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Post by yodelpig on Sept 17, 2012 18:46:01 GMT
I envy you! It took me over two years to budge hub on the old dinging table!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 17, 2012 12:13:06 GMT
AWWW - great that all your lovely boys are doing so well!
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 14, 2012 19:05:54 GMT
If I haven't been around much over the last few days - here is the reason why! We have moved the whole piggy outfit to the other end of the room (finally sacrificing hub's unused, but so far taboo dining table) and rearranged everything. In the process, I also rebonded Cariad and Ceri with Bryn and Ffowlyn since Tegyd went on to bully Ceri after Ffowlyn's departure; that has worked well for both groups and peace is reigning once again! I use a lino offcut as new underlay: And the result: Here are some details: The Troop's cage has remained basically the same apart from new polar fleece. It is now lived in by Bryn, Ffowlyn, Ceri and Cariad. The correx tray lifts off for easy poo patrol cleaning. The two little "bedrooms" under the ramp are always popular! The big Tribe cage has still got the old big dormitory (which will get an extra "door". I use the old walk-in 100x50cm cage (minus flap) as a new hay tray to make up for the loss of the tv cabinet hay corner. The new/old Trio (consisting of Taffy, Tegyd and Terfel) has got a perfect stand in the form of £30 Ikea table. They are still due a new safe mezzanine arrangement (hopefully re-using an old correx tray) curtesy of hub. Thanks to Sue for the wonderful fleece bed throws for this cage that are just the right size and colour! We still have to make a few tweaks, and hub has promised some more wooden furniture, but so far the piggies as well the humans are all chuffed with the result - and the humans are enjoying having their half of the living room back!
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 11, 2012 18:51:31 GMT
Hi and welcome!
You are doing the right thing!
Fleece from which any trace of softener has been removed (takes about 2-3 washes) will wick away any fluids from the surface and pass them to a layer below which should ideally be 100% cotton. I use cheap towels as underlay and padded plastic backed mattress covers (generously cut to size because of shrinking and then seamed) for the sleeping areas.
Please never overfill the washing machine when washing fleece or your stuff will come out stinking worse than it went in! Never use a detergent that has added softener or the piggies will sit in their own pee. If you have a filter, you may want to wash the fleece in a bag of some kind (pillow cover etc.).
You can either order good quality polar or micro fleece by the yard from suppliers on the internet or get cheap acrylic or polyester bed covers, baby blankets or pet plankets from supermarkets or pet shops. If you just want to give it a trial, I would recommend the latter, but I have found that you have less hair sticking to good quality fleece and it stands up much better to washing at higher temperatures which you need to do from time to time to prevent the build up of bacteria and germs.
You will need to poo patrol at least once or twice daily; piggies live mainly on hay which is not very nutritious food and hence need to process a LOT! Ideally you have some kind of tray where you have the hay to keep it from being dragged everywhere.
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 7, 2012 18:06:32 GMT
Hi and welcome!
BamBam is a little cutie!
Perhaps you want to find him a friend to play and sleep with in the long term? The thing that makes piggies so unique is their vocal interaction and the fun of seeing them popcorning and playing together. Guinea pigs are group animals and not really wired to be on their own. Single piggies can often develop disruptive attention seeking behaviours.
I have three groups of sows living with a neutered boar each. You can find new pics of all of them in my thread in "meet the pigs"! We all have a regular thread which we keep updating with our piggy news from time to time.
PS: As we have members from all over the world and of all ages, we would like you not to use text speak.
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 5, 2012 21:08:08 GMT
Draping a towel over the cage is a good trick I would have recommended otherwise! Single piggies in new territory feel extra vulnerable and stay as quiet and unobtrusive as possible, often only moving around when nobody is around or under cover of darkness. Giving them cover helps a lot!
Just give her time; she's just lost her family! it is a good sign that she is eating when you hold her, so she trusts you. Talk to her as much and as often as you can; praise her lavishly and make a fuss over her. She will come round, latest when she is in piggy company again!
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 5, 2012 20:26:55 GMT
It is a while since I have done an update on all piggies, so it is perhaps not a bad idea to run a picture parade of all my piggies and tell you how to pronounce all those Welsh names! They have all been rehomed from various guinea pig rescues all over the UK. The Tribepronounced: Howell (eminent); previous Randie, neutered boar, age: nearly 3 years; Coventry Nee-ah and Neh-ris (bright & lady), former Lottie and Dotty, sisters, 4 years; Walsall Kah-ron (loving), rescue name Carron, 2 years; Leicester (Lymington rescue 2010) Tan-nee (fire), previous Pudding, 2 years; Coventry Full-bree (moonshine) and Tes-nee (warmed <by the sun>); sisters, rescue names: Dolly Mixture and Cinder Toffee, 1 year; Midwales Tee-gan Sun-dod (beautiful surprise), daughter of Tesni, 10 months HYLE-wen (sunshine) and Hed-dith (skylark), sisters or half-sisters, just over one year and nearly one year; Glynneath, South Wales Permanent fosters:FRYDE and Bethan are 4 and 2 years old (fostered for a private person) The TroopTervel (oak prince), neutered boar, rescue name Chapati, 2 years; Rugby (Brackley rescue 2011) Taffy (beloved), 4 years; Gretna, Scottish border (Gateshead rescue 2009); has cataracts TEGG-id (beautiful like a doe), former Mrs Taggy, 3-4 years; Crawley; cataracts Kar-yad (darling) and Kerrie (love); related/group mates, 3-4 years; Penrith, Cumbria The TandemBrin (hill), former Oscar, neutered boar, 5 years; Barnsley, South Yorkshire Fowl-in (chicken, fowl), 3 years; Gretna, Scottish border
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 5, 2012 12:08:48 GMT
HUGS! It is always such a sad and upsetting time when you get to that decision... I am so sorry for you and Woolly; I'd so hoped that she would recover. My thoughts are with the two of you!
