It all started with Pummel in 1993. She was so unbelievably cute.
She always wanted attention, wanted to sit on the arm and rule everything. Live was great, but
something was missing: another guinea pig.
So, we got Pauline. Since Pummel was alone for a half year her social manners were not the best. Poor Pauline had to suffer quite a bit until Pummel got used to be with another guinea pig. Pauline was not allowed to do anything, which put her under a lot of stress. As a result of she got very sick. It started with a little cold and ended with a full blown pneumonia. She survived! But her lungs probably were not the best. Pauline was very clever. She always developed something new, such as nibbling the wall paper, chewing down my clothes and so on. When she was three years old she left, without an apparent reason and went over the rainbow bridge.
Pummel needed a new companion: Mops. He was a big, male (neutered) guinea pig. He was very voracious and liked just about any kind of food. In the beginning Pummel went ballistic because he wasn't so easy to rule. After several, very stressful hours (also for me, because Pummel was always screaming!) they got along very well. Unfortunately Mops got cancer after just one year and he also went to the rainbowland. The vet had to put him to sleep, which was a horrible experience for me at that time. It took me quite a while to get over it.
Once again, we needed another pig. This time I got a small female: Tiffany. She was so little, Pummel didn't notice her in the first place. Tiffany loved Pummel and was always around her. She was very curious and had to explore everything. When she learned something new, like jumping in and out of the cage, she had to do it over and over again. Pummel seemed quite annoyed those times :). A half year later Pummel died. That was a black day. She died on my friends arm, actually exactly how I wanted it for her. But still... she is very much missed.
Tiffany's new friend was Celine. She was three months old when I got her, and she was pretty big for her age. But as big as she was, she was even more anxious. She was actually the most anxious pig I ever had. These two pigs moved with me first to Dallas and then to California. I must say, they did very well. Later on Tiffany got a lot of problems with her teeth, no treatment helped. It was so bad that she couldn't eat alone anymore. Again, I had to make a very sad decision. Now also Tiffany runs around in Rainbow land.
For Celine this was the start of a little odyssey. First I got Spotty for her. A very cute pig, with one major drawback: "she", which turned out to be a "he", didn't like Celine and they always attacked each other (big time!). So I had to give him back. Celine had to stay alone for another 2 weeks, because the new pig I picked out was too young at that time: Martha. Martha is one of the most adorable guinea pigs one can imagine! She was very open-minded from the very first moment, not afraid at all. Pretty soon she became sick. It started out with a nasty abscess. As soon as that was healed it became apparent that she had a bladder stone. She is probably the youngest pig ever with a bladder stone. She was only 10-11 weeks old. Finally everything was okay again.
One day I walked liked hypnotized to a pet store... I "adopted" Thelma and Louise. Two highly adorable guinea pigs. For quite some time a had a group of four piggers, which was a great experience also for me. In 1999 Celine died. I thought getting another pig, but then Martha became sick. She caught some nasty infection which occupied us for about 5 weeks. No way to introduce a new guinea pig any time soon. Then I thought, well, when of of my three angels leaves, I'll get two new piggers. It happened sooner then I thought. Thelma, all over a sudden couldn't eat anymore. I rushed with her to the vet, thinking well, teeth problems. No big deal, we get them fixed. Well, her teeth were fine, but she had arthritis in her jaw. No treatment helped, she couldn't eat anymore and it got worse. Again... that sad, dreaded day. Now it was time again to think about two new family members. I chose to adopt two girls from the CavySpirit: Luna and Patty, two very sweet Hollister pigs.
Luna, the younger one of them, is a very outgoing piglet. She is extremely curious and can't stop herself exploring everything. She was the first to conquer the upper deck. Patty on the other hand is rather shy, not exactly afraid, but she prefers to keep a healthy distance between her and any two-legged being out there. She does like to eat though and is growing bigger and bigger (sigh).
Now the herd is down to three again. After a 6 weeks battle we lost Martha on June 7, 2003. It was not the surgery that killed her, she had liver cancer that prevented her from recovering.
Finally we are back to four again. On December 29th 2003 Lilo joined the herd.
Not exactly sure what possessed me, but since the middle of August 2004 the herd has a head count of five. Ramona moved in. The introduction went extremely well. There was no real fighting, just some quibbles, but more between Lilo and Luna. After a day all was back to normal and it seemed like the pigs know each other since a lifetime.
And then they were three...
Louise and Patty decided it was time to go. Louise left in December 2005, Patty followed in April 2006. Both piglets reached a good age, but will be missed badly.
Then only two...Lilo died rather surprisingly on May 6, 2007 due to heart problems.
In May Luna had to have surgery - Liposarcoma. All went well but the tumor cam back quickly. A 2nd surgery did not help and Luna went on to greener pastures on July 20, 2008. About 10 days later Ramona's new friend, Lucille, moved it.
