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a_sporking_ratAs I predicted, Jabez had passed when I checked on him after posting the previous spork. He seems to have most likely had cancer, given the way he wasted away and that, in his last few days, he got the rotting odor that they tend to when they have cancer. I am very grateful that he didn't die while I was house-sitting for the dogs, and that I got a chance to say goodbye for him. It's the best I could have asked for.
Something interesting I noticed with how skinny he got is that, even skeletal, he was bigger than the other mice. He was always quite fat prior to getting ill (not his fault, that's how brindle mice are, hence why it was such an alarming sign when he started to get skinny, since that's something that is *not* supposed to be happening with him) but this proves it wasn't just that which made him bulky, he was just plain big-boned too! This was worth pointing out to my dad, who had made fun of his weight from the first day we got him, and picked on him mercilessly in general. Seriously, he's buddies with the rats, neutral on the other mice besides thinking they smell bad (which, hey, they do), but he just had a grudge against Jabez and was always calling him beady-eyed, a pain the ass, etc., in addition to insulting his weight. I think he was just trying to get a rise out of me since Jabez was my blatant favorite among the mice. I know, I know, a mother shouldn't have favorites, but Jabez was the most sweet and tame of the mice, and, unlike the other mice, he was happy to sit still on me and get petted rather than running all over the place. I was also able to hold him much longer than the other mice, since, unlike them, he would not decide to musk me. I guess he knew I already belonged to him!
He wasn't always the tame, calm, tolerant sweetie-pie that he became, though. Originally, he was the most nervous of the mice, with a tendency to nip, which is also typical of brindle mice along with being overweight. It took a lot of handling and TLC for him to change, but he did and I was always really proud of him for it, as well as a little proud of myself too, especially since he seems to have been a little older than the other two and already set in his ways when I got him. While it's true that pudge was just in his genes, he was indeed very enthusiastic about food (his fave was sweet carb crumbs, like cake and biscuits and corn bread), and would get way more excited about dinner than the other mice. They'd just come to the food whenever they got hungry, but the moment I put his in his cage, he stopped whatever he was doing and made a beeline for it. To this day I don't know how he moved so fast on those tiny feet! Maybe it was all the time he spent on his wheel; he loved it, and ran on it more than the other mice, though of course he never got any slimmer. A day or two before his passing, I actually saw him walking on it! Slow, but still going!
This is him a little after I got him...chubbier than when he was at the pet store, but not yet at his peak roundness
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/PICT0054.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/PICT0048.jpg
And this is him at said peak
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/Jabez1.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/Jabez2.jpg
He was specifically a chinchilla brindle, hence the beautiful grey-on-grey markings. He wasn't show-quality, but he was a beautiful find I never expected in a pet store! It was love at first sight (not because of the fancy coloring, I just *needed* him), and I'm so glad I took him home. He was my buddy, my special little guy, and I love him and will miss him very much. He's eating angel food cake now!
Something interesting I noticed with how skinny he got is that, even skeletal, he was bigger than the other mice. He was always quite fat prior to getting ill (not his fault, that's how brindle mice are, hence why it was such an alarming sign when he started to get skinny, since that's something that is *not* supposed to be happening with him) but this proves it wasn't just that which made him bulky, he was just plain big-boned too! This was worth pointing out to my dad, who had made fun of his weight from the first day we got him, and picked on him mercilessly in general. Seriously, he's buddies with the rats, neutral on the other mice besides thinking they smell bad (which, hey, they do), but he just had a grudge against Jabez and was always calling him beady-eyed, a pain the ass, etc., in addition to insulting his weight. I think he was just trying to get a rise out of me since Jabez was my blatant favorite among the mice. I know, I know, a mother shouldn't have favorites, but Jabez was the most sweet and tame of the mice, and, unlike the other mice, he was happy to sit still on me and get petted rather than running all over the place. I was also able to hold him much longer than the other mice, since, unlike them, he would not decide to musk me. I guess he knew I already belonged to him!
He wasn't always the tame, calm, tolerant sweetie-pie that he became, though. Originally, he was the most nervous of the mice, with a tendency to nip, which is also typical of brindle mice along with being overweight. It took a lot of handling and TLC for him to change, but he did and I was always really proud of him for it, as well as a little proud of myself too, especially since he seems to have been a little older than the other two and already set in his ways when I got him. While it's true that pudge was just in his genes, he was indeed very enthusiastic about food (his fave was sweet carb crumbs, like cake and biscuits and corn bread), and would get way more excited about dinner than the other mice. They'd just come to the food whenever they got hungry, but the moment I put his in his cage, he stopped whatever he was doing and made a beeline for it. To this day I don't know how he moved so fast on those tiny feet! Maybe it was all the time he spent on his wheel; he loved it, and ran on it more than the other mice, though of course he never got any slimmer. A day or two before his passing, I actually saw him walking on it! Slow, but still going!
This is him a little after I got him...chubbier than when he was at the pet store, but not yet at his peak roundness
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/PICT0054.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/PICT0048.jpg
And this is him at said peak
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/Jabez1.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/rodentfanatic/Jabez2.jpg
He was specifically a chinchilla brindle, hence the beautiful grey-on-grey markings. He wasn't show-quality, but he was a beautiful find I never expected in a pet store! It was love at first sight (not because of the fancy coloring, I just *needed* him), and I'm so glad I took him home. He was my buddy, my special little guy, and I love him and will miss him very much. He's eating angel food cake now!
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no subject
Date: 2013-09-16 09:43 pm (UTC)May he have much angel food cake in the hereafter!
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Date: 2013-09-16 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-16 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 03:32 am (UTC)He really was an amazingly adorable mouse though, and I know you were the best rodent mommy he could ever have asked for.
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Date: 2013-09-17 03:44 am (UTC)He was indeed, and thank you!
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Date: 2013-09-17 04:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 05:22 am (UTC)Thank you for sharing him with us. He's in the land of infinite carbs, now.
I hope you're holding up alright.
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Date: 2013-09-17 01:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 10:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 08:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-17 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-20 01:25 am (UTC)I'm glad that you got the chance to say goodbye to him and that he had a happy life.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-20 01:56 am (UTC)