Piggie Post: Nellie Turns 5!

Ohai Everybody!

While I was taking my "I suck at blogging" break in November, a certain someone turned 5 and we threw a huge bash for her. How does one go about throwing a party for a guinea pig? Well, it's quite simple really... we just obtained a bouncy castle, and by bouncy castle I mean tub of hay that we dropped the pigs in.

Aggie was the first pig in and naturally she wasted no time and started chowing down. She had a grand ol' time at the party and spent the remainder of the night wondering why she wasn't always surrounded by unlimited amounts of hay. (Yup, this totally sucked to write... miss you Aggie)

Lucy was next to have a turn in the hay bin. Much to my surprise she HATED it. She kept trying to dig her way out of the bin. She was promptly returned to her cage to make room for more willing participants.

 

Pru and Maggie were next. They were good little noodles and had a jolly time frolicking in and eating the hay.

Eleanor and the birthday girl were next. This didn't last long though because Eleanor decided to be a party pooper and bite Nellie in the ass. Once Eleanor was removed against her will Nellie happily munched on all the hay her little heart could want.

 

 

Happy birthday Nellie Bellie! Time to relax and enjoy your senior pig years! I'm sure your mommy and sisters were celebrating with you too :)

Crippie's Tippie - When in doubt just give your piggies a crap ton of hay and they'll be happy

Back to Basics

Howdy!

I hope y'all have been having a dandy week thus far. Mine's certainly been interesting. Shall I bring you guys up to speed?

First off, someone hit my car in a parking lot... with me in it. No worries though, there was hardly any damage to my precious Penelope, just a scratch on the car and a few scratches to the rim of a tire. Seriously, it was so minuscule that I told the guy who hit me not to worry about it. It was a scary experience though. One of my main fears about driving is getting into/being involved in an accident and killing myself and or someone else. My thought process getting out of the car was "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! WHAT AM I GONNA DO? WHAT AM I GONNA... oh... wait... there's no damage here... oh... okay... we're cool." I was a lil shake-y for a while but I calmed down after an hour or two. Now I ain't even mad, just thankful that nothing worse happened.

On to cripple things, the past few weeks have suuuuuccccccckkkkkeeeeedddddd pain wise. How bad? Well, I spent most of my labor day weekend laid up in bed watching "Orange Is The New Black" because I was literally in too much pain to move. Side note, I really enjoyed that show. If I had a "busy" day it would take another day to recover, and I'm using the word "busy" loosely because I really wasn't doing all that much. Anyway, today I went to my pain management doctor to discuss everything. She gave my back a once over and we came to the conclusion that my gait and lack of strength in my back is causing the pain. She gave me some exercises to do so hopefully that'll help. We're also adjusting my medication schedule a bit. I usually take my meds at night. We're now splitting them up so I take some of my weaker meds earlier. This should help manage my pain better and keep it at bay longer. Fingers crossed that it works. On the bright side, my arms having given me much trouble over the past two weeks, which is a welcome change. Pity the other issues overshadowed that.

On to piggie things. Lucy-fer was on a bit of an asshole rampage for a few days, until we discovered "solitary confinement". And by that I mean we put her in a pet carrier and left in there for a little while. One night before dinner Lucy was acting up so I put her in solitary. Her case was on a chair next to me so I could see her the entire time. It was 30 minutes of "WHY AM I HERE MAMAAAAAAA" and lots of sad piggie eyes. She started to learn her lesson after that, but she truly learned her lesson a few days after that. Lucy had settled down, but one her favorite pigs, Maggie, was ignoring her. Lucy would go by Maggie, not touching her or anything, and Maggie would start freaking out and screaming at Lucy until she left. Well... one day I check them and I found Miss Lucy-fer sulking in a corner. I took her out for some one on one time and we had a nice talk. I think she's starting to realize that her actions have consequences.

YOU CAN SEE THE SADNESS ON HER FACE! It's been a few days since we've had that discussion and *knock on wood* Lucy has not gotten into trouble. She's been a very good girl. Maggie is still wary of her and screams whenever Lucy comes near her. Poor Lucy-fer, she just sits there like "WHAT DID I DO!?!?! I JUST WANT TO SHARE A HOUSE WITH YOU".

So that's about it. Fun week. Happy Friday everyone!

Crippie's Tippie - Just because an animal is aggressive at times don't assume it's evil

Lucy's Got Some 'Splainin To Do

Ohai Y'all!

