Bath Time: the Archives

We from the Winky team are fortunate enough to have never had a bath. But we do have the archives with Jan the Boar, Suus, Yaya, Lotje and Guiny. These pigtures were made when they had a minor fungal infection and had to be treated with the Gorgeous Guineas products.

Before:

Pretty Suus

First, our brave pigs would get an oil treatment

I hate you

Little hedgehog

After wearing the oil for a few hours, the bathing would start

OMG

Noooo..

Peh.

Then our heroes faced the shampooing

Jan the Boar all lathered up

After that, they were rinsed with water again to get the shampoo out. Suus used her super jumping powers for revenge.

REVENGE!!!

Finally they were taken out and blown dry

Ghaaaaahh..

Lotje had a curly belly

Look at the pretty curls

We didn't find many 'after' pigtures, we guess our heroes were not up for smiling prettily into the camera after this ordeal.

If your slave is sniggering while watching these photo's we suggest peeing during lap time.

Fundraising Pig T-shirts

Hi there

 

I’ve just been looking at your blog – its brilliant!

 

I wondered if you might be interested in a new online shop I’ve opened selling all sorts of guinea pig t-shirts and clothing.

 

I noticed you have Glynneath Guinea pig Rescue in the blog hop – I’ve got a special range which I’ve designed especially for them to help raise money for the rescue.

 

I wasn’t sure if you were in America or the UK but I have a shop for both. The American one is here http://popcornprints.spreadshirt.com/ and the UK one is here http://www.popcornprints.co.uk/

I also have a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Popcorn-Prints/313915968619262

 

I would appreciate it so much if you would like to mention my t-shirts on your blog. I’ve attached a picture you could use.

 

Thanks so much, Louise xxx

Agent Christmas and her Mardi Gras Hat

Agent Christmas featured on the blog way back in 2010 but at that point she didn't have an agent name.

The clues to her real identity are;
She lives in New York
Her real name is how you feel at Christmas or how you wish others feel at Christmas.

Get guessing....

We *heart* Bertie Pig

Ever since we were joined the online guinea pig community, we've always loved the adventures of Leah's Pigs.

Currently, the extremely handsome Bertie Pig lives with her, and we absolutely swoooon over his photo's. What a good looking boar! So, for your viewing pleasure, we recommend you head on over to their facebook album
for his Valentine's Day pigtures.

New Agent Ripple and her Hat

Agent Ripple gets her agent name because she looks like chocolate (so Mummy says) and her hair has a wave in it that reminds mummy of a chocolate bar called a Ripple, anyone remember them? can you still get them? has anyone outside of the UK heard of them?

She lives as part of a mixed herd in Illinois.

Her real name is the same as a character from the book and film The Mosquito Coast, it is also a nickname for girls with a variety of other names, in the UK although the spelling is different its pronounced the same and refers to a narrow walk way between 2 points hmmmm well thats enough confusing.

Get guessing

Carnival in the Netherlands

This weekend it's Carnival in the Netherlands! This means we'll be dressing up and go to Agent Zeppelin and Pepper to watch the parade with our other friends.

Agent Chanel dressed up as chicory, her favourite veggie.

Agent Venus, does this count as a hat?

New Agent Oreo and her Hat

Agent Oreo got her name because ..... well just look at the pigture.

She lives as part of a mixed herd in Illinois and her real name is the same as a famous actress from the 40's and 50's who starred in The Killers and Mogambo.

Agent Oreo sadly has ovarian cysts but she does not let this hold her back she loves to stand at side of cage for a petting.

Any ideas? We are not old enough to know these films wol.

Agent Valentino signing off

On valentine's day, exactly 3 years ago, Chico got to move in with his girlz.
at that time they were Dunya and Woopy, now they would be Woopy, Lily and Daisy.

Unfortunately Chico did not make it to this day :'(
Yesterday evening, only 30 minutes short of this small anniversary, he crossed the rainbow bridge...

As some of you know he was having diarrhea for the second time (ironically enough he had normal poops yesterday),
and inbetween he broke his front teeth. This probably caused a trama in which his jaws became misaligned.
This meant his front teeth didn't meet anymore, and as a result his lower incisors had grown very long already.

