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Saturday, February 10, 2007Dear Mummy Stella and Daddy Jason,
Today I went for a run in the massive hallway!! Ive been told to try and run up the stairs as I am a bit porky after all my Christmas treats! :) I love running free (someone is always watching me incase I get into trouble) and I managed to do 5 stairs tonight before coming back down to run on the floor. Ive sent these pictures so you can see how fast I am, sometimes they cant catch me in the picture!!
Love to you both and all the other fuzzies...
Moriarty the Great
xx
p.s. Its my brothers turn for a run tommorrow and Im going to tell him how great it is x
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Saturday, February 10, 2007
Sonny & Co - success story!
Last September we took in three scared, bitey boys who hated being handled and liked the taste of our fingers! Even feeding was a nightmare as they'd go for your hand. In January this year, a lovely girl called Nichola offered these lads - who'd had a really rough life - a wonderful home....
Things are going pretty cool at the moment. A few hiccups; don't know if you saw the whole savaged by a rat post I did a few weeks ago, but that was a funny day. My boys, or perhaps just Fredo obviously is not too keen on having his belly washed. I decided to give them all a nice bath a few weeks ago, so filled my bath with water and picked Fredo up and put him in to see if he liked water. To which he spent time merrily swimming around without what seemed a care in the world. I thought wow amazing, he wasn't even trying to leap out, or panicking or going mental like my girls do when they have a bath. He followed my hand in the bath and just stopped when he caught it.
So I thought I would carry on and soup him up a little. Picked him up, rubbed soap on his back, he just sat in my hand not wriggling or anything, put some on his belly, rub, rub rub and ooo hang on something’s not right here. He was knawing frantically on my finger, to the extent I could even ear it munching. It wasn't exactly the nicest of sounds or feelings. So I lowered Fredo into my lap and tried to prise his jaws opens cos he wouldn't let go, and when he finally did the blood just raaaaaan. I was more concerned about Fredo though and out him on the side before running my hand under water. I then quickly wrapped tissue around my finger and pressed it to try and stem the bleeding because of course I still had to make sure Fredo was rinsed off. Luckily when I put him back in the water he swam around all happy again so he did the rinsing for me and then I got him out, wrapped him in a towel and cuddled with him for 5 minutes.
Mika had come over to see what all the fuss was about because I had managed to get blood all over the floor and over the bath. I put Fredo down on the floor and Mika went for him and started chasing him, I’m presuming because he smelt different, so I picked him back up and took him up to his cage and put him in on his own for a while so that he could get his smell back on him again. When I put Mika and Sonny back in the cage, Mika had a little scuffle with Fredo again but it settled down within seconds and they all returned to snuggle in their beds. It’s amazing how light Fredo actually is though, because before he had orange fur under his brown, but once clean he was a light brown underneath.
Anyway, enough of the bad news, ok one more kinda negative but Sonny didn't mean to, I offered him a tiny bit of egg noodle in his cage day before yesterday and as he tried to take it he tried to take the tip of my thumb with him, which popped and spurted blood everywhere too. Bless him; I spoilt his egg noodle with my blood.
Now the good things. I admit I was a little cautious of picking Fredo up after being bitten in the bath but he proved me he was fine when I mistook him for Mika (Who jumps on the draw bridge whenever I open it for a cuddle) and had a long cuddle with him one day before realising he was in fact Fredo, so I gave him yoggie drops galore for that.
Fredo and Sonny still now and then nip, which I think is just their test biting but a little on the hard side when I put my hand in if they think I am giving them food but that's nothing major, I just go oight and they stop quickly, better then one of my girls does.
Mika has become somewhat my little baby and goes for walks round the house every day and lots of cuddles, and when he goes back in his cage he spends most of his time just watching me from his shelf. The other two prefer to snuggle together in their hammocks and only come out when food is about, though I make sure they both come out onto the drawbridge at least once a day for a yoggie drop and a cuddle. They're all quite hand shy still and fidget if in their cage and you try and stroke them but I’m taking it slow.
Mika will sit in his hammock and be stroked for a little while and then he pushes your hand away with his own hands which is quite funny, and has on occasions made me do it again just because I find his actions cute.
Sonny and Fredo just leg it and hide in their hammocks but I don't mind if they're not as sociable. All my girls except Blade ignore the boys now when they're free ranging. Blade still makes a beeline to them to pester and wind up but I think the boys have given up being interested now and just watch her without getting out of bed. When I’ve been cuddling the girls though and then go and stroke the boys they all hold onto my hand and sniff it for ages, so I think that's helped with stopping them biting since they're more interested in sniffing them munching on me.
Tomorrow I am off shopping to finally switch their food over to the shunamite diet. My left over foods will just have to be added to the mix in tiny quantities just to use it up but I doubt they'll touch it because no one really does as it is. But we'll see. So everything is hunky dory.
