Max - Newest Piggie Addition

Max is our newest piggie addition. He's such a spaz.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

I know, I need to really invest in an actual digital camera. But here's a pic of the snow where I'm at.

Holey Moley!!

More Piggies!!!!

This is cute:



Here's Pepper with her new barrett. It suits her don't you think?










My fave pic of Pepper:











My fave pic of Udon:











Udon and Pepper enjoying grass:

Miso is SICK!!! WAHHHH!!!

My poor guinea pig has gone through some hell. Here's the scoop:

Oct. 29----My sister’s three and a half year old guinea pig, Miso, stopped eating his pellets (however he was able to eat his carrots) and weight loss was obvious. We immediately took Miso to a vet in the Greater Toronto Area (this is where the guinea pig’s home was before I took him back with me to Cadillac) to get examined. The associate vet diagnosed that Miso’s bottom incisors were too long which is why the pig could not pick up his pellets. Miso’s lower anterior dentition was shortened. I was then instructed to force feed him 4 times daily.

Oct 31----We took Miso back to the vet because we didn’t notice any improvement. In fact, we noticed that he completely stopped eating and had a difficult time grasping his carrots after his bottom incisors were cut. Another associate vet examined Miso and noted discharge from the eyes and nose along with some wheezing. This vet administered one carpule of antibiotics (IM) and one shot of anti-inflammatory immediately. He also prescribed antibiotics (Baytril elixir) to be given for 14 days, twice daily.

Nov 1----We noticed an improvement in Miso. He was less shaky, and more responsive. His bowels were moving again, but I was still force feeding him.

Nov 2----Miso was back at the vet for a follow-up. Miso was still not eating on his own and this vet noted that his molars were overgrown and that Miso would benefit from tooth planing.

Nov 4----We admitted Miso in for dentistry. His upper and lower molars were planed and the height of his molars were decreased as well. Dental surgery was performed with no obvious complications.

Nov 5----We noticed Bell’s Palsy-like symptoms afflicting the left side of his face. He was not responding when his whiskers were being touched, and he was unable to blink. We immediately went back to the vet to advise us what the problem was. The vet assured us that no nerves were severed or incisions made during the oral surgery. Miso was given a shot (Dexamethasone) to speed up the recovery of the nerve and we were told that Miso should recover in about 10 to 14 days. Artificial tears were dropped into his eye to help with lubrication.

Nov 14----Miso is still not eating on his own nor has full recovery of his facial nerve. I have continued with his force feeding regime and haven’t noticed any drastic improvements in his face except that perhaps his lip isn’t as droopy. I have noticed that Miso has not been using his water bottle as of late. So I looked at his maxillary front incisors and they appear too long to me (approx. 10mm). I’m not sure if this is a bad incisor length, however I’m consequently having to hand feed him water as well. Allow me to note that Miso is now grinding/bruxing quite heavily now.

Nov 16----Miso is back at the vet, a new one because I'm now in Cadillac, and was told that Miso needs a dental trim on his upper incisors. Also told that there doesn't appear to be elongated roots. Miso received another shot of Dexamethasone for his facial nerve. Ben took more x-rays this evening to examine the problem for ourselves.

Nov 17----Miso was dropped off at the vet at 7:30am for his dental trimming. Picked him back up this afternoon and his incisors look pretty good.

Nov 22----Miso was seen by an exotics vet located in Grand Rapids, which is an hour an half drive for us. Miso still hasn't gained any weight and we're very concerned now. The vet is stumped. Miso's heart is nice and strong, his abdomen and kidneys feel good. To rule out hyperthyroidism, she took some blood to run a test. Results are to be in on Friday or Saturday.

Image 1: Udon is a healthy piggie. Udon's x-ray taken today Nov 16th.

Image 2: Miso's x-ray taken today Nov 16th.

There is obvious malocclusion of the incisors and incomplete apposition of the molars. Dental trimming of the upper incisors seems appropriate at this point.

