Mr. Bubbles and Scruffy

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri May 03, 2019 9:06 pm


Took the boys in for their nail trim. While she was at it, the vet gave them a quick once over. Scruffy weighs 1.94 pounds. That's a tad light, but nothing to be alarmed about, especially because he's eating and drinking normal and his urine and droppings are normal. Also his weight doesn't fluctuate by more than an ounce or so. She wants me to try and put a few ounces on him so that he's about 2.1 pounds. Not easy to do since he's one hyper little guy. His teeth, which had started to get long during his illness are better, so we averted having to do dental work on him.

Poor Mr Bubbles though. His weight is a whopping 2.96 pounds. That's about 3 ounces more than the vet is comfortable with. He's a sizeable boar anyway, but he doesn't really need the extra weight. I give him plenty of floor time, but he's just not one to run around much. He never has. I used to goose him to get him to run, but that makes him angry, so I don't do it anymore. I'll figure something out. His nail trim is always stressful and this time was no different. He's got long quicks, black nails that make them hard to see and his front claws are curly and that makes it hard to do his nails. 3 nails on his back foot and 2 on his front were quicked. It seems to happen every time and only on poor Mr Bubbles. He got really stressed out, but I loved on him and he's over it..

So all I have to do is a 2 ounce weight transfer from Mr Bubbles to Scruffy and both of them will be perfect!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri May 03, 2019 10:14 pm


I wouldn't worry for a minute about a boar that weighs three pounds. All of my sows were above that except one, and she hovered just under it.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri May 03, 2019 11:17 pm


I'm glad to hear that. Mr Bubbles is a big boy even when his weight drops. I guess I'm a little more concerned about him being lazy than him being fat :) He can motor when he wants to. The other day when I went to check on him and refill his hay, I startled him out of a deep sleep and all I saw was a blur as he did a zoomie around to his house! It was like watching an elephant run like a cheetah 😁😁! He can still climb up on his house and stand up on the side of his cage too, so maybe I'm worrying about him too much.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat May 04, 2019 6:17 pm


Mine are a little on the leaner side, averaging around 2 lbs. 10 oz. with the exception of our little paralyzed guy, who is just under 2 lbs. I'd rather have a guinea pig on the slightly higher end of the scale vs. underweight, and much depends on activity level and metabolism.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat May 04, 2019 7:50 pm


Scruffy is a bit hyperactive. Sometimes I wonder if he ever sleeps! Getting weight on him isn't easy because he burns off the calories as fast as he takes them in. I'm not going to sweat too much as long as I'm not seeing any drastic drop in his weight. With Mr Bubbles, I'm going to keep encouraging him to exercise, but I'm not going worry about his weight either as long as it stays at 3 pounds, plus or minus a few ounces.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu May 09, 2019 9:47 pm


Got the whole herd outside today. It would be nice if all 4 of these bullish boars could be in the same enclosure. Scruffy is hiding under the blanket. Mr Bubbles doesn't need to be in the cage as long as I'm sitting right there because he doesn't run away. If he gets scared, he runs to me.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri May 10, 2019 11:00 pm


What lovely grass! I bet they are happy out there.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat May 11, 2019 4:09 am


They love it. I hate to have to mow it because I feel like I'm wasting their food :)

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed May 29, 2019 3:19 am


Got back from vacation to find out that the cage wires that hold the door to Mr. Bubbles' cage closed were both broken off. He doesn't like his door left open when nobody is in the room. They rigged up a latch out of a paper clip, but it's only a temporary fix because the door is still loose. I got that cage second hand from a neighbor and it was in rough shape back then, but it worked and he's been happy in it. It's time to get him a new one, so I got him this one from Amazon:

MidWest Homes for Pets Deluxe Rabbit & Guinea Pig Cage, X-Large, White & Red


While I was at it, I got one for Scruffy too. His cage is in good shape, but it's a little on the small side. The new ones should give them more room and keep them happy. I can add toys for them to play with between floor times. They both like the tunnel and the fleece forrest, so I'll have some crafting to do for them as well. It would be better if they would get along and share a cage, but what can I do? The new cage has a hard plastic bottom like their old ones so they'll be keeping the paper bedding. They should arrive on Thursday. I might have to do some rearranging too.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri May 31, 2019 1:35 am


So I got the new, bigger cages for Mr Bubbles and Scruffy and boy did I underestimate the size! It's the same size as the one Sammy and Dean have. No big deal, but I have to do more rearranging than I previously thought. It entails ordering one for them so I can stack 2 of them. Scruffy will have to wait an extra 2 days to get into his, but the setup should be pretty good and all of the boys should be happy. Sammy and Dean's current cage won't go to waste. It's versatile and will make a great enclosure for floor time and for grazing outside.

Image

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri May 31, 2019 10:56 pm


The bigger cage is becoming a great thing for Mr Bubbles! He's moving around a lot more. The Oxbow Timothy Stacks are where it's at too. I put a slice of it with him and he actually climbed on it to chew on it and play with it. He's always been a lazy guy and too cool to do guinea pig things, but I'm happy to see him get excited about something he can play with! Scruffy loves new things, so while it was very cute to see him climb on it, push it around and chew on it, I wasn't surprised. The other cage gets here tomorrow, so he's going to get a lot more space. I can't wait to see the zoomies he's going to do in it! I'm going to keep a hay stack slice in their cages all the time!

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:28 am


My guys LOVE those hay stacks. Messy as heck, but they are great fun.

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