Pig vocabulary you may need to know.

For whatever reason, I have developed a specialized vocabulary to describe piggy activities which you may hear me use in further blog episodes. I feel the need to define some of these words for clarity, so that no one need wonder about their context later on. If any of these words seems appropriate for use in your own cavy infested existence, then by all means swipe them and use them to your heart's content.

Burble-verb. (Burbling, Burbled) - This, like the next word is actually not MY invention, but swiped from Lewis Carroll, and I can blame my use of this word on my first pig friend as she used this one frequently.
Others describe it as rumbling, or rumblestrutting, which is basically the elongated purring noise made by a happy or otherwise "randy" feeling pig. It can also be used as a noun - I address my pigs as burblers sometimes. Also, an adjective: burbular.
Ex: Licorice burbled so much that he had to take a five minute nap afterwards.
What's up with you burblers? Didn't you get enough apple?

Whiffle- verb (Whiffling,Whiffled)
This word is also a Lewis Carrol invention, from the same source. Whiffling however, is an activity that can be observed when a guinea pig is rapidly moving his fuzzy nose repeatedly over a spot with an interesting smell- like pee, or poop, or where another pig's butt has been. This action may or may not be accompanied by a chatty happy sound that communicates "Wow, I really dig this stinky spot!"
Ex: Gandalf was so busy whiffling the spot where Sherlock had peed on the blanket, that he didn't notice me coming over to tickle his butt.

As a side note, I think it's fair to mention that both these words come from the poem Jabberwocky. With guinea pig context in mind, the stanza in which these words feature reads quite differently:
"The Jabberwock (piggy) with eyes of flame (red eyes) came wiffling through the tulgy wood, and burbled as it came."
Not so frightening, now is it?

Invert-a-butt-noun
This word was invented before a vet visit when Schrapnel was having some digestive issues- trouble pooping, and he seemed to be clenching his little butt. So, this word came out as I was describing it to my vet, who is a good guy, but very clinical. He paused after he heard my new word and said, in the most natural deadpan, "How long has he had this....invert-a-butt?"
I'm still laughing about that. Fortunately, the vet is onto our language now. :)

Grunties-noun
Again, I can't fully take credit for this word's invention- I think Monty Python is to blame, but I did use it frequently with Connor. Connor was a tank, but sometimes he would get grunties while pooping- basically and URF! noise. It was never serious, but I suspect he had grunties because he was not in the habit of drinking as much water as he should have. Thusly, we gave him wet things when we could.
Ex: "URF!" Connor, you wouldn't have grunties if you would just drink more!

Fuzzular- adj.
(Fuzzularity, Fuzzulous)
This word is all mine. Fuzzular is typically reserved for Abyssinians, or longer haired pigs, for a fairly obvious reason. They are damn fuzzy. In fact, they are so damn fuzzy, that a new word was necessary. Fuzzular describes the basic condition of these creatures in a way that sets them apart from short-hairs.
Ex: Gandalf has very fuzzular lips! His fuzzulous fuzzularity is getting all over my sweater!!

Snorfle- verb(Snorfling, Snorfled)
This activity is like snuffling, which I suppose I should also explain, but in a deeper more involved sense. Snorfling is not just mere nosing and sniffing around; It is actively excavating for the source of a smell, or typically, an item of food, then devouring it. Snorfling usually involves hay, more often than not.
Ex: Voltaire just finished snorfling all of his oatmeal out of his dish.

Snuffle- verb(Snuffling, Snuffled)
Snuffling is a more casual nose adventure, and unlike whiffling which tends to be more concentrated, snuffling is an on-the-move kind of activity. Snuffling can be observed when one sees a pig nosing around through hay, looking for the perfect piece to eat, and tasting pieces as they waddle. It is less intense than snorfling, but could lead to it if things get interesting enough. It can also be used as a noun-(snufflers.
Ex: You snufflers! Stop kicking hay out of your cage! Connor was snuffling fervently for the perfect hay flower, it would be his, oh YES.


Gnarble- verb(Gnarbling, Gnarbled)
Gnarbling is a somewhat general term which I also use for people that means complaining or making noise. For pigs, gnarbling can consist of squeaking for random reasons, or repeated snuffling and chewing of cage bars to gain attention (food).
Ex: What are you guys gnarbling about now? Didn't you just eat five pounds of lettuce a piece?!

Snorgulate- verb(Snorgulating, Snorgulated)
I think we've all hear the word "snorgle", via the Internet. (an especially cute kind of snuggling) Snorgulating differs by being a more extreme version of brain melting snuggliness that has a more active component. When two pigs are snorgulating each other, or their favorite blanket, or you are petting a pig and they sort of nestle into a pile of cuteness that increases exponentially every second.
Ex: Sherlock is such a master at snorgulating that he gets all the attention.

Wiggular-adj
Wiggular is a pretty obvious one, but I reserve this for extra wiggly piggies who seem like they have four extra legs. Wiggular describes those times when you have a pig who must be made out of butte because they can't be caught, and when you do they are rubbery little sausages of pure escapitude. It can also be used as a noun.
Ex: Mr. Tumnus's wiggularity allows him to escape being rubbed by our meaty paws.

There are more words worth noting, but at the moment these shall suffice.

May your observant forays into wiggulous snorgularity, bring you much burbling from your favorite creatures!