Sassy Satins

Hi AgentF,

It's me, Piggy Galore. Sigh.. slave let me finally have the computer to write you a blogpost. Feel free to cut it up in bits if it's too long. I'm also adding a pigture of me that you can place in your blog. It is not easy to see that i'm a satin on a photo because of my dark hair; but i cannot help that.. so.. here it goes;

Hi All! Agent F asked me to provide you all with some intelligence concerning my condition. My spyname is Piggy Galore and I'm a little diva and am very gorgeous, thank you very much (not that photogenic though; you should see me in real life).

[caption id="attachment_308" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Piggy Galore a Sassy Satin"][/caption]

I have Osteodystrophy (OD) which is a metabolic disease that affects my bones. (You can read more about the disease here: http://www.oginet.com/Cavies/satin.htm) The calcium from my bones is slowly drawn from them and this has painfull side effects, I'll tell you more about them later. The only guinea pigs with OD thus far, are satin pigs. I am a satin pig and I feel that it is important that AgentF's readers should know what they are and look like, so that they know about the risks that are involved with this breed.

So what does it mean when a pig has satin hair? First of all, satin is not the same as a silkie. When you're a silky, you have a certain hairstyle (long hair) When you're a satin, you have a certain type of hair (extra shiny) regardless of style. It can be short, long, messy or with curls. The hair is so shiny and soft, because the hairs are hollow on the inside.

So when you're a satin pig owner; what are the signs you should be looking for? Not all satins get OD, but is good to educate yourself so that you can help your pig if he or she is in pain.
- Weight loss; as a owner, weigh your satin regularly. Our jaws become instable and weak and this makes it harder to eat, which in turn affects our teeth because they keep growing.
- the bunny hop; although we are very similar to rabbits; we don't hop unless we're in pain.

So what to do when you suspect your satin has OD? You can go to a vet. I was diagnosed by an OD expert at 1,5 yrs old. She could feel it in my jaws. Later on we also made an ex-ray photo. My vet also taught my slave to check my lympf nodes in my paw pits; because when my OD is bothering me nowadays it is usually because my joints are inflammated and they get bigger. When this happens, my slave feeds me Carprofen (0.5ml, twice a day) for a few days until I feel better. My slave also removed obstacles out of the cage and hung the water bottle at a height where I can reach it easily. She also has a rubbery disc (snuggle safe) that she can put in the microwave to keep me warm and comfortable all day (like a hot water bottle)

Btw I am 4 years old and a strapping 3 lbs *looks really proud*. There are rumours that only satin pigs in bad conditions develop OD. But I was spoilt rotten (like any guinea pig diva ought to be) and well bred (you can ask for my pedigree if you dont believe me..) and still I got OD... just so you know, thank you very much.

Piggy Galore

Me also found this link to research into OD in Satin piggies (AgentF)

http://www.guineapigwelfare.org.uk/satin-guinea-pigs/

Can You Guess Who It Is

The next post will be bought to you care of another secret agent piggy here are a few clues to her identity.

She has chosen the secret agent name Piggy Galore as she is a Diva pig.

She lives in the Nederlands with her brother and sister pig (they get on most of the time) and a human mad scientist.

Thats your clues

Extra points if you can guess which little piggy put on another 40g in the last week and now weighs 851g and has been out for some grass with no tummy problems

Is he Really a Guinea Pig??

Me and Daddy suspect their is something very un-guinea like about Spooky.

We have a few clues

Clue 1 Spooky loves digging most other piggies will tell you this is weird.

Clue 2 Daddy caught Spooky climbing the cage bars must un-piggy like, Daddy said if me tried that the bars would break hmmmppphhh

We Love This Blog

Its Caplin the Capybara's blog, he calls himself a giant hamster but he is really A giant guinea pig (well he must be) he is definetely a LAPS piggy!!

Thank you to the human who shared the link, we are trying to view all the archives (a long task for 2 guinea pigs)

http://gianthamster.com/

What Was the Point of That Then

Mummy gave us a dried corn on the cob, so me and Spooky pulled all the yellow corns out and scattered them all over the cage floor.

What we supposed to do with it now???

We Have Been Watching......

Walk on the Wild Side on BBC1 its very funny.

They have real wildlife footage which has been voiced over.

We love the sleeping seal and the mouse flower delivery service.

Agent A for Agouti

Here are some clues to guess who Agent A is thats if you cant tell from the beautiful pigture.

Agent A lives in the USA, she has a whole photobucket album dedicated to her and like me she is famous on the guineapigjamboree.

Agent A has dark eyes and ticked hair which makes her an agouti, unlike Spooky whose ruby eyes make him an argente. Eye colour is the only difference between Agouti and Argente.

Agent A has dark brown hair with black undercoat and tan ticking she also has a tan tummy, we think she looks like a cinnamon agouti.

As you can see from the pigture she is a gorgeous girl.

[caption id="attachment_288" align="aligncenter" width="160" caption="Agent A for Agouti "][/caption]

And in case you missed her on the jamboree here is the link again

http://www.gpjamboree.com/rest-and-weelaxation/page/2/

She is second piggy on the page.

Thank you for your contribution Agent A.

Humans are Strange

Mummy told us that there will be a funeral for our friend a week Friday, so Spooky said he would help dig the hole in the garden (he loves digging strange piggy) and me was going to help chose the pot and the plant to mark the hole.

Mummy says humans dont get buried in the garden (this must be because they are not as important as guinea pigs)

Mummy says our friend will be cremated and then the ashes scattered in a garden of remembrance (so they do go in the garden Mummy lied)
where they will help lots of beautiful plants to grow.

That way our friend has never really gone. We are glad about that.

Goodbye My Friend

My friend crossed the rainbow bridge at 11:45 this morning.

Mummy says that now she is free of pain and reunited with her beloved cats Big Boy and Chloe and the hammie who went everywhere with her, even for road trips in her MG.

