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Post by yodelpig on Jun 17, 2011 19:23:17 GMT
No Camp Yodel, sadly, but at least a piggie handover tomorrow afternoon! I love meeting other piggy people, so that is great in itself! And for some reason, they all want to meet the Tribe... Fingers crossed that it works out this time and there are no more piggies with URI symptoms or rabbits with gut stasis! popcornpiggie: I am Swiss, but have married a Welshman, hence my username and my piggy names! ;D
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 17, 2011 8:50:19 GMT
There may be still a reduced handover of some unaffected foster piggies tomorrow afternoon, and my own new girl should come up from the South. It would be great if we could have a mini meet at my house. Everything is very much in flux at the mo...
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 16, 2011 21:53:17 GMT
Sadly, the piggy train has been cancelled for this weekend as some of the piggies that should have travelled have come down with URI symptoms.
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 16, 2011 19:16:55 GMT
Promise!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 16, 2011 18:22:12 GMT
I am currently getting ready to house a number of probably mainly boars for a day as part of a rescue to rescue piggy train. The piggies were part of a big rescue intake in Doncaster (South Yorkshire) and are being ferried to rescues South of London on saturday.
I will be using all my spare cages and runs and put up a temporary camp in the kitchen and - if there are any girls - in the hall. Hub will be conveniently out of the way for the weekend.
Exciting times!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 16, 2011 15:45:44 GMT
I am relieved to hear that nothing is wrong with her back teeth; so often there is. It will probably take few days until her front teeth have grown back in to work properly.
Teeth can become a problem in older guinea pigs. I hope that Gigi will do better now!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 16, 2011 9:54:48 GMT
Great that you have got your little piggy a friend! It sounds very much par for the course, so calm down!!!
Rumblestrutting and mounting are typical dominance behaviours. Since guinea pigs live in roaming groups, they need to establish a hierarchy as soon as you have two piggies. Your boys are doing this right now; they are actually working to a strict protocol.
You could try and put in a stuffed "humping" toy to try and divert some of the excess mounting. Please pull off any bits that are dangerous (like button eyes). A friend of mine who is an expert in "boar dating" (bonding single boys) at her rescue recommends this strongly.
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 15, 2011 21:31:35 GMT
That is a wonderful picture!!! Sorry, I though I had posted before, but it must have been one of the times our internet kept falling out.
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 15, 2011 13:21:46 GMT
They are two truly gorgeous boys!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 14, 2011 16:42:31 GMT
PLEASE make sure that he is checking her back teeth, too, this time and insist that you are there!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 14, 2011 15:30:50 GMT
What a delightful little sweetie! Good thing you are living nowhere near me!!! At that age, you should be able to shift her onto good quality food without major problems. The worst ones are usually ex-pets that have been on a bad diet for years and are so used to it... PS: I think you can now go and change that first title!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 14, 2011 15:10:07 GMT
They are gorgeous boys! Some longhaired piggies can be such drama queens, can't they?
You should see my cage two hours after it's been changed - the furry tornado hits within minutes!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 14, 2011 13:06:17 GMT
Hi and welcome back!
I am looking forward to properly meeting your piggies!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 14, 2011 11:19:41 GMT
You may find this link helpful. Sadly, not all websites give the right interpretation with sounds, but this one does! www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigsounds.htmlRumblestrutting (rumbling with a bum wiggle) is part of dominance behaviour. your two girls are working out who's top and who's going to be bottom girl. Guinea pigs live in herds and hierarchy is vital, so as soon as you get two piggies, you get dominance! Yours sound very normal and nothing to worry about. A soft intermediate purr can mean pleasure, while a short, sharp burr signals displeasure. Having a run with houses, hurdles, heaps of rags etc. will be fun for your girls indeed - just expect them to be a bit wary during the few visits; wide open spaces spell DANGER for prey animals! Have either beach towel over part of the top and/or lots of hideys dotted around!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 13, 2011 14:43:29 GMT
It's a great setup - but you must miss them upstairs! At least, it gives you a good reason to spend time in the cooler downstaris...
