The Goblin Diaries (previously Quitting Smoking)

Upside - Mourne took a chin rub from me, once he stopped trying to work out if my fingers were food anyway.

Downside - he's been screaming every few seconds all night. He's not ill. Nothing's wrong. It's like having Cam back all over again. I'm grateful he's downstairs and not sharing a wall with the baby like the old cage was 🙉
 
Oh, Bann.

Bann has spent all day flitting between two beds. He is always in the same bed as the last time I went downstairs, unless he's going to be fed, in which case he's always in the other bed. So I'll go in, toss food in, panic when he doesn't come looking...and then I realise he's on the other side of the cage.

Because that's all I need, a heart attack waiting to happen lol. I should know because Mourne likes to eat near Bann, so he's at the right bit of the cage when I'm not. He's not guarding, to be clear, he just wants to share his food. And make noise.

Speaking of Mourne, he did the Death Nap earlier. In the middle of the cage, pancaked out on his right side, left back paw hanging loose, eyes shut tight, and did you know it's really hard to see if a black pig is breathing when you're looking at him through black cage bars? Well it is. It really is. And he didn't appreciate my waking him up by going too close. I was trying to be discreet. But at least I knew he was alive!
 
Also, Bann has a favourite bed, and it's got some light green fleecy bits that get really filthy. I don't even know how he manages it. Usually the goblin stuff is washed in Persil (non bio) but I used the Ariel (my normal bio detergent) today because it was that bad, and as a one off it's no great harm.

So I washed it. I let it dry. I put his nice warm Snugglesafe in the base and covered it with an also-just-washed fleece pad and gave itto him tonight. And the cheeky git climbed up into it, left his bum hanging over the edge for an extra half a second, and took a wee. Right there. On his nice clean bed.

It's deliberate. I know it is.
 
Roselina said:
Mourne was trying to get your attention Lorcan ! And it worked ……Bann’s mischief is rubbing off onto Mourne 😂
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In the bright side, Mourne's been very quiet recently - but I don't know if that's because he's been taking lessons from Bann or (and this is more likely) he did actually wheek himself hoarse the other night.
 
Lorcan said:
Also, Bann has a favourite bed, and it's got some light green fleecy bits that get really filthy. I don't even know how he manages it. Usually the goblin stuff is washed in Persil (non bio) but I used the Ariel (my normal bio detergent) today because it was that bad, and as a one off it's no great harm.

So I washed it. I let it dry. I put his nice warm Snugglesafe in the base and covered it with an also-just-washed fleece pad and gave itto him tonight. And the cheeky git climbed up into it, left his bum hanging over the edge for an extra half a second, and took a wee. Right there. On his nice clean bed.

It's deliberate. I know it is.
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You took away his wonderful boar scented bed and replaced it with a boring one.....🤣
 
Lessons for today:

  1. Mourne doesn't think lettuce is actually food. He likes it sand all but can't seem to understand why I'm feeding it to him. He'd prefer cucumber. Cucumber is the best. Not lettuce.
  2. He's lost Bann somehow. I changed Bann's bed so I can out his usual one in the wash tomorrow without having to fight over it, so now he's in a bed with a roof that has his Snugglesafe in the base. Mourne can't work this out. It was hard not to laugh.
  3. Mourne did a very cute thing where he was gnawing on the bars continually until he realised I had food and did this adorable "oooh food" head snap round to eat it.
  4. But it was lettuce. He wasn't really impressed.
  5. I had visitors today. Like good little goblins at least one of my visitors was apparently in love and all they had to do was stand there and eat and watch.
  6. Bann and his shark teeth tried to gnaw my finger off to get marigolds. Gentle sniff, gentle sniff, CHOMP.
  7. Bann can't really hear very well, I doubt his eyesight is up to much, and his nose has never quite worked okay. But the very minute oats come near the cage, he knows. All hail the oats!
  8. Why won't Bann eat softer hay?! For my benefit wee man, please. Please? Meadow hay can't be that bad, can it?
  9. Mourne fell asleep in a bed earlier which is most unlike him. He prefers to sleep in hay, another reason I wish Bann would eat softer hay lol.
  10. It's been a long day and the Human is tired and the baby he shares a bedroom wall with is not a happy camper. Poor mite. And poor parents of the poor mite because he's not been sleeping well recently and I can only imagine how little rest they're getting.
 
Roselina said:
That’s a lot of lessons …..😂
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I know! But there's nothing quite like watching Mourne try to work out what black hole of a bed Bann disappeared into. He was still in it this morning even, although I came downstairs at 10am and the temp had dropped to 17°, so that is probably why. It's definitely why the heating is on, though.
 
