Ginger's Op.

In my post dated 30th April I wrote about Ginger guinea pig needing an expensive operation to remove a bladder stone. Today was operation day but although the stone is still showing up on x-rays, when the vet opened Ginger up, she was unable to locate it, so he's been through all that trauma for nothing. Tomorrow pictures of the x-rays (£800 worth!) are being sent to a specialist to see if he can say where the stone is (thankfully we are not being charged for all these additional cost). Even if the specialist can locate it more accurately I am not sure it is fair to put Ginger through yet another operation, although he doesn't seem too bad after this one, just very hungry. I really don't know what to do for the best.

As I am writing this I am half watching a fox that is acting very strangely... one minute it is at the top of the field but the next time I look up it is at the bottom, then it is back up at the top again and so on. Very odd. I think I will forgo my game of chess with the computer and watch it for a while through the binoculars.

Another Guinea Pig Dilemma

Back in November 09, I wrote about one of my grandson's guinea pigs (his guinea pigs live with us as he is allergic to them). Gemma needed an operation to remove a bladder stone...the total vets bill came to just over £500!! She is now fully recovered and as you can see by her shiny coat is doing very well...

...however, now Gemma's son, Ginger, has also been diagnosed with a bladder stone (the problem can run in families). My first reaction was that we couldn't afford another £500 but then again why shouldn't Ginger have the same chance of a healthy life as Gemma. Also if it had been one of my dogs or cats I wouldn't have given it a second thought but just because they are small creatures they aren't really any less important.

Above all else I actually really love little Ginger. He was a surprise arrival shortly after we bought the guinea pigs for Jack's birthday so he has been with us from the word go. There is no way I could have him put to sleep when I know I could do something about it... added to which my grandson has promised all his pocket money towards the op, which obviously I won't accept, but it shows how important Ginger is to him too...so decision made.

I am sure lots of people will think I am nuts spending around £1000 in 6 months on two guinea pigs but that is the way I am. I hope this will be the finish of vets bills for a while though or I will end up having to go back to work:-)

Exciting Visitors to S.S.S.I. Land

On Sunday I went for a walk across the S.S.S.I. chalk downland that is on the other side of the road to the S.S.S.I. land that we back on to. It is being very well manged by the Old Surrey Hills Group who have been sympathetically clearing it of scrub (unlike the area nearer to us). Their initial idea was that they would then put goats on it to keep the scrub down and I put my name forward as a volunteer to look after them. However, on consideration they decided a couple of Dartmoor ponies would be more suited and sure enough there they were busily munching away. I am thrilled as I LOVE horses and ponies and of course have put my name forward as carer for them too... so fingers crossed:-))

Following my previous post I have decided that as well as writing predominantly about wildlife, I will also include more things about my life in general so expect to see more about horses, my pets and my garden. I hope this doesn't put anyone off.

First off is news of one of my Guinea Pigs, Gemma. She has been peeing blood for a few days and today the vet has decided she must go in for further investigations. She is a very nervous Guinea so it will be very traumatic for her. I take her in at 8.45am tomorrow...I soooo hope she will be ok and won't need an operation:-(

Tomorrow is also the day I go horse riding. The horse I ride is being a bit of a problem at the moment in that she can be going really well and seems to be enjoying herself but then suddenly stops and won't move for anything or anybody. The owners have spent loads on veterinary tests, dentist checks and a new saddle, but the problem still persists. I find it very worrying as I hate the thought that she might be in pain. Last week the vet took a urinary sample so it will be interesting to see if that shows up anything. I sometimes think I would be happier just looking after the horses and not actually riding them.

A Day Indoors

Update on the lone fox cub; he seems to be doing well. He was in the garden yesterday evening and was scent marking everything, including the birds water bowl!

The garden is beginning to look like a jungle as bindweed and ground elder threaten to take over but I have just found out that the young shoots of ground elder, which apparently was introduced by the Romans (not the cleverest thing they did), is edible so now it will feature on the menu of my grandson's guinea pigs (they live with us as he is allergic to them).

Gemma

Gemma's baby, Ginger

The Guinea pigs live in my daughter's old bedroom. Despite my husband having built a lovely big run for them, they don't like it outside because they find those big birds (the aeroplanes) terrifying. Up until now I have had them in two interconnecting cages and then given them a run on the floor each day but I have just managed to get another cage so I ignored the weeds in the garden and spent the day inside spring cleaning their room and setting up the new cage. My husband then cleverly joined it on to the other two. It took ginger a couple of days to work out how to get from one cage to another but now they are really enjoying their extra space.

Now I just have the rest of the bungalow to spring clean but it will have to wait as we are off to the New Forest for a couple of days (my favourite place) for our wedding anniversary.

First Post

I have been sitting at my computer for at least twenty minutes trying to think of a good first post for this blog. During this time I have been looking out of my living room window at the fields and woods that make up our area of chalk downland. Usually there is so much going on but it is pouring with rain so everything has taken cover. That was until our friendly male pheasant got fed up of sheltering under a bush in our garden and hopped up onto a frame in the vegetable garden. After sitting there for a minute or two he stretched up his neck and flapped his wings so hard that he lost his balance and fell off his perch. Strangely, Gemma, one of the guinea pigs, did a similar thing only yesterday. I was giving her a slice of apple but she snatched it from me so hard that she fell over backwards landing on a very surprised Ginger (the other guinea pig and son of Gemma). What always amuses me when animals do something silly like this is their very human like response of apparent embarrassment:-)