With the upcoming release of the movie G-Force, starring guinea pigs as super heroes, I have become increasingly concerned about the effect it will have on people’s perception of this wonderful little critter. There will certainly be kids crying for a guinea pig and parents who will give in. Here are some things to consider before you bring a guinea pig into your home. I have 3 and have learned so much. I will use the term cavy and guinea pig interchangeably  to save a little typing .

•    Please do not consider buying or adopting a guinea pig for a child younger than 8 years old, and even then they will need to be supervised. Cavies are delicate creatures despite their rotund appearance, and a drop or fall can cause severe injuries.
•  Cavies are more happy in groups, so adopting a same sex pair is ideal. If you have LOADS of free time to spend with a single cavy it would probably be all right , but they are very social animals and thrive in a group setting.
•  Cavies are a long term commitment in the rodent family– they can live up to 7 years with excellent care.
•  Your regular vet is unlikely to know much about cavies, you will need to find a vet who specializes in exotic  animals. I have made a frantic 40 mile trip to our cavy vet for a torn toenail on one of our piggies. We have no vet closer to us who I would trust with them.
• No matter what the pet store tells you, buy the biggest cage you can afford. Cavies also need “floor time” and a safe place to roam. We built a cage for our cavies, I will include the link  with instructions at the end of this article.
• Cavies  eat and poop– a lot.  They need hay in their cages constantly as well as fresh veggies or fruit daily,a good quality pellet food and Vitamin C. Plan on spot cleaning the cage at least every other day and doing a full cleaning weekly.
• DO NOT expect a child to be responsible for total care of your cavies. It is too much responsibility even for an older child, so plan that you will be doing at least part of the work.
• Please check for a cavy rescue near you to see if there is a suitable pet for you. Many cavies are given up because the owners simply get tired of caring for them.

On the upside– cavies are delightful, social, amusing little critters that can bring you years of enjoyment.  I have fallen in love with ours more than I could have imagined. Just do your homework and make sure that a cavy is really the right pet for you.

Here is a link to excellent cavy information as well as instructions on building your own cage:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/

Enjoying some floor time and a snack!

The upcoming release of Disney’s G-Force has me very concerned. I am afraid it may lead to many guinea pigs being adopted as a novelty and then abandoned later. I will post more on this subject tomorrow.

This is a problem that I truly did not know existed , called Black Dog Syndrome:

“Did you know that Black Dogs are generally the last to be adopted and are euthanised in shelters in much larger numbers? People may consider them too “plain”, think they are menacing, or simply don’t notice them because their dark color makes them disappear in their kennels. Those involved in animal welfare have dubbed these phenomena “Black Dog Syndrome.”

For more information and how you can help promote the adoption of black dogs, refer to the following links:

http://www.thebark.com/content/black-dogs-face-hard-choice-shelter

http://www.startseeingblackdogs.com/

There is a lot to know about guinea pig (cavy) nutrition.

• Guinea pigs need to have a constant supply of food, hay especially. We are not pets who can be fed twice a day like dogs or cats. We have a special digestive system and need to eat most of the day to keep everything moving through .

• Guinea pigs need fresh vegetables or fruit daily. Leafy greens are the best, not too much fruit because it has so much sugar. And PLEASE, no iceberg lettuce– it gives us diarrhea

•     We eat pellets too, but not too many or we will get fat. My vet says about a tablespoon of  pellets per day is fine for adult cavies. Piggies who are growing need a supply of pellets left out at all times for them.

•  We need vitamin C , I talked about that in an earlier post. My sisters and  I eat GNC childrens chewable vitamin C tablets,  half a tablet per day (50 mg). They are yummy and inexpensive.

 My favorite hay is from Kleenmamas Hayloft. You can order it here: http://www.kmshayloft.com  I like their timothy hay, blue grass hay and orchard grass.

 My mom says the best pellets are made by OXBOW , you can order them or get them at some pet stores. They make 2 different kinds , one for growing piggies and one for adults.

For lots of good advice about which veggies and fruit are the best for us, please visit http://www.guinealynx.info/charts.html

Gingersnap and Bo enjoying some wonderful hay !

What’s it like to be nose to nose, (well almost), with a guinea pig ? Here’s my darling Bo to show you

well, hellooooo there !

