Vary Sick Looking Piggy

[ilovebabe]

i am not 15 i am 12 i just said that becuz i needed help from the boreds ok my mom and me are giveding him meds ok SO JUST CALM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to wait 3 weeks OK!!!!!!!!! Untill i can put them togeter and i am going to wait untill he is better my mom is takeing him to the vet this week SO CALM DOWN!

[ilovebabe]

plz stop posting in this bored

[mncavylover]

Hmm, who should calm down here? I don't think it's us.

I agree, please take the poor thing to a cavy vet asap. If you wait it may die. Also, see www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm. Do not breed, ever. Thanks, and good luck! =)

[Piglet]

One question : Why do you want to breed them? If you answer this then I will calm down

[mncavylover]

If you're 12, then you put down the wrong birthday: "January 15, 1989." Why is that?

[Piglet]

She wanted to be old enough to join the board. I think you have to be 13.

[Susan9608]

I wouldn't trust anything that Petsmart says - look at my post under "Proof that Pet Stores Aren't Always Right" for the story on my pig, Oink. Just because Petsmart tells you that a pig is a baby doesn't make it true. Many of their guinea pigs are smaller from illness and malnutrition, and many have been bought and returned to the store numerous times when owners figure out something's wrong with them. My pig, Oink, ended up having such extensive cancer that the left side of her jaw bone was totally lysed away. Petsmart assured me at purchase that Oink was only 4 months old; however, my vet said that judging from her growth plates seen on x-ray, she was at least several years old. Petsmart also told me the lump on Oink's face was simply an abscess due to the sharp hay she was eating ... and it was actually a tumor so far advanced that Oink only lived for 3 weeks after I purchased her. I would definitely go to Petsmart with you vet bill, but do not return the pig to them. They will simply re-sell it, which isn't fair to the pig or to other consumers. Since you are only 15 (at least according to what some of these other posts have said) I would suggest taking one of your parents with you for the conversation with the store manager.

Also, I know it sounds really fun to breed guinea pigs. But it is a lot of work. We adopted a pig who was pregnant, and we kept her babies. But a temp. vet filling in for our regular vet incorrectly sexed her babies, and she ended up pregnant again, and we couldn't find homes for those babies, so we kept them as well. Then we adopted an outside guinea pig, which we were sure was a boy, until she also had babies (she was apparently pregnant when we got her), which we also ended up keeping. And within one hour of the birth of her babies, she was impregnated by another, you guessed it, incorrectly sexed guinea pig, and two months later, we had yet another litter of guinea pig babies. Yes, the babies are fun and cute, but it's extremely difficult to find homes for them. I work in a children's hospital and *never* thought finding homes for the babies would be difficult, but obviously it is, because I have ELEVEN guinea pigs. I was lucky enough to find acceptable homes for 4 of them, but I worry about those 4 constantly and am in weekly contact with their owners, to check on them and make sure they are okay. In a way, it's like I still have those four, because I still feel responsible for them ... and their new owners signed a contract, saying they would give the pigs back to me if they were ever unable to keep the pigs. So I have to be ready at any moment in time to take those 4 pigs back.

Keep in mind, in addition to the 11 guinea pigs, I have 4 chinchillas, 2 hamsters, a cat, and a dog. My weekly cage cleaning takes about 4 hours. I spend at least 2 hours a day playing with my animals ... at least. And I have a full-time job and a husband. I'm sure you're in school and have lots of social activities and school work and such ... breeding guinea pigs requires an awsome time committment. ANd it can be tragic. One of our last babies was born dead - and it was devestating.

My living room if full of guinea pig cages .... I just think you should keep all of this in mind before you put your new boy pig in with your girl pig. In 3 months time, I went from having 2 guinea pigs to having 15 - so don't think it can't happen.