While we may miss her she is in a happier place now, its just us left behind who are sad.

Agent I you are right humans are very leaky when sad.

Munchees when me is less sad and mummy has stopped leaking me will be blogging again.

In fact me has a special blog which another under cover guinea pig has helped with. Agent I for your information she is a she.

Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts.

Me will be back with you soon

Me is Very Sad

Mummy told me last night that one of our special human friends has the big C, sadly is has spread throughout her body and she is in hospital waiting to cross the rainbow bridge.

My friend is very good to me whenever she goes abroad she goes straight to the pet section of the hyper market to find guinea pig treats for me.

She banned her neighbour from using weedkiller on his overgrown garden so she could pick fresh dandelions for me.

She would share her beans and lettuces freshly grown with me and she would never throw a kitchen towel roll tube away she gave them to me to play with.

Mummy says the doctors are making sure she has no pain but that is all they can do for her.

I hope you understand I will taking a little break from blogging to devote my energy to my friend.

Dont worry I will be back and with a special post from a guinea pig secret agent friend.

We Went in the Garden

Sunday was sunny enough for us to be allowed out into the garden (woooooooohoooooooooo)

Spooky was only allowed out for 15 minutes in case it upset his tummy again, me was allowed out muuuuch longer.

It has been 3 days since we went out and there has been no problem with Spooky, so next time we have a sunny day he can come out for 30 minutes.

Mind you that could be next year with the Great British weather being what it is (big sigh)

Compromise

Following the advice of the ever knowledgeable Piggyfriends me has decided to let Spooky start as a spy NOT a special agent just a spy for now.

His first mission was to get down the side of the cage and report back.

Well he got his head down there but his butt was too big (heeeheee) he tells me all that is down there is more carpet and the legendary dust that my humans collect.

Must find more small corners for him to investigate, there must be something good somewhere.................

Passing the Message on

Me dont know if any of your humans can help Cavy Madness but please click the link to see if there is anything you can do.

We must use our global piggy power to help all the guinea pigs we can!!!

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244434920710&ref=mf

Me has Decided.............

that when Spooky weighs 1kg he can become a proper undercover guinea pig

Today he weights 694g and is complaining about having to wait so long.

I think I am being fair.......

Me Broke Free....................

actually Daddy moved the bars out of the way so I could visit him in his half of the prison.

Spooky stayed in bed.

Me and Daddy laid on the floor for cuddles.

Mummy if there are any wet patches it WASNT ME

Wrongly Accused.........

me and Spooky came out for floor time and when we went to bed Mummy found wet patch on carpet.

She gave us this evil look like what one of you peed on my carpet.

Then she put her finger in it (humans are weird) and then smelled her finger (very weird)

Turns out Daddy was to blame, the wet patch smelt of cider

We got bored.............

of staying in, so we are back out running around attacking the piggy prison bars.

We will escape (evil laugh)

Reverse Psychology........

For the last few days me and Spooky have been lulling the humans into a false sense of security.

When Mummy opens the cage and sets up our ramp for floor time we have refused to come, instead we chase each other round the cage.

We plan to do this until Mummy starts to relax and not watch us as closely and then we will attack (me means escape heehee)

Its always good to have a back up plan!!

Diet???

Daddy says you now need 2 hands and to bend at the knees to pick me up.

He says me needs to diet............. NO WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK

Stupid Human

Me Glad Me Got Clear Nails..............

Mummy cut me and Spookys nails yesterday, me went first and me was bribed with romaine Mummy cut my nails fine although she did say they are getting thicker and tougher to cut.

Spooky was bribed with carrot and Mummy only managed to cut his back claws and she cut 2 too short and they bled... she was too scared then to do the front.

Me can report Mummy was more upset than Spooky

Thistle Cavies

Hey guys just thought I would tell you about a guinea pig rescue here in the UK (they are actually in Scotland)

They are called Thistle Cavies (who would have guessed) and through their website humans can get piggy treats and human treats (what more could a human want)

Humans in the UK can also help by recycling their old mobile phones (hands off my phone humans) and printer cartridges.

All they need to do is visit the website and ask for some special posting bags to be sent and start recycling.

Mummy even recycles the cartridges from work to get even more and of course she pesters her work colleagues, friends and family to give her their old cartridges.

So any piggies in the UK whose humans are not already recycling for charity, get your humans helping those piggies.

http://thistlecavies.tripod.com/

Guinea Pigs Dont Like Heights.....

according to some humans that is.

Me and Spooky have no problems with heights.

When me was a baby I nearly gave Mummy a heart attack coz when she turned her back for a few minutes I climbed all the way to the top of the stairs (heeeheee)

Me couldnt get down again and Mummy had to come up and spoil my fun (rescue me)

In our cage we have a mezzanine floor and Spooky is forever jumping up there and then off again, me ventures up occasionally when me is not sleeping.

The problem guinea pigs have with heights is falling, if its a distance we can jump by ourselves (a single step or onto mezzanine floor) we should be ok anything higher than that and injuries can occur.

Humans should make sure we are extra secure when being carried, Mummy always wraps us straight in a blanket to carry us anywhere.

If an accident does occur and we fall/ drop from a height, the humans should watch us very closely and any sign of pain or unusual behaviour we should go straight to the vet (ohh joy)

So remember friends we are guinea pigs and not mountaineers and we should only climb/jump to a height we are happy with!!! (not all the way to the top of the stairs)

If you do get carried away wheeeek loudly until your human rescues you (but never admit to being grateful for rescue)

Me is in Trouble

Mummy has told me off.

Heres what happened.......

Spooky was asleep in the corner under the mezzanine floor, so me went over and nudged him out of bed, then me peed in the corner and went to the other side to sleep.

What me do wrong??

Mites

Now Spooky is feeling again he is helping write this post about mites.

