Great Weekend!

So, despite having a stressful Friday, we had a great weekend.

It was sort of a rough start. We decided to back out of buying the car I SUPER want (my dream car, a Subaru Forester). It was the right decision. There were just too many red flags. Kind of a bummer, but better safe than sorry!

We took Xabi to the vet, and he is a healthy pig! The vet said that he's a little light, and if he loses more weight, she'd be worried, but that he isn't terribly underweight. She also said to not compare the different breeds of pigs (Xabi is Abyssinian, the other two are English). But just in case we need to force feed him, she gave us a nice syringe, so we're at least prepared! We concluded with the vet that it is possibly all of the fighting going on between Harvey and Biscotti that is causing Xabi to not get enough food. I redid the cage (AGAIN), and I think it's a better set-up. For more rambling about guinea pigs, you can visit http://threelittlepigpigpigs.blogspot.com/

Another thing we did is re-pot a plant that my grandma gave me when we first moved here. It was 4 different plants in 1 pot. It looked really nice all together, but recently it has not been doing too well. I had already repotted it to a bigger pot, but we decided to just separate them. It's kind of fun having a bunch of different pots around the apartment. I hope it didn't stress them out too much. It was nice to actually DO something. I mean, we cleaned the apartment up and everything, and I made a little grid shelf system for the pig stuff, but it felt good to do something outside. Even if it was just on the deck.

This is when we first moved. It's really small there! I'll upload the separate pots once I get home and can take pictures. I look forward to the day that I can have a real porch or sunroom for my potted plants! 

Follow-Up

With all that said in my previous PT post, I do want to say something else:

I have the most wonderful husband who is supportive, funny, smart, sympathetic, and strives to be his best for me everyday.

I have three cute little guinea pigs that make me giggle everyday and are a testament to our financial progress since moving (we only got them once we could afford for their care, and since we made a blind move to a place without having jobs it took months before we could get pets)

I have an apartment full of things that remind me of our journey and that comfort me because they remind me of home,

I have a family of people (both blood and law relatives)that love me and that I love and respect.

We are financially stable, I have a full time job with a boss that listens to me suggestions.

I have clothing on my back, a roof over my head, and live in a safe environment.

I have not experienced trauma from my whoosh (such as a bomb or gunfire that could damage the ear) and I am not in pain from my whoosh.

I will NOT let this stupid whoosh and that stupid doctor drag me down. I will not let this whoosh out-weigh my happiness, no matter how difficult it can be to ignore it.

Three Little Pigs

I have a new blog! JUST WHAT EVERYONE WANTED!

www.threelittlepigpigpigs.blogspot.com

Xabi's Health

Okay, I'm turning into that crazy guinea pig lady constantly posting about her guinea pigs as if they were children, buuuuuuut, this is big news!

Since the day we got him, Xabi is a little "off". His head is slightly tilted, his ears seem more dirty than the other two, one eye is slightly closed and dull looking, he also kind of has a "wheezy" sound when he runs around, when he eats his food falls out of his mouth, and his teeth look just slightly uneven.

My theory was that he had an elongated root problem. Well, we took him to the vet and she thought the same, but wanted to keep checking. Turns out, Mr. Alonso Kazoo has a nerve deficiency in the entire left side of his face! Poor little guy doesn't have any motor control on that side.

 Hence, his head is tilted, because he can only see out of one eye, so he rotates one side of his head to look at you. His ear is more dirty because he can't feel it get itchy or gunky, so he doesn't clean it. His one eye is slightly closed and dull looking because he can't see out of it, he has a wheezy sound because he probably can only breath out of one nostril, he can only feel one side of his face when he eats and that is why food falls out, and because he probably tends to chew on the side he can feel, his teeth are uneven.

All symptoms of one problem! Unfortunately, of course, there is nothing we can do. Everything else about him is fine. This is just a disability he has. The vet said it might be genetic or he had an accident.

That's the update! And now a picture of the cute widdle piggy.

Xabi likes to jump up into the hay rack. 

Haircut

I've been wanting a haircut for a while, but that isn't what this post is about. This post is about Xabi "Chops" Alonso Kazoo's haircut!!!

If you don't know, Xabi aka Xabster aka "Dozer" aka "Chops" aka "Kramer" aka "Ru-fi-ooooh!", is one of our three guinea pigs. He is notoriously difficult to photograph. He is very dark and you sometimes can't tell which end is which.

Here is his before picture:

And after!!! It helps that his after picture is much better lit, just like those extreme weight loss pictures are. It is like those infomercials where the "Are you tired of not being able to tell the front end of your guinea pig from the back?" and it is black and white and overdramatic, then "WELL NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO!" And it is all color and super smiley!

Piggies

Guinea Pigs

Biscotti.
Full name: Chief Engineer Biscotti Pippin
Nicknames: Biscoff, Biscoffee, Bisquick, Bizniss, Pepto-Bismal
Approximate Date of Birth: March, 2013
Description: American Tricolor
Hobbies: Asserting dominance via "rumble-strutting".
Favorite Food: Green Peppers

Harvey.
Full name: Harvard
Nicknames: Sweet-pea, Bugaboo, Houdini
Approximate Date of Birth: March, 2013
Description: American Tortoiseshell with White
Hobbies: Burrowing
Favorite Food: Cilantro

Xabi (Chob-ee)
Full name: Xabi "Chops" Alonso Kazoo
Nicknames: Zuzu, Rufio, Dozer, Xabster, Ooga-Booga, Kramer
Approximate Date of Birth: October, 2013
Description: Abyssinian Tortoiseshell
Hobbies: Climbing on top of things
Favorite Food: Lettuce

New Obsession

Lately I have spent a lot of hours looking at how to care for Guinea Pigs! We recently found out that although the pet rent ($25 per month, per pet)/pet deposit ($125)/pet fee ($100) applies to cats and dogs, there is no rent/deposit/or fee for guinea pigs!

I have looked up proper care for guinea pigs and am excited because apparently wood shavings aren't the best option for guinea pigs. I am glad because that is one of the things we were thinking was a downside. For one, I think I am allergic. For two, it makes a mess. And for three, it is sort of a waste. Whereas the new way is to have a "C&C" cage. "Cube & Coroplast" cage. Cube, meaning just the wire sides, and coroplast, which is plastic cardboard, essentially. It is was small campaign signs are made out of.

Anyway, then instead of shavings, people put down just a fleece blanket. That way you just take out the blanket and wash it with the rest of your laundry. Apparently guinea pigs have respiratory problems with shavings, also.

I've also been looking at diets, and what foods you should give them daily and what foods you should give them sparingly. It's been a lot of fun, actually. My favorite kind of guinea pigs are the ones with smooth coats. I think this is because my guinea pig Gus was a smooth coat. Also, I loved my grandma's guinea pig, Brownie (smooth coat). I've also found helpful hints on how to help tame your guinea pig.