I did it! I now have 14 piggies!

Arrgh, just waiting and waiting for a reply from the office about Coprorate's decision now. They said they would be expedient so I'm here checking my email every couple hours. I bet those lawyers are pretty tickled to be getting paid what, hundreds of dollars an hour to deliberate on a bunch of 2-pound rodents.

In other news, Buttercup finally got a vet appointment tomorrow for her little nose boo boo, they've been really booked so I had to wait for a cancelation. I'm also taking Nutmeg in at the same time to get her ears checked. She's been shaking her head more than I would like. Either that or I just notice her shaking her head more than I do the others, as being a skinny pig her ears flapping around makes a sound like a cute little fart. 😂

The guinea pigs are not feeling much like posing this morning, so instead here is a picture I snapped of my glass catfish and a glass catfish fact.

They are, I believe, the most translucent vertebrate animal known. And now you know.
 

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Black piggies said:
Wow, they look like something from Jurassic Park. Good luck for the decision!
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Thank you!

For some reason that reminded me to add a disclaimer - while they are super neat fish, I do not endorse keeping them in general. Unfortunately they are all wild-caught as they cannot be bred commercially in captivity. Their population status in the wild is currently unknown. They could be endangered, nobody can say for sure. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I got a single catfish on my fishy rescue mission and the rest were purchased (not without having an ethical dilemma) to promote his welfare, as they are strictly a schooling species and become shy, depressed, and can even fade away when alone - much like piggies.

They are much more fragile than captive-bred fish and despite meticulous care I was devastated to lose several before managing to build up this small school. ☹

I strongly support choosing only captive-bred fish, plants, corals, etc. when planning an aquarium. There are lots of good choices these days for freshwater and saltwater setups.
 
Featheryfriend said:
Thank you!

For some reason that reminded me to add a disclaimer - while they are super neat fish, I do not endorse keeping them in general. Unfortunately they are all wild-caught as they cannot be bred commercially in captivity. Their population status in the wild is currently unknown. They could be endangered, nobody can say for sure. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I got a single catfish on my fishy rescue mission and the rest were purchased (not without having an ethical dilemma) to promote his welfare, as they are strictly a schooling species and become shy, depressed, and can even fade away when alone - much like piggies.

They are much more fragile than captive-bred fish and despite meticulous care I was devastated to lose several before managing to build up this small school. ☹

I strongly support choosing only captive-bred fish, plants, corals, etc. when planning an aquarium. There are lots of good choices these days for freshwater and saltwater setups.
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I can sit and watch fishes milling around all day, so relaxing 😌
 
Featheryfriend said:
Thank you!

For some reason that reminded me to add a disclaimer - while they are super neat fish, I do not endorse keeping them in general. Unfortunately they are all wild-caught as they cannot be bred commercially in captivity. Their population status in the wild is currently unknown. They could be endangered, nobody can say for sure. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I got a single catfish on my fishy rescue mission and the rest were purchased (not without having an ethical dilemma) to promote his welfare, as they are strictly a schooling species and become shy, depressed, and can even fade away when alone - much like piggies.

They are much more fragile than captive-bred fish and despite meticulous care I was devastated to lose several before managing to build up this small school. ☹

I strongly support choosing only captive-bred fish, plants, corals, etc. when planning an aquarium. There are lots of good choices these days for freshwater and saltwater setups.
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It's been an education on the forum today 😊
 
Will trade: fish facts for guinea pig facts!

I got some volunteers for the camera finally. I put out some pea sprouts which they've never had before and aren't sure about, but at least felt the need to rustle through / taste test.

I'm starting to look forward optimistically to the quarantine herd being able to come out and join the party in the living room. Doing floor time is hard right now because I can neither get the other guinea pigs out in the bedroom nor put the dog in that bedroom so the pigs can have the main room. And I really want to sit in the middle of a pen right now while the piggies run all around meeee. It's only a couple weeks (maybe longer if Buttercup has fungus) but it feels like foreveeeeer. I'm having to settle for one pig at a time on my lap. Maybe I'll send my dog over to my mother's for a day again so we can have fun without him.

