Happening in our house and how not to care for a guinea pig

Well the weathers much cooler now thanks to a massive thunderstorm we had the other night. Mummy wasn't happy as it awoke her from her slumbers, we weren't happy as it was frankly too damn noisy. Our windows didn't half rattle. Crumbs!!

Mummy is still poorly, she's now got a chest infection. Again. But, there is a bright side to everything-it means early breakfast for us as she's up about 5 each morning using her "puffy-box". Not so this morning though as it's cleaning out day. MEH!!! Of course though, it's obligitory that we scream our heads off at the correct time for breakfast despite being fed only a few hours before (and usually at the time mummy is settling down for a nap). We know how to wind mummy up LOL!!!

Mummy has been rather a clever clogs too, she passed her university course. Well done mummy though, that did mean we had to face mummy in full emotional overload, wandering around the house shaking, crying and declaring "I don't believe it".

As already mentioned, we have a guest. He's called Dexter, I've said hello to him. He seems friendly enough though I am not inviting him round for a munch on some cucumber, I have enough on my paws with Scampy-Joe and his teenage angst!

I am not to keen on having another guinea pig pushing his nose in on my patch. I do not like it when I feel like I am not the centre of attention. In fact I hate it. So in response I have become even more demanding, even more in mums face and even more noisy. Not a good plan when you have a poorly, fractious mam but needs must. I can cope with being yelled at to "SHUT UP NOW" cos I know in two minutes time she'll feel horribily guilty, come and say "sorry" and give me a cuddle. Of course I will snuggle into her and give her my best sorrowful "don't you love me face?".

This new chap, to be fair does need lots of extra love and attention. We may complain about the lack of service round these parts but this chap has had a pretty rough ride of it and presents a classic example of how not to care for a guinea pig. To be honest,to say he had been cared for might be stretching it a bit. The only time he really got cared for was when when a very nice person fed him and helped him out before finally deciding enough was enough and giving our ma a ring.

He was a childs pet, a much loved and well cared for pet. Then she got bored of him and stopped giving him the care he needed. For several months, she has failed to clean his cage out, give him hay, feed him or give him water on a regular basis. He had no toys and no cosy bed to snuggle into nor, did she give him any attention or cuddles.

A very nice lady occasionally visited him and relising the mess he was in cleaned him out and offered him food. One day she visited and discovered him sat in the corner huddled up with no interest in the world. She feared he was close to death. After a couple of days thinking about it she asked this little girl did she still want her pig. She said no, so she rang our mam.

Now mam is a practical lady and realised there was no room in the inn as it were however, she also knew she had to get him out of there and fast. She hopefully, also reslised that no other piggy could take number 1 spot in this house other than me. So after careful consideration of all of a couple of seconds she agreed to offer him a temporary home in the hope that a rescue would take him on long term. They have they've have offered a permanent home. Yay for him.

Here he is, just for you picture of Dexter

His key problems is that he's weak and very underweight but, he'll soon be piling on the beef now that he's getting regular fresh veggies and other nice food. He also had toothy peg issues. Our very nice vet, Jason has decided that though surgery would be a good idea it would be a bad plan as he's probually too weak to survive the stress of such an undertaking. The plan is to see how he goes, in all likelihood his teeth problems are caused the poor diet he was fed anyway and the little chap is now eating and eating for the county, abiet soft and finely chopped food so he might wear them down himself. My impression is that he's been underfed for so long that he's not going to allow a piffling trifle such as a tooth problem put him off his grub! He also has a supplement to be added to his food to help him feel better as well.

Yesterday he discovered the joys of the sun on his back and fresh grass in his tummy when he had some garden time. He also popped over the garden fence to see our neighbour J and I. They love animals but due to advanced age and infirmity they can not have pets of their own so we go visiting and hopefully bring a little joy to their lives.

So thats us at our gaff. In my next post I shall you about another piggy that lives here. ASBO PIG!!!!! I am pretty sure that unlike us he is in prison for his thuggish behaviour as he has bars on his cage we don't. The last I heard he was up for GBH (Guinea pig bodily harm)

Love Sparky

Feeling hot, hot, hot

It's way to hot in this house. Yes it's delightful summer has arrived even if it is just for a couple of days but, we are really struggling in this heat. Mummy is tired and grumpy thanks to lack of sleep resulting from her cough and now to add to to it sleep is even more allusive for her because she's too hot.

Get out the way people is the only advise I can offer!!!

A quick update

Yes our slave did go shopping and returned with veggies and treats in abundance, carrier bags overflowing with goodies.