Two posts in a week, I'm on a roll! I hope my lovely readers have been having a good week. The weather's been changing again... boo. Lucky for me my arms haven't been terrible, which, taking the barometric pressure changes into account is better than I expected. Unlucky for me, my back has been killing me! I don't have any known issues with my back and spine, me thinks the pain is a result of hip issues. I can't stand in one spot for more than 5 minutes. The solution? I'm looking into obtaining inserts for my shoes specifically for back problems. If that doesn't work, my plan b is to go back to using my crutch for instances where I know I'll be standing and or walking for long periods of time. Not ideal... but meh, what can ya do?

Apart from the pain I've been well. I celebrated my Grandma's 81st birthday on Thursday and today would have been my Grandpa's 83rd birthday. So the family celebrated by going to see a local production of "Footloose" and nomming on pizza. Definitely a good start to my weekend :3

Now... on to that title...

See that? See that adorable little pig? That's Lucy, and she's been in time out 5 times over the past two days. Miss Lucy-fer's been a raging asshole. Her crimes range from face and butt biting, fighting with Eleanor and Maggie, and my personal favorite... physically dragging Eleanor away from a food dish. *Sigh* I used to think Frida was naughty. Lucy wins. Lucy is by far the biggest butthead I have ever met. I checked her over and she's in heat, that and the fact that she's a baby explain the behavior. While checking her over I found that someone bit her in the face. Yeah, I tried to have a rational discussion with Lucy-fer that if she keeps acting inappropriately that she will keep getting injured like that. I don't think she listened because apparently she continued acting up while I was at work. The solution? Originally Lucy's time outs were comprised of solo time with a human and being scolded at while lying on her back. Clearly she doesn't care about that, so the new plan is a lil' more jail like. We have a travel case for vet visits. Lucy was tormenting Maggie earlier. Her punishment? Solitary confinement in the travel case. I'll keep ya updated about how the new time out system works. She behaved for the rest of the day after her release, let's hope she learned her lesson.

That's it for now I guess. I'm wishing all my readers a happy and healthy labor day weekend. 

Crippie's Tippie - If your pig gets into a squabble, check their mouths. It's a VERY common area for injuries. 

Seven Nation Arm-y

Ohai!

Sorry I've been away from the blog, I do have an explanation though. But first... PIGGIES!

The piggies are continuing to settle down and accept their roles in their little "society". Nellie is the boss pig, and Lucy has lovingly turned into her evil little minion. Lucy will gladly do Nellie's bidding. Recently Nellie's bidding mainly consists of nipping Eleanor in the butt. Lucy has been put in time out on multiple occasions for cornering Eleanor and repeatedly biting her. NOBODY BITES BABY IN A CORNER! Eleanor has kinda turned into a lil' recluse, she enjoys her hide-y places. It's funny how the song she's named after fits her personality. Prudence has probably taken the adjustment the easiest, her hobbies include comfortably lounging wherever possible and hanging around Maggie. Maggie has grown to accept the babies and she's actually quite fond of the attention they give her.

Last night I gave Eleanor some extra attention because miss Lucy-fer decided to block her into a corner on two separate occasions in one day! Poor baby needed some snuggles. So she got some extra cuddle time with me watchin' TV. While her experiences with "Wheel of Fortune" didn't amaze her "The Colbert Report" blew her little mind. She stood on my hand and watched the entire episode. She then browsed reddit with me and eventually fell asleep on my arm. Too freaking cute.

God I'm adorable...

Selfie! #NoMakeup ;)

Taking a snooze on mommy

Told ya she was freakin' cute.

Ok... moving on to why I was absent for a lil' over a week. Well...

Yup, BOTH of my arms have been bothering me for the past week or so! GO ME! Bothering is a wee bit of an understatement... MY ARMS FREAKING HURT! I think something either in my right forearm or elbow caught, basically rendering my entire arm useless. I used my handy dandy ace bandage to alleviate the problem for the time being. As for my left... I'm pretty sure something caught in my forearm towards my wrist. Again, ace bandage and hope I can manage it on my own. I wasn't posting because while I technically can type with one hand, I only do that when I HAVE to. Not exactly a comfortable thing to do. Plus, it would take ages to write the damn post! Oh well... fingers crossed that I won't need surgery for these bastards.

