Hello from VA

[Supernova]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking this messageboard for a while and decided to join the other day. I'm a pre-vet college student, and I do a little photography on the side just for the fun of it. I've also been volunteering with a local animal rescue group for a little over 2 years now.

I adopted a pair of boars from a lady in my area about a week ago and named them Maddux & Nolan. The lady originally bought the 2 little boys from a petstore for her 2 year old daughter. Little did she know it was a bad idea since her daughter would squeeze them and not handle them properly. When I brought them home, they were really skittish and afraid to be held, but they're coming along pretty good now. They wheek everytime I bring them their veggies in the morning!

A friend of mine recommended a well respected vet hospital in our area who specialize in exotics, so I took Maddux & Nolan in for their first check up yesterday afternoon. Over a hundred dollars later, we found out they both have a URI and have to be on antibiotics for a few weeks. It was good that we caught it at it's early stages. I'm taking them back in for a recheck after they're done with their meds.

Right now, they're in a 2x3 C&C with a 1x2 second floor, but I'm going to extend it to a 2x4 when they get bigger. They're still very small, I'm guessing approx. 2 months old. They're eating Cavy Performance and Oxbow Timothy hay. They go crazy for the hay!

The other members of our family include a Beagle/mix named Jade, a Beagle named Raiden, and a Siamese cat named Mariah, all adoptees. This website has really been an informative resource for me, so I'm glad to be a part of it. I've added some pictures of my crew below.

Maddux


Nolan - What breed do you think he is? We were guessing American/Silkie mix?


And here are pics of my 3 other furry kids...hope it's okay that I posted pics of them, too.

Jade


Mariah


Raiden

[Pumpkin_RIP]

aawwww! All your babies are soooo cute!! Welcome to the site! I live in VA also.

[Wheek Weak]

Hi and welcome to the world of cavy slavedom!

They wheek everytime I bring them their veggies in the morning!

Do you only feed veggies once a day? They really should have about a cup (per pig) of veggies twice per day. Print off a copy of the Diet/Nutrition Chart (at the top of the Diet/Nutrition forum) to use on a daily basis. I would be so lost without it!

Over a hundred dollars later, we found out they both have a URI and have to be on antibiotics for a few weeks.

Just curious but, why so long? Usually a course of antibiotic is about 10 days. I'm a far cry from being an expert, but 10 days has been our experience with ABs for a URI. I'm just wondering if our vet should be doing something different.

The other members of our family include a Beagle/mix named Jade, a Beagle named Raiden, and a Siamese cat named Mariah, all adoptees.

All of your "kids" are totally adorable! We also rescue/adopt unwanted "pet store toys". It's been heart-breaking, yet extremely rewarding. Mostly....REWARDING!

I'm looking forward to seeing more pigtures of your new masters! Enjoy the site...you will learn more than you could possibly ever imagine knowing about the proper care of cavies!

[Supernova]

Thanks for the welcome! Pumpkin, what part of VA are you from? I'm in the South Eastern part.

Wheek, I usually give them the "main course" of fruits & veggies in the morning and a little here and there during the rest of the day because they don't finish everything.

All vets are different, ours recommended 14 days for the antibiotics.

My 2 Beagles were adopted from a shelter and my Siamese cat was originally a foster, who I eventually adopted myself.