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[Zoo Crew]

My Wife and I (Karin & Joel) have 7 Guinea pigs. It all started when my wife and her friend went walking at a local park and found 3 guinia pigs, and when they spoke to the park worker he had 3 more. Thepark had found over 40 guinea pigs and he was calling animal rescue to pick the rest up. Well we kept 3, and my wife's friend kept the other 3. We took 1 from her and one of ours was pregnet. That is how we ended up with 7. The males have all been fixed. We have 2 C&C cages, one is 2X6 and the other is 2X5, I'll be adding a second story soon. We also have 13 bunnies, the whole side of the house is a rabbit run. I would say it's 5' X 40'. We have multiple house for them. Then we have 3 horse, kept at a stable near by and then 2 dogs and 3 cats, which own the house.

[nonamian_girl]

Wow, that IS quite a zoo! You are wonderful people for taking in those poor piggies.

Welcome to the forum!

[Crazybouncycrls]

You sound like me and my boyfriend!

We have 3 piggies, 2 rabbits, 2 dogs, 3 cats, a 55 gallon fish tank a 10 gallon fish tank, 2 parakeets, 1 gerbil, 1 hamster, 2 two gallon betta bowls plus we feed the neighborhood stray kitties in the winter.

You beat with the 13 rabbits though! Jesus! . How do you feed all of those?


Animals are wonderful!

[Zoo Crew]

We have a window that opens to their side of the house. We give them their treats out of this window. All you have to do is open the window and most of them come a running. We go to a local ranch market once a week to get all the treats for the piggies and rabbits, a normal purchase would be 6 romain lettuce, 6 red peppers,10 - 15 cucumbers, 3 pounds of string beans, 3 cabbage, 4 ice burg lettuce, 3 Celery, 10 parsly, 10 cilantro. The Piggies go crazy if they hear any plastic bag move becuase the think they are getting treats.

[Crazybouncycrls]

WOW! I wish I had enough of an income to support something like that! One day once I graduate college and get a great job (wishful thinking?) I hope to be able to support and love animals like that!

[standuprookie]

Wow, I wish I could have one or two rabbits, let alone 13.

Just one thing, did you say you bought ice burg lettuce? Ice burg shouldn't be given to guinea pigs or rabbits because it contains mostly water and very little nutritional value.

[Zoo Crew]

That is true about Ice Berg Lettuce, but its not that they can't have it, you shouldn't use it for anything more then a munchie that doesn't have any nutritional value.

[Percy's Mom]

You really shouldn't use iceberg lettuce at all for your pigs. Besides having almost no nutritional value, it is almost entirely water and is known to contribute to diarrhea.

[Zoo Crew]

Well we've been feeding it to them for over a year and we have never had any problems with diarraea. I think if all you feed them was Ice berg this would be correct. We only use it as a in between snack.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by Zoo Crew

Well we've been feeding it to them for over a year and we have never had any problems with diarraea. I think if all you feed them was Ice berg this would be correct. We only use it as a in between snack.

I am very glad that your pigs have not had problems with diarrhea while eating iceburg lettuce. However, it does cause diarrhea in many pigs (I would say the majority), so why recommend feeding something that's potentially hazardous and has no health value? Heck, even if it didn't cause diarrhea, why feed them something entirely devoid of nutrition when there are excellent alternatives available that do?

I also noticed you mention that you feed cabbage? This is also not a recommended vegetable, because of the amount of gas it makes guinea pigs produce. They can become bloated or blocked from that amount of gas.

[Zoo Crew]

Well the cabbage is for the Rabbits and not the pigs, so I think we are ok there. As for the Ice berg, really people, move on, its not hazardous at all, unless that is all you feed them, or feed them it in large amounts. If you only give them a leaf or so here there it is better then giving them something that will put more wieght on them.

[Percy's Mom]

Or you could just give them an extra leaf of romaine or red leaf lettuce as a snack, so they could have something that might be good for them. Doritos won't kill a human either, but I'm pretty sure most if not all people would recommend snacking on carrots instead. Why feed junk food to your pigs?

[Zoo Crew]

Does that mean I need to stop feeding them twinkies?

[Percy's Mom]

Yes.
It also means that you should probably take the health and well being of your animals a bit more seriously. They shouldn't get junk food any more than a human should. The difference is, a human can choose what they eat, your pets can not.

[grEEEn]

my limit is 2 piggies - that's my poop limit.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Rabbits shouldn't have icerberg or cabbage either. Their digestive tracts are much more sensitive than pigs. I doubt they will get fat from a leaf of good lettuce. You're better off throwing in more fresh hay than icerberg lettuce.

[Jenah]

I think it's great that so many of the piggies were able to find a nice place to live. Wonder what they were doing in the park? [Perhaps someone dumped....*sad*]

As for the rest - getting to be a hot spot - so not going to really comment on that. But I will add that I check the nutrition charts and links over at the Lynx site regularly to make sure I'm giving the girls the right stuff. Even after having one of my girls for almost 2 and 1/2 years.