At least my nails look awesome :D

The tumors seem to have unhooked themselves for now *knocks on wood*. If it keeps happening then it's off to the orthopedist I go! If it's a problem with the arm I can deal, that would be a fairly simple surgery. If it's in the elbow region... eh... that could be trickier. Anything near a joint is always harder. Even then, it's my right hand... not my dominant one. It would probably be a harder recovery... but I'd live. Meh... in the meantime I'm just gonna act like it won't be a massive problem and hope that my tumors listen.

Crippie's Tippie - If you use ace bandages, try to obtain ones with velcro and or some type of self-adhesive capability. Nothin' worse that getting poked by those stupid pointy metal fasteners. (the ace bandage in the picture is velcro BTW, pretty sure I saved it from a surgery)

One Week

Yes I am singing that Barenaked Ladies song to myself right now.

I hope y'all have had a fabulous week. I've been pretty busy with the family and of course the n00b piggies.

Lucy, Eleanor and Prudence are slowly but surely adjusting to life with their new cage, new humans, and new buddies. Over the past week their relationship with Nellie & Maggie has grown from "We'll let you live... for now" to "I tolerate you, but I will keeeeeeeeeel you if you steal my lettuce". The n00bs definitely look up to Nellie and Maggie and see them as annoying older siblings who occasionally bite them in the ass. Lucy LOVES Nellie, she sees her as the ultimate role model. Nellie has already taught her the art of begging for noms.

Prudence is in awe of Maggie but mainly the new contraption that is "The Giant Talking Box" (the TV) she watched "Wheel of Fortune" with us and was completely enthralled with it. Eleanor was also highly intrigued by the talking box, but it took her longer to realize how awesome it was. They have also learned the art of screaming whenever someone enters the kitchen. I'm working on teaching them that my whistling means food, not the kitchen floor squeaking. It'll probably take a little bit of practice but no one here minds the wheeking, it's adorable. In the past I taught the pigs that the intro to "Moves Like Jagger" and or "Dueling Banjos" meant food and that the theme from Jaws meant they were about to be tickled.

While they're getting more comfortable with their surroundings, Eleanor and Prudence are very timid. Here's Pru's face and Eleanor's butt. They are very comfortable with being snuggled by humans though. They really enjoy snuggles.

Nellie & Eleanor have pretty much settled their differences. Nellie is the boss, and she is completely content with that role. She's enjoying bossing the other pigs around. I do not see her moping around the cage anymore. I have not seen her or Maggie laying down where Frida died. The n00bs definitely have helped them move on.

Maggie is slowly but surely adjusting to the n00bs, she no longer cowers in fear in corners. She does however get very territorial over this hide-y. She loves it and threatens to keeeeeeel any pig that dare think they are welcome in it.

As for Aggie, Fat Bastard is still blissfully enjoying her solitude. Her new favorite hiding place is under the ramp for the second level to her cage. She's afraid to walk up the ramp, but she'll sleep under it.

Well, that's about it for now. I really should attempt to get some sleep. YAY INSOMNIA! 

Crippie's Tippie - Buy your guinea pig supplies (hay, bedding, food, whatever) in bulk

Piggie Post: NEW PIGGIES!

Greetings!

As promised, here's the story of our new additions...

Ok, well it started the day after Frida passed. As I mentioned in a prior post Nellie and Maggie were very mopey. The mopey-ness progressed over the next few days, and one of the only cures for the loss of a piggie friend is a new piggie friend, plus I really was not happy with the emptiness of the herd. So on Wednesday I started my search for a new pig, but it had to be the RIGHT new pig. Generally speaking it's easier to introduce babies and senior pigs to an existing group. A senior pig was unfortunately out of the question because I cannot stand the thought of losing another pig right now. I needed a baby pig. First I went to PetFinder. There were a few baby pigs in rescues about an hour away, they didn't scream out "MINE" but I kept 'em in my maybe file. I decided to check out Craigslist for teh lulz. Usually Craigslist pigs either come from a) Idiots who "don't have time" for their pigs anymore, or b) breeders. FUN FACT: If you see a Craigslist post for a baby guinea pig without the word "rehoming" or "adoption" fee, they are breeders. Do not support them. Most of the posts were idiots selling pigs, but none of them were close to me. I scrolled down a little and found a post from a month ago from my area. A rescue had acquired 3 young female pigs and they were looking to adopt them out. I figured I'd shoot the rescue an email inquiring about the pigs. Honestly I wasn't expecting much out of this inquiry, it was a month old after all. Anyways, flash forward to 15 minutes later. I get a facebook message from the rescue... because I went to high school with the person running the rescue! Small world ain't it? She told me that the piggies were still available, after I answered the basic adoption form questions she said I sounded like the perfect owner for the pigs.

