Laundry: $40

Hello! Why??? Make them wash their own laundry! Wheek! [The cost this week was $40 to wash the guinea pig laundry at the laundromat. A lady there asked if I was doing laundry for a rescue and I said yes so she gave me $5. Very nice, particularly since she had just lost lots of money in the machines because she forgot to put soap in them and had to wash them again. Thank you!]

UPDATE: Misha and Belle adopted!

It's official! They love it there! Yeah! [Both Belle and Misha are staying with Nick long term. Misha loves Nick and Bella seems to tolerate him. Their new set up measures 4' x 8' feet so that will give Misha plenty of space to practise running laps. More good news is that they will be staying in their home with a house sitter while their caretaker is away for a month on vacation.]

Suki is chewing Charlie's hair!

No more, Suki! You are not a hairdresser! Wheek! [Suki seems to think that it is her duty to keep Charlie's curly locks trimmed. However, no one else agrees with her.]

Now Charlie is doing laps!

Why? Suki is too fast for him! He will never catch her. Wheek! [Suki regularly practises her long distance running skills and regularly leaves Charlie totally confused as to what is going on. He tries his best but Suki is way to speedy for him. She loves to do figure eights and tight circles along with in-and-out maneuvers. But at least he is trying to join in so he deserves an A for effort.]

Cozy Caves arrived ... they are so warm!

I want one now. Where can I get one? I want to know! Wheek! [I posted earlier about modifying a companion sack made by the Cozy Cavy that I had but did not use. Very soon afterward she started selling her fleece Cozy Caves and they are wonderful. Very warm and perfect for one - three guinea pigs. I bet you and your pigs will love them.] 

Willie is in timeout!

He's in big trouble! I saw it! Wheek! [Willie is part of the welcoming committee at GPF and he needs to make sure that all of the critters here are okay. I was holding one of the two males who came with the rabbit. Willie startled the guinea pig big time when he jumped up on the computer desk. :( The guinea pig scrambled off my lap and onto the floor and ran into the bedroom where I retrieved him. The two guinea pigs are two of the most terrified that I have ever seen but one of them is relaxing a bit. They are also the most amazing since they are so bonded and are excellent with the little male baby who was added when the rabbit was removed.]

Bella not eating .. went to Dr. D!

Why is she in a lump? Move around, Bella! Call Dr. D, now! Wheek! [Bella wasn't eating or moving so she went to the vet last Saturday. I thought she was in stasis (due to fur ingestion from self-grooming) but that was not the case. Her temperature was 105.9 (normal range is 100 - 103) so the vet took her home with her to treat the infection (cause unknown). The fluids and antibiotics brought the temperature down to the normal range so I picked her up on Monday night. She's on Baytril until the bottle is empty; the Propulsid was just for two days. So far she seems fine and is doing binkies when out and about in the bedroom (supervised); she decided to claim the cat tree as her own. She is eating her hay but just a small amount of her measured pellets. She loves veggies (in moderation). Another update to follow at soem point. Thanks again to Janet for donating money for her take-home meds!]

Misha and Belle packed their bags and left!

Why? What's wrong with the food here? I want to know! Wheek! [Anita emailed me that her seven-year-old female had died last week and that Nick might be lonely now. I took Misha and Belle to meet Nick to see if either of them might work out as a companion. Nick was very protective of Misha who is about two-months-old and quite amourous with Belle who is about five-years-old. We weren't sure which would be the better choice so they both stayed while Anita sorts things out. (Belle is the one who was thrown against the wall and her sister died at the shelter.) Stay tuned for an update.]

Bonding attempt with Kylie/Belle/Misha

Call the guinea pig police! Kylie hates everyone! Wheek! [I decided to try to bond Kylie with Belle and Misha. They are living side-by-side and I thought that perhaps Kylie might like a buddy or two to encourage her to eat more. After eight attempts at bonding with different pigs, both male and female, I noticed that Kylie now has a sign that says "Enter at your own risk!".]

Baby still here -

Why? I want to know! Wheek! [I was contacted by a shelter asking if I could take a surplus male baby. Since someone had just contacted me asking for a male for her adult male I said yes. However, it turns out that her adult male lost his former companion because the caretakers did not take him to a vet. Plus, they wanted to let the baby run around. I felt that it would be best for the baby to join the two males who had arrived with the rabbit. The bonding was right after the rabbit was removed and so far things are going along well but they all three are very skittish and need to be socialized.]

2 guinea pigs living with a rabbit???

Call the SPCA now! Wheek! [I was contacted about taking two adult male guinea pigs and later told that they were living in a "too-small" cage with a rabbit. The cage was 17" x 30" and the rabbit could barely stretch out. Since it was an abusive situation I took them. One of the guinea pigs appeared to be quite bonded to the medium-sized female rabbit. The other guinea pig was underweight and the rabbit would lunge at him. After they were moved to a larger cage the rabbit had more room to move around in and would upend the stools. I removed her after I saw her lunge at the one who was underweight. Since the rabbit was removed a male baby from the shelter who was here was bonded with them and the two adult guinea pigs have each gained about 100 grams. The guinea pigs are terrified and slowing being socialized.]

What's with Willie?????

Why does he have that on his head? That's for guinea pigs, Willie! Stop playing around! [Once again Willie has taken his quality control inspections a bit too seriously. He decided to check out a cozy that was sent and ended up wearing it! He was "rescued" and, much to his relief, can now see again.]

Kylie update ...

She gained weight! Wheek! [Update: Kylie was checked by the vet last weekend and was on the low side of normal for her weight. I decided to go back to what she was eating a while ago (alfalfa-based Mazurri vs. Oxbow or Kleenmama's timothy-based pellets) and she immediately ate all of pellets. She gained weight but lost some yesterday so I'll just keep an eye on her. If she loses more the vet said that blood tests and/or x-rays would be the next diagnostic options. This morning she was shivering again and she might be cold. She had two warm items in her cage but she did not use either one so a hut and a crash pad will be put in instead.]