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MerryFriarTuck

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Everyone was just talking about first time nail trims in this thread here; I think it'll really help you! https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/122387-How-To-Cut-Nails?highlight=Nail+trim

In my post on the thread in that link, I have another link to one of my own threads, about trimming my Friar Tuck's nails. I'll admit I was a nervous wreck, lol , because Friar Tuck is very shy, just like princess Abby, especially the first months I had him. Everyone helped me so much there!

He was pretty scared, and I thought he'd hate me for a week after the trim... but in a few hours he was already taking veggies from my hand again, and by the next day it's like it never even happened :)

We use normal human nail clippers. One person holds the piggy normally against their chest, while the second person reaches from underneath and trims the nails. We try to give them a treat during it, too. In the link above, and especially the link to my own thread there, there's lots of different methods of holding scared piggies, all of which work really well for different people. So do whatever sounds best to you! For the actual "how to cut the nail" part, bpatters' guinealynx link in that thread is fantastic. Lots of pictures and step by step instructions :)
 

petluv

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I have a slight problem...Princess Abby (who once wouldn’t touch veggies) is now a veggie monster (except bell peppers little stinker.:crazy:)

I was pretty lax with veggies to treat her as she got used to me, but now every single time I come in the room or in the kitchen she wants veggies and wheeks incessantly at her cage door for a treat. (This is actually huge progress in her taming!). I no longer give her salads, I’ve just been giving her just tiny pieces of leaf lettuce so she feels rewarded for coming up to me (she’s still in taming) but this is quickly becoming an issue (that I’m to shy to come get my treat gig is overlol) that she is now this week started eating less hay which is very bad I know. That’s why I know it must stop immediately. My concern is, how can I continue to reward her for progress in taming without overfeeding veggies. Any suggestions?
 
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MerryFriarTuck

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When hand taming my piggies, I always hand fed them a veggie breakfast and dinner, and sometimes a lunch, too. As long as you don't give her more than 1 cup of veggies a day (that's made of both veggies and greens ) , she won't get too much and will still eat her hay. 1 cup is the magic number that gives them not too many and not too little :) You can measure it out and then take your treat rewards from that throughout the day. ( But fair warning--- if you give her a treat every time you come in the room, her majesty will turn into an absolute slave driver; always wheeking orders! That's why I do/did twice or three times a day lol )
 

petluv

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When hand taming my piggies, I always hand fed them a veggie breakfast and dinner, and sometimes a lunch, too. As long as you don't give her more than 1 cup of veggies a day (that's made of both veggies and greens ) , she won't get too much and will still eat her hay. 1 cup is the magic number that gives them not too many and not too little :) You can measure it out and then take your treat rewards from that throughout the day. ( But fair warning--- if you give her a treat every time you come in the room, her majesty will turn into an absolute slave driver; always wheeking orders! That's why I do/did twice or three times a day lol )
Yes she has me right where she wants me!lol

I HAVE to get her first thing in the am for certain as I get up between 4-5am or she wakes up my totally overworked husband (and who knows how many neighbors in our apartment!) After that I will do as you say and pre-make her 1 cup so I don’t go over. Thanks for that suggestion!

So today she scratched me (accidently) with her yet to be cut nails (I know I’m terrible I didn’t want to scare her, and have to cut them solo) and boy were they ready and sharp. So I bit the bullet and clipped the tiniest bit from each nail as her quicks are still rather long. My much less skittish boar I had was easy peasy, but I had a feeling she’d give me a run for my money, and she did! lol I did the roll up in the towel but she kept escaping no matter how much folded her in there. Boy is she strong for such a little thing! But we got it done, at least what little was extending beyond the quick (they still seem kind of long but can’t cut the quick so they have to be.) She’s chattering like a wet hen at me, but of course I was still useful enough to be a baby carrot transporter. :rolleyes:

For those of you who clip multiple piggies solo, you have my DEEPEST respects!
 

petluv

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To my faithful helpers in all things GP: I want to spoil my princess and get her a bed of some sort. I think she would like it to have a top and not just a basic cuddle cup. There are many out there I just want to know what has worked for you and lasted through many washings and all. Also, my main concern is her chewing it up, I definitely have a chewer. So it would have to be durable. She might still chew through it but I want her to have the best chance of getting to keep it!
 

ItsaZoo

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For a bed, I use a Cuddle Cup in a corner of the cage and use binder clips and a square of fleece to make an awning clipped to the cage. The two are separate, but when she's in the Cuddle Cup she has a roof over her head.

Regarding giving her treats and making sure she still eats her hay, try giving her a pinch of hay that's different from her standard food. So if she usually gets timothy hay, get a small bag of orchard grass or meadow grass and add just a little to her hay pile. That way she gets some attention and some special food and still eats her hay.
 

ItsaZoo

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Muffs and tunnels are on my to-do list. I love sewing and have plenty of fabric and batting. My pig is just kind of lukewarm about the Cuddle Cup so I’m not going to bother with another one. She still likes the Dollar Tree stacking bins and the plastic baskets with the woven pattern the best for hiding. The baskets are easy to cut so I make two openings in them. The bins can just be flipped over as they are.
 

ItsaZoo

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Ever hear of “Champagne taste on a beer budget?” My guinea pig is just the opposite. I bought a Timothy tunnel for about $10, she preferred the overturned stacking bins from the Dollar Tree. I bought a hand-woven Timothy carrot toy, she ignored it but likes chewing on apple tree branches from the back yard. I bought baked Timothy treats, her favorite treat is corn husk that I get for free from the grocery store bins in the fall. We could all learn a lot about simple tastes from our guinea pigs.

I have always been into craft projects. My mom was the inspiration since she did sewing, crochet, knitting, embroidery, and plastic canvas. I don’t have an Etsy shop but I was thinking of making limited numbers of things like snuffle mats and selling them. I don’t really want to start a business but thought of donating the profits to a local shelter. There are so many creative crafters already, and I just do this for fun in my spare time.
 

petluv

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So I have ordered Princess Abby her first throne! lol It’s a soft fleece hidey. After sleeping on her soft, but still just paper bedding I’m hoping this will be a dream for her! (Or she may think it’s a cool chew toy and still sleep in her pigloo. :rolleyes:) We will see it comes later this week.
 

petluv

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Also, In case you haven’t seen her medical thread I’ve ordered the recommended treatment for mites. It’s only a chance she has them (no other symptoms besides frequent itching) it could be allergies or anxiety or if she’s preggers she could be feeling her babies move. It’s supposed to be harmless though and mites sound so terrible that I’m just doing it as a precaution.
 

petluv

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Princess Abby got her new fleece hidey tonight! She was terrified of it for a couple of hours. Then while I was busy doing other things an no longer sitting by her cage, she must have figured it out. She is laying asleep, eyes closed and just adorable! :love: She keep nuzzling it and rolling around and around. This is her first feeling of fleece, padded fleece too. She is in piggy heaven and so am I watching her just absolutely so happy and peaceful. :love:She is resting so peacefully her eyes are all the way shut. I have a feeling I might have trouble getting her out of it now. lol I’ll get a picture tmrw when there is better lighting.
 

petluv

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Princess Abby is definitely pregnant and 1-2 weeks from delivery. If you have any helps on preparing for, during or after delivery care of mama and baby please let me know here or in her medical thread! Please!!!
 
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