Kind of late but.. hi(: !

[faithintheheart]

hi guys! its kinda late in the game seeing im a "cavy slave"(so true!) now .. but id like to introduce myself.
My name is Rayne and i have two amazing baby guinea pigs! they are about 4 months old now and eating more than ever!
i am a junior in High School so as most of you know ive been quite busy!which in effect means not a lot of posting on here.
below ive added some "pig"tures of my cute little ones ! sadly im horrendous at selecting names so i was hoping you guys might be just the ones for some seggestions! im into nature and art so i was thinking something in that area .

my piggies personalities:
the American short hair agouti calico - she is obsessed with dandelions and anything in the lettuce family .. meaning plastic bag or door opening she wont shut up till fed she is kind of reserved but still greets me everyday promptly after school(: her eyes are almost a blue is green color in the light

the black/brown and white patched one (:- the adventurous go getter! always first to the hay rack and veggie bowl .. i swear shes a bottomless pit . her eyes are brown with a red tint over the top if that makes sense? shes the runt of the litter but sure makes up in attitude! .

also if any one has some ideas for a severe allergy sufferer and how to cope / prevent some of my sneezing / wheezing episodes let me know! thanks and cant wait to get to know some fellow pig lovers

[faithintheheart]

Also sorry for the late post but being a rather busy student .. i didnt have alot of free time till now :P sucks but oh well! at least i have my lovely pigs to keep me company!

[TCTrun]

Hmmm...on a scale of 1 to 10 of cuteness, I guess your piggies could pass for...11!!!!!
I have an American female with a patch of brown around her eye. To me it looked like some kind of fighter pilot thingy, so I named her Starbuck after the woman on Battlestar Galactica. Dorky? Absolutely! That's cool you are from Dallas! I was born in Dallas!

[faithintheheart]

Aww thanks so much im glad im not the only one that finds them absolutely adorable! (:
and thats not dorky ! i love the name but sadly .... i thought of coffee first, which is odd in it self bc i dont like coffee xP what are the odds? and thats awesome! Dallas is alright.. admittedly for the 12 is years ive been here ive only been in the actual city maybe 6 at the most im hoping to go to college up here tho!

[englishdaffodil]

Welcome (belatedly)!

Re: allergies...I have severe allergies myself. Mostly seasonal and to medications, though I get URI symptoms around animal dander. Piggies are easier on me than most critters, but I am still a bit allergic to Rosie and am learning to cope. Here's what helps me:

1) Experiment with different types of hay. I'm crazy-allergic to timothy and alfalfa, so Rosie eats orchard grass. It makes me sneeze a bit, but no rash. The hay lives in an airtight stainless steel container (which probably also helps it stay fresh).

2) Wash up immediately after handling piggies, hay, or any accessories.

3) Rinse nose with saline solution--I use both a neti-pot and a simple squeeze bottle for this. It helps immensely. I also use nasonex (a prescription nasal steroid) as needed for all my allergies, including occasionally for pig-induced nasal problems.

4) Try to avoid having pigs in your bedroom, if possible. Having a critter to whom you're allergic in the same space where you sleep is asking for allergy trouble.

My allergies are quite manageable when I do the above consistently. Pigs are good pets for the super-allergic among us, I think.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

[bpatters]

You're much more likely to be allergic to the hay than to the pigs -- they're pretty non-allergenic. If you're using timothy, try orchard grass or blue grass. You should be able to buy small bags at a pet store to test yourself with, but if you can tolerate those and you need them in larger quantites, you might be able the get them from Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue in Lewisville, just northwest of Dallas.

What are those reddish and tan things in the bottom of the cage?

[faithintheheart]

yeah i beleive it is the timothy thats bugging me but i have a huge bag of it and have to use it up first :P ive used ichard hay and it seemed fine but i still had the allergies .. and its when i hold them its at its worse.. and cleanning there cage is horrendous i end up using a mask, gloves and special clothes yet still i have to shower and take meds right after ( ive tried taking the meds before no effect ). other members of my family have been having issues to but not as severe . and i almost got my pigs there but these babys needed more help! . and the pinkish tan things is "soft sorbent" bedding rose scented(with actual roses in it ?) (not allergic thank goodness!) i gave up today, took out the bedding and put paper towels and some of that bedding on top to reduce the smell. do you have any ideas for am affordable low dust bedding that can last a week with out chage ?if so i would adore that !!!

[Kieri]

WELCOME! your piggies are absoluuuuutely adorable!

i think i am slowly developing an allergy to timothy hay. i've noticed over the past few months that i sneeze a bit when handling the hay. i'm hoping it's coincidence, but i'm sure in the long run i'll have to switch to another hay or grass.

[bpatters]

The only bedding I know of that will last a week without changing it, except maybe in the corners where they pee and poop the most, is wood pellets. But the biggest supplier of kiln-dried, non-dusty wood pellets that I know of has quit selling them for the residential market. I used my last bag last week, and have been trying daily for a month to find someone who can supply them, with no luck.

All the pellets I can find are pine, and smell strongly of it, so they're not suitable for guinea pigs. I accidentally put my pigs on them right after Christmas -- I changed the cage, but had a terrible cold and sinus infection and couldn't smell a thing for about 10 days. When I could finally smell again, I noticed the pine odor, and immediately took the pigs out. They don't seem to have any respiratory problems from it, but they both had very red spots on their feet.

I'm back to fleece, and hating every minute of it. I've found a supplier for aspen shavings at a reasonable cost, and am going to get a bag of that this afternoon. If it works, I'll let you know.

[Crystalkate]

Very cute pigs!!! I love the brown patch on the one's eye

[TCTrun]

I also have horrendous allergies, but mostly to pollens and molds rather than piggies or hay. I am incredibly allergic to timothy, but I can stick my nose in a pile of orchard to no effect. I have read that proteins in piggy urine are the most common cause of piggy allergy. Anyway, I'm about to start allergy shots again. They worked wonders for me about a decade ago. The downside is that when I moved across the country I developed new allergies. I believe you can actually be tested for guinea pig allergies and have those antigens included in your allergy shots.