As a courtesy to a friend of ours in Richmond, we now have 5 new chinnies available for adoption. These little ones were part of a breeding project, but didn't make the cut for showing well or for continuing a particular line of genetics. They would make wonderful pets though and each needs a loving new home. Check out the adoptions page for more details.

We have also updated our store page with new items and pictures. We're still trying to figure out the most economical way to make and price these things, so please bear with us while we work out the kinks.

Also, check out our new FAQ page. We are currently working on adding all of the most common questions we've been asked here at the Menagerie. If you have a question to submit for us to include, you can contact us through that page.

The little chinnie with the amputation is doing very well! Her incision is nearly healed up, but her fur is very slow to start coming back in to cover the scar. She's eating on her own and has even managed to get to quite a high shelf in her enclosure. I'd say she's adjusting to being a tripod quite nicely.

Also, thanks to all who have supported the menagerie in the past couple of weeks, we've been able to bring in $500 toward paying off Kismet's surgery fees! 

Another happy bit of news is that 6 and a half chinnies have found new homes so far this month...

(The half being a chin on maternity watch who is not ready to rehome yet).

And....Karen and Adam are the second family to take us up on the FN for CN cage trade. Thanks Karen and Adam, I can't wait to show off your new split cage tomorrow!

Before I post today's update, please take a moment in remembrance of the victims of 9/11/2001...

It has been a very difficult past couple of weeks. A rescue hamster here developed a particularly aggressive form of cancer. What we thought was a perpetually full cheek pouch, turned out to be a tumor. For the first time ever, we had to have a critter put down. It was a very sad occasion.

Less than two weeks later, one of the chinnies broke her leg. Yesterday (Friday) she went in for surgery to have it amputated. The vet says the surgery went well and we can bring her home this morning.

Now this is where we need some help. The original estimate for the amputation was $1500! (Gasp!) Fortunately for us, our back-up exotics vet had pity and worked a fee that was much, much more within our grasp...but we still need to come up with $600.

If you've been considering upgrading a cage, adopting a chin, or showing your monetary support, now would be a perfect time to do so.

Please keep Kismet in your prayers as she heals up and gets used to being a tri-pod. 

We've matched the number of successful adoptions for July! Eight (8) chinnies have been adopted so far this month. Check out the Adoptions page to see who has sweet talked their way into the heart of a new home. It seems our incoming and outgoing numbers have been relatively consistent though. We have had 13 chins from three different homes surrendered this month for various reasons. It is quite disheartening that ALL of the females have been exposed to males and are therefore on maternity watch. Eight of the thirteen incoming chins are female. Seven are of age to have been bred. It saddens me that so many critters are placed in situations that contribute to this over abundance of pets that will need good and loving homes.

On a more happy note, several months back a nice lady donated a large parrot cage to our rescue. It was in rough shape with lots of rust that had been covered over several times with various colors of spray paint.

It would have been nearly impossible to refinish this by hand, so Whimsy did a bit of research and found Wayne, from Sand Blasting Experts (757) 494-9000  and Tom, from Fusion Powder Coating (757) 645-9396.  These guys are awesome! Wayne and Tom work side by side in a building in Chesapeake and do the most amazing work. Wayne and Tom are both very likeable guys who have shown incredible creativity and quality. AND...the fees are quite reasonable! Look at how they've transformed our new community cage!

I'd like to thank Brian for being the first to take us up on the FN for CN cage trade. We had lots of fun building new shelves and (re)decorating the Ferret Nation 142 for its new inhabitants. Here's a sneak peak of the top section of the cage complete with new style shelves and backerboards.

Gizmo and Taz also happen to be going home later this week with Brian, so they are able to check out their new digs even before going home with their new chinparent.

Which reminds me, the current out-going chin count for this month is seven (7)! Do you think we can beat last month's adoption record?