A friend for Fossy

Johnny (Marmoset) was moved into an intro cage beside Fossy (Marmoset) following the death of his companion Teddy (Marmoset).  We are hoping that the two of them will become friends and can live happily together.  So far, it looks good.  If all goes well, we will open the trap door between the enclosures within a couple of days so that they can have direct contact.

Stav (Macaque) was reunited with his friends, David, Solomon and Johanthan after having to live in an adjoining enclosure because they were all picking away at his wound.

We finally bought Pixie (dog) home after she was stitched up and have completed and separate area for her so that she can be safe from Casia who attacked her on Christmas day.  We had to make a hole through the wall to Sarah's bedroom so that she can have access to the outdoors.

Much to our releif, Lulu looks better after treatment and is acting like a puppy again.

Busy Day

The day started off with a broken geyser, broken washing machine, two leaking toilets and electrical problems.  Thanks to our efficient handy man, the geyser, one toilet and electrical problems were fixed fairly quickly.  The washing machine still has to be tested and then just as we thought we had everything under control, the geyser started overflowing with boiling water.  Never boring here !!!.

As the volunteers were trying to prepare the primate food, a swam of bees decided to help themselves to some juicy fruit.  They were everywhere – it was a real problem and slowed down the process of the preparation.  The only solution will be to contact a bee collector and have the bees removed, no doubt at great expense but it was the only thing that worked last year when they were helping themselves to the monkey food in the enclosures and we were worried that a monkey would get stung.

Stav (Macaque) will be able to join his friends tomorrow as his wound has healed up.  We had to separate him for a while because the other Macaques took his stitches out and were picking away at his wound. 

Pixie (dog) who was attacked by Casia (another dog) was came home on the 26^th December after spending the night at the animal hospital but has had to go to the vet every day (except today) to have her wounds flushed out.  She will be stitched up tomorrow.  We are busy building a separate area for her, adjoining Sarah’s room so that she will have somewhere safe to stay when we cannot be around to supervise her with Casia.

Lulu, our new puppy who was found in a garbage bag by the side of the highway is not well today and not eating very much.  She is still underweight and we are worried about her, so she will be going in to the vet with Pixie tomorrow.

Then, at pellet time Jax came down to tell me that Teddy (Marmoset) had suddenly collapsed.  I went rushing straight up, but he had died.  It was very upsetting for everyone.  We have no idea what caused his death, but will take him in for an autopsy tomorrow.

The problems of the day were not over yet.  Sarah came to tell me that Shapken (Mona monkey) had what looked like a blood blister on the side of his mouth.  It looks like an injury.  He was eating well and behaving normally, so we gave him some pain killer and will monitor him.

Quite an eventful day !!!!

Not the average Christmas day

Merry Christmas everyone.  All the volunteer were up at 4am and the duties were split up so that we could get the morning feed done early on Christmas day.  The first drama occurred when we found a poisonous snake in the blind lemurs enclosure.  With the Lemurs at risk, we quickly removed it.

Then, we noticed that the chickens ready to be prepared for Christmas lunch did not smell very good and were obviously not fit for consumption.  Very fortunately a shop nearby was open and we managed to buy some more.  Despite the set back and a very late lunch, we had a really good time and everyone enjoyed the feast laid on by Sarah, Reet and Jackie.

Everyone joined in to give the monkeys their afternoon, hand fed pellets and we had planned to sit down and have some chocolate cake when we had finished.  However, that was not to be - Sarah arrived at the house holding Pixie (dog), who had been attacked by Casia (dog).  Her injuries were really bad and we had to rush her to the out patients at Onderstepoort (animal hospital).  We stayed with her until almost 9pm while her wounds were treated by the vet.  She was admitted to the hospital for further care.  Pixie’s wounds will need to be flushed out everyday to avoid infection before she can be stitched up and come home on Tuesday.

We are now agonizing over how to move forward from here.  This is not the first time Casia has been aggressive towards Pixie.

Hmmmmmm !!!!