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Post by yodelpig on Sept 5, 2012 12:02:01 GMT
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 29, 2012 13:33:04 GMT
How much veg are you feeding? Perhaps you are giving her too much other food. Alternatively, you can try another brand of good quality pellets. A good diet should consist of: - up tp 80% of hay to keep the all important guts in top condition, the fur shiny and the crucial back teeth ground down well. - 1 cupful (ca. 50g) of mixed veg per piggy per day, preferably including one high vitamin C veg like a slice of (sweet) pepper of any colour, a bit of broccoli (any part) or a sprig of fresh cilantro/coriander, parsley, dill, mint or basil. Please vary between these. Do not feed fruit and tomato (too much acidity can cause sores in mouth and lips), carrots and lettuce (high in vitamin A which builds up in the liver if fed in excess), spinach and kale (very high in calcium) daily. Here is a list of veg they can eat: www.guinealynx.info/chart.html- unlimited pellets until the weekly growth rate slows down between 4-9 months old, then very gradually reduced to the handful or half that a mute piggy needs after 12-15 months old. Pellets should make about 10% of a piggy diet, but in some countries like Germany, piggies are kept without pellets, and they equally live to a healthy old age! - fresh water without additives daily. Most piggies will drink less if there is stuff in their water. Has your girl a companion or is she a single piggy?
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 29, 2012 13:07:55 GMT
Hi and welcome!
Wayne and Ulyssis are very cute indeed! They look fairly young. How old are they? have you had them for long?
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 29, 2012 13:06:06 GMT
Hi and welcome to the forum!
Your boys sound lovely and very well looked after! I hope that you will be able to post some pictures soon!
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 24, 2012 12:47:05 GMT
Have you had a look at this link here to make sure of either piggy's sex or post (clear) pictures of the privates on here? www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 24, 2012 12:34:37 GMT
Hi and welcome! It sounds like your boys are getting on very well. Rumble strutting (purring with a swaying bum) and mounting are mild dominance behaviours. Whenever two piggies come together or are moved to new surroundings, they need to establish or re-establish their dominance. You may find this link helpful: www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 24, 2012 12:27:17 GMT
AWWW - you lucky woman! Spayed sows are so rare, and to have a choice!!!
You can date Melvin with the girls singly in a neutral spot and see whether there is mutual interest soon after the piggies meet. Start with the girl you'd like best and leave the top sow of the group for last - undersows are generally easier to bond and more accepting of a boar. If acceptance hasn't happened within about 20 minutes, if there is no sign of interest from the sow (or Melvin) or if there are outright hostilities like teeth chattering or even lunging, then I would move on. Give Melvin some cuddle time to calm him down before he meets the next girl. The best scenario is a sow that will touch noses and show interest in Melvin pretty quickly, let him sniff her bum and will let Melvin mount her at least once even though she is not in season (she will discourage him otherwise, preferably vocally and by getting her bum out of his reach). In a good bond, Melvin and his lady love will stick close to each other, even though things can be very vocal.
Immediately afterwards, the piggies will move onto the dominance phase. Boars who meet a girl for the first time can go rather overboard and lose the on-switch of their brain; they will mount everything and anything from whatever direction. You may want to take a soft humping toy with you until the worst is over - it can take a day or two! Make sure that during that time you don't have any hideys with only one exit available - sizeable cardboard boxes with two open sides or just a couple of towels draped over part of the cage are useful. Aggression and fights can happen if a put-upon sow feels cornered and wants out at any cost.
Please transport the piggies home in separate conveyances, in case the girl suddenly panics. have the cage cleaned and rearranged upon their return.
I would not worry too much about the girls being very skittish; they will come round, especially with the help of a confident piggy, as they will take their cues from him! And you will treasure the very special moment you know that she has learned to trust you!
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 18, 2012 18:26:19 GMT
Vedra is near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.
I have used frusemide on one or two piggies with suspected heart issues, but only a small once-a-day dosis. The other drug I trialled on Ceri for her very irregular heartbeat (as prescribed by one of the best guinea pig vets in the country, Simon maddock in Northampton) was fortekor, but it didn't make a noticeble difference for her (she has otherwise no signs of classic heart problems), so I stopped after a week. I have heard from other people who are using fortekor for their heart piggies.
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 17, 2012 16:37:36 GMT
Some piggies can very dominant and demand your full attention. Momo has found out that she gets yours when she bullies Mia. By paying attention to her before she has to seek it, you can remove the bullying aspect.
I am rather careful about always paying attention to the top piggy first if there is a very dominant one; it makes things so much more peaceful for everybody.
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 17, 2012 16:33:48 GMT
A permanent head tilt can indeed result from an ear infection that affects the inner ear/balance centre. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. She will hopefully get used to it over the course of the next few weeks. Most piggies adjust to changing circumstances; I have and have had several cataract piggies.
In time you can try to pair her up with a very gentle natured/motherly sow for company and snuggling; that is what most rescues do with their permanent resident head tilt piggies. Many of those have got theirs due to a not treated ear infection before they were rescued. These piggies often live a happy, normal life. The head tilt won't even keep them from popcorning!
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 16, 2012 13:49:17 GMT
I HAD to learn how to clip my piggies' claws once I got over four... The tip for dark nails is to cut against a source of light (it shines through) and, if in doubt, cut off less. I have a few black paws amongst my own.
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Post by yodelpig on Aug 14, 2012 18:17:02 GMT
Some piggies have preferences in humans.
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