[DocDolittle]

I know that, from people reading some of my other posts and knowing that I have to buy my new guinea pig, they might think that I am a hypocrite writing in this column, but I have my reasons and you have yours, and please, if you have a fight to pick with me, please PM me. However, I know the store owners, and I know that they breed 'responsibly', though most of you will argue about if you CAN breed pigs responsibly, but I've looked in shelters. Anyway, I am a fifteen year old, and even I know that breeding your piggies is irresponsible, dumb, and most of all, very selfish. First of all, I suggest you read http://cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm for more info. But, do you already know that you can find homes for up to a dozen guinea pigs(though this is rare) in ONE litter. Or will you keep them? Will you have enough room, time, and money to have that many pigs? Or will you keep them all in commercially stored cages so they can live miserable lives? Will you dump them in pet stores and shelters? Do you know HOW to care for a pregnant sow? Are you aware that a pregnant sow has a large chance of DYING from the birth? Are you willing to risk your beloved pig's life because you want little baby guinea pigs that are already found in millions of shelters across the world? I know I may sound foolish, but if I can't get my guinea pig from a shelter(which I can't I've tried to look for one near me, I've looked on most resources there are, piggy classified, pet finder, craig's list, etc.), I would feel much better knowing that more weren't being put into the shelter. How are you going to feel if your sow dies during preganancy or birth, or if you have many still borns? What about abnormalities in the pigs, bodily disfunctions that won't allow them to eat or walk correctly? Are you willing to put piggies through hell when you have the choice not to? I am sincerely asking you to think your choice over. And on a side note, please use proper grammar, there are hardly any commas and capitalization in your sentences. Por punctuation can get you banned.

[liluqt]

Ilovebabe, consider this.. if you're having trouble with one pig... how in the world are you going to take care of so many more by breeding...? A lot of work goes into taking care of ONE pig IF you are doing it properly. I have 10 years on your age, only 3 pigs and have probably already spent $1000 on my pigs in just 7 months alone with vet bills, food and bedding. Do you have this kind of money? I work 2 jobs to support myself and my pigs. Unexpected vet visits will cost you... big time! And I'm sure a weekly allowence wouldn't even be able to pay for it. If you truly love animals and guinea pigs, you would think about this and be careful and considerate of them.

[ilovebabe]

Plz! my mom told me that MAYBE we could breed then and i just LOVE cavys i have all my life i take careof my too i am bringing my sick looking piggy to the vet tomorrow plz stop posting thank you

[ilovebabe]

yeah my mom said if jack and babe are nice and healhy maybe i can breed them and i may keep the piggys

[ilovebabe]

i LOVE babe and jack wit all my life if they were humens i would die for them i love them like a child

[tashagurl]

Does your mom know that they could have eight babies? And that Babe might die and leave you to raise her babies? That means feeding them every two hours round the clock for three weeks. Belive me its not fun, Ive had to do it. Their genes might not be healthy. You know nothing about their genetic history. If you breed them, they might produce a lethal combination.

[ilovebabe]

ok i see your ponite just to let you know i am crying in real life ok you ppl are not vary nice at all all i wanted to kown if i sould hold jack and plzy wit him ultill he goes to the vet ok

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Yes, but you need to wash your hands and change your clothes, being very careful, if you handle one guinea pig after another. You can get your previous guinea pig sick.

[liluqt]

Ilovebaby, everybody here is only trying to help you and the pigs by providing you with facts. If you want to be a good guinea pig owner, you should be well-informed.
I have learned a ton of information while being on this board. I thought it was "cute" to buy all of these store-bought treats for my guinea pigs like yogurt drops, which my pigs love, but have since learned that they are no good. Even though my pigs love them, I love my pigs even more and am putting my foot down by not giving it to them anymore because I don't want to hurt them in the end. Since I've been on this board, I have changed their ENTIRE lifestyle for the better. I spent hundreds re-investing in a C&C cage, new food ordered online and hay from Washington state to Maryland. This obviously isn't relevant to your want to breed, but I am simply trying to illustrate the amount of information that can be learned through this message board.
When you get older, maybe you will understand that we are all good people here with the best intentions for our guinea pigs. Because these are your guinea pigs, it is your responsibility to care for them.

[tashagurl]

The people on this forum are usually nice. Its just when people suggest breeding their piggies on purpose that they get nasty. Im really sorry if I made you cry, but Im glad the point got across.

I wouldent hold him too much untill you take him to the vet. Make sure you wash your hands before and after you hold him.