New but not new.

[Elyzian]

I know I've been a member of this forum for awhile, but I joined way back when I began researching into owning some piggies. I only got my first piggy pair at the end of May this year so I am still quite a newbie. I thought I would create this thread to introduce myself and my piggies to everyone, and take a peek at all your lovely piggies too

So without further adieu, here it goes.

My name is Kerrie, I'm Australian, and since I was about 8yrs old I have wanted a Guinea Pig, but my parents always said no. Now that I am 21 I decided I was finally going to get my dream piggies, as I researched and found you cant just have 1 piggy.

Now let me introduce you to my piggies



This is Trinity. I bought her when she was nearly 5 weeks old from a lady a few towns over, we unfortunately dont have any breeders anywhere near me or any piggy rescues, so apart from a pet store, it was my only option. She is a very pretty coloured piggy in my opinion. She was quite shy and skittish at first but now that I have spent time working on gaining her trust, she is a very loving girl. Every time I get her out for lap time, she immediately climbs up my chest to sit on my shoulder, its where she goes no matter what. She happily sits there purring away and occasionally giving me little licks on the cheek.



This is Naobi. She is the more adventurous sister of Trinity. I bought her along with her sister. Unlike her sister, Naobi prefers to scurry up my chest, over my shoulder and sit herself in the hood of my hoodies (I always wear hooded jumpers) and thats where she will stay for as long as I let her.. she doesnt budge. Also unlike her sister, Naobi spends more time popcorning and running laps around her cage like crazy. She has always been the more daring sibling.

And finally, my newest addition Muppet (I am yet to get a photo), he is brindle and white in colour, front half of him is brindle with a white beard, and rear end is mostly white.

I adopted him a few days ago from some friends who had no idea about piggy care, they had 3 boars die within a matter of months, and after bringing Muppet home, I really understood why. The bedding they used was newspaper with hay over the top, it was not cleaned daily, when I went to clean it and put my own bedding in, I had to use dishwashing gloves and hold my breath because it was horrendous, I then proceeded to scrub the heck out of the cage with vinegar and water to give it a good cleaning. Luckily I rescued him. So far he hasnt shown any signs of illness, he's been active and eating/drinking quite well. He is booked in at the vets to get a general health check and to be neutered next week so he can be put with my girls instead of being alone. But in the few days I have had him, he has been such a lovely boy, he is very cuddly and loves having his chin scratched.. I also noticed that when I scratch his tummy he begins popcorning like crazy which I find quite amusing.


Anyway, thats about it.. sorry for such a long post, but intros tend to be long sometimes.

Feel free to post pics of your gorgeous piggies and tell me a little about them

 

[Lady Amelia]

Hello and Welcome! Your piggys are so precious! I love your long intro, better to get to know you. I hope everything goes well with your boy and the introductions. Have you read up on introducing your piggies?
This is Nellie, she is the mom of my Skinny Pig trio. One of her daughters, Patty, is a werewolf (hairless but with some hair!) and her sister is Piggy. I also have a mom and daughter American shorthair pair, Lucy and Dolly, and they all live together in a giant C&C cage. I've only had them for a few months but I love them dearly! I look forward to seeing you around the forum. When you get pix of Muppet, post them please! He sounds really cute!!

 

[Elyzian]

Thank you . We let him near them for a minute or two (we made sure to keep him away from their behinds, and they seemed to get along.. he was excited to be near girls lol.

Awe your piggies all sound soo adorable.. I've been curious about skinny pigs, but idk if I'd be weirded out by the feel of their skin or not, and no one I know here has one so I thought to stick with the furry ones just in case.

I got my girls not long ago too.. May 31st this year is when I bought them home, they could fit in my hand back then.

I'll try and get a photo of Muppet today.. he doesn't like sitting still so it can be a pain lol

 

[Elyzian]

This is Muppet .. managed to get him to stay still long enough

 

[Lady Amelia]

He is so cute! Thanks for showing us! How is he settling in?

 

[Elyzian]

He seems to be settling in quite well... he's still a bit nervous if we walk by his cage when he is out and he runs straight into his pigloo, but he is getting better. He's been popcorning around a bit, and talks to the girls across the room. Occasionally he stands up at the side of the cage for some pats and to look around.

He loves floor time, he races around popcorning, then comes for some cuddles, then popcorns off again.

 

[Elyzian]

Update on Muppet and settling in.


He finally started doing laps of his cage today instead of hiding in his pigloo. He no longer runs around scared when I put my hand into his cage now too.

He is gradually becoming such a happy piggy, and his personality is begining to show now too.

Its such a great feeling watching a piggy go from being shy, not making a sound and being scared to move, to being happy, energetic, and quite vocal.

