New Friends

Peanut started acting a little crazy in his adolescent years... so unfortunately I had to separate him and Guinness. For a while, all 3 pigs were living separately, which was a huge pain for me! But lately, I've been letting Guinness and Wally play together. They were doing so well together, that I decided to put them in the same cage yesterday. What a couple of cutie pies! There is occasional "rumble strutting" but for the most part they get along great. Here are some pigtures from their play time together and their first day as roomies:

Wally and Guinness playing in the pig pen

Munching on hay

Cuties

Just relaxing

 

Seeing what's for breakfast... 

Pigs eating veggies together

Chrismukkah pigs

I took a few pigtures for our 2nd annual Chrismukkah card. Last year, it was just me, Cole, and Guinness. Now that we have 2 more pigs, it would have been REALLY tough to get everyone in one shot, so I took some individual shots of my boys :)

PEANUT! He is quite the rascal... this is 

the only picture I got with the antlers on!

GUINNESS... I call these his "glamour shots" because he 

just sat there and posed for me... what a photogenic piggy!

Posing for the camera again! Piggy lips!!!

WALLY! What a cutie. My Chrismukkah present :)

Wally eating the ribbon

Piggie Tent

I ordered the most adorable guinea pig toy from the Laurel's Zoo store on Etsy... a camouflage tent! It's the perfect pig size. You can even take the fabric off the tent rods and wash it. I love Etsy for guinea pig accessories because its hard to find fun, good quality toys in pet stores.

I've had the tent for a few weeks and the pigs have always sniffed and nibbled at it during play time. Finally, Guinness decided to give it a try yesterday! Wally must have smelled Guinness in the tent and gotten jealous because he decided to try it out too. Here are some pigtures of Guinness and Wally in the tent.

 Guinness testing out the tent

Guinness got his hair a bit messed up!

Wally camping out

Wally's hair is messed up too!

Peanut hasn't gotten in the tent yet, but when he does, expect more pigtures!

Play time with Wally

Wally has become so much more outgoing since we got him in August--just 2 months ago he was a shy little peeg, but now he's very brave and social! He loves play time, especially when I lay on the floor with him and give him treats. He runs around and popcorns like a crazy peeg! 

Here are some cute pigtures of Wally playing recently:

Nomming some lettuce

More nomming

Curious pig

Up close chewing shot!

Looking for more treats...

Exploring the cave

Piggy bum!

In the cave

More lettuce

Whiskers!

New project...

This is my new project for the fall/winter. I'm going to knit my piggies sweaters!

I got this from a website called Knitters Row. They even have instructions. I think I will make each pig a sweater in a different color. Maybe with their initial on the back?? I'm sure the piggies will love this...

Wally's First Bath

Tonight was Wally's first bath (and my first time bathing a pig too!!!) and it went pretty smoothly. The other pigs have never been bathed. Wally is so calm and sweet, and he was very brave! He didn't like being wet so much, but looked adorable.

Wally wet post-bath 

After his bath, I took the soaking wet piggy into the bathroom and put him on a towel, and chased him around with the blow dryer! He didn't seem to mind this too much. I was careful to keep it on low, and keep my hand on his fur to make sure it didn't get too hot. He looks so cute and fluffy now! Wally is also going to the vet on Thursday for his first checkup :)

Getting blow-dried in the bathroom

Wally smells great (I used a baby powder scent kitten shampoo) and looks fab!

Guinness' Homecoming Anniversary

August 15, 2011: The anniversary of Guinness' homecoming!

What a wee little piggy he was when we first brought him home on this same day in 2010. We fell in love with him at Petco when we held him and he sat on my chest and squeeked at me. It was really love at first sight! Cole and I both really liked him (especially his coloring and the silly crest on his head) and thought he looked like a little "Guinness"... a little black and tan pig!

