Spike - Naughty Boy

小帥哥今天的體重是398g. 之前三百八十幾我就在擔心太胖，現在低於四百我就覺得他很苗條。
還是得考慮一下，一天30g的食物會不會太多。(但是我又怕他沒吃夠)

我偶爾會在他的小木屋上發現大便，這有點嚇人。
該不會這小傢伙在晚上都有爬上木屋吧? 那他也滿厲害的(身手敏捷的胖子?!)就算他站在木屋上，應該也是無法蹺家，我只是擔心他會被保溫燈燙到。目前看起來應該他是搆不到保溫燈，不過他其實比我想像中的高(長?)。嗯 還是得小心為妙


喂 小胖 別讓我擔心阿

Annika

Gonna Blog about this two-year-old girl.
Part of the reason why I drove 8.5 hours to visit (and 8.5 hours back)
She's got the cutest eyes and rich facial expression.

She's very sweet.
When her mom parks the car, she asks: "You got it?"
When her grandma yawns, she asks: "You tired?"
When someone cough, she asks: "You OK?"
Often when you show her pictures of her, she says: "Sweet"
But when you ask her if she is pretty, cute or sweet, she says no.
I guess she has a weird concept for pretty.
She said that my glass-cleaning cloth is pretty.


She's got opinion already.
When her mom helped her put on the cute pink dress, she cried like something horrible happened.
But if you can distract her with something else, she'll forget that thing is on her until next time she has to put it on again.


She loves raisins and adores apple and orange too, I suppose.
If she loves you enough or if you are lucky enough, she might share some with you.
One time I peeled an orange for myself but gave it to her cause she wanted it.
I asked her to give me some (and even faked crying), but she just smiled and said no.
But after I believe it's never gonna happen, she gave me the last piece.
Smiling still.

It is very interesting to hang out with her.
One morning she shared quite a bit of her raisins with me even without me asking.
The only thing I said was: "Yummy?"
She just kept sharing and I was truly happily surprised.
Later on, she asked for more raisins.
So after getting her mother's approval, I handed her some more.
She smiled at me and said "thank you".
Man, it could melt your heart.


I believe she likes when the little boy, Luke Daniel comes to visit.
When he walked in, she pulled the toy over and sit at one side of it while asking him to sit at the other side.
When he was crying for his mother, she even pet him and said: "Don't cry." Also, she copied me saying: "she'll be back."
But then, when they start playing together, they always want the same thing at the same time.
There will be some arguing and none stopping "Mine!"
Maybe as her mom said, it's a love-hate relationship.


Although every baby has their cranky time, Annika does know how to be delightful.
Wherever she is, you can just constantly hear people say "how cute."
When we went to the bookstore, she said "Thank you" to the guy who held the door for us.
When we were at the restaurant, she says "hi" to the waitresses and people at the tables around us.
Oh, I said that also because I got my goodbye hug.

寵物的價值

老實說，小時候不懂事的我，也傷害過不少小動物。國小的時候好像有流行各式各樣的寵物一陣子，我因為不會照顧，也害死不少。Spike對我來說是第一個我真的考慮了很久，用心在養的寵物。在把這個小搗蛋帶回家以後，可能是因為計畫很久，也可能是因ptt特寵版認識了很多熱愛生命之人的緣故，開始認真思考寵物的價值到底是什麼。
最近聽了很多故事，剪了刺的刺蝟、被拋棄的寵物、因為藝術展被犧牲的兔子跟烏龜、還有跟著籠子一起被網路拍賣的兔子，每個都讓人心寒。
新聞裡那位害死了兔子跟烏龜的藝術家倒了歉，展場人員竟然還為他叫屈？！沒有用心的照顧，說再多都是藉口。無心之過難道不是過？過失殺人難道應該無罪開釋嗎？不會照顧就根本不該做這樣的展覽，知識不足的話，再怎麼盡力照顧，也不算盡力。
對，這些小動物都是可以用錢買到的，可是牠們不應該只是"商品"；牠們不是沒有生命、沒有感覺的物品，牠們也是可以感受到快樂與痛苦的。我懂什麼叫買兔子附送籠子，可是買籠子附送兔子是什麼？寵物的價值到底決定在哪？ Spike我是花了美金100塊買到的(台灣的朋友不要驚訝，這在美國算是便宜)，整理箱跟滾輪還有一些小東西是多加了65塊錢買的(breeder準備的，我覺得這樣很好，確保了這些小傢伙至少剛開始會有個好環境)，帶去看過一次醫生花了我68，溫控器花了我120，其他還有前前後後買了一些雜七雜八的東西，有些後來沒用上都丟掉，加一加，已經不知道在他身上花了多少。如果單用價格看，實在划不來，附加物品的"價格"已經超過主角的"價格"了，可是，寵物的價值實在不該只決定於牠的價格，生命怎麼能用數字去衡量？我想，我們也不會在人身上定一個數字吧？(就算再高也是不合理的)。有很多的小動物，都能被用很低的金額購買，可是，生命該是無價的，這不是一般商品壞了再買一個那麼簡單的。
我不記得，以前有什麼時候在學校上課被教導尊重生命的觀念。當我們把邏輯、數字都搞的那麼清楚的時候，是不是還該加上一課生命的價值呢？

