Random Thoughts.

So not much has been happening. The money situations getting a bit dire but I should be able to cover the rest of the costs that are required.

I've got one more major assessment due at the moment and once that's handed in I can focus on getting the cages painted and working on the Health Guide. Then in a month two HUGE assessments, and two exams. On November 17th I am released from this study hellhole for the summer. There's a rabbit show on November 20th, a Cavy Show on November 27th. We move December 1st. At some point I'm also hoping to visit the breeder I'm collecting cavies off, or at least meeting up with her at the show. I'll also be going back and forth to care for the rabbit as well as somehow agreeing to help handrear show goats owned by the lady with the rabbit.

So basically life is hectic. I've had to start a week by week listing of the million and one things I have to do. We also have to pack up two households worth of crap, take carloads worth of crap to donate to charities and somehow coordinate the collection of five animals who will then be living in travel cages till we get to our new house and unpack their cages. I need to locate and purchase a cage for bunny rabbit too which is like another $100.

We need to take birds to the vet for a health check, as well as clipping their wings completely and doing toenails (my conures fine with this sort of fuss, the tiel is not), cages need to be scrubbed down and packed and records updated in case (god forbid) we lose them on the trip up, though its something I do not even want to think about occurring. 

With the hectic nature of the move I think feeding wise guinea pigs and rabbit will be expected to all eat Peter's Lucerne pellets for one to two weeks. So I have time to purchase appropriate feed once we get to Uralla. Guinea pigs will of course receive veggies and grass during this time but bun will be fairly restricted to hopefully prevent stress induced diarrhea.

Basically we have a million and one things to consider when moving two humans, and eight animals five hours North. I will be sooo glad when this is over.

It's pretty much guaranteed we'll be getting the house, contracts are being exchanged at the end of this week or beginning of next.

The Bunny

So since this is my blog, I'm gonna talk about whatever I want. Today's topic is the bunny,

The bunny I am in absolute love with and who will be joining our household one day soon.

He turned up in a neighbors yard three weeks ago bedraggled and severely matted. The neighbour caught him, caged him and started bringing him back to full health. In that time she discovered that bunny was a neutered buck and also a longhair, a cashmere lop to be specific. We met by total chance and she offered him to me, and what could I say?

Due to our nutty landlady who allows messy parrots but not cavies or rabbits he'll be staying at the neighbors house for a bit longer and I'll be going back and forth in order to help with his grooming and care.

I spent a couple of hours with him this morning. Even after a professional groomer had gone after him he was still covered in matts and his old moulting coat was still tangled through the new. So we spent most of that time carefully brushing the whole lot out. He was amazingly calm and just went to sleep, didn't even twitch when I clipped his extremely long nails. I'll need to redo the nails as I was careful and cut well away from the quick as I wasn't sure about Bun's opinions on such an undertaking. Since he was so calm and content I'll shorten the nails when I see him next (probs Tuesday or Wednesday). I checked his weight as well and he's a bit underweight at 2150g, as a purebred cashmere lop he should be closer to 2500. He has mites but has been treated with revolution and they seem to be clearing up. My other big issue is the staining. His coat is not happy and his feet are bright yellow, so I'm looking at various remedies for that now. His eyes are also slightly crusty but considering his enviroment that could be anything.

So tomorrow I'll call the vet and arrange an appointment for a checkup and calici vaccination and I'll get them to double check for a microchip as well. I'll get him microchipped myself once we move.

So this is my lovely bunny. He's a blue butterfly cashmere lop and we've christened him Sir Luther

 

The cages

So the cages are here. Not as great as I'd hoped. I'm not overly impressed with the door situation. 120cm wide doors really aren't very useful. However looking at the door construction I should be able to modify them whenever they do begin driving me totally nuts. It'd be much easier to have two separate 60cm door son either side. The other thing is the whole cage rocks? Like seriously, you couldn't level it BEFORE you put the castors on. I was told I had to have 6 castors to support the weight of the cage, but since the castors are all in at different heights only 3 castors are actually in contact with the ground at any given time. Sooooo.... that will take some thought to fix that. It should be less apparent when the cage is on carpet though.

I'm also rethinking my original intentions to paint it. Partly because paint costs a freaking fortune and also because well the wood doesn't look too bad. So I might just seal the interior.