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Saturday, February 10, 2007
Feeding your guinea pig the correct diet
Friday, February 09, 2007If yours are indoor piggies, they can be in another part of the house, but as soon as that fridge door opens or you rustle a plastic shopping bag, they will start wheeking at you, demanding some cucumber!
You may be surprised to learn that an ideal diet for a piggie should consist of 70% good quality hay such as Timothy Hay; 5% commercial guinea pig food and 25% fresh fruit and vegetables.
This almost mimics the diet that your guinea pig’s ancestors would have had in the wild and will help keep your piggie in the optimum of health.
The diet you feed your guinea pig is of the utmost importance. Feed them incorrectly and they could face obesity, severe dental problems and death.
Dietary fibre
While there are a number of dried guinea pig foods on the market, do try and limit your piggies’ intake to about one large handful of food every other day per guinea. While these commercial foods provide all the right nutrients, they do not have enough dietary fibre.
A lack of dietary fibre in the diet can not only lead to obesity, but to nasty dental problems, both of which can shorten your guinea pig’s life considerably.
Dust-free hay provides lots of dietary fibre and your guinea should always have plenty of fresh hay daily. Ideally it should be kept in a hayrack to avoid the hay getting contaminated by faeces on the floor of their hutch or cage.
Always feed your guineas good quality hay. Timothy Hay is ideal. Dried grass products, available from equestrian centres or pet shops, are also packed with dietary fibre and piggies love it!
If your guinea starts to chew his fur and the vet has checked him out for mites, it could be because he is not getting enough fibre in his diet.
Teeth
Going back to trying to mimic what guinea pigs would eat in the wild, they'd be continually gnawing all day which would wear their teeth down. Like chinchillas and degus, guinea pigs have open rooted back teeth. They grow continually and so need to be worn down.
If the upper back teeth down aren’t worn down adequately, they grow up into the skull. The root can puncture the sinuses, causing respiratory problems or it can grow towards the eyeball, causing eye infections.
The lower molars also grow downwards through the jawbone. Painful abscesses can form.
Both sets of molars will also continue growing into the mouth and it can get to the stage where your guinea is unable to shut his mouth. He will not be able to eat or swallow properly. (Try swallowing with your mouth open and you will see how hard it is).
Guineas with this problem may show signs of having a continually wet chin. This is caused by excessive saliva known as ‘slobbers’. Your guinea will also lose weight quite dramatically as he will be unable to eat properly. Other symptoms include chronic wasting and small or no faeces. If the guineas grind their teeth, this could be a sign that they are in a great deal of pain.
An x-ray of the skull is usually the only way to determine if your guinea is suffering from this and sadly the long-term prognosis is not good.
Dried foods
A diet consisting purely of dried food is not healthy. As these dried foods are full of protein, excessive feeding can cause kidney stones, leading to kidney failure.
Also, never buy rabbit food to feed your guinea pigs. Some commercial rabbit foods contain pellets that are toxic to guinea pigs. Also, guinea pigs need vitamin C and rabbit foods do not contain sufficient vitamin C for them.
Vitamin C
Piggies cannot make their own vitamin C and will have problems if they don’t get enough. They can get scurvy, a weakened immune system and an alkaline imbalance in their kidneys.
While fresh foods can provide it, it is always a good idea to supplement their diet with it, especially if they are ill as vitamin C helps the immune system.
You can do this by putting a quarter of a soluble vitamin C 1000mg tablet (for humans) into your guineas’ water bottle once a week to keep them healthy. They love the taste too!
As Vitamin C is a mild acid, it can react with a lot of metals and is subsequently destroyed. If you use vitamin C in a water bottle, ensure that the spout is made of stainless steel.
You can also get commercial vitamin drops from pet shops.
Guinea pigs who are old, sick, pregnant or feeding young guineas will need more vitamin C than a healthy adult guinea pig. You vet may prescribe some vitamin C tablets that can be crushed over their food.
What to feed
Apart from loads of hay and a tiny bit of dried food, guineas love fruit, vegetables and other plants.
Obviously, grass is great. If you have a guinea pig, you don’t need a lawn mower! However, never put your guinea on wet grass as this can cause him to catch a cold. And never put him on grass that has been treated with anything (e.g. weed killer or lawn treatments). This will be toxic to your guinea pig and he could die.
Foods that are good to feed include cucumber, melon, cabbage, carrots (including leaves), cauliflower (including leaves), celery, broccoli, parsley, green and red bell peppers, and strawberry leaves
Go easy on apples as they can cause mouth ulcers and blistering around the mouth due to the acid in them.
Avoid tomato, tomato leaves and potatoes which are poisonous to guineas,
lettuce (which can cause diarrhoea which can lead to death), and obviously, meat, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and dairy products.
If you feed your guineas dandelions ensure that the dandelions have not been picked from an area near the roadside – otherwise your guinea can be poisoned by exhaust toxins.
The best of health
Now that you know the correct diet for your guinea pig, there are other ways to ensure that he is kept in the best of health.
First of all, using digital kitchen scales, weigh your piggies once a month and keep a note of their weight. Seeing them every day, you will not notice any weight loss, which can be the first sign of illness.