Last friday the vet corrected this, and then she noticed that his jaws were misaligned...
She said there was a possiblity that this would correct itself, but there was also a good chance that this wouldn't correct itself,
meaning monthly visits to the vet to have his teeth corrected...

He was a very strong boar, since the teeth correction friday, he kept going on, but loosing more and more weight,
as he couldn't really eat himself. We did of course feed him critical care and small strips of vegetable.
When I came home yesterday he was not looking good, but we spent about another 2 hours sitting with him.
I gave him some extra painkiller in case he was in pain, and we just tried to keep him comfortable.
He kept standing up, and would still stand on his paws for a very long time!
I took all my girlz (one by one) to see him for the last time, the girlz were not very happy with this.
There is something about cavies and knowing when time is up, and they just tend to keep away from them.
However when I took Lily to him (they were always very fond of each other) he lifted his head and tried to snuggle up to her!
After that he went downhill fast...

He was my first cavy that did not do the running in the end, though he was stamping his feet a lot,
which felt a lot like he was trying to stand up and walk away...

Sadly, Mieke, Erwin
and the guinygirlz Woopy, Lily and Daisy

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from Agents Butterloaf and Cannonball!

New Agent Cleopatra and her Hat

Agent Cleopatra is part of a mixed herd living in Illinois.

Her real name is the name of a town in the country that her Agent name was Queen of off, confused, heres another hint its also the name of a famous lighthouse in the same country.

Agent Bumble Bee's Hat

Isn't she a Cutie

An Agent Zeppelin Mystery

Our Agent Zeppelin is a master of disguise. Can you tell which way he is facing?

Well done Agent Zeppelin! Keep up the good work.

p.s. err.. Agent Zeppelin, can you help out with revealing the answer (after the guessing) we don't know which way you are facing either..

Piggy Bathtime

Agent Minty reporting on Piggyfriends' Bathtime.

Most of us Piggyfriends, with a few exceptions, do not mind having a bath. Otto absolutely loves it. In these pigtures, you can see me with my friend Copper in the bath and wrapped in warm towels to dry afterwards.

Slave baths us all in pairs so that we have someone to chat with whilst the shampoo is working. She makes sure that the bathroom is nice and warm and then carries a pair of us upstairs in a box. She unscrews the shower head from its hose and gets the water to the right temperature. Then we are placed in the bath and she uses the hose to make us wet all over. Then she uses the Vet Sect Repel shampoo and works it up into a lather all over our coats and into our ears. If anypig has a messy grease gland, they have a blob of Swarfega applied to it.

Then we sit in the bath and wait for four minutes. We can explore the plughole, push the hose around or roll the shampoo bottle along. Then Slave switches the water on again and we have a thorough rinse. After that we are wrapped in warm towels and placed in a box to dry. She gives us something to nibble while we wait - usually some yummy cucumber slices.

While she is bathing the next pair of piggies, she will change our towels several times so that we keep getting dry ones. By the time that the second pair of piggies has been wrapped in their towels, we are ready for a rub with yet another warm towel. Our box is left by a radiator if it is winter so that we carry on drying but in the summer we are usually dry enough to go back into our pen with some nice fresh hay.

Sometimes we get our nails trimmed at this time.

The long haired piggies usually need to be finished off with the hairdryer on a low setting. They also have haircuts when in the bath as Slave finds it easier to do this with a wet coat.

Some of us get bathed more often than others. White coated piggies like myself get messier than the darker ones and the long haired ones need more attention than the short coated ones but Slave does all of us at some time. In our damp climate in England, fungal spores abound and this lovely shampoo keeps us free of this nasty problem as well as killing off any bugs that might be in our coats.

Bathing time!

Hi fellow slaves,
I am writing this post as my girlz and boar refuse to write it, as most of them (and I guess most piggies out there) are not fond of baths...

