A VIP visit. A Very Important Piggyperson comes to see the Piggyfriends.

Not long ago, we had a VIP visit us here at Piggyfriends. GPDD readers will know Ann Evans, our very good friend and the world's best Rodentologist.

She and her husband, Paul were on holiday in England, visiting lots of friends and they came to see us! What an honour!

Here they are with our Bonbon.

And again with Martin.

We all got cuddles and then it was the turn of our Carter. He had been having trouble eating and our Slave suspected that he had oral thrush and treated him accordingly. He is all better now but it was a while before he could eat properly and when something like this happens, our teeth sometimes overgrow a bit.

As we knew that Ann would be coming, we asked if she could bring her piggy dental kit with her so that, rather than have Carter undergo anaesthesia at the vet, he could have a thorough inspection with the expert.

Here he is, getting ready for the procedure. You can see some of the equipment at the bottom left of this photo. One of the separators and a file.

In the picture below, he has the buccal separators in his mouth so that Ann can see right inside. Ann has him in a little drawstring bag so that his paws do not get in the way. Our retired Rodentologist used to tightly wrap patients in a towel. Both methods work well as we tend to get our feet into everything and the person wielding the instruments needs to see clearly what is going on.

Now for the scary bit. Ann is looking inside Carter's mouth and has clippers and files at the ready.

Carter had some little bits filed from his molars and when it was all over, which did not take very long, he was sitting on Ann's lap tucking into some favourite pieces of veggie.

We do miss our Rodentologist and hope that no pig needs any dental treatment until Ann's next holiday.

Carter says "Thank you Ann! Now I can eat  properly again."

Out-Takes (Sometimes They're So Bad They're Good)

I tend to take many pigtures of the Prairie Pigs, even when I'm not working on a blog post; guinea pigs are so incredibly cute even when they're just going about their regular piggy lives that they make great photo subjects.  Of course, some pigtures turn out better than others --- and then there are the ones that go so disastrously wrong that they are more fun than the "good" ones.  This post is about those pigtures: you know you should delete them, but instead you go back to look at them again and again because they always make you smile.

I was experimenting with the macro focus on my camera and had a perfect portrait of my piggy Jasper all framed and focused, but in that nano-second between me pressing the button and the shutter releasing, Jasper decided to come over for a closer look to see if the camera was edible.  I do love his  punk hairdo, but this might be a little too close a view...

Jasper again, this time exiting Stage Right.  He had finished off the cilantro bribe and decided he had better things to do if the food was gone.  I enjoy this one because it really looks as if he is tiptoeing away, trying to make good on his escape before I notice that my model is gone.

I was taking pigtures of Bonnie McSmithers nibbling delicately on a pile of hay when my subject suddenly disappeared.  Apparently she decided she wanted to go for a more immersive experience and burrowed right into the middle of the pile!

Do these remind you of a pigture that you are keeping stored on your phone for those moments when you need a giggle?  We'd love to see it too!  Use the Contribute button above to share.

New Piggyfriend! Meet Bounty.

Hello readers. We are delighted to announce the arrival of a new Piggyfriend.

His name is Bounty.

He was a long time coming to us.

Long story cut short....... Slave went to our local rescue in the hope of adopting him and another piggy called Carrot. Although many piggies have come to us from this rescue in the past, Slave had to fill in loads of forms and send them photos of our accommodation with measurements of indoor and outdoor homes. She went to meet them both and got to pick them up but was then told of further complications before she was allowed to proceed any further. There had to be checks with the small animals manager before she could take them home and a follow up appointment with the rehoming team.


At first, Carrot's photo was labelled reserved on their website but not Bounty's so Slave called and left messages ( no one ever seems to answer the phone ). Next she called her friend, who works on Reception and eventually got a call back from the small animals section. This time she was told that she could have them both but had to have an appointment to speak to the rehoming team. Then Bounty's photo had the reserved label but not Carrot's.


At long last, she went to collect them both but the rehoming person only had papers for Bounty and she was told that Carrot had already been adopted. No one there seemed to know why she had been told that she could have them both as "no one is allowed to take home two piggies unless they are a bonded pair "! The number of times Slave has brought home several piggies from this rescue counted for nothing nor the fact that our junior Slave used to work there or that Slave used to help him take the rescue film shows out to our local villages. Or that she had previously been asked if she would be willing to take problem piggies as she is an "experienced Piggy owner".