Spike - The Life

懶惰了很久，又很久沒寫Blog了。看來我預測是對的，三分鐘熱度的我是不可能維持一個Blog的...

把這怪到Spike頭上好了，生活那麼規律，我都不知道寫些什麼。
我每天下班回家就開始幫他弄吃的並打掃他的小窩。等到一切都準備妥當，才把小傢伙叫醒。
這時候，他都會先進行第一件大事
剛開始我都以為那只是刺蝟的天性使然，要像鴕鳥一樣躲起來，後來才發現他其實在做一件非常重要的事情
拉屎！

維持在388g上下好一陣子的體重，今天來到406g我開始懷疑體重計了，一定是體重計污賴你，你沒有那麼胖對不對Spike? 每天都那麼勤奮的跑滾輪一整晚，怎麼會這樣呢...貓食也是買高蛋白低脂的阿...可能是肌肉比較重吧 (一直自我安慰的主人，怪了，我又不是胖的那個)
我想你大概也不在乎吧?

Detailed Instruction 詳細的指示

When my mom was here visiting me, we bought a shoe rack and assembled it.
當老媽來找我的時候，我們買了一個鞋架並把它組裝好。
The instruction is like this:
組裝指示是這樣的:There's number at the top-left corner of each plot that you can follow through.
每個圖的左上角都有數字好讓你可以跟著一步一步做。
Now look closely to plot #5, you can see a completed shoe rack.
仔細看圖五，是一個已經組裝完成的鞋架。
But how come there is another plot after that? (The one I hid with a black block)
可是為什麼在那之後還有一個圖呢? (我用黑色方塊遮起來的那個)

Because that shoe rack company will like to remind you...
因為鞋架公司提醒您...not to forget to throw trash away.
別忘了隨手將垃圾丟掉！

ps.
Should I keep the box since no one told me to throw that away?
既然你沒說要丟紙箱的話，我是不是該把它留著?

Spike - Home Improvement

感恩節前後，因為老媽來找我，所以我的Blog荒廢了好一段時間。

今天要來講一下繼Spike - Accommodation 住處跟Spike - Accessories之後，Spike的住處又升級啦!
這什麼怪東西？這就是現在Spike住處的外觀。為了讓Spike這個畏光的小朋友在不影響我看電視的情況下(原來還是為了自己 :P)享受比較陰暗的環境，我去買了一個(人用的)毯子來蓋Spike的整理箱。因此還得為通風以及不干擾滾輪加了一根隨手拿來本要當垃圾丟掉的棍子在整理箱邊上，做支撐毯子的架子，不過實在太簡陋，就不照相存證了。現在一邊是那根爛棍子，一邊是保溫燈在支撐那條毯子。
這個作法還帶來一個意外的功能，就是保暖。這幾天越來越冷，即使保溫燈全開，有時還是要很久才能達到設定的溫度，甚至有時即使"火力"全開溫度還不升反降，畢竟整理箱是比較開放的空間吧，我想。現在蓋了毯子，溫度都能維持，算是一個意外的收穫。