We have a guest, a piggy guest. He's moved in here abeit temporarily due to the fact that his slave has not been attending to his needs the result his that he's been pretty badly neglected. He's lovely and we've had a natter. I'll update you when I have sussed the little chap out better. It seems like it's a very sad story but at least they have had the sense to decide to hand him over to our slave so he can be much better treated.

Love Sparky

We didn't want that to happen!

On the most important day of the month, what happens? Mummy gets sick.

She's been bumbling about for a couple of days with extra hankies coughing and sneezing. Now she has a fill blown streaming cold, she looks like Rudolph. In June.

She also has a nasty hacking cough which woke us all at at 6am, we demanded breakfast while her lungs demanded medicine. Her lungs won, but over the noise of the noisy box she uses for her breathing we still yelled and shouted.

We don't know what the day will bring, she's gone back to bed, now we've had breakfast but we are still living in hope that she will go shopping for us, and return with tasty treats. She's also on about treating herself to that stuff she paints her face with. Surely not from the pet shop!!!

I believe she's off to the human equivent of the vets Monday. Speaking of which I heard something very strange last night. She was on the phone to the vet but not for any of us, it was for some called "Zach" wonder who he is?

Paws crossed for us, we'll keep you updated.

Love Sparky and Scampy.

Looking forward to tomorrow

It's payday, that means out slave has money. Money to spend on us, yippee. Oh the joys of pets at home and vegetable section at the supermarket. Carrier bags spilling over with tasty treats.

Can't wait

Love Scampy

Yummy presents

Mum just returned home rather late from work. She was bearing a can of lager. An open can of lager, how embarrassing hope none of the neighbours spotted her. Fortunately at 8am on a Sunday morning most people (if they have any sense at least) are still tucked up under the duvet.

We were starving and to that end screaming our heads off to the point that our ears where flapping with the exertion of our yelling.

It then became apparent why our slave was late, she smelt of cat! She is looking after our lovely Aunty B's cat. Just to clarify it is Aunty B that is lovely, not the cat. We don't do cats, particularly exploring the inside of their tummies.

Aunty B it would seem has gone on her holidays leaving the cat in our slaves care. The cat was in a bit of a strop this morning by all accounts. He has a good right to be, disappearing slaves are not good, who gave them permission to go on holiday? (we must admit though mummy has trained our stand in slave well)

However, out of this good things have come our lovely Aunty B has left us very yummy and delightful presents. Sweetcorn and carrots, thank you Aunty B we love you. She is also responsible for mummy showing us in public, she left mummy the can of "speckled hen" not a tin of chicken or even chicken soup. It's a tin of lager, unfortunately it rolled off the front seat on the way home so to save spraying us and the house in beer she opened it outside hence why her cringe worthy enterence looking like an alcoholic.

In responce to this, we have come up with a fabulous idea, why doesn't mummy become a full time cat sitter and get paid in yummy veggies for us. Sod the mortgage!

Love Scampy-Joe

Happy Birthday

It's someone in this house's birthday, we won't reveal their age. However, in celebration of the fact we got a super tasty treat for breakfast. Sorry about the state of our gaff, we were cleaned out very recently but we, being boys love to trash the place as soon as feesible after cleaning out.

Happy Birthday Mum

Love from us all.

Quiet as cathedral.....

Mummy appeared at 4am this morning walking liked she'd wet herself, given her first port of call was the bathroom we doubted it, plus unlike us mum is not in the habit of weeing the bed.

I yelled in excitement that mummy was up and about, hoping and anticipating for an early breakfast. Her reply was "shut up Sparky". No good morning, not a word of greeting, nothing. My initial thought was "blimey, someone got out of bed the wrong way"! Then I spotted it, her eyes were downcast and she was squinting badly. She also looked dreadful, poor mum.

Everything fell into place, she's 'one of her heads!'. To put it another way, she has a migraine and poor mummy suffers terrible when she gets a 'humdinger' as she calls to them. We love our mum and I hate see her poorly, I get all super clingy to her.

She's given me lots of cuddles, told me I am beautiful, there's a song she sings to me sometimes because some of the words remind her of me, which contains these words I must search for it on you tube sometime, I think it's by someone called Mr Blunt. We have also had an over ripe pear each for breakfast, just how we like them, all squishy and juicy.

Mummy, has been out in her motorised metal box to buy some pills. I pity the poor driver who got in her way when she tried to park, she stomped backed in complaining bitterly about the gentleman who required half the street to reverse his car, forcing mum to reverse round the corner to get out his way. She has taken the required pills and retired back to bed. It always amazes me how compliant humans are in taking pills and things, I usually fight all the way, despite being swaddled in a towel and then procede to spit it across the room. We are now, all mooching about trying to be a quiet as we can so mummy can rest.

Love Sparky.

Cuddles

Cuddles are marvelous, the are lovely and yet another demonstration of how much we're loved. In fact I am enjoying some now.

Love Scampy

Our gaff stinks.........

Our mum is due home from work shortly. I know she will be tired she may also, quite possibly be a little grumpy.

But our gaff stinks, we need a clean out so here's hoping mum notices and gets herself into gear and sort out this pretty major issue for us. Our noses are very close to the floor and the floor is where we wee wee.

Love Scampy-Joe

Does our ma think we are daft?

We have a slight crisis in this house. We have run out of Timothy hay.

Due to mummies anti-social working hours (anti-social as they mean sleeping during the hours the pet shop is open) she has been unable to replenish our stocks. We do have some hay, (hay being vital to diet, for our tooty pegs (teeth) which never stop growing, it also gives us something to do so we don't get bored in between our eating, sleeping and yelling). This hay however, is our bedding hay. Its the hay we sleep and hide in. Yes we occasionally do have a nibble on it but at the end of the day, to be frank would you eat your duvet, munch on your pillows or dine on your sheets? Thought not.

To this end we prefer "Timothy hay" for our munching hay. I haven't got the foggiest why is called "timothy hay", I've never heard of "Andrew hay" or "Alice hay", or is that taking the Mick hay"?

In our house we have veggies in the morning, fresh veg and fruit being vital to our nutrition as we can neither make or store vitamin C and at night timothy hay and our dry food, great for our teeth, topped up.

Last night, due to the lack of timothy hay in our gaff we got fed bedding hay instead, does she think we are stoopid to fall for that, it's timothy hay or nothing for our tea. we we disgruntled and most annoyed. As hungry as we were, we refused point blank to even entertain that stuff for out tea. We might give it a cursory nibble but nothing other. There is no way we were sitting down to fill our faces and ultimately bellies with that stuff so we, yelled and yelled a little more, And a little louder. We were hungry and wanted feeding now and feeding decent food not that cheep muck.

Mummy informed us we had been given our tea, and there was food in our cage. Yes we knew and were well aware of that but and a big but it was quite frankly, crap. And refused to even to turn a hair in relation to eaten that cheap and frankly poor intimation of what is supposed to be a tasty and yummy tea.

Then mummy announced, I know what I can give you. She clearly understood that we were unwilling to even give cage room (or tummy room) to our "tea". We hung around waiting, me hanging over the side of the cage squawking my heads off. Heard a very exciting sound. The fridge door opening, followed by the sound of a knife chopping something up.

A few minutes later, mummy appeared with my favourite food. Cucumber. Yummy! we were delighted, so, so happy decent, tasty food last. we have mummy so well trained, just a pity that it takes her a while to tumble to our needs. Sadly sometimes do not receive the instance attention we would expect from a well trained slave, there to immediately to respond to our every, whim, need and demand.

Thank you to all who have visited our blog.

Much love, enjoy your weekend.

Love Sparky and Scampy

Its nice to know you're pleased to see us!

Mum came crashing through the door in the early hours of this morning, after the completion of her shift.

We were delighted to see her and made this fact known, we also made it known that fact we were starving and needed feeding. Now!! We made these two facts known, we think very clearly by a) screaming and yelling our heads off and b) and in my case leaning out of cage as far as possible without actually falling out. I have, however on several occasions over shot the runway and actually fell out, much to mums amusement but causing great pain to her purse though it helped keep the vets in buisness.

Anyhow I digress and for that I apologise. How, after all that does our mummy greet us after coming belting through the door at such pace. Are we greeted with raptures of joy? Are we given cuddles? Is it demonstrated to us to how much she has missed us while's been away, does she dash to the fridge and replenish our food stocks?

No, we get this greeting, Morning lads, please be quiet, I'll feed you in a minute you're not starving, there's food in your cage I need to go the the loo first and promptly dashes off bathroomwards.

Charming I say, not much of a greeting is it? What do you reckon?

Love Sparky

Time to kick back and relax

We've had a busy day so time
to wind down.

Night all

Love Sparky

Strange men in the house!

We were all sprawled round our gaff when the door bell rang. Mums door bell is loud (but not as loud as the smoke detector, which signals when dinners ready) so, startled we immediately lept from our sprawling positions and wondered who was at the door.

Could it be the RSPCA? Come to check us out, or rather come to check out the conditions we were residing in. I think they would find conditions here are pretty satisfactory though we are well aware from our own experiences at the rescue that some animals suffer terribly at the hands of cruel owners. Having no voice they are not able to speak up for ourselves, so need a kind and alert human to do this for them.

Anyway we heard mum crashing around her bedroom, grumbling away a she hunted for her dressing gown. Seconds later the door burst open and out shot mum, declaring "ok, ok I heard you the first time, stop hammering the door bell!

She stomped off downstairs and returned a few minutes later followed by two men carrying a very large object. No idea what it yet is as it enshrouded in plastic and cardboard. It's now sat decorating our hallway giving mummy hardly any room to pass between said strange object and our cage.

While the strange men were here and mummy was adding her paw print to bits of paper I did try to hang out my cage, while looking cute in the hope he would spot me and say "hello" as I love to meet new people. No such luck, totally ignored me mum witnessed my attempts though and give my nose a scratch which I love. My mum has spent many hours getting to know us and the things we like and dislike and she knows how much I adore a nose scratch.

Anyway time for an afternoon Snooze, my tummy is full of tasty carrot and tomato so time for a nap to allow it all to digest.

See you soon

Love Sparky

Good morning

Good morning everyone. Let's hope today proves to be a better day, weather wise though that will bring us no closer to heading out to the garden as mum is back at work today after her days off. We are left with a less than distinct impression that mum is less than happy with this state of affairs. Not so much the going back to work as the fact days off are over. Does that make sense?

We're just limbering up for the new day ahead of us, having just crawled from our beds, though this may just be a temporary measure as we may in all likelihood head back to them shortly.

I am glugging down some water and winding mum up at the same time. I am a heavy drinker and spend hours at the bar, hitting the the bottle. I am not quiet about it either, rattling on the bottle and chewing on the metal spout, which is what annoys mum so much. However, she recognises and understands that water is vital for our wellbeing and survival so does not remove our bottle, no matter how much it irritates her or how frequently it wakes her during night.

Scampy-Joe my wee pal and adoptive son is on the move as well. Moving more from side to side than forwards, strutting his stuff and rumbling away. He's letting me know he's a fellow bloke pig (something I know already, yet he reminds me 10 times a day). I tolerate it as I know it's normal behaviour for a piggy just shy of 6 months old.

He's trying to assert his place in the world, well try as he might he's not taking over this gaff. He does try and he's a persistent little chap I'll give him that, he's also cheeky. A quick head butt puts him his place and tells him to get off ma food. I may be old but I aint decrepit, I can still stand my ground and defend my corner.

On that note I'll be off, wonder what's for breakfast this morning? Me thinks we may soon be getting low on grub cos it's a while since mummy returned home with orange carrier bags stuffed full of goodies. Oh and slave, we're out of Timothy hay, vital as something for us to munch on to keep our teeth healthy.

Have a lovely day everyone

Love Sparky

Pocket pet

Sometimes we are referred to as "pocket pets". Maybe this is why, my mums dressing gown pocket is one of my favourite place to park my person when I out for cuddles.

Unfortunately I am getting bigger all the time and it's now getting a bit of a squeeze to fit in my mum's dressing gown pocket and I suspect that the time may soon come where, like Sparky I am too big to fit in her pocket.

Lots of Love

Scampy-Joe

See you soon

Rain, rain go away

We love "garden time". Garden time is good, not just for us but all piggies.

It's great fun to kick back in our outdoor run, chill out with the sun on our back and munch on some grass.

Our mum had great plans today for us to enjoy some garden time and we looked forward to it with great anticipation. We arose in all excited in antipation of todays treat but a quick peak out the window and our hearts sank with disapointment. It was raining, raining hard, the British weather has forstalled any plans we might of had for heading out in the garden.

However, for the record there are occasions when the weather is decent enough to be decent here's photoproof of those rare occasions.

Bye for now, take care

Love Sparky and Scampy

Our Ma shoots us!

Please don't panic, we dont mean that literally so please, get off the phone to the RSPCA, yes it provides a wonderful service in rescuing unloved, unwanted, abused and neglected animals but honest we fall into none of those catergories.

No mummy got her fancy, flashy all singing, all dancing mobile out which comes ready equipped with a camera and shot us with that.

I think you'll agree, we're pretty darn cute.

Oy! It's 3am.....

What on earth is our slave/human mother thinking of? Knocking us out of bed at 3am for food is more than acceptable but, hauling us out of bed at that hour to stick us on the kitchen scales to weigh us is not! So what if that she, who is (supposed) to be our slave suddenly relised that we hadn't been weighed for a while, it could of waited till morning and could it not? We are not going to suddenly loose or gain loads of weight in a matter of hours so why on earth could she not of waited till a more sociable hour for goodness sake?

As suspected our weights are fine, all that fuss for nothing. I am 998 grammes and my wee pal Scampy-Joe has gained a little to 650grammes, gain of 16grammes since he last graced the kitchen scales.

I wonder what she's planned for breakfast in the morning?

Good night all

A disgruntled Sparky

xxx