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A Tasty Plastic Treat

An adult capybara and two cats eating treats off the floor

Treat time!

Skippers Post:

Did you know I have cats? I do! Two of them. Most of you have met Driftwood. He is white and black and fluffy. Mamba is black and little and slinky. The cats get a special food called “cat food.” It comes in two flavors, wet and dry. I like them both even though MelT tells me I am not a cat, and besides which, I am an herbivore. Whatever.

Continue reading “A Tasty Plastic Treat” »

Garibaldi is Sick: Vet Visit 8

Melly’s Blog:

Yesterday was another terrible day at the vet and today is one of our worst recovery days ever.

Gari had the first molar on his lower right removed. The tooth was dead and decaying inside the bone. In fact, there was a tunnel through the bone from the first molar to the incisor he had taken out last time. This kept the incisor hole from healing up correctly. Instead the whole thing is full of old food and debris. They couldn’t close it this time because in order to clean it out completely, he would need to be intubated, which is a procedure we have not yet faced.

The second molar is also dead and will need to be extraced. That wasn’t done this time because he was already under for a long time and had enough trauma to his mouth for a lifetime, let alone a single vet visit.

The worst thing is that he is unable to stand or walk or even sit up today. Yesterday when we left the vet, he was able to walk fairly well, but he deteriorated during the car drive home. We basically had to lift and drag him into the house. He sat in his sphinx position all night and is still in it now. This is similar to what happened to Caplin Rous when he got neutered. He is not eating, but at least he is drinking. This is especially good since we learned that he has elevated levels of kidney enzymes, which is something new. Drinking lots of water is important for that.

Right now we don’t know exactly why he is having this bad reaction. It could be because of his kidneys or it could be something else. Because of my experience with Caplin, I am hopeful this will pass in a few days. In the meantime I am trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.

I’ll try to get some video and photos later but right now I’m busy just dealing with this, and the fact that we got into a small accident on our drive to the vet’s. No one was hurt but Gari was thrown into the front seat, like he needed more drama.

Please, no prayers or religious references. If they help you, feel free to say them silently or whatever, but they don’t help us and I’d rather not deal with that now.

How Much is that Capy in the Window?

Garibaldi Rous with Flopsy the Killer Cat

Garibaldi Rous with Flopsy the Killer Cat

Melly’s Blog:

How much is that capy in the window?
The one who hasn’t got any tail?
How much is that capy in the window?
My Gari I never will sale!

Stacy Winnick, owner of the infamous Dobbye Winnick, did a recent post on her blog, Dobbye the Capybara,  about the costs of keeping a pet capybara. This is a very important topic for anyone considering getting a pet capybara or any other pet for that matter. Just how much does it cost to keep a capybara? Continue reading “How Much is that Capy in the Window?” »

Double Update

The Capybara in Winter

The Capybara in Winter

As you can see from the above photo, Melly is feeling well. She is up to some of her old antics, such as forcing me to wear a Texas A&M scarf. Fact is, I am not a fan of Texas A&M since that is where I go to the vet. Knowing that, you can see that I am not quite 100% or I would have bitten her. I don’t think a three-toothed bite will have quite the same effect either, which makes me sad. Continue reading “Double Update” »

Garibaldi is Sick: Vet Visit 6

A happy, healthy capybara?

Melly’s blog:

Another installment in the long suffering of a poor little capybara who never hurt anyone, my adorable Garibaldi Caplin Rous. And it’s not a good one. The photo above was taken the day before we went to the vet. He looks both healthy and happy but apparently he is neither. Continue reading “Garibaldi is Sick: Vet Visit 6” »