New Years Resolutions

On the 31st December the humans have a traditon of making resolutions for the following year.

A resolution is like a promise.

Me has come up with a few resolutions for next year.

1) Me will try not to pull Ghost's ear no matter how tempting it is.

2) Me will try not to bite Daddy's fingers, even when he sticks them through the cage and wiggles them.

3) Me will try not to scare Mummy any more and put lots of weight on

What are your resolutions?

A Look Back At 2009

Well the biggest things that happened to me in 2009 were
Me started my blog
Me got a little brother

The rest of the year has been spent eating, sleeping and pooping.

Me Did Get Lots of Presents...........

But me had to share them with Ghost.

My presents came from Pampered Piggies, me got parsley crackers, hay cookies, a grassy log and Christmas dinner hay.

Me also had my favourite veggies beetroot and romaine yummy.

What did every pig else get?

Update From Agent Bumblebee and Dino

wee have been very very busy "spying" on these silly humans... those packages that sounded like our hay bag getting opened... well guess what!! they took those silly packages and then wrapped them up in some silly colorful paper!! we two agents got our disguises on and spy-ed really well!! signing off now... Agent Bumble Bee and Agent Dinosaur! Merry Christmas!!!

[caption id="attachment_574" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Checking it Out"][/caption]

Christmas Update From Agent I

Wow check out this website for cool dutch christmas ideas, me loves it!!!!

http://www.caviaposterholt.nl/dagboek-van-een-caviabende/haarlem-14-december-2009

[caption id="attachment_570" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Thats What Me Calls A Christmas Tree"][/caption]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEEEE!!!!!

MERRY PIGMAS EVERYBODY ELSE

Gifts for the Humans

Well if your human is addicted to all things Guinea the best play to shop for a gift for them would be the winking cavy store.

http://www.winking-cavy.co.uk/

As you can see they have everything a human could ever want and much more, just make sure you hide YOUR egg card from the humans!!

Riotious Ridgeback

Agent Dinosaur (has the ridge down her back like dinosaur get it??)

Ridgebacks are a rare breed variety, the breed standard is that they have a smooth short coat with with a ridge of hair standing erect from the base of the neck to the hips. 2 rosettes are allowed to form the ridge.

Here is Agent Dinosaurs story........................

Her story is: she was left at a local feed and seed place here in Moline named Teskes. They had her for over a month before I found out about her. She was living with a bunny there and they had them in a plastic cage on the cement floor. Aubrey's little feet and body was soo cold when we came across her. She was sooo scared! We are guessing she is over a year old. When Andy picked her up he wouldnt put her down! Cause she was soo cold. So we walked up to pay for her.(they wanted $9.99) the boy at the counter said "finally that little boys got a home" Well first of all he was not a he!! she was a she!! poor Aubrey, they didnt even know she was a girl. When we went there to buy crickets for our toad we were not expecting to find little Aubrey... we were riding our two person moped!! so I held her in a little brown box while Andy drove us home. She probaly was scared to death on that moped! She lived by herself at first here at
Misfitville.
Our old gal Anastasia was getting worse.. (she was our paralyzed piggie) and she lived with our little Athena who loved to sit with her front paws on Anastasia's back. They would sit like that for over a hour at a time. It was soo darn tootin cute! So when Anastasia passed we moved Aubrey in with Athena. Anastasia got to know Aubrey well before she passed because the last two weeks of Anastasias life she live in a small kids swiming pool with soft towels under her and we would put different girl piggies in to eat dinner and snacks with Anastasia, and Aubrey would curl up to Anastasia and purr.
After Anastasia passed Little spit fire Athena wouldnt accept any other piggie to live with after Anastasia passed... we prayed that Athena would take a liking to little Aubrey. Well it ended up that it was a match made in heaven! they took to each other and have been best friends ever since!! So that is how little Aubrey came to be here at Misfitville:)

OK we may have given her identity away but we love the story and the piggy code of honour means we wont tell anyone else the secret.

[caption id="attachment_484" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Dinosaur (look at that ridge)"][/caption]

Special Update Whee Have Snow

Well here in my little corner of the UK the snow has fallen overnight and settled, not much at the moment about piggy tummy height but more is on the way.

