I'm Not Afraid

Greetings!

Sooooooooo sorry I wasn't able to post a blog update yesterday... internet crapped out :(

Anyways... Mama Pig's vet appointment was on Tuesday. From my research I made an educated guess that Mama Pig either had a bad UTI or bladder stones. Bladder stones killed Emma. The vet agreed with my educated guess and put her on some anti-biotics in a hope that it is a UTI. They're pina colada flavored and Mama Pig is very happy about that. She seems to be responding positively to the meds thus far but it's really to soon to tell. Crippie will be monitoring Mama for the next 3 weeks. Crippie also requested that the vet provide us with a "crisis kit" in the event that Mama Pig (or any of the pigs for that matter) take a sudden turn for the worst and we are unable to get to a vet. A guinea pig crisis kit consists of the following items...
1) Oxbow Critical Care - If you ever need to force feed your pig... this is what you feed 'em. This can be purchased online as well.
2) Metacam - Pain medicine, sometimes it will help ease the problem enough so the pig will make it through the night... other times it helps your pig cross the bridge without pain. Either way it's a must have.
3) Reglan - It's a motility drug that can help if your pig stops pooping and weeing and/or if your pig develops bloat. Bloat is damn near always lethal. Emma's bladder stones caused an inability to wee which caused bloat. I had some Reglan in the house so I gave her a 16th of a pill and it helped ease the bloat a little... it didn't save her, but I think it helped a little.
4) Pedialyte (you can obtain this yourself) - Its just a good thing for a sick pig to have in general, plus they freakin' love this stuff! I bought a little four pack of it in a "mixed fruit" flavor for the pigs (don't buy one big bottle... buy several little ones because this stuff expires within days of being opened). Anyway... I was giving to Mama Pig in the syringe and while she was happily drinking away all the other pigs had looks on their faces and were practically saying "DO WANT NOW' so Crippie had to gave everyone some. Aggie damn near ripped the syringe out of my hand she loved it that much.

Mama Pig like Pina Coladas & Getting Caught in the Rain

So yeah, that's the story there. Oh, almost forgot to tell you... throughout this whole experience the person most affected (besides Mama) is without a doubt Frida. She looked so concerned whenever we took Mama out of the cage to take of her and she would nuzzle and kiss her as soon as we put her back in. If Mama was sleeping in a tunnel Frida would sleep right beside that tunnel even if that meant that she wasn't hiding somewhere (most pigs like to be hidden when they sleep). It's probably the cutest thing I've seen in a good long while.

Moving on to cripple news, tomorrow is my orthopedist appointment. People ask me if I get nervous about doctor's appointments, especially one's that could deliver bad news. Honestly, I don't get nervous.  When Crippie was younger, you bet your ass I was nervous... I wasn't used to being sick. Now I'm used to this stuff. Crippie's actually looking forward to my appointment. I'm rather curious as to what condition my hips are in now. As soon as I get a copy of my x-ray I will totes post a comparison of the old and new ones. Judging by my recent problems I don't think this visit will bring much of good news, but as long as the bad news can be treated I'm OK. Of course, I hope that I won't need surgery... or least if I need a surgery I hope it's an easy one, not one of those "LOL... LET'S REPLACE YOUR HIP" kinda things. I will definitely keep y'all posted with what the doctor says.

Crippie's Tippie - When going to a doctors appointment of this nature dress accordingly, no metal, tanktop under your shirt, shoes that the doctor can properly gauge your gait in, etc.

April End She Will

Howdy Y'all

It's hard to believe that April is over. That means the 30 posts in 30 days challenge has come to an end :(. Even though Crippie didn't follow most of the prompts, and I missed a few days... I consider this a success.

Now for the Mama Pig update. We couldn't take her to the vet today. Alas, our usual vet's office no longer treats guinea pigs. We were able to find a place in Jersey that can take care of a pig, but their particular vet that handles pigs wasn't in today. *Sigh* Yeaaaaaaahhh... so tomorrow Mama Pig will definitely go see a vet. If you are considering getting a Guinea Pig, remember they are technically "exotic pets" and not all vets are prepared to treat them. You'll need to find a good exotics vet who knows what they are talking about.

So what's wrong with Mama Pig? I'm still not gonna jinx anything by telling you, but let me put it this way... without some form of medical intervention she would die. Another word of advice to pig owners, if you pig is sick... help them. Please don't leave them in their cage to die. Crippie can't believe that there are people who do nothing if their pigs get sick, not even trying homeopathic treatments. How can people think that these guys are not worth saving? If I were to hypothetically opt to do nothing with Mama Pig she would stop eating, stop weeing, stop pooping and die a painful death... this process would of course take a few days so I'd be letting her slowly suffer. C'mon people, if you buy a pet accept ALL the responsibilities that go along with it. One of your responsibilities is to keep your animal alive for as long as humanely possible.