接下來這張照片重點有點不明顯。其實只是墊在飲水器跟整理箱中間的closet liner(這東西中文是啥? 我在台灣沒用過)。"好像"有稍微減少一點Spike喝水時的聲音(也極度有可能只是心理作用)。

接下來，重點來了!!我也不知道這刀叫什麼名字，只記得國中的時候上工藝還是美術之類的課用過，後來沒再用以後大概是丟了。這次老媽來之前，我跟她提了一下，因為不知道名字，只好用小畫家畫了個簡陋的圖寄給她。我本來是不抱希望的，沒想到老媽真厲害，在那麼短的時間裡竟然買到了。這東西當然不是給Spike用的啦。我只是有鑑之前把整理箱弄裂，想要一個更好用的東西來改造Spike的家。我覺得還滿好用的。先在整理箱上劃線、作記號，然後用這刀"挖"過一遍，裡外都挖過後，那槽中的塑膠就變得很薄，這時候只要再稍微用美工刀劃過，就可以把要割下的部份輕鬆移除了~(好像講得太容易了點^^")
托這工具的福，現在滾輪是架在整理箱上了，他跑步時的聲音似乎也小許多，加上沒有了鐵架之後，便盆超出滾輪的部份面積也變大了，我總覺得Spike居住的環境越來越舒適了(我覺得也沒用，這小傢伙好像沒差=.=)。下次再來看還要改造什麼吧，嘿嘿。

Spike - The Day of Being A Model

"Mr. Spike, we are taking some photo shots for a magazine cover today"
"..........."

"Would you pose for us, please?"
"Sigh...Do I have to?"




"Uh...yes, it's specified in the contract."




"Alright... We done?"


"Uh... Could we have a more vigorous look, please?"
"This?"


"Uh... How about a fierce look? Kinda like saying: roarrrrr, I'm the king of the weighting scale."
"This?"


"Uh...Never mind..."


"Oh, we're done? OK, good, time to sleep"

Spike - 公務員

這小傢伙最近過著很規律的生活
在我發現我只要燈開著他就不出來活動以後，我讓他在我房間待了幾天，這樣我每天在客廳活動也就不會覺得剝奪了他的活動時間。因為在他活動的時候，咬飼料的聲音、水瓶撞擊整理箱的聲音、還有滾輪的聲音，都是會讓人睡不著的，所以，他待在我房間的話，我也就理所當然的移駕到客廳去睡了(還真是名符其實的喧賓奪主 XD)。
既然我都把房門關上讓他享受寧靜又昏暗的環境，他這幾天也很識相的都早早就起身跑滾輪。之前他在客廳的時候，他都會在我睡覺以後一陣子才起來活動(大約十一點多十二點左右)，現在既然七早八早就天黑了，他也就很準時的九點一刻左右就起身跑滾輪。
聽聞很多Ptt特寵版版友的刺蝟，常常在搞逃家記，老實說，我實在無法想像。Spike的生活，不外乎是：起床、吃飯、喝水、跑滾輪、鑽回小木屋繼續睡，從來沒有什麼特別不一樣的舉動。加上他現在準確的生理時鐘，我主觀的認為，他的個性很適合當個準時上下班的公務員 XD。不但準時，而且不搞怪，員工就要請這種的！

不過我一直睡客廳也不是辦法，還是得趕快找個解決之道。今天要嘗試我的walk-in closet。我自己待在裡面過，應該是不會太悶。不過它就在我房間內，不知道會不會還是把我吵醒。試一個晚上看看吧。
小傢伙，你怎麼看起來像隻熊?

ps. 附上他的玉照們

Spike - Something Wrong

Either something wrong with the scale, or something wrong with Spike. My goodness, he was 358g yesterday, and 372g today?! Is it even possible???

Weird, this is really weird.
I'm goona keep track of your weight, buddy.

Spike - 358? Really?