This is too early for Christmas we suspect it will all be gone by the day.

Ghost has never seen snow before, me has told him it is cold and wet and to be glad he is indoors, it is however very pretty to watch through the window.

Agents please submit weather reports for your region, so any pig wishing to travel knows what to expect.

Guest Number 11

Agent Dinosaur (me hopes you get it when you see the pigture)

Agent Dinosaur's real name means Noble Ruler and is English in origin.

She lives in Illinois with her brothers and sisters

She arrived at her new home on the back of a moped what a brave girl eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

Good luck guessing

Sinterklaas Presents!!

Pigtures of Lil'Woop inspecting the Kruidnoten aka Pepernoten
and the chocolate characters

Guinea Pig Spotting

Me has spotted a guinea pig on the TV!!

Here in the UK the humans have an advert for NHS stop smoking if you watch closely after the penguins appear a piggy walks along beside the wall in the back ground!!

Sadly me cannot find a link to this clip, so those of you in the UK will have to keep your eyes wide open

A Pigmas Song

Dashing round the cage
Messing up the hay
Round and round we go
Wheeking all the way
We make the cage bars ring
With our teeth so white
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A wheeking song tonight

Piggy pigs, piggy pigs
Wheeking all the day
Oh what fun it is to eat
A great big mound of hay

Piggy pigs, piggy pigs
Wheeking all the day
Oh what fun it is to eat
A great big mound of haaaaaaaaaaaaaay

Wheeeeeeeeeeek

Round of applause

Hunting Presents

Mummy made the mistake of leaving me unsupervised last night while she emptied the washing machine.

When she came back me had escaped from our play area, before she manage to get me back in the play area me did some present hunting.

Me can report there are no presents behind or under the sofa and chair or in the understairs cupboard.

All me did find was 3 rolls of unopened wrapping paper.... this does not bode well for presents.

Me thinks my present may be hiding in the garage but me cant verify this, special agent piggy that me is, me has been defeated by the mighty lock of yale, besides which its cold out there!!!

Christmas Update

Hi, This is me agent bumble bee with me christmas hat on spying.. and one without me christmas hat on! Just cking in and letting you know that these silly humans here are now WRAPPING the stuff they are bringing home in the bags that sound like my hay bag when they ruffle it around!!! silly silly humans!
signing off now..
agent bumble bee

[caption id="attachment_542" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Bumblebee Undercover"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_543" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Bumblebee Undercover"][/caption]

Who is Excited about Christmas

Agent Thunderbear pretends to show of her running skills while really checking out the presents under the tree...........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pQW1aIzpDc

Me is worried we have no tree so where will my presents go??

Double Dutch

Agent Badger; Interviewed by Agent I;

Since it is our mission to take over the world (our motto; Today the living room, tomorrow the world!), Agent F has started recruiting new special agents. Me and Agent F(an american crested himself) encourage a multi-cultural staff, so pigs from around the world were encouraged to join us. Agents that have joined our herd so far are; Agent A (Agouti),   Piggy Galore (Satin),   Agent whorlwind (Abby),   Agent Patchwork (Tricolor),   Agent Big Red (Self Red),

Agent Cannonball (Teddy) , Agent Thornton (Self Chocolate),  Agent Thunderbear (Himalayan) and Agent Bumblebee (Harlequin)

Our newest recruit is Agent Badger and Agent F has asked me to check him out because he told agent F that he was a Dutch Pig (since I am from the Netherlands too)

 

Welcome new special Agent, state your name, age and special powers, please.

 Thank you Agent I. I note that previous new agents have not revealed their real names until readers of Agent F's blog have had the chance to guess so I will keep my real name in reserve but I can tell you that I am 4 years old. My special ability is camouflage as I can sneak around in shadows and in the half light.

So, Agent Badger, which part from the Netherlands are you from?

Well, I have to admit that I am not really Dutch but my colour is so named as we resemble the black and white Dutch rabbits.

*shock* Are you telling me you're not from the Netherlands?? Hm.. I guess that is just like Agent F, him being an American crested although he has never set a paw outside the UK.. silly humans. Can you tell me more about the dutch breed (unlike me and the rest of the winky gang, who were just born in the netherlands..)

