The Olympic trials have begun!

I know because I can see them! They are loud and the cages shake! Wheek! [Suri, Dolly, Kira, and Luna have all moved beyond their spring training and are now in full swing working on their specialties. Suri loves the long distance runs and obstacle course. She can be seen with her trainer, the cheetah cub, zipping around her cage while she gets in shape. Dolly and Kira are focusing on short sprints. Luna has chosen to go out for long distance running, popcorning, and wire-grid chomping. So many to focus on, Luna! More Olympic updates to follow once the games begin.]

Minty and Monty arrived!

"Wish you were here". Where???? I want to know! Wheek! [One morning Minty and Monty set out in search of Mildred's famous hot cross buns and a spot of tea. They drove round and round but all they could find was a lovely garden with a fairy house in the middle. They were quite hungry by now so they knocked on the little door and inquired about cheese. Much to their surprise, a little fairy asked if they might like some fresh hot cross buns and a spot of tea instead. They were thrilled when the little fairy returned with her helpers and hot cross buns and a pot of tea. They stayed to enjoy the delicious treats before they went on their way again. Minty and Monty had a lovely time and hope to take another road trip soon.]

Moving along ... hello?

New staff person on board yet????? Replacement needed STAT! Call the guinea pig police now! Wheek!

Let the updates begin ... now!

Hellllllloooooooooooooo; where's the staff? Anyone run the ad? "New blog writer needed ASAP!" Wheek! [Bella hopped on over to the HRS for a photo shoot and promptly wanted to leave. Why? No carrots in sight! She did settle down long enough to get a good photo and promptly left in search of veggies. Bella is very user-friendly and sweet in case you are looking for an awesome rabbit to adopt.

Brownie and Blackie survived their bonding period and are total buddies now. This is good news since Blackie had just lost his companion to illness and Brownie had never had a cage mate before.

I received a couple of emails about a guinea pig who needed to be pulled from a shelter. He was having trouble walking and the cause was not known. He appeared to be a real stray since he was dirty and covered with mud. My thought was that he had scurvy due to lack of Vitamin C and a proper diet. He was released four days after intake and was started on Vitamin C and Metacam and assessed by the vet a couple days later. He was very tired when he first arrived and still eats lying down. He has perked up a little bit and it's thought that he will recover fully but that it will take time to resolve the scurvy.

Willie got info mischief once again. He feels that it's his job to keep an eye out on the guinea pigs so he joined Lucy recently in her cage when I went to get some hay. Not funny, Willie!]

UPDATES: 6-1-10

Brownie and Blackie are still in the bonding cage with no fighting. However, Blackie does tend to harass Brownie and may be keeping him from some food. Brownie's teeth were checked at the vet and they appear to be fine but he is slightly underweight. Fluffy also had his teeth checked and they are okay for now. His lump was checked and it appears to be a cyst or lipoma. This photo shows Fluffy chomping on one of Ian's wooden houses. Maybe his chomping is trying to drown out Licorice's shrieking, something that he has started to do recently.

Dolly, Oscar, and Pryn got baths this weekend and Pippa, Oscar, and Pryn all got summer haircuts with the shaver. I think Oscar and Pryn really like not having all of their very thick, heavy hair. Speaking of Oscar and Pryn, they may be heading back down to see Gwen and live with a friend of hers. Time will tell. Hope she gets to see them again; her cancer has spread to her brain.

Found some foxails in the hay and fleece bedding! So not funny or amusing! Suki has been sneezing off and on and there are no symtoms of any URI. I hope she didn't get one of the very small foxtails in her nose. Speaking of Suki, her is a photo of her with her buddy, the cheetah.