So pictures, the cages are modeled by Simon, Belle and Jupiter my plushie friends. I'll kidnap bunny sometime and post some pics of him in the cage when I get a chance. Basically these cages are absolutely, totally freaking enormous and I am very impressed. I'm also so glad I had them built at 50cm high, it's so much easier to see the whole bottom level without having to sit on the floor.

The cages

The megatron doors open

The petstore cages on top (we're they'll live when the pig room is set up)

 So basically they are nice but not quite what I was after. However they'll make a fantastic base for my caviary. If I can get this building thing working I'm going to make new cages for the top which will be 4 60 cm x 60 cm cages for the show animals with front opening doors.

The cages are here!

So the cages arrived they are pretty amazing however the doors weren't quite as good as I hoped. However they are still far beyond anything I've had before.

Unbeknownst to me the cage people had organized to meet another lady at our house at the same time to drop off a rabbit that they'd been grooming for her. The people were of course late and we got talking. The rabbit she was waiting on was a cashmere lop that had wandered into her yard one day. It was in incredibly poor condition but had obviously been a once loved pet and was neutered. The lady was desperate to find a home for it as she couldn't keep up with the grooming.

Now not being particularly fond of rabbits I can say no to your typically brown and white shorthair mutt.

But this regal fellow?

Yeah I was a total gonna. Then he started licking me and well.... She offered him to us free with his hutch and she can keep him till December if I help out with grooming him. We haven't said yes yet but I don't know how one can say no, I mean look at him!

Anyway I'm off to read about grooming Cashmere Lops.....

Waiting.

The cages will be here at 9am tomorrow, I am more then a little excited. I've been doing calculations and as long as I don't spend any money for the next two weeks (after all who needs to eat) I can afford the paint I need. Then I have about four weeks to get them painted before they have to be packed in preparation for the move. I also still need to get money together for the last components of the first aid but that can wait a month or so and is only about $100. Then a bit more saving to pay for the pigs and I am good to go.

House wise we're still waiting for the new contract to be written but contracts should still be exchanged in the next two weeks which is very very exciting.

Random Thoughts of the Day

My cages are ready!

They are being delivered Thursday night and I cannot wait. They've cost a bloody fortune so they better be as good as they look on the website. I want to see what the height is like as well. I ordered them extra tall at 50cm high per cage as it used to drive me nuts that I could never see into the bottom cages. It does however mean the highest I can take a stack is three cages. But I'm hoping they'll be a good basis to start with and will provide me with a 240cm x 60cm sow run/birthing cage.

However right now it feels like I'm hemorrhaging cash. I could have gone the much cheaper route and bought as needed especially with the first aid kit but that would also mean risking animals lives because I didn't have medication on hand. After watching 30 animals die because my vet couldn't diagnose clostiridia and I hadn't the foggiest what to give them to stop the contagious enteritis I never ever want to be in that position again. Soooo expensive first aid kit it is. I now have everything on hand to treat and save my animals should I ever end up with bacterial enteritis in my herd again. But I pretty much have $20 to see me through to the end of the week. I still need to raise the money for paint for these cages as well, yay.

So the only other purchases of today of note were I got my hands on some very cheap probiotics (Woolies had them marked for quick sale, except they don't expire till 2015) as well as some glycerine.

Other than that I'm just still slogging through this anthro assessment though I should have it done soon. I just have to work out what disease the ulna has, write a reference list and hand it in. Then I can have all of 20 seconds to myself before moving onto my Survey Methods assessment. I was going to use these holidays to finish the health guide, I have six days left and have yet to even look at the health guide, blah.

I'll leave you with a pic of a much much younger me (with atrocious fashion sense) at my first ever show, with my first ever pedigree pig, winning my first ever Best of Breed. The buff in front of me is Namoi Belle who won BOB, the other buff is just one I was minding for someone.

Fun Day.

Guess what I did today? Go on guess! Yup I went shopping. Again.

Yes I'm hopelessly addicted and need counseling but hey it's better then spending money on shoes. So of course mu purchases were cavy related. Today I bought two oversize semi transparent step stools which will make great 'houses' for $5 each. I also purchased 4.8m of this plastic edging stuff to glue over the exposed edges of the plywood litter boards in the new cage I'm ordering. I've had cavies that have literally eaten there way through plyboard dividers so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that this ensures the plywood litter boards stay intact. I also bought a small sheet of corflute which will cut down to size so I can ziptie it over the wire divider when I'm keeping show long hairs in the all wire cage. I'm hoping it will prevent neighbours chewing the wrappers.

