New member and her guinea pigs!

[Kaylam87]

Hi everyone it's nice to me you! I am Kayla, 20 from Allentown,Pa. I would love to tell you a bit about my guinea pigs since they are my children to me! My first cavy I got was a male and I named him Valentine since that is the day me and my boyfriends started talking. I wanted the best for my cavy so I bought him a buddy named Willy Jack who has tan, silver and white patches with red eyes. Cavies are like chips, and I couldn't just have one. I went to petco to purchase a huge cage so I had more room for my beloved boys. Then I saw this uniqu guinea pig, no one could figure out his exact breed. I saw him limping and asked the worker why he was limping? She said once I trimmed his nails he would be fine. I took him to the vet anyway to have her show me how to clip all their nails properly. When giving him an exam she said his nails were fine but his right thigh into his back hurt when she tugged on it. I forget to mention when I purchased the cavy I named him Dr. Gregory House (after the tv show). Anyway she did an x-ray on him and found out someone at the store, dropped him and his tail bone grew back the wrong way, pointing upwards! I felt so bad for my baby so he is given pain medication when needed, which isn't often so he loves to popcorn jump and play with his buddies. Well I was extremely mad and I stormed into Petco saying they need to screen their animals and workers better. I got them to pay his $200 vet bill! I got some justice for my little man! I won't ever get another pet from there. She said if I wouldn't have taken him they would have "discarded" of him. That made me so sick I stormed out of there. So Dr. house has a happy home here! Then recently I bought another cavy, who is brown so he got the name Chip, like a chocolate chip! The neat thing about house is he slightly limps on his right leg and so do I from severe Fibromyalgia possible MS. Cavies make such great pets especially for someone like me who can't move to much. They are spoiled! I give them organic vegetables daily high in vitamin c, plus good guinea pig food. Also they always have fresh timothy hay and I put vitamin c drops in their water, which buy the way I only give them purified water. I consider myself such a good guinea mommy! I hope to make some friends here who love cavies just as much as me. Even though this was a bit lengthy thank you for reading. If you like feel free to contact me!

Your Friends,
Kayla and the Cavies!

[ArtisticRainey]

Welcome to the board. Your pigs sound cute.

I hope you'll never buy a pig from anywhere again, not just Petco. You've seen first-hand the lack of care that can be found in petstores.

Also, vitamin C drops in the water are not a good thing. The vitamin C breaks down very quickly, and it can change the taste of the water, which can cause them to drink less. Dehydrated guinea pigs fail very quickly. If you're feeding them veggies and good food (what brand?) then they probably don't need them. If you're concerned, you can give them liquid vitamin C via syringe or crushed up vitamin C tablets.

How big is your cage? I love my C&Cs.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Ditto. Please adopt next time Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten.

Even the 'biggest' pet store cage is often too small. Have you looked at the cages here? Two boys need lots of space.

[Kaylam87]

Thank you both for replying! I go to a specialist in exotic animals (she has worked on many guinea pigs) oddly she recommended the Oasis Vitamin C drops, due to his back she wanted to make sure I gave him extra. They still drink like crazy! They get fresh water at least twice a day and I don't put many drops in it, but I think I'm going to try your suggestion vitamin C from a syringe! All the veggies and fruits give them I try to get organic. They love Kale, carrots and oranges. I try to give them as much variety as possible. I usually give them kaytee brand pellets for food. I always check the bag to see the experiation date and such. As far as Timothy hay goes I buy whatever brands looks the freshest. The cage is some huge one that was made in Italy and has wheels on it. Since I am in my room most of the time the cage is right near my bed so they can snuggle with me on it and they love me being next to them. When I lay down to sleep at night they go to bed too! It's so adorable! The littlest is in his own cage for now, he is only 3 weeks old and the other boys are going through puberty and try to play rough, so for now I think he is best on his own. He is in the same room an get's just as much as attention as the others! He was way to young to be taken away from his mommy. Thank you for all the suggestions, I would do whatever it takes to make sure my babies are as happy as possible. They are even trained to give kisses on command! I have alot love and time for them. Hope to hear more from you guys. I have AIM if you're ever interested in chatting outside the forum. I just wanted to let everyone know if I make any typing errors, it's due to my medication for my illness, it makes me groggy and lose my memory a bit! Usually my typing is pretty good though!

[Harrys Dad]

Howdy Kaylam87 and welcome to the board. I think someone else would reply about the Kaytee pellets and hay. I learned on here that it isn't good for the pigs. You should see if you can find Oxbow in your area or order off the internet it and or KM hay. Here are the links:

Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Home
Small Pet guinea pig food: Oxbow Cavy Cuisine and Cavy Performance Foods at Drs. Foster & Smith

There are a lot of great information on here and links to great stuff just have a look around. I am still learning from this site. Good Luck.

[Kaylam87]

Thank you so much for that information, I will look for it in a local pet store if they have it. What about the Kaytee brand is bad? Just so I know for the future!