So on his 3 month old birthday (Nov. 1st), he was 365g. And on the next day (Nov. 2nd), he was 368g. I took a day off (Nov. 3rd) weighting him, now he is 358g?!
I admit I am a little bit paranoid. When he is gaining weight, I am afraid he's obese; now that he's lost weight (10g in 2 days?), I am afraid that he's sick. Well, so far he still appear healthy to me, kinda. I hope he's just running on the wheel more (or maybe I subconsciously gave him less food?)

I hope you remain healthy, no matter how heavy you are. Spiky.

Spike - 3 Month Old!!

On his 3 month old birthday, I gave him almost a full day without me. (What a gift)

I came back home after 9. Got him 6 fat mealworms and weighed him. He is 365g now. Maybe I should've weighed him before feeding him the mealworms. (Do we really want to blame on the mealworms like people who are not honest with their weight?) Should I worry? He's gaining weight so fast. I am not sure if this is a normal speed or not. But I also don't find anything abnormal with him (other than his weight of course.) I need to ask around.

FAT!

Spike - Good Boy

Finally, he sleeps in my hand again.
I think we've reconciled after the incident mentioned in "Spike - Since Oct. 8th." Now when I handle him, although he still tries to run away when he's conscious, he still puts down his quill pretty soon and "allows me" (not saying that he likes it) to pet him (And I do believe it's not because that I bribe him with mealworms.) It's even better when he is sleepy. He'll just try to fall asleep again even in my hand.

Usually I won't be able to see his face cause he always tries to hide it when sleeping. But I was lucky enough to see it when I did the routine handling one evening.


Chubby, but cute.

Spike - Accessories

我可是在小傢伙身上花了不少心思。
雖然沒有製作別墅的能力，就設備來說，他住的也應該算是豪宅吧。
以下就要來看看他的用品們。

I. From Breeder
前四項是我從breeder買來一開始的setup中有的東西而我現在還在用的。

1. 整理箱

長型的。空間還不算小。

2. 飲水器

雖然是聽說有夾到舌頭跟給水量不足的顧慮，不過目前看來似乎Spike使用上並沒有什麼問題，所以不打算換。裝水在淺盆裡Spike有時後會踩過去，我怕他腳濕濕的不好，就不這樣了。這個飲水器其實就算不去動它，每隔一段時間都會自己滴一兩滴下來，所以我下面還是擺了一個容器，以保持整理箱的乾燥。

3. 碗

其實我因為整理箱內"家具"擺放位置的變動，還買了很多個其他的碗。結果最後因著現在的安排，還是換回了原先breeder給的（所以我浪費了一些錢在沒用的碗上)。這樣正好，因為飲水器會滴水，這碗的兩頭，一邊就拿來裝食物，另一邊就用來接從飲水器落下的水。有時候Spike若是有注意到，也會先喝完碗裡的水才喝飲水器的。

4. 滾輪


看過別人的滾輪喋血故事(看了都覺得痛...)之後，開始比較會appreciate這個滾輪，因為它基本上沒有什麼地方可以造成傷害。一開始我就是單單滾輪連著鐵架直接放在整理箱裡，晚上Spike運動的時候，非常的吵。想過要在整理箱挖洞然後把滾輪固定在箱上，結果整理相被我弄裂...花了好一段時間做白功。目前因為把便盆放在滾輪下，正好有壓制的作用，就比較好一點(雖然我還是得把Spike留在客廳然後我要關上房門才能睡覺)，所以我暫時先把鑽孔的事情擱置。把便盆放在滾輪下後，我兩次早上起來看到滾輪並不在鐵架上，每次都驚慌的把Spike吵醒來檢查有沒有受傷，然後發現是虛驚一場(每次都結束於Spike睡眼惺忪的瞪著我)。第一次我以為我沒裝好，後來才覺得可能是Spike硬往底下鑽而把滾輪頂下來。因為滾輪其實只是"放"在鐵架上的:


我現在就以隨手可得的材料把它固定住，目前還沒有其他狀況。

我仔細思考過，還有可能造成傷害的大概就是兩個在滾輪底(側面?)的小洞了。雖然Spike每次一上滾輪就開始狂奔，應該是很難有什麼機會去鑽那兩個洞，可是為了確保安全，我還是稍微用砂紙磨了一下。