We didn't know much about guinea pigs then, but I spent the next weeks researching constantly. What food is best, what bedding, what toys, etc. We chopped veggies every morning and took him out to play every night. Now, he has a guinea mansion with lots of toys, hay, treats, and friends! At first, Guinness was a scaredy peeg, always running from noises. Now, hardly anything phases him. He begs for treats and squeeks for attention every time I come by the cage. He will let anyone pet him. He has really turned into quite the "ham" as I like to say.

Taking Guinness home on this day 1 year ago really started a chain of events that has changed my life. First Guinness, then Peanut (because Guinness needed a buddy), and now we have adopted Wally. Pretty soon, Wally will need a buddy too. I love my little piggies so much! I'm turning into a crazy guinea pig lady and I'm proud of it!

Me and Guinness cuddling

Weight Update

Guinea pig weight update, as of 8/7/11. Includes Wally, the newest addition to our family!

Guinness: 2 lbs 10 oz
Peanut: 2 lbs 5 oz
Wally: 2 lbs 13 oz

Wally is clearly the biggest of the group! Peanut is still small, but not fully grown yet, and he seems to be growing fast. He has grown about 2-3 oz per month lately. I expect that by November (when he turns 1 yr old) he will be about the same as the others. Guinness and Wally are both a little over 1 yr old, so probably full grown. They are all very adorable, and fed healthy diets with lots of hay and veggies. Wally will be going in for his first vet visit soon, so hopefully the vet is impressed as with the others!

Walnut AKA Wally

We just got a third guinea pig!! His name was Flash when we got him, but we just re-named him Walnut, AKA Wally for short (Flash is still his middle name). He's a really big pig, and very sweet! We adopted him from Cole's aunt in Montana. She got him for her youngest son, who eventually got tired of taking care of poor Wally :( and he wasn't getting nearly enough attention there. I like to call his adoption our "guinea rescue mission" since we drove 18 hours out to Montana to get him! We happened to have a wedding out there that weekend, so it worked out.

THE ROAD TRIP: When we got Wally he was in a smaller cage, which we knew we would have to change, but it ended up being perfect for the car. It fit in the backseat just right! We gave him some treats and food and took off from Helena, Montana back home to Des Moines, Iowa. He was actually pretty good in the car. He spent most of his time in the pigloo, but came out a few times for water and food. We figured that meant he wasn't too scared. When we got to Sheridan, Wyoming, we stopped for the night and stayed at a nice Hampton Inn. Wally liked it OK too, and we even took him out on the floor for a bit to run around. On a towel, of course! He did escape behind a desk one time but we got him pretty quick!

TEMPORARY HOME: Mr. Walnut is currently with me and the other pigs in Des Moines, at my parents' house where I am staying this summer. We fixed him up in Guinness and Peanut's old cage, the one they stayed in when they were just babies. We will be putting Wally into another bigger C&C cage in Iowa City when I move back to school in a few weeks, but for now its a pretty good setup. We gave him a fleece bed instead of fluff, and added a straw cave, some toys, a hay rack, and treats. At first he was nervous, but he has adjusted extremely fast! He just got here last Sunday--- so only 1 week and he is already very brave, coming out of his pigloo all the time to check things out, run around, munch on veggies, etc. He can also see/smell the other pigs through the cage, and he seems pretty excited about that. They squeek at each other and its very cute :)

Eating some hay

Very cute!

Hanging out in his new Hawkeye cage :)

I'm not sure if Wally ever had so many veggies before! He has been eating them all, and seems to like most of the things the other gpigs like: romaine and other lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, apple, basil, parsley, and even a little zucchini sometimes. We also have taken him out on my bedroom floor a few times and he loves it! I'm not sure if he ever had floor time before, either :( but he loves it now. He ran around excitedly and squeeked a lot, and it was so cute!