Unlike me, Spooky has actually suffered from mites, they made him lose patches of hair and caused him to have black scabs over his ear and back.

Luckily for Spooky, Daddy spotted the problem at the petshop and then Mummy and Daddy kept pursuing the issue until Spooky got the right treatment.

If you have mites its important for humans to act quickly as mites can be fatal to guinea pigs if not treated properly.

One of the most obvious signs to look out for is excessive scratching, this is because mites bite and make us itch, we can damaged ourselves with the scratching as well. Mummy says Spooky didnt appear to be scratching much at all but he did have hair loss and black scabs.

The treatment for mites is Ivermectin drops, these are placed on the skin around the neck and down the back. (Mummy could only get Ivermectin in the form of Xeno450 which appears to be a brand name and has cured the problem) If one guinea pig has mites we will all need treating just in case.

Ivermectin will need to reapplied 2 weeks after first treatment, this is to allow time for the eggs to hatch, the second dose then kills the second generation, 2 doses is normally enough however it is always wise to be cautious and another dose may be needed.

After leaving the second dose to work, guinea pigs will need a bath to wash any dead bodies (eugh) out of our lovely hair, leaving us clean and pure again.

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.htm

http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

Anypig with any more advice or observations, please feel free to comment........the more we know the better wheeeeeeeeeeeeek

New Way To Have Your Hay

When Spooky had diarrhoea Mummy wanted him to have hay but didnt want him to poop all over it and then eat it, so she stuffed toilet roll inners with hay so he could eat it out of them.

We love getting our hay this way, we can pick the inners up and hit each other with them (like gladiators)

We can both start at opposite ends of tubes and see who can eat to the middle first (like silly humans digging channel tunnel)

We can attempt to get both our heads in at one end (not very successfully)

We can drag them round the cage so the other piggy cant get it (heeeheee)

They are so much more fun than a hayrack.

Me does miss having big pile to play in but Mummy says it makes cleaning our fleece easier as well (whats that got to do with anything??)

Me Has Forgiven Mummy...........

Me knows me hasnt sulked for very long over the indignaty of being put in a box (me does have good reason to forgive)

Mummy came home yesterday with lots of treats for us from Pampered Piggies me has a new parsley bell (Oiy Spooky thats MY bell) we have Oxbow hay cakes and we have meadow herb cubes and apple cubes, and a new chube (Spooky got diarhoea in old one YUCK)

We also have samples of new food to try hmmmmmmmmmm

We is gonna be busy munching for a loooooooooong time!!

Prison Break Foiled..........

Humans grrrrrrr

Mummy must have told tales to Daddy coz when she came to clean us out last night instead of our prison circle we went into a big cardboard box that Daddy bought home (from which there was no escape)

Me is sulking now!!!

Prison Break..........

Mummy put the guinea pig prison bars into a circle and put me and Spooky in the circle while she cleaned us out, she thought this would mean she didnt need to keep such a close eye on us (WRONG)

Me found where 2 bits joined and started pushing it, it closed in on me but it did move a little bit so I aimed toward TV and kept going (didnt get very far and Spooky didnt help)

Anyway me now has an escape plan to keep pushing next time Mummy cleans us out.

Heeeheeeheee

G Force Update.......

It appears me is not the only one to have concerns about the G Force movie those guinea pig loving people at guinealynx are also concerned and have come up with 2 information flyers for the not so well informed humans.

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102639438904&s=818&e=001Br8fPsZUCaGT3c6vc47oCVpWFesrFdw8jJL1hiOxiIGco1rHURLHoJDGlQTV222sGUIEhmTTl6VANr-jkg3gu3uUrKhWtbMeoh4qTcprod_TlgfkcSORLB-IyCd3bANL5hUfQx33V0YzeuXHTF8L2g==

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102639438904&s=818&e=001Br8fPsZUCaFj3uae6sQWQuN7k6MJ85cWXcITPc4CgDUllAE5G4R1bAz8Pd8KBjwAtJwDiXq-gujJWZagAAdT35-BtOQ0l4r5h7nHZ23qXy1mvWKsBSrtsLKzfO0MkZH1S28FNkiwbq4YvTS6-uooBdlLuRhvjMoc

While I am quiet happy being a super hero in my own head and virtually online, the idea of humans believing we can actually do these stunts scares me, so me is making Mummy print the guinealynx information and get it displayed in the local vets and pet shops to advise humans who may want their own super hero guinea pig what that really involves.

Me has no objection to the film in fact me is looking forward to watching and cheering along (dogs + cats have had the limelight way too long), but those simple beings we know as humans need strict supervision and good advise and its our job to make sure they get it!!

Me is NOT a Hurdle

Spooky has got it into his head that when I go to sleep in the middle of the cage what I am really doing is making a hurdle for him to jump (NO Spooky I want to sleep)

It wouldnt be so bad if he could actually jump over me everytime, but no he is not that clever and he keeps landing on me or knocking me as he passes.

Need to sort him out but I am too lazy to move

pffffffttttttt

G Force........

As you probably all know there is a movie coming out soon about an elite team of hero guinea pigs (Hollywood have somehow found out all about me) known as G Force (guinea pig force)

This movie is not out here in the UK yet but we have seen trailers (the cartoon guinea pigs are nowhere near as good as the real thing)

The trailers show guinea pigs travelling around in large plastic balls and while this is fine for cartoon guinea pigs we dont want the humans to get confused and think this is ok for real guinea pigs.

Unlike Hamsters, Guinea Pig spines are not flexible enough for us to be able to run in a ball, putting us in a ball can cause spinal damage.

Humans dont get confused NO BALLS for guinea pigs!!!

Guinea Pig Prison

Having Spooky was supposed to provide me with a useful distraction tool, he was to create mischief drawing attention away from me, so I could escape and get behind the sofa or the TV!!

