Mr. Bubbles and Scruffy

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:45 am


We noticed the shorter days and cooler evenings already. They seemed to start right as soon as September started. The human hasn't gotten it through his head yet because he tried to take us outside at our normal time and it was getting too dark and the breeze made it feel too chilly for us. Luckily he figured it out after only a couple of minutes when my brother, Mr Bubbles poofed up his fur so we didn't catch colds. We were very unhappy when he rushed us back into the house. He even had the miniature humans help to get us inside quicker so we didn't even get to eat very much grass. That's ok though because they all went back out and picked us all a bunch of nice long grass to eat inside.

That's not going to fly tomorrow. We are going to give him a stern reminder to take us outside earlier so we can pick our own grass to eat. It's so much better that way because we can get a dandelion leaf or two with the grass. When the miniature humans pick grass for us, they get the shorter blades. We prefer the longer ones. I guess that's better than no grass at all.

Mr Bubbles and I got weighed today by the human. He got really excited for some reason. My weight is up to 2 lbs and 6 ounces. I can't imagine why he got so excited about that. Mr Bubbles is still heavier than me. He was 2 lbs 11 ounces. Maybe someday I'll get my weight back up there 😌. It's time for our nail trim again too. Why does he make such a fuss over us? It's all good because we love the attention! TTFN!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Sep 13, 2019 2:07 am


Poor little Scruffy. He woke up this morning with a discharge coming out of one nostril. Doesn't look too serious, but I got him a vet appointment for the 17th. The vet's office said that if it gets worse, or if his behaviors change, I can bring him in before then. Hopefully it's not a URI. It had dried and gotten a little crusty so I cleaned it up with a warm, damp piece of gauze and I'll check it again in the morning.

It's not related to Scruffy's previous post since he was only outside less than 5 minutes. If anything, it might be the AC in his room. It's set to keep it about 70° in there, but it only kicks off the compressor when it obtains the set temperature. The fan still blows. I have it pointed away from the piggies so it doesn't blow right on them, but I'm going to turn it off at night when it cools down.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:41 am


Being observant is the best protection against illness!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:36 pm


His nose is clear today, so perhaps it was just dust or another irritant. I'm still going to monitor it and have him looked at.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:26 am


Scruffy had just a tiny bit of crusty on his nose this morning. Far less than when I first noticed it a couple of days ago. It's only on his right nostril too. When he was a baby, the discharge would run out of both sides and halfway to his mouth. Not thinking it's a URI because the discharge is clear in color, inconsistent, light and only on the right nostril. He's seeing Dr. Landon on Thursday unless it gets bad and I have to take him in sooner. We'll see what she says. Activity level hasn't declined and everything else is normal. I still think it's hay dust or another irritant.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Sep 15, 2019 9:07 am


That's what it sounds like.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Mon Sep 16, 2019 3:35 am


Scruffy's nose is clear today. Still keeping a watch on it.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu Sep 19, 2019 4:01 pm


Nail trim for these boys went well. Scruffy has a mild URI which is confined to his right nostril. He was prescribed Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ-TMP, DiTrim, Bactrim, Tribrissen) at .45ml twice a day. I am posting everything on this in his medical thread. His weight is solid at 2.2 lbs. Mr Bubbles is starting to creep up again, so I have to keep an eye on it. He's at 2.82 lbs.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:23 pm


It is always helpful to have a record here to go back and check!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Sep 28, 2019 5:53 pm


I did a slight cage reconfigure for Scruffy. I took out the platform, which seems to be a collect all for urine and droppings and replaced it with the house he had before. I left the fleece forest I made in there since he loves it so much. Wouldn't you know it? He uses the house to climb up on the fleece forest. Scruffy has always loved to be up high enough to survey the entire room, so it was just a matter of time before he figured out that he could get up there. It's soft and comfy up there too, so that's good.

I'm all about my guinea pigs being happy, so I have no problem letting him do this and having extra work to do cleaning the fleece forest. The way it's designed, I can pull the fleece out of it and wash it. I can also replace it when it wears out. He doesn't spend all of his time in one spot and it's only about a 10" drop when he jumps down from it, so no big deal. Whatever makes him happy and doesn't pose a risk to his health is fine with me.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:32 pm


It's been a few days since I posted on the boys but Scruffy seems to be over his nasal infection/URI. Healthy and happy as ever. I think he knows that the antibiotics are done because when he was on them, he was a little bit apprehensive about letting me pick him up. Now he climbs on the side of the cage when I open the door and jumps into my hands. No difficulty eating or drinking like he did coming off the antibiotics last time. Of course it was a different medication and infection last time too. I'm glad he's well now.

Mr Bubbles is still doing great. He's my best piggie. They're all great piggies actually, but he's the best eater, lap piggie and he doesn't make as big of a mess of his cage as the others do. Sometimes I wish he would accept a cage mate, but as long as he's healthy and happy, I suppose it's ok.

Outside grass eating season is winding down with the cold weather and the lawn starting to go dormant. There's only a few days here and there left. I'll try to make the most of every time conditions are right for them to be outside. Usually by the 3rd week of October, it over until late spring.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sat Oct 05, 2019 9:10 am


Do you have a pic of the fleece forest? I love the chin scritch pic!

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