Hi from Me and Stoli!

I'm new to this site but have had piggies for 7 years. Went on what the pet store said when we got them (I don't buy from pet stores anymore, it just perpetuates the awful cycle of bad conditions and misinformed pet store people who don't care about anything but a paycheck) and have had them on cedar or pine shavings, in a small cage, fed guinea pig pellets from the local Walmart, and he loves carrots, oranges and lettuce. From poking around, I can see I've been doing just about everything wrong! I never had a computer back then and just thought I was doing everything right since the vet said he was very healthy and doing well. Molson was our first piggy and at just a few months old we got Stoli for him as a friend. Stoli was tiny, like a big hamster. Molson wouldn't leave him alone and kept mounting him and they fought a lot. The pet store said they needed to establish who was the boss. They never got along, but learned to just avoid each other. Then Molson started acting funny (not drinking as much) and I took him to the vet. By the time we got there he started breathing quickly. The vet said he had pneumonia and there wasn't anything that he could do, that once they showed signs of being sick, they were too far gone to be saved. I begged him to try something, so he wrote a script for antibiotics. I force fed him the meds and then water around the clock for another day and a half before he died in my arms :weepy:. My kids were only 3 and 4 at the time, but never saw me cry so hard and still talk about it once in a while. Stoli is very happy to be the only guinea pig in the house now. He doesn't play and only pees, poops, and eats, but we love him! He will tolerate being held if you have food but prefers to be left alone in his cage.

I was on Craigslist and responded to a pic of someone who has their piggies up for rehoming and when I responded, asking what was in the bottom of the cage, she said it was fleece and directed me here. So here I am! I poked around a bit and realized just how misinformed I have been all these years. There's a big difference between good care and right care. I care for him very well, but it's never too late to do it RIGHT. I'm so glad to be here!