Wow.  Well. . . about three months ago my Wife and I were looking for one of those little sound machines you can sleep to.  You know, the ones that make the waves and rain and bird sounds?

Well, in our local mall is the neatest shop called "Precious Earth" which is one of the best "pet shops" for small creatures I have ever been into.  They actually screen their buyers, better than some breeders do.

We already have a goodly number of animals.  Two cats.  Two Rats.  Fish.  A rescued Cockatiel which was found in the middle of a highway, and which we actually gave to a friend with other birds.

While I looked for a noise maker, I heard an "AWWWWW!!!!" rise from behind me.  Petra (My Wife) had located the pen of baby dwarf Campbells, and was a goner.  She flipped a coin.  She won.  She wanted me to make the decision. I sighed and said.  "Okay, so how about this. . . heads we get two, tails we get three."  (I know how to score points when the opportunty presents itself.)

Ten minutes and one "tails" toss later, we headed home with three of the tiniest balls of fluff I have ever seen.  Five weeks old, and cute as buttons.  Each of them.  We ended up with a Standard color variant named "Jordan" (He looked a little like a Jordan Almond when he curled up) a Dilute Platinum named "Marshmallow" (hey, you figure it out) and another
dilute platinum, with a nice little dorsal stripe we named "Spaz."  We were, as it happens, hungry when we named them, and spaz wouldn't hold still long enough to be compared to a food.

Grant you, we went through some lengths to ensure we had three females, as breeding was NOT in our plans.

They, however, had other plans.

Now we have 11 young ones.  Wow.  These things are real-life tribbles. Honest to God.  Not one litter mind you. . . two.  And the second litter is pretty much impossible based on how they gestate.  We moved the boys into their own cage when Moma delivered, and then 4.5 weeks later, momma delivered again.  So, either one of the kids was ready at 10 days old, or
momma held off for 32+ days to deliver.  Odd.

So, we are giving away babies to friends and the store, and enjoying our little balls of fluff.  Though when the males are, ummm, "in the mood" they become balls of fluff. . . and teeth.  We are also keeping an eye out for Klingons.  ;)

© 2000 Greg