The Pigglingtons

I'm being very lazy recently, I really need to get out to walk like I used to. I'm hoping giving my foot a rest for a few weeks will repair my toe and ligaments but it seems to be getting worse rather than better.
 
Red gave me a scare this evening. I heard a commotion across the room and looked up to see him on his back with his legs waving about like mad where he was trying to right himself. By the time I got to him he was back on his feet. He seems fine and after a quiet spell in his hidey he's had his veg so I can only guess he had a scratch and toppled over. My first thought was he was having a fit/stroke/heart attack but that's me, think the worst until I've taken a deep breath. Standing on 3 legs is difficult for him now, his arthritis is making his legs stiff at times! Poor old boy was 6 end of January beginning of February, he's beginning to look his age.

We finished a course of Ivermectin for Mange Mites yesterday and the cages have been deep cleaned, so fingers crossed that's it. We caught it very early. Duck was the only one to really show symptoms and the fur on his back for his half V has grown in again.

Never a dull moment with guinea pigs!
 
piggieminder said:
Red gave me a scare this evening. I heard a commotion across the room and looked up to see him on his back with his legs waving about like mad where he was trying to right himself. By the time I got to him he was back on his feet. He seems fine and after a quiet spell in his hidey he's had his veg so I can only guess he had a scratch and toppled over. My first thought was he was having a fit/stroke/heart attack but that's me, think the worst until I've taken a deep breath. Standing on 3 legs is difficult for him now, his arthritis is making his legs stiff at times! Poor old boy was 6 end of January beginning of February, he's beginning to look his age.

We finished a course of Ivermectin for Mange Mites yesterday and the cages have been deep cleaned, so fingers crossed that's it. We caught it very early. Duck was the only one to really show symptoms and the fur on his back for his half V has grown in again.

Never a dull moment with guinea pigs!
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Falling over and struggling to get up again is not uncommon in arthritic oldies. Glad that Red was able to right himself again.
 
Red is his usual self. He's biting the bars and demanding food every time I move! I have watched him have a scratch this morning he is wobbly but managing to stay upright.

Brillo is doing some very noisy breathing. I'm hoping it's a bit of dust or hay stuck somewhere it shouldn't be. I've got the Bisolven ready if he doesn't stop soon just in case. The vet did say he may need it from time to time after his nasty infection. He will be paying the vets a visit if he's not better soon, we have them on speed dial and will soon qualify for our own parking space.
 
Posyrose said:
Great to hear that he's his usual self. One of my previous pigs had noisy breathing once in a while. After a few dashes to the vet, I learned it usually got better by itself after a few hours. These piggies like to keep their slaves on their toes!
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It's payback time. I had the cheek to go away for 5 days and enjoy myself.
It's not like they were abandoned completely, the other hooman spoils them! They ignore me for a day or two when I get back and plot to get me worried I think.
 
piggieminder said:
It's payback time. I had the cheek to go away for 5 days and enjoy myself.
It's not like they were abandoned completely, the other hooman spoils them! They ignore me for a day or two when I get back and plot to get me worried I think.
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I get the silent treatment after I've had the cheek to give them a holiday at the boarders
 
Oh poor Red getting stuck on his back. Good to hear he’s ok today.
Hopefully Brillo’s noisy breathing will clear itself. Even after several years of listening to Iris honking, hooting and wheezing after she’s been in the hay it still turns my blood cold. She sees to have narrow airways so often makes noise that would result in any others being whisked away to see the vet. Here’s hoping that Brillo is the same 🤞🏻🤞🏻
 
The vet did warn me Brillo might suffer like this after his infection in 2022. He did it a lot for a while after but hasn't done it for such a long time I'd hoped the narrow airways had solved themselves! The vet put a new sachet of Bisolven on his last prescription for Metacam as she said not to use the old one we had if we needed it. Maybe she detected something!? He's stopped now anyway so fingers crossed he won't do it again for a while.
 
Red's not had a reoccurrence of his falling over thank goodness. He is his usual loud boss the room self.

Freddie has surprised me the last two weeks. He has started mounting Timmy and is not putting up with Timmy's bossy behaviour. I never thought I'd see this from sweet affable Freddie but it's like he's said enough is enough. I just hope they don't ramp it up a level and fall out, I don't have room for anymore singles. At the moment it's mild dominance and Timmy is backing down, probably through shock!
 
I didn't explain Bertie is making himself a tent out of the newspaper his hay is supposed to be sitting on. I gave up putting his hay on mats as he just digs underneath to get at the paper, he has some kind of obsession with it. Forget the cupboard of expensive fleece and wooden hides, Bertie prefers newspaper!
 
Lorcan said:
The goblins love paper too. I usually use packing paper (thanks Amazon!) but they'd probably love newspaper if I ever had some to give them.
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We use packing paper too, what ever looks safe really. Timmy and Freddie have a brown paper tunnel from a parcel delivery at the moment, it's noisy and great fun! I am lucky that we have lots of free papers in Bristol. My OH goes off on his bike most days and does a tour of the city to collect papers to line cages. I remove the staples to make sure they are safe. Ducky will only wee on hay and paper so we get through a lot. I also use it to line cardboard boxes before stuffing them with hay.
 
piggieminder said:
I didn't explain Bertie is making himself a tent out of the newspaper his hay is supposed to be sitting on. I gave up putting his hay on mats as he just digs underneath to get at the paper, he has some kind of obsession with it. Forget the cupboard of expensive fleece and wooden hides, Bertie prefers newspaper!
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Quick update.
Freddie and Timmy are still very shy. Timmy particularly doesn't like being looked at and will run and hide if I make eye contact!

Bertie is still awkward and likes to do the unexpected!

Duck's former humans came for a visit last week. They were very glad to see him, they said it put their minds at rest that he was happy in his new home. They were particularly pleased to see the size of his cage.

Brillo is starting to show his age and is sleeping a lot more.

Red had his 6 month health check today. He hates going to the vet but I think he enjoyed himself getting revenge once he got out of the carrier onto the table. I was stroking him and he nipped me which isn't something he's done before, Brillo is the nipper. When the vet checked his teeth he managed to unscrew her gadget (don't know the technical name!) from it's handle and bite down on the end, he refused to give it back like he does with the syringes. His arthritis is a little bit worse but overall he is doing well and is still bright and very lively for his age. The vet thinks it's time to add in Gabapentin to the meds mix on a permanent basis. He's a little devil to take that so I'm going to have a bit more of a fight getting his daily meds into him, no more coming up to the bars to take them. Sorry Red.
 
Today we had a pulling a funny/cute/grumpy face competition. I leave you to decide which category each piggy is aiming for!IMG_1647.webpBertie
IMG_1641.webpBrillo

IMG_1640.webpRed

IMG_1632.webpTimmy

IMG_1644.webpDuck

IMG_1633.webpDuck wanted to give an opinion on having his photo taken!

Freddie refused to take part at all and hid in the back of a hidey and refused to come out.
 
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