Life goes on.

Figured another update was in order. I've been incredibly busy as we are getting to crunch time at uni as well, buy busy can be fun.

I'm still getting settled back into the cavy fancy. In many ways it's odd to be back, the same faces and new faces. There have been reminders as well that people are people, some good, some not so good.

I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learned from the fancy, both as a child and now, back as an almost adult (I refuse to accept that being twenty makes me an adult).

You aren't a hundred dollar bill, you can't expect everyone to like you.

There are amazing people out there, even willing to open their homes to you solely from a shared love of cavies.

Cavies attract a varied crowd of people, a shared passion can bind people closer then anyone else.

It's not about winning, it's not about the competition, it's about having fun.

Reputation means nothing in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that your animals are well loved and well cared for.

Even the hardest parts of life are also lessons, listen to them.

There are people out there who are the most generous amazing people I've ever met.

I guess I am still learning, not just about cavies, but about people. About who they are and what drives them. Cavy people in some ways are easy to understand, and are totally incomprehensible in other ways. But that is life and the cavy fancy has been wonderful to return too.

Okay philosophy aside, the pigs are doing well. Feather has climbed to 760g and seems to finally be on the up and up. Little Tommi has made it to 150g and will spend one more week on her own so she can have access to a sipper bottle of milk (someone *cough* Ebony *cough* guzzles divetelac, so she can't go in the girls cage till she's off milk). I'm no longer handfeeding and she's still gaining so she should pull through.

An Australian Compendium to Cavy Health is nearly finished. I'm still looking for images though. I've had a few people get a bit defensive about the idea, as if I am accusing them of keeping sick animals if I ask for images. But I've had a lot of people help out as well both breeders and rescuers, which has been amazing. I still have about twenty illnesses without images but most now are well illustrated with photographs. I think I may have to get a bit more creative with the final images in order or produce something to illustrate the page.

All the other pigs are normal, everyone's gaining a bit of weight with the addition of Dairy Meal to their feed. And no Dairy Meal is not dairy, it's the stuff you feed to dairy cows. Eddie has managed to give himself diarrhea twice by eating 10cm x 10cm chunks of corflute so he's now in one of the less destructible pet store cages. Manny got his very first wash and blowdry and his first wrappers put in. He's being an absolute angel about them! Looking back I guess I should have taken the advice given and not persevered with Eddie as he still cannot bear being combed or even clipped. But it did teach me that I can cope with the really really grouchy pigs and to win BIS was absolutely amazing, though had more to do with his breeding than my grooming. But Manny has been wonderful and has no issue with having his butt wrapper put back in 3-4 times a day, since it falls out constantly.

I've made Many's first wrappers out of cotton voile with a small piece of corflute sewn into them. This way they are about half the weight of the paper towel wrappers and impossible to tear or chew. I'm using the horse hair ties to hold them in as they are nice and loose so if the wrapper does annoy him Manny can pull it out without damaging his coat.