New Hoffman in DA HOUSE! (Exotic Sugar Glider)

Welcome "Bean"

 

The Sugar Glider

 

(I'll insert a picture of him and a cute video of bonding once he's awake)

 

 

 

I usually add stuff to my blog daily but, lately everything in the house has decided to turn on it's head and it all started from what I thought was a simple cold. Sunni had this said "cold" for about 3 days. We kept her hands constantly clean and sanitized because with 4 kids and a Mother-in-law colds spread so very fast and once everyone is sick the house is unbearable to live in. I thought we would just get away with Sunni having it but then, Hailee got it. FOR LESS THAN 24 HOURS. Weird. I mean I was happy she only had like sniffles and what sounded like a sore throat and no pain. Next day she was 100%. I'm kinda proud to say this is the first time in 3 and a half years of her short life that she has had a cold of any type. Then somehow in all the hustle and bustle of making sure the girls were "A-okay" I somehow let my immune system get the best of me.

 

   One problem though. I have had Asthma since the 3rd grade. So when I get a cold it almost always turns into a chest cold which can turn worse and keep me from breathing right. I weathered the storm for about 2 days. Then I couldn't breathe. I would walk from my room to the kitchen (about 10 steps) and be winded, dizzy and I haven't felt that out of breath in a while. I had a calculation of 33 puffs left on my rescue inhaler that morning and bam I was down to 0 by midnight.

 

   Something was wrong. I think my rescue inhaler is failing me and the next step to an asthmatic is the "breathing treatment". I will just say a couple things about that and be done. I hate them. They make you shaky, weak and drained. I hate them. I have my own nebulizer that helps give the liquid medication thru an oxygen mask. Problem. No liquid medication to put in the nebulizer. Time to consider the pros and cons of going to the ER at midnight to receive a breathing treatment. Eric had to go to work by 6 am. Not a plus. I could be hospitalized for flu or worse. Still not a plus. But, the main thing that pushed me over the edge was I started to breathe heavier. I couldn't catch my breath. It was almost like hyperventilating.  I could breathe out but taking deep breaths in was a chore. Off we went.

 

   I'll make this kinda short. The ER was pretty fast about 1-2 hours. I was given a breathing treatment some medications and a refill on my rescue inhaler. I came home and rested. Each day it has gotten a little better. I just cannot believe the congestion in my chest that comes up. Not to be gross but, man. Then Eric (who never gets sick) got sick. Luckily, he doesn't have asthma so I am predicting he will be over this before I am 100%. In the middle of this we had to miss some events that just would not mix well with the asthma, I did not need to go back to the ER.

 

    Also, in the middle of all this I made a VERY bad decision and a VERY serious decision. Let's just give a run down real quick of my bad decision. I am not one to go on craigslist. Eric goes on all the time. I'm not a fan. Too many scetchy people on there and believe me I was not dissapointed. The beginning of last week I received my 16 year old sons report card. We will just say I was seeing red. What I thought was going to be an improvement was a failure. I don't want to blast him on my blog but, Mommy was not happy. I took all of his games (10+) and his Playstation. I listed everything on a facebook page for items for sale or trade in our home town.. I wanted it all out and now. And just to give you an idea of the type of serious Mom I am. Last time he used his iphone and I reviewed a nasty text message, he got it smashed with a hammer. This time I figured I would get my money back..lol

 

   It took less then an hour and an offer to trade for an ipod 5. Sure, why not. Sunni's birthday was in July and she had awesome grades. I sent a message, "Does it work", "why are you selling it?" you know. The guy was a teen. That was the first red flag I ignored. He seemed legit. I had his facebook page, his name, his personal info on the info section of his facebook even his High School. Better information then I would have gotten on Craigslist right?

 

   Made the horrible decision to go thru with the deal. Made the trade straight across. The ipod was of course dead and had no charger when we met up. He said he traded it with a friend and just didn't get a charger. Red flag number two, ignored. We were there. It was out of our way some miles from home. Ok kid. We are taking this to the Apple store, here's the Playstation stuff we'll let you know if it isn't working.

 

We go straight to the Apple store. The techs get it all ready to go, things are looking up. BAM! Stolen. I knew it. Deep down you know this will happen to almost anyone who really is our generation or older. I still had faith that people did the right thing. So well, yeah I did the right thing. Although Michael's stuff was now gone forever. I still had the kids facebook name etc. I messaged him. He actually messaged back and told me that he really didn't know. How much I believed him was a mystery. I told him I was reporting him unless he returned the stuff and let me also send the ipod to the owner. That was a no go. I found out later he erased all his facebook page and he was gone out of my hands. I was left with a stolen iPod AND my son now has had his Playstation and games stolen.

 

   I got a hold of the owner of the iPod. She had her purse and belongings taken in a nightclub here over Memorial Day Weekend, she lives only 3 hours away. She was surprised that someone would call about it. I sent it out with tracking info yesterday. She should get it on Monday. Although, things did not turn out well for me. I did the right thing and even spent more money to ship it to the young lady. Should she decide to reward for return it's really up to her. I just did what was right.

 

 

NOW, Whew...(keep in mind I was doing all this sick) The SERIOUS decision. Just to give a small background. I have been around animals since I was born. My Mother breed AKC dogs for a short time and I helped with the babies that were denied by the mother. When I turned 12 I got the bug for exotic animals. My junior high was letting out for Summer and the science teacher needed foster homes for the classroom animals. I volunteered. I took home red slider water turtles and a pink toed tarantula. I wasn't a huge fan of the turtles but I fell in love with the tarantula. At the beginning of the next school year I was proud to turn them all in alive, well and healthy! As I grew older a love for exotics grew. I owned a lot of animals. I had about 4 ferrets at one time. I really someday wanted to own more but exotics are just that. Exotic and expensive. Everything about them screams unique and I love that. We had just lost an iguana and I wanted a companion. I have Dusty the Chihuahua. A few kittens that I rescued for the kids. But, I was really wanting a pet all my own. I was researching mini-pot belly pigs, Sugar Gliders, Ferrets. Any and everything I thought I could hold a really good bond with as an exotic. After researching the Sugar Glider was the perfect fit. They needed the right person who could handle nocturnal and etc. You can read more about them. I'm sure I'll post more about Bean. Bean is a 2 year old Male Sugar Glider. He needed to be rescued because his owner tried to bond him with a female she had and it just was not going well. Bean was aggressive. Suggies usually love to live in colonies or 2 or more. Bean seems fine on his own. For now. This time I took precautions. I made sure everything was legit. Even though this time it was an animal you still have to be careful not to get one that is sick etc. I'm not a preacher so I will not dive into that sea.

   It is two days since Bean has come home and he is doing great! Eating, playing. He has bitten a few times but that's understandable and no blood was drawn. He's not comfortable yet. I have a bonding pouch on the way so things will pick up. We let him play in our secure bathroom last night and he glided and crawled and ran up and down Joey. He didn't want to go back in his cage..lol. I think we made a great choice and so far has proven to be a success. If you decided to own ANY exotic pet my one piece of advice is to do all the research you can PRIOR to taking one home. You want to be familiar with their sounds, habits, quirks etc. Again, I am not a preacher so I will leave it at that. So there it is.. My life so far this Summer. Interesting right?


I plan on setting up future reviews with companies and people that deal in and sell Sugar Glider supplies, toys, food etc. So stay tuned.

If you sell or make anything Sugar Glider related and would like Bean and I to review it or even do a giveaway as well! Please, feel free to contact me Dvldoll@gmail.com and I can send you the information about my reviews and how unique my readers are!