So, we got Pauline. Since Pummel was alone for a half year her social manners were not the best. Poor Pauline had to suffer quite a bit until Pummel got used to be with another guinea pig. Pauline was not allowed to do anything, which put her under a lot of stress. As a result of she got very sick. It started with a little cold and ended with a full blown pneumonia. She survived! But her lungs probably were not the best. Pauline was very clever. She always developed something new, such as nibbling the wall paper, chewing down my clothes and so on. When she was three years old she left, without an apparent reason and went over the rainbow bridge.
Pummel needed a new companion: Mops. He was a big, male (neutered) guinea pig. He was very voracious and liked just about any kind of food. In the beginning Pummel went ballistic because he wasn't so easy to rule. After several, very stressful hours (also for me, because Pummel was always screaming!) they got along very well. Unfortunately Mops got cancer after just one year and he also went to the rainbowland. The vet had to put him to sleep, which was a horrible experience for me at that time. It took me quite a while to get over it.
Once again, we needed another pig. This time I got a small female: Tiffany. She was so little, Pummel didn't notice her in the first place. Tiffany loved Pummel and was always around her. She was very curious and had to explore everything. When she learned something new, like jumping in and out of the cage, she had to do it over and over again. Pummel seemed quite annoyed those times :). A half year later Pummel died. That was a black day. She died on my friends arm, actually exactly how I wanted it for her. But still... she is very much missed.
Tiffany's new friend was Celine. She was three months old when I got her, and she was pretty big for her age. But as big as she was, she was even more anxious. She was actually the most anxious pig I ever had. These two pigs moved with me first to Dallas and then to California. I must say, they did very well. Later on Tiffany got a lot of problems with her teeth, no treatment helped. It was so bad that she couldn't eat alone anymore. Again, I had to make a very sad decision. Now also Tiffany runs around in Rainbow land.
For Celine this was the start of a little odyssey. First I got Spotty for her. A very cute pig, with one major drawback: "she", which turned out to be a "he", didn't like Celine and they always attacked each other (big time!). So I had to give him back. Celine had to stay alone for another 2 weeks, because the new pig I picked out was too young at that time: Martha. Martha is one of the most adorable guinea pigs one can imagine! She was very open-minded from the very first moment, not afraid at all. Pretty soon she became sick. It started out with a nasty abscess. As soon as that was healed it became apparent that she had a bladder stone. She is probably the youngest pig ever with a bladder stone. She was only 10-11 weeks old. Finally everything was okay again.
One day I walked liked hypnotized to a pet store... I "adopted" Thelma and Louise. Two highly adorable guinea pigs. For quite some time a had a group of four piggers, which was a great experience also for me. In 1999 Celine died. I thought getting another pig, but then Martha became sick. She caught some nasty infection which occupied us for about 5 weeks. No way to introduce a new guinea pig any time soon. Then I thought, well, when of of my three angels leaves, I'll get two new piggers. It happened sooner then I thought. Thelma, all over a sudden couldn't eat anymore. I rushed with her to the vet, thinking well, teeth problems. No big deal, we get them fixed. Well, her teeth were fine, but she had arthritis in her jaw. No treatment helped, she couldn't eat anymore and it got worse. Again... that sad, dreaded day. Now it was time again to think about two new family members. I chose to adopt two girls from the CavySpirit: Luna and Patty, two very sweet Hollister pigs.
Luna, the younger one of them, is a very outgoing piglet. She is extremely curious and can't stop herself exploring everything. She was the first to conquer the upper deck. Patty on the other hand is rather shy, not exactly afraid, but she prefers to keep a healthy distance between her and any two-legged being out there. She does like to eat though and is growing bigger and bigger (sigh).
Now the herd is down to three again. After a 6 weeks battle we lost Martha on June 7, 2003. It was not the surgery that killed her, she had liver cancer that prevented her from recovering.
Finally we are back to four again. On December 29th 2003 Lilo joined the herd.
Not exactly sure what possessed me, but since the middle of August 2004 the herd has a head count of five. Ramona moved in. The introduction went extremely well. There was no real fighting, just some quibbles, but more between Lilo and Luna. After a day all was back to normal and it seemed like the pigs know each other since a lifetime.
And then they were three...
Louise and Patty decided it was time to go. Louise left in December 2005, Patty followed in April 2006. Both piglets reached a good age, but will be missed badly.
Then only two...Lilo died rather surprisingly on May 6, 2007 due to heart problems.
In May Luna had to have surgery - Liposarcoma. All went well but the tumor cam back quickly. A 2nd surgery did not help and Luna went on to greener pastures on July 20, 2008. About 10 days later Ramona's new friend, Lucille, moved it.