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Guinea Pig update.
#21
Just looked at the website again (where you volunteer). Nina and Ammi look super cute!
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#22
They are all cute. Heart

I am glad Wilma and Lilbet have found a home. They deserve a happy life.

Chris Pratt sounds like a character. He needs to share his space with a big old sow or perhaps a herd of girls who will keep him in line.

So your piggies are chubby. Guinea pigs are all so chunky normally so how can you tell they are over weight. 
I can't picture getting away with dieting a group of piggies. Let me know how it goes.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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#23
Chris had his surgery last Wednesday (6th July) and is doing very well. He was quiet for a couple of days but is now getting back to his old self. So far he is showing no signs of infection and his wounds are tiny and well closed.
The vet used internal stitches and glued the skin closed.
This is what he did for Choccy, and indeed his original wounds were great. But the wounds from removing the abscesses he developed were the problem. They were quite long and on his abdomen so every time he moved they must have pulled and hurt him. 
Hopefully Chris will avoid abscesses and the need for further surgery and no more stitches in easily reached places will be needed!!

We followed a really rigorous hygiene regimen for Chris as the bacteria that caused Choccy's problem were from his gut. So Chris had to put up with daily cleaning of "himself" for a week prior to surgery, and then on the morning of his op, Suzy gave him the most thorough cleaning I have ever seen. No crevice or orifice was left unattended!!
So hopefully no germs survived, or if they did they weren't anywhere near the operation site.
Chris took this in fairly good part once he realised that it was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not, and hopefully it will have been worth it to avoid an abscess.

So only Five and a half weeks left for him to wait until he can meet some girlies!!
Greeting from Wales.
Hwyl Fawr o'r Cymru.
This is the web site of the rescue I volunteer at.
http://guinearescue.blogspot.co.uk/
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#24
As for the dieting, it's creeping along. I've taken out the food bowls and am now scatter feeding them in the hay.
I used to keep the bowls topped up for Ruby, and all took advantage, but now I'm weighing out the recommended amount per piggy and scattering it in the hay so they have a bit of fun finding it!! I've also reduced their veggies a little, but not much. I've changed them back to ordinary meadow hay as I was using a Timothy hay mixture that had flowers and other tasty stuff in it. This was Ruby's favourite and I wanted her to have what she liked during her last months. The meadow hay is very good but doesn't have all the high calorie extras that the mixture had. Their teeth are looking very good!!
All have lost a few grams each week so we're creeping along.
Piggies are meant to be chubby, but when they develop fat pads in their front armpits then they are getting towards obese. Cecil processes his food very efficiently and really is too big, but it needs to be a slow process otherwise they can rebound very fast when "dieting" stops.
I'm trying to make it a permanent change to feeding so that their weight will stay at a healthy level when they reach it.
Greeting from Wales.
Hwyl Fawr o'r Cymru.
This is the web site of the rescue I volunteer at.
http://guinearescue.blogspot.co.uk/
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#25
I wish Chris a speedy and healthy recovery. I am sure there is a suitable female for him. So what do you predict? Will he bond with a big bossy sow or will he fit in better with a sweet little female who will charm him?

You are right they can get too heavy. Robbie and Murray tended to be over weight. I think they had done without before they came to me and reacted to having lots of food. Robbie is much better now, but they did both develop rolls of fat for a while.

Dieting your herd slowly should sneak the weight loss in. They will hardly notice that they are losing weight. Are they noticing?
None of the hay I get has extras like that. I get softer grassy hay or coarser crunchy hay. Usually it is all timothy hay.
I can see how feeding Ruby got the rest of the herd fatter. Sometimes you just have to over feed for the sake of one. I hope Cecil gets his trim figure back. After all, he has a group of ladies he wants to impress. Chubby is cute, seriously fat is not.  Maybe he needs a little guinea pig treadmill. I can't picture a guinea pig using it though.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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#26
Cecil came from a hoarder background and had been housed with lots of other boars. He'd had to fight for his food and was tiny and terrified when he came to me. This, I'm sure, has instilled behaviour in him that means he eats all there is even though he now knows more will come. It's very deeply ingrained.
To see him now is an absolute joy.
He's like a fat eastern potentate, surrounded by lovely girls and as much of everything as he needs. The girls really do love him and he adores all of them!!
Chris is doing very well indeed. It's a week and a half since his surgery and there is absolutely no sign of infection. In fact his wounds are so well healed that they are virtually invisible.
I think he needs a strong paw, but I suspect he'll choose someone that HE can boss about. We'll just have to wait and see!!
Greeting from Wales.
Hwyl Fawr o'r Cymru.
This is the web site of the rescue I volunteer at.
http://guinearescue.blogspot.co.uk/
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#27
I can see why Cecil has tended to over eat.  Hungry guinea pigs tend to be very focused on food when they finally get it.
I am sure he will be back in shape and his girls will be happy to have him back slim and trim.
Cecil has done well that he has adjusted to a happy family situation. Guinea pigs can be quite anxious even after they have secure living conditions.

I am glad that Chris is doing so well. He will be ready for a partner and a new home very soon. I am really curious about who he will bond with. I wonder if he knows what he wants.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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