Pure bred Dutch piggies are white with patches of, most commonly, black or red although other colours are allowed. We have coloured patches around our eyes with a white blaze down to our noses, a broad white band around our middles and our rear end is the same colour as our patches.

Thank you very much for the information, I'm sure you'll make an excellent special agent. Especially with your ability to take on different nationalities. Agent dismissed!

Agent badger is a black and white dutch guinea pig.

The breed standard for dutch guinea pigs says they are hard to breed as the they need round cheek markings as near to whiskers as possible but not touching them, a white wedge shape blazed along the nose tapering to between the ears, no coloured hairs behind the ears.

The body is divided in 2 by saddle markings white at front black at the rear this should be a straight line.

The back feet should have ideally one white stop per foot (white marking) this ends halfway between the toe ends and the heel of the foot.

The ears should be a solid colour.

And humans think its easy being a guinea pig, they must be mad.

[caption id="attachment_493" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Agent Badger "][/caption]

Special Report

Today is Sinterklaas day in the Nederlands!!!!

Our Dutch secret agents have been too busy enjoying themselves to write us a report, so we will have to rely on this link to tell us all  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Have a good time Dutch piggies and remember to report in what is happening when you have a moment.

Guest Number 10

Agent Badger

Agent Badger is a boy guinea pig part of a mixed herd in the UK

His real name can be added to water to make a drink that is good for humans and guinea pigs, it is also a name of a common crop plant.

He was rescued with him family from a filthy cage in a garage (my supplies live in the garage not me)

His special agent skill is camouflage as he can sneak about in the dark.

Guessing hats on

Indoor Trees.........

Not here.

Me heard Mummy and Daddy say they wouldnt have one this year as me and Ghost live where the tree normally goes.

Daddy said tree would have to stay in attic (whats an attic and how did tree get there???)

Daddy has made what he is calling a Fugly grotto, as far as me can tell this is just coloured fairy lights round the humans front door strange.............

Mummy has a card tree, its not a real tree, its not even green!!! Its gold and has lots of hoops on it for cards, it must be for my birthday cards coz there is no way the humans will get that many.

Me remembers from last year that the cards are low enough for me to eat the bottom ones heeeheee

Indoor Trees........

Not here, Mummy and Daddy decided they wouldnt have one this year as me and ghost now live where the tree used to sit.

Daddy said tree would have to stay in attic (whats an attic and how did tree get there??)

We have what Daddy is calling a Fugly grotto, as far as me can tell this is just coloured fairy lights round the humans front door strange........

Mummy has a card tree, but its not a real tree, its not even green!!!
Its gold and has all these hoops on it for cards.

It must be for all my birthday cards coz the humans wont get that many cards.

Me remembers from last year the cards are near enough to the floor for me to eat the bottom ones heeeheee

Its My Birthday This Month

Me will be 3 years young.

Mummy doesnt know my actual birth date but she knows its towards the end of December so she has chosen 25th December as my official birthday as its easy to remember.

Me can see what she means everywhere you look there are fairy lights, decorated trees and presents, although all the humans keep talking and singing about something called Christmas (that doesnt sound anything like Happy Birthday Agent F)

Me is setting all you agents a special mission, me wants to hear reports (see photos/videos) of any strange behaviour your humans are showing.

Feel free to post in the comments section (it asks for email address but you dont need to fill that in if you dont want to) or if you have a longer article you want me to publish email it to me and me will make it into a blog post for you.

So everybody get spying

Silly Mummy.......

She thought putting down pink rugs would stop me and Ghost from glanding her carpet.

Ghost has overcome this problem instead of trying to roll up the rugs, he know flips the end up and then runs under it.

Then he can put his butt straight on THE CARPET!!!

heeheheheehehe evil laugh

It also helps with the human exercise plan as Mummy has to get off her bum, lift the rug and chase him out again.

Way to go Ghost

We Is Not Hamsters...............

Mummy has pigtures of me, Spooky and Bubbles (RIP) on her wall at work.

A new supplier came to visit her and was amazed at the number of pigtures of HAMSTERS........ what is he blind we look nothing like hamsters.

It was bad enough when the kitchen fitters kept calling me a rabbit.