 Well, today was interesting and the unexpected happened – as it often does at our sanctuary.  I was just on my way into town when a call came in regarding 4 baby birds, whose nest had been disturbed during house renovations.  The lady with the baby birds arrived at the house and handed them over.  They were obviously just hatched, not a feather in sight on their pink, almost wet little bodies.  I fed them and then decided to take them into Onderstepoort (animal hospital) for further care as l felt that they would receive better care there.

While l was there, l heard about a Lulu, a six week old puppy who had been found in a garbage bag on the side on the road and very nearly died.  She had been on a drip for days.  I was invited through to see her……. And you know the rest of the story.  Yes Lulu has joined our family.  She is gorgeous, looks a little like a tiny Doberman, with a black head and dapple grey body.  She still is not well and is on medication.  Reet will be her sleeping partner tonight, but no doubt there will not be a shortage of volunteers to look after her.

All was quiet up at the enclosures with all of the monkeys behaving well.

We say goodbye to Twiggi

It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to fourteen year old Twiggi (Common Marmoset).  She died peacefully in her enclosure.  Over the past months, she had become almost blind and deaf and required additional care.  Twiggi had been at the sanctuary for a number of years.  She leaves behind her mate Mukka, and foster daughter Suri, who fortunately, are very close.  Foster son Nigel, who was only three years old, died a few days before after he ingested something sharp which punctured his gut.  It has been such a sad time for Mukka and Suri.  They are being monitored closely and seem to be doing ok.

Twiggi and Nigel will be buried together in our memorial forest, under a plum tree.

On a brighter note, Fossy (Common Marmoset) is doing much better on his gluten free diet.

Three year old Nigel dies

Three year old Nigel (Common Marmoset) was found dead in his sleeping box this morning.  It was a very sad moment for the volunteers who pulled his little body from the box.  Late this afternoon, we took his body in for an autopsy.  The results revealed that a foreign body (perhaps a piece of twig or something) had punctured his gut.  Nigel was a beautiful, always healthy little monkey who arrived at the sanctuary as a baby three years ago.  It is very sad to lose them when they are so young.

Volunteers were also watching very elderly Twiggi (Common Marmoset) closely today after noticing that she was bleeding heavily from her vagina.  It may have been just part of her female cycle so she was given a pain killer and monitored.  By lunch time, she had dried up, much to our relief.

Fossy (elderly Common Marmoset), was taken in to the vet today as he was also not looking well and then started vomiting.  The vet examined him and said that he should be put on a gluten free diet.  He was given medication and we are hopeful that he will recover.

Volunteer will be getting an early night after a very stressful day.

Should we build an Ark ??

Nothing much to report.  It has been raining off and on for days.  The poor monkeys have been huddled together under their heater lamps. 

Roofy, our naughty cat has taken to sleeping on my computer key board and now l battle to get the "u" to work.

The rain has delayed the outdoor area of the Macaque enclosure, so the boys are looking quite bored - we were hoping to have it finished by now.

The good news is that according to the weather report, it will clear up on Friday - hope so.

What a day

Off to a bad start yesterday morning, with no electrical supply for the monkey’s heating. 

The electrician arrived to try and sort out the problem, much to Honey’s (Squirrel monkey) relief as she was missing her heater, the electrician connected the monkeys heating temporarily saying that some of the cables would need to be dug up to find the real problem.

Then the rain came down, in buckets.  It was so heavy that Jax (volunteer) bought Fossy (Common Marmoset) to my flat instead to Nina’s room where he usually sleeps to prevent him from getting wet.  I was going out, so l left my flat unlocked and headed off.

I returned at 10pm to discover that l could not get into my flat.  I thought that someone must have locked my flat but could not find the key and the key to the main house was in my flat, so l had to phone the sanctuary phone and wake up volunteers.  We soon discovered that the door had somehow locked from the inside (its not a yale, so we don’t know how that could have happened).  In the pouring rain, and dark Mike and l battled the door before giving up and l went to sleep in the main house.  Just to add to the fun, Mike told me that the electricity power supply had gone off shortly after l left, and it still was not on.  Poor Honey was facing another night without her heating.

