Eo's Cavies - Page 2

**Eolith** · #21 01-21-06, 04:27 pm

The previous owners loved the cage setup. I was very proud. They were very interested in building one for themselves, and they even admitted that they feel like novices compared to all that I've been telling them. I'll try to take some pictures this evening, but I don't want to scare them too badly.

The boys really perked up when their mom and sister came to visit (our friends brought them too). They were really zooming around and exploring everything. We're thinking of naming the nameless one Jazz because of his cool coat colors... but it's still in question. You'll have to tell me if you think it suits or not when you see the pictures.

They're both pretty independent. Even after they had first gotten here and were scared, they didn't want to snuggle together and keep eachother company. One of them wants to stay in the wooden house, and the other one wants to stay in his straw hide away.

**Eolith** · #22 01-22-06, 03:40 pm

Here's our pigture of the new boys! I think that the name Jazz has definitely begun to stick to the spotted one. The black one is Winnie. They still have some growing to do, and they still have super-soft baby fur.

They've really taken to their cage. They run around all the time. They're like little rockets taking off. It's fun to watch! Jazz has naturally red eyes, but they don't look quite that bright red.

**JennG** · #23 01-22-06, 03:43 pm

Your boys are so cute. I love Jazz but man, black nails are hard to trim.

**Eolith** · #24 01-22-06, 03:51 pm

Don't even remind me! I'm dreading it. Actually, Winnie has three white toes on one of his hind feet... but I'll still have 11 more black nails to trim. But I've had experience in the field of black nail trimming. As you can see, my first piggie (the one in the avatar) had lots of black on him.

**Southerngirl** · #25 01-23-06, 09:26 am

OK, now I have to know...what is the deal with black nails? I have my first set of piggies and one of them has black front feet, white back feet. Should I be expecting something difficult? How often do you trim your kids nails?

**Eolith** · #26 01-23-06, 05:22 pm

You have to be extremely careful not to cut to the quick, because that's painful for them. You can see where the quick ends on guinea pigs with lighter nails, but the ones with black or dark nails are difficult to cut without fear of catching the quick. Some say it helps to hold a flashlight under the nails, but it is physically impossible to be able to hold the cavy, the flashlight, and the nail clippers all at the same time unless you have someone helping... and even then it isn't exceedingly easy. The guinea pigs' nails should be trimmed monthly if that's what you meant about 'trimming your kid's nails'. I don't have any human kids, but my assumption is that most parents trim their kid's nails when they see that they are getting too long.

**Southerngirl** · #27 01-23-06, 06:31 pm

Yes, thats what I meant, thank you : ) I will be nervous trimming the black ones nails the first time.

**Eolith** · #28 01-23-06, 07:15 pm

You may want to go to the vet the first time and have him or her show you how much to clip off and share other tips. After that you should have a better idea of what to do.

**nissa** · #29 01-24-06, 01:23 am

Eolith, they're so adorable and yep... I definitely feel for you on the whole black nails thing! Mine has black nails on one leg and clear/white on the others. It's quite stressful, that I just bring mine to the vet. ><

**Eolith** · #30 01-24-06, 08:40 am

I sincerely doubt that my parents would ever drive me to the vet for something as trivial as a nail-clipping... well at least it's trivial in their opinion... kind of. Anyway, I pretty much gotta get good at it quick. I'll start off cutting very small amounts frequently.

**Eolith** · #31 01-24-06, 04:32 pm

I have a question. Jazz hangs out in the upper floor alot, where all the hay is. I rarely ever see Winnie up there. Do you think he's getting enough hay? I don't think Jazz would drive him away, but could he just be afraid of going up the ramp? I keep telling myself that Winnie'll know what to do with himself, and that if he feels that he really needs hay he'll get it. Is this a correct assumption?

**nonamian_girl** · #32 01-24-06, 06:06 pm

Put some downstairs just in case, or on the ramps so he'll progressively follow the hay up to the loft.

**Eolith** · #33 01-30-06, 05:29 pm

It's been a while since I updated this. Anyway, I've discovered that Winnie is perfectly fine with going up and down the ramp, I just never chanced to see him for a little while there... or he just recently figured it out. In any case, problem solved.

Their cage is an absolute bear to clean out. I think I may be putting in too much bedding, but I want it to be nice and comfy for them. I'll be getting fleece soon anyway, so I think I'll survive cleaning out all the bedding for another week or two. Only thing is, my dad is starting to shy from the idea of 'contaminating' the washer with guinea pig excrement, but I tried my hardest to assure him that it would only be pee because we'd remove the poos, and that most of the pee would have soaked into the newspaper anyway.

I'm going to begin my first cavy nail-cutting endeavor tonight, so wish me luck! To start with, I'm only going to cut off very small amounts, and I'll clip Jazz's nails before attempting Winnie's wonderfully black nails...

**Eolith** · #34 02-04-06, 01:06 pm

I've been floating around craigslist for a little while lately. It's depressing seeing all of the guinea pigs that are being given away for free. I wish I could adopt them all. One person was even talking about how of their guinea pigs had crusty skin but that it didn't make any difference and they were also willing to give the cavies to a large snake owner! It's disgusting.

I've been having water bottle troubles lately. I have three water bottles but two leak continuously and the other one is spring loaded so I'm afraid that the ball is too firm for them to get water out of it. Any suggestions on a good brand?

**SuzieQ33** · #35 02-04-06, 01:47 pm

There is a great thread on water bottles over on accessories. Its all about folks fav brands and what their pigs prefer.

**Eolith** · #36 02-04-06, 04:50 pm

Alright, I'll be sure to look that up. In the mean time, does anyone have any suggestions for finding a good caretaker? My family and I will be away from home for about four to five days in April.

**Eolith** · #37 02-20-06, 01:15 pm

I feel really bad. The heat went out last night, but I never really woke up until the morning... when I realized that it was really cold. My poor guinea pigs were freezing their buns off the entire time. I put a heater next to their cage ASAP, but I'm not sure that it's warming them up enough. I know that they aren't about to freeze to death, but I want them to be comfortable.

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