I'm also pouty about it being summer and about a billion degrees outside, I think visiting the balcony in their travel cages would be good enrichment but it'll be ages before it's cool enough for that. I want them to look at the trees and the lake and all that. We're paying money for that view and my swarm of guinea pigs should be able to enjoy it, gosh darn it.

Plus I've got all these cage parts laying around, I'm itching to extend the guinea pig complex but I can hardly work on it while they're occupying it. Everyone will be getting a lot more main floor space and everybody will get a loft. Right now they're in more or less the minimum reccomended spaces and I'd like to give them a good share more than that. Especially the "family herd" as the babies are getting big so fast. 2 babies + 4 adults in a 2x6 grid with a loft looked fine at first, but now that the babies have practically doubled in size they're bumping butts, lol. Can't have that. It all being unfinished is the reason I haven't really posted a picture of my full cage setup yet, I don't want anyone uninitiated looking at that and thinking it's good enough to be a permanent enclosure for that many piggies. I'm also hesitant to put my heart into designing and building their permanent setup right now, in case I still wind up needing to evacuate with them to my friend's house... that would just bust me up to get it finished only to have to tear it all down. Thankfully the piggies all get along so nicely and seem content enough with the space they have for the moment.

They're so precious, they really don't ask for much do they? 😭 Just a constant supply of food and clean fleece and filled water bottles and attention and veterinary care and... okay maybe they do ask for kind of a lot but they deserve it. 😂
 

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Don't worry so much about the 'view' from the balcony as I'm not sure how far they can see! But an open window, with all the sounds from outside, is still very enriching. I'm sure mine enjoy hearing the birds chirp ☺️
 
We had a great outcome at the vet's this afternoon.

Buttercup's nose boo boo is just a wart, and though it's not very cosmetic it shouldn't require any intervention. The vet's diagnosis was "Your guinea pig is a witch. Yes you're a little witch, yes you are!" 😂

Nutmeg's ears were not infected, but they were a little wet and gooey. Basically it could have turned into an ear infection but we caught it early. They gave me some Zymox to wash her ears out with once a day. She quite dislikes it so that's going to be fun. Very happy there was no infection though.

Buttercup of course embarrassed us slightly by doing her signature thing which is screaming furiously when you pick her up. They were surprised and impressed by her lung capacity. It's a lot.

We also had Nutmeg's toes trimmed as short as possible to try and help with the curling. Unfortunately her toes are skewed a little sideways because of how the nails are growing - basically they bend right back towards the paw pads. The only way to fully correct it would be surgery under general anesthesia, but they're not reccomending it for her at this time. They think she should do fine with weekly foot checks and frequent trims.

Both of them were a good weight and body condition, and had healthy teeth and everything else. Other than Buttercup's banshee wailing they behaved nicely.

They were happy to get home and go back to their herd. I'm so pleased it was nothing serious this time.
 
Pleased to hear they both have a clean billl of health.

Buttercup was clearly letting everyone know she wàs being horribly tortured by the nasty vet person and clearly didn't like being called a witch!
 
George's toes are a bit to one-side and his nails also grow thus. As he's gotten older (and fatter) he doesn't move around so much and his feet are now pretty chubby. On the plus side the nails don't curl under into the pads, they spiral down and then up into the air if I let them. It doesn't affect how he moves - he's never moved much anyway!
 
Called the office, they're still just waiting to hear back from corporate. They said they'll be in touch sometime this week, most likely. Sigh.

Here are the babies having some cucumber. They're still not super stoked about being picked up or touched by me, but they aren't skittish otherwise and have good temperaments. It's hard not to want to cuddle such cute balls of fluff, but they say "no thanks I am a prey please put me down now" after a couple of minutes. Should I do more with them or keep taking it slow?

