The Life & Times of Felix 'n' Clementine!

We're leaving for Melbourne tomorrow and I'm so nervous about leaving my furbabies behind! Felix and Clem seem okay in terms of their health, and my housemate said he'd text/call me if anything seemed strange, but I'm still so scared to leave them for 6 days. I've only ever left Felix for two nights before, and never the other two. They'll be in good hands but I'll miss them so much!

Of course you will miss them; if not, you wouldn't be normal.

They will be fine.

I miss Shida every day I haven't seen her in 8 weeks I hope she remembers me but I know exactly how you feel no matter how much you trust the person they are still your furbabies and you have every right to feel like you do


~Shida (and Shell)

Everything will be alright! Try not to worry about it too much! Of course you will miss him, when I had to leave Silv for 15 days, I missed him incredibly. But everything will be fine and they'll be VERY excited to see you come back! Best wishes!

I'm home! Had a really fun time in Melbourne but it's good to be back.

The bunnies didn't seem too excited that I was home, nor did Bigby. Gave Clementine a massive groom and could almost construct another bunny out of all the hair that came off her. There are still some small poops around which is a bit concerning, along with some strung together (lack of grooming + lack of papaya tablets I assume, need to pick up my delivery from the post office) but hopefully that should clear up. I'm going to keep an eye on Felix to make sure his poops are back to normal, I'll take him to the vet otherwise to check. I think he was a bit upset with me, he didn't want to accept pets for a bit when I first arrived home, but he's warmed up again now.

Not much has been happening in the land of the flufferbutts.



Clementine has been shedding tons, so I popped her on my lap for a good old grooming today. She hated every second of it, but I'm glad I got the chance to get a TON of hair off her. I've noticed a few strung-together poops in the litter box and I've been plucking out tons of hair while trying to pet her, so it was good to be able to see a whoooole pile of hair that wouldn't go in my bunny bellies. Also clipped her nails - she's really good at sitting still for that, even though she doesn't enjoy it. Gave her a couple of treats when I popped her down and got some leg flicks and stomps, and now she's cooling off in her cage.



Felix's poops seem to be back to normal!!

:yahoo:

Not sure what it was that caused them to get all tiny in the first place - his behaviour never changed and his eating patterns stayed the same, so I'm clueless. Also not sure why he stopped eating some of his cecals, but he's on them again now, which is great. He's his happy-go-lucky self as always, bouncing around and exploring. Not much ever changes in the world of Felix.



*nom nom chomp*

I've been worried about the amount of time I'm able to give Bigsy. The bunnies definitely get more free time out of their cage and more of my attention. I feel bad that I don't have a friend for him, but it doesn't feel fair to get another guinea pig for his sake only, when I'm not really willing to double the amount of guinea pig care that I give. I've been toying with the idea of perhaps finding a new home for him, where he'll have at least one piggie buddy and more free time to run around with other pigs, but the idea also breaks my heart. I don't want him to feel like I'm giving him away because he wasn't good enough! He's a lovely darling little pig, I just feel that it's not fair on him to be cooped up in his NIC cage most of the time, and I just don't feel safe leaving him out unsupervised 100% with the buns (thanks, Clementine).

~

In me news, I got the Christmas job I applied for! I'm going to be dropping my hours to 16 per week at my current workplace, and pick up as many shifts as I can at Lush over Christmas. I'm really excited to work there during such a busy time! Depending on the store's success during Christmas, and employee performance, I may be able to pick up some more shifts after Christmas but it's not guaranteed, so I'm glad I'm able to still have my current job to return to (with more shifts) if necessary.

We found out by surprise that our rental lease expired yesterday. I called our rental company to find out when it would be ending (since me and my partner are wanting to move out alone) and she told me it was that day. We never received the letter in the mail letting us know, I guess it got lost or something. Either way they've moved us to an ongoing lease and this means that me and Todd can start looking at potential couple places, YAY! He's going to see one on Monday, and another one the following Thursday - both of them look great, they're big (for the two of us, at least) with 3 bedrooms, which means a lot more space for the bunnybutts to run around.

