Mr. Bubbles and Scruffy

[Renonvsparky]

After what turned out to be spring cleaning, I got Mr Bubbles and Scruffy in their new spot and both of them in the new, much bigger cages. Moved Sammy and Dean into their new cage too. It took a lot more rearranging than I thought, which led to the spring cleaning. I never realized how much hay and bedding gets on the floor! I had to get some lumber and build the stand so I could stack them.

It actually worked out perfectly with Mr Bubbles on the bottom and Scruffy on the top. Scruffy loves to sit up and survey the room while Mr Bubbles prefers a little more privacy. It's funny because out of the 4 guinea pigs, Scruffy is the only one who can leap onto the built in platform. The other 3 are too fat to jump up. I'm going to have to make ramps for the others LOL! They all love the shelter provided by the under part of the platform. I should have done this long ago.

[Renonvsparky]

Extra long grass means a good place to hide and lots to eat! This is what makes Mr Bubbles and Scruffy happier than anything else I do for them.

[Lynx]

That is a lot of grass to mow! They had better get to work :-)

[Renonvsparky]

I have to cut it this week. What a waste of good guinea pig food.

[ItsaZoo]

Maybe you just need more piggies!

[Renonvsparky]

Yes, but my wife cut me off at just the 4 of them.

[Renonvsparky]

Nail trim and check up today for Mr Bubbles and Scruffy. Both are doing very well! Mr Bubbles is down to 2.88 lbs. Perfect! He can jump on top of his house again and he can reach back to clean himself again. His hind end looks clean and healthy. His oil gland is clear too. Overall, he couldn't be better.

Scruffy is 1.92 lbs. Healthy weight, but an ounce or two wouldn't hurt. His teeth are good from what they could tell. That was starting to be a concern when he was sick with his bowel infection, but he's chewed them down nicely on his own. They couldn't tell about his molars, but his front teeth are good. When the front ones are good, it's usually an indication that the molars are too. Especially since he's not showing any signs of problems, such as slobbering or inability to chew and eat.

Both hearts and lungs are clear and normal. Eyes and ears too. Urine and droppings normal too. A pair of happy and healthy guys. The larger cages and outdoor activities have a lot to do with their weights being healthy.

[Lynx]

Happy and healthy is what we all hope for!

[Renonvsparky]

Mr Bubbles and Scruffy both are on fleece bedding now. When I first got fleece for my guinea pigs, I got big blankets and cut them down to the size I needed. Being blankets, they're gray. As I've added more fleece, I've gotten more, brighter colors I've noticed different behavior from the boys between when the gray fleece is used and when the bright color is.

Has anyone else ever noticed anything like this? The one piggie it affects the most is Mr Bubbles. He stays in his house more with the gray fleece. He still comes out to greet me the same, but when I use bright colors, he spends more time around the rest of his cage. Scruffy is so foot loose and fancy free, his behavior change is very minimal. I think he's so happy to have survived his illness, that almost nothing brings him down.

[Lynx]

More interesting observations! I do think the more time one spends with their pets, the more little behaviors one notices. This could make for an interesting scientific experiment (if done carefully and "no guinea pigs were harmed in the process").

We don't want to promote pet depression :-)

[Renonvsparky]

There's other factors too. There piggies are in the bedroom with the TV on 24/7 and very frequent visits during the day. I try to keep it turned to channels that have "happy" shows on like Nickelodeon, Disney channel and other kiddie channels. If I see something on or coming on that doesn't fit that bill, I change it. I know for a fact that the environment around pets (and plants too) can have an effect on their behavior as well as their disposition.

[Renonvsparky]

Scruffy is eating all of his lettuce now. He always eats the bell peppers, carrots, cucumber or whichever other veggies I give him with the lettuce, but he nibbles that and never eats more than a quarter of it. I don't worry about it too much because he eats a lot of hay, pellets and fresh grass. His droppings are normal in size and frequency and his weight is hovering consistently at just under 2 lbs.

His lack of interest in lettuce has been going on since his illness. Could it have been lingering effects of the cured infection finally wearing off? I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth and I'm thrilled that he's eating all of his lettuce again, but I am genuinely curious. The vet said to give him all the veggies he wants to get his weight up a little bit, so this is a good thing.

I made some homemade chilli today and I used fresh tomatoes. I saved a few scraps for the piggies. Scruffy snatched and devoured them. Mr Bubbles made the funniest sour face I've seen since the last time I offered him tomatoes. He backed away clicking his teeth. I laughed so hard! Then I felt bad for him so I gave him a piece of apple. That made him happy again. It's funny that he not only doesn't like tomatoes, he gets mad and turns his nose at them. The one I offered him today was a different kind than the last one I tried to give him. Those were beefsteak tomato and the one today was roma. Ok, Mr Bubbles; message received! No more tomatoes!

[Sef]

Veggies won't really put weight on, though, but it's a good sign that he's interested in lettuce! On the tomatoes...I buy the so-called "grape" tomatoes, which are supposedly less acidic. My guys like those well enough. Might be worth a try?

[Renonvsparky]

I tried grape tomatoes when they were babies. Neither of them were even remotely interested in them. No biggie. Scruffy is getting plenty of vitamin C and the rest of the nutrients he needs. There's no need to upset Mr Bubbles by trying to get him to eat tomatoes. He's golden right now in every way. Healthy, happy and having the time of his life! I'm going to weigh them both in the morning.

[Renonvsparky]

So I found this feed store that breaks up a few of their big bales of meadow grass and sells it in 5 lb bags. I got some to mix in with the timothy hay I got so they get a good blend. Before I do that, I thought I would give the guys a handful of it as a change of pace. Mr Bubbles wasted no time laying in it and munching. How cute is this?

[Lynx]

Very cute!

Heaven on earth for a piggy?

[Renonvsparky]

Absolutely! He's still my little buddy.

[Renonvsparky]

Scruffy and Mr Bubbles here. Our brothers, Sammy and Dean had their time outside, but now it's our turn. We thought our human was going to forget us, but he didn't. Sammy and Dean ate all of the grass in their spot, so our human moved the pen over here. That's good because the grass is greener here. It's long just the way we like it. Our brothers took too long to eat their fill of grass, so we have to eat as much as we can before it gets too much later.

It's cool out here and the wind is starting to pick up, but our human always finds a way to protect us from it while we eat. Our brothers also told us that our nail trim time is coming soon. I hope they don't quick us this time. Our nails are very dark and we have long quicks. That makes trimming our nails more difficult, so wish us luck. Bye for now!

[Lynx]

I am glad it was a good day to go outside. Miserable, humid, a thunderstorm here.

[ItsaZoo]

Those are some lucky little piggies!