Early Birthday Wish Fulfilled

Rex's birthday is coming up. He is going to be 11, and he has been telling me for quite some time that all he wants for his birthday is a "pet". Many times we have discussed what kind of pet he might like. We weren't open to getting another dog. I am allergic to cats. We had a bad experience with fish years ago before Rex was even born. So we started branching out in our research on low maintenance pets.

 

Some of the front runners were as follows.

 

First, we have the hermit crab. Quiet and unassuming. These little guys don't need much attention. You just have to provide them progressively bigger shells to move into as they grow. Not a lot of interaction though. We also heard they don't always last a long time. (I guess that could be a pro depending how you look at it.)

We also looked at leopard geckos. These lizard-esque creatures don't get too huge and they can even climb the walls. To tell you the truth, they creeped me out a little bit with the sticky feet. I vetoed them once and for all knowing we would have to feed them LIVE bugs. Eeewww.

 Next, we actually came close to getting a turtle. I found one on craigslist with a tank and everything. In the end, it was a no. The need to clean the tank and again with the live food, we opted out.

And so after much deliberation and study, we settled on a little rodent. I couldn't get excited about a mouse or a hamster. We actually liked the idea of a little chinchilla. This is the kind of picture I found online as I had never seen one in the flesh. They are supposed to have the softest fur of any mammal.

I had been watching craigslist for pets, and Theo and I had visited some pet stores in town. A few weeks before Rex's birthday, I can across an ad for a baby chinchilla that was 16 weeks old. I exchanged emails with the people, and we arranged to come see the little animal on our way back from a track meet in Dumas.

Bowen was the only kid with us when we arrived at the home of the chinchilla owners. It was an interesting home. When we pulled into the driveway, there was a small pack of dogs in the yard. The man greeted us in the front as they were moving things into the yard for a yard sale the next day. He ushered us into the house where we were greeted by his wife and a myriad of animals. There were cages everywhere, and the smell was a little overwhelming. There were dogs and cats in pet carriers and baby playpens. The living room was dominated by two especially large cages stacked on top of each other. The top contained an enormous prairie dog, the lower held two ferrets.

The older couple proceeded to tell us all about their efforts to rescue animals and find good homes for them. It is their passion. They were very knowledgeable about what the animals should eat and how they behave. At one point, the woman removed the prairie dog from its cage and encouraged Bowen to pet him. He very reluctantly obliged to stroke Nutter Butter a couple of times. We asked to see the chinchilla which had to be fetched from a back room in the house. I admit I was a little surprised by its size when I first saw it. Since it was still a baby, I was expecting something a little smaller. Bowen held it and happily stroked her soft fur. Theo and I asked to see the mom to get a feel for the full grown size. Think small-medium sized rabbit. After a few minutes of lecture on chinchilla care, we agreed to take her and quickly loaded her into the plastic crate we had brought. Off we went.

By the time we got home, all of the other kids were in bed. Bowen went in to his room and reported back that Rex was still awake. I went back to his room to invite him to meet his new pet. To my great surprise, the bedroom was immaculate! One of the things we had discussed with Rex in the preceding weeks was the need to keep his room cleaner if he was going to care for an animal. He had picked that night while we were gone to get the room clean (without prodding). I was so shocked! Especially since he didn't know we were bringing his pet home with us. Bonus! I told him to get out of bed to come and meet someone.

Rex was excited!

So was Ruby!

 

Since we hadn't purchased the chinchilla's permanent home yet, we put him in a dog cage and let him hop around for about 30 minutes. It was late, and we finally scooted the kids off to bed and put the new little pet in the family room for the night.

In the morning, Bowen came into my bathroom as I was just getting out of the shower. "Mom, the chinchilla isn't in its cage." WHAT?! A frenzied early morning hunt ensued for the little critter which fortunately was still in the family room as we had closed all the doors. We quickly got her back into the cage and then proceeded to watch her easily push right through the bars! This was a problem. For that morning, she had to go back in the plastic tote we had used to carry her in the car. At lunch, I made a quick trip to Petsmart to obtain a suitable home.

After much deliberation (and a veto of the name "Nightmare"), Rex settled on the name Sam for this little girl. Welcome to the family!