“When I was born, I was so surprised, I didn’t talk for a year and a half.”
John P.
EVERYTHING Happens When You Go Out Of Town
May 22, 2012
I know it has been a while since I posted regularly. The past few weeks have been crazy. Steph is home from college, which threw off my schedule, at first, but I don’t mind. She got a summer job, so it has made things more normal for me.
We went out of town from Wednesday to Sunday and a lot of things happened. In short, here’s a list:
Anna went to a party she wasn’t supposed to go to-and Steph had no idea where she was…
Steph got sick with a 101 fever…
Anna had a nosebleed and got blood in several rooms in the house…
Steph burned the carpet with her straightener…
Speckles made the rare “chirping” sound that I blogged about, but at 3 o’clock in the morning-about an hour after Terry and I got home…
Well, I think that’s about it. Steph said if we leave again, Anna is going with us because as she said, “Never again.”
Why is it that this stuff always happens when you’re gone?
You gotta love it!
Update On Nibbles
May 18, 2012
It’s been a while since I posted on my blog. After the insanity of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I took a couple of weeks off. I wanted, however, to let you know how Nibbles is doing. The truth is, I’m not sure.
After taking him to the Vet, I gave him every dose of his 2 antibiotics, seeing as last time I had kind of slacked off. He has also had his Vitamin C every day.
I called the Vet when Nibbles was almost finished with his medicine he said that he believed Nibbles is over an apparent initial bacterial infection but if his breathing is still off, which it is, either he has a stubborn pneumonia or possibly something wrong with his heart. He suggested I bring Nibbles back in but I had to tell him that I have to wait a week or two, when we have the money.
In the meantime, he finished his antibiotics and I cleaned his cage, putting less bedding in it. If he has allergies, I was hoping that would help but it didn’t seem to do much. I also cleaned the carpet with the wet vac. I did about half of the room where some of the urine stains from them running around were. I figured that was a factor, since Steph, Anna and I get stuffy noses if we are in the room for long periods of time.
About a week after he started his medicine, Nibbles started acting like he was feeling better and exploring some. He was running around, not as much as the other piggies but he is still active and eating.
I have been watching the pollen count and when it is up, Nibbles’ breathing is worse; when it is down, his breathing is not as bad. I do need to take him back and let the Vet look at him and see him for himself because he has a better idea about Nibbles’ progress than over the phone.
We went out of town the day after I vacuumed and Nibbles didn’t seem to be doing that well. I picked him up to tell him goodbye and I could feel him exhaling in my hands. It really scared me and we haven’t been back home yet. That was Wednesday and we head back Sunday. The kids are home with the piggies and I am sure Anna will call us if she thinks he is really bad.
We did leave in the morning and he seems worse in the morning. The vacuuming may have stirred things up, at least I hope. I don’t want to think that he is worse. I told him, though, “You be here when I get back.”
Keep him in your prayers, or maybe me, that I can let him go if I need to.
Z Is For Zoo
April 30, 2012
Whew! It’s the last day of the 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge and it is time to look at the letter “Z”. Normally, you do not see guinea pigs at the zoo but I have seen a couple of YouTube videos of guinea pigs in a zoo. I think it was in South America.
The pigs were in a big outdoor cage in one of them and there was a lot. It looked like around 50.
In the wild, guinea pigs live in herds and enjoy the company. They are social animals, so being alone is something they do not like.
In the other video, the piggies were in what looked like a big pit and again, there was a lot! Maybe around 50. I cannot imagine seeing that in person. Wow!
Anyway, we have reached the end of our long journey and I have enjoyed it very much. I met some new people and made a couple of friends. I look forward to doing this again, next year. I hope you will join me. For now, I will probably take a few days off.
Thank you for all of your comments during the month of April.
Terry found this and I just had to share it. This does not count as my Z post.
Ultimate revenge? Recently dumped dentist removes all of her ex’s teeth
Apr 30, 2012
(page 1 of 2) View Entire Story
A recently dumped Polish dentist got revenge on her former boyfriend by removing all of his teeth causing his new girlfriend to give him the boot as well, the New York Daily News reported.
Anna Mackowiak, 34, agreed to treat a toothache for her ex-boyfriend, Marek Olszewski, 45, just a few days after he had broken up with her. According to the New York Daily News, Mackowiak initially tried to be professional about the process but had a sudden change of heart when she saw him lying in her chair.
