Mikatelyn's Piggies

@AidaB It is! Lol, good eyes! Yes, they both decided that they had their fill of spring mix. But it wasn't enough and they wanted more of something else! They are quite the spoiled piggies, I believe. I did cave to their combined powers of cuteness and got them some cilantro and parsley, but then I drew the line there!
 
Did I grow a bunch of grass in my garden barrels so my picky eater elderly piggy would eat more calories and I don't trust that grass from other people's yards don't have pesticides or dog pee? Maybe I did. Crazy guinea pig lady you say? You say that like it's a bad thing! 😂17385261196440.webp
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My sweet, spunky Bandit joined Bolt (PTS 12/2/2023 for massive tumors) and Bunker (passed 1/8/2025 in the immediate post op period after bladder surgery) at the rainbow bridge today.😭😭😭 He was just a few days shy of 4 years 9 months old. He had multiple medical issues that we were managing, and today he lost interest in eating, so we knew it was time to go to the vet and ease his journey.
He was so full of personality all the way to the end. Just the other day he came up to the front of the pen when I had the gates to both his and Blaze's pens open. He ate a bunch of veggies, started wandering away when he was full. BUT THEN he got a gleam in his eye and came sauntering back like he was going for more veggies, then SPRINTED right past Blaze into Blaze's enclosure! Lol. His biggest goal in life was just to mess with the other piggy in his life. I'm glad that he had Blaze as a neighbor for the past month and a half.

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Bandit getting a bath after getting ringworm from the stress losing Bunker and failed bonding attempt with Blaze. Poor fella. Still such an adorable hairdo even when sopping wet.

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This photo is one of my favorites of Bandit. It took about 15 minutes of coaxing him to put his head through the costume, while videoing. After all that, I got about 1 frame that was more or less clear, and this was it!

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From the same photo shoot. Bolt and Bandit looking like they are conspiring to eat the set props.

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Bandit's last photo shoot with Bunker for holiday photos. We put a green screen in the back for easy photoshopping.

My sweet piggies, you were all such good boys. Momma loves you. Sleep well.
 
I am so sorry for your loss of Bandit & Bunker.

Sweet dreams handsome boys, together now with Bolt.🌈
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. They will all be causing mischief together over the bridge. ❤️
 
So sorry to read of your loss. They had a great life and will be popcorning together over the bridge. Treasure those precious memories
RIP little ones 🌈
 
I debated returning Blaze to the humane society vs getting a new piggy and continuing the piggy cycle.

I just couldn't return Blaze. The thought of no piggies at all was so much worse than the heartache that comes from losing them!
So.... Here's my newest fur baby!


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I just got him home a half hour ago. He has remained absolutely frozen in place this entire time, doing his best imitation of a statue. I think this is normal? Bunker and Blaze were both more lively than this, but I seem to recall when I got Bandit and Bolt as 2 months old babies they also did this.
The new piggy is best guess maybe 5 months old. Are babies more prone to doing the freezing thing? I'm trying not to get paranoid that this means he's sick. He's another rescue, off of Craigslist this time. A little girl got him from Petco, has had him for 1.5 months and I'm guessing couldn't handle the responsibility. He's been solo that whole time, poor baby.

Ah ha! He finally couldn't resist the lettuce under his nose and started nibbling just now. Now to come up with a name that goes well with Blaze. Any suggestions? I was thinking Blitz, but so far that doesn't match his personality at all.
 
Eating is a good sign. I think freezing is his way of taking stock. I think he will be a very curious, sociable piggy once he has learned everything is alright ❤️
 
Jamie was exactely the same. He did eat during the night or when I was out (of the flat, not only the room). Apart from that he was frozen most of the time. He stayed frozen during the first part of the bonding session as well. It took my sweetheart Vicky to get him out of his freeze. She just laid down in front of him, nearly touching noses and waited.
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So just be patient, leave him alone at first so that he can eat and only check for poops once in a while. Put food and water next to his favorite hidey.
I always found that boars are more anxious on their own but I have got friends whose females were just as anxious at first
 
The statue has come to life!
He's still prone to freezes, but he's eating and scurrying from hide to hide in little flurries of activity now. I've decided to name him Blizz, which according to a Google dictionary I've never heard of, means a sudden, intense, brief snowstorm. I got him in the middle of a storm (ok, 50F and drizzling, but for a Phoenician that's a lot of inclement weather!) and his coloring reminds me of when snow is starting to cover the ground. Urban dictionary (dictionary for slang words) says Blizz can also mean someone who is hyper, or it could be a synonym for a marijuana joint. Well, I guess guinea pigs are my entertainment drug of choice, so I guess I'll just go with it, lol.

Here's Blizz!
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@Viennese Furbabies I love that story! Animals are so amazing! How long after get jamie did you decide to bond them? I'm trying to decide if it would be more stressful to Blizz to introduce early to Blaze, or better to let him settle side by side for a couple of weeks before attempting to bond. The little girl said he'd been at the pet store for a couple of months before she got him, and she had him for 1.5 months. So she thought he could be anywhere from 5-7 months old, and kept solo when she had him. So poor baby might not have any social skills. Although Blaze's background is completely unknown since he was found in a cardboard box at the AZ humane society, so we could have 2 completely socially awkward piggies for all i know😆
 
It's different if you bond boars or introduce one boar to girls. In Jamie's case I started the bonding shortly after he moved in. But I knew that he came from a person who is reliable and knows her way around piggies. So I was confident that Jamie was healthy after a very short time. There is always a risk if you skip quaranty time.
Since I have always had mixed groups or girl groups, I don't have first hand experience with bonding boars.
But I'm sure someone else with boar bonding experience will be able to advice you.
 
Blizz is settling nicely! Weight is stable at 878g from yesterday morning, and he was calm enough to eat most of that piece of bellpepper during laptime this morning!
I've been trying to make sure he can see Blaze when Blaze comes for treats so he knows it's safe. Bandit was able to teach Blaze to come when called (I make a kissy noise) and I'm hoping Blaze will teach Blizz.
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At the risk of too much piggy spam, I feel the need to gush a bit about Blizz. He's made so much progress in the last 36 hours since I got him!
He came to the front of the pen for treats this morning! I let him and Blaze sniff at each other then closed the gates again. My strategy this time is to let them be comfortable with each other as neighbors first, let Blizz get settled in, and THEN when nobody is stressed from a big move or recent bereavement, try to bond them
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Blizz started wheeking for treats! So of course I had to oblige. I mean, how could I turn down his very first request, right?
So I had Blaze and Blizz both in the interaction area, and if they got too curious about each other I put my hand in front of their noses. Blaze did a little rumbling if Blizz sniffed him too much, which gave Blizz the idea of doing a full rumblestrut. Then he was so proud of himself that he immediately popcorned away, then came running back to eat more spring mix. Every once in a while he'd sniff Blaze some more, then popcorn away to do a zoomie around his pen and come back to eat more. I think he might be super happy to see another piggy again!
 
There is no such thing as too much piggie spam.

Welcome handsome Blizz, looks like you are settling into your new home. 🥰
 
Training Blizz to walk out onto my lap. Their pen is raised 18 inches. I pull my chair up next to them and roll out the red carpet for them!
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Blaze's turn.
Blizz: "Hey! I want more treats!"
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They are definitely interested in having a full meeting!
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Blizz is showing signs he might be the dominant one! (Or at least HE thinks he is)
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