 Did you know… that although cavies (guinea pigs) are members of the rodent group, we do not have yellow teeth like most other rodents. Instead we have lovely pearly white incisors. Our teeth continue to grow throughout our lifetime, so we need to keep chewing on things often in order to keep them from getting too long. My mom took a picture of my teeth today while I was laying on her tummy.

Visited my friend today who has 2 Dobermans, both beautiful dogs. Just a note– Emma had her ears cropped BEFORE  she joined her new family.

 Did you know that guinea pigs ( cavies), have been recycling long before it became popular ?  We do a special kind of recycling when we poop, called coprophagy. We have 2 kinds of poop, a soft pellet and a dry pellet. The dry pellet is what you will find lying around in our cage, but we EAT the soft pellet.  This is important for us to recycle certain vitamins and nutrients. So if you see your piggy bend forward toward its tummy and tuck its head, it is eating that soft pellet. I know that sounds gross to you humans, but if you prevent us from doing this we will lose weight and be less healthy. We are interesting critters, huh ?

( my mom got this information from a book called The Guinea Pig Handbook by Sharon L. Vanderlip, D.V.M. )

                                                                  Did you know that guinea pigs lack the enzyme needed to manufacture Vitamin C ?  This means that we need lots of it   in our diets, because just like humans, we can develop scurvy without enough of it. My mom gives us lots of parsley which is rich in Vitamin C, she also gives us yummy Childrens Vitamin C tablets from GNC, we each get half a tablet at least several times a week. We love to eat green bell peppers , too. Some people put Vitamin C in their guinea pig’s water, but this isn’t the best because some of us don’t like the way it tastes, and some of us drink more water than others. It is expensive , too!  Most importantly, there is no way to give us TOO much Vitamin C, we get rid of the excess when we pee!

Here is my lovely lab mix Daisy in her typical sleeping position, unless she is in her crate. She will also lie on her back to play with toys. She is sound asleep in the picture. Is this a Labrador trait ? I would love some  feeedback on this. 

I ask you, is this common? :)

Did you know………

Guinea pigs (cavies) are active for more than  20 hours in an average day. We have lots to do: eat, drink, poop, walk around, then eat some more.. ..you get the idea. When we take a nap,  it is usually no longer than 6 minutes ! Think how much you humans could get done if you only needed that much sleep

This is a rare quiet moment with my youngest daughter’s guinea pig. Actually, she does love being held but makes like a cheetah when we try to catch her, she loves the thrill of the chase Isn’t she a pretty girl ?

                              Did You Know…………..

Guinea pigs are capable of more than 10 distinct vocalizations!  The most common is “Wheet” or whistle, which is most commonly made to greet  our owners or to demand food ( Parsley in particular at MY house, yum!) This is an extremely high pitched whistle and would also be useful to hail a cab but we never get a chance to do that.

Other sounds we make include chirp, chutt, whine and scream. If you hear a guinea pig scream, come running to help it, it is probably being picked on by a pesky cage mate. I live with 2 girl piggies so I know all about that.

Stop back soon for more amazing guinea pig information!

When you are thinking about adding a pet to your family, please consider adopting an animal from a local shelter or rescue.

Both of my wonderful dogs were adopted from our local animal shelter. I found my dog Zoey by using petfinder.com. Below is their search tool:

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This is the first in a series of posts about -yep-guinea pigs. Enjoy this cute video

Zoey and the Magic Beans………..

Zoey is a great dog, adopted from our local animal shelter. She is 6 years old now and has had a weight issue for about 3 years. She lives to eat rather than eating to live. Her weight continued to climb gradually so I put her on a weight loss formula dog food. Poor baby was only getting half a cup of food twice daily and still was thick around the middle and had little energy. At her last check -up the vet suggested adding half a can of green beans to her meals, keeping the portion of dry food the same. She is like a different dog now! Lots of energy, loves her green bean treat and has regained her girlish figure. My theory is that her body was in starvation mode and she was conserving all of her energy and body fat for survival. The beans seemed to jump-start her metabolism, she still will eat anything that isn’t nailed down if we let her, but that is just Zoey. None of this is meant to substitute for your own vet’s advice, just wanted to pass it along.

Zoey is also more musical now, but you know what they say about beans