Ivy Wenrick
Age: 31
Gender: F
Hair: curly red, mid back length
Skin: Fair
Eyes: Green
height: 5'2
Location: Continental United States
Dear Lovely Readers,
It's...not easy to keep them alive. I do my best, believe me I do, but it's not easy working with small and frail creatures such as these.
Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Ivy...Ivy Wenrick....yeah...like the character from Batman...heh my dad was a huge fan...what can I say?
Their arms are small, bones like toothpicks, and that's the larger bones like the radius and femur...there's not much I can even do for smaller fractures...not at their size. It would be like putting a splint on a mouse?
I'm careful, and it helps that I have small hands and short nails. I think that's better, long flashy nails just scare the poor dears. Hehe, they can be so adorable when they're frightened, it melts my heart. Sometimes I just want to scoop them up and cuddle them, tell them it'll be alright and that they have nothing to be afraid of!
Aheh...but...that tends to do more harm than good. I...I did say they were delicate and frail little dears...right?
Anyhow....best not to dwell on past mistakes. Chin up, eyes forward! As they say, "There's sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake!" Aheh...maybe I shouldn't finish that quote. It...It's not important.
A broken arm or leg is by far the easiest to fix. First, you have to immobilize the little tiny. This is most easily done when they're co operative...gee, sometimes they even keep still for you all on their own! The more feral ones need to be convinced...I find masking tape to be most effective, but other handy helpers have their own tactics.
Don't give me that look! I know it sounds cruel...but a tiny person with a broken leg is as good as dead and HOW ELSE do you expect me to set that broken bone? It's quite painful and it's not like I can administer the poor dear an anesthetic? How much would I even give them? I don't have a hypodermic needle that small? Do you?
Ahem...anyhow after that it's just a simple matter of setting your splint, I use a toothpick or a popsicle stick for the larger ones and a bit of medical tape. It sticks to the skin better.
After that its into the recovery ward for six to twelve weeks of R and R! Okay...the recovery ward MAY or MAY not be a hamster cage in my living room... and six to twelve weeks is only a rough guideline...I mean if I let them go they'll just get hurt again, right? Better safe than sorry, that's what I always say. Anyhow like I said...a broken bone is a death sentence and I have to keep them close by for observation.
They get used to it...eventually.
Don't judge me...it's more than the GOVERNMENT is doing for them.
Ahem...sorry...where was I?
The next most common injury is maiming, deep tissue wound or loss of limb. Tiny's in the wild get into all sorts of altercations. From small rodents, to large insects like Praying Mantis and centipedes and even birds and small snare traps! It's a scary life. If the poor dears are lucky enough to survive without finding him or herself FULLY on the menu...I'm definitely who they want to run into.
I'll get that wound cauterized and sewn back up in a jiffy!
Sometimes...and this really breaks my heart...but if the wound is too egregious I have to be the angel of mercy and put them out of their missery. It's not a decision I take lightly BELIEVE ME...but it's for the best.
We don't want people suffering, do we?
Okay...I know what you're thinking, Ivy...that sounds horrifyingly painful and uncomfortable for the tiny person.
And yeah...they often scream themselves unconsciously, and I may have messed up once or twice, but it's not exactly a science you know. I do my best, and I've gotten better, really I have. They almost never bleed out anymore. They DO wake up...most of the time, and they almost always live after! A bit of topical antibiotic and they're good as new.
Eh...minus a limb or two.
These precious weeuns are then transferred to long term care.
Ahem...okay a terrarium in my basement but its nice and roomey and they get all the Netflix and left over pizza and wings they want and it's a hell of a lot better than letting the poor limbless dears go to fend for themselves?
Now, it's not all about triage care you know. Preventive care is important too. Life can be hard for the poor homeless Tiny's, not only are they on the menu for birds, rodents, cats and all sorts of nasty critters... but finding food themselves can be a harrowing ordeal! Imagine finding a cache of grain only to find some farmer poisoned it...or foraging for berries only to end up on the menu yourself because someone's scraggly cat got out?
Nasty.
So, that's why I started my feed capture program.
Oh, don't worry. It's not as bad as it sounds! See, I set humane live capture traps baited with all sorts of delicious goodies! Cakes, candies, pastries, bacon. Whatever I have around really. Then it's just a matter of rehoming them!
Okay...that was rude...I'm not abducting them...I'm rescuing them. They'll starve on their own...do you want them to starve?
Look, they love it...eventually. And when it gets too crowded, I just get another aquarium.
A busy week will see a dozen or more come into my care. The ones that survive triage are sorted into whichever dormitory fits them best and I sleep well knowing I've saved another tiny life!
I spend lots of time with them acclimating them to being handled and coddled. It's important they get used to Normies. I hold them in my hand, stroke their cute little hair and let them crawl out in my open palm. I try to keep my nails short and clean, and myself well groomed. I must look absolutely HUGE to them and I don't want them seeing me as some ugly ogre, after all? I mean...I'm only 5'2, but I can see how I could come across as a big mean scary OGRE to the little darlings.
Sometimes, I let them crawl around on my head like tiny little hamsters. The friendly ones adore my curly red hair and the brave ones even try to rappel down my pony tail to escape.
It's okay though...sometimes they get away. But they never get far. Little cuties...eventually they get hungry and come back.
I don't even get angry. No...really...I'm being sincere right now...Even though it breaks my heart, I always welcome them back.
Ivy Wenrick's care center is always open!
Anyhow...
It's not a lot...but I do what I can!
Maybe I'll see you here sometime...I'll save ya a spot!
Ivy W