Some time ago my boar Chico was having diarrhea :( With some extra hay and fibre in the form of fibreplex (protexin in a paste form, carrot flavoured), little veggies and I believe the bath helped as well, he got better. After that the poor guy somehow managed to break his front teeth, so eating was a bit harder and we had to feed him strips of veggies... Then now his teeth have grown back, he's got diarrhea again... So it's back to the fibreplex and additional hay, and not so much veggies for him.

I had recieved my Panacur (for worming) and Vet Sect repel shampoo only a few days before Chico got his first bout of diarrhea. As he did not seem to get rid of his diarrhea soon and that his skin was very flaky I thought is was a good idea to give him and the girlz a bath. I also started them all on their first round of panacur to eliminate any bugs or worms that might affect Chico's gut function.

I thought I'd give you some basic steps on what to take care of and what to do when you feel your pigs need a bath. Firstly, guinea pigs do not need baths as regularly as humans do! I guess (but have no proof) that very occasional baths are not good for piggies.
So the steps for bathing your piggies:
1. Fill 2 tubs/buckets/sinks (whatever is convenient for you and your pig with some luke warm to warmish water. Do not make the water too deep, your pigs should be able to stand in the tub without feeling they are drowning. This will help them to not panic, though some of mine panic eitherway...
I fill up my sink and a tub that fits in the sink (which we used for doing the dishes, before we had a dishwasher), and put them next to each other. I also have a rubber mat (kind of like a bath mat) which I put at the bottom of the sink, this prevents the piggies from slipping away, and gives the a more secure feeling to the ground.

2. Get your supplies ready (maybe you should even do this before step 1, as you don't want to water to become cold). I usually have 1 towel per pig, one (or two) towels to put them on when taking them out of the bath, and maybe an additional towel per pig to dry them off. I also have my shampoo ready and a plastic cup to pour water over the piggies.

3. Get your pigs ready, as the water will cool down pretty quickly I will put up a run in the kitchen with the pigs in it, so they are close by once I got the water and everything ready...

4. Put one towel next to the tub/sink filled with water, I usually fold a towel once. I put my pig on it, check if I got everything, and then slowly put the pig in one of the tubs. I make sure the pig gets wet, using the cup to pour some water over them. Be sure not to trow the water over their heads as most piggies won't like that and will start to panic. I take my panicking pigs out of the water if they get really stressed out, and put them back in once they seem to have calmed down.

Lily likes the water but not the shampoo,
she lifted up her tummy once shampoo
was put in her fur...

5.  Once the pig is all wet, take him or her out, and put on the now still dry towel.
Put some of the shampoo on your hands, divide over your two hands (usually your hands are wet by now from handling your piggie) maybe let it foam a bit and soap your piggy thoroughly.
<-- Our Lily looked like this after being soaped in with the Vet Sect Repel. Ann (from piggyville.com) says to leave in the shampoo for a couple of minutes, and to make sure you work the lather into the ears.

6. Depending on the shampoo your using either leave it on for some minutes or start rinsing it out (step 7). When it needs to stay on the piggy for a few minutes it's a good idea to wrap your piggy into a towel to keep him or her warm. As you probably all know piggies are not very good with drafts, and being all wet will not help...

7. Gently put the piggie back into one of the tubs and rinse out as much of the shampoo. As I said before if the pig starts to panic take him or her out, and put them on the towel, try to calm them down before putting them back.
My pigs usually feel more secure when I hold them, usually I let their front paws rest on my hand, using the other hand to pour water over them with the cup. For really panicky pigs, you'd better hold them firmly in place, or ask another person to help you, so one can hold and calm them down, and the other can do the washing and rinsing.

8. Once most of the shampoo has been washed out, your water will be full of shampoo so not very effective in getting the last bits of shampoo out. So I transfer them to the other tub/sink with shampoo-free warm water and use my cup or hands to get the last bits out of their furs.

9. Then you take them out again, put them on the towel and get a dry towel. I rub them sort of dry with the towel. You could also do this then use a blow dryer of maybe only use the blowdryer. I tend not to use the blowdryer as the noise would freak my pigs out.