The humans have cleverly stopped this idea using brightly coloured bars, they section of the end of the living room with no wires to chew (that includes my favourite headphone wires) allowing me access to only one end of the sofa (this only needs one human to watch)

Its a proper guinea pig prison (damn them) grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

But dont worry I do intend to find a way out, Spooky you do something silly while I go around and push all the bars........................

Me Has Eaten The Bag Handle

Well fellow guinea pigs you remember I was successful in my mission to chew the strings off my pop up tunnel??

Last night daddy left its special bag on the floor, so I chewed through one of the handles.

Well what did he expect I am a guinea pig!!

Mummy was Right............

Sort of.......

She said Spooky would grow up to be as big as me and then he would start humping me.

He is nowhere near as big as me and he is trying to hump me!!!!!

Boars Behaving Badly??

Or just Boars will be Boars?

Do your humans watch over you and panic over every small disagreement you may have with your cage mates?? If so this brief guide may help to reassure and let them know when it really is time to panic.

Ear Pulling- this is a form of grooming, normally it doesnt hurt the pig being groomed but accidents can occur, if the groomed guinea pig is ending up with bleeding, sore or ragged ears then you need to stop the grooming. (humans may need to seperate you and your friend) If there is no bleeding then humans should leave you alone to get on with it.

Rumble strutting- this is how us boars show each other who is dominant, there is no aggression shown with this action just a slow wiggling of the hips and bum sometimes accompanied by a rumbling noise. No need for humans to panic.

Humping- another way of showing dominance, be warned we can hump from any direction (heehee) again no aggression, no biting just a quick hump and off again, no need to panic.

Bum sniffing- boars love sniffing bums and following each other around nose to bum, again nothing to worry about but if guinea pig being sniffed starts to get fed up it could be worth removing sniffer to give him a break (me too old to keep running all the time)

Head Butts- we do this when we are fed up with whatever the other guinea pig is doing, we normally butt the backside but we can butt anywhere, no teeth are used and the guinea pig butted is not hurt, its a warning for them to stop what they are doing and behave. No panic.

Neck Rubbing-we have scent glands in our necks and like to make the other guinea pigs smell like us, so we rub our necks over their heads, no need to panic.

Nips- not bites teeth are used but skin is not broken as long as this is not accompanied by teeth chattering, things should be fine, keep an eye in case of esculation.

Teeth Chattering- this is warning sign that fight could be about to kick off, humans should keep a close eye on this in case somepig ends up getting hurt.

Showing Teeth-big yawns designed to show how big and strong your teeth are (not to be confused with yawning when tired) this again is an aggressive move and could indicate a fight is about to begin.

Biting/Fighting-this is a very bad sign especially if blood is drawn, this really means that we cant be friends anymore and need to live seperately, humans should break this up by throwing towel over the biters before somepig is seriously hurt.

The general belief is that we do this during our hormonal stage which can be from 3-18 months (thats a long time) if we both make it together passed the 18 month mark, we should be happy living together forever. (Mummy has fingers crossed for the next 2 years heeeheee)

Here is a website dedicated to us boars http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/home.htm

I am sure there are lots of things I have forgotten to mention, so feel free to add your comments.

Is this True???

Mummy says I should stop rumblestrutting and humping Spooky as soon he will be as big as me and hump me back eeeeeeeeeeeek

Is this true???? (it cant be no piggy is gonna get as big as me I am a LAPS pig and proud!!)

Spooky = 468g (see nowhere near as big as me)

Me is a Hair Dresser

Since I have been allowed back in with Spooky I have decided his hair needs a bit of work.

At first I started to eat it coz Mummy had managed to get syringe food in his hair, so Mummy and Daddy gave him a wash (Spooky is a big wimp he dont like bath time)

When he came back clean I decided I wanted to make him into a punk so I have kept on trimming his hair. Spooky dont mind its the humans that have a problem with this.

Mummy has been looking on the internet for advise about barbering and even the late great Peter Gurney cant explain why we do it.

The suggestions vary from it being a sign of dominance, boredom ,stress, genetic or not enough hay, me I just want Spooky to be a punk.

If I was eating my own hair this could be a sign of mites and should be checked out.

The advice to humans is leave us guinea pigs alone we will sort it out, if Spooky dont like having his hair cut he will tell me and eating all the hair is no problem for me I poop it out again.

Mummy says if I make Spooky bald she will have to seperate us, I am just making him a punk mummy OK.

Mummy is calling me Sweeney Todd (heeheee the demon barber I like that)

Are any of you hairdressers??

Spooky update;
Weight = +25g = 413g
Eaten= hay, dried pellets and banana

Poops = nearly normal

Me is a Role Model

Daddy decided that as Spooky's poops have firmed up enough for him not to walk poop everywhere and as he was looking so sad and lonely he need a role model ME!! (can you think of anyone better? thought not)

I went back in the cage with Spooky and I think we should change his name to pritt stick as he has been glued to my bum ever since.

Thats when he is not trying to steal the piece of hay that I am in the middle of eating.

He has followed me about all over the cage munching away (dont know why the humans are worried about him not eating) I mean I am hardly getting a look in and when I do chose a piece of hay thats the piece he wants to eat!!

Spooky has gained 16g overnight and his weight is now 388g hurray a step in the right direction.

He had another tiny piece of carrot (wheres mine hmmmpppffftt, oh yes I had to go back to old cage to have a salad heehee) and more banana (he can keep that)

So being with a hero like me is obviously good for him!!!

Keeping Cool (its sooo hot)

Well my little corner of the UK is being hit by a heatwave (the weather people promise it will be cooler for the weekend)
Here are ways to keep cool until then;

My humans are very extravagant and have air conditioners this means at the flick of a switch I have all the cool air I need.