I have been bad about weighing them enough, but their growth has been so rapid and obvious to the naked eye that I've gotten away with it so far. But today I'm going to make an excel chart for keeping track of everyone's weight, instead of just scribbling it down on random papers which I then lose. 😅 The random scribbles/just remember it in my head method worked okay for 4 pigs but it's not going to fly with 17.

Finally feeling a bit better today myself, I've been quite under the weather with what turned out to be thrush. I thought only babies got oral thrush, and I had no idea it could knock you out and leave you sick in bed. Anyway, it is very painful and I do not reccomend it to anyone of any age. I'd rather have a migraine.
 

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What beautiful colouring. Most of my hanging out with piggies is sitting by the cage and chatting to them and patting them. I often have fabric pinned over the cage so they feel safe. Then they can come and go as they please. I even bought a chair at exactly c and c cage on a grid base level, for this purpose 😊
Good luck with the big decision!
 
Featheryfriend said:
Finally feeling a bit better today myself, I've been quite under the weather with what turned out to be thrush. I thought only babies got oral thrush, and I had no idea it could knock you out and leave you sick in bed. Anyway, it is very painful and I do not reccomend it to anyone of any age. I'd rather have a migraine.
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Oral thrush is not pleasant. I had it when I was about 14 or 15. I felt awful but I still had to go to school! Pleased you're feeling a bit better now.
 
Black piggies said:
What beautiful colouring. Most of my hanging out with piggies is sitting by the cage and chatting to them and patting them. I often have fabric pinned over the cage so they feel safe. Then they can come and go as they please. I even bought a chair at exactly c and c cage on a grid base level, for this purpose 😊
Good luck with the big decision!
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I too enjoy just sitting and having chats with them. ☺😊🥰 They are great listeners, haha. And I like softly booping their little noses. Juniper always runs up and sticks her snout out for two or three boops. 😂
 
I got oral thrush with my first asthma inhaler - darn steroids! I always associated 'thrush' with unpleasant white fungus-y looking stuff, but what I actually got was a progressively sore mouth that I didn't pinpoint for ages until I realised I was wincing with every mouthful of tea. Changed inhalers pronto - can't do without tea!
 
Free Ranger said:
I got oral thrush with my first asthma inhaler - darn steroids! I always associated 'thrush' with unpleasant white fungus-y looking stuff, but what I actually got was a progressively sore mouth that I didn't pinpoint for ages until I realised I was wincing with every mouthful of tea. Changed inhalers pronto - can't do without tea!
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That's what happened here as well. I thought I had a virus of some kind for days because it didn't look very thrushy, figured I would get over it but instead my mouth got sorer and sorer until I couldn't even drink soymilk without it tasting like lava.

Inhalers kinda bite, I mean I like being able to breath, but mine always makes me feel like crap for a couple hours after using it.
 
I felt like Sylvie has been looking a little potbellied recently so I asked her previous human for more details about when she was separated from Clover.

Apparently he was removed about 15 minutes *after* the birth took place. I'm assuming it was a surprise. From what I'm reading, it's not likely she went into season quite that quickly (Guinealynx says 2+ hours) but better safe than sorry. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning for a check. Will they be able to tell me definitively if she is pregnant or not?

It's probably just belly pooch from her previous pregnancy and a good appetite, but I'm paranoid. I'd be pleased to have babies but I'd hate for anything bad to happen to Sylvie.
 
Yay, Sylvie is baby-free! No babies! She also passed her checkup with flying colors. She does have some calluses on her feet that could be trimmed off but nothing too bad.

The doctor was able to tell confidently just by palpating her abdomen. Apparently she's had a lot of experience doing that so that's cool I didn't have to pay for a scan.
 
I’ve just caught up with your thread. What a rollercoaster of an adventure. Hope the situation with your landlords is soon resolved.
 