Sorry that I'm ending my 30 posts in 30 days with "Debbie Downer" posts, but I do hope that those pictures of the goats helped make up for it. Hopefully in a few days I'll be able to go back to my normal cripple posts :)

Crippie's Tippie - Where are the good exotic vets? Check www.guinealynx.info to find one in your area. If there are none, call around and see if anyone has experience with piggies.

Crippie Visits The Goats

Salutations,

Mama Pig says thanks for the ninja vibes, she's gonna go to the vet tomorrow and hopefully the doctors will be able to make her all better. Crippie is very worried about her. Everyone in the house is. We can't lose another pig... not now. Once the situation with Mama Pig is over I'll discuss what's wrong with her but I am petrified of jinxing something.

In the meantime, while Mama Pig was snoozing my dad and I took a trip to the shelter to see the boys. He loves piggies as much as I do. Crippie trimmed Andrew and Charlie's nails. I was expecting a huge battle but it went surprisingly well. Charlie tried to shoot poop at me... but that's really not terrible. I was also better able to gauge their health... both Charlie and Andrew look very healthy. Andrew is also getting used to being held, he didn't cry as much and he let my dad hold him for a few minutes... SO ADORABLE.

While we were there Crippie managed to find the goats! As soon as they saw us they starting being total hams. One was like "I'M ON A ROCK... LOOK AT ME!", another was like "I'M ADORABLE... LOOK AT ME!" Here are some pics to prove my point...

 

 

Crippie's Tippie - Looking for a pet... GO TO YOUR LOCAL SHELTER

Piggie Post: Sick Piggies

Greetings,

SO MANY PIGGIE POSTS... my goodness. Honestly, most of it is because I am focusing on piggies rather than my doctor's appointment Thursday. 

Anyway, I apologize for not posting yesterday. Ya see, Crippie went out to see a show (I'll discuss it in a future post when I'm in a better frame of mind) when I returned home I noticed blood in the trio's cage. Upon examination I discovered that it was from Mama Pig. I don't want to go into too much detail or ask well wishes or anything because I really don't want to jinx anything. Crippie will say that Mama Pig is being treated and monitored and will probably be making a trip to the vet either tomorrow or Monday. I'm not gonna say "Mama Pig will be fine" because a) I can't guarantee that and b) last time I said that Emma died. 

I think it's pretty safe to say that Crippie is freaking out. I can't lose Mama Pig now. I'm still trying to cope with Emma's death. With all the medical crap going on right now I need my pigs to help me get through it. Crippie is going to do anything and everything in her power to keep Mama Pig alive. 

As my mini-freak out suggests, when piggies get sick it can be very serious. If you notice that your pig is acting weird or if something is clearly wrong... here's a list of what to do.

1) Pigs live for eating, pooping, and peeing... if your pig isn't doing those things get them to a vet ASAP

2) If your pig is not in "immediate" danger, get your ass on the internet to look up what could be wrong with them. My old standby is www.guinealinx.info. They have tons of medical info and tbey make it relatively easy to get a vague diagnoses. I would discuss what I found with Mama Pig but again... don't wanna jinx it

3) Guinea Pigs simply do not get better on their own, whether it is homeopathic medicine or a trip to the vet, you have to do something.

4) For minor guinea pig ailments homeopathic methods could work. For example, Nellie and Frida are prone to minor UTIs I give them an herbal supplement called Shilingtong

5) Pigs can take a turn for the worst verrrrrryyyyyyy quickly, Emma showed improvement for weeks before suddenly dying. 

The average guinea pig life span is 5-8 years, if you take care of your pigs and get them help when they need it hopefully they will live a long and healthy life. Mama Pig is probably 4.5 years old, God I hope she makes it to 5. 

Crippie's Tippie - Take care of your pigs, they deserve it

Piggie Post: Andrew & Charlie

Ohai Everybody!

I hope all my readers had a terrific Thursday. Crippie certainly did. Crippie went to the animal shelter and officially signed up to be a volunteer! After I signed a waiver saying that I won't sue if one of these little buggers bites me I went to see the piggies! I got to spend some more time with them today so I really got to see their personalities. I hate how people think that piggies are just lazy potatoes that eat all day. Guinea pigs are LOADED with personality. All of my pigs have distinct and different personalities and the piggies at the shelter are no exception. Tonight Crippie is gonna tell y'all a little more about these two lovely boys in hope that someone will adopt them.

