Hello everyone, my name is Joyce (the screen name AggiePig is after Aggie my female English/Smooth Golden Agouti.)
I purchased Aggie from a local pet store before I came to your site and learned the error of my ways. I will certainly not do that again. I'm not sure why I didn't think to look for a guinea pig at a rescue or shelter since all of my other critters past and present were (horses, cats, dogs, rabbits, even two goats way back when.)
I was lucky for the most part, Aggie checked out fine at the vet with no mites or fungus etc. but I got a little more than I bargained for in the transaction. As it turned out, Aggie was pregnant when I bought her. The vet said that it was typical from that or any pet store.
Aggie delivered just fine last Saturday between 4:00 and 8:00 pm. I had been on pins and needles for the last two weeks knowing how dangerous the delivery could be for her in general plus being so young. To my chagrin she waited until I went out for a shopping trip and dinner to have the babies. It was probably better that way as I would have been hovering and fretting the whole time.
She delivered two pups, another golden agouti with yellow splotches (possibly fem.) and a cinnamon agouti with white and "orange?" (possibly male.) They will have a checkup soon, not soon enough for my taste, but the first weekend availability I could book. I spent the first two days wondering if their "hairdos" were just mussed from being squashed in the womb, or if they were part Abyssinian. Guess I have my answer now that they are a few days old with no change in "hairdo"
The family is currently in a 2x4 C&C cage (small square wire mesh on the portions of the cubes that are not flush against the wall) with carefresh bedding (cage will have to enlarge to 2X5 when the pups get bigger.) They have 1 hidey hole, two water bottles (one large tube higher and one small tube lower) free choice between Oxbow Cavy Performance and Cavy Cuisine, a great big pile of timothy hay (no hay rack with little ones) a smaller pile of alfalfa nibbles, and veggies twice a day.
If any more experienced Cavy Slaves have any suggestions I will take them with gratitude.
I purchased Aggie from a local pet store before I came to your site and learned the error of my ways. I will certainly not do that again. I'm not sure why I didn't think to look for a guinea pig at a rescue or shelter since all of my other critters past and present were (horses, cats, dogs, rabbits, even two goats way back when.)
I was lucky for the most part, Aggie checked out fine at the vet with no mites or fungus etc. but I got a little more than I bargained for in the transaction. As it turned out, Aggie was pregnant when I bought her. The vet said that it was typical from that or any pet store.
Aggie delivered just fine last Saturday between 4:00 and 8:00 pm. I had been on pins and needles for the last two weeks knowing how dangerous the delivery could be for her in general plus being so young. To my chagrin she waited until I went out for a shopping trip and dinner to have the babies. It was probably better that way as I would have been hovering and fretting the whole time.
She delivered two pups, another golden agouti with yellow splotches (possibly fem.) and a cinnamon agouti with white and "orange?" (possibly male.) They will have a checkup soon, not soon enough for my taste, but the first weekend availability I could book. I spent the first two days wondering if their "hairdos" were just mussed from being squashed in the womb, or if they were part Abyssinian. Guess I have my answer now that they are a few days old with no change in "hairdo"
The family is currently in a 2x4 C&C cage (small square wire mesh on the portions of the cubes that are not flush against the wall) with carefresh bedding (cage will have to enlarge to 2X5 when the pups get bigger.) They have 1 hidey hole, two water bottles (one large tube higher and one small tube lower) free choice between Oxbow Cavy Performance and Cavy Cuisine, a great big pile of timothy hay (no hay rack with little ones) a smaller pile of alfalfa nibbles, and veggies twice a day.
If any more experienced Cavy Slaves have any suggestions I will take them with gratitude.
Last edited: