Happy 4th July – Fireworks And Fears

Firstly Happy 4th July to all our USA furfriends.

Now as with lots of celebrations there are going to be fireworks. Fun for hoomans, not fun for furries. Whee don’t want to put a downer on the day but whee have quick warning to those with small furries. Whee piggies are very small so any loud sudden noise is terrifying for us. As prey animals whee are very good at hiding fear and stress but sudden things like fireworks can cause us to show the following signs of stress:

• Darting around, running at the walls
• Or freezing and staying completely still
• Wide, wild eyes
• Stiffened body
• Rapid breathing, almost panting
• Hiding in a corner head first. The if-whee-can’t-see-the-scary-thing, it-can’t-see-us mentality!
• Digging at the floor trying to cover ourselves with hay or bedding.

If you see these it’s best not to try to handle us because you could make it worse. Instead, if you are fully prepared you can make sure whee don’t get stressed and scared.

• Hutches/cages should be brought into a quiet room indoors, or into a garage or shed.
• If you cannot bring our hutch inside, you should turn it around so that it faces a wall or fence instead of the open garden. But really this is only if there is absolutely no other choice.
• Provide extra hideys and things to do. Hay stuffed tubes, veggies, herbs and cardboard boxes etc. make good distractions. Extra bedding for burrowing into is furry impawtent too.
• Play some low level soothing music, or louder music to disguise the sounds of the fireworks. In the days leading up to firework night you can play music to get us used to it. Whee almost always have the radio playing or the tv on so whee are comforted by the noises.
• Black out the windows and put the lights on. That way bright flashes won’t frighten us. If you cannot black out the windows it may be worth putting a thick blanket over the cage to block out the worst of it and give a sort of secure feel.

Lots of people think about the effect of fireworks on cats and dogs because the results are far more obvious but please think of your small furries before you leave to watch a display. Whee worry too.

Stay safe furfriends and once again, have a wonderful 4th July!

Nacho

xxxx

Happy With Harringtons – Guinea Pig Food Review

As promised whee have our review of Harringtons Optimum Guinea Pig Food. Now as much as whee love our wonderful furfriend Basil who sent us this food whee were fairly skeptical. Mummy had tried to change our food before to a recommend one by Selective Science and whee were not impressed. In fact whee refused to eat it for three days and Mummy had to give up and give the bag to a local rescue where the piggies are less fussy. And that was where our experimentation ended. Or so whee thought until this package arrived.

The packaging itself is very pleasing and classic looking and the bag folds neatly at the top so it can be pegged shut avoiding spillages. For the hoomans out there interested here is the impawtent info on what it’s made of:

Composition: Sunflower Ext., Wheatfeed, Grass, Oatfeed, Maize, Apple (4%), Grape (4%), Carob Meal, Vegetable Oil, Minerals, Yeast (0.1%).

Additives (Per Kg): Nutritional Additives: Vitamin A 23,500 iu, Vitamin D3 1,700 iu, Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate) 95 mg, Vitamin C (ascorbyl monophosphate) 300 mg, Iron Sulphate Monohydrate 30 mg, Calcium Iodate Anhydrous 2.5 mg, Cupric Sulphate Pentahydrate 25 mg, Manganous Oxide 48 mg, Zinc Oxide 34 mg, Zinc Chelate 166 mg. Antioxidant.

Analytical Constituents: Protein 17%, Fat Content 4.5%, Crude Fibre 17%, Crude Ash 7%, Calcium 0.8%, Phosphorous 0.6%.

Pros and Cons of this food as decided by hoomans and piggies:

• No nasty added bits and bobs
• Good sourse of fibre (see above) to aid digestion
• Added Vitamin C which is vital as whee do not make our own
• This is a pro for hoomans and a con for piggies, all-in-one type nugget stops selective feeding but can also make it a bit plain
• Apple and grape added to stop it being so plain!
• Very small nuggets perfect for younger piggies like Nacho and Noah who sometimes struggled with the size of their  Pets At Home Nuggets in their little mouths
• Quite a bit messier in the cage than previous nuggets. Whee flick the food about quite a bit so Mummy is having to clean us out a bit more often so the food isn’t efurrywhere and going off where as the other nuggets were bigger and heavier so more difficult to throw
• Portion control. With smaller mouthful the piggies are spending the same amount of time at the bowl but eating less and feeling fuller quicker.

Whee have now been on Harringtons for four wheeks and Mummy wrote a few updates of how whee were behaving in that time:

 

---

 Food Diary

 

Day 1

The boys are very suspicious of the new food. Even Buddy is refusing to touch it. Will give them less tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

 

Day 2

On advice from piggy loving friends I am mixing a bit of their Pets At Home nuggets in the bowl for Buddy and Basil so they are encouraged to eat when they see something familiar. Also someone recommended sprinkling water on the food to release the smell and make them want to try it so I’ll do that for Nacho and Noah and see what works.

 

Day 3

It worked!! I spotted Noah eating some this morning and he seems to be enjoying it. The small pieces are much better for him as he only has a tiny mouth. Immediately tried the water sprinkling trick on Buddy and Basil’s and they tried it too.

 

Day 7

They are all loving the new food and really love seeing each pair up there, side-by-side at the food bowl, eating away together. Noah was bickering with Nacho earlier (being a hormonal teenpig) and they both jumped up where the food is rumbling and snapping at each other. Then suddenly they spotted the food, apparently forgot why they were arguing and settled down to eat together. Cute!

 

Day 14

Went to the vet today regarding Buddy’s weight loss regime. Vet said he was very pleased with his progress and also said that his poops were a lot better, probably due to his improved diet. I think a lot of this is down to the Harringtons as other than shrinking portion sizes his diet has not really changed.

 

Day 22

Piggies are still loving the food which is great. I was concerned that the small very plain pieces that don’t vary in shape like their old food would get boring but they still wolf it down!

 

Day 28

At this point the supplies of Harringtons are running low and I can’t imagine buying anything else but we still have Pets At Home food to use up.

 

Day 34

Harringtons ran out and they were forced back to Pets at Home nuggets. Buddy tipped up his bowl so all the food fell out of the cage and bashed the empty bowl against the bars until I managed to calm him with some spinach. Getting black looks for the other piggies and it seems like they don’t want to eat Pets At Home food ever again

 

---

 

Any pet food that means rushing to the nearest pet store for the few hours it is open for on a Sunday is a pet food worth trying in our book. Whee can’t thank Basil and Harringtons enough for sending it. Whee were not paid to do this review. Whee were just sent some food to try free of charge and it got us hooked!

If you have fussy piggies or slight chubby piggies whee really do recommend the healthy option of Harringtons Guinea Pig food. They also offer a wide range of foods for other pets so please check them out. Whee would love to hear what you think of the other pet foods.

Have a great Thursday efurryone

Nacho, Noah, Buddy & Basil

xxxx

Wordless Wednesday – Garden Games

A race to finish the green spaghetti

Happy Wednesday!

Nacho & Noah
xxxx

Tired Tuesday

I was really sleepy over the weekend so Mummy said I could snuggle with the little hoomans in bed.

But there hasn’t been much time for sleeping recently because whee have been busy bees in the Hutch household.  The first piece of news which whee can share with you is that whee are moving Hutch. This is probably why efurrything is a bit manic!

Our move date is next wheek so whee will hopefully do some posts on how to move house with pets very soon with all our top tips.

Our next piece of news is that the hoomans are trying to help me lose weight.  After the vet rudely laughed at me when I tried to clean my fur and ended up rolling over Mummy decided I need to slim for Summer. Currently I am only 100g off my target weight so when I reach that I will share my regime with you!

Our final news is to let you know of a review whee will share on Thursday or Friday this wheek of Harringtons Guinea Pig Food.  Whee were really surprised by it but you’ll have to check back then to see why!

Happy Tuesday

Buddy
xxxx