Other ways you can stay cool include filling bottles with water and freezing them, then standing them in front of a normal desk fan, when the fan blows you get extra coolness from the frozen bottles, or wrap the bottle in a towel and have it in your home where you can lean against it and keep cool. (wrapping it in a towel is important otherwise you could end up frozen against it, not nice!!) Outside piggies can have a damp towel placed over the front of hutch, this will need to be kept damp throughout the day.

You could convince your humans to invest in a cooler tile, these work by giving you something cool to sit on  (without getting stuck to it) as they are made of marble they stay cool.

Get your humans to leave the curtains half shut as this helps stop the sun getting in and making your room too hot.

If you are outside in the garden make sure you stick to the shady areas, to keep cool and to prevent getting sunburn on your delicate ears and noses.

Guinea pigs can get very ill with heat exhaustion, the link belows tells your humans what to look out for and how to treat it.

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/heatstroke.htm

Any other hints and information we can share?

Fresh Water

Now things are hotting up and summer has finally hit the UK (sure it will be over by the weekend) I thought it would be a good time to remind you all that guinea pigs need fresh water everyday.

It doesnt matter if you dont drink all of it, that is no excuse for the humans to leave it there, would they like to drink a glass of water that had sat on the table all night?? I dont think so!! At least dead flies cant get into water bottles so guinea pigs have an advantage there.

I have pure unsweetened cranberry juice added to my water, to give me extra vitamin C and also to help prevent painful urinary tract infections.

So make sure your humans get you fresh cool water everyday and make sure the bottles are checked for leaks or worse than that not letting the water out.

Of course if your humans need reminding to get you fresh water you can always play with the bottle and empty it on the floor of the cage.
Thanks for that tip Agent I ;)

Me Has Eaten Both Strings

heeeheee

Mummy is calling me a little devil, I have chewed through the string on the other end of the tunnel, and then left the soggy bits on the floor to be cleaned up.

Mummy now has to squish tunnel between her legs before fighting to get the bag over the top.

Very funny to watch!!

Me Has Eaten A String

Heeeheeee mummy didnt stop me in time tonight and I have managed to chew through the string at one end of my pop up tunnel.

That will make life more entertaining for her.

Me Been on Holiday

Sorry for not updating blog for couple of days but me has been away.

Mummy and Daddy went for proper holiday without me (why bother) and I went to stay with Granny (wasnt she lucky?)

Granny spoilt me with lots of super treats, but now that I am home I will make Mummy and Daddy think I was neglected so they feel guilty for leaving me heeeheee

Only problem with Granny is she talks all the time, me glad of some peace and quiet now I am home, oh and of course she didnt know I could use the internet so she didnt let me online hmmmppptt

Other than that it was a good holiday.

Sleeping Humans!!!

Mummy and Daddy are supposed to watch while I have floor time to see all the funny things I do and to stop me getting into mischief.

We had floortime as usual and then the humans were watching a film, I jumped into bed for a quick snooze and when I woke up they were both asleep!!!

Mummy was curled up on the sofa dribbling, Daddy was on the floor snoring, and where was the camera for the blackmail shots?? upstairs where I couldnt get it grrrrrrrrr

With no one to watch me being brilliant and no camera for me to play with I stayed in bed until they woke up again.

Why Cant I Have the String

Why do humans spoil my fun all the time??

I have a pop up tunnel that comes in its own little bag so it can be tidied away when floor time is over, to help get it back in the bag at each end it has string attached so mummy can tie the string and it doesnt pop up.

I like to sit in my tunnel, or just outside, and chew the string, whenever I do this mummy always stops me.

Sometimes I have managed to get a lot of string in my mouth and mummy has to gently pull it out again complaining about how soggy it is, she then puts it so it is on top of tunnel and I cant reach it no more why??

Me wants to eat the string!!

My new mission is to eat that string!!

All About Hay

As every good guinea pig knows hay is the must have essential for every cage/ hutch.

Hay has many uses, it is essential for keeping teeth worn down (remember guinea pig teeth grow constantly) the fibre helps keep your digestive system working properly (no soft or hard poops thank you very much)

Hay is also a good plaything, it can make a tunnel, a nest a castle anything you want and can imagine really, it can help keep you warm in winter and when you want to nap you can hide under the hay from the annoying humans.

I have 2 types of hay (me special you know) I have meadow hay to use for bedding and playing and burgess excel herbage timothy hay for eating (dont tell mummy but I eat the meadow hay as well heehee)

Make sure your humans know to provide you as much fresh hay as you can eat and some spare to play in, and make sure they dont get confused with hay and straw, straw can hurt guinea pigs if it pokes them in the eye, hay is much softer.

Well I am off to play king of the castle in my hay.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeek

Me Wanna Share

Well Daddy was sitting on the floor with me last night, with what was obviously a very yummy drink in a carton.

I jumped up with my front feet on his hands to get a taste and guess what he did..... he poured some onto his hand yuck (some went on the floor to but mummy doesnt know)

Well I was not happy with that so I jumped on his hand again and tried to nibble the carton and grab the straw but he wouldnt let me.

Now if he wanted to share my drink he could have it straight from my bottle no problem, these humans have no idea of manners and sharing.

Pffffffffffttttttttttt

I want my food in the Bowl!!!

Well whenever mummy gives me my fresh nibbles she puts them in my food bowl, I race out of bed to the food bowl and drag the bit I want back to bed.

Well the other day mummy put the food next to me in the bed area pffffffffttttt, I had to get out of bed drag the food with me to the bowl, put the food in the bowl and all so I could pick the food out of the bowl and drag it back to bed with me.

Mummy says she was trying to save ME time!!!

Hmmmmmmmmmmppppppppppphhhhhhhhhhh

Me Has Spurs

Like many other guinea pigs I suffer from spurs on my front feet.

These are hard dried bits of skin that grow out from the foot.

Here is link to good description and photo on the guinealynx website.

http://www.guinealynx.info/feet.html#spurs

The spurs on the piggy in the photo seem to grow out of the bottom of the foot, mine grow up the side up of my feet and are also a lot darker than the photo.

