Mr Bubbles

[janlovingcavies]

I would strongly advise against getting her spayed as any surgery is very dangerous for these little guys!

Does your daughter and family live with you? If not surely they could take her with them when they return home.

Otherwise you could rehome her OR you could get her a friend and keep the girls in a separate room? I have done this when had 6 girls and was given a male, kept him in a different room with his friend till they passed this life and went to paradise.

We had NO room for another cage so we put the cage on dressing tables in our bedroom whilst the girls were in the lounge. Jay says post her to Australia and she will welcome her with open paws! Good luck with what ever you decide!

Jay not sure what she is abby or not?

Attachments:

[renonvsparky]

Made it home and met Buttercup. She's a very sweet Abby. She hides in her house but she doesn't run and lets me pick her up. She is a snuggler too. She's fully grown. She has a hard belly. I hope she's not pregnant. Her belly isn't really big but it isn't soft and squishy like the boys. Any of you with girls know what I should be looking for? I'll be keeping an eye on it.

[janlovingcavies]

Just watch out for weight gain and if her appetite becomes more. In the mean time feed her the best food just in case. Loads of fresh hay. I would suggest a vet visit to make sure as there are a number of problems a sow can have when pregnant or giving birth like if older than 7 months bones aren't as flexible and a C section maybe needed. Or Toxemia which can be fatal in piggies. So I would suggest a vet visit for your piece of mind and for Buttercup's health check.

Just in case it is bloat give tummy massages and make sure she is pooping. Guess now she is named and you sound smitten she has found an forever home? Wishing you luck!

[renonvsparky]

Mr Bubbles is still doing well. No decrease in appetite, activity or any of the indicators of a senior pig. The tan in his coat is coming out more as he gets older, which has made him even more handsome. He's such an amazing piggie. It warms my heart to see him eating well and sleeping so soundly when he rests. He is the only one of my pigs who I don't have to pick up because he climbs on my hands and basically picks himself up.

[janlovingcavies]

That is so sweet! Wish my girls did that. He must trust you so much! So glad he is doing well in his golden years!

[renonvsparky]

Mr Bubbles is like my brother.

[renonvsparky]

I got so busy with downsizing for our move to Missouri that I forgot to go to the store and get lettuce for the piggies. That's ok though because I have enough green leaf from the garden. I was able to give all 8 guinea pigs their normal amount and they really enjoyed it; more than they do the store bought lettuce. Mr Bubbles in particular. He usually spends a minute or so giving me my guinea pig kisses and having me pet him before he gets to eating his lettuce, but he snatched up the home grown stuff and dug right in.

It was satisfying to be able to give the little ones veggies that I grew. I can't wait until I get to my new place and get the greenhouse up and running so I don't have to go to the store for their veggies. With 2 of them 10 by 20 feet, I should be able to get enough for us too.

[Sef]

Fresh grown is always better! Having a greenhouse should help keep you well-supplied. I have a brown thumb and can't grow much of anything except weeds. Ha.

[janlovingcavies]

I am with you Sef, I kill more than I grow. But for some reason can grow sweetcorn. Catgrass goes pretty well too, anything else sprouts then dies.

[renonvsparky]

So we're just three days away from the big move from Nevada to Missouri and I'm very anxious about how my guinea pigs make the trip. In particular, Mr Bubbles because of his age. He's 5 years old now and in good health. My plan for him is to transport him in his cage to minimize the impact of traveling for two and a half days. His cage will fit on the front seat if I fold it down with half of it going into the second row. A few of the pigs will have to travel in carriers. I'm going to put the younger ones in those. I have two of the small cages that will fit along with a couple of the 2 by 3 footers.

The car has front and rear climate control, so I will be able to keep them comfortable. We're not going to be breaking any speed records or taking any of the curves fast enough to make them tumble around either. I'm hoping for a smooth trip and for all of them to make it to our new home safely.

[Sef]

I hope all goes well...moving in general is stressful, and moving with pets is doubly so. Fingers crossed! They should do fine, though. As long as they have food, water, and are kept cool and comfortable (with no exposure to rear exhaust from the car), all should be well.

[renonvsparky]

Happy to report that all 12 piggies made the trip to our new home safely. Because of unforseen circumstances, we wound up doing more night driving than day. That helped keep them cool. They took up the whole inside of the car except for the driver's seat, including having to fold down the front passenger seat. Mr Bubbles rode in his regular cage as planned and did very well. He probably didn't even realize that he was traveling. I had Sammy and Dean in one of the old, smaller cages and the girls in the other one. Wilber and Grady, Gilligan and Skipper, Kailua and Jack were in totes. It wasn't optimal but it was grade A compared to how they are transported to the pet stores.

When I started out, I had Gilligan and Skipper separate in the small carriers for the first leg, but my wife noticed that something wasn't right and we decided to put them in a totes together because they weren't doing well. I was worried that I might lose them because you could see that they were getting depressed. As soon as I put them back together they perked right up. I checked on them every time we stopped and made sure there was plenty of hay for everyone and I changed their bedding every day. I also left the car running at all times with the temperature set at 68° while the piggies were in the car. I had blankets over them to keep the sun off of them.

We stayed in a hotel on the first night and they waived the $10 per pet fee for the guinea pigs, which helped out. The second night, we stayed with family and they had a really nice and safe spot for the pigs. We drove through the third night and took a few hours nap at a rest area before getting to our new home early evening. Each time we were able to get them out of the car, I was able to let them out and stretch their little legs.

It was a very tough trip for us. The big Penske truck was very tough to handle and took a lot out of me. I'm pretty sure we overloaded it, which made it impossible for it to go more than 25-30 mph up the many big hills in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and parts of Nebraska. The drive that normally takes us 20 hours ended up being nearly 40 hours. It wasn't much better for my wife driving my truck with a full bed and pulling a fully loaded trailer, or my son in the car full of guinea pigs.

But we all made it all in one piece with all of our stuff. The piggies are all back in their own cages. I even get to have them in the master bedroom with us. Now we have the monumental task of getting unpacked and settled in. My body is just hammered right now. It feels like every disability I have is 10 times worse. I can hardly move, to say nothing of walking around or picking up and moving boxes. I've had to just rub dirt in my wounds, suck it up and stay in the fight. Advil helps, but I'm running on instincts, physical and mental toughness and we'll get it done. Luckily I have my son and nephew to help us with some of that. Then I can get rested and recovered and start working on making this mini homestead work.

[renonvsparky]

Mr Bubbles having his first spin in this lush Missouri grass. He ate his fill. Way better than the lawn in Reno.

[Sef]

Hooray!!! That is some terrific-looking forage!

[renonvsparky]

It is and he makes the most of every opportunity he gets to be out there. He stays right by where I'm sitting. It's a new environment for him and while he's happy to be out there, he uses caution.