II. From me
接下來就是我敗家的開始...

5. 便盆

我對自己的歪點子還挺滿意的。
第一個是把便盆放到滾輪底下是個好主意，反正Spike也會在滾輪上大小便，這樣剛好，現在整理箱其他部份都可以保持"相對的"乾淨。第二個是把別人用來烤蛋糕的cake pan買來當便盆。其實我之前一直思考了很久到底要去哪裡買會剛好合整理箱寬度的便盆。有想過要買那種放在盆栽下的淺碟子，可是一直沒看到適合的。有天在買grocery的時候正好看到這個，就買了。大小剛好，又有點"可塑性"，簡直是完美。

便盆裡面用的litter是：

也是花了我一點時間去找。本來breeder給的bedding看起來跟網路上看到的刺蝟皮屑長得有點像，總是讓我在Spike換刺的時候心驚膽戰，老是自己嚇自己，況且看起來一點都不吸水。我知道刺蝟使用的litter有很多限制，最好不能有添加物，因為他們可能會咬；最好不要是clay作基底的，有一些潛在的危險(忘記是什麼了)，blahblah的，總之很多。尤其是公刺蝟，凝結砂怕會沾粘在他們的重要部位上造成堵塞，所以最好是分解的。幾乎完全符合需求的我在Petsmart只有看到一種，兩家不同公司的。一家就是我買的這個，另一家稍微比較貴一點，google "feline pine cat litter"應該可以看到(同一家公司有出不同種的，可是包裝一樣，要小心搞混)。
目前用起來感覺還不錯，我今天又買了一樣道具：

幹嘛用的勒？因為分解的litter每次要清理的時候，常常都會順道挖掉一些還可以使用的，造成浪費，所以我買了這個東西來當作過濾器，把還完好的litter留下，粉都篩掉。剛剛試用了，效果非常好(得意)。

6. 木屋

這是在網路上買的小木屋。
剛開始其實從breeder那邊拿來一個只算的上是睡袋的東西，後來好像是因為Spike在裡面大便，而我已經連續好幾天都在洗那東西，而那東西又不容易乾，所以我給他拿了一件我不喜歡穿出門的T-shirt，順便讓他熟悉我的味道。只有布料雖然是可以有遮蔽又順便有床，可是有時候容易被他推來推去，不在一個固定位置。有天我在網路上亂逛，看到了這木屋，就馬上下手了(買Spike用具從來沒手軟的)。


現在我的T-shirt也在待洗中，用了兩個袖子跟兩塊布當木屋中的床用(沒錯，兩塊白色的是另一件T-shirt的袖子，我為了他多了一件無袖衣)，這樣就可以拿來輪替。

7. 保溫燈加溫控組
這就是我極度敗家的證明。

保溫燈本身沒什麼稀奇。100W的陶瓷加熱器加上夾式的的燈座，其實沒有多少錢。



重點是溫控器。這不是一般的on/off溫控器，而是proportional的。on/off的溫控器，在溫度不到設定的溫度時就會開啟你的加熱裝置，然後在超過時切斷，真正的溫度會隨著設備好壞在設定溫度的上下2~5度(華氏)之間。而proportional的會自動調節輸入加熱裝置的power來維持所設定的溫度。說實在，溫度有點起伏有關係嗎？我想大概是沒差吧。可是就想讓Spike奢侈一點，既然我不會造樓中樓的話。

8. 體重計

是用來量廚房裡的食物的。簡單的數位顯示，一目了然，單位可以用磅或公斤。

9. 砂紙

其實就是一塊砂紙，實在沒必要放照片，可是都照了，所以...。
不是很粗的，100 grit(中文叫什麼?)。我摸過，不太粗，不掉沙，算滿OK的(我希望)。貼了一塊在整理箱內的底部，目前看來有點用，應該很久不用幫Spike剪指甲。會使用這個方法的原因是因為我實在很不會給Spike剪指甲，因為總是很擔心會撿到他的肉，所以每次都折騰老半天，Spike都不爽了我還沒剪到(囧)。在書上看到說可以放置粗糙表面的東西在食物盆的周圍來避免剪指甲，書中說的材料我忘了(英文的)，只記得都是不怎麼容易取得的(至少對我來說)，所以用了砂紙(當然是很小心的自己先摸摸看才選的)。

大概就是這樣了，其他還有些雜七雜八買錯的、沒在用的就不提了。

Spike的家是這樣：


旁邊還擺了一大推跟他有關的東西：


吧台下現在沒位置了，我吸塵器要另覓住處了。

Spike - Since Oct. 8th

Having been so busy lately, I didn't have time to update things about Spike.

