He's here!

I would like to announce the addition of Kermit, one Southern Flying Squirrel, to the Rivet household. Once I either get a digital camera or figure out how to send the pics on my phone I'll get an actual picture of the guy up here. Suffice it to say that he's incredibly cute. He's about 5 1/2 weeks old and weighs maybe 2 ounces. I'll be bottle-feeding him the next couple weeks (it's a combination of puppy formula and heavy whipping cream, administered through a 3cc syringe), but we also shared a snack of pecan bits this afternoon.

We've got his cage pretty pimped-out, too. Michael had the inspired idea to not only get branches that screw on to the sides of the cage (found in the bird dept. of your local pet store), but to get some snakier pieces of grapevine (from the reptile section -- oy ... pun not intended) and wire them to the sides for extra fun. Kermit also has his choice of log-like items to crawl through, a rope ladder, a hammock (that I knit -- yes, I'm psychotic, what else is new?), a nest box and a wheel.

Strange behaviors thus far: Kermit will fall asleep wherever his activities lead him. Last night, he explored a narrow crevice between the cage wall and his nest box -- and fell asleep wedged in there. Clinging to the side of the cage. He's been known to use the nest box (how he managed to plan that far ahead as to be at the sleeping place when he wanted to sleep is beyond me) and the hammock (eons of cuteness), but he mostly ends up just curling up in his precious wheel. The wheel he can't use for very long at a time, because he ends up running too fast and flipping himself around. He's also convinced that vertical blinds are climbable, and shows signs of developing a definite Thing about Climbing on Top of the Cage. He's not allowed on the furniture (for fear that he'll just keep exploring, and he's just too tiny for that), but he seems to think that because it's His Cage, he can Go Where He Wants -- even On Top. In theory I might see his point, but I know that this is merely a premise to get him to his Everest, a.k.a. the Tall Bookshelf. He's already figured out that he can get a grip on the rough plywood on the back of the shelves and shimmy himself up.

He's been here 48 hours, he's a baby, and he's already rebelling. I'm so proud.