Monthly Archives: June 2013
Saturday Stars!
As promised, a video of the ladypigs dancing. Coming to a stage near you . . . Poppy and Clover, the burlesque guinea pigs:
After making this whee found out that Clover has been taken ill so whee would love if you could send lots of healing wheeks and whiffles her way.
Have a great Saturday
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Thoughful Thursday – Remembering
Sometimes it is nice to look back and remember things. And not even in that sad bittersweet way but in an amazed, look how you’ve grown way. I’ve changed a lot since I was a baby and today Mummy found a little memory card of photos she thought she had lost.
When going through then whee found these photos of me on the day I met Nibbles (about an hour after as we were spent that in a neutral space with no cameras allowed!!) I was only a very small baby, six weeks old and the runt of my litter. They said I looked more like a gerbil or degu than a guinea pig but Mummy instantly loved me and Nibbles took to me too!
Have a thoughtful Thursday.
Nutty
xxxx
Not Cool!
Ok, well this post is part rant, part lesson to be learned. Whee were inspired to write this by June Buggie’s rant about dogs in hot cars over at RumpyDog, read the post for yourself here.
It got us started on one of our ‘pet hates’ or should whee rephrase that as ‘things pets hate’. You may or may not know, guinea pigs are like humans in their feeling of temperature. If it’s too cold for you out, then it’s too cold for us. The same, for hot weather.
So when it is that lovely hot Summer morning, and you put your guinea pigs out to play in the garden, that’s great. Sit out, enjoy the sun with us. Then when it gets a bit too hot, about midday, when the sun is at its highest point and you decide you want to go in, its too hot for us too. Don’t leave us out in the garden while you go in to cool down. Though whee are not sure of exact figures (having only read stories online and some probably aren’t put out there) whee are always shocked by the amount of guinea pigs that die every Summer due to heatstroke.
Though whee think its common sense whee are going to put these points together:
- When in the garden, please give your guinea pig an area of shade and something to hide in. One per piggy is usually best. Whee have a blue tent, and small cuddly pet beds for our garden time.
- If you are putting us out for longer than half an hour, please put out a bowl of water or attach a water bottle to the run, somewhere shaded to keep the water cool for us.
- It is also good to give us some vegetables with a high water content such as cherry tomatoes, cucumber, celery, pepper etc.
- This can be used in a cage or outside. Either get a pet safe cool pack for them to cuddle up to. Or make your own by filling an empty water bottle with water and freezing it. Then wrap that in a towel or blanket and put in the cage or run for us to cuddle up to.
- Watch out for signs of heat stroke (or heat stress). Signs of heat stroke include panting, slobbering, weakness (floppy body), refusal to move about (lethargy), delirium, convulsions and eventually death. Yes, it is that serious.
Some fab advice and a very frank comment whee discovered may be useful (read the full post in the forum here – fair warning, it is distressing and does mention multiple details about the deaths of guinea pigs to heat stroke)
“Overheated pets are usually done for. It depends on how hot, for how long, and if emergency veterinary treatment for shock and such is instituted soon. I’ve not seen an overheated cavy or rabbit live yet. Some dogs. Some dogs with brain damage. You pretty much cook their neurological system (brain) and cause a lot of irreversible damage. The best way to survival is complete avoidance of the situations which cause overheating.
The first treatment on the way to the vet’s is to use some cooling methods. I go with lukewarm water, actually. The key is to cool gradually, but not too slow or fast. Then IV fluids and other medications as indicated. I think mannitol for brain swelling is on there. I haven’t dealt with one since last summer, so my brain is rusty. Some vets also give steroids. I think you don’t have a chance in the world with SQ fluids and this. It’s a true medical emergency. It’s kinda like putting a band-aid on a severed artery. “
With heat stroke your piggy will be floppy and lethargic, it is one of the scariest things to see. Best treatment whee can recommend is syringe room temperature water and place them on a cool wet flannel or cloth, somewhere shaded. Alternatively you can use a spray bottle of cool water and spray a light mist over the piggy. But the only real advice is get that piggy to a cavy savvy vet ASAP.