Although Bounty was allowed to come home that day, he was only "on trial" with us in case Slave  wanted to take him back. As if! She was then supposed to go back the following week to pay for him. She was so upset that she asked if this could be done over the phone and this was allowed.

A further call stated that she had not been told that she could have them both. Who is telling porkies then? So eventually Bounty became ours. He is a jolly little fellow who has made himself right at home.

This rescue used to be such a friendly place but how it has changed and Slave is never going back there again. It had better remain nameless on the grounds that we might incriminate ourselves. We hope that Carrot found a good home. Say hello to Bounty!

Piggies and their Pet Cats

Here at the Prairie Pigs, we have always had pet cats.  To tell the truth, the cats were here before we were, but they were just running wild with no one to give them direction (goodness knows our Slave/Waitress/Pig Mum was not up to the task of creating order).  Fortunately, now we Piggy Overlords are here and ready to take charge of everyone!

Here's Jasper with his pet cat Clancy.  Officially, cats are not allowed in the Piggy Room without pawprint authorization from one of the guinea pigs, but Jasper sometimes allows Clancy to sneak in so that he can catch a peaceful snooze away from his troublesome cat brothers.  We think Jasper might have picked Clancy to be his pet because they are almost the same colour.

Oh, no!!!  Here we have a Very Bad Cat!  Her name is Portia and she isn't frightening at all, but she often follows the Waitress in when we are being served our afternoon grass snack, and tries to eat any grass that falls outside our cages. Why???  Cats should not eat grass, especially grass meant for piggies!  Where is the Security Guard when you need him?

Do other piggies have pets?  We would certainly like to hear about them if you do.

Exciting news! New baby piggies

Earlier this month we told you about the new piggies adopted by our Junior Slave. You may remember that Zelda was the victim of a hoarder and it appears that she was part of an attempt at a breeding programme. Oh dear.....

It was not long before they could feel the movement of baby piggies inside her and one morning they came to give out breakfast to their little herd and they found these.

Zelda had given birth in the night to two little mini mes. Two sweet little chocolate babes were scuttling around the cage as if they had always been there. Sadly they did not get to see her give birth but mum and babes are doing well. Our Slave says that watching piggies being born is a magical experience. We are just glad that they are all OK and we got to see them on Skype when they were just one day old.

Here they are again. Zelda is enjoying a well earned rest with her little ones. Aaah!!


So please welcome more Pigpenpals. Ripley has temporalily been transferred to another cage as the babes thought that she would also provide milk and that was a bit much for her. Well done Zelda. Virtual hugs all round.

New Piggyville Girl!

Hello! I am Tilley, the newest member of the Piggyville clan. I am two
months old and a red American piggy. I was born in North Carolina to a
cavy breeder. She decided that I was not show quality so I was adopted
by Ann & Paul. They think I'm a Top Quality piggy. I am named Tilley
after the Canadian hat that my Mum always wears. My nickname is Tilley
put-put because I make little sounds when I'm walking.

Here is a picture of me being introduced to Squirly and Honeydew.
Squirly is sniffing my chin. I think she can smell my favorite
treat....carrots.

It wasn't long after we were introduced that we all sat down for a yummy
pile of grass. Honeydew told me that Mum walks far and wide looking for
different varieties of grass and edible plants for us to enjoy. Squirly
said that Mum always wears her Tilley hat when she goes looking for
grass. There is even a secret compartment in her hat were she hides
edible plants that she finds in the forest. Gosh I am lucky to have been
adopted into such loving home even if my new Mum is a little strange.

New PigPenPals.

We have received some wonderful news from our one time Junior Slave, who now lives in the US. They have had two additions to their family and have sent us some photos.

Please say hello to Ripley.

And also to Zelda.

They have only just gone home and there will be more pigtures later. Zelda was one of 52 piggies from a hoarding case and is settling in well with her new friend. We are delighted to have some new PigPenPals and these two bring their number to six along with Mama Rin, Nico, Maki and Noodle.

We often get to chat to them on Skype along with their cat friend, Nova.

Watch this space for more news.