That’s when Mackowiak allegedly gave Olszweski a massive dose of anesthetic and took out every single one of his teeth. After the procedure, she wrapped his jaw in bandages to keep him from opening his mouth and then she left.
According to the New York Daily News, Olszewski knew something was wrong as soon as he woke up, but he didn’t realize the full horror until he got home and looked in his mirror.
Next Page
Y Is For You Can Build Your Own Cage
April 28, 2012
We have two kinds of cages for the piggies. One of them is a Midwest cage, which you can buy off of amazon.com or their website. We also have a homemade cage, which Terry and Anna built. You may have heard of them if you keep up with guinea pig stuff. It is made of coroplast and panels that you can make shelves out of. They made one and a half cages with it. That way, Speckles can be next to Taylor and Layla with one side of bars in between them but they can’t fight.
It was less expensive to make it than buying a Midwest cage. It is also wider than a Midwest cage.
The Midwest cage is longer and has doors that double as ramps, so you can open the door and they can walk out on their own.
I wish the coroplast cage had doors, so when I have them out of the cage and they need to go to the bathroom, they can just go back to their cage on their own.
The coroplast is easy to clean but the droppings get stuck in between the bars. That’s annoying.
I have found pluses and minuses with having both kinds of cages. It just depends on what you like.
X Is For X-Ray But Not Today
April 27, 2012
Welcome to the last lap of the 2012 Blogging Challenge. If you read my post yesterday, you know that one or my guinea pigs, Nibbles is having trouble breathing. Today, I took him to an exotic Vet about an hour away from where I live. I have taken him to a regular Vet twice and he just could not shake whatever is wrong with him. Both times, they gave him an antibiotic and again today, this Vet gave him even more.
The Vet wants to treat for possible pneumonia and increase Nibbles’ Vitamin C intake. I was under the impression that if you give a guinea pig fresh fruits or vegetables every day, that would count as enough Vitamin C. Evidently not. Now, I give him the vitamin for the rest of his life. He’s gonna loooove that!
That means the other piggies need this dosage of Vitamin C, too. Yay! I was told not to put it in their water because it is not sufficient. You have to feed it by syringe.
Anyway, if by the end of seven days of treatment Nibbles is not better, I will need to call them back and they will do an X-Ray on him. The Vet hesitated doing it today because Nibbles is feisty enough that he would need to be sedated. (And that is the Vet’s words.) With his breathing already compromised, he may not make it through the procedure.
A heart problem is a possibility and I asked the Vet about it and he said he would not rule that out. He wanted to try a cheaper, easier way of treatment first. Hopefully, it will stop whatever the problem is and Nibbles can get well. We’ll see.
On the Monday before her death, ripper victim, Annie Chapman runs into her friend, Amelia Palmer and tells Amelia that she is feeling “unwell” and might go visit her sister.
“If I can get a pair of boots from my sister, I might go hop picking.”
Hop was a plant, which could be picked for a price. It was used in London at the time for brewing beer but other beverages, as well, for it’s herbal effects. It was known to have almost an antibiotic effect.
W Is For What’s Wrong With Nibbles?
April 26, 2012
Hey, y’all! I am surviving another day of this challenge and it is almost over. I was going to talk about piggies wheeking when they are fed but I could not get a good video of them doing it.
Instead, I’m spending a little time talking about Nibbles, my favorite out of the bunch. He has something wrong with him and I’m not sure if it is his teeth or a respiratory infection.
He breathes heavy and is not eating much. He gets excited at feeding time but doesn’t eat as much as the other piggies. When I held him, the other day, I noticed that the hair under his chin was sticky, like it had been wet and had since dried. That can be a sign of drooling, I think. If his teeth are overgrown, he could be drooling from that.
He also has a stuffy nose but no coughing or sneezing. Maybe it’s from breathing with his mouth open. Tonight, he looks scared to be handled. It’s like he knows he needs treatment and is afraid. Who knows?
I have read all kinds of terrible stories on the Internet about piggies having tooth problems and dying from complications or from the anesthetic if a procedure has to be done. If his teeth need to be filed they will knock him out for that.
I am taking to a different vet tomorrow than I usually take him to, one that is in Fairfax and specializes in exotic pets-which is what Nibbles is. I just hope it doesn’t cost too much and that it doesn’t end up harming him worse. I only want him to be rid of this once and for all-it’s been going on for months-with 2 trips to the vet already.
