Three weeks ago, Honey joined the herd, bringing the number up to 4.
Her weight bounces back and forth by several grams, and today she weighs in at 887 so I’m supplementing hand feedings again. Her mammary tumor seems to be stable at the same size, and she gets along well with the other guinea pigs. She even went into heat two days ago, and started power-humping her way through the pen, trying to mount the other girls.
She holds still to be pet and loves her red bell peppers, just like the other girls.

As for the other girls, they are down to two, bringing my total down again to 3. Skeeter bowed out yesterday some time, and right now she’s in the freezer while I figure out what to do. I once had a guinea pig in the lettuce drawer for a week, waiting for payday to come so that I could get her cremated. I don’t feel like I’m going to go through a cremation with Skeeter, but I am waiting on a quote from Skulls Unlimited, as an alternative way to celebrate my dead.

I’ve got paw prints, urns, cremation jewelry… I even had a lock of Coco’s hair but somehow I lost it. If I don’t keep her here then I’ve got other options, burial not being one of them because I’m renting an apartment.

So far I’ve left a message for my veterinarian (who finally took a vacation this very same week) and sent out a simple email to her former owner.

Skeeter came to live with me October, 2009. I found her through Craigslist.
Her former name was Milkshake, and we renamed her Skeeter because when she flipped her ears they made a slight buzzing sound like a mosquito.
The most dynamic change we had for her was in August, 2011, when her ‘warm buddy’, Coriander, had to be put down.
After Cori left us, I wanted a month or two before picking up Mu-Xi and tried to give her to Skeeter so the remaining few guinea pigs would stop picking on her. She ended up owning Mu-Xi like Bowser would own the Princess. Mu-Xi was often intimidated and would scream her head off when Skeeter would sit next to her.

Now Mu-Xi has Honey to push her around if need be, but Honey has only been a butt to her when her heat cycle kicks in and leaves her alone otherwise.

That’s the comings and goings around here. It’s not quite finished but it’s where I am right now.