Finally I stopped at horseland and bought this:
http://www.horseland.com.au/roma-1200-denier-hay-bale-bag.html

It will be used to store a bale of hay in the 'pig room'. Since the cavy rooms in the centre of the house I didn't want to be leaving trails of hay through the house every time I went to get the pigs a biscuit, so hay storage inside. We've also got a big calico bag which can be used in the car when we buy hay. Less mess is always good.

I also priced the paints, and my wallet is going ouch. So 1L of Dulux paint covers 16 square metres, and how many metres do I have to cover?

18.72 square metres enamel for two coats inside cage

18.72 square metres wash & wear for two coats outside cage

18.72 square metres prepcoat

And of course buying 1.5L costs the same as buying 2L. Yay.

So prices for the paints are

Wash & Wear - $50 for 2L

Aquanamel High Gloss - $60 for 2L

Dulux 1 Step - $51 for 2L

So $161 for 6L of paint. I really hope I find some other uses for this paint otherwise there's going to be a lot wasted.


But you want to know the best bit about today? While clearing out the family home I discovered all my old records and photo backups, as well as four years worth of Cavy Capers. I is very very happy.

Lists, Lists, Lists.

I'm still currently buried under my anthropology assessment, I'm up to determining stature of my skeleton, lucky me.

At the moment I'm mainly tinkering with ideas and half formed thoughts as well as continuing to work out a complete shopping list.

For those who aren't yet bored rigid by my anality, these are the things that have already been bought for my future cavies.

8 x 500mL water bottles
3 x 1m Pink Ribbon for tying up the water bottles
2 x Pink Food Bowls (Must find more of them)
10 x Cavy Cozies
8 x Pink Cavy Pillows
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Blue Lap Pad
2 x Purple 100cm x 50cm Pet Store Cages
5 x Fleece and Cotton Liners for above cages
5 x Hot Pink Carry Cages
12 x Liners for aforementioned Carry Cages
24 x Luggage Tags for Cages
1 x Hot Pink Feed Bin on wheels
1 x Peter Gurney's Guide to Cavy Care
1 x Peter Gurney's Piggy Potions
1 x Matt Gardiners Advanced Guide to Cavy Keeping
1 x Disease of The Domestic Guinea Pig
1 x Folder filled with general care and show articles/information/forms
1 x Folder filled with breeding articles/information/forms
1 x Folder to be filled with hard copy records and photos of all animals I own
1 x Folder with the current standards book

Then in a large pink storage tub I have the beginnings of my 'dry' first aid kit
1 x SnuggleSafe
1 x SnuggleSafe Cover
25 x Gloves
2 x Hot Water Bottles
3 x Hot water Bottle Covers
1 x Pack Cotton Buds
1 x Charcoal Tablets
1 x KY Gel
1 x Buccal Pad Separators
2 x Dental Rasp
1 x Vaseline
1 x Hand Sanitizer
1 x Paraffin
1 x Hydrogen Peroxide
1 x Glucodin
1 x Sudafed
1 x Baby Food - Pureed Apple
1 x Baby Food - Apple & Blackcurrant Gel



In a Pink Carryall I have the refrigerated part of the kit
1 x Vitamin C
28 x Ural Sachets
1 x Gastro- Stop
1 x Baby Panadol
1 x Canesten Cream

Then I have a very big show kit all packed into a spare carry cage

Grooming Bag Containing

    1 x Mini Pantene Shampoo
    1 x Mini Pantene Conditioner
    1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
    1 x Spray Bottle for Water
    1 x Detangler
    Spare Balsa Wood
    Spare Paper Towels
    1 x Hair Bands
    1 x Eucalyptus Oil

    Grooming Roll Containing

        1 x Pin Tail Comb
        1 x Plastic Detangling Comb
        1 x Afro Comb
        1 x Metal Detangling Comb
        1 x Scissors
        1 x Hair Bands
        1 x Tweezers
        1 x Styptic Powder
        1 x Nail Clippers
        3 x Hair Clips
        1 x Eucalyptus Oil

Mini First Aid Kit Containing

    3 x Iodine Wipes
    3 x Sterile Gauze
    1 x Antiseptic Cream
    1 x Hand Sanitizer
    1 x Pair of Gloves
    3 x Syringes
    1 x Sachet of Dextrose
    1 x Visine Clear Eye Drops
    1 x Sachet Electrolyte Gel
    1 x Simethicone
    2 x Charcoal tablets


3 x Water Bottles
1 x Hair Dryer
3 x Mini Food Bowls
1 x Pink 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Black 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Blue Lap Pad
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Old Towel
1 x Pink Fabric Bag
1 x Spare Travel Cage Lining

As well as

2 x 12” x 12” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 18” x 18” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 24” x 24” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
1 x Tall Pink Grooming Stand (Pink & Black)

Bored yet?

