I am by far not a story teller, but I would like to share my experience with my Russian this last winter.
Merlina will ne 3 yrs. old this June. She weighs 570g and is about 5 and a half inches. Merlina is a very friendly Russian and I enjoy her a great deal.
I live in Idaho Falls, Id. where the winters are cold and long. The summers are short with long days.
This summer I had Merlina outdoors in her enclosure for some nice sunshine and lots of weeds to eat. Each night I would bring her indoors, as the nights cool down a lot.
Towards the end of Sept. the days were starting to get shorter and cooler. Merlina's time outside was getting shorter also.
Merlina started to eat less and sleep more. I extended the lights being on from 12 hours to 14 hours in her indoor enclosure. I thought that would help in getting her up and going. She had a different idea!
Merlina has never been one to bury herself very well. She mostly goes into her hide, digs a little depression and off to sleep. Well, that changed! She started doing a great job of burying herself deep in her indoor enclosure.
Each day I was waking her up for her daily soak and offering food. She was still eating little and sleeping more. She was holding her weight at this point, which was 556g.
In Oct she quit eating for 10 days. I still got her up for her daily soaks and offered food. Sleep was her thing! I feel the same way in winter----Sleep! After the 10 days she started to eat a little. This became our routine, my getting her for a soak, feeding her, eating a little, going for a short walk around her enclosure, then off the bed. She always did a pee and poop during her soak. This routine continued until the Dec when Merlina would get herself up every few days, not many, but a few. Some days she was up a little longer.
Along comes Feb and what to my surprise,------she is up at 6:30 am for the whole day!! Well she says, I am done with that sleeping business------Where's my food?? She's up and active once again.
I have read about Russian's hibernating in a fridge for winter. The thought of doing that scares the socks off of me. I am fine with sharing winters with Merlina as we did this last winter. It was a nice adventure. She is a sweet girl, friendly, and curious about everything.
I would very much like to hear others adventures with their Russians.
Merlina will ne 3 yrs. old this June. She weighs 570g and is about 5 and a half inches. Merlina is a very friendly Russian and I enjoy her a great deal.
I live in Idaho Falls, Id. where the winters are cold and long. The summers are short with long days.
This summer I had Merlina outdoors in her enclosure for some nice sunshine and lots of weeds to eat. Each night I would bring her indoors, as the nights cool down a lot.
Towards the end of Sept. the days were starting to get shorter and cooler. Merlina's time outside was getting shorter also.
Merlina started to eat less and sleep more. I extended the lights being on from 12 hours to 14 hours in her indoor enclosure. I thought that would help in getting her up and going. She had a different idea!
Merlina has never been one to bury herself very well. She mostly goes into her hide, digs a little depression and off to sleep. Well, that changed! She started doing a great job of burying herself deep in her indoor enclosure.
Each day I was waking her up for her daily soak and offering food. She was still eating little and sleeping more. She was holding her weight at this point, which was 556g.
In Oct she quit eating for 10 days. I still got her up for her daily soaks and offered food. Sleep was her thing! I feel the same way in winter----Sleep! After the 10 days she started to eat a little. This became our routine, my getting her for a soak, feeding her, eating a little, going for a short walk around her enclosure, then off the bed. She always did a pee and poop during her soak. This routine continued until the Dec when Merlina would get herself up every few days, not many, but a few. Some days she was up a little longer.
Along comes Feb and what to my surprise,------she is up at 6:30 am for the whole day!! Well she says, I am done with that sleeping business------Where's my food?? She's up and active once again.
I have read about Russian's hibernating in a fridge for winter. The thought of doing that scares the socks off of me. I am fine with sharing winters with Merlina as we did this last winter. It was a nice adventure. She is a sweet girl, friendly, and curious about everything.
I would very much like to hear others adventures with their Russians.