10. Now comes the good part for the pigs and my boyfriend: I will wrap the pig up in the 'dry' towel, and give them to my boyfriend. He will take them upstairs (where their cage is) and lie on the couch with pig (or pigs) wrapped in towels and a nice warm fleece blanket. I guess this is not really necessary, but both boyfriend and pigs enjoy this! Also they need to be kept warm after having a bath as we don't want them to catch a cold or anything, and this a good way to keep them warmer while they dry.
In the pictures on the right you can see Lily and Chico wrapped in towels and a fleece blanket sharing a piece of chicory. On the picture on the left you might be able to spot 2 piggies, you can see my Boyfriends' head, and the cage in the background...

Woopy hiding in the hay

11. After that I put them back in the cage, and usually give them some extra hay to eat and snuggle in (hay provides more warmth).

12. Repeat for other piggies, and hand piggies to boyfriend for warming up and drying....

I really liked the vet sect repel, it smells okay, applies and foams pretty well (though it foamed a lot more on Daisy). In short it works well, and it made my two partly white girls more white, then the sort of yellowy white they were before the bath.

Also when the grease gland of your piggies is dirty and seems a bit hard, put on some dish wash liquid, leave it on a bit, then wash it out. That will usually clear it up, and many of my pigs will start pooing a lot after this gland is cleaned (coincidence?)

Our Lily was born on a sort of farm, where they had a big enclosure with run outside that could be moved around the grass. The run would allow them to be safe outside, and eat as much grass as they wanted. It seems Lily is pretty used to water, and it doesn't freak her out at all. First time we gave her a bath she was standing with her paws in the water and was like, 'hey, water...' and she started to drink it! We think living in the run, and being used to morning dew, helped her not to be afraid of the water.

My others, especially Woopy, are not that fond of the water. Woopy will scream as if we are mishandling her... Toby (Chico's old boar friend) was even worse and would panic so much, he would start turning himself over and almost drowning himself in the process...

So how do you bathe your pigs (do you bathe them)?

Do you have any tips to share?

Slave Mikey of the Guinygirlz and Agent Valentino

New Agent Venus Issues a Challenge

Its February traditionally the month of romance and love so what better name for a new agent then Venus.

Agent Venus would like to issue a challenge for February she wants to see what piggies put on their heads be it bows, ribbons of hats Venus wants to see your pigtures so get snapping.

Best pigtures will be Agents of the Month for March

Agent Venus is getting us started with her lovely bows.







Clues to Agent Venus real identity:

She lives as part of a mixed her in Illinoi
Her real name is the Greek equivalent of her agent name
When she arrived she had a bad sore on her back but thanks to love and care from her new family she is now a happy healthy piggy.

Get Guessing.....

Perfect Pinkies; Coco

Our Coco was selected by the late Igor himself because of her gentle nature and charming looks. She is a real sweetheart, always washing somebody's ears or snuggling next to them.

Coco's first encounter with auntie Mieke

Coco loves to cuddle with humans too. Just give her a lap and she will spread out like a big puddle of piggy hair.

flump

Our Coco is also a little fashionista, her favorite accessory is parsley because it matches her eyes ;-)

Strike a pose

Piggyfriends Perfect Pinkies

Bosworth


Otto


Garnet


Elliot


Buttons


Copper and Polo

Introducing Agent Zeppelin

This is Agent Zeppelin, he lives in the Netherlands and has featured on this blog before.

He was named after a famous guitarist from a famous band. His agent name refers to this band (and it also fits because agent Zeppelin is a big LAPS pig, just like a.. zeppelin)

Get guessing!

3 More wall calendars in stock & nominate your favorite Guinea pig shelter!

Hi all,

I just wanted to let you all know that 17 calendars have been sold, and we have made a nice profit on this to be donated to a guinea pig shelter! (I will have to do the maths, so can't give you an exact number at the moment... sorry)

So you can all send in your suggestions for your favorite Guinea pig shelter, one that is near you, or one that you feel is special, or one that could use a little help from us all. Please motivate why you think they should get our donation.
We will then make a poll for this and let people vote on where to send our donation.