CHARLIE 

Charlie is a 3 year old Silke(Sheltie)/American Shorthair mix. He is without a doubt the dominant pig. He is an attention whore, when I was giving his buddie scritches he came over and starting eating my jacket! He loves rubs and he enjoys being held, mainly because he loves anything that involves attention in general. He is very smart, he responds to his name and HE KNOWS HOW TO USE A LITTER BOX! THAT IS HUUUGGEEE. Most guinea pigs see the world as their toilet! Charlie is super docile although he will occasionally take a nip at your neck, but that's just him being affectionate. He's super energetic and inquisitive. If you were to adopt Charlie, all you'd have to do is give him some delicious noms and he'll love your for the rest of your life. 

From what Crippie can tell Charlie is in good health. He is slightly underweight but this whole transition from being in a home to being in a shelter would frighten anyone. 

ANDREW

Andrew is a three year old crested. He is very shy and very much recessive. He is such a little sweetheart. He'll gladly let you pet him, especially if you massage his crest. Honestly, I think Andrew is having a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings. He isn't a very happy camper at the moment. When Crippie went to pick him up he started screaming and crying. He cried on my shoulder for a good five minutes before he realized that I give good chin rubs. It took my an additional ten minutes to get him comfortable enough for me to take a picture of him. Andrew is also very bright, he has also learned that litter boxes are for wees and poops (seriously, whoever adopts these two will be so lucky). Andrew has the potential to be a VERY loud wheeker. Even though he is scared he is still super docile, he never tried to bite me. If you were to adopt Andrew it would take a couple of days, oodles of cuddles, and some terrific noms and he will turn into a terrific companion.

Crippie couldn't examine Andrew quite as thoroughly because he was so scared, but from what I can tell he is healthy. He's close to average weight, good coat, spark in the eyes, hands and feetsies look good. 

I cannot stress it enough how lucky their potential owners will be, litter box trained piggies are rare, and they will make cage cleanings sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much easier. Crippie cannot tell you how much she wishes her piggies could use litter boxes, they just used them as beds -_-

Crippie is gonna go back to the shelter sometime over the weekend to trim their nails... they are in desperate need of a trimming. Something tells me it's gonna be a challenge. 

Crippie's Tippie - ADOPT ANDREW AND CHARLIE... their petfinder profiles can be found HERE

Crippie Is A Busy Bee

Ohai,

Helen is beyond thrilled with all of her online admirers. Her giant head has already tripled in size! For those of you who are wondering, Helen is a Shih Tzu. The best part about small dogs is that you can reenact the opening sequence to The Lion King. It's not uncommon to see someone in my house going "MMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAA SSSSSAAAAAAAA WHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" while holding Helen up in the air. She seems to enjoy it.

Crippie had a very busy day today. I worked for 8 hours, came home, had dinner, and then babysat for an additional hour and a half. While many people would find a day like that hectic or annoying, Crippie rather enjoys them. I like keeping busy, it feels like that's what I should be doing. Tomorrow is my day off from work. I could've spent it at home on the computer but I'm not going to do that. Crippie is going to visit the piggies in the shelter again and if possible sign up to be a piggie volunteer. I would sign up to be a volunteer in general, but I can't take exactly take care of the dogs or cats (can't reach down to clean them up). The best part about tomorrow... Crippie has learned that there are GOATS at the animal shelter. Yes, goats, 5 goats to be exact. Crippie finds goats extremely entertaining and I want to meet them.

I feel like I am slowly but surely working on my New Year's Resolution of "finding a life and getting the hell out of my house". Even though volunteering at the shelter isn't the most "social" activity in the world it's an important activity nonetheless, and hey... gotta start somewhere.

And if y'all are wondering... I'm gonna keep posting about those guinea pigs until they find happy homes.

Crippie's Tippie - If you are in the market for a goat, check out the Warwick Valley Humane Society

The Five People You Meet At Dinner

Ohai,

Thanks for all the supportive comments y'all... Crippie can not even begin to tell you how much I appreciate them. From what I'm hearing neurontin is a helluva drug. Crippie is on a two week trial of it to see if it works, if I have a rough time I'll stop taking it. Although I am seeing an upside to the tiredness... if I time my medications right I get sleepy at a decent hour. Maybe my sleep schedule will improve!