I'm sure you stopped reading about twenty lines back, but hey as Dory says "just keep on swimming". Soooooo this is what I still have to buy.

2 x Huge 8 foot cages I need to finish paying for
3 x 2L cans of undercoat, top coat and enamel to paint cages
1 x Plant Pot (For washing longs)
8 x Pink Food Bowls (I am determined that I will find some more)
1 x Valuwarp bandage
2 x 50mL Nutrigel
Lots of Syringes
1 x 250mL QuitItch
1 x Debrisol
1 x Jorvet Mothering Kit (Syringes with teats)
1 x Wombaroo Bottle
2 x Wombaroo 'C' Teats
1 x Divetelac
1 x Acidophilus
1 x Calcium Sandoz
1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
1 x Metal Detangling Comb with rotating pins


And I have a wishlist of things I can't really afford but want
1 x Otoscope
1 x Stethoscope
1 x Electric Clippers
1 x Scalpel Handle with Sterile blades
1 x Terramycin Pink Eye Powder (Costs a fortune but probs worth it)
1 x Rectal Thermometer (as above)

Random Update.

I've just realised that I begin pretty much every blog post with "so", I really must stop that, after all variety is the spice of life.

Am just updating on the house situation. We had a plumbing inspection and whoever plumbed the house was just a touch insane however quality wise the plumbing is fine with no leaks.

So we're now in touch with a conveyancer and are organizing the exchange of contracts. So unless something drastic happens like the house getting swept away in a flood we are going to have an absolutely amazing house.

The only other vaguely cavy related thing is I've decided all of my animals will have a name theme (I did say I was OCD) and considering that we're moving into a castle called Helsingor they will all have Shakespearian names. I'm very pet oriented and 'fluffy'. I like pink fleece and cavy toys and colour, I anthropomorphize them and I name them. More often then not I'll give animals bought from other breeders new pet names and only show them under their pedigree name. For example Umbrielle a golden agouti roan I used to own was shown under the name Malibu Renayah and Jupiter a self cream was shown under the name Bluegum Ignatius.

At the moment I'm working through some cavy books from the 70's and then I have a health manual to read. This is of course between my many assessments. I've spent the morning determining the sex of various bones.

A brief interruption from our normal program

So, I thought I'd just share some of my stress, coz ya know that's fun. right? besides it's my blog so I can put whatever I want up here, right? right? *crickets chirp*.

Basically I'm a second year law/criminology student. I chose the degree on the spur the moment, mainly because it sounded cool. I knew it would be hard and made an agreement with my parents so I'd have their support for the next five years and then slowly begin repaying them after that. However I conveniently forgot that my uni of choice regularly over-enrolls students then has to desperately start dropping students. As my lecturer put it they have to separate the wheat from the chaff. So here's me fresh out of high school completely out of my depth doing a degree with the majority of my classmates being thirty years older than me. Can you say steep learning curve?

So my first year I did amazingly well all things considering. I couldn't stand college and was desperate to move out. Then cue figurative explosions at home and I had the choice of remaining at college or coming home. By that time I was literally quite ill from the college food and anemic to boot. So I came home and began studying via distance. My second year options were also severely limited and I ended up enrolled in third and forth year subjects. My grades dropped dramatically. I'm still passing (thank god) but only just.

So I've only received one assessment back so far for this semester and at 60% if I can't get my grades up bye-bye law degree. So cavies are my current destressor but even so stress levels are reaching the upper limits. We've got family visiting and I'm expected to be entertaining them, but I also have major assessments too (uni holidays do not equal actual holidays). I was also intending to finish my Medical Reference Guide for Guinea Pigs but god knows when I'll get to that.

Sooo I guess I should stop ranting and get back to work huh? My current assessment is for anthropology. I have most of a human skeleton (yes a real skeleton) that I'm meant to doing a report on and discovering the persons age, sex, stature, health and ethnicity. After that I need to write a drug treatment program for my Indigenous studies class, then create a survey for survey methods oh and after that I need to somehow fit in my regular university reading which equates to 500-800 pages a week, as well as the podcasted lectures.

I'd much rather be working on my Health Guide....

Cages have been ordered.

Soooo I just spent way too much money on a deposit for two cages.

I ordered:

Cage 1
240cm long, 60cm deep and 50cm high.
Solid partition in the centre to create two 120 cm x 60 cm cages.
Wire Doors opening from the middle.
15cm ply board litter board across the front.
With 6 castors on the bottom.


Cage 2
240cm long, 60cm deep and 50cm high.
No partition.
Wire Doors opening from the middle.
15cm ply board litter board across the front.


All up these cages will cost $580 as well as a further $150 for paint.

So these will line one wall of the 'pig room'. I'll also have two plum petstore cages sitting on top.

I'll be painting them as well of course.

The inside will be Dulux High Gloss Aquanamel in this lovely pink/mauve shade called Pretty Lady.

The outside will be Dulux Low Sheen Wash & Wear in this gorgeous deep plum called Grand Poobah.

The above is just a shade or two off the pet store cages so it will all blend well. I also have a set of bookshelves which will be painted with the leftover paint to match it to the cages.

The pig room itself will be painted British paints InColour Low Sheen paint in this lovely citrus lime shade for some happy bright colour. This is "Pandora's Garden".

So these cages will be the 'breeding banks'. Sows and boars will live in the two four foot cages and when pregnant sows move to the eight foot cage to litter amongst other sows. I'll only have one litter at a time so it should work quite well. Then I have two 100cm x 50cm cages and two 60cm x 60cm cages for growing on babies and for my show animals. I'll also have additional space for another 200cm x 60cm sow run as well as a set of 'island' cages if I need more for growing on babies/housing show animals.

Rethinking Cages

So I've been rethinking cages again. Yup I'm mad. Anyway I've pretty much decided that I will be purchasing two of the lay along units that I posted previously. I have zilch wood working skills and the chances of me being able to make a set of cages even as passable nice as that is zero. They are a fantastic quality though they are a bit pricey. I'm arranging to buy two of the 8 foot units. One will be one long cage, so perfect for a sow run and the other will be divided into two four foot cages, so breeding cages. I'm also having 15cm litter boards put in. Each unit will be 50cm high and 240cm and either 60cm or 70cm wide. They'll provide plenty of space and look halfway decent as well. Plus easy to pack in a moving van when I move out.

So in the 'pig room' one wall will have two of these units against the right wall with two petstore cages on top. Then the left wall will have my parrot's mansion. Some form of cages will sit under the window across from the door as well.

So to start of with I'll have

• 1 x 240cm x 60cm cage
• 2 x 120cm x 60cm cages
• 2 x 100cm x 50cm pet store cages
• 2 x 60cm x 60cm wire cages
• Enough C&C grids for any form of emergency cage.

Rethinking Feed.

So I've been rethinking the feed again. On the recommendation of other fanciers I'm thinking I'll give the Mitavite Athlete Plus a miss and instead feed a mix of equal parts of Mitavite Formula 3, Lucerne Chaff and Mitavite extruded lupins.

So the Lucerne Chaff is 18% protein, 26% fibre, 2% fat and 1.4% calcium.
Mitavite Formula 3 is 15% protein, 8% fibre, 10% fat and 0.7% calcium.
Mitavite Extruded Lupins are 35% protein, 15% fibre, 7.4% fat and 0.2% calcium.

So together that creates a mix that is 22.7% protein, 16.3% fibre, 6.5% fat and 0.8% calcium. Preferred ratios for feeding cavies are 22% protein, 15% fibre, 5% fat and 1% calcium. So fibre and protein are great though the fat is a tad high and calcium is decent and will reach 1% once their regular hay is considered. For cavies who are 'at risk' of getting fatty or falling out of breeding condition I can tweak the mix by increasing the lucerne to drop fat and protein levels. Of course fresh hay will also be available at all times.

I haven't worked out how to feed hay yet. The show animals will have hay racks outside the cage to keep it out of their coat but I'm still debating on whether to feed hay loose in the cages for the rest of the animals. There's a high likelihood that my allergy to hay has worsened so I'm not sure whether handling animals that have been snoozing in hay is a good idea. However I know how much pigs love to burrow and tunnel in immense piles of hay. For the same reason I'll be spending extra money on breeders choice newspaper pellets because not only is hysorb messy I'm allergic to the dust as well. Thankfully it's only a skin allergy with the hay however it makes me look like I have a highly contagious disease.