Mummy thinks I may have got mine from sitting with my feet overhanging my old mezzanine floor which was plastic and uneven due to chewing (I now have a melamine mezzanine floor) who knows I may have developed spurs anyway.

When mine get long they irritate me so I either have to wait for mummy to cut them down with the nail clippers or I chew them off myself.

I have sometimes pulled them with my teeth but that hurt and made them bleed when they came away from foot where they were attached, I have learnt and now I only bite the side bit off NO PULLING.

I prefer to remove them myself so whenever mummy tries to cut them I throw myself about and wriggle and try to bite to put her off, she can be determined though and between us we keep them short.

If you have spurs make sure you or your human keeps them trimmed down as they can catch on things and pull off causing you pain and bleeding and risk of infection.

You have been warned!

Naughty Daddy

Me was in the garden mowing the lawn and Daddy gave me some flowers through the wire so me ate them.

Daddy then called Mummy and said are these alright for him to eat I have just given him 4.

They were daisy's

Mummy hasnt been able to find anywhere that says if they are good or bad, luckily for me they didnt make me ill (lucky for Daddy to he didnt have to sleep outside!!)

The lesson is you cant always trust your human

Now do any of you know if daisy's are good or bad?

Me is Famous

Along with many other guinea pigs!!

I appear on the guinea pig jamboree, a blog dedicated to photos of cute guinea pigs (and who could be cuter than me??)

Check me out here
http://www.gpjamboree.com/bathtime/

Despite what captions say me loves bath time.

Its not a Subway!!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

Well I finally suceeded in my mission to get behind the sofa, and I must say the cats have a better sofa than mine if they get to a subway.

I got behind the sofa and all I found was dust and dead flies YUCK!!!

Then I realised its not a subway, its a ........... time machine, I had gone back in time to before the horrible noisy hoover was invented, what else could explain all that dust???

Now I need to figure out how to make it take me somewhere interesting.........................................

Reading for Humans

If your human is anything like mine they love reading about and looking at pigtures of us guinea pigs.

Mummy says for cute pigtures and handy tips your human should read the books by the late great Peter Gurney, the man was seriously addicted to us!!!

There is also a webpage of health tips your humans might like to use here is the link   http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/

For detailed anatomy and an indepth list of foods and what they contain mummy likes the Guinea Piglopaedia (try saying that after your carrot rum!!) this is written by Margaret Elward and Mette Ruelokke.

So now you can get your humans reading and while they are doing that you can get up to mischief heeheeeheee

And yes humans really can read!!!!

If I Cant get Round it.............

Last night even though mummy and daddy were both watching me I decided on a new route to get behind the sofa.

Trying to pull the plastic out would be too noisy so I tried to climb over it.

Mummy caught me with my bum stuck in the air and belly wedge on top of the plastic, not very comfy, not very dignified,  not doing that again!!

Pffffffffttttt

Cuddle Time Is Over.........................

Now I love a cuddle as much as the next guinea pig, there is nowhere more comfortable to sleep than in a cozy human lap, the problem is when I have napped and am refreshed I want to be let go and the humans are not mind readers.

Here is how I have trained them to know cuddle time is over;

I have a special towel to cuddle on, so when I want to be let go I bite the towel, if they ignore that I bite it again, if they ignore that I bite it one more time if they still ignore that............................. I poop on the towel.

It took a couple of times to train them but now they know, let me go or I will poop on you!!

Some piggies use the bum dance in the same way, wiggle your bum while walking backwards and if they dont let you go before you finish the dance poop on them.

We will get these humans trained!!

Me has Discovered Coriander

Last night for the first time in all my 2.5 years I tasted Coriander.

Mummy was making vegetable (yummy) curry (yucky) so she gave me some of the fresh coriander, I have one word for it.............

YUMMY

My Favourite Things

Carrots with green bits and grapes with no pips,
Long sunny days and a mixture of hays,
Playtime with dad and driving mum mad.

These are a few of my favourite things

Romaine lettuce hats and long lazy naps
Plotting and planning and scheming and scamming
and eating beetroot to make purple poop

These are a few of my favourite things

A parsley bell that tastes so swell
My tunnel and tent and paying no rent
Food to my door and a quiet place to snore

These are a few of my favourite things

Protecting Daddy

Last night me and daddy was watching a scary film called Alien Ressurection, we were watching with the lights out and these horrible alien creatures kept eating the humans.

In the middle of this the doorbell rang really loudly, so I jumped into daddy's arms to make him feel safe ;) ;)

Mummy opened door to strange man bringing her lots of food stuffs (I thought only piggies got home delivery food!)

When the strange man had gone and door was locked again I jumped out of daddys arms so he would know he was safe again.

What a brave piggy I am.........

Boys Night In 2

Well things are starting to go to plan hurray!! and Daddy is helping, he has moved sofa forward slightly which means the plastic thing is not as tight as it was.

Mummy went dancing, Daddy let me out and I have secretly been working the plastic loose, its not quiet there yet, but I reckon in a few days I will be able to get behind the sofa and find the subway.

Agent F is on a mission

Animal Rescue Site

Not all piggies are as lucky as me, some dont have a forever home and live in shelters.

To help feed piggies (and other animals) in shelters in the USA all you need to do is click to give on the animal rescue site, link below.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

At the moment you can also help specific shelters by voting for them after you have clicked to give.

Mummy is helping me with this, we have a list of 5 shelters our friends have told us about. We vote for a different shelter each day (mummy keeps a list) also when mummy is at work she votes from her work puter so most days we vote for 2 shelters.

These are the shelters we are voting for;

North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Rescue (NJ)

Foggy Creek Cavy Rescue (WA)

Nebraska Humane Society (NE)

Guinea Pigs R Us (ON) Canada

Judges Park (PA) New Castle

Remember to click to give everyday, and remember we are lucky to have our families so treasure them.

