How has this site changed you?

[envisionary333]

Originally Posted by CavySpirit

Wow. Such great stories. You all made my eyes tear up. It's so great to have so many caring people contribute to this community. I've decided to make this a sticky thread. I'm particularly moved by the people that now make an effort to spread the word and help other people and animals, especially those that are moved and motivated to get into rescue and help the rescues and shelters. And if you've become a vegetarian or eat less meat now as well, big bonus.

For me, it's validation that our model is working.

Thank you!

I'm so glad that you've decided to make this a sticky thread! I really wanted to give people a chance to show exactly how much their lives have been changed by this site, it truly is so much more than just a good place to get information. It is a community of people who care deeply for animals and want to help them in every way we can, and I know that we are all so grateful to have this little treasure close to our hearts. (OK, getting a little teary-eyed myself now...)

Being a part of this site has inspired me to start volunteering, and I've signed up with my local shelters so they can get in touch with me to help out as soon as possible. All of my animals will be adopted for as long as I live, and the ferrets I'm in the process of adopting were abused in the past and now have a chance to start over in a loving home. I am so much more aware of the bigger picture and want only to help the animals that are here waiting for us, rather than adding to the cycle of neglect and abuse by bringing more into the world. And just think of all the people we can inspire to change by sharing our stories and telling others what we have learned here? It's truly amazing how much change we can make.

Thank you so much for giving us this amazing site! My piggies want to thank you too: "wheek wheek wheek wheeeeeek!!"

[chocolatefr0gs]

I guess I'm different from most in that I didn't own before I found this site. My daughter has been asking for a pet for ages and now that she's turning 8 I decided she was ready to start taking on the responsibility of a pet. I live in an apartment complex that charges an extra $100/month rent for a cat or dog so that was out of the question. So onto the internet I went to figure out what small & furry would make the best pet for us. After comparing hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, ferrets, chinchillas, and rabbits I concluded piggies generally make the best pets. In googling "caring for guinea pigs", this site was one of the first to show up and it completely changed my perception of guinea pigs. I thought they'd be ideal "starter pets", requiring little care and expense. Boy was I wrong but after looking at their sweet faces, watching them popcorning and munching away on hay in youtube videos, and being brought to tears reading the horror stories about breeders and pet stores, I knew they would be worth it. My daughter's birthday is in December so I've had and still have a few months to prepare. I've already gotten the C&C cage together, bought the fleece, hideys, and all the accessories they could need. I've found a store that sells Oxbow pellets and will be ordering hay from Kleenmama's. I've printed out the veggie chart. I've found an exotics vet. And just yesterday I picked out the piggies I hope to get from a local rescue. They're not available until late December because they've been housed with males and may be pregnant, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I think I will make a great piggie mama! Oh yeah and my daughter too...since they'll supposedly be hers and all (heehee). I'm so glad I found this site so I didn't make all the mistakes I would have.

I also plan to foster when we get our new piggies settled in.

[CavySpirit]

Just a note. I would like to keep this thread very much on topic, so one (or two if necessary) post per person that is about your personal experience, please. If you would like to discuss a post, please quote it and start a new thread. Also, please refrain from well-intentioned social commentary as your only post. It's fine in another thread.

Thank you so much. We love reading the personal stories.

[crazywiggy]

Piggie care....

My previous 2 piggies:

Bought from a pet store
Lived in a small hutch (indoors at least) on just newspaper
NO hay
Crappy mix food
Occasional veggies
Orange juice in water
No toys / hideys etc

My current 2 piggies:

Adopted not purchased
Large (2x5) c+c cage with fleece
Ad lib Oxbow timothy hay
Oxbow pellets
Variety of veggies twice a day
Plain water
One pigloo, fleecy tunnel, cozy bed thing, cardboard box for hay, cardboard tubes to chew and play with

General stuff.....

I've always been into animals and have learnt a lot over the last few years. Before I got my current piggies I already knew about their need for a large and interesting environment, but I would never have thought of a c+c, or using fleece etc. Until I found this site I knew nothing about decent quality pellets, ethoxyquin, or the correct amounts of any veggies. It never occured to me some vets might not know the best way to treat piggies.