You see why whee think people need to learn to take precautions?! This is another forum page where a piggy owner talks about how she learnt a very hard lesson about piggies and heat (again this is very upsetting so beware)
If you need more advice on keeping piggies cool indoors in hot weather, there are some great links here. Whee hope this helps somefurry.
Please remember to keep all you pets hydrated and safe this Summer.
Be sensible.
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Be Impressed!
Whee demand that you are impressed. Mummy has finally taken the plunge and got us on facebook. (whee think, if whee are honest whee don’t know if it worked! Lol!)
Please ‘like’ or whatever you are supposed to do on there!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hutch-A-Good-Life/288923237917816
Finally! It only took her a bajillion years!
Have a great Saturday, whee get the feeling whee will be spending it trying to work out facebook!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Can I Help You?
Recently whee have had a couple of questions about guinea pigs in general and although whee have done this before whee would like to hear any questions or problems you might have that whee can help with.
Those questions you never desperately wanted to ask.
The issues you need advice on.
Whee can try to really help you! Just comment below or tweet us your questions or email them to roominyourheartcampaign@yahoo.co.uk
Wanna-Be-Piggy-Doctor Basil
xxxx
Wordless Wednesday – The Ladypigs Dance For Their Dinner!
Mummy visited the ladypigs Poppy and Clover and watched then dance for their dinner! Hope she doesn’t get any ideas about us doing that!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
The Big Reveal!
Well lets see who guessed right . . .
In a shocking turn of events, Colin Caterpillar is in custody for the cucumber crunching. He is also believed to be responsible for the ravishing of next door’s vegetables! (Colin is a Aglais urticae for anyone who is interested in that sort of thing)
And Samantha Snail was snared for the theft of one rather small basil plant. Whee believe Severus Slug may have been working with Samantha but whee don’t have the proof!
Did you guess right? Are you impressed by our investigating?
All in a days work for the CIA – Cavy Investigations Agency!
Have a terrific Tuesday, knowing that the gardens are a safe place to be once more!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Salad Stealing Suspects . . .
Ok, whee have very carefully analysed the evidence. Whee spent a long time at the scene of the crime and now I, Inspector Basil of the Hutch have a list of suspects. If you missed it, whee have a naughty thief who has been nomming on our home grown vegetables. See here.
Suspects:
Severus Slug – Seen in the area, looking suspiciously chubby
Samantha Snail – Seen up that end of the garden and a known offender, who last made off with Mummy’s marigolds two weeks ago
Scuzzy Squirrel – Was on a date with a pretty red squirrel and The Oak Restaurant can confirm this.
Colin the Caterpillar – Was seen in the area, and found on the edge of one of the pots in which a crime was committed
Boots, the neighbourhood kitten – was spotted bothering the koi carp in a furfriends garden two roads away at the time of the crime
Felix the Fox – Claims to have been somewhere else but no one else can confirm this.
So as you can see, I have narrowed it down. Unfortunately the clues are conflicting and I believe the cucumber cruncher and the basil burglar may be two separate crimes.
Dun dun dun
This investigating has been tiring work. Who do you think did it? Let us know and whee will have the big reveal and arrests in the next post!
Basil
xxxx
Sweet (sort of) Silent Sunday – Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day to all the Daddy’s across the UK being spoilt rotten today!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
PS. Whee are still trying to catch the evil cucumber killer. Whee now have a shortlist of suspects!
Who Scoffed It?! Sherlock Saturday!
Well the hoomans had strawberries and whee got to eat some of the left overs! (Mummy admits that she leaves lots so whee can get some! Good cavy slave!)
Whee wish whee could tell you whee got them from our garden but ours still look like this:
Actually while whee are on a garden update whee would like to call upon our Sherlock Skilled furfriends. Something has been scoffing our little ‘unlucky cucumber’. The cucumber was called unlucky due to the fact it was dropped twice on the way home and reduced price because it was smaller than the others. Now it has been scalped, something has turned it into a tough skin head cucumber plant! Whatever it was has stolen our basil plant too, as there is nothing left where it should be now!?
What do you think nommed on our little unlucky cucumber? And who stole our little basil plant?! Who dunnit?!
Whee will do some investigating and reveal who it was tomorrow!
Have a great Saturday efurryone.
Nibbles
xxxx
Hutch A Good Life 