We is GUINEA PIGS

hmmmmppppphhhh

Happy Harlequin

Yep as you can see from the pigture Agent Bumblebee looks just like a bumblebee a good example of the harlequin markings.

The breed standards for a harlequin say the the head should be half black half yellow and the body should have equal distribution of black and yellow and black/yellow mixture.

Any white means you cant win (no fair, nothing wrong with yellow and white me says)

Agent Bumblebee joined her herd from a Pet Co shop where her Daddy feel in love with her spitfire attitude, she was smallest pig and yet the bossiest (way to go Bumblebee)

Me thinks she was the inspiration for the giant Bumblebee guinea pig in South Park.

[caption id="attachment_480" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Bumblebee"][/caption]

Guest Number 9

Agent Bumblebee (all will become clear)

Agent Bumblebee lives in Illinois with her 14 brothers and sisters.

She is definetely the boss pig, loving to have her own way no matter what.

Her real name is the same as the Greek goddess of Wisdom and War and the main city in Greece is named after her.

Get your guessing hats on

Rainbow Bridge Disney Dog

Sad news report today.

Yesterday Mummy's parents had to help their dalmation dog Disney over the rainbow bridge.

They adopted Disney when he was 1 year old and he has been with them 14 years, me is told that is a very good life span for a large pure bred dog.

Disney was a rubbish guard dog as he loved everybody who ever visited, when he first met Daddy he jumped up put his paws on Daddy's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. (Daddy is 6 foot tall so that is a big dog)

Mummy says he was very silly as Dalmations are bred for stamina not intelligence (they used to run alongside coaches so they are very muscular dogs)

For the past year or so Disney had been suffering with dementia but in the end he developed stomach cancer and it was kinder to let him go to the rainbow bridge.

Goodbye Disney Dog now free of all problems

This Himi is a Her-i

Agent Thunderbear is a Himalayan guinea pig.

She is not show quality as she has a white heart shaped smudge on what should be the dark part of her nose, she passed this onto her children, because of this her breeder found her a new home with the computer nerds.

Breed standards for Himalayans they have a white body with black or chocolate coloured points.

The points are found on the nose (known as the smut) and the feet the ears should also be dark coloured.

Himalayans are born white and then the points develop as they get older.

The points can also fade due to bright lighting and become lighter when warm and darker when cold.

They have ruby eyes.

[caption id="attachment_487" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Agent Thunderbear (what a cutie)"][/caption]

Guest Number 8

Agent Thunderbear (after her olympig running team)

Agent Thunderbear lives in the Nederlands with her brother and sister and 2 human computer nerds.

She hates being lifted up but has devised a clever way to get her cuddles, she gets in a tube or cuddle cup that can then be lifted.

She loves all food (way to go)

And enjoys a good chin rub (me bites anyone who goes near my chin)

Ready go guessing

Stormy Weather

Here in the UK we are being hit with nasty storm, the weather humans say we have winds of up to 85 miles an hour and we have lots of rain.

It has been very noisy over night keeping us piggies awake as the wind howls down the chimney and made the letter box flap (me kept thinking me had surprise visitor)

Me hopes all the other UK piggies and their humans are OK, we have no damage (touchwood, why silly human superstition)

Me also hopes our international friends are not suffering with bad weather conditions.

All agents please provide weather reports for your area, this is important information in case any piggies wish to go travelling.

Tricking Mummy

We made Mummy feel really guilty.......

During the night we dragged the food bowl into our bedroom area underneath the mezzanine floor, we then emptied it on the floor.

To really confuse Mummy we then dragged the empty bowl back to where she had left in.

When she got up in the morning we stood round the bowl looking sad.

She felt so guilty she got us a new bowl of pellets and extra fresh food to make up for it.

When she changed the fleece in the evening she found all the food................

We are in the dog house (which means Daddy got out)

heeheeheehee

Chunky Chocolate

Agent Thornton is a Self Chocolate, his mummy says he looks like a chocolate cake with cherries for eyes, better not let Mummy see him she might eat him. (just kidding)

The breed standard for a Self Chocolate says the colour should be like a good dark chocolate bar and the eyes should be dark ruby.