Lorcan said:
I know! But there's nothing quite like watching Mourne try to work out what black hole of a bed Bann disappeared into. He was still in it this morning even, although I came downstairs at 10am and the temp had dropped to 17°, so that is probably why. It's definitely why the heating is on, though.
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Hopefully your house is nice and cosy with the new windows etc 🥰
 
"Hi."
(chatter)
"You good?"
(more chatter)
"You want something?"
(interested chatter)
"Is that something food?"
(loud excited chatter)
"Cucumber it is, then."

...and all hell breaks loose because cucumber is Mourne's favourite food. He even got Bann out of bed looking for food and that's a rare enough sight these days 😂 oh, Mourne, whatever will I do with you.
 
Bann's eye is looking a little white again. The cleaning fluid is just kind of...sitting there.

But it's not all bad news. Bann shrieked at me. He knows the sound of the treat tub opening but apparently wasn't satisfied with said treat so he kept climbing over things (and failing, because that's how cardboard trays are) and so I offered him some oats. There's something incredibly adorable about guinea pigs eating oats from your outstretched hand, and managing to avoid being gnawed on helps too. Mmm. Oats.
 
Lorcan said:
Still overdoing it on the cleaning fluid and/or it's not draining properly, but no ulcers or haypoke, and no further sign of the previous abscess, thankfully.
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Ah that’s good no ulcers/haypoke/abscess …..we know how Bann loves to live dangerously 🥰
 
Yeah, I finally sat down to attempt bonding earlier, and it was over very quickly. I love Mourne, but the lad's no sense in his head and he cannot take a hint, and Bann turned on him. It was brief, no blood was drawn, Bann stopped as soon as he got Mourne off him and they separated, I grabbed Mourne at that point. He almost seemed confused, I don't think he expected Mourne Bann to turn on him.

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90 minutes later. They can stay neighbours, Mourne's back to making a noisy nuisance of himself and Bann's back to ignoring him. My legs are killing me though, lol.
 
Lorcan said:
Yeah, I finally sat down to attempt bonding earlier, and it was over very quickly. I love Mourne, but the lad's no sense in his head and he cannot take a hint, and Bann turned on him. It was brief, no blood was drawn, Bann stopped as soon as he got Mourne off him and they separated, I grabbed Mourne at that point. He almost seemed confused, I don't think he expected Mourne Bann to turn on him.

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90 minutes later. They can stay neighbours, Mourne's back to making a noisy nuisance of himself and Bann's back to ignoring him. My legs are killing me though, lol.
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Sorry it didn’t work out, but they will be fine as neighbours
 
Mourne might settle when he gets himself past the teenager phase but realistically, I'm probably aiming to neuter him for after Bann's gone. I'm not bringing a sow in before then but at least the six week period would probably be over or close to it.

Now I'm just hoping Bann's favourite bed is dry before tonight. I don't know how well Bann will take it if he can't have his favourite bed back tonight too, lol.

And I should probably take the coffee table back out of the kitchen.
 
piggieminder said:
What is Banns favourite bed like. I have a stack of the Fuzzbutts hideys here which are looking for new homes, I only have my 2 oldies to use them now. Would be happy to send Bann 1 or 2 if he would use them.
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It's a cuddle cup @Bill & Ted made - originally a pair til either he or Cam ate a chunk of the cotton outer lining of the other one (how it was managed, I never found out lol). You can fit a Snugglesafe in the base and with a cloth or pad on top of it, it's a nice soft and warm bed!

And it gets filthy really quickly, it's in the wash every couple of days. I've put the Snugglesafe in under beds or whatever but it's that cuddle cup he loves.
 
That's a shame, I don't have any cuddle cups. I seem to have a pack of piggies now who don't like fleece beds. I've gone back to mostly using the wooden houses I had for Spike and Peanut who went off of them. Fussy fickle creatures these piggies.
 
Mourne's iffy on beds. Occasionally he'll sleep in one, but he prefers standing on them instead. I think he thinks it'll help him escape the cage but he forgets, they're not rigid. The rigid stuff stays under the roof grids so he can't use them to escape, he thinks I don't know he's tried. 😂

But Bann likes his beds, part of being a skinny. Mourne would rather sleep in the hay. Dunno what he'll do tonight when there's not enough hay for that to work lol.

When I was at the Potteries fair the other week I bought a couple of really soft fleece pads and when one of them is draped over the cuddle cup I swear he just...melts into it.
 
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