Moving on, Crippie found a nifty HAWMC blog prompt. 5 Dinner Guests. Who are 5 people you’d love to have dinner with (living or deceased) and why? Okay, Crippie thought long and hard about this... figured I'd make a "Kick-Ass Cripple Table"

THE KICK-ASS CRIPPLE TABLE

1 - Frida Kahlo - She is my all time favorite artist and she was a kick-ass cripple. FUN FACT: when she had her leg amputated she wore jingle bells around the fake leg to draw attention to it! Also, I think my Frida might enjoy meeting the person who inspired her name.

2 - Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan (I know they're two people, but Anne would need to translate for Helen) - Helen Keller has always inspired me, she was able to do some much in spite of what most would consider extremely limiting disabilities. Also, our Helen would probably enjoy meeting the person who inspired her name. 

3 - Stephen Hawking - Stephen Hawking kicks ass on so many levels. I find his theories about space fascinating. Crippie can't forget the fact that this dude has been living with ALS for DECADES, if that doesn't make you awesome I don't know what does.

4 - King Tut - I would love to have a cane battle with King Tut (he walked with a cane because of serious leg problems)

5 - Michael J. Fox - He's probably one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to staying positive and optimistic. I would seriously love to actually talk to him.

I think that will make for a splendid cripple-filled dinner don't you? What other cripples would you add to this list?

Oh, and as promised, here are pictures of me and Helen to make up for yesterday's post. Helen thought I was a pillow, luckily photobooth was there to capture the hilarity!

Hmm... Auntie Crippie isn't very comfy. I NEED A PLACE TO SLEEP!

This is kinda comfy... but I can do better

Perfect

Crippie's Tippie - Be verrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy careful when taking several heavy duty medications, bad things can happen if you don't follow instructions or time them properly.

Side Effects

Ohai 

I hope everyone had a good Monday. Crippie's Monday was alright, but the weather has definitely been kicking Crippie's ass. It was around 80 degrees last week and now it's 50 degrees WTF! MOTHER NATURE HATES CRIPPLES! Crippie just wants to grab a bunch of aerosol cans and spray them in air while screaming "EFF YOU MOTHER NATURE!!!".

On the bright side my hip isn't bothering me as much now since I started taking my neurontin. I have been having some minor side effects though... depending on the time I take the neurontin I get very tired and heavy headed. I took my medicine a little later tonight so right now Crippie is very heavy headed, not a pleasant feeling. On the bright side, the tiredness could help regulate my sleep schedule. 

It's weird... only parts of Crippie feel tired. I'm conscious enough to write a blog while chatting with friends (multi-tasking baby!). Yet my eyes feel super heavy and the back of my head feels heavy... I dunno... kinda hard to explain. At least I'm not trippin' or anything, Crippie is perfectly lucid... OMG LOOK AT THE UNICORN, IT'S SO SHINYYYYYYY ;). 

Yeaaaaaaah, I think I'm gonna go to sleep. Sorry for the short post y'all. I'll take some cute pictures of animals and show them to you tomorrow. Let's hope that the side effects of the neurontin wear off after a few days.

Crippie's Tippie - Don't blog when you're really tired, it won't turn out well

Piggie Post: Obtaining Pigs

Ohai

Two "Piggie Posts" in a row... WHAT IS THIS MADNESS! Crippie had a very busy day. Apart from seeing an adorable production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" Crippie had to go to the pet store to obtain dog food and guinea pig treats, and while we were in the area we bought an extra bag of piggie treats and brought them to our local animal shelter. Going to the two main places to obtain a guinea pig in the same day really highlights the differences between the two.

First off, all of my piggies came from the pet store. Crippie was not a very educated customer at the time.

If you are serious about obtaining a pig, AVOID PET STORES. Why?

1) Depending on where you live there are tooooooooooooooons of guinea pigs in shelters.

2) Pet store guinea pigs are not properly taken care of... for example a few months ago Crippie saw some guinea pigs at her local mom and pop pet store. There were two adults and two babies. I held one of the adults and saw that she was a female (I know how to check the genders of guinea pigs) then I held the other adult and much to my horror it was a boy. That is reallllllllyyyyyyyyy bad. I soon as I saw that I knew that the adult female (who has to be under a year old) was pregnant again. The problem with that is that guinea pigs have a high mortality rate when it comes to childbirth, for both the mom and the babies. I asked the owner of the store why a boar was being housed with a sow and he promptly removed the male. I returned today to find this same female but with four new babies. Thankfully she seems to be alright, but that poor girl had 6 babies within a few months :(

3) Pet store pigs have a higher chance of not being healthy. On average guinea pigs live for 6 years. My Emma was 3 when she died and Frida has tumors. Part of me wonders if this is because of careless inbreeding. Nellie, Emma, and Frida were born in the pet store. Me thinks Mama Pig was accidentally placed with a male, possibly one she was related to. Pet store living conditions have been known to cause Upper Respiratory Infections which can kill pigs.