He also loves being petted which is great because he is big and cuddly and furry and I love to pet him! He's pretty calm as far as being held. That is a totally different story from Peanut, who is the squirmiest/most skittish pig ever! Guinness does love pets, though, now that he is fully grown and pretty calm. Peanut is still growing so hopefully he will calm down soon like the other boys!

I am very excited about the new addition to our family! He seems happy too. I will post more pictures soon, especially when we go back to Iowa City.

Breakfast time

Every morning, Guinness and Peanut wake us up, whether we want them to or not. After my alarm goes off, or we make ANY noise, they assume its time for breakfast. They squeak and make noise until they get it. Those pigs love their veggies!

This morning, Cole took some pictures of the action. 

Piggy breakfast: cucumbers, red peppers, carrots, and parsley

Guinness is excited for veggies!

Peanut begging 

Peanut chowing down

Guinness munching away (and making a big mess)

Guinea Stamps!!!

I decided to order stamps from stamps.com with pictures of Guinness and Peanut on them. I was inspired by my parents, who had stamps made of our pets Gusty (cat) and Charlie (goldendoodle). The stamps are super cute! Here are the pictures I decided to use:

Guinness in the cave

Peanut looking extra rascally on the bridge

I love these two pictures. I wanted to use a picture of both of them together, but it was too much to fit on the little stamp. If you would like a guinea-stamped letter or card, let me know! (Or even if you don't want one, I will be sending out something soon)

Big Pigs

I've been charting the guinea pigs' growth since we got them. Its amazing how fast they grow! I'm pretty sure Guinness has stopped growing (almost 1 year old), but Peanut is getting bigger every day.

Guinness weighed 1 lb 8 oz when we first took him to the vet in September 2010 (looking back to some of my earlier posts, you can tell how small he was). As of March 2011 he weighs 2 lbs 7 oz. I've read that guinea pigs can grow up to a year, so Guinness could still grow a little in the next few months. We'll see!

January 2011: He takes up half the cave!

March 2011: Tall pig! 

Lying down, he's about 12 inches from nose to rear. 

Peanut has gotten up to 1 lb 8 oz! He was under 1 lb when we got him in early January, so hes growing pretty darn fast. He's still tiny compared to his big brother, but he's catching up quickly.

Early January 2011: SO tiny!

Late February 2011: taking a piggy nap in the cave

After just 2 months, he looks like he's double the size!

I'll update in a few months when Peanut is full grown. He's 5 months old now, so if he's anything like Guinness, he'll grow pretty fast over the next 3 months!

Best Friends

The pigs have been together for about a month now. We built a giant PIGGY PALACE so that they both have lots of space, and we can still separate them while they eat in the morning. There is a little bridge between both sections. They love their home and they love each other! It took a while to introduce them, but they are best friends now. They pretty much spend their days puttering around together, eating hay, wheeking, and begging for treats when mommy or daddy walks by. Here are some extra-cute pics of the piggies hanging out together.

PS-- as you can tell, they now have a colorful fleece bedding. I find its easier to clean and MUCH cheaper. Previously, we were buying 1 large bag of Carefresh per week--yikes! Go Hawks!

Piggy train-- they always follow each other around!

Pigs on the bridge, begging for treats :)

Peanut poking his head out of the hutch-- curious little piggies

One side of the cage + the connecting bridge

Other side of the cage (this is the original cage we built for Guinness)

Welcoming Peanut!

We recently welcomed a second guinea pig, Peanut, into our home. He's so tiny right now, about half the size of Guinness (who happens to be pretty big at 2 lbs 4 oz)! 

The new guinea pig, PEANUT!

Peanut up close and personal! (and a little scared)

Just for size comparison, this is Guinness in the same cave. 

We have them in separate cages right now for the "quarantine" phase, meaning that we need to keep them apart for a few weeks-- just to make sure they are both healthy pigs before we introduce them! I made vet appointments for both of them next week so they can have regular check ups. Then its piggy play time.

I really can't wait to introduce them. They will both be much happier having a buddy around!