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Post by 3piggles on Jan 21, 2020 4:03:02 GMT
He learns fast
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Post by gremlin40 on Jan 22, 2020 11:10:39 GMT
Oh yes lol.
I have to wean them off the Wiskas, which really sucks because Herbie is a psycho for it π€ - I got a moment of intuitive concern about calcium and checked...and Wiskas Catmilk is naturally high in calcium. I knew this before but did not know that calcium buildup can be a problem for Guinea Pigs. It can cause kidney stones and blood in the urine if they get too much.
I'm going to try to find a blender recipe for a guinea pig treat that is a better option to keep their weight up, and save the Wiskas for a very special bribe...err I mean treat only.
Herbie's gonna hate me for a bit lol. But then he's gonna love me like a crazy critter on treat day π
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 22, 2020 21:39:13 GMT
Yes, too much calcium could cause problems. Too much Vitamin A is also linked to some internal organ problems, though I've never been able to pin it down as true. That's why dark green leafy veggies are fed in small doses. Same with carrots. Poor Herbie. He was having such a good time getting better
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Post by gremlin40 on Jan 24, 2020 0:27:50 GMT
I'm gonna miss the way he flops over slowly and makes me scared he's having a stroke while he's suckling the feed syringe, π₯΄
He's so relaxed that I can't just gently poke him awake in his cage to make sure he's still alive... I actually have to lift him up onto his feet to get him to move ....no joke... Herbie sleeps like the dead with his eyes wide open. He scares me every freakin time I check on him lol.
He's getting used to it now...he doesn't eyeball me now when I wake him up
He's the most relaxed guinea pig I have ever seen in my whole life lmao
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 24, 2020 2:24:30 GMT
Awwww π
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Post by gremlin40 on Jan 26, 2020 10:49:46 GMT
Yeah it's definitely not a stroke lol
Tonite I gave him his vitamin C with a nip of the Catmilk, and he didn't even wait for me to get completely seated in my chair with him in my lap...he started flopping over on his side the second his mouth touched the syringe, and when I took it out to stop him from laying down, I had to stand him back up again solidly hahaha
All he wanted to do was just spread eagle on the fluffy towel and drink his treat LMFAO. When I gave him back the nib of the syringe, right over on his side he went, legs out π³ Sheez π
He's amazing. I love him and my lil Felix π₯°
After, we cuddled for an hour and he didn't even poop on me once π€. He just stared at me while I pet his face and was absolutely content.
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 26, 2020 15:46:36 GMT
Treating illnesses in our pigs is as an incredible bonding experience, which is why I've always made sure there was something good about, something they look forward to. You've definitely found that π€π€π€
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Post by gremlin40 on Jan 27, 2020 8:45:10 GMT
Oh yes lol. I love my guinea pigs - my first ones too. We're family for life π₯°
Felix pulled a Herbie tonite lol... I shouldn't be surprised. I was giving him his vitamins and he just relaxed right into it...onto his side he went lol.
I'm going to make them a guinea pig run when I get my paycheck... Felix is so beautiful but I'm scared he might be getting a little bit chubby. He's so fluffy and beautiful and really hyper - he runs around lots and jumps on his hammock, launches off it, he even figured out that he can mess with Herbie if Herbie is beneath it lol.
I just wanna be sure I don't spoil them too much lol. Herbie's more active now, and I need to give them things that keep them interested in playing and moving around.
Sheez... I got Felix on December 4 and he was small and light...now it is a challenge to pick him up with one hand...he has seriously grown so fast...and Herbie is now almost the size of Felix and I got him on December 21... I can still handle him with one hand when I'm putting on the Diatomaceous earth powder, but that is not going to be the case for long.
They seriously need a bigger space already lol.