Oh man, I just learned a bit about guinea pig anatomy. The boars have this 'sack' near their ends which holds their boy parts, along with their scent glands for rubbing their butts all over the place. THAT is what has been stinkin' up my pig. Tried to clean it out tonight and WOW, the smell was WAY worse than the buns' litter box has ever been, and I thought that was bad. Another argument for having him neutered, I think.

Yes yes!!!!!

Some people think that it is cruel to neuter; my case is QUITE the opposite.

Bigby will be a happier cavvy if he gets his boy parts gone and you will be a happier animal steward by getting his naughty bits fixed.

btw- you fur menagerie are adorable!!!!!

Guinea pigs don't tend to display too much hormonal behaviour, apart from scent marking, and neutering doesn't actually tend to make a difference with any behaviors they've learned apparently. I've read online that it shouldn't be done as standard practice, only if you plan on homing sows and boars together, but my pig-friendly vet says they're quite standard procedure and it's normal to have it done. I'm just a bit concerned that I'm doing it for my sake more than Bigsy's, and I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to him during the surgery.

Shows how little I know about cavvies...

I understand your concerns; after all- he is a cute little bugger.

I thought the same until I specifically asked the vet, don't worry!

Felix isn't doing well today. Very placid (extremely unlike him), wasn't eating anything I offered him. Partner is going to watch him today and we'll be going to the emergency vet if no improvement. Please send good thoughts.

Oh dear. Trix and I are sending good vibes and nose wiggles.:hug1

Oh no, feel better soon Felix! ray:

Thank you both. Just called my partner to see how he was - no change so far.

Clementine is not spending much time with him today, whereas normally she'd be snuggling up with him. I wonder if she can sense that something is wrong.

At this rate, we're definitely going to head to the vet when I finish work. My poor baby.

Partner asked me what it meant if Felix was grinding his teeth - I let him know that it means he's likely in pain.

He texted me again a little while later saying he's a bit more active now, playing with his cups, and he saw him eat a cecotrope and a piece of hay, so it sounds like he MIGHT be getting better. I don't want to get my hopes up but I'm really glad he's eating, even if it's just a little bit. I hope it was just an off day but if he's not consistently eating tonight we'll still take him in.

Luna and I are sending tons of positive thoughts. Feel better real soon Felix.

Thank you everyone!

Touch wood - Felix seems a lot better now. No treats or greens for a few days, just hay until I'm sure he's fine. Boyfs and I both suspect he'd eaten a TON of Clementine's hair as she's shedding like mad. Upping papaya tablets to 2x per day and getting a Furminator for Clem, because my current pluck/brush/comb rinse and repeat method isn't holding up to the sheer amount of fur she's shedding.

Felix has been doing great. No more scary episodes. Brushing both bunnies more frequently, I did notice two strung together poops yesterday, but apart from that all seems well. They're loving receiving papaya tablets twice a day, too!

It's been a HUGE month for me! I applied for, interviewed, and got a Christmas casual job at a new store (my favourite!) opening in a nearby shopping centre, so I'm working there several days a week along with two days at my old job. It's great - I've never really had a job where I really, genuinely enjoyed the work and the products. Love the company's ethics and morals and I love that I can completely stand behind their company decisions, etc. It's fantastic!

I also finally got my learner's permit! I'd failed my driving test several times due to silly mistakes, was prepared to fail this one, and passed! I now have to wait 6 months and log hours in my log book, and then I'm free to drive without a supervised driver.

AND, the thing I'm MOST excited about - WE'RE MOVING! My partner and I are moving out of our house next week and into our own property (still renting, though), without any housemates. It's a smallish place but there's heaps of space for just us and the bunnies and the pig.

Congratulations on everything! Glad to her Felix is doing better as well!