JustMommies Message Boards

Hey...
As of right now, I do not own guinea pigs.
But been debating about getting 2 of them.
See at one point I had 21 of them....yes, you read that right, and no it wasn't a typo...lol
I have pics to prove it to, if you're interested in seeing them!
I use to run a guinea pig rescue of sorts...only I never found new homes for them. Kept them all.
Vet use to call me more then I care to admit, telling me about a new one she needed a home for....offering free visits for ones I brought to her regularly in exchange for me taking the new one...she was dangerous! lol
I made my own cages, with cubes and coroplast(plastic cardboard)....$30 for a 2 by 3 foot cage was WAY cheaper for cages, when I had 21 of them to house.
Same as farm feed stores are WAY cheaper for hay...and shavings(just fyi).
They were a LOT of work, and took a LOT of time to care for each day(about 2 hrs average on normal days, up to 8hrs on cage cleaning days).
But ya...when I saw this group in a siggy in the boards I figured I'd join...cause frankly, I miss everything about guinea pigs....their looks, their noises, their breeds, their diets(like cutting veggies every day for them)...etc.
Sigh.
Bf is not going to be happy when I bring home new pets....more so "useless rodents"...but he'll adjust. Cause I AM getting them again....it's just a matter of WHEN.
Probably after I move in april...cause then I'll have a bigger place(bf is moving with me)...so ya..
HI!
Angie

Welcome to the group!

WOW! 21 guinea pigs?! We have enough to do looking after 3! (although when we move to a bigger place next year we may be adding one more to our furry family ) I would LOVE to see the photos! But then I am a total sucker for piggy pictures!

What breed(s) are you thinking of getting next time? We have 2 crested guinea pigs and an abyssinian at the moment!

Nice to meet you!!

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/scooters_pet/Pigs/

That's the link to the photobucket album of them if you're interested in looking! It would take WAY to long to post all the pics here...lol
I've been thinking more along the lines of peruvians(never could spell that!lol)...cause I tend to like sitting and grooming my babies...or I also like the rexes....cause their "wirery" hair always was funny to me...lol. I had one, I'm not sure her exact breed, as she was a mixture(her mom came to me pregnant, having been bred to late, her pelvic muscles wouldn't stretch to give birth, after an emergency c-section, I lost mom, and hand raised three beautiful babies...who were Pickles, Lucky, and Peanut if you're curious....they'll be in the pics) who had long, wirey and CURLY hair...she was SOOOOOO cute...lol
I do think I'll be doing 2-3 females, as I always found trying to match and pair up males to be somewhat challenging, more so once they hit adolesence....they don't like sharing space as well as females....still have scares on my hands from fights I broke up barehanded when I didn't have time to grab a towel.
I don't know, I just LOVE guinea pigs.
I miss them like crazy...even the little things that use to tick me off(like the wheeking in the middle of the night like the house was on fire!lol)....
But ya, I tend to know quite a bit about guinea pigs, and their needs. I was lucky, I had a vet that was VERY helpful in educating me on my pigs, and teaching me how to treat most things on my own(to help cut costs, as she knew I couldn't always afford the LOVELY vet bills)....so if anyone has any questions that I can answer, feel free to ask...if I can, I'll help...if not, I'll state so...and can probably direct you to a site that CAN help you.
But ya....talk to you all later.....hope you enjoy the pics as much as I still do...I just love looking at them often and remembering each and every one of my angel babies....and amazingly I can still remember each by sight, and still name their personalities, and favourite food, noise, and toy....lol...but you never forget things that took a piece of your heart when they left you do you??
Angie
Edited to add, the cages outside on the last 2 pages of that album were their SUMMER cages only, in the winter they were IN the house...in the other cages you see in the pics...lol

Oh my goodness, what a lot of beautiful piggies I have no idea how you managed to do what you did, taking care of so many - that's awesome!

Oh, I get you on the wheeking in the night - George is our main culprit here and he sets the others off

Hi welcome to the group!!! My name is Lesha and my piggie is Socko, Im unsure of her breed, she was a rescue, shes just the normal short haired piggie I suppose....

Your piggies are beautiful!! I too cant believe you were able to take care of that many, I barely have enough time to take care of Socko and my other critters.

Did your piggies enjoy their summer cages? Ive thought about taking Socko outside when its warm, our yard is fenced and proofed, as we have a bunny (Chalkie) who runs around outside on occasion. Socko & Chalkie used to run around the house together, but that was when he was smaller... so I havent had them together recently. I may see how she likes it outside when it gets warmer, (supervised, ofcourse!)

Here's a pic of our baby girl...





I dont know how old she is either, like i said she was a rescue. I went to the pet store to get some fish for my 30 gal tank and she was sitting in a bucket by the register.. It was love at first sight... when I asked they said someone dropped her off didnt want her anymore I brought her right home and she lived in my 30 gal tank for a year, now she's got a spacious 55 gal. Homemade creen topped ofor venilation, I tell you I'll never have a piggie or other caged animal in anything but a fish tank, so much less mess

Oh mine LOVED it outside in the summer....they were outside 24/7 during the warm summer days....even in the storms..dumb pigs would be out of their houses playing in the rain...lol
If it was BAD storm, I'd be the one outside running around with my head cut off, grabbing by the basket load(laundry basket) and racing them indoors.....and they'd get mad at me! They wanted back outside...lol
The first week or 2 after being them in when fall was hitting they got so MAD, and depressed, but soon got over it and adjusted back to their indoor life.

I don't want to be whatever....but aquariums can be BAD for guinea pigs, and cause upper respitory infections BIG time!(I ended up with one that came from someone that had her in an aquarium....cost me HUNDREDS at the vet to treat the infections she had that vet said was caused by the lack of air circulation in the aquarium....even with a screened lid)......what you can do, is a cube and choroplast cage, and just make the walls higher, to prevent "kick outs"....and a 2 by 3 foot cage is WAY cheaper then ANY aquarium you can find...at only $40 max.
Just a suggestion.
She's ADORABLE btw....lol...I could just sneak her in my purse and take her home for sure!
Angie

Thanks for the advice, but Miss Socko has been in her aquarium for almost 3 yrs now and is doing fine. I did my research beforehand and from what Ive read, aquariums are only bad for "rodents" if they arnt properly venilated and arnt cleaned out often enough. The upper respitory problems are cause by inhaling the ammonia from urine and feces. Socko has her home cleaned once a week. She doesnt seem to have any complaints, as she is pretty much spoiled rotten.