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New from Oklahoma!

tboyd

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Posts
21
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
21
Hello all! I absolutely LOVE this site, it was just what I was looking for when I decided to research solutions to a larger cage without spending money I don't have for cages at the pet store that would still be much too small.
I adopted a family of four from Petco; they had been rescued by our local animal control from a home in which the elderly woman that owned them was deceased. The mother had recently given birth. Because of lack of facilities and space for such small animals, our animal shelter gave them to our local Petco to adopt out. They had a limited amount of time before they would be forced to put them down for lack of space, and I just couldn't say no.
When I got them home, I separated the two adults, one being male and the other female, as I did not want them breeding again, especially in light of the research I've done describing the dangers. Currently, the adult male (Romeo) is housed in a medium sized rectangular cage, the adult female (Juliet, of course;) ) is housed in a ten gallon aquarium, and the two babies (growing fast and still unnamed as I have not yet discovered their genders) are housed together in what the pet store calls a large cage.
It did not take long at all to see that these active new friends of mine were in habitats much too small for their energy levels, which led me to this site and my plans to construct larger homes for them.
So, that's my story so far, and hello to all fellow cavy lovers!

CIMG2074.jpg CIMG2078.jpg

The first pic is Juliet and her two babies, before I separated them to give them at least a little extra space. The Big Fella in the second picture, with the black ring around his eye, is Romeo, father of the two younger ones (who are actually a bit bigger now). Romeo is by far the most affectionate as of yet, but the two younger ones have not been handled extensively, which I intend to begin doing.
 

Duffinvt

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 9, 2009
Posts
1,501
Joined
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Messages
1,501
Hi and welcome. What a nice little family of guinea pigs you have ! Do watch Juliet as she could have been bred immediately after giving birth, if she and Romeo were still housed together. And male pups should be separated from females (including mom) at 21 days.

Have fun building your cages ! You will find lots of interesting cages in the photo gallery and good advice from the members of the forum. Some members have very elaborate cages and some simple ones. No matter what, the C&C cages are great and can be made on a budget with a little creativity. Feel free to ask questions and we'll all try to give helpful advice.
 

KiwiCavyAdorer

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 30, 2010
Posts
456
Joined
Oct 30, 2010
Messages
456
Hallo! and welcome to this lovely community!

It's so nice to hear of realisations and active wishes to enlarge their spaces. Tell us about your plans, and do you happen to know the age of the babies? By 21 days they can reproduce.... YIKES!

there is a lot of love here for folk who help piggies live nicer lives. How do you plan to manage your sexes? will you have all males in one or do you think you'll wait to see what your babes are before taking on the neuter dilemma? if all your others are females, so they can live as one family??

I was also super glad to find this site!

your piggies are all white! Juliet looks like a sweet Mom!
 

tboyd

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Posts
21
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
21
Thank you both for the welcome! Such a friendly place.
I have been watching Juliet because as far as I know they were housed together for a while, then she was still housed with the babies, and I did learn that the males can impregnate any female at 3 weeks of age. I don't know how long piggies are pregnant, but I think that in the weeks I have had them that if she was pregnant I would have begun seeing signs by now. I hope, anyway lol.
I don't know the ages of the babies because the people I adopted them all from were unable to tell me. I am going to take each to the vet ( I found one that works exclusively with small exotic pets and specializes in cavies) for a general checkup and hope to learn an approximate age for each when I do.
I have no plans to allow them to reproduce, but they do seem to love each other's company, so when I have made a cage that allows enough space, I will put any together that will get along.......I already know the two babies and Juliet get along, but as I don't yet know if the young ones are male or female, I hesitate to do so until I know. I am taking a risk leaving the two of them together, not knowing, as well, but I ran out of cages lol.
Juliet really is a sweet mom:D I really did not want to separate them when I did.....they were very sweet together, and the babies were still in what seemed to be 'clingy' phase.......following her around, running to her when scared, etc. In fact, part of the reason I am anxious to get a better and more spacious area built for them is because Juliet seems quieter and possibly depressed, and I thought that might be a possibility why, having been separated. Toys might help, however.......I am fairly new to cavy care, and have been doing much research, and did not realize quite what curious and playful little critters they are (though observation is what made me decide to research safe toys).
In fact, just tonight I made a ''house' out of a shoe box for the babies and they absolutely love it!! I have had so much fun watching them, and I do know that Romeo loves his bell toy, which was actually one that had belonged to one of my birds. I am so excited about giving these guys a new and entertaining lifestyle to keep them happy!
As for Romeo, I think he will likely be neutered soon.
 

KiwiCavyAdorer

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
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Posts
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Oh that's just such a lovely post to go to bed on! Thanks!
 

tboyd

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Posts
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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
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LOL. I am a notorious night owl and part insomniac.....it is 7 :46 am my time and I have yet to go to bed, so I will be following your example as soon as I make the rounds to check food and water containers (the piggies are not my only pets lol........I have 3 cockatiels, two dogs, and a litter of 4 wk old rescue kittens that I hope to find homes for soon).....so good night to you and all for a little while. Or perhaps good morning.....but since I have the day off, its bed time either way!
 
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