03/28/01(Updated by Emily)-Today was rather uneventful due to the fact that we simply performed the usual care for the rats. I have been writing new articles and pages for the site, so please check them out. Aargh is doing well in his new home, and has a large aquarium and much food to keep him happy. The only other thing noteworthy that occured today was the fact that Fump had looser stool than usual. We will monitor her closely. As another note, it has come to our attention that the blue baby has developed a habit of nipping at us when we handle him. We can only hope that this does not culminate into a serious problem.
03/27/01(Updated by Emily)- Due to the fact that we have been very busy, we have not had a chance to update the page lately. Since last time we have written, we have had many new developments, and the addition of a new rat. Aargh continued to appear lethargic and unhealthy due to his infestation, therefore we decided to terminate his use in the project. We had first detrmined that he would be put down so he would not suffer, but he appeared to be somewhat active on the day of determining, therefore I took him home and he now lives happily at my apartment. We have replaced him with another rat,Err, and we are continuing the experiment with him. We have also decided to switch Fump to being the Staphylococcus Aureus rat due to her larger size. Since we predict that the aureus will have a bigger effect than the epidermidis, we feel it important to have a larger animal exposed to it. The babies are also doing wonderfully- all eyes are open and they are eating solid food. It is our hope to have them separated and the experiment running on Monday, but only time will tell.
03/20/01(Updated by Jenn)- We are preparing to actually get started with the main part of this project. At the end of this week or the beginning of the next one we should be able to get started. We are planning on first inoculating an area of the skin of Aargh and Fump with bacteria and then using antibiotics topically.
03/14/01(Updated by Emily)-Today was a typical day. We performed the usual care routines, and observed Eek with her babies. It is growing apparent the the babies are beginning to grow fuzz!! Also, due to the fact that Eek has been eating all of her food and the fact that she is nursing a litter of babies, we decided to increase her food to 35 grams a serving. We plan to monitor her eating with this change and determine whether to give her even more food. The other most noticeable thing was that Fump has diahrrea, which we will monitor closely.
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