I just realized I wrote this whole post without once mentioning the vegetable part of a cavies diet. We're planning to create a massive vegetable garden that will supply all human vege needs. The cavies will be getting the endless excess from that and there will also be large parsley, broccoli, corn and pumpkin sections just for the pigs, so they should be pretty much inundated with food. Until the vege gardens are up and running I'll be purchasing what's needed from the local produce stores of which there are many. They'll be pretty much get whatever is currently cheapest in as large a portions as possible to keep them happy and healthy.

Patience

So it looks extremely likely that we'll be buying the castle. We've arranged for a plumbing inspection as well however that's mainly just for our own peace of mind. So contracts should be signed very very soon, which is honestly a wonderful thought. Of course I'm full of interior decorating ideas, the pig room will be either pale mauve or apple green which will go quite nicely with my plethora of hot pink accessories.

In other cavy related news I'm going to the show on Sunday which should be good. It'll be the first time I've driven to Castle Hill so it's mainly a test drive and I'll be collecting some piggy books while I'm there. Eventually I hope to have an extensive library on cavies.

Not much other news really, I'm just waiting, and waiting.

So close I can taste it...

So the building inspection report came in today for the house we like. There's some minor issues like the roof flashing has to be replaced and apparently a couple of windows don't open properly but considering it's been sitting vacant for three years that's fantastic. Sooooo the next step is to found out how much the roof flashing will cost to replace, but it shouldn't be much and it's not essential that we do it right away. Oh and he recommended having a plumber check the pipes which shouldn't be hard to arrange

He didn't make any comments on the wiring though. However I've learned that the wiring is surface mounted wiring which is all neatly covered with conduit and looks just like the pictures of how to properly install it, so one can hope LOL. I've certainly seen worse wiring in my own home...

Sooooooo it looks like we're getting a house, a dream house, a better than one could believe house. I am ecstatic and joyful and just very very happy. Though the house we're buying is certainly different. Basically everyone in Uralla will know us as the absolute nutters who bought the castle. Well, one of the castles (yes there is two). We haven't got the whole history but basically some nutter forty years ago decided to build himself a castle and build a second one to use as a public tearoom. He built both down a dirt track left over from mining days. The council of course went uhh no at the idea of having a retail site down a dirt track and left him with a wacky castle shaped tearoom that was no use as a residence. He got bored fairly quickly and sold up. Que wacky artist turning up and deciding he adored the castle. We're not sure who did the renovations but someone added an artists studio bigger than the rest of the house and built in bedrooms and converted the start of an industrial kitchen into an oversized laundry. Creating perhaps the most perfect space ever for a textile artist with room for her crazy daughter and her herd of guinea pigs. Oh and one mustn't forget the two parrots.

So I am overjoyed and I just hope the roof repairs don't cost too much but I am exceedingly surprised at how few defects there are, I would have expected a lot more.

And this post isn't guinea pig related in any way but oh well.

Waiting...

So now we get to wait and nervously bite our nails. The next step is the building inspection. The house we adore has been sitting vacant for the past three years. All things considered it looks great however there is a crack running down and interior wall and the wiring of the house is certainly unique, so we've no idea if it's up to code. The roof may also be an issue as god knows what condition the gutters are in after sitting for so long. However if all goes well with the inspection we'll sign the contracts and then start waiting again till settlement. We still have other issues as well as we need the money to line up, things look hopeful for the other houses sale and the contracts are about to be signed on it so we 'should' be good. If the building inspection fails we'll make an offer on the other house we liked which was rather nice as well.

So just to share here are some images of what would be the caviary

The view when you walk in the door

Same angle, the straight part of the wall is 305cm

The curvy part, the room next door is a turret (yes a turret)

The wall on the right which is 400cm

Mini wall on the left, it's bigger then it looks. The side next to the curve is 150cm and the side behind the door is 198cm

So thats what I have to work with, the curvy bit is totally screwing with my head. So the only planning I've got done is what will go on the walls. I have a gorgeous Indian Textile that was given to me for my 14th birthday when we India which will cover some of the curvy bit. Then I have an A2 portrait I did around the same time of all different cavies I've owned. An A4 pencil sketch of the first live baby I bred and her mother and a stylized portrait of two rescue pet babies in acrylic on canvas.