This site has sort of amalgamated all the info I learned previously in dribs and drabs, plus taught me much more, and really made me think about how I could improve animal welfare. More than anything it has motivated me to do as much as I can - like starting my letter writing campaigns, avoiding pet shops that sell animals and trying to educate everyone I meet about proper animal care. Whenever I feel frustrated by negative responses, or have started slacking in my campaigning, I just come on here and I immediately want to get off my butt and DO something.

And of course, I love having such a wonderful resource right here, with a great community of like minded people who can help and learn from eachother.

Big kudos to the site owner, mods and everyone else on here for making such a difference to pets and their owners all around the world! Thank you!

[wickedrodent]

For me, It all started when I was searching google for a bigger cage for my hamster, Secret. I saw the C&C cages and all the cute piggers and fell in love. I immediatly went out and bought mesh grids and made a monster of a cage for my little hamster, who loved the room and I loved the easy access and ease of cleaning.

From then on, I became a member of the site and planned on adopting guinea pigs. I was, at the time, fostering 42 mice that had been abandoned at the doorstep of a local petco before they were even open that day. Once I found great homes for all of them I started looking for pigs to adopt. I was underage at the time and needed parents permission, but couldn't get it. I moved out June of this year and thats when Daphne and Delilah came into my life (their owner did not want them anymore and was planning on bringing them to a shelter). I already had a 2x4 cage built complete with fleece, mazuri pellets, 2 water bottles, a bale of hay, and loads of toys. I later switched to Oxbow pellets.

Then a little over a month ago I heard from a member of this forum who adopted 2 girls from a rescue in Waller, Tx (about an hour from me). I immediatly asked if there were any more pigs for adoption, and there were. It took a while to get a cage and more supplies, but soon afterward I got to take Dudley home. He was a lot more shy then the girls but has really started being more trusting after almost a month here. He was neutered on October 19th and will go in with the girls next weekend.

I am currently bulding a 3x5 cage for all three of them which will be finished by this Sunday. This site is truly an inspiration for those who do not even know about guinea pigs. I know I would have never even thought of adopting any of the until I found this site.

I was a vegetarian for a while before coming here, but it was hard to stick to it. I often slipped up, so I don't count anything past March 10th, 2007 because that is the day after I saw a lot of the horror videos and vowed to never ever eat meat again. Since coming here I have also became a healthier vegetarian and choose my meals more carefully. I am also thinking of starting an animal rights/veg*n student organization at the college I attend. I hope that will raise awareness.

Once we move, probably in a years time, I hope to start a small animal rescue. We are probably moving to Arkansas, and since there is not a guinea pig shelter there, or one for other rodents (that I know of) I would like to help those who need to find a place for their pets and those who would like to adopt. The rescue will be a large barn type room attached to my room through the side of the house and air conditioned and cooled. We will probably build instead of buy, so it should work out nicely.

Once again, Thank you so much for creating this site, It has truly made a difference in my life.

[Fluffy_Guinea]

I'm looking into fostering one day when my brother moves out I'm moving into the basment thats where he slept (I don't know why he just wanted a room in the basement). There's tons of room down there and I could just keep my pigs in the room and the others outside for quarintine or if they were boars. All I would need is to get a heater down there and so something about all the spiders erugh. I just asked my mom about that and she said 'maybe' well...at least she didn't say no.

Thanks again for making this site without it I would have two petstore pigs in a petstore cage and I wouldn't even be thinking about fostering thanks.

[Daphne]

I've only been here for a couple weeks, but I visit this site about 25 times a day (seriously) because there's always new stuff to learn, play ideas, how to take care of my pig, and I look forward to it. I knew in my heart that the pet store cage they had me buy was way too small, even though the pet store said it was fine. I'm soooo glad I learned how to make my own from you guys, and I know I'm just gonna keep improving and improving! Thanks -Dot

[Ly&Pigs]

Asking questions in this post is not in keeping with the topic. CavySpirit asked specifically that members have one or two threads about their personal experiences ONLY and not fill this thread up with things that don't pertain to the topic.

I am going to be monitoring this thread along with the other mods and anything that is not related will be edited out or unapproved.