Make sure that you have twice yearly veterinary checks ups that include a dental check.
Wet chins, small or absent faeces and weight loss need immediate treatment, so see your vet as soon as possible.
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Friday, February 09, 2007
Setting up a GP rescue
If you have any advice at all on setting up a GP rescue, I would be very grateful although I realise that you must be busy. Also what is the current bedding used for gp's? I hope to set this up within a month or two but want to get it right from the beginning. Would also love some advice on books to read.
Also, what type of hutches would be good to start with and can you recommend anyone on the internet that has them available. All the pet shop type seem so insubstantial and flimsy. The gp's would have to be kept outside too so I need something that would be suitable. It would be sheltered though.
ANSWER:
Visit http://www.happyhutch.co.uk/. The hutches are really sturdy! Have you considered a summerhouse/ shed with lots of widnows that could be your GP room? The benefits are:
no worries about foxes
shelter for you when cleaning and feeding
Also, look for hutches that are off the ground due to foxes and also ones that are easy to clean out (ie you can reach all the corners!)
For ease of cleaning and to stop the wood getting all wet and urine sodden, stick lino to the base of the hutch with the lino going up at least an inch around the sides and back. Bedding can then go on top.
NEVER use sawdust - we use cardboard bedding. Visit http://www.earthlyenterprises.co.uk/ If you buy in bulk, it works out about six pounds a bale! The man there is Ian Little, he is lovely. Or if you are local to kent, contact us as we sell Finacard.
Spray the piggies once a month with diluted Dynamite: http://www.ascott.biz/item606.htm (You can use it on yourself too!)
Diet is very important, I will send an article under separate cover
Don't forget to look out for flystrike - RearGuard is a good product.
Good luck, let us know how you get on!
Stel
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Friday, February 09, 2007
Malocclusion in rats
Monday, February 05, 2007If you read both Beckys and Iotas stories first, this will give you a good background.
If your vet is unsure about tooth removal, please email me and I will forward details of the vet that we used as he did a fantastic job!
Here is some advice on what to do.
Straight after the op, keep your rat in a small cage, somewhere quiet and warm and on their own. They will not want their cage mates jumping all over them! Use a heat pad in their cage and offer them baby food off your finger.
Their mouth will be very sore indeed but rats are very resilient and in a few days should be back to their normal selves. After Becky and Iota's ops, both were ravenous the next day and happily had soft foods from my finger. The most important thing is to keep them warm and away from any noise and stress. If you can, get some time off work for a few days after the operation so that you can be there for them.
One the teeth have been removed, try feeding:
Farleys rusk, broken up and hot water poured over it to make it 'globby'. We add a bit of complan and sometimes soya milk. We also added ACE High vitamins to keep her immune system up as it is quite traumatic.
Baby food is great
Pureed apple/pears etc
Custard
Porridge
I also used to chew choccy drops before feeding them to the girls or melt them over a hot spoon so that they could still have treats (now they eat them without any trouble!)
Also home made smoothies and soups.
Feed soft food only for at least a week. Once they are healing up, you can introduce some chopped, soft food such as a bit of chopped apple or cucumber.
Do be careful of stuff like peel on fruit and stuff like tomato skins. They may well get these caught in their throat so do be careful what you feed.
Also, do chop up food really small for your rat.
Buy some ACE High vitamins to ensure they get the vitamins they need and mix them in with the soft food.
Becky and Iota both now have rat food in their bowls plus soft / chopped additional foods twice a day. Both have fat little bellies! They push the hard food to the back of their mouth.
Becky lives on her own but Iota has two cagemates and eats more or less the same as them!
You can ring and order ACE High from Vet-Ark on 01962-844316 or order it online: here.
As Becky suffered from abscesses where the teeth were removed, we found that synulox worked better than baytril at getting rid of them. For Iota we started her off on synulox two days before the op and carried on for three weeks after and she had no abscesses at all!
For more info visit this thread here:
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Monday, February 05, 2007
Bedding for small furries
Paper based cat litter such as Biocatolet and Bob Martin is also good, but we still favour the cardboard stuff!
Before we got in to rescuing and followed what the books told us, one of our pet guineas died from being on dusty shavings, hence why we are so passionate about the correct bedding to use.
For people in Kent nearer the East Coast (Whistable/Faversham way), there are a few suppliers who sell Finacard:
Saddlesdane is on the A251 at Badlesmere, ME13 0NX
– halfway between Faversham and Ashford (01233740178).
Also, the other places that now sell it are Chilham Feeds on the A28 at Godmersham, and Grain Harvesters at Wingham.
Or you can buy similar online, just one small bag that will suffice for one clean out from the lovely Ratwarehouse - it is called Animal Dreams Cardboard Bedding.
To buy Ecopetbed, visit: http://www.earthlyenterprises.co.uk/. It can be bought in single bales or large pallets.
Posted by : Jason Hulott @ Monday, February 05, 2007
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