Felix fur color has changed a bit...he has developed a slight highlight of orange-beige along the edge of his grey fur where it meets with the white, and his grey fur is getting darker in places... his fur reminds me of a light sunset just after a storm has passed. π₯°
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 27, 2020 21:07:47 GMT
What type of cage do you have. Can you describe it, or post a picture? If you looked in our Wheekerpedia section, you'll see pictures of cages. You might get some ideas on ways to add exercise to the regular cage. I have a long cage, only one grid wide, with a grid loft at each end. The food and water are on the loft, so the pigs have to jump up to get to it. That means exercise, whether or not they want it. It's not a big jump, but it requires a bit of effort to get there. If you have the space, you can put the living area in the middle of the cage, and put things around the outside to get them to move around the houses to get to everything. If you have flat-topped houses, you can even create a second level with those. I've also found, if you have the space for it, that the pigs love hay. I have fiberglass screen over an absorbent layer of pellets, and only hay on top of the screen. I buy it by the bail, so it's about $6 every few months. The pellets are also about $6 every quarter or third of the year. Give them enough hay, and they will play in it for hours, tunneling and popping up to look around periodically. You can also use tubes big enough for piggies, and create an extra running place above the regular living space. Just need a way for the pigs to get to the tubes, and some zip ties to attach them to the cage sides or ceiling. I've found pigs get a lot more exercise using fun things in the cage, than if they get floor time or time in a separate run. If you can, try connecting the run to the cage, so they can go in and out on their own
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Post by Bean on Jan 28, 2020 7:37:03 GMT
We axed the Wheekerpedia section, as it wasn't being kept up to date, but we did keep the sticky on Housing. (I see it needs a tidy up as many of the image links are at photobucket etc so have now expired, so I'll have a look at it soon.) Having lots of space and a stimulating environment is great for guinea pigs. No matter how much they run around, some will always be wide loads though!
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 28, 2020 14:36:36 GMT
I'm so used to suggesting the Wheekerpedia section, I totally forgot about the changes. I'm on a roll π€
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Post by gremlin40 on Feb 1, 2020 21:11:37 GMT
The cage I have is raised up ...the tray slides in about half way up the height of it and everything is bolted together ...my neighbor gave it to me.
I'm going to rearrange my bedroom so that I have room to make them a larger space and am going to get grids on Monday...then I just need to find a waterproof base, so I thought I could see if McDonald's will give me one of their thick plastic outdoor signs and I can cut it to shape to make the base.
On a hilarious note ...HERBIE! DOH! Last night I was giving him his supplements - he was laying right on his back suckling and I had my face close to him giving him kisses... I pulled the feeder syringe out of his mouth - he hung on hard...and when it pulled free, he got confused and bit on to my Labrete hahaha. I had to gently get him to open his mouth to make him let me go lmao.
A Labrete is a piercing just under the bottom of the lower lip. π₯΄
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2020 22:12:29 GMT
Cage sounds really nice, and sturdy Herbie is hilarious
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Post by gremlin40 on Feb 2, 2020 8:04:00 GMT
Omg he is!
The diatomaceous earth is definitely working...Herbie purrs now! Normally he wasn't, but now when I pet him on his side's he purrs and rumbles happily.
He lays right on his back for his supplements now lol...he doesn't struggle a bit when I lay him back and when he's done he just hangs out like that for a bit. He's getting sassy attitude now too lol.
I'm so proud of my little fellas - they're tough little critters πβΊοΈπ₯°
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Post by Bean on Feb 9, 2020 8:28:08 GMT
How are the boys getting on? I hope they're both continuing to improve. And have you managed to make a new cage? Looking forward to seeing what you've created!
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 15, 2020 16:08:26 GMT
I hope the boys are doing great π€ I bought some colloidal silver lotion, with 77ppm silver. I'm fighting eczema. I saw one with 220ppm, a liquid, and wasn't sure if I should go that high. Any recommendations?
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Post by gremlin40 on Feb 19, 2020 9:38:56 GMT
That is incredibly high for a liquid - I have only seen 32ppm in Canada so far.
In an NCBI research article where colloidal silver was tested on Guinea Pigs specifically, they went as high as 5, 000ppm without any resulting toxic reactions.
REMEMBER THOUGH: Real colloidal silver is always yellow, not clear. Clear colloidal silver is actually ionic silver, which is less stable and stops working after becoming protein coated.
77ppm should be fine...if it is the real colloidal silver it keeps working without becoming protein coated until it is expelled from the body, so just keep this in mind... it's concentration in your body will become cumulative.