He is 344g now. I worried for a little bit, but since he'll be 3 month for less than a week, I guess he's not too fat. Plus, he runs on the wheel ever night, he's probably more fit than fat. (I hope)

Just when I thought I got he's trust when he was 2 month old, one day an accident happened. I was handling him like usually, and I put him on my lap while I was getting something. I didn't know what happened, maybe he scared himself or he sneezed (?), he backed up a little and rolled down my lap. He immediately rolled into a ball and that was the first time I heard him make the clicking sound. Ever since that, he has been very cautious and there were several days I can't really hold him. Any little movement will cause him to roll into a ball and make clicking sound. Now that he's been better (I guess I can say within a relatively short time period, but surely doesn't feel so the first few days.) Now I know I not only have to be careful don't make any mistake myself, I also have to beware of his mistake that might hurt or upset him. Overall he's a good boy I think. Now he's just more cautious. But he will still sleep in my hand if I hold him during his bed time.

Spike is an interesting guy. (This is probably an interesting line...)
A few days ago, I put a mealworm beetle (well, mealworms grew up...) in front of him. He smelled it, but didn't eat it. That was weird to me. While I was holding him in my left hand and ready to put him back to his house, I decided to try it again. So this time, he was in my left hand and the beetle was in my right. And he ate it! I wonder why. I guess he just doesn't pick anything random from the ground to eat?! No idea.

Spike - Over 2 month Old

I don't know what topic to use so I randomly chose one.
Haven't blog about Spike for a while now cause I have been busy and lazy.
Several points to update: (man, is this the engineer way of writing a blog or what)

He's gotten bigger now.
I spent some time with him after work everyday and I remembered one day I just suddenly felt that he's big. Several days ago when I was looking for a pot (or a "Whistling Tea Kettle" if you will), I saw this scale for measuring weight of food (or spices?) in the kitchen. I was too excited since I had been looking for a weighing scale that suits Spike and there it was in front of me. I bought it without thinking (and ended up returning it the next day). Came home all excited and couldn't wait to measure Spike's weight. It was a dial scale with graduation to 1/4 of 100g (so, 25g). Spike seems to be 200+3/4*(100)=275g. That scared me. He was 185 when we went to the vet. Now it's only about 2 weeks later and he's almost doubled up? After inquiring someone else's opinion, he's probably just at his "growth stage". Now when I calm down and look at him again, he doesn't really seem that fat to me. I am just being very protective that's all.


He doesn't poo in his bed now.
I guess I shouldn't feed him uncooked veggie? I really don't know. But he doesn't poo in his bed anymore and that's a great improvement. I think I can officially claim him as being successfully potty trained. I guess he probably didn't really need to be trained. I am probably the one who needs to be trained. Here are the changes I made (as I was being potty-training-trained):
1. I took the professional opinion and put his bed at one end and the food in the middle. 2. Since he poos on the wheel and like to poo under the wheel too, I decided to put the potty box under his wheel (which is also recommended by another hedgie owner on his website.)

This is the first successful version. (oh... my lousy picture taking skill...)
His sleeping bag is my TEAM BUZZ T-shirt now...

This is an upgraded version. I bought him a wooden house. The same T-shirt is in the house. There is also a piece of sand paper taped in the middle there (grade: 100. I don't think this will hurt his little feet. I mean, he walks on it, not that I sand his nail with it.)
(wow, I really didn't know it's that dark... I'll take new ones sometime and update this post...)

That's probably it. Oh ya, and I bought a proportional thermostat "Herpstat". Seems real easy to use. I'll go get heat emitter and set it up soon. Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade. (Spike doesn't even care. I am the excited one)