Me and My Pig(s): Hello from Central IL!

[Laura_Leigh]

Hey everyone! I am Laura, and I just adopted my first two pigs, Butterfinger & Bacon. Being a single mom, I was able to use the "They're for DD" excuse, but really, I've always wanted a pig or two. Anyways, I'm convinced that my two little boys are the cutest pigs around. As soon as I can get my hands on a camera, I will post some pics for you. Butterfinger is milk chocolate brown and butterscotch orange, thus the name Butterfinger, with a short wild hairdo.... not sure what you call that, but you know what I mean. Bacon is a butterscotch and black short hair "american" I guess.... he has a smooth coat.

Anyways, they came to me second hand from a friend of mine whose husband bought them for her kids and she put her foot down. It is better for the pigs in more than one way. Number one, they have 5 kids ranging from 18 months to 8 years. I can only imagine.... plus they really can't afford to properly take care of a pair of pigs, financially or time wise. so my friend knowing the animal nut that I am, brought them to me.

They came in a small petstore cage... that was gone within an hour. I pig proofed my critter room and they had free run of that last night. Today someone gave me some grids for a C&C cage, so we have that now, and I will be getting Coroplast. So we are getting really excited and getting things together to do everything the right way.

Anyways, just wanted to drop in and say hello!

[Peggysu]

Welcome to GPC! Can't wait to see some pigtures.

[piggiecrazy]

Hello and welcome to the best piggy site around. Sounds like you are off to a great start with your little guys. How old are they? Can't wait to see some pigtures. Piggies are all so precious. I am addicted to them. We now have 10.LOL They are the most spoiled little things around.

[princesspoppy]

Hi and welcome. Like piggiecrazy i feel addicted also. I think i treat my pigs better than humans At least they can't back chat. Well enjoy the site. Lots of lovely helpful people here.

[Laura_Leigh]

Thanks everyone. I'm guestimating them at 3-4 months. I think I'm going to have to baby proof their cage once I get the coroplast this weekend. Right now I have fabric fastened to the sides. I'm pretty sure that Butterfinger can't get out, but Bacon might be able to, so I'm going to see what I can do with it tonight.

[akstrohm]

Welcome! You sound like an excellent piggie owner! There is tons of good information here, especially on diet.

[Laura_Leigh]

Well, after reading up on how to sex them, and taking a look, I definately have two boys

I copied down one of the menus I saw posted in the Diet section, and I'm going to follow those pretty closely. There are a few things that I can't justify getting just for them, due to the fact that I have a bearded dragon and turtles to consider when I'm buying fruits and veggies as well. I try to get stuff that everyone can have, so that restricts it a bit, but not much really..... I don't think it will really be enough to be concerned about.

I modified the C&C tonight. I added a fleece liner 3/4 of the way up the grids, so no one can escape. They didn't even try last night, but better safe than sorry. While i was in the cage playing around (yes I was actually sitting inside it, ) I added a loft and ramp.... I broke one of the grids because I bent it on the wrong side from the weld Thankfully I had an extra grid... I'm definately going to have to get a couple more packs of grids.... I'm having way too much fun modifying the cage, . Its looking like it will be another week before I can get the coroplast, so i took my dd's old waterproof mattress pad and modified it to put it under the cage. Worked out great actually! I added an old kitten litter box for the hay, hopefully that will keep it a bit more contained.

Next step is to raid my super full garage in search of things I can modify and use in the cage, hehehe.

Anyways, thanks for the warm welcomes! I'm off to lurk through pictures for more ideas, !

[Laura_Leigh]

I finally got pictures of my boys today! Introducing Bacon & Butterfinger!

[fieryone]

Welcome to the forum. Your guys are adorable and I look forward to seeing pictures of your cage when you're finished. You will find tons of ideas for modifying things you may already have in your home for cage parts. There are some pretty ingenious piggy owners on this site

[theresaj]

Welcome and you sure have a pair of cuties!

[angiekay]

*Raises hand agreeing to also being an addict* Welcome to the forum, this place is the best for information and chit-chat, and pigture posting out there that I have found, you sound just like I did over a month ago when I got my piggers, they are SO addicting, I'm telling you! I find myself "drifting" in my mind at work, thinking about different things that has to do with them and them only! It's crazy! Looking forward to seeing pics of your C & C when your done!

[piggiecrazy]

Bacon and Butterfinger are adorable little guys. Glad you are sure they are both the same.
Modifying the cages is half of the fun. We have purchased so many sheets of coroplast from Kinko's that the manager knows me as the guinea pig lady. LOL.
I can't even guess how many boxes of grids we have bought also, at least 10.
We are in the midst of modifying again because our 2 newest ones will be coming out of quarantine soon.
So much fun, your boys are sweeties. Enjoy them, can't wait to see how you do with your cage.

[Ibbet]

Welcome! What beautiful boys you have!
It was great you took them in, I'm sure they're happy.
You sound like an excellent pig/animal owner.

I'm constantly looking for things to add to my cage also, so good luck!
Can't wait to see pictures once it's finished.

[Hawise]

Hello!

Your piggies are adorable! And I can't wait to see the cage either! I have to admit that, although I HATED using the coroplast, I LOVED playing with the grids

We may all be misunderstood guinea pig architects

[Laura_Leigh]

Thanks everyone! I can't wait for the cage to get finished either... it looks like poo right now, . I found the site with that zorb stuff for liners, so I'm going to be making my own liners and nifty fleece stuff too.... well, once my sewing machine gets fixed, anyways, . Just found out that my dad is picking up my coro for me tonight so I can at least get the cage basically completed tonight or tomorrow! I'm so excited!

[Laura_Leigh]

Well I got stage 2 finished. Coroplast done. I goofed on it, and made it the wrong size, so I had to duct tape two pieces together, but all in all, not too bad for my first try. I'll get another sheet next week and get it right next time. I have towels down for the moment as I don't have the fleece liners just yet, and I didn't have enough aspen to cover the floor. Either way it looks 100 times better than it did before the coro. Here are some pics of the cage so far!

[angiekay]

Good job, looks really nice. I'm sure the piggers will love it.

[Laura_Leigh]

Well thats really odd.... I had a picture up there of their dinner plate and their hay rack... but its gone. I know I uploaded it, because I had to have gotten the link from somewhere.

[Laura_Leigh]

I just got some awesome news! I got approved by a rescue in Northern IL to adopt two gorgeous boys! I'm so excited! I have been thinking about these two boys since I first saw their pictures a couple of weeks ago. I finally decided to give in and let fate decide itself. I should be getting them next week! Anyways, here are Simon and Schuster!


I think they are 2 of the most adorable pigs I've ever seen!

[CavyMama]

Awwwww how cute they are!! Congrats! Good things come to those who wait! :-)