How has this site changed you?

[envisionary333]

I am wondering how discovering this site has made an impact on your life, both in the way you care for your guinea pigs, as well as how you view the world and animal welfare.

Before I found this wonderful resource, I only had two guinea pigs in a 40-gallon aquarium tank. I knew the tank wasn't ideal for air flow, but it was much bigger than the guinea pig cages and it seemed like there was no other option. The pigges were purchased from a pet store at a young age, and I had no clue about the conditions they came from, or the shelter piggies I had condemned by buying pet store piggies instead. I fed my guinea pigs the Kaytee Fiesta mix and put vitamin C drops in their water bottle every day. They would get a small plate of veggies every day, but I had no idea which ones to feed or how much. Mostly they just got lettuce and carrots. I decided to breed my guinea pigs so I could raise the babies on my own to be properly socialized, and ended up heartbroken with two stillborns.

Basically, I did just about EVERYTHING wrong. It's hard to believe that I was such a bad owner, but I think it's a testament to how little quality information there is out there on proper guinea pig care.

Now I have 11 guinea pigs, eight of which were adopted from my local rescue, and they share a 79-square-foot C and C cage in their very own bedroom. They eat a healthy and varied range of vegetables every day, have Oxbow pellets, and a mix of grass hays by Oxbow and Kleenmama's. My single boar is neutered, and I will never consider breeding again, it is simply out of the question.

My guinea pigs will live a long and happy life with me, and I owe it all to this site.

So what's your story?

[Jenni_Feathers]

As for caring for my pigs, it changed me alot. Before I had found this site, I had a short haired female named Whiskie. She was my best friend and I thought that I cared for her very well. But boy, was I wrong. No, she did not live in a petstore cage, but it was a home made one, though just as bad. It was a converted dog crate it was only 18" by 24" and I used cedar shaving because I thought she would like the smell. She had room for her igloo, food bowl and water bottle, and that is it. She was fed the seeded food because I thought it tasted better than the plain ole pellets. She got a very small hand full of alfalfa hay as a "special treat" a few times a week. She did get veggies but she got one leaf of lettuce and a piece of carrot everyday for her untire life. When I found this site and starting reading how actually you are supposed to care for a Guinea Pig, and what all they need I almost started crying. I loved her so much and I wanted to be happy, I thought she was, I thought she was spoilt rotten but I was soooo wrong. I wanted to give her a Giant C&C cage and a buddy, a proper salad, helathy pellets and a huge pile of timothy hay, but I couldnt, she had went to the bridge months before, she was my best friend and I wanted her to live the good life but it was too late.

Now, with my boys, obviously my ways have changed. They have a 2x6 c&c cage, that is permantly attached to a 25square foot playpen. They are fed 1/8 each of Mazuri 5664 a day, they get unlimited Kleenmama's timothey/bluegrass mix hay. They have fleece bedding, and get a true salad everynight, and have each other for company.

This site has made a huge impact on my life and the lives of my piggys!

I am also now very against petstore, bredding and such. Before I enjoyed going to petstores and seeing the animals and I had wanted to open one of my very own, needless to say now I would never give one, a penny of my money and wish there would stop selling animals, now I plan on opening a guinea pig rescue and working to stop BYB's and petstores.

[luvmyboyz]

We purchased four piggies from a pet store along with the small cages that they suggested. All four had mites and one a URI. One had at some point had a an ear infection that they never took care of and had a head tilt. My son went on line and found this site the same night we had brought them home, within 3 days they had C&C cages. I returned all the store cages. I was told the reason they were itching was as the small animal "expert" said "It`s the season honey. You need to put lotion on them." We came here and checked it out and realized it was mites, trust me the store was not happy that I found out the truth. I swore my boys would`nt suffer. I`m usually nice but when I found out they were selling sick animals I was angry. I made calls lots of calls and all the boys were treated for mites, the URI, but the vet said the ear infection was gone, that Mikie would have the slight head tilt unless she did an operation, she said he did`nt really need it cause he could do everything so it was`nt worth the risk. So thanks to being here my guys have a great life with huge cages, all four of the store cages would`nt make up the size of a C&C cage. They get good pellets not pretty colored ones. They have unlimited hay, and fresh fruits and veggies everyday. Plus all the love and cuddles they can handle. So thank you.

[Ly&Pigs]

If I had not found this site and gl 3 years ago, my Chatty would probably be living in a very small petstore type cage with no friends, eating crappy pellets, veggies sporadically, only small amounts of hay daily and she would maybe not be here today because of the poor care she would have gotten.

I've had Chatty for 3 years this past Oct. 30th. I missed our anniversary as I was in Little Rock at Children's with my son. After I had gotten her, I started looking up cavy care online and first found gl and lurked there for a while. I found a link to this site from gl and lurked here too for about a month before joining.

This site has changed my views and thinking on many things. I have learned why breeding is so bad, why petstores that sell animals are bad and started rescuing not only piggies in need but now I rescue rats in need too. The guinea pig overpopulation problem is huge and I advocate rescues/shelters vs. purchasing.

In my learning, I wanted to help others learn so I became a mod and now help others learn all the valuable lessons I learned and help others become better cavy slaves. I still learn new things all the time around here.

[Pandora4co]

I bought my two boys from a Petsmart 3 months ago. I made sure I asked the "small animal expert" all about their care and needs. I chose guinea pigs because I was told they made great first pets for small children. ( I have a 5year old) and that they were "easy maintence". I got the biggest cage they had - 18x30inches and vitamin C drops that I was told was "essential" for their health and their "Best" (which meant their most expensive) pellets. Which by the way I was told was all they needed for their diet. The "expert" did mention they liked oranges.

After about a week of watching them just lay in that petstore cage, I decided to look online to get more information about them (I'm still acutely embarrased that I did not do this PRIOR to getting them).
I remember finding this site... pooring over all the information and actually crying when it sank in that I was one of the very people that gets you guys so riled up. Within one week they had a 2x3 C&C cage which has slowly expanded to a 7x2 with a 2x2 loft. They now get unlimited Timothy hay (I recently got KM's hay and they LOVE it!) Veggies twice a day (I follow the charts) Plain water and Oxbow Pellets. They have cozies and tunnels and love doing laps and popcorning. My son (as stated so often here) lost most interest in them pretty quickly, but I just love them to pieces.

I look back on my initial ignorance and shudder to think what my boys lives could have been like if I hadn't found this site.

My boys and I thank you!

[Mommy Of One]

Since becoming a member to this site, I have learned to never buy anything from a petshop again, that buying a piggy or 'saving it from a pet shop' doesn't help at all, that breeders and petshops are nothing but ignorant and evil, and as far as for my piggy, if I hadn't joined this site my piggy would probably be sitting in a small petstore cage, never eating any veggies, never any hay, and very lonely. Now, he is getting a large C&C cage, I am trying to convince my parents to allow me another piggy so he wont be lonely when I am not around, he has 24 access to pellets, hay, and veggies. Also, if I hadn't joined this site, I wouldn't of known that seeded foods are bad for the pig-pigs!

[banjosnotbombs]

[FONT=Arial]My story is very similar to the ones already written, and I just have to say, that reading what everyone else first experienced with owning guinea pigs makes me feel less awful about the first few years of my girls lives.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]I did everything wrong, small pet store cage, not enough hay, not high quality pellets, not enough veggies, vitamin c drops in water. Before I bought my girls(from Petsmart) I thought I knew all about their care... by asking questions at the Petsmart, and buying some books sold there too. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]I was so happy, and sad, when I first found this site. I loved my girls, and I thought I was giving them a good life. I cried alot when I read about all of the things I’ve done wrong. Sometimes now when I think back I feel so terrible. But, the biggest problem is that so much information out there is incorrect. I’m so glad I’ve found this site, and I’ve changed their lives. My girls are so much happier than before, and all of the information on this site has improved their quality of life. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]I’ve learnt so much about their care, about adopting, how harmful breeding and pet stores are, and many other things. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Arial]Thank you so much for opening my eyes.[/FONT] [/FONT]

[PiggieMamaKelly]

This is a heartwarming thread

Then:
-Single pig with long nails
-Petstore cage with cedar bedding
-NO hay, Nutriphase pellets
-Veggies only when there were scraps from cooking
-Big running ball and leash
-"Floor time? What's that?"
-Me: "Guinea pigs? Well I felt sorry that my brother wasn't taking care of his guinea pig so I took it home. It's an ok animal I guess, kinda boring." "Popcorn, that's a snack."

Now:
-5 pigs, all but one are shelter or CraigsList babes
-10x2 C&C with fleece
-Oxbow pellets and unlimited hay
-More fresh veggies than a salad bar!
-Vet care when needed
-Lots of out-of-cage time
-Me: "Guinea pigs? Screw dogs and cats, pigs are the best. They have so much personality and are so cute... oh look he's popcorning!"

[camende]

Well, we bought our first 2 girls from Petco. We bought the biggest cage we could find. Since we found this site, we have made 2 C&C cages. The first for our original 2. We added on when we took one in from someone who posted on Guinea Pig Home that they needed to rehome. By then I knew we would never buy another guinea pig. There are too many out there that have been abandoned. So, we had 3. One of our original piggies only lived 1 year. She was sick most of her life. I suspect she was a heart pig but she was never officially diagnosed as such. After Ginger died, I adopted Tulip from Critter Corral in Chicago. I saw her cute little face and knew she was calling out to me. Since then we have rescued a piggie from one of my fiance's family. They were barely giving her food or water. But, she is safe with us now. We've added 3 more from Critter Corral so I think we have hit capacity with 7. The piggies now have their own room, a 6x6 grid cage with fleece. They are spoiled rotten. They eat more veggies with more of a variety they anyone else in the house. When I clean their cage, their fleece gets done before anyone else can do laundry.

I'm lucky, I found this site within the first month of getting our original piggies. But, If I hadn't found this forum, we would have never known about adopting. So, really, I would say that this forum helped Sugar, Tulip, Roxy, Ally, Mollie, and Rosie find their forever homes. And all of them thank you. (wheek wheek)

[catzeye21138]

I joined this site 2 years ago this coming up January.

Then:
-Two pigs in pet store cage
-Crappy pellets
-Pine/cedar mix
-Carrots as a treat
-A leash and harness

Now:
-Two in a 2x4
-Mazuri Pellets
-Kiln-dried pine/paper shreds
-Large variety of food
-Daily floor time + outside time

Future:
Kleenmama pellets, my 3x4, FLEECE, 3rd pig, small cavy rescue[2x2 stacked cages is my plan!], and helping the rest of my 4-H group to get with the Cavy cages program.

[aqh88]

As far as guinea pig care I already knew things weren't quite right despite everyone telling me I cared for them really well. I didn't have anyone to give me the information on what really was best for pigs and the people I knew who had experience keeping them told me I already did more for them than they needed so I guessed. What I managed to put together myself was that the cages were too small, the feed mix from the store was unhealthy, they needed hay, and some fresh foods. The only solutions I could come up with at the time though were to put them out in the horse stalls whenever the weather was nice, feed them timothy hay based pelleted horse feed, give them alfalfa hay, and they got daily veggies even if it was excessive amounts of carrot and dandelion. I didn't know how to make a bigger cage, where to get better food, or what was a good variety of veggies. I also lost pigs to the silliest little injuries or illnesses like respiratory infections and mites because the vet was so clueless he gave me penicillin for everything and this cream to rub on the scratching pig who was eventually PTS because he tore his skin all open and developed numerous infections.

When I started college I rehomed all my pigs because I didn't think I could care for them properly and I was tired of watching them sit around all winter in tiny cages that needed cleaned every day or 2 or they started to smell. 2 years later I decided to try keeping guinea pigs again but this time I had better knowledge of the internet and how to search for information. After a few fairly minor mistakes I managed to build and order everything I needed to finally keep them in a way that they looked happy and remained healthy. I would say lack of information is behind the majority of mistakes guinea pig owners make and quite often leads to them being less happy with their pet and seeing them as less of a pet than they otherwise would be. Everytime I go to a shelter to help someone adopt or I donate something I also hand out folders with several pages of information on care and a list of websites to visit. I never get the chance to choose to adopt and go to a shelter to pick out an animal for myself. They seem to just fall from the sky and appear around me whenever I have the ability to give another one a home. I'm currently just waiting and watching for another dog because eventually it will show up. Which is another thing I learned here. Don't go grab a puppy in the paper from a backyard breeder. There are plenty truly in need out there and 1 will appear eventually.

[Fluffy_Guinea]

I found this site a few months ago and I'm amazed with all this infomation and still am. I have no pigs but I have had pigs first I had one pig named Nibbles we got him from a petstore and put him in a petstore cage here are the things we did wrong
-we fed him iceberg lettuce
-salt licks
-petstore cage
-vitamins in the water.

I hope if it's alright if I tell the stories of my previous pigs it's quite long.

We stopped feeding him iceberg lettuce when the vet told us it was bad but he died a few months after we got him I was heartbroken and still am and I still don't know how he died. Then we got two more guinea pigs Fluffy and Jack and we did a little better but we still got them from a petstore. We got them a bigger cage which even though it is a very big petstore cage I would never be comfortable using it.

Jack died first and again I was heartbroken he died from blood clots and we took him to the vet after I told my parents he was acting funny and breathing weird. We rushed him to the vet and they tried a lot but he started having a seizure and struggled over to me and licked my hand and collasped and the vet came in a took him but came back and he was gone.

I went home crying and ran over to Fluffy who seemed confused I know hw was wondering where Jack was. We all think they were brothers we got them from the same store and looked alike. I seemed to get much closer to Fluffy after Jack's death. Fluffy didn't like his name and he would not respond but if we called him Guinea he would respond. One thing that I will always remember is that if I asked him if he loved me I swear he would nod and I would tell him I loved him too. If we took him to the vet he would shake his head angry but hey I would too no one enjoys going to the vet/doctor.

Fluffy always seemed to be there when I needed him after a family tragedy I went to him took him out of his carrier (we were on vacation at the time) and laid down petting him and being with him made me feel a lot better. I loved him more then life it's self just like I do with all my family and friends and my pets aren't just pets they are family.

He died a year after Jack and I think his death hurt the most because he lived the longest and I had more time to bond with him. He was acting weird so we took him to the vet and I didn't go into the room but my mom took him and we waited and we went in when she called. it turned out he had something wrong with his stomach and the had to do something to him and they did and we took him home but told us he still might not make it.So we took him home and kept an I on him. My dad told me to pray he would be alright and I did. But he stared acting weird and he stared to have a sezure and he died in my mom's arms and then I held him for the last time and then we buried him with Nibbles. Jack had a autopsy so we didn't bury him.

For the third time I was heartbroken and I know my family was too they had all bonded with him like all of my pigs too. I loved them all and still do and miss them more then I can express in words and I actually started crying while I wrote all this and I don't cry very much at all. But at least I know they are all over that rainbow bridge together. I feel immensely guilty and I wish I could go back so I could take better care of them.

I didn't get any more guinea pigs since but I started thinking about it a few months ago and went on the computer and searched guinea pigs and I found this site I lurked for a while and finally joined. I love this site it's amazing and so are the people. I just wish I would have found it sooner and then my babies would have lived longer. This site is amazing and I am going to adopt two sows soon. I am preparing first though me and my dad are going to make a cage soon, I'm making an emergency kit, making a fruit and veggie plan and a lot of other stuff.

This site has also changed my view on petstores and even on breeders it has opened my eyes. Now I will never in my life purchase an animal from a breeder or petstore. I am also currently going to start collecting money to donate to one of the local shelters. I might even try to figure out how to
volunteer. Another thing I'm doing is trying to find a time to talk to my principal about letting the humane society come to are school and talk to the students she said to talk to her at lunch but she hasn't been there. Anyway thank you all for opening my eyes and another thank you to the mods and T you all are amazing and without this site and you all I would have two pigs in a petstore cage with salt licks and vitamins in they're water. You all are great and I love being here thanks again!

[MissCin]

It's changed me alot, I'm so happy that I found it. I actually found it serching on google for "guinea pig cages", I was concerned that their cage was way too small.
Then:
-Store bought pig, she died.
-Two more pigs in a VERY small store bought cage.
-No hay or pellets.
-Only ate cucumbers and some iceberg lettuce.
-Running balls.
-No floor time.
-Long nails.
-No vet visits.

Now:
-Variety of good and healthy veggies.
-Four+ hours of floor times.
-Big C&C cage.
-Hay and pellets.
-Trimmed nails.
-Monthly vet visits.

They are so much happier and so am I.

[Sugar]

This site is fantastic, and by the sounds of it, it has helped so many other guiena pig owners, its amazng, and in the best possible way. I can't believe one single site can change the way so many people care for their guiena pigs, its truly fantastic. Whoever started this site absolutly rules, so thank you so, so much!

I posted my story yesterday, in its own thread. I didn't see this thread until today, so I have kinda double-posted .