This morning, it was still raining, and we still had no electricity, and no access to my flat where Papi's medication and the babies bottles are kept.  Clever Sarah eventually forced my flat door open so fortunately Papi had his medication on time (which is important because its an insulin injection).  Thank goodness for the gas stove so that we could warm up the babies bottle feeds (Common Marmosets, Lilly, Flash and Zet). The rest of the morning feed was completed in the dark and rain which was not too much fun, but it had to be done.  It was cold, and some of the monkeys were shivering without their heating.  There was great rejoicing when the power came back on at about 10am and Honey and the other monkeys could thaw out under there heater lamps.  

Zet & Flash arrive at the sanctuary

We got off to an early start to go and collect Flash and Zet.  Naturally, the bakkie that we were to borrow was not there on time, so we arrived late anyway.  We arrived back with Zet and Flash at lunch time (it was a two hour trip each way) and started putting their toys up in their new enclosure adjoining that of Lilly, Dude and Suki.  Flash started back chatting them right away, but the poor little guy was very stressed and we hope that he wil be friendlier when he settles down a bit.  Lilly was terribly excited at the prospect of some play mates her age and was darting back and forth along the wire trying to get them to play with her.  She was still there long after her foster parents Dude and Suki had gone off to bed.  Unfortunately, the newcomers were not in the mood to play.

This morning, the vet came back to see Stav but said that he was going to leave his wound rather than stress him out again to stitch it up.  Stav has to be separated from the others while his wound heals though as Solomon keeps picking at it.

Belba, who had two teeth removed yesterday is doing well and taking her antiboitic like a good little girl.

After another busy day, l was not amused when the monkeys heating was not working again.  One of the labourers tried to fix it, but we may need to call in a professional.  Poor Honey will be very dispointed tomorrow when her heater is not on first thing in the morning.

An apple tree for Zettie

Today l went out and bought Zettie a beautiful apple tree.  We are making a memorial forest for the monkeys who have passed on by planting a fruit tree over their bodies.  That way, they wil live on through their trees.

We took Belba (Common Marmoset) to the vet.  She had to have two teeth out, poor little thing.  Belba arrived at the sanctuary on the 11th September 2010.  She is tiny because she in inbred - very cute.  She is on antiboitics and a pain killer and will feel a lot more comfortable without the painful absess which keeps popping up.

Solomon has taken most of Stav's (Macaques) stitches out.  We are waiting for the vet to come and have a look and decide whether he needs to be stitched up again.  We are all hoping that he does not have to go through all that again, poor Stav is a nervous wreck and will not even take treats from us.

A tough day

In the morning, Zettie (Common Marmoset) did not look well and was not interested in taking her supplement.  She was offered electrolites in apple juice, but took very little.  We were all worried about 14 year old Zettie as she was very lethargic. 

Early in the afternoon,  we noticed that Stav (Barbary Macaque) had a gash in his leg.  It was obvious that it would need to be stitched up so we called the vet.  While we were waiting, Zettie fell from her bed box area onto the floor, so we put her in a small cage with a blanket and left her in her enclosure so that she could be close to her family.  It was a warm day, so she was comfortable.  Her breathing was very shallow and we prepared ourselves for the worst.

The vet arrived and examined her.  He thought that she had kidney failure, and no chance of recovery.  Everyone said goodbye to her and she was euthanised.  It was really sad, but the right decision for her.  She was died very peacefully.  She is survived by mate, Vosi and sons Howard and Vince.

Then it was time to deal with Stav.  The vet darted him and stiched him up.  Sarah and Jackie sat with him in his enclosure until he came round.  He was falling all over the place and we feared that he would hurt himself.  It was getting late, so we placed him in his sleeping box to recover.  We checked on him later that night and he was sitting up and looking altert.

After a tough day, we noticed that he monkeys heating system was not working.  The days are warm, but Honey (Squirrel monkey) still likes her heating on at night.  We tried hard to find the problem but with our limited knowledge of electrics, did not suceed.  Bobby (Squirrel monkey) was throwing a tamtrum while we were trying to adjust his heating (those of you who know him, will know what l mean). He was not amused, but fortunately it was not a cold night and we will fix up the heating as soon as possible. 