Miso as a healthy piggie:

My sister making Miso work really hard for his carrots

Jan 2----OK, I'm a bit delayed in updating the status of Miso. But NO news is GOOD news right? Anyhow, Miso results are as follows: hyperthyroidism (negative); urinanalysis (negative). So, what was wrong with him you ask? Well, the vet in Grand Rapids prescribed Ditrim, another antibiotic. She suspected that the Baytril didn't kill the initial bug that he had. SHE WAS RIGHT. I noticed an immediate difference and he started gaining weight. To top it off, his teeth grew in very nicely and his occlusion is perfect. So, you guessed it, he started eating on his own! HIS OWN I SAY! What a miracle. He's now at 2lbs 7oz. A far cry from the 1lb 13oz he was at a month ago. He still has weight to gain, but that will probably take some time. I have completely stopped force feeding him now, but I'm still monitoring his weight just in case. ALSO.....his Bell's Palsy went away yesterday! I had to blink twice when I saw him blink. YEAH MISO! Things are finally looking up. This was the best Christmas present I have ever gotten :D

June 18 (12:20)----Regretfully, Miso passed away today following what seems to be a stroke. I found my poor boy laying on his side. I held him and kissed him good-bye; and told him that he was loved. Thankfully, he didn't die alone tonight. Tomorrow will be his buriel where he will return back to the earth. He was the best little piggie....I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Maltesers

OK...Maltesers are the best. I've eaten a disturbing amount of Maltesers lately. I've probably polished off a bag a day so far....and I have the jumbo bag! Nevermind, I'm GOING TO BE JUMBO if I don't stop. I think I'm going into sugar shock, but it was so worth it!! I'm more worried about the fact that I only have 1 bag left. What am I going to do once that's done? It's so damn expensive in the States. Meijer charges like 1.50 USD for a small bag of Maltesers. WTF??? I can get 2 bags for 1.00 CDN. So yah, WTF???

My sister is visiting soon!

My sister and her hubby will be visiting Ben and I soon in Northern Michigan. It'll be fun! And not only because she's bringing me a crap load of chinese food that I can't get here! The cherry festival is this weekend in Traverse City (apparently, TC is the cherry capital), so it's going to be busy in town. Here's a pic of my sister and brother in-law.

This is me and my hubby Ben. You're probably wondering about that massive cake. Well my wonderful friend Lisa with my sister threw a "surprise" going away party for me. They caved on the surprise part by the way. Anyhow, that cake was homemade by Lisa's mom, and it's a kick-ass cake! Lisa, if you're reading this, I want more cake. I'm not even kidding.

By the way, this is my lovely friend Lisa pictured here with me.

This is where we'll be spending the weekend, on Spider Lake in Traverse City. Hopefully the weather will keep up and the fish will too.

Udon and Pepper - Take 2

Can't get enough of my piggies? Here's more photos of them:


Here's Pepper reclining. She thinks she's so sexy showing one leg. She always relaxes like this all sprawled out.




Udon's sitting on Ben's shoulder in this pic. Udon's just a baby here, which is why he even fits on his shoulder. Udon couldn't do this now, he's too fat, I mean, pleasantly plump!





Udon and Pepper cuddling in the corner of their cage. I love it when they cuddle together like this, it's like one massive fluffball!




Udon and Pepper in the same corner of the cage in the early stages. Right now, the corner pictured here has a hammock which they love to jump in and "popcorn" around. I'll post photos of that shortly.

Udon and Pepper

My two piggies! Udon is the tri coloured one and Pepper, well it's obvious isn't it? Udon recently had his maleness taken away, and I'm sure Pepper is happy about that. Udon's gotten over his loss since then.





Pepper is pretty nosey. She has to sniff everything. Then if it smells good, she has to take a nibble at it too.

And here's Udon hiding in his pipe. He's a bit shocked when he realizes that we CAN see him!









"Gimme that apple dammit! Let GOOOO!!!" Udon's actually pulling pretty hard. He's a strong piggy, probably from all the food he eats!