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 13, 2011 9:39:48 GMT
AWWW - two chunky boars! They look on the well fed side, but they are not overweight, with fat rolls and bellies touching the floor when walking. Have you weighed them? You should do so once weekly anyway, in order to spot health problems early on, as piggies often don't give many signs when something is under way. On average, adult piggies weigh about 900g-1400g; some can weigh a bit less and a few even more. www.guinealynx.info/weigh.htmlThe best way to regulate their weight is by slowly reducing their pellets to about 1/2 handful needed per adult piggy per day; giving them 50g/1 cupful of mixed veg per piggy per day, but still unlimited hay (should up to 80% of the daily intake - ideal for guts and good teeth) and no sugary/fatty/dairy treats at all. use fresh herbs or tiny bits of their favourite veg as treats. Make sure that you include one vitamin C rich veg like a slice of bell pepper of any colour, some broccoli or a bit of cilantro, dill or parsley in their veg mix. Please start any new diet regime slowly, or you will have a revolt on your hands!!! Guinea pigs have a fast metabolism, so with a sensible normal diet like I mentioned, there shouldn't be any problems with overweight. It happens mostly because people don't reduce the amount of pellets once piggies stop growing and/or feed too much veg. The only really overweight piggies I have seen have been from a combination of too much food (or in one sad case, FAR too many pet shop treats) usually in combination with a very cramped cage/hutch, so the piggies were not able to move enough to burn off calories. To give them more expercise, try to call them over from one end of the run to another for a little veg treat, hide or hang treats in their run where they have to work a bit for them. Many adult piggies prefer a sedentary lifestyle, so getting them to exercise is somewhat of a challenge. Frightening them into running is not an option!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 12, 2011 20:05:16 GMT
What a lovely name!! I can't wait for pics!!!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 12, 2011 11:49:56 GMT
Great that you have got her friend, too! They will hopefully less frightened having company and somepig to cuddle up with!
You will enjoy the lively interaction once they have settled!
PS: I am looking forward to pics once your girls have settled. We have each our own "piggy blog" thread in the "meet the pigs" section to keep abreast with news of our own piggies.
You can always come back to your first post and edit the title, or - like me - do a "who's who". That way, everyobdy can catch up at any time.
Please resize your pics to a maximum of 640 pixels before posting; it makes uploading and viweing otherwise very difficult!
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 11, 2011 21:45:12 GMT
Hi and welcome! Two guinea pigs are not really more work than one, but they will be definitely much happier! Guinea pigs live in groups and are not wired to be alone, frankly - unless you have several hours to spend daily with Lulu for the next 4-6 years to address her needs for company. You may find this link from the best medical website for guinea pigs helpful: www.guinealynx.info/companionship.htmlYou will need a bigger cage on the long run, though - 3x2 ft is on the small side even for a single piggy. For two, a minimum of 2x4 ft is recommended - and you will see that they need it especially when they are popcorning like mad (something very to look forward to!!!) But you can always get creative with cages and they do not need to cost the world. Right now, give the little girl time to get her bearings and place any food and water close to her hidey. A towel over the top and the back of the cage also helps giving her a feeling of safety. A cuddly toy without eyes can give the snuggle factor. Make sure that she has plenty of hay; it should make up to 80% of the daily food intake. She may not have figured out the water bottle, so make sure that you leave some extra juicy veg like cucumber or celery nearby until you have seen her drinking. When introducing new veg, treat it like getting children to eat green stuff - repeat repeat repeat... She may not eat everything the first round. Leave it there for a day and then take it and serve it up a few days later again. Please weigh Lulu once weekly; it is a good tool to monitor her health and catch problems early on. Don't worry about the first few days - she won't die or fall ill, even if she is not eating or drinking fully yet. Her survival instincts will kick in soon, even if she will prefer to eat when nobody is there at first. Whether you cuddle her or not doesn't matter in the long run. Important is that you establish a routine with the same acts announced by the same words in the same tone, so she learns what to expect. Talk to her as soon as you come into the room, praise her lavishly for every little achievement or show her your disappointment gently. She will hopefully come round in a few days. AS she is young, she should bond very easily, either with another sow or a neutered boar. However, if it is possible that she can "piggy date" at a rescue, you can be sure to end up with a pairing that is based on mutual liking and friendship.
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Post by yodelpig on Jun 11, 2011 17:47:43 GMT
He is definitely a gorgeous boy!!!
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