 VW Beetle plz. Yellow. Oh plz. I shall pray to Raptor Jesus every night. ~55 gallon aquarium ~Desk ~Art Supplies ~Money Money Monies ~Money ~A-Kon, Oni Con, Dev Meets, Fur Fests ~I like Money.

I applied for a job at petco. Probably wont take me though. I'll try and apply at another place my brother worked at before. They really liked him. Maybe they'll hiring me too.