I also want to let you know if you haven't bought a calendar yet, you can still do so by filling out the form. You can get to the form by clicking on the link in the text in the right column below the picture of the calendar.
I currently have 3 wall calendars in stock which can be send to you immediately for the price of the desk calendar (i.e. 12,50 euro, about 16.15 dollars) plus the cost for shipping it to your country from the Netherlands. Desk calendars can be ordered as well, but will have to be printed first, so they might take somewhat longer.
See the preview of the calendars here.

So let us know if you want to order (another) calendar
 & please suggest a shelter that could use our donation in the comments!

Winkyteam First Aid Kit

After visiting the piggyfriends, I was kinda worried about our first aid kit. So I asked J to let me take a peek at it (this is not for the faint of heart, I sat next to nail clippers and shampoo..)

Yikes!

I was not disappointed, and actually feel much safer now (did put in an order for products that weren't past their shelf date). This is what I found:

Medicine
- Painkiller
- Antibiotics leftover. Usually used for Yaya's bladder infections. But always good for emergencies
- Primperan for bloat/gas emergencies

Tools
- an assortment of syringes for force feeding recovery food
- nail clippers
- an animal shaving machine. Once used for grandma's poodle, later for Igor
- the snuggle safe heat pad. A plastic disc that can be heated in the micro wave and stays warm for about 8 hours. Used a lot by Yaya (for the OD) 

Care
- recovery food, both critical care and science recovery to suit our taste (yes we are spoilt)
- probiotics (protexin powder) to help the healthy bacteria in our bowels . Usually administered a few ours after antibiotics
- shampoo for both mites and fungal infections. We use the Knoevel products (manuka neem shampoo with cocos neem) but they actually come from Gorgeous Guineas
- Paxcutol, for cleaning the accidental overactive butt gland (you can also use dish washing stuff, but we are spoilt pigs)
- betadine shampoo. Good for disinfecting pigs. Used for rinsing Jan the Boar's abscess after it burst
- granny Glynis' blanky. For wrapping unruly pigs when they need to be force fed (also good for snuggling)

Okay readers, this was dr. Sjeuff, reporting from the trenches. It there are any other pigs out there are willing to share their first aid kit, drop me a line below ;-)

Happy Birthday Agent Nervous

Our very own Agent Nervous is celebrating a big birthday, he is now 5 years old.

Being 5 means he qualifies to join the Senior Citizen Aging Miracle Pig Society also known as SCAMPS

Congratulations Agent Nervous!!!

Hammock Happiness Interrupted

Just when you are having a nice dream in your hammock... 

*zzzzzzzzz*

*zzzzzzzzzzzz*

Your staff sneaks up on you and takes a pigture.. 

FLASH!

Whut?

Got nom?

Sigh..

Sounds familiar?

Introducting Agent Yougie

Hello agents! I am an one-year-old red crested piggy and I love yogurt treats. I was adopted and live with two other agents, Agent Butterloaf and Agent Cannonball. I am still learning how to live with other piggies. Right now I shake my bottom a lot at the other agents. I love yougies!! They are a timothy hay treat covered in yogurt. I taught the other agents how to stand on their hind legs to beg for yougies. I am trying hard to get yougies all the time but it's not working. I am also trying to put on weight but I run around so much that it's hard! If only I was given yougies all the time...!

Jimmy is a LAPS pig!

1383 grams!

Our friend Jimmy from the Gekke Flappies recently became a LAPS pig. Hurray! Go Jimmy, well done.

Piggyfriends' First Aid Kit

After my last blogpost, I jumped into the cavycopter to interview the Piggyfriends about their first aid kit. After a generous meal (I now have a secret crush on miss Penny, their slave) the Piggyfriends nominated Pandora aka Agent Avatar, to answer my questions as she is spokespig for the herd when they send messages to the GPDD.

Pandora aka Agent Avatar

(Sjeuf) Before we jump into the Piggyfriends' first aid kit, Pandora, can you tell me a bit more about the Piggyfriends?

