Lettuce Introduce Ourselves

[gooberific]

I finally got my pigtures onto the computer. I've been hanging around for a couple weeks already! Shame on me.

I took a lot of time building the cage, which was promptly rearranged after the piggies got here.

About me: I'm a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom of one two-year-old boy who very much loves animals of any size and shape. I had a cavy when I was younger, my mom got her for me when I was about 5 or 6, and then faked her death when I was 9 because my grandparents didn't approve of her, saying that they carry diseases. This would have been a non-issue if my grandparents weren't coming to live with us for a few months when my grandmother was very sick. She was a rust-colored Peruvian named Punkin.

The piggies!

Both of my pigs were adopted from Arizona Piggie Poo Rescue, and had been cagemates (not sure if they are actual brothers). They were obtained from a Petco seizure of underage piggies. Their original names were Wyatt & Kody.



About Sergeant Stripes: Sarge is a black and red teddy mix. He is mostly black with two reddish-orange spots. The picture of him in the Sprite box is his first day in his new home. He hides a lot (almost earned him the name Sir Hide-a-lot), but is also very bossy.


About Lieutenant Dan: Dan is a black and red teddy mix. He is mostly black and has a couple stripes of red on his back/sides. He is most commonly found in the litter box or on the brick under the water bottle. Sarge bosses him around quite a bit, but the Lieutenant challenges him right back nowadays.

With that said, they've been fighting a lot the last two days. I whipped out the camera and took some more pictures.



Now Lieutenant Dan is almost protecting Sarge... but there's nothing like bright flashing lights to bring them back together again!

[Ziggy&Herald]

Oh, I love the names you decided to go with. Very cute. I'm sure the boys will eventually settle down, although they will probably always rumble strutt around the cage. They are very cute piggies.

[gooberific]

They're doing more than just rumblestrutting right now. I told them if I have to pick up one more clump of hair, they get no carrots for a week.

But seriously, they have been going at it the last two days. I just broke them up again before coming back to check the forums. And they are marking like crazy.

[Ziggy&Herald]

What size cage are they in? I know you said you built it, is it a C&C?

[gooberific]

It's a 2x4.



[I might be able to make it 3 grids wide, to make a 3x4, but not until I can get a sewing machine available and more coroplast.]

[gooberific]

Today's update.

Lt. Dan is hard to catch, but does let me pick him up and love on him and hand feed him some veggies and spend time with me cuddled up.

For the second day in a row, now, I've been bitten trying to get Sarge. Yesterday barely broke the skin, today drew blood. He will sometimes allow me to pet him inside his territory. The only way to get him out for floortime is to pick up a box with him inside it. He will sniff me at floortime, but no longer wants to cuddle.

Previously, he would snuggle me and climb up onto my shoulder and tickle my neck. I miss that. I've tried bribing him with carrots to no avail. Laptime was the only time I gave them their baby carrot. I'll keep trying, of course, because I'd rather have a cuddly Sarge than vicious.

Should I try picking him up in a box and putting the box on my lap and allowing him to come out as he wishes?

[hydrohoki]

Have you treated for mites? That would explain why they don't want to be picked up. (If you have my apologies for missing the information.)

[gooberific]

They were treated while in rescue. They had baths and nail clippings a few hours before I picked them up. I haven't noticed any scratching aside from the occasional stray piece of hay stuck in their fur, and their skin underneath looks very good. (at least, sarge looked good two days ago, and lt. dan looked good today)

I can see about getting them into the vet within the week, and also pick up some ivermectin from the feed & supply store by my parents' house when I go pick up my son and stop at the rancher market for veggies.

Also, he's been very aggressive toward the other pig the past couple of days. Lots of teeth chatter.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

How old are they? Adolescent males can be harder to deal with sometimes.

[gooberific]

They are both approx. 4 months.

[gooberific]

Sarge let me pick him up today with very little struggling. Lt. Dan got lonely and started wheeking, so our laptime didn't last much longer than enough time to eat a baby carrot.

I updated their cage so that the entire 2x4 area is toys and running space, and added on a 1x2 kitchen area. They popcorned like crazy and did about 20 laps before claiming corners and hideys. Much less chattering now, except when they both try to enter the kitchen at the same time.

[frashy]

Ahhhhh hahaha I love your title "Lettuce Introduce Ourselves"! Your piggies are SO cute and their names are amazing, I love them! Very nice work on the cage, glad to hear things are kinda getting better with your piggies!

[gooberific]

Thanks on all accounts, Frashy!

Tonight, they are even sharing the same food bowl for their pellets.

Sarge has figured out that he doesn't have to use the entrance, that he can jump the 6" wall. This means to me that I'd like to put in a small ramp of some sort!

The title is influenced by my dad, who from a very young age when we would have the lettuce pulled out, would sing "Lettuce entertain you!" just to keep me entertained.

[aman1211]

hi my name is ashton currently i have no guinea pigs but hope 2 b getting some very sooni just need 2 get enuf money 2 but the coroplast and cage things

[gooberific]

And now that we're all getting along better and being cuter and more outgoing, here's a new pigture of us hanging out together!



I wonder what mom's gonna do when she brings home a new brother...?

[Ziggy&Herald]

Oh look as if they have grown. Is mom bringing home another piggy brother? Or human brother? If it's a piggy brother, I would be cautious since the two had so many problems at first. They will all have to start dominance things all over and it could make the two start fighting again. Just something to consider. I have a group of 3 boars that get along fine, but wont get along with one in my other group. They all have to be difficult some times.

[gooberific]

Yeah, I found a piggie on Craigslist whose human is going off to college. He's a year old or so, and the boys are now five and a half months (and yeah, they've grown! Both are near two pounds, one just under the other just over). After quarantine, I plan on doing an intro while my hubby finishes the cage rebuild. If they don't get along, "the new guy" will be able to share a common wall with these little loveballs here. Hubby used to work in computer aided drafting, so he's actually helping me with the new cage design!

For now, the boys are getting floortime in the living room so that I can use the kitchen for the intro in a few weeks. I get the new boy this weekend.

My best friend (who had guinea pigs for years) came over about three weeks ago or so and we got both Dan and Sarge out and only let them run between our legs on the floor (making a diamond feet to feet, and I hate feet). They were so freaked out by her presence that they huddled around my knees and thighs and stuck side by side, and they have been even better since that!

They both let me clip their nails yesterday. And I only have a couple scratches from Sarge. I'm telling you, he's like Gill from Finding Nemo -- always concocting an escape plan!!