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Artcasper's Herd....

artcasper

*Rescue Buddy*
Senior Guinea Pig
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So having been a member for a few years now, I thought I would start a thread about my piggies..

I will start with my first 2 ... The lovely Gladys & Pippin... My daughter asked for a hamster after her goldfish died.. I wasn't keen on a hamster so I started looking at what would be suitable and I decided on Guinea Pigs..

We collected them in May 2015 and so it began.... They lived in a box for a few days until we got the hutch set up perfectly. The other half added some height to it so it was off the floor.. I would sit and talk to them for a few hours so they got to know my voice.

They were in the hutch for a while and then I decided keeping them inside would be less stressful - for me! I was worried about heat stroke, rats, foxes and the rain!

Here comes the C&C... Luckily I can sew so made lots of nice fleece liners.. They were so tiny and very good at cuddle time. I would put a blanket on the floor at night and they would not step off it :lol!: although one time one got spooked and hid under the table and it took a while to get her out.....

We had no real problems with them, one bad spell of ringworm when we first got them..

Gladys became poorly all of a sudden one night in April 2019 - 2 weeks before our holiday to Dubai. She had what looked like a stroke, she couldn't walk, went all wobbly and had no balance. Rushed her to the vets within 10 mins and by that time she looked almost normal. The vet thought she had an ear infection so we treated for that and had a 2 week course... She was acting normal the next day... Whilst we were on holiday my parents house sat and looked after the pigs, we got regular updates. We returned home and about a week later, a large lump came up on Gladys head above her eye. Got her into the vets and they did an X-ray which sadly showed she had a large tumour 😢 they said they wouldn't be able to remove it due to where it was so we had to make the heart making decision to have her put to sleep. We went as a family to say our goodbyes ... She is buried in our garden in her favourite pink blanket..

I will add pictures soon and then move onto the next chapter... x
 
Piggie lips alert! 🥰🥰

What beautiful piggies. Were they named after Lynda Baron's character Nurse Gladys in Open All Hours, and her dog Pippin in "Come Outside"?

So sorry you lost Gladys :(
 
Piggie lips alert! 🥰🥰

What beautiful piggies. Were they named after Lynda Baron's character Nurse Gladys in Open All Hours, and her dog Pippin in "Come Outside"?

So sorry you lost Gladys :(
Yes she was! Gladys was my son's piggy and he often sat watching Open all Hours with his grandad so i said to him choose a name and he came out with it! We loved it from the start! They did watch ' come outside ' too lol!
 
When we brought Gladys back from the vets, I wanted to show Pippin her body so she knew her sister was gone. It was such a sweet moment as Pippin went over and nudged her and then licked her face..... Gosh the tears did flow...

So, Pippin needed a friend! I made contact with Cavy Corner who I knew were a reputable rescue and who I followed on Social media. A date was arranged and off she went to choose a friend.. lets say she was a bit picky and rejected a few potential friends until she picked Winny .... We bought Winny and Pippin home on the 12th May 2019.

Winny was like a ball of black and white fluff and you could not see her back end for the mass of floofiness

Well Winny was a bit younger than Pippin and I did get the impression from Pippin that she wasn't entirely sure about this youngster :whistle: It did take them quite some time to settle together - and we had some squabbles thats for sure but they soon sorted it out!

Here are the first few pictures of them together.20190813_134658.jpgIMG_20190512_230105_745.jpg
 
They had 7 months together until Pippin became poorly just 2 days before Christmas 2019. She stopped eating all of a sudden, very unusual for her. We took her to the vets on the Monday, he wasn't sure, she had pain meds and I was to syringe feed her. Gosh it was so hard, she started off ok taking some but slowly I could see she wasn't having any of it. I got up every few hours through the night to try... We went back to the vets on the Tuesday and she wasn't showing any signs of improvement and sadly on Christmas morning at about 6am she really took a turn for the worse. We went to the out of hours vets at 7am, I held her close to me all the way. We wanted to end her suffering and the vet agreed that starting aggressive treatment might not work. So we made the decision to help her over the rainbow bridge. The vet was lovely and very kind. The children didn't want to see her little body, they wanted to remember her as she was.

I placed her in the cage with Winny who wasn't quite as considerate and literally ran over her little body... which I was mortified at!

We wrapped her in her favourite blanket too and she was placed in the same grave with Gladys - Together forever.

Here are some of my fav pics of Pippin :luv:
 
Wow Winny is very floofy but so so so gorgeous 🥰😍
I’m so sorry you lost Pippin but glad she got to be reunited with Gladys over the rainbow bridge❤️
 
So Christmas day 2019 was very sad for us...... I was heartbroken again and felt like a failure ... We will never know what caused her to be poorly, just one of things that comes with owning piggies I guess...

I was very upset and was convinced I couldn't take it anymore, I would take Winny back to the rescue and thats it - no more piggies...
Winny was very quiet, I gave her lots of attention and told her I was sorry.... Fast forward a week and she wheeked at me for her dinner - her first sound in a week - i burst into tears (again) and thought How can I send you away.... Her little face .....

So Winny needed a friend......... So once again I contacted Cavy Corner..... and off Winny went!
 
Top photo we have all 3 of them together. Then we have Daisy - very similar to Winny and I still get their names mixed up when I am rushing! Then we have Brownie - nick named Frownie as she is the most vocal and mardy when dinner doesn't arrive!

Their cage was upgraded before they came home to live with us, January 11th 2020, so they live in a 7 x 2 C&C... They have 3 hay trays so no falling out !20200304_191718.jpg
 
So that's where we are now!

Winny is defo top pig - she is very territorial about her corner and her box! She has had a bit of a haircut recently and she is actually smaller when you smooth all her fur down but she looks larger. She has the sweetest little face and even though we have had her the longest she is the most timid. Always hides under a box and is the last the venture out. Loves the carrot cottage and every night has a good nibble at it. Always the last to go to bed, i.e last to get in the fleece house for transportation to bed! Happy to be held and always tried to climb back to me if I stand her on the table for a check..

Daisy is the most easy going, and the only one that lets me stroke her in the cage. She has punk rocker hair.. She loves to nap in the hay and drinks at night like she has never drunk in her life! She has a dodgy toenail which freaks me out ..... her coat is soft and shiny and since her lockdown haircut she looks like she is wearing a pair of trousers 😂 She likes a cuddle and gives a little headbut once she has had enough..

Brownie - Frownie.... Hates to be held, always tries to escape.. The loudest in the group, always shouts for her dinner anytime from 5pm! Is the chunkiest in the group and will steal food out the others mouths if you don't watch her. She loves to be in the hay trays, not fussy which once and likes to snuggle in a fleece tunnel. She had mammory tumours removed before Christmas and has made a fab recovery - thanks to Cavy Corner...

I will add some more photos laters....

And the next chapter to follow might include a new member ...:whistle:
 
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