 

[Lady Amelia]

Cute! So glad he is doing well. When is his appointment? Thanks for the update!!

 

[Elyzian]

His appointment is on the 24th. We drop him off around noon and pick him up when my partner finishes work (I dont drive, and I dont think walking 15mins home with him in the cold is a good idea). I'm quite nervous, its my first time having a piggy go through surgery.. I'm gonna be watching him like a hawk afterwards

 

[Lady Amelia]

I don't drive either! 33 years old and I bicycle to work and back! (bus in the winter). I'm curious to know if his behavior changes after being neutered. I have been entertaining adopting a precious male skinny pig werewolf to put in with his mom/sisters that I have.

 

[Elyzian]

I'm 21 and I walk everywhere while my partner is at work.

From what I've read, their behaviour doesnt change much, if at all. The only behaviour change I'm kind of hoping for is that his urge to mount the girls subsideds a bit... otherwise my girls will probably beat him up because they dont like being pestered lol.

 

[Elyzian]

Here is another pic of Muppet enjoying some morning lap time.

He goes to the vet tomorrow morning... 30hrs from now to be exact. I'm getting nervous to be honest, I'm praying everything goes smoothly, and he eats and drinks by himself... I hate the idea of having to syringe feed him if he doesnt. Just look at that sweet face, I would probably end up crying like a baby if I had to... but I am prepared for it.. I will do everything in my power to help him recover 100%... even if that means paying more vet bills and bugging the crap out of the vet if anything goes wrong.

Luckily the vet here is never really busy and you can just walk in with a sick animal and be like "He needs help" and they will help it, no appointment necessary. and they have a after hours and weekend number to call in an emergency... and they also allow payment plans too thankfully.

 

[Lady Amelia]

Wow, the site was down for a few days and I think I was going through withdraws, lol!
I really hope everything goes well today.. I will be thinking of you and your boy hoping he heals up in no time.
That is awesome about your vet.

 

[Elyzian]

He is home now and doing well. The surgery was a succes and completely text book. The vet rang be just before lunch time yesterday to let me know that the surgery went well and that he was awake and moving. She wanted to monitor him for a bit to make sure he was eating before she sent him home, so I didnt pick him up ubtil just after 5pm... he is coming along a lot better than I was expecting.. he is munching into his veggies like he always does and he is moving about and making happy sounds talking to my 2 girls who are across the room from him.

His incision site is looking extremely good. its like there was never any surgery at all.. nice and smooth just shaved and no more testicles. The vet used the dissolveable sutures, which works good for him cos he isnt a chewer at all, and he isnt even bothered by them.

No pain killers were necessary either, he isnt showing any signs of pain even now which is good... he is literally just the same happy piggy.

The only thing I have to do is syringe him some water every now and then because he doesnt appear to be drinking from his bottle, but he is actually quite good with the syringe.. soon as he feels the little squirt of water on his mouth he opens his mouth up and drinks as I slowly squeeze the water in.. and if he wants me to give him more he will follow my hand as I take the syringe away lol

 

[Elyzian]

Update

Muppet is still doing well. Day 2 post op and he is popcorning around... and I have noticed that he is toilet trained without me doing anything... if he needs to pee and he isnt in his cage, he will wiggle his butt and wheek a little then when I put him in his cage to pee, he will put his butt as far as he can into the corner and pee lol.

I still have to syringe him a bit of water every now and then to supplement the water he gets from the veggies that I wet before giving to him.

I was a bit worried this morning when I woke up becquse there wasnt any droppings in his cage from the night, but he began pooping again after lunch time so I was relieved.

Also, his ear that was looking dry and I wasnt sure if it was dry skin or something else, is looking better.. turns out it was just dry skin after all.

 

[Elyzian]

UPDATE

Muppet is still doing extremely well. He's also begun drinking from his bottle again which is such a relief. His incision site is still nice and clean, no signs of anything bad.

Yesterday he began doing laps of his cage like crazy, he was racing around so insanely fast I began to worry he might tear something.. but all was fine.


I'll continue to update during his recovery, right through to his introduction to my girls on August 29th. Posts may begin to have larger gaps between them, but that will be due to having nothing new to report.

 

[Lady Amelia]

Kerrie, I have been thinking of you guys a lot but not able to post... Glad Muppet is doing well. Sending love!

 

[Cavies4EverEver]

Welcome! this is stitch my little popcorner... This is Lilo my asshat.. Hes my grumpy pig And this is my pregnant Nala. who is expecting her pups any day!

 

[Elyzian]

Muppet is almost fully healed already ... and his ear that was a bit dry and flaky is now all better, I was putting some coconut oil on it daily.


Awe those 3 are so adorable.. love how Stitch is looking up at the camera
Hope Nala goes well with having her pups.. baby piggies are so adorable