[Gpdd] [ANNOUNCEMENT] New additions - now, with pigtures!

Janna Willard janna.willard at gmail.com
Wed Jan 4 21:16:55 EST 2012


Thanks for the links, Penny, I read through them and I will definitely not
take it as a failure on my part if the boys don't get on well enough to
live all together. I'm sure Batman will be happy enough if he can chat
through the cage bars. I just hope they can at least play together during
floor time, since it would be more fun for all of us that way! :)

I have been looking for a new companion for Batman since Guido died so
suddenly in September, and until now most people have been looking to
rehome females. So many people also have pairs. And when I met Bubble and
Squeak and felt how long Squeak`s toenails were, I knew I had to bring them
home with me - if nothing else, at least their nails will be kept properly
trimmed!

I trimmed both boys' nails last night, and they didn't enjoy it much, but
nobody bled (a triumph, if you ask me, given that they're both black) and
I'm sure they're both much more comfortable now. The outer nail on Squeak's
left paw had actually grown up around the toe next to it - that spiral was
interesting to trim. I was lucky that it hadn't spiralled all the way
around the toe yet, and doubly lucky that it had gone *around* the toe and
not *through* it (that would have been for the vet, to be sure). His back
toenails were perfectly awful. I have before and after photos, plus a shot
of the length that I snipped off, up on Flickr now. You can check out the
new boys (and the old) at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karalianne/sets/72157627301802676/.

I noticed, during the operation last night, that Squeak has a bit of
matting around his rear. They seem very clean boys, and their fur isn't too
long just yet, but the matting does concern me. It can't be comfortable for
him. Has anyone here got vast amounts of experience with grooming pet-grade
Peruvians? I have never had a pure Peruvian before, and it seems that's
what these two are. I would like to ensure that their hair is kept
properly, so that they can continue to be happy and healthy and comfortable!

How funny to go most of my life (25 years I've been keeping guinea pigs as
pets) with all either abyssinaians or smooth-coated (or some combination of
the two), some with longer hair than others, and then suddenly find myself
with a teddy and a pair of Peruvians for the first time ever! (Speaking of
grooming, is there anything special I should know about my Batman and his
teddy hair? I've not read anything in particular, but I was never really
looking before.)

Oh, a VERY important note about the pigtures. You will probably notice that
Bubble and Squeak are housed together in a "large" cage that is really
rather too small for two guinea pigs. This is unfortunate, but it is the
cage they were living in at their former home and I don't want to change
too much all at once. I also don't want to separate them suddenly, though I
of course have plenty of "large" cages about and could do so without any
problems. When quarantine is up, I'm going to set about building a proper
C&C cage that goes above the size recommendations for three, so that it's
easy to split things up if they can't all live together and affords plenty
of space if they can. My primary concern with the C&C cage is building a
strong enough top that I won't have to worry about the cat (and,
eventually, the dog, as we do intend to get a mastiff at some point). I
will post about that when I have figured out the dimensions of the cage.

-Janna, Batman, Bubble, and Squeak, and Juniper (the husband) and Roy (the
cat)

"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be
normal." Albert Camus
"I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble." Karen
Cushman



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