Show faults include the appearance of lighter creamy hairs especially around the face.

Here he is

[caption id="attachment_460" align="aligncenter" width="509" caption="Agent Thortons Looking Yummy"][/caption]

Guest Number 7

Agent Thorntons is a boy from a mixed herd in the UK

His agent name is a famous chain of shops in the UK (one of mummies favourites)

His mummy says he is a bit porky but would be good at flattening enemy agents by rolling on them. (we wont tell you what he said about her)

Agent Thorntons came from a local shelter and has never told his Mummy about his past (a truly dedicated agent)

His real name is also a variety of confectionary that mummy is very fond of especially the giant version, it is also something humans use to keep their clothes from falling off.

Hope me has confused you enough get guessing

Bizarre Animal ER

Check out the brave little piggy in this show he appears about 5 minutes in to episode 8.

Strangely his name is Bubbles just like Mummy's first piggy, but he looks just like me without the crown.

Me didnt think much of his Daddy grrrrrrrrrrrrr

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ntg52/Bizarre_Animal_ER_Episode_8/

Remember Remember the 5th of November

Why?? Does it have anything to do with guinea pigs?? No!! so forget it.

OK seriously...........

For those of you who might not know here in the UK the humans celebrate something known as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night on the 5th of November.

Many, many years ago a human called Guy Fawkes plotted to blow up the houses of parliment, the plot was foiled and so every 5th November the humans celebrate.

They light great big bonfires and burn scarecrow like things called Guys, they also let of lots of fireworks.

Fireworks are noisy and make bright lights.

Me is a big brave indoor piggy so fireworks dont scare me, but some of you guys may be scared by fireworks (me knows lots of dogs are and they are way bigger than piggies)

If you are scared make sure your human lets you stay in a place where you feel safe (indoors being cuddled gets my vote) and also where you are sheltered from the worst of the noises and bursts of light.

If you are big and brave like me enjoy the show.

Me Didnt Know

Last night Daddy held something out to me, it looked like a finger but it smelt really nice so me licked it and it tasted nice.

Daddy took it away and then bought it back again for me.

Me got worried Ghost might want it so me grabbed it hard in my teeth and tried to pull it away with me.

Daddy screamed like a girl. (He does that ALOT)

It was his finger!! he had been dipping it in apple juice for me.

Stupid Daddy grrrrrr

Ready Teddy Go!!

Agent Cannonball is a Teddy type of piggy (ahh sounds so cute)

Teddies are considered a rare breed and as such they only have a guide show standard not a full standard.

Teddies are similar to Rexes although their hair is straight, shorter and plusher than a Rex.

There are 2 types of Teddies the US teddy and the Swiss or Ch Teddy, can anyone tell me the difference as me dont know.

Over to Agent Cannonball............

Me is Agent Cannonball and me is a black Teddy piggy! We Teddies look Rex piggies so you have look carefully to tell between a Rex piggy agent and a Teddy piggy agent. We both have short, dense coats that make us look very fuzzy and very handsome. Rex agents have crinkly whiskers while we Teddies have longer and straighter whiskers. Teddies have longer tummy fur and have soft fur all over, like a teddy bear!

Me was the last piggy at a pet shop. Me was trying to make myself look small in a corner when The Big Hand picked me up and put me with two strange piggies for a little bit. They sniffed me and that was okay but then the fat golden one tried to sit on me! A few months later I am bigger and I shake my big rump at golden piggy. There is another piggy with crazy hair that is my best friend forever. He has black and white whorls all over and likes to move the pigloo bases around for our stealth operations. If I am taken away from my piggy friend I squeak so loud my ears flap and The Big Hand brings me my friend!

Me is very good at hiding in my carrot cube. When I hear something happen - door shut, fridge opens - I burst out of my cube squeaking at full speed into a pigloo base! Then me remains perfectly silent so nobody knows where me is. Me lets the humans know I am on full alert and watching them at all times!

[caption id="attachment_446" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Agent Cannonball Undercover"][/caption]

Guest Number 6

Is a mere youngster at 6 months old (even younger than Ghost)

He has chosen the name Agent Cannonball me thinks this is because if he curled up that is what he would look like.