[attackofthebear]

My family started out with four guinea pigs that lived in a ferret cage. They ate poor quality pellets with the colourful pieces in them, their water had vitamin c drops in it, and they were only given hay and veggies as a treat.

When we rescued Aurora and Rapunzel, we also purchased a c&c cage from the rescue, but it was a 2x6 with too many guinea pigs in it. A little after adopting Aurora and Rapunzel, my mom searched for guinea pig information on google and found GL and this site. She joined on GL and I joined here after looking on the site.

This site has definitely influenced me in a positive way. I now have 12 sows and 7 males, majority of them rescue. My guinea pigs have better pellets and more variety in their veggies, which they are given everyday, they also have timothy hay 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and occasionally have other types of hays, and the cages are huge and exceed the requirments.
My dogs are on a high quality dog food that isn't sold in common petstores and I have gone from eating eggs and dairy to eating an animal-free diet and not buying anymore animal products, except for my dogs.
This site has also inspired me to want to start a rescue when I'm more financially independent, but for now rescuing and volunteering is the way I get to help.

Envisionary333, I will thank you officially but I wanted to leave a reason why. I want to thank you for posting this thread because it made me feel less alone after learning that many of us made similar mistakes in the beginning. I'm not saying my mistakes weren't bad but it helps to know I'm not the only one.

[Love4Piggers]

Oh wow, I am so glad you started this thread, Envisionary, thank you!! Some of you have already heard my story, but I'll put it here, too, so it will be with other's stories on how this board has changed me. Well, I think like many others, I was fully aware that there were shelters and rescues full of dogs and cats in need of homes, and also was knowledgable about backyard puppy and kitten breeders; but unfortunately, I had no idea that guinea pigs and other small animals were dealing with the same problems. My dogs and cats are all rescues, but I thought that when I wanted to get gerbils, guinea pigs, etc., that I had no choice but to purchase them from a pet store. I was extremely clueless and ignorant. I've had gerbils and hamsters, all from pet stores. And so when I made the decision to get guinea pigs, the first thing I did was go to the pet store to purchase them, along with a "My First Home" cage. They were fed awful food with colored bits, fed veggies but no variety, and were given carrots and parsley every day. They lived in the My First Home until they got bigger, then I did what I thought was the best possible thing I could do for them, and went and bought the biggest cage I could find at the pet store. And until I found this board in August, they had lived in pet store cages for the whole approx. 4 1/2 years they had been with me. As soon as I possibly could, my boys got a 2x5 C&C, (I was absolutely shocked at the actual size, as compared to the pet store cage,) and got rid of the terrible pellets and placed an order from KM's for 25lbs. of hay and 10lbs. of Timothy pellets. The bottom of their My First Home cage is now a hay room, entirely filled with fresh KM's hay, and they absolutely love it. They are now 5 years old, and acting younger than ever. They run around, and popcorn, and they have lots of room for all the new toys and hideys I bought them, too. They now get veggies twice daily, and with much more variety. They have slimmed down, they are more active, their coats are shinier, and they are so much happier.

I have also been educated about the backyard breeders, and all the piggies at rescues in need of homes. I know not to ever go to the pet store for small animals, but to adopt rescues waiting for a home.

Thank you so much for this website, it has given my boys a new lease on life!!

[SimplyRachael]

It looks like this site has done a lot of guinea pigs (and their humans) a lot of good! Congratulations!!!

I shutter to think about how my first few piggies lived - alone in tiny cages with inadequate exercise and attention. I feel like I'm always learning new/better ways and my boys now live like little kings.

Not only has this site assisted me in growing as far as a cavy lover, but I also pass it along to others who are obviously in need...those who mention to me that their brother/son/aunt/etc. just got a guinea pig and it lives in this wonderful aquarium... It's a wonderful site!!!

[blairie]

Background: Orange piggie was left at a Petco when his family got bored of him. Black piggie lived with a chain-smoker in a tiny apartment with lots of pigs who had intentional and accidental litters. His mom died in childbirth with her second litter. She had to get down to two pigs and was planning on keeping only males. (Yes, they have names, but I'm so used to calling them Orange piggie and Black piggie because it took me weeks to figure out names.)