Here's the thing, there was always a chance that the new pigs would not get along with Nellie and Maggie, if that was the case I offered to foster the pigs until a better home could be found. We settled on that agreement Thursday. So... when I wrote that post about wanting new pigs I actually had these pigs lined up. I would've mentioned 'em, but I didn't want to jinx anything.

I arranged to pick them up yesterday. Once I met the new pigs I knew they'd be mine. They were so friggin cute! First thing I did though was double checked that they were all girls. Seriously, whenever you obtain a guinea pig CHECK THE GENDER FIRST! Once I was certain they were all girls they were placed in a box and into my car (the box had a seatbelt around it). They were very good during the car ride and barely made a peep, granted that was probably because they were freaking terrified. By this point Nellie and Maggie were clearly sad so I wanted to get this introduction over with ASAP. They needed friends damn it! So the new pigs were placed in a giant playpen in my living room with Nellie, Maggie and a big ass bowl of salad. The biggest tip I can give anyone who is introducing pigs is feed them. The food distracts them enough and kinda works as a "peace pipe". The introduction went fairly smoothly. Two of the new pigs and Maggie quickly accepted recessive roles. However Nellie and one of the new pigs did not. New pig thought SHE was the boss and Nellie thought SHE was the boss. So they spent an hour running around the cage and biting each other's butts. I supervised with a towel to break up any bad fights, but I mostly let them work it out. Remember, as long as no blood is shed they're ok. Eventually they got tired and stopped fighting. By this point all of the other pigs were sleeping so I declared the introduction a success. I put all five pigs in their new cage expecting a new battle but I was pleasantly surprised. The new pigs were like "THERE ARE SO MANY TOYS HERE" and happily roamed around the cage. Nellie would periodically bite one in the ass, but again to be expected. Maggie clearly does not like change as she spent a few hours hiding in a corner. The cute thing was one of the new pigs loves Maggie, she would sit by her while she was cowering in fear. Again, no blood was drawn so that means that over the next few days the "Quints" will learn to be buddies. That also means that I am again the proud owner of six guinea pigs.

Wanna meet my new babies?!?!

This is Eleanor, she is a grey, cream, roan and white shorthair. Her coloring is so unique, I love it. She is the one who was fighting with Nellie. Even though she is the dominant one of the new pigs she's very timid at the moment. She SCREAMS when you touch her in the cage (she's louder than Aggie which says something) but once you remove her from the cage and put her on your lap she turns into quite the snugglebug. She kinda reminds me of Emma sometimes.

This is Prudence. She's a white, cream, black, and chocolate brown shorthair. Again, beautiful color and such a pretty face. She is, without question, the sweetest freakin' thing I've ever seen in my life. She is enthralled with Maggie and she LOVES her new humans. She loves to give nuzzles and kisses. She was actually kissing my grandma's face earlier. SO DAMN ADORABLE!

Last but not least, this is Lucy. She's a black, red and white shorthair. She has the same coloring as Frida and some of her marking are similar. I think she is a month or two younger than the other two. Here she is sleeping through the introduction. Lucy can be best described as "special", apart from sleeping through intros her hobbies include fearlessly wandering the cage, outsmarting other pigs for food, sleeping by water bottles, and apparently swimming. As if her having similar markings and colors to Frida, they also share a similar manner when dealing with humans. Lucy's idea of being affectionate is nibbling you. Not quite as painful as a bite, but not a pleasant experience. Oh well... nothin' time won't fix. In the meantime, Lucy can only be handled by people who don't mind the nibbles.

I cannot begin to describe how happy all of the humans in house are. We felt incomplete before them. Losing Mama Pig and Frida in such a short time put a massive hole in our hearts. I'm actually getting kinda emotional right now just thinking about them. Lucy, Eleanor and Prudence are not "replacement pigs". I will never be able to replace Frida, regardless of how Lucy is eerily similar to her at times. Prudence is quite the cuddler, but she's not Mama Pig. Eleanor is a cuddly lil' butthole, but she's not Emma. Now that all the pigs are settling in everything feels as it should. Everything is back to normal, a new normal, but a normal nonetheless.

Crippie's Tippie - Never buy a pig from a pet store, always adopt