VickiA said:
I’ve just caught up with your thread. What a rollercoaster of an adventure. Hope the situation with your landlords is soon resolved.
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Thank you! I'm optimistic that they will be unable to find any way to wriggle out of it.

There is no shortage of action with this many piggies! 😂
 
Featheryfriend said:
Well, looks like we're going on a legal journey. They've pointed to a clause in the lease that basically says they have final say and discretion over anything and can do what they want blah blah blah. (This is upper management, leasing office originally thought I was fine.) They're saying no more than 1 guinea, har har har. So the recent additions are immaterial, even my original four would have been a breach according to their ruling.

My current plan of action is to get in to see my nurse practitioner and ask to have them prescribed as an emotional support herd. There is apparently no legal limit of the number of ESAs one can have and I have numerous mental and physical health conditions including PTSD (sorry not trying to be TMI for the guinea pig forum.) These little guys do so much for me and I'm not going to go anywhere without them.

This is all very stupid. 🙄 I hate apartments man. They're clean and maintained and pose no threat of damage to the unit, they're caged or penned at all times, it shouldn't really be any of their business. It's not at all like having 17 cats or dogs in an apartment.

I guess landlords can rule as they please though. If I have to move I will.
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So sorry to hear you're dealing with all of this. I know what you mean about guinea pigs being ESA's. We haven't yet taken the time to get ours officially qualified, but they definitely provide much needed emotional support in our home. Hope this all works out for you!
 
Hope4gem said:
So sorry to hear you're dealing with all of this. I know what you mean about guinea pigs being ESA's. We haven't yet taken the time to get ours officially qualified, but they definitely provide much needed emotional support in our home. Hope this all works out for you!
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Thank you! I'm glad your piggies support you. 💛💛💛 They are very therapeutic IMHO. Just gotta get them to see it my way.
 
Whew okay things are moving along. I got a call from the office yesterday and they would like to come inspect the guinea pigs to "get an idea of how this would work." Sounds promising I think.

They wanted to come today, but Sassafras is in for her spay surgery and I don't know exactly when I will have to leave to pick her up. Plus I'm already a bundle of nerves hoping for her surgery to go well. So I asked them to come tomorrow afternoon.

In the meantime I'm scouring the apartment for every stray bit of hay and tidying all their stored gear. It's also fleece washing time again anyway so I'm doing that too.

I'm thankful the vet was so reassuring, it was hard to leave Sassafras there. She obviously knows her way around a guinea pig and cares for them very much. She not only tells me everything I need to know, but also informs the guinea pig directly of everything that's going on in a squeaky cartoon voice. 😂 I appreciate those who talk to animals like they're small people.
 
That sounds encouraging that they want to come round and check on your piggies. That way they gain an understanding if they don't have one.

Your vet sounds like mine. My vet apologises when she has to look at their "bits" and says that she knows she is a naughty vet!😂
 
Sassafras's surgery went perfectly, and she has already resumed eating a bit and pooping normally. 😄 She takes her Meloxicam very politely, she's a drugged little potato in her pigloo. Her incision looks really minimal and tidy as well.

Interestingly they did not actually find a distinct ovarian cyst or tumor like they were expecting based on the external exam, but her girl parts were abnormal and angry and certainly needed to go. They said I could send off for a biopsy to look for an exact explanation but the vet said it was quite optional and that she expected her do well from now on, so I decided to keep my money for other vet bills.

The inspection will be any time now, I told them they could pop by as soon as it was convenient for them. I have moved all the pigs to the living room, it was time anyway but I didn't want to give the impression of being a crazy person with pigs in every room. They are nice and compact in their stacked C&C at the moment. I have Sassafras siting in a travel cage on top of the hay bin alongside her herd. I laundered their fleece and vacuumed the whole place to make sure there was no stray hay. I also put cinnamon sticks and cloves in some boiling water on the stove so it smells extra nice in here. I sent my dog to my mom's place so he can't be a nuisance. I hope I'm not forgetting anything.
 

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