I'm hoping that I may be able to keep the green cart that's in the room (we're arranging to keep a fair amount of the original furniture) as a grooming cart, otherwise I'll buy a new one and paint it pink (I do pink LOl), then I'll either repaint the filing cabinet pink or put my baby blue and yellow vintage dresser in there for additional storage. I also have a bright pink food bin and 5 bright pink carriers that will also need to be stored.

At the start I'll be putting two purple pet store cages and a wire grid cage divided into two 60 x 70 cages in there and I have left over grids for an emergency cage if needed. However I'm not really sure about what else to put in there.

I also have a fantastic 2m x 1m lawn run that'll go outside as well.

Oh and I have a pink Samsara Cavies sign for the door. Can ya tell I like pink?

A Word on First Aid Kits

These are merely my opinions and they are not to replace proper veterinary care. 

Whatever you call them, medical care kits, medical cupboards, first aid kits, emergency care packs they are an essential part of any pet owners equipment. Living in Australia we don't have easy access to such supplies as Oxbow's Critical Care or often even to adequate veterinary care. We have a small population in a very large land mass and many of us simply do not live near vets, let alone vets with experience with cavies. I grew up in an area where the closest vet was thirty minutes away. He was a cat and dog vet but was always happy to have a go at treating cavies, however mistakes were made because he'd never had training. The closest vet that had experience with exotics was an hour and a half away, they were also incredibly expensive. Both these vets were closed on weekends and Thursdays and there was no 24 hour emergency vet.

Even if the vet was open the traveling involved meant that an animal in distress had to bump in a care across many km of dirt road and was likely to die before we even made it to a vet, which is certainly not the preferred outcome. At the time I didn't bother with a decent first aid kit, and many small lives were lost because of it. It is not something I ever want to happen again.

So a few months ago when I first decided that I was going to get back into cavies one of the first considerations was a first aid kit. One that could treat all the most urgent illnesses and keep an animal alive before veterinary advice could be sought. So off I went and began reading, and reading, and reading. Then I realized I couldn't take it all in so I began writing, and writing, and writing. 100 pages later and what began as "Basic Notes on Cavy Health" is now "A Medical Reference Guide to the Domestic Guinea Pig" I hope to have it finished in February and I may end up selling a few copies. The big thing I learned though was that all those guides we buy do not reference Australian medications and the terminology is different (try telling an American you feed your cavies chaff, they'll think you've been feeding them wood chips).

So this is the current (though ever expanding) list of what will be in my own first aid kit. The 'kit' itself is divided into three groups. The first in a mini transportable kit which will  ravel with me to shows and holds the most essential items for treating the most ikely issues at shows such as bite wounds, bloat and stress. The second holds everything that need to be refrigerated to prolong shelf life and the third holds the equipment and what doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Travelling First Aid Kit

3 x Iodine-Povidone Wipes (commonly known as Betadine, these are for cleaning wounds/sores)
3 x Sterile Gauze (In case of deep wounds these can be used with bandaging or simply to clean wounds)
Dettol Antiseptic Cream (For treating open sores or wounds)
Hand Sanitizer (Pretty obvious)
Pair of Gloves (Pretty obvious)
3 Syringes (For hand feeding food/fluids or medications)
1m Valuwrap bandage (Pretty obvious, also useful in extreme cases of bumblefoot)
Small pack of Dextrose (Glucose is a lifesaver that can be syringe fed if an animal appears weak or floppy)
Visine Clear Eye Drops (In case of eye pokes)
Electrolyte Energy Gel (A new find, it's easy to transport and in combination with water is perfect for rehydration)
Infacol Wind Drops (For treatment of minor cases of gas/bloat)
2 Charcotabs (Crush, mix with water and syringe feed in cases of poisoning or bloat)
Baby Wipes (fairly obvious)
Nutrigel (Emergency hand feeding paste, not to be used for long periods)
Sachet of Powdered Pellets (Shows are a three day trip for me, so hand feeding supplies are essential as well as the animals normal food)
 