What's so Funny??

Well if I tell you what I did last night, maybe you could tell me what was so funny........

I was on my special towel having a cuddle with mummy, daddy was sitting next to us on the sofa with a blanket on him.

Daddy was holding a bag that made a rustling noise (so it must have been a treat for me)

Well I ran off my towel and grabbed the corner of Daddys bag, at which point Mummy fell about laughing saying "you dont want crisps"

Why not I might want crisps, and a rustling bag means food, what was so funny???

Humans Need Exercise

As you may have observed humans are lazy creatures quiet happy to spend hours sitting on their bums watching TV or using the pc when you could be using it, it is your job as a responsible guinea pig to make sure they get enough exercise.

Here is how I help mummy and daddy;

When I am out mowing the lawn or having floor time there comes a point when the humans want me to go back to bed, normally I would go back to bed by myself or run into tent or tube for them to pick up, dont do it, this is what they want and it encourages laziness!!!

When they want you to go to bed, run in the opposite direction, when they get close run to where you just were, it takes them a while but they realise what you are up to, when this happens start running at random, change direction and keep going.

You can also lay down pretending to be tired until they get near and run away again.

When you think they have had enough exercise you can safely hop into bed/tent/tube and allow them to think they have won heehee

Remember the humans need regular exercise!!!

Me Bit Daddy

Well after a busy day mowing the lawn, I was out for my evening floor time............. Daddy was sitting on the sofa with his feet hanging over the edge, I couldnt resist so I bit his big toe.

He screamed like a girl and I didnt even draw blood hmpppffff

Me got sent to bed

Cutting Nails

I the wild us guinea pigs would keep our nails short by walking on hard surfaces, while this would still be the ideal way to keep nails short the modern lifestyle doesnt always allow it.

We have to trust the humans (eeeek) to cut them down for us.

Mummy says she is glad my nails are clear as dark nails scare her.

What mummy does is she sits me on her lap and distracts me with romaine so that I am not watching what she is doing, then she carefully cuts a little bit of each nail, we do this little and often.

With clear nails the humans can see where the quick ends (this looks like a dark pink line in middle of nail) if a human cuts the quick it hurts and we bleed (this means we can guilt trip them for ages heehee)

If your quick is cut the humans can use a styptic pencil or dip the toe in cornstarch or flour to stop the bleeding, dont worry its not that serious and you get lots of sympathy food.

With dark nails your human should only cut a little bit of the ends each time as its not obvious where the quick is.

Some humans put a brick under the water bottle so the piggy wears the nails down on the brick, mummy says she cant do that as I am so silly when I popcorn I would probably bash my head on it.

Mummy's top tip is, you dont have to do all the nails at once, if I am too restless or agressive she will stop with the ones she has done and come back to the others another day, sorted.

If your human trims your nails little and often you shouldnt have problems with them curling, although the older you get the more they tend to harden and curl grrrrrrrrrrrr.

If your human is afraid to cut your nails lots of vets will do it for them for a cost.

Boys Night In

Well Agent I, you must be right about that subway coz I failed my mission again.

It was all going to plan, Mummy had gone out dancing, Daddy put the TV on and let me out..........

Then he decided we should have a game, you know the sort........ sneak up on the feet and bite them before the human can chase you away, well I got caught up in playing for a long time and then I was so tired, I climbed into Daddys dressing gown and fell asleep.

I was rudely awakened by the front door opening and Mummy coming in.

I dont know how they did it, they must have known what I was planning and kept me distracted until bed time.

Hmmmpppppffff

Will have to try again next week!

Me got Scared

Well tonight Mummy was cleaning out my cage, so I wondered into the living room to see what Daddy was doing, he was watching something called the outer limits about getting inside the human mind (pah why bother nothing interesting there)

Well I was minding my own business waddling under coffee table when the tv went beeeeeeeeep beeeeeep really loud, it scared the poop out of me.

Daddy says I ran faster than a speeding bullet into the corner under the clothers airer.

I am ok now as soon as I heard Mummy putting the hay in my cage I knew it was safe to run back home, and I stayed there all evening, that will teach the TV not to scare me again!!

Guinea Pigs are Rodents

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing. (Wikipedia)

We are rodents, this means our teeth are always growing to stop them over growing we need to gnaw alot.

Good things to gnaw grass and hay, this helps keep teeth worn down as well as being yummy.

Bad things to gnaw headphones- Daddy was not happy the first time I gnawed through his headphone wires he was very unhappy the second time!!

Warning to humans if you leave something where a guinea pig could gnaw it a guinea pig WILL gnaw it!! BEWARE

Make sure the humans learn coz we wont.

What do you guys gnaw?

Mission Failed

Well Agent I, I tried my best last night to get behind sofa.

Daddy was tired after eating lots of food (I know the feeling) only Mummy was on guard and she was reading a book.

I ran through my pop up tunnel to show I was just playing, then I went under coffee table and washed and made like I was settling down for a snooze. When she stopped looking I stretched out real far with my belly right on the floor and crept slowly toward sofa, I got to the plastic but when I tried to move it with my teeth it made a noise.

I had to run away and pretend I had never been near it.

Will have to wait until Mummy goes out dancing and Daddy is guarding alone as he will never hear over noise of TV heeehee

Will report back soon

Good Source for Vitamin C

Here is a list of good sources for Vitamin C with a unique Fugly rating, if I am missing any let me know and I will get the humans onto it at once!!