If I was in your shoes I would take it at 2 doses a day for a week to build it up in my system, and then drop it to one dose only for a bit...maybe 3-4 weeks, and then break for 3-4 weeks or longer. This stuff is potent...it is only guaranteed to be safe if respectfully used. Can be fairly stated for everything I suppose.
Here is the new cage btw... I can't stop laughing sometimes because now Herbie and Felix are always chasing each other around in circles and playing hide and seek ...not kidding lol. Herbie popcorns so high sometimes - my happy lil guinea piggies βΊοΈπ
Still battling the mites but winning - holy smokes it takes a bit of time. They are really difficult and poor Herbie was just riddled with them. It really was that bad...but the last of the hot spots are healing super fast, and he is not scratching barely at all.
Poor Felix btw...he pulled a slippery oops yesterday...he likes to bite me as I put him down. I mean REALLY sink his teeth right into me...the whole friggin inch top and bottom...well he knows pain now π² - I went to set him in his cage and he got squirmy and decided he didn't want to wait...well he normally doesn't win on this one except yesterday the slippery little critters did...and landed right on his nose.
Both my guinea pigs do the mad squirm and kick stuff when I put them down...so after this I now wrap them in a towel before returning them to their cage.
Anyways, My poor sweetheart ...he let out a god awful scream and ran to Herbie...and you could clearly see how confused he was. He didn't know pain really at all until that moment.
I keep expecting him to forget and try it again...nope. every time I lower him in his cage he waits, and then gently steps out of the towel I now wrap him in before lowering him.
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 19, 2020 22:19:38 GMT
Poor baby π’ Hard way to learn, but it seems he's taken the lesson to heart.
I love the cage. I'm so glad he's well enough for you to put the boys together β€
The popcorning is such a great sign of how well he's feeling, and the bond between the two of them is wonderful β€
The lotion is clear. Despite ignoring everything that said ionic, I got clear. It seems to be working. I also got colloidal silver soap, which seems to work. The eczema is definitely drying. I did find using the lotion and the soap caused the eczema to become very sore when I got it wet. Since I swim in a chlorinated pool, I stopped the lotion so I could stand being in the water. Seems to work.
Again thank you for mentioning colloidal silver, and getting me doing research π€
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Post by Bean on Feb 20, 2020 7:40:36 GMT
The cage looks great! How come it's so high on the sides? They can't be that good jumpers surely ha?!
Sorry to hear about Felix's boink, but I'm glad he's okay. Hopefully the biting will diminish as the mites clear up, but the towel technique sounds great for helping them to feel secure while being carried.
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Post by gremlin40 on Feb 22, 2020 9:54:01 GMT
Felix is still being careful when I lower him ...awe my lil guy will never forget that bump.
Lately he and baby Herbie are really into hide and go chase haha - I clipped little hand towels over the rooms at the one end and so now they chase each other from one end to the other and in and out of the rooms. My guinea pigs remind me of frogs when they get playing lol...hop hop hop π
I am so glad you like the colloidal silver - if you need a healing cream with a moisture barrier, try Sudocrem. It's incredible too...you can find it in the baby section of the grocery store - 120ml for 15 bucks...and a little goes a long long way so don't do what I did and use too much...you'll end up ghost white lol
Felix is perched on my chest right now watching TV with me lol...he really likes tv shows a lot. He stays still for a really long time - he only bites me when he has to pee now.
Honest confession...I got a tiny spot of ringworm on my lip from kissing my guinea pig so much lmao... I told everyone it was a cold sore π― - I hate even little lies, but I didn't think saying "hey it's ok its just ringworm" was a good idea lol. It's hard to decide what's worse...herpes or fungus...eeesh lol. Anyways, it's long gone now but I still could not stop giving my little guys kisses. I kiss their little cheeks and snuggle them close to my face or neck, and both Felix and Herbie close their eyes and just love it.
Felix reminds me of Jaws sometimes though...if he's in my lap he goes still and stares me straight on dead in the eyes for a few seconds and then suddenly climbs right up my torso straight at my face ...and since he's a biter I swear the Jaws theme goes through my head every freaking time he does it lol.
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