Then Items kept at room temperature are

Snugglesafe heat pad (this thing is amazing, highly highly reccomend)
2 x Hot Water Bottles (in case of multiple ill animals, spares are always great)
2 x Spare Hot water Bottle Covers (Pigs poop, tis a fact of life, water bottle covers need to be changed regularly)
Plenty of Rubber Gloves (So very useful when one needs to clean out impactions)
Cotton Buds (Cleaning wounds, eyes, ears, bums)
Syringes (Hand feeding fluids and food, medicating, irrigating wounds/abscesses)
Quit Itch (Treats fungal issues)
Debrisol (Cleaning wounds/ open sores)
Charcotabs (Crush, mix with water and syringe feed in cases of poisoning or bloat)
1m ValuWrap bandage (Bandaging wounds and also useful for cases of bumblefoot)
Jorvet Mothering Kit (For hand rearing, consists of a syringe with tiny nipples)
KY Gel (Cleaning out impaction, lubricating stuck babies)
Hydrogen Peroxide (A small amount diluted may be useful to help clean abscesses)
Buccal Pad Separators & Dental Rasps (For checking teeth and treating malocclusion)



Refrigerated Items are


Organic Baby Food (Mix with crushed pellets for palatability when hand feeding)
Divetelac (Preferred 'milk' powder for hand rearing)
Nutrigel (Emergency hand feeding paste, not to be used for long periods)
Vitamin C (Syringe to pregnant/ill pigs for an extra boost)
Ural (Urine alkalizer useful when treating cystitis)
Gastro-Stop (Treats diarrhea/bloat)
Baby Panadol (Pain relief)
Acidophilus (Probiotic to be used when medicating with antibiotics)
Canesten Cream (Treats fungal issues like cheilitis and stitches as well as thrush)
1kg Dextrose (Glucose is a lifesaver that can be syringe fed if an animal appears weak or floppy)
Calcium Sandoz Syrup (Treats eclampsia in pregnant/lactating sows as well helping with osteodystrophy in satins)


I'm sure the kit will also continue to increase as I discover new things but right now that's pretty much what I have/intend to have. I'm still debating on purchasing a stethoscope and otoscope as well.

An offer has been accepted.

I was woken by a cacophony of screaming this morning, no I don't mean my sun conure (though he did join in) but my mother. Our offer on the house we loved was accepted, at a far lower price then we expected.

So the first step towards owning our own house is complete. The next big issue is the building inspection. The house we're buying is a double brick house and all the wiring is on the inside of the walls and has been neatly run along the ceiling beams. It is in that insulating stuff but if it is dodgy we can't buy the house. I think though that it's just what is normally hidden by gyprock/fibro and is just visible in this house, however we could be wrong. The other issue is the fact that the house has sat vacant for three years, it still does have a power but there is the worry that the water heater and pumps won't turn on or that some snakes have found there way into the water tanks which would necessitate them being completely cleared out and new water bought.

But we are getting somewhere. The house will be absolutely perfect for Mum and is amazingly light and airy considering the amount of heavy brick/besa blocks and stone that was used to build it. It's also the largest house we've looked at so we'll actually have space, the cavies will be INDOORS I can take my entire collection of fish tanks up as well. However even with all our furniture we'll need to buy more, a LOT more. Our single lounge and two arm chairs will look totally ridiculous LOL.

We'll need to build in veggie gardens and a chook coop and run as well. The previous owner though he clearly loved the scenery was not one for such things. But there is plenty of space for them as well as a proper aviary for cavies.

So.... Assuming the building inspection goes well I'm putting 'official' orders in for cavies the minute contracts are signed coz I cannot wait to get out of here. We could be in our own house by Mid November.........

Home again.

So the back and forth has begun on the purchase of the castle. There's still no guarantee we'll get it but there is certainly a good chance, one can dream after all. What is it they say? Reach for the stars and even if you miss you'll land on the moon? I do believe that applies in this case. When we went to visit the moment I saw it it was like going home. I grew up on a very special property which for various reasons has been ruined for me and to find a place that feels like home is a wonderful thing.

Anyway I'm back home now but one other thing we did in Armidale is go hunting for a decent produce store. I was extremely happy to find one that not only has the complete range of mitavite but also stocks barastoc as well, so I'm off to do some reading on those. They also stock ivermectin which is like Alleluia, god knows why but the stores down here don't stock the stuff.

In other piggy news there is a double show on the 11th that I'll be going to. I'm picking up Pigs Isn't Pigs by Wynne Eecen, Piggy Potions by Peter Gurney and a couple of other books to add to my library. I may also be meeting a little roan sow who may become my first acquisition. She's a little runt who'll need special care but what can I say? I'm a softy and it's those special needs animals that often become the most amazing pets you'll ever own.