Agent Cannonball lives with his 2 older brothers in Michigan in the USA

His favourite food is Loftys

Despite claiming not to be famous, he has recently appeared on You Tube and in a photo shoot for Halloween as a Pirate Piggy

Your final clue is that his real name means Blessed in Latin

Can you guess who he is??

Butt Bath

Me is sure there are other boys who can relate to this sad tale.

Us boys have a spot at the base of our spines where a tail would start that is called a grease gland.

This spot can get mucky and cause your butt hair to matt, also when it is mucky it makes a good environment for parasites such as mites (yuck)

To stop this happening us boys need regular butt baths.

Sunday was butt bath day...........

Ghost is a wuss and panics when he gets wet so Mummy and Daddy literally put him in a bowl of water on the floor and just bathed his butt.

Me is a big brave boy who enjoys a bath so me went in the kitchen sink.

Daddy lathered me up nicely with shampoo and then set about cleaning my butt.

Sadly he got carried away removing the matted hair and me now has a little bald patch on my butt!!!!

Stupid things these humans

Radiant Red

Or should that be radioactive.........he sure is bright

The breed standard for Self Reds says they should be a mahogany red with dark red/brown ears and dark feet and eyes.

Lets meet Agent Big Red

Hello Agent F.

I am very honoured to be included in this privileged group of secret agents.

I have thought long and hard about a secret name and I decided that Agent Orange was good but our Slave tells me that it is the name of something not very nice so I would like to be called Agent Big Red instead.

I am a Self Red piggy and came from a breeder of self reds, so, unlike most of the Piggyfriends I am not a dolly mixture. I should have been either a stud or show pig but I have an eye condition called entropion, which causes me no trouble but meant that I was unsuitable for either vocation so my breeder had me neutered and asked her Rodentologist if she could find me a new home.

Our Slave goes to the same Rodentologist so I came to live here at Piggyfriends.

Our Slave does not approve of neutering and I wasn't very keen on it myself, but it does mean that I can live with a group of lady Piggyfriends called Hope, Peony and Petunia, which is very nice, even though they try to grab all the veggies first. That hasn't stopped me growing to a sizeable three and a half pounds.

Agent Big Red ( aka Garnet ).

[caption id="attachment_422" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Big Red"][/caption]

Guest Number 5

Guest number 5 has chosen the name Agent Big Red

Big Red is a boy from a mixed herd in the UK

He is the first of our super selfs, can you guess what colour he is?

His real name is a precious stone that also relates to his colour.

Big Red weighs in at 3.5 pounds (that would explain the big part of his name)

Unlike most of my friends Big Red is not a dolly mixture he is the real thing!!! WOW

So start guessing

Super Self's

In the guinea pig world what a self means is that the piggy's hair is all one colour only.

There are only breed standards in place for a limited number of colours as well as hair colour the standards specify what colour ears and pads should be for the hair colour.

Me has friends in a variety of single colours, and you will meet them soon.

Where standards exist me will provide them, otherwise sit back and enjoy the guinea pig rainbow.

Coming soon...........

Me Has A New Favourite Word

FUGACIOUS it means elusive, ephemeral and fleeting.

Me thinks it brill coz it starts the same way as my real name.

It will make me sound mysterious, and we all know the girls love a mystery man.

Rumble Rumble

Me Can See You

Me was having my afternoon nap, me curled up on left side of cage and Ghost was curled up on the right.

Me sleep with eye half open and me saw Ghost yawn, that was ok but he also shuffled slightly towards me.

A few minutes later he stretched, again he shuffled towards me.

Well me let this go on until his nose was about 2 inches from my nose, then me gave him a glare and backed all the way away from him into the corner.

Dont try and fool a sleeping agent!!

Terrific Tricolour

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Agent Patchwork "][/caption]

Agent Patchwork is a tricolour of very unusual colours.

Tricolour literally means that a piggy has 3 colours of hair, we cant find a breed standard for tricolours apart from the tort and white.

Patchwork is lilac, white and tan (ginger) she has red eyes and we and her human Mummy have never seen anything like her before.

Patchwork is definetely one of a kind.

Guest Number 4

Agent Patchwork (you will know why when you see the photos)

Patchwork is a girl piggy in an all girl herd in the UK.

