It would seem that this cage-extending starts to become addictive.  There is always the challenge of providing enough beds and loos to cope with their habits!!!  
(I wonder if girl guinea pigs would have a better idea of hygiene???).  
THEN - two new little boy cousins arrived on 15th March 2008.  They were “second-hand” and had lived in very cramped conditions.  One is mostly black, with a tan patch and little white bits on his face - name Sam(bo).  The other is tan and white - Foxy.  
The combined cages now take up more or less the whole shelf in the utility room.  (Husband has moved computer-fixing paraphernalia elsewhere!!!!).  The whole cage now looks like this:
Ginger and Foxy are quite content to share their living space - Cell No 1.  

Albie gets grumpy and takes it out on anyone who invades his space! - Cell No 2.  
To start with, they all seemed happy to eat and play together when out of their cages, but, as personalities (?) developed this has changed!  After MANY trials - and errors! and baths even! - we have a three way split - both in and out of cages.  
Although they are all boys, Sambo has a one-track mind - SEX! - and none of the others can be bothered with his CONSTANT attentions - so he lives in Cell No 3.
Well - a new hobby!

Two little fellas came to live here on 17th September 2007 and their names - Albie (he’s white of course) and Ginger (yes, he’s ginger!).  They certainly make me get up and get going in the mornings.  Not surprising really, as they eat non-stop.   Fortunately, they have persuaded the sheep to share their hay, which, along with special pellets, is their staple diet.  
They do, of course, get salad treats .... which THEY are not willing to share.  They have their own box of goodies in the fridge - not to be nicked by passing husbands etc!  (Actually husband and piggies co-operate in the case of celery - he eats the stems and they eat the leaves!)
The day they arrived
Not sure about the great outdoors!
Their favourite food is cucumber - which costs a fortune in the winter!
 
As to cage - well - the one I bought seemed plenty big enough when they first arrived, but they soon made it look pretty small.  So, first of all I added a gallery for their beds and put the loo underneath.  Gradually the cage has been extended and extended ......
Ginger hiding
Albie begging
Upstairs and downstairs
However, they also have time out on our laps and on the floor.  We (EVEN husband who was against having them in the first place!) get a lot of relaxation and amusement watching them as they gradually get bolder and tamer.

THEN - I made them lovely cuddly hiding places - which they seem to like very much!!  
This is Cage 2 -  the original bought cage - with the added gallery!
They also have outside runs -
which have to be hawk- and stoat-proof!
Well - so much for summery pics - this is definitely winter.  So we are hogging our snuggle sacks and basking in our cuddle-cups under - wait for it - our lovely warm infrared bulbs!  
We do however miss our nice grassy diet - but go through cucumbers at an alarming rate!  (We have heard it mentioned that we are more expensive to feed in the winter than dogs!)
As to cages, they still keep expanding and adapting (how did the world exist before the advent of cable ties?) but the piggies still don’t go much on house-training ....  
When it comes to floor-time - this has been restricted.  It certainly cuts down on the furniture-moving and the hoovering AND saves the chair legs from being gnawed!
Back to summer again, but weather wasn’t good for piggies going outside - either too hot or too wet!  So it is easier for them to send me out to get the grass - and other goodies - dandelion leaves, chickweed, hogweed leaves, plantain - AND - if my planting can keep up with them - home-grown lettuce!  (That is apart from the bought cucumbers, carrots, apples and peppers!!!!)
Foxy
Guinea Pigs
Home. Information. Hobbies. Photos. Paintings. Videos. Weather WebCam.
March 2011 - news

First of all Albie has had tooth problems - not cured yet - and I have been syringe-feeding him for about three weeks now - even during the night for a while!!  
Secondly:  the status quo has changed!  We went off to get two more little boys, but were persuaded (husband too!) to have “three for the price of two”.  So now we are SEVEN!  Needless to say, as they are just babies, they are still very frightened.  I also think that one is from an earlier litter than the other two as he is much bigger!  As to names, the biggest one is called Vincent (as   
Vincent
Stripey > Flash
Smudge > Fluffy > Jock
he has a deformed ear?), the littlest one is Smudge (he has a smudge on his nose) and the middle one is called Stripey (yes he has  a stripe down his face!!).
They are all living together in the fourth cell - a lot of re-shuffling to get another cage in!!   Looking forward now to having them tame enough to cuddle!

March 13th
Well, they have been here for over a week now and are becoming bolder by the day -
Their new home
and easier to catch!  They all succumb to cuddles - especially if food is involved.  I think Vincent is top pig - and gets his tidbits mainly by pinching them from the other two!  Vincent has a ridge along his back and Smudge looks as if he is going to have long hair??

Life is still a bit scary though!
Actually, two days on, I think Smudge is going to be renamed Fluffy, as he is really so soft and fluffy -presumably because he is going to have a long coat? And Stripey has become Flash!
April 2011
Albie is now more or less back to normal!  As to the “newbies”, they have been here a month now and are developing their individual characters! - AND they have had their needle-like nails cut!
Vincent is the calmest  -  Flash very skittish  -  and Fluffy always on the go - especially where food is concerned.
Fluffy
Vincent
Flash
I am pleased to say these three are quite clean in their habits? And their cage has been re-arranged to give them maximum space - and more room for HAY!
These three LIVE for hay (multipurpose - for eating, sleeping and piddling in!)  
Here we go again - Fluffy objects to his name - says it makes him sound like a girl - so he is now called Jock!  His long hair at the back makes him look as if he has a kilt on anyway.  (Can’t get a photo of him from the back - he moves too fast!!)
Jock
June 2011
Sad news - we had to have Albie put down (he was nearly 4).  As well as his teeth problems it seems that he also had some sort of internal blockage and was not able to eat.  As he was one of my first, I really miss him, he was such a nice, cuddly, gentle pig.
I’ve a feeling that Ginger is going the same way as Albie (they were brothers) as, despite having his teeth checked etc, he is     
not really managing to eat properly - despite appearing to be hungry.  Seems happy and active still, so we will have to wait and see.

23/06/11  I’m afraid that Ginger,  too, had gone too far downhill despite all my efforts, so he has now gone to join Albie - hopefully in a nice guinea pig heaven.
26/07/11  An exciting day!!  Two more little piggies arrived!  This time from Munlochy Animal Aid.  They are of course BEAUTIFUL and have settled in very easily - already eating from my hand and quite easy to pick up and cuddle.         
 Their names are (at least for the moment) Elmer (the little black one).
And Oscar (the bigger tri-colour one with a slight coronet - which makes him look quite grumpy!)  
Although all the books say they “wheek” for their food, these are the first piggies I have had who actually do it - and extremely loudly!  Both are extremely tame!
Elmer
Oscar
Ginger
Albie
SEPTEMBER NEWS

First of all, there has been a rebuild of cages  - and fleece rugs.  Now all very neat!  We have also had a reorganisation of piggies, to try to minimise squabbling!

Foxy and Jock live in apartment 1.
Vincent, Flash, Oscar and Elmer all now live together in joined apartments 2 and 3.
Sambo lives in apartment 4.

So far, so good!