Can no understand that Guinea pigs aren't like hamsters??

[Deenanicole08]

Please some one help me help this lady understand that she can not house a Guinea pig in a 10 gallon tank, which is also what she would like to house a hamster in if she gets that instead!

Looking for a Gunue pig or a Hampster

It says she wants a baby "gunue pig" or hamster. She clearly didn't do her research. Why are people so ignorant!!

[Deenanicole08]

I e-mailed her this

You cannot house a Guinea Pig in a 10 gallon tank. Please do you're research before purchasing an animal. Guinea pigs are nothing like hamsters. They require you giving them Vitamin C daily or they will get scurvy. They need a variety of vegetables and friuts given daily in the proper amounts. They need unlimited Timothy hay or some other type of a grass hay. They cant take in too much calcium or they get bladder stones. Males tend to develop something called impaction which is no fun, and females tend to get ovarian cysts which is costly to get fixed. They cannot be put in a ball, wheel, harness, or anything like that, it will break their back regardless of what a petstore tells you. If you keep them in a tank, they will get a Upper Respatory Infection from the poor ventalation, and they will die almost immediately after getting it.

Animals arent toys. Please research first. I'll give you some excellent references.

www.Guinealynx.com
www.guineapigcages.com
www.cavyspirit.com

And she repsponded with:

Hi, Full grown I know you can't but as a baby you are able to. We had rescued a baby guneu before and it was given to us in a 10 gallon tank with mesh lid. When it outgrows this tank we have a cage custom made for it. My husband made it out of solid wood and it is bigger then even most rabbit hutches.

[Baby's mom]

Aw. Poor baby guinea pig.

I hope she never finds one. If there's anything I can do, please let me know.

[Haley0489]

If she already has a custom cage for it, why not put the "baby guneu" in it to begin with? I hate morons.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I wouldn't give this woman ANY animal when she spells guinea "guneau" and hamster "hampster".

[Deenanicole08]

What business does anyone have owning an animal they can't even spell correctly?

[sophistacavy]

Hey everyone, I can't beleive this lady either, its making me ticked off.
Anyways, I just emailed her too, I encourage as many people as possible to email her, referring her to this website.
When she replies, I will post what I said and then what she replied, like Deenanicole08 did.
Good luck people!!

[BubuCandyBlue]

She erased the posting.

[Taboo]

Um, no. Hamsters (no matter if they're a syrian or dwarf) should live in a 10 gal. 20 gal LONG is the minium sized age for them.

[Deenanicole08]

Originally Posted by BubuCandyBlue

She erased the posting.

I just clicked the link, and it showed up for me. hmm

[Haley0489]

This posting has been deleted by its author.

(The title on the listings page will be removed in just a few minutes.)

[Deenanicole08]

Weird, because when I click the link it still shows up. I dont understand.

[Haley0489]

Your browsers cache probably memorized the page. If you delete your cookies and internet files, it'll probably refresh.

[Deenanicole08]

Ohh, I didn't know my computer could do that .

[sophistacavy]

Hello again, she replied to me and this is what she said to me.
Here's what I said:
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Hello, I saw your ad on craigslist about wanting a guinea pig or hamster.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]I would like to tell you that you cannot house a guinea pig in a rabbit hutch, especially if the hutch is outside. Piggies should never be housed outside. The best cage for a guinea pig is a C&C cage. Your husband can build/put together one of those, and you could probably sell the hutch he built for a lot of money. That money could be used to buy C&C cage materials. If you would please visit this website, www.guineapigcages.com and register, then everyone on there, including some actual guinea pig experts, can help you. Can you tell me the exact measurements of the hutch please? [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Also, please note that you should never have only one piggie, it needs a companion of the same gender. Also, guinea pigs need at least an hour of out-of-cage free-running "floor time" each and every day. The floor time area needs to be larger than their cage, so they get exercise. Guineas need a regimen of veggies and bits of fruit every single day, and there is a strict nutrition chart to follow, found on www.guineapigcages.com/forum [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Please do not do what you were going to do, join www.guineapigcages.com first, and do research around there, talk to people on the boards, before deciding or going through with anything. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT]
Here's what she replied:
Hi, yes I know that it is best to have two of them I'm just concerned about them having babies. I am at home 23 hrs a day so I have enough time to spend with any animals. My animals have never spent a night outside and we have moved everything in our living room to accomodate the hutch which our vet assured us works for guneu pigs just like it would do with a rabbit. I have fostered guneu pigs in the past and the group that I worked with had them in the same cages that they kept the rabbits in therefore I do have experience with them.


What do you guys think? I think the vet she talks to is one of those vets that maybe wasn't completely educated in cavy care (just sounds like it to me) and the "group" she worked for that apparently fostered/adopted at least rabbits and guineas, may not be all that bright either. I mean, what she replied to me sounds good and all, but if she removed her listing, then what does that go to say about her?? I still wouldn't keep piggies in a wooden rabbit hutch because wood harbors bacteria. Especially if it gets any urine on it, then that's it. She didn't give me the measurements that I asked for, maybe I'll ask again. Yeah, I'm gonna go do that, I'm really curious now.

[Taboo]

I'm guessing either her vet doesnt know what he's talking about or the hutch is at least 6 ft long and 3 ft wide because 2 rabbits should not be housed in anything smaller.

[sophistacavy]

Well, I re-mailed her and asked again about the measurements of the homemade hutch, and I'll post what I said and what she said when/if she replies.
Here is a photo of the breed of rabbit she said she had in that size hutch (I found it on wikipedia, through google, this isn't hers). This is a female giant flemish rabbit, and the caption says she weighs about 18 lbs. Can't imagine a cage even big enough for an animal that hefty. Some dogs weigh 18 lbs, imagine keeping an 18-lb dog in a rabbit hutch L0L. Rabbits tend to stay caged longer than crate-trained dogs do, so...imagine an 18lb dog staying in its crate as long as a rabbit might stay in its cage/hutch.

[Slave to the Wheek]

Shoot, that CL has a huge amount of guinea pig listings. I did a search and there's a post listed looking for guinea pigs, can't tell of course if it's the same person.

Since your still trying to get through, I thought I might also mention to her that guinea pigs can't be housed in solid wood, as they need a waterproof floor.