Crippie is not completely against store pigs, so if you do obtain a store pig limit the amount of money the store gets from the pig. Pigs are relatively cheap. It's their cages, bedding, hay, and food that are expensive. DO NOT BUY A PET STORE CAGE, they are too small. Buy a C&C cage beforehand and have it ready for your pig. Buy your hay and food online (it's ultimately cheaper too) and you can probably find tons of great guinea pig toys online. Have everything ready so you only buy the pigs at the store... nothing else.

Breeders are an option as well for obtaining pigs, but I seriously don't recommend them. Mainly because of the high mortality rate for the pigs and the fact that inbred piggies have issues. If you want a certain breed, check petfinder and craigslist daily... one will pop up sooner or later.

Crippie went to the shelter today to deliver the treats and naturally I had to give them to the piggies myself. There are two boars at the local shelter, a crested and a silke-shorthair mix (two uncommon breeds right there... hint hint people who want to obtain one from a breeder). If Crippie had the resources to take care of them she would have scooped them up.

Even though Crippie can't adopt them I want to make sure that they go to good home. These guys are a bonded pair and need to be adopted together. The top one is an attention whore. As soon as I walked into the room he was like 'LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE". The one on the bottom is very shy, mainly because their prior owners did not take care of them properly. But Crippie thinks that within a week or two of cuddles and treats he'll be fine. If you click on their pictures you can see their petfinder profiles.

Crippie actually decided to volunteer at the animal shelter to help take care of the piggies. These boys are in desperate need of cuddles. 

Crippie's Tippie - Piggies are not low maintenance animals, and if you really want a pig... ADOPT!

Piggie Post: Outside Time

Ello!

Crippie is taking a break from posting about how much my hip hurts to focus on PIGGIES!!! The weather was in my favor this afternoon so I figured it would be a good day to give Aggie a little sunlight. Since the weather was sooooooooo awesome Crippie and her sister opted to bring Maggie, Aggie, and a playpen outside so they could be "free range piggies".

First and foremost... PICTURES!

Munch munch munch munch munch

Helen being a "guard dog", and Maggie and Aggie are still eating grass

Maggie doesn't know what to make of this "outside" business

Maggie saying "What the hell is this?" and Aggie still nomming on grass

Maggie wondering where she is, and Aggie still eating grass

 They spent about 20 minutes outside and I swear to God Aggie spent 19 minutes and 30 seconds eating grass. SHE LOVED IT. Maggie on the other hand was like "where the hell am I?"

If any of you were wondering why Aggie looks s'darn white it's because she is a satin pig. She was probably bred to have a more lustrous coat. Cute, right? Nope... satins have greater chance to develop osteoporosis. As Crippie has mentioned before, I'm giving her some natural vitamin D in hopes to prevent it. Also, the shiny coat made it damn near impossible for Crippie to photograph her.

As awesome as outside time is, it's not something to be taken lightly... here are some tippies for successful outside time.

1- Know your grass - We took the pigs out on our lawn. Do NOT put pigs on grass treated with pesticides. The main concern Crippie had about her lawn was that deer are frequent visitors, and deer leave "presents" and ticks. Crippie picked a spot for the pigs where other animals don't like to hang out. It happened to be right by her driveway.

2- Watch them like a hawk - NEVER take your eyes off your pigs. There are a lot of hawks and other birds of prey by Crippie who could easily snatch them up. You need to stand guard and make sure nothing hurts them.

3- Make sure the weather is good - Piggies are very demanding when it comes to temperature... if its too hot your pig will have a heat stroke and die, if its too cold your pig will get sick and die. The 65-80 degree range (give or take) generally makes for a happy piggie. Also, if your pig is a skinny I would probably keep the pig in the shade.

4- Clean Up - When you're finished don't forget to check for any bugs or anything that might be stuck to them. Since we have deer Crippie checked each pig for tics before putting them back into their cage.

So there ya have it folks, hope your piggies enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!

Crippie's Tippie - Playpens for small dogs work wonders for piggies

P.S. We had some severe thunderstorms tonight, hopefully that explains some of my pain