Because of this site..

- Orange piggie moved from his temporary "house" (rubbermaid tub) of a few days straight into a 2x3 c&c-type cage, instead of a petstore cage.

- Orange piggie got a friend. Introductions went smoothly!

- Orange and Black piggies are coming out of their shell. Orange piggie is definitely the social one, but Black piggie has become a lot friendlier.

- The boys get two huge salads a day with a variety of vegetables and greens with the occasional fruit.

- The boys have an unlimited supply of timothy hay (& orchard grass).

- My sister bought me ZuPreem pellets & vitamin C drops. Neither are being used anymore. The boys eat Oxbow Cavy Cuisine and love it.

- We're using fleece!

- I've trimmed piggie nails and weighed them weekly.

- I'm aware that our two-story 2x3 c&c cage is a little on the small side, and I'm trying to figure out how to expand it and how to re-arrange the house to accomodate a larger one. I'm going to try to turn it into a 3x3 in the next few months.

[gpigluver14]

Oh it has changed me and the life and my pigs in so many ways! I was keeping my girl in a tiny petstore cage, feeding her treats, and mixed food. She was lonely without a friend. And I got her from a pet store. I was doing a lot of things wrong. ALL my future pets will be ADOPTED. Now I keep her in a huge cube cage, feeding her plain pellets, the right veggies, and I got a friend for her (who passed recently ) With this site and GL it seems like I'm stilling learning something new about them every day!!

[socal805]

Wow this site has really done so much for me and my piggies. Like many others my first pig was a petstore pig. The same day that I brought her home I looked up guinea pig cages on google and came across this site. I spent hours reading and I was horrified to realize that there were guinea pigs on craigslist and shelters needing homes. I have rescued all of my other pets but for some reason I failed to think of rescuing a pig. by the second day of having my petstore pig I had already purchased the stuff to make a c&c cage and contacted someone on craigslist to get another pig in need of a home.
Since then I have expanded my cage and added another rescued pig to the piggy palace. I have also become an avid advocate of rescuing pigs (and ALL animals) and have even started scouting my local shelters to bring hay, food and take pictures of local shelter pigs. None of this would have happened without this site.
I have also enjoyed the vegetarian section of this site. I became a vegetarian 16 years ago and have raised my daughter as a vegetarian. I feel like this site has really brought me back to the original reason I became a vegetarian in the first place. Somehow 16 years ago I was volunteering at shelters and protesting the fur trade and seal slaughter with my local Peta group...then as the years went by and life got busy, and stressful I just got away from being an animal advocate. Although I remained a vegetarian and love animals more than anything, I really became removed from trying to make a change in animal welfare. This site has made me see that I cannot sit back and do nothing, so I am now trying to help local homeless animals in any way that I can. All thanks to everyone here!

[Aertyn]

When I first found this site, I had 5 pigs in 2 wooden hutches outside, they lived on food from the supermarket and brown crunchy hay from Big W, they got those crappy seed blocks and I fed...well crap veggies too.

Now I have 3 pigs in a 3x3 grid cage, living on hay pellets and fresh lucerne Hay (with Oxbow meadow hay as a treat...at $23 for the smallest bag I can't afford to feed it to them all the time) and 2 pigs in a 2x4 with a 1x2 hayloft. They get fed 1 and 1/2 cups of veggies a day each.

I'm definitely anti-breeder and anti-pet store now, after reading all the horror stories on this site and in the last two weeks have made big steps towards becoming a vegetarian (and I've lost 3kgs in those two weeks..yay!). I also volunteer at the pound in my town, and whilst the work is often heartbreaking, its the pets that find their forever home that make it worthwhile.

I've decided on a new career path, and am now wanting to do what I've always wanted to do...not what my family thought was best. As of 2009 I'm going to be doing a Certificate II in Animal Studies, which means I'll be able to work in a Veterinary practice, and will one day lead on to a Vet Nurse course.

This site has not only improved the lives of my pigs, but its improved my life as well, and for that I'll always be grateful.

[ChadWPB]

Simply put, this site, along with Guinea Lynx sparked the great guinea pig renaissance of 2003. We went from three pigs alone in aquariums, to six pigs in trios in a few months (we addressed the housing issue first, though).

