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Piggie! Dan & Brenda's House of Piggies Piggie!

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Juggling Piggie #1 Pigs of the past
Piggie Cage Ideas		 Piggie Links
Misc Stuff		 Juggling Piggie #2

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Remembering Piggies of the Past:

tiny purple ball Stinky (c.10/1/89-12/14/91) - Stinky was a huge piggie weighing in at over 4 lbs at his peak. He was a very friendly, off-white short hair (he looked very similar to the piggie at the top of this page). He passed on due to a vitamin C deficiency. :-(

tiny purple ball Baby (c.10/1/89-4/24/92) - Baby was our first piggie, he was a brown shorthair with a black cowlick on his back. He loved lounging on the couch and being petted. He passed on from complications (bacterial infection) from his neutering, 2 weeks after his babies were born to Betty. :-(

tiny purple ball Huey (4/10/92-9/3/96) was the runt of the litter. He was part shorthair and part Abyssinian. His coat was light brown and he looked like a pure shorthair except for one cowlick on his back. Huey passed on due to complications after multiple illnesses. RIP, little buddy... :-(

Dan feeding the boys
Dan feeding the boys

tiny purple ball Dewey (4/10/92-9/4/97) was the only female of the litter. She was, by far, the smartest of the piggie clan. She plotted intelligent strategies to avoid capture. She was very thin (even though she would eat constantly), and screamed loudly when it was snack time. She was an Abyssinian with light brown hair, and was often very antisocial. Dewey passed on due to probable complications of diabetes. RIP, little dewdrop... :-(

Dewey on the prowl
Dewey on the prowl

tiny purple ball Louie (4/10/92-2/6/98) - Louie was the dominant male of the brood. He was Abyssinian and his coat contained white, black and brown. He loved fresh veggies so much he would follow you around the house in the hope of getting some. He would cry like a baby when you pet him - he'd much rather hide under a towel or eat a snack! Louie passed on due to a mysterious "wasting away" disease. RIP little guy. ;-(

Louie munching The performing pigs
Louie munching The performing piggy

tiny purple ball Rufus (c.2/26/97-8/27/98) was adopted in April '98 from Judi Lainer's Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue. He was an Abby who was mostly tan and white. He was extremely social, and he loved being held and petted. He even laid down on his side and fell fast asleep while being petted! He was also very adventurous, and liked to explore. Rufus passed on recently due after a long bout with pneumonia. ;-( A big thank you to Judi Lainer for all her help with Rufus in his final days.

Rufus in a towel Rufus and his new mommy Peeking out of my tub Rufus stretching Rufus sniffing his 'falfa
Take me home! I love being loved Anyone there? Hey! Lemme out! Mmm! Tasty snack!
Rufus being petted Rufus being cute Rufus looking around Rufus Resting Rufus Snacking
Pet me! Am I cute, or what? Anything fun going on? Resting Snacking on the counter
Petting? I'd rather run! Rufus hiding
Petting? I'd rather run! No one will see me

tiny purple ball Betty (c.11/20/91-7/27/99) was the mother of Huey, Dewey and Louie. She was dumb, half-blind and the cutest thing you had ever seen. She was a teddy bear Guinea Pig with black, white and grey fur. She loved to be petted and groomed. Click here to see a picture of Betty the mommy shortly after the birth of her babies in April, 1992!

Click here to see the "Betty the Pig" memorial.

Betty hiding Betty's house Betty relaxing Betty exporing Betty being cute
I'm cute! Hiding My house Relaxing Exploring
Betty up close Betty hangin' out Betty sniffing Betty on her hut
I love apples Hey! Cover me up! Got a snack? Help! I'm exposed!

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Piggie Living Quarters

Most of our piggies have lived in a variant of the "deluxe" cages, seen below, which I put together. We experimented with a number of designs with cages, boxes, etc. and finally came up with a design that worked really well. The design is pretty simple. First, I went to the local hardware store and bought a big piece of pressed wood (I got the kind with small holes in it to make it easy to assemble). I cut this up into 4 pieces (a top, 2 sides and a back) and tied it all together with pipe cleaners to make a "hut" as seen below (the size should snugly fit the cage and the top should be just high enough for a piggie to fit under without crouching). This hut allows the piggies to hide inside, as well as providing a sturdy platform for them to stand on, increasing the floor space of the cage by about 50%. Between 2 and 4 cages (the standard plastic bottom, wire top ones you find in any local pet store) can be linked together as seen below, by cutting out a section of the wire part big enough for a piggie to fit through (don't cut the very bottom wire or it will get unstable, just the vertical wires). Match up the holes on multiples cages and secure with pipe cleaners or something similar, and your piggies can now pass from one cage to the other. Piggies not used to much exercise will find it hard to get between the cages at first, but with a little help from you they will quickly learn, and build up their muscles so that it becomes quite simple. Our babies had no trouble zipping across at less than 3 weeks old (this setup also gives mommy piggies a chance for a brief rest from their demanding babies when they are very young and constantly pestering her). This kind of setup allows lots of room for privacy and minimizes piggie grouchiness. In many cases you may find that you can house 2 males together this way with minimal fighting, since each can have plenty of their own space. For two piggies, try linking 2 cages and having one side contain a "hut" and the other side be the "food cage" with the pellet dish and water. This will encourage lots of trips back and forth and will keep your piggie well exercised. Of course, this is no substitute for some good "on the floor running time". Lots of free roaming time (at least once a week, 2-3 times would be much better) on the floor will also keep your piggies very happy (and tired) and will minimize fights. Good luck and let me know how you like these ideas!

Here's a example of some of the configurations of cages where Rufus and Betty lived. One is a 3 cage setup with 2 huts, and one is a 2 cage setup with 1 hut.

The big view Many cages Pellet side Hut side Betty's house
The big view Many cages Pellet side Hut side (with Betty) Betty's house
United at last! Bestest Buddies One in each cage
United at last! Bestest Buddies One in each cage

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Check out these cool Guinea Pig related links (most come courtesy of Todd's Guinea Pig Hutch):

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Misc Stuff

tiny green ball Piggie sounds courtesy of Tabatha Zettler! Hear a piggie: purr,"weet","voot voot" (Real Audio format) - for best results, push the "stop" button on your browser to stop the background music, then crank up your speaker volume before clicking on one of the sounds. Enjoy!

tiny green ball If you are interested in some more technical medical type info on piggies, check out this document.

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