She joined the herd when her previous owner could no longer give her the time she deserved.

Her real name is an alcoholic drink usually served with salt and lime/lemon.

Not many clues to work with this time.............

Treatment of E Cuniculi

E Cuniculi is at present incurable, me hopes sometime in the future some clever person will find a cure but for the moment it can only be treated and managed as an on going problem. There is still lots of development ongoing.

Regular treatment with Ivermectin and Ivomec or Panacur appear to prevent an infestation taking hold. Ivermectin is for treating external parasites like mites while Ivomec and Panacur are worming treatments for internal parasites.

Make sure you get enough Vitamin C and water in your diet as these are essential for overall good health and its believed they can prevent infection taking hold.

When an infestation has taken hold this should be treated with antiparasitic drugs from the Benzimidazole range.Most commonly used are Albendazole, Oxibendazole and Fenbendazole (Panacur)

They antibiotic Baytril should be given in addition to the antiparsitic drug this helps fights any other infection that may be present and improves the general immune system.

To treat pain and inflammation Metacam can be given.

This is only a basic outline and me wishes to thank all the humans out there who have provided links to relevant websites, and most importantly of all, thanks to those who have taken the time to include the information on their websites.

As with any illness make sure your human seeks advise from a qualified vet as soon as possible and make sure your human goes armed with their own suggestions of what to look at.

Me doesnt know if it was E Cuniculi that made Hershey ill but me does know that her Mummy and Daddy did everything they could for her and that they will miss her terribly.

Me also knows there will always be a little piece of my heart which says Hershey in memory of my sweet shy sword wielding friend.

Goodbye Hershey may your story help others.

[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hershey Mothers Day 2008-September 2009"][/caption]

Symptons of E Cuniculi

My tribute to Hershey continues with what symptons should give you a warning that E Cuniculi may be a problem, especially if you as a guinea pig live near a rabbit.

Kidney problems such as frequent urination and increased thirst

Paralysis, a weakness in the limbs and inability to move

Head tilt or wry neck

Eye inflammation, cataracts, weeping eyes and eye rolling

Loss of appetite followed by weight loss, which in turn can cause problems in the gut such as stasis

Neurological damage leading to convulsions and loss of balance.

Behavioural changes such as wanting to be completely alone, probably hiding in a corner.

While these are all symptoms of E Cuniculi infection they can also be caused by other problems, so do not immediately assume that the problem is E Cuniculi although keep it is mind for a vet to check as its rare in guinea pigs and could be over looked.

A blood test known as a titer will be needed for an accurate diagnosis.

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What is E Cuniculi

A Tribute to Hershey

Me had never heard of E Cuniculi until it was suggested as a possible cause of what was making my friend Hershey ill and eventually lead to her crossing the rainbow bridge.

With her human family at first Hershey was shy earning her the nickname Hershey the Meek, with her guinea pig friends on our virtual pirate adventure she was a CHEEKY MISS instigating the great bum pinching scandal.

When she got ill Hershey showed her Mummy and Daddy she loved in the best way she could by over coming her shyness and accepting and demanding attention even play fighting with Daddy over the syringe, the best gift of memorys she could have left with them.

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So what is E Cuniculi?

E Cuniculi is a protozoan parasite largely found in rabbits.

It is a Zoonose which means it can pass between different species eg from rabbbit to guinea pig.

The spores are eaten from infected hay where they can survive for months.

Once inside they travel round the body before leaving in the urine which in turn leaves spores on whatever is peed on to be eaten again.

Like mites in guinea pigs in rabbits it is believed to lie dormant until other factors such as stress, dehydration or a different infection allow it to take hold.

Even though a rabbit may have no symptoms they can be a carrier.

He Made It

Me knew me should have made the target higher but a promise is a promise.

Spooky is now 1kg and me must allow him to become a secret agent.

Me had trouble with him choosing a name, first he wanted to be called Spooks like the TV program, me said thats not very secret is it.

Then he wanted to be called Phantom, til me told him there was a cartoon with a human man in a skin tight purple jump suit called Phantom and that was not a good look.

We have finally agreed on Ghost so from now on Spooky is secret agent Ghost.

Me thinks me may regret this...........