Beetroot (super yummy)
Broccoli (ok but only occasionaly)
Cabbage (ok but too much can cause gas not good on a date)
Carrots (yummy especialy with the green tops attached)
Cauliflower (only if I have nothing else to eat)
Celery (yummy especially leafy bits, make sure humans chop it small)
Cucumber (nearly yummy like middle bit best)
Green Beans (ok if nothing else on offer)
Lettuce (super yummy especially romaine, not too much as laudanum makes you sleep)
Parsley (yum)
Sweet peppers (super yummy especially the red ones)
Tomatos (yummy but messy not too many due to acidity)
Apples (ok not too much due to acidity)
Banana (yuck me not like, does anypig like?)
Melon (yummy but have to share with mummy not fair)
Blueberries (yummy a few at a time)
Oranges (ok again just a bit due to acidity)
GRASS (super yummy fresh has more vitamin C but dried still has some)

GRRRR Modern Technology

Me and Mummy is cross.

MSN is being naughty again and saying our account is closed due to violating terms and conditions (and this time I havent even mentioned our plans to take over the world)

Mummy says she has completed the form and to give them 24 hours to come back to us grrrrrrrr.

So if you cant get hold of me blame the humans and their stupid modern technology

Grumpy Agent F

Whats behind the sofa?

Well fellow guinea pig spy's I have found a conspiracy in my home, the humans have a large thing to sit on called a sofa (this is fine it keeps them off the floor out of my way)

The problem is although it makes a perfect tunnel I am not allowed behind it!!

It is well guarded blocked by a box at one end and some sort of plastic at the other, sometimes I get close enough to chew the plastic but then the guard (mummy) chases me away.

My question is whats behind there and why cant I see it??

Have any of you got similar problems?

Parsley Bells

Never heard of a parsley bell ,check it out its the bottom of the page
http://www.pamperedpiggies.co.uk/products.php?cat=18

Where to put your parsley bell: mine hangs from the metal bars at the back of my cage in the centre.

How to eat your parsley bell: stand on the bars and nibble away, stand on your back legs and yank it, or put front paws on the bell while you eat it, dont eat your feet!!!

How to make sure your humans know when your bell has run out: I find cuteness works wait until mummy or daddy are watching you (no point doing this if no one is looking) then stand up on the bars like you are going to eat the bell, look confused when there is no bell there to eat (this is the key part you need to look really sad so they feel guilty heehee)

Keep repeating until new bell arrives

Guinea Pigs Need Vitamin C

Like the humans we are planning to enslave Guinea Pigs can not make our own vitamin C, this means we need to get it from our diet (by diet I mean large amount of food we eat heehee)

Fresh grass if available is good for vitamin C as is plenty of hay.

Mummy puts cranberry juice in my water, this is a good source of Vitamin C it tastes yummy and can also help prevent and treat urinary problems. Your humans need to make sure this is fresh every day.

Guinea pig foods contain added vitamin C but beware this can deteriorate over time.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are good for vitamin C and give us a yummy treat to eat, make sure you humans know that fresh food is necessary not just yummy wink wink

My favourite sources of vitamin C are beetroot (yummy and good fun more later)
Peppers especially the red ones.
Baby tomatoes (not too many coz of acidity)
Romaine lettuce (good for eating and wearing)

What do you guys like best?

Why are we called Guinea Pigs

Nobody really knows how the name guinea pigs came about coz we dont come from New Guinea (we are originally from South America) and we are in no way related to pigs, in fact we are rodents.

Our Latin name is Cavia Porcellus or cavies/cavys for short.

Mummy and her friends call us pigs or piggies.

It is thought that the Guinea may relate to the amount of money we cost when first brought to Europe, an English Guinea was a lot of money.

There has been speculation that we are called pigs because we squeak and squeal so the humans say weee prefer the term wheeking.

Mummy says we are known as pigs coz we eat like pigs hmmmmpppppphhhhhhhhhhhhh

Helping Mummy

Well this morning Mummy cleaned my home out, so I decided to help.

While she was cleaning the manly blue plastic base I stood with my feet on the edge watching to make sure she did it properly, when I was satisfied it had been done I wandered off to explore for a minute.

I heard the newspaper go in and then a rustling so I ran and jumped back in to wait for my hay but Mummy wouldnt play along she said no hay until you get out of the way. Well I had to give in and let her take me out again hmmmmppppppphhhhhhh.

Then the hay went in and she wasnt quick enough to stop me hee heee I jumped in and sat in the middle of it, then she had to put the rest in all around me heee heee.

Wasnt I helpful???

Playtime

Each evening when Mummy and Daddy get home from work I have playtime.

Mummy moves my home into a room called the living room and opens the door I can then jump in and out of my home as I wish.

In my playroom I have a cardboard chube, a pop up tunnel, a clothes dryer and a Daddy to play with.

At different times new obstacles appear like slippers or dvds left in the way, if I want them moving I start nibbling them until the humans get the message and take them away.

Playtime is spent running round, or through my tunnel, jumping over Daddy and playing chase, then I need a rest to regain my strength so I sleep under the coffee table or sneak into Daddy's dressing gown for a quick nap.

Where I Live

I share a house with 2 humans called Mummy and Daddy these are my test subjects, Mummy has longer hair and feeds and cleans me while Daddy has short hair and is good for play time.

I am an indoor guinea pig, I live in a indoor cage, which has a manly blue plastic base and steel bars ideal for chewing or hanging items such as my water bottle and my favourite treat a parsley bell.

At one end of my cage Daddy has installed a melamine shelf this was supposed to be for me to sleep under as a hideaway but I like to sleep or sit on top of the shelf and look down on the world.

I have a ceramic food bowl with a pigture of a guinea pig on the bottom I hardly get the see the pigture as Mummy makes sure I never run out of pellets.

I also have access to a playground but more about that later.

Vital Statistics

Age: 2.5 years

Hair: Blonde with white crest

Eyes: Brown

Height: 3 Inches

Length: 12 Inches if I really stretch

Weight: 3Lbs

Sex: Male

Language: Wheek

Introducing Agent F

I am an undercover guinea pig spying on humans to learn how best to control them.

I will let you know what I do in my day and what I learn about the humans.

I will also share useful information about guinea pigs as a species