(Pandora) Well, I need Slave's help with this one. She says that she had the very first Piggyfriends when she was a little girl ( a VERY long time ago ). The first one came from a litter born to the pet shop lady's Peruvian sow, Lima and the second was passed on to her from her spoilt brat cousin's dad, when the girl would not look after him. There were no piggy rescues in those far off days so I guess that he was the first rescued one. When Slave and her family moved here in 1987, she had six of her own plus the Little Visitors that came to live here during the times when her friend was overseas and also her sons' school piggies that boarded every weekend and holidays. There was plenty of room here to rescue more so she did.

Slave never counts us as she says that it reminds her of lost Piggyfriends. I can't count very high but there are between 20 and 30 of us. Slave says that once she had 35. There is always room for one more.

(Sjeuf) what are the most common piggy ailments?

(Pandora) The worst piggy ailments must be skin problems, particularly mites but we are all protected by regular doses of Ivermectin and Panacur to kill mites and other parasites (tip: worming protocol). Sometimes piggies come in with mite infestations and they are very poorly. Fungal issues are also problem in cold, damp climates like ours in England as piggies originally came from the dry climate of South America.

(Sjeuf) What kind of medicine really really ought to be in the case?

(Pandora) Our Slave has a huge amount of piggy medicine in two overflowing boxes. I think that Ivermectin and Panacur are the most important drugs plus an antifungal and antiparasite shampoo. Slave has Vet Sect Repel. She has painkillers and human cold remedies, which suit piggies too. There are decongestants for bunged up noses plus a bottle of Septrin antibiotic - the best one for piggies. There is a bottle of tonic for when we need a pick me up and a human ladies' remedy for cystitis. There are meds for upset tummies and diarrhoea and Daktarin oral gel for sore mouths after dental work. She has eye drops and a cream to help wounds heal faster. She has Osteocare and a cream for mouth sores ( just in case ).

(Sjeuf) Lets talk tools! What do you really need, next to the drugs?

(Pandora) Tools? A good, sharp pair of nail clippers. Slave has a pair for human nails and she also uses these for overgrown incisors. Not for the faint hearted. Also a lot of 1ml. syringes with no needles for giving meds. With the ends cut off, these are for syringe feeding sick piggies too. Plus good sharp scissors for haircuts for our long haired friends. I don't need these. If she did not have the services of our wonderful Rodentologists, she would have a set of dental equipment too. Also there is a box of cotton buds for swabbing the Daktarin around little mouths.

(Sjeuf) Are there other essential items we've not mentioned yet and ought to be in the first aid kit?

(Pandora) Slave considers all of the contents to be essential but she says that you need to know what you are doing before giving meds.

(Sjeuf) So let's say I'm making a deluxe first aid kit, what else would you put into my kit?

(Pandora) Slave wouldn't be without a diuretic for heart conditions. She also recommends that every first aid kit should contain a copy of Peter Gurney's Piggy Potions. She is very keen on herbal remedies.

(Sjeuf) Wow, Pandora, that was really helpfull, thank you so much for having me here!

Dear readers, I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I did and got some ideas out of this. If you have any questions, post them below, I'm sure the Piggyfriends will be reading this and are willing to answer them.


Lots of wheeks!
Sjeuf

p.s. I added all the hyperlinks to the websites for extra information. Do correct me if I got it wrong or pasted a dead link into this post.
p.p.s. as stated in the sidebar, we are not vets and no rights can be claimed from this blogpost. If your guinea pig seems to be unwell, please seek out medical advise from a cavy-savy vet. Pigs can go downhill very fast.

New Years Resolutions

Tell your slaves not to worry about their weight (big butts are the best anyway) and replace their New Years resolutions with these resolutions for my health:

1. Weigh me frequently and keep track of my weight. We are very good at hiding our illnesses and a drop in weight usually is the first sign something is wrong

2. Check my fur every now and then. Are there bald patches? Creepy crawlies? Wet chin?

3. Trim my nails! I know I don't like it, but if you wait too long I'll get corkscrew nails, which can be very painfull.

So, this is our top 3. Which resolutions would you like to add?

Dr. Sjeuff