We also purchased our first three pigs, but post Cavy Spirit-educated, we only adopted from rescues, except for one that was being rehomed (Princess needed a buddy, and Marilyn was a perfect match) that we adopted directly.

We learned that spaying a female piggie was a viable option. See below. ;+)

Needless to say, our pigs have been happy with their updated living arrangements. For example, Fuzzie, now six years old is still in vigorous health, mercilessly chasing his ladies, flipping hidies and generally being adorable. He and all our other guinea pigs have brought much joy and happiness into our lives.

[4piggies4us]

About two weeks ago we came across this site and were astonished at how crappy we had been treating our animals.

Then
30x30 cages wire, livestock type
Guinea pig food, from pet store
no vitiamins
no hay
occasional veggies
no where to sleep, nothing to stand on
nothing to play with

Today
Huge 2x5 c&c cage with triple levels 2x3 and 2x4
Good piggie food
all the hay and grasses they want
I am a vegitarian and they have more veggies than me
I have made so many cozies and things to play on they are in piggie heaven
They have so many toys I have to switch them out

[I<3MyBabies]

Well everyone,

I owe you a VERY special thank you from the bottom of my heart. Each one of you have inspired me to make a decision that I am very proud and excited about.

Since high school graduation, I have fluttered here and there trying to pin-point exactly what I feel called to do with my life. Of course, getting married was the highest on my list, but...I'm doing that now. I'm talking about career and life long happiness, doing something I truly love. My most recent passion has been working with kids with disabilities...until I realized something.

Since I was a little girl, I longed to be a veterinarian. I did. The animals all came to me when they were lost, or hurt. It was a weird, almost magical thing that happened. They just knew I loved them. This passion continued until about 10th grade. I went to a very small school and had the SAME math and science teacher all through highschool. I thought I was terrible at it, but he was simply a terrible teacher. This scared me away from my passion. So, starting college I went on a "quest" to choose what I wanted to do with my life. I went from Journalism, to music, to music therapy. And here I am today, excited to tell you that I have decided to pursue my degree as a vet tech, and go on to become a licensed veterinarian, specializing in exotics (especially our beloved piggies).

Your passion for animals has reminded me of mine. From joining this site, I have become a vegetarian, changed my views on petstores and breeders, and vowed to only adopt/rescue animals. And now, I am on my way to becoming a veterinarian. The thing my heart has desired to do since I was only 4 years old.

So, thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my heart!

[fourboys4now]

My first 2 boys were in a 55 gallon aquarium. I started looking online to see what other people use for cages. I was shocked and excited when I read about the c&c cages. I was even more shocked when my husband(who is not really an animal person) said I can build that. We started with a 2x5 cage. Then we got another baby boy. Then on New Year's day this year we adopted our first baby from a rescue. He's wonderful! Right after we upgraded to a 3x6 cage with fleece. One of my pet store babies has an extra toe on his back foot. I've read this can be from inbreeding. One of my other boys from the pet store had a really bad cut ear, he was so cute and sweet I got him anyway. I will NEVER buy a piggie from pet stores ever again. Adoption is the only route I will go from now on.
I also learned from this site that the vitamin c drops I was using was not the right way to provide their vitamin c. They now get great veggies and fruits every day. My local grocery store checkout girl asked if I was a vegetarian because I buy so many fresh foods for them!
I love this site so much! Thanks to the people who started it and contribute so much helpful information every day! My boys are so spoiled because of you!

[Sammy and Peanut]

Cavy Cages has helped me a lot. This was the first website that I went on.

Then:
1 guinea pig from Petsmart in store bought cage
3 teaspoons of hay a week on the floor of the cage
2 Tablespoons of fruit and veggies a day
Lots of treats
Had him out 24/7
Super small cage

Now:
Got new guinea pig
Made sure it was in quarantine
1st guinea pig died (don't know why)
1 cup of fruits and veggies a day
Handfuls of hay on the floor of the cage
Balanced amount of treats
Handle them less

Future:
Get a hay rack
Get a new guinea pig from a shelter
Get a cat and keep the guinea pig in a seperate room
Become a vegetarian