Where was Nigel hiding

This morning, at supplements, Nigel (Common Marmoset) was nowhere to be found.  We were all very worried and just about to go in and check the sleeping box when he suddenly appeared.

Volunteers spent all morning making enrichment (strings of yummy food) for our bored Macaques, which kept them busy this afternoon.  The outdoor area of their enclosure is not complete yet and the bored boys have found ways to get out into the security area twice.  Mike and Sarah have actually been in with them to coax them back to their enclosure.  Fortunately, the are all gentle giants, but a little stubbon sometimes.  We are trying to find new ways to keep them all occupied until their enclosure is complete (in about three weeks).

We were hoping that single Maverick (common marmoset) would get on with the other new comers from Israel, Shacked and Pecan (common marmosets) but no luck.  They are in adjoining enclosures and were not impressed with each others company today.  We will be building Pecan and Shacked a new enclosure and moving them out.  We are hoping that Maverick will get on with Abbu.

Belba (common marmoset) will be going to the vet on Thursday, probably to have a tooth pulled.  She has absess on her face which pops up from time and time.

A happy day at the sanctuary

It was a wonderful, relaxing day at the sanctuary - except for one minor incident.  Solomon (Barbary Macaque) got out, just into the security area.  We grabbed some bannanas and brave Sarah went in with him - Solomon calmly followed her back into his enclosure.  The Macaques are very placid and gentle.  This afternoon, we opened the trap door between their enclosures so that they could all have direct contact with each other again.  They were all very friendly towards each other.  We put a large tub of water in for them and they all had fun splashing around - it was lovely to see.  We were feeding them a lot of treats and everyone was enjoying them - except for Shapken (Mona monkey) who had a hissy fit when he saw us feeding them treats.

This afternoon, volunteers went in with their favourite monkeys - so we all had a relaxed and happy monkey day. 

We bring our boys home

We were at the quarantine station as soon as it opened at 7:30am, to meet the vet who would help us bring our boys home.  After a long month in quarantine, Barbary Macaques, Jonathan, Solomon, David and Stav and Marmosets Pecan and Shacked were ready for release.  The Macaques were lightly sedated by the vet, Dr David Pretorius who checked them all before transporting them to the sanctuary.  He stayed with all the primates for an hour after their arrival at the sanctuary to make sure they were all well before leaving.

First, we released the Marmosets, Pecan and Shacked into their new enclosure.  A volunteer sat outside to encourage them as they investigated their new home.  We thought that they may be afraid, but they enjoyed the freedom of more space and were soon playing with each other.

The Macaques were released in pairs into adjoining enclosures.  They were housed in pairs in quarantine and we wanted to be sure that they were still friends before putting them all back together.  We are keeping them separate to monitor their behaviour towards one another until Sunday, and if all goes well we can open the trap door between their enclosures and hopefully they can all be together again.  They were all a little afraid at first, but soon made friends with the volunteers when they were handed some treats.  This afternoon, they enjoyed watching the labourers working on the very large outdoor area of their enclosure.  We are going to build platforms in the large trees in their enclosure – so that they can climb up and sit in them.  By this evening, all our newcomers looked very relaxed.

Volunteers were on a rota to sit with all the newcomers all day and feed them treats as a way of bonding with them.

We are all delighted with the new additions to our family and look forward to caring for them. 

A sad day

Yesterday, we went to collect this beautiful little boy.  We left in a hurry, very concerned about his health.  His mom had been shot and we knew that he had a shoulder wound.  We took him directly to the vet and arrived home with an antiboitic and pain killer which we gave him right away.  The poor little boy was very weak, dehydrated and in pain, so we were anxious to get him to Bambelela as soon as possible.  We managed to pursuade him to drink a little before meeting a volunteer from Bambelela half way to hand him over. 

This morning, we were all very saddened to hear that he had died during the night, from his wounds.  Later Bambelela informed us that he still had a bullet in his shoulder, no wonder he was in so much pain.  At least he is with his mommy now and no longer in pain.