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Hello this is my story...so try not to cry.

KmParis

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Howdy! My name is Kristi and I have such a compassion for all animals especially guinea pigs. I was first introduced to guinea pigs on my 23rd birthday which was in October of last year. My good friend that I have known for 7 years gave them to me as a birthday surprise and the 4 months of having them...they have been nothing but a joy in me and my boyfriends lives.

It was so sudden...if anyone has experienced such healthy, playful, enthusiastic, social and loving guinea pigs...then, one thing leads to another. Me and Matt introduced the two to some new dry berries that the company conveyed was harmless to our little friends. Little did we know, they had hidden deadly chemicals that caused one of the boys to suffer illness. We are still not sure what actually happened...it was just so unexpected and scary. We felt like it was our fault that he became so sick.

Botan...named after a Japanese character; was normally a very shy but loving little friend. He enjoyed gentle rubs on his lower back and under his chin. He always enjoyed curling up on my lap and then would sometimes rest his head on my shoulder after I got home from work. He enjoyed swimming in the tub on occassions and especially loved making big messes in his cage and hiding the evidence. His favorite foods consisted of eating spinach, carrots, apples, cabbage and parsley.

What were the odd's though, I never would of thought that dry berries from Petco would change everything one day later. Matt, my boyfriend of 1 year and 4 months saw early signs before he fell deathly ill. He wasn't as social as he normally was, every time we wanted to hold him...he squeeked higher pitches and tried to bite us. However, the x rays from the vet did not show any visible evidence of major health problems. We knew after he pooped abnormal discoloration in his bowels with one drop of blood...that the promise of keeping him there with us that night would be very unlikely.

He looked so helpless just laying there with his goopy eyes half shut. He hardly moved that night...he pained me greatly with his helpless gestures. I held him while the doctor examined him and he let out small noises as if he was in great danger or pain. When I received the phone call at 4 am...I just stood there in silence just waiting for the tears to run down my face. He was really gone...

We stayed up that night for over 24 hours with no sleep in between. Eating was very little. Stellar the 6 month old playful runt that we still own and treasure today survived the berries. He has been depressed since his brother passed on this morning. Hasn't been eating a lot of hay like he usually does but his poop looks normal which is a good sign. I just hope that we don't lose him too because he has made such a difference in our lives.

Stellar, was named after a star from the modern times. He is considered the most outgoing of the two. Enjoys being scratched behind the ears and under the belly. Also can curl up on your shoulder for hours. He loves little kisses and squeeks playfully whenever a song on the radio comes on. His favorite foods consist of carrots, nuts of all sorts, spinach, and romaine lettuce. He devours his nut bars when he behaves himself. Stellar, was born with a black tinted nose which caught my eye when we picked him out in the litter. He was the loudest and smallest of the batch and I fell in love with him the first time our eyes met. I call him the rebel...he loves getting into mischief and burrowing himself under blankets and bedding. He loves chewing on anything he can get a hold of including my boyfriends head set cords...he wasn't too happy about that.:sick: Despite his aggressive tendencies at times...he is a darling, humorous and pretty well behaved boy. There is never a dull moment when he popcorns happily around his cage. With Botan gone though...he is lonely as ever. We will be getting him a new friend in a week or so. Though, Botan will never be replaced in our hearts.

Growing up, I endured so much but it made me the strong woman I am today. I faced numerous hardships battling foster care experiences, abuse of all forms and surviving the suicide of a bipolar, schitzophrenic, alcoholic father. My mom currently lives in Northern California and we have been establishing a closer connection in between the lost years. We reunited 4 or 5 years ago after never knowing her throughout childhood/adolescence. Regardless of all those experiences...I stand my ground every day and never let the circumstances define who I am as an individual.

When I see the unconditional love that animals have for humans. It reminds me that the embrace, compassion and loyalty of their companionship is even more precious and you carry the memories of them throughout the rest of your life journey. This world, nonetheless is full of cruelty and uncertain encounter but we bring what we got to the table and enjoy the little things that matter most. For me, it is that love that I receive from animals that awakens a light in my heart. Even though I mostly had cats growing up, Guinea pigs are also that exception:love: They truly are God's little wonders.
 

pinky

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I'm really sorry for your loss. I just wanted to mention that spinach, carrots, apples, cabbage and parsley are not the best choices to feed them. Spinach and parsley are high in calcium and can lead to stones. Apples and carrots are high in sugar; no more than a baby carrot a day. Cabbage is gassy and can cause bloat. Seeds and nuts should never be fed because they pose a choking hazard. The diet and nutrition section on here lists fruits and vegetables and gives feeding recommendations. It's a wonderful resource to use when deciding what to feed them. Just curious, what did you buy from Petco? It might be good to share that info so people on here know not to buy it. Welcome to the site. It's a great place to find good information.
 

Starthecavy123

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Hi and welcome to the forum

You certainly have come a long way. I to find comfort in animals, actually I would rather be around animals instead of humans. You know you could also get him a friend but I suggest adopting. I'm gonna be adopting two boars tomorrow and I can't wait.
 

PiggieWigglies

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Hi and welcome! Im so sorry for your loss. :( I honestly know how tough that is. Here are some tips I gathered from this wonderful website, composed into one post making it easier to read :)

Pellets: A good brand of pellets to get is Oxbow Cavy Cuisine for pigs 6 months and up, Oxbow Cavy Preformance for newborns to 6 months old (it has extra calcium for them to grow) and KMS Hayloft. You will need PLAIN Timothy pellets, no nuts, seeds, or colores bits. The amount of pellets to give your pig is 1/8 of a cup per pig, per day. Pigs under 6 months can have unlimited pellets.


Hay: Guinea pigs need a long grass hay to keep their teeth worn down and their gut moving. Good hay to give them is either Timothy or Orchard. There are more substitutes but I cant think of the other substitutes. Baby guinea pigs need Timothy hay, along with either parsley or alfalfa hay WITH their Timothy for extra calcium to grow. Alfalfa is not a long grass hay to be feeding your pig. Its a legume like a pea, and does not keep their teeth worn down.


Water: People say water bottles are the best choice, because water dishes get too dirty and can flip over. If you are worried about extra minerals in the water and you have a Brita Filter you can use that (I use it)


Cage: A C&C cage is the best type of cage for a pig. If you look around you can see where to get DIY tips and items on how to build one. The minium space for two pigs is 2x4 grids. If you can fit it, 2x5 is preferred. Warning: if you get grids, make sure the squares are 9x9 in the grid. They changed some of them to 8x8 and peoples' guinea pigs were getting heads stuck in the bars.


Bedding: Nice beddings to use are either fleece, or kiln dried pine shavings/aspen shavings. Never use Cedar because the oils in it cause respitory and foot problems.


Hide Houses: Every guinea pig needs a hidey house. Dont get the medium size pigloo, those cause lack air circulation and who wants their pig sitting in a stink hut. Each hide house you get will need to have 1 entrance and 1 exit. Some people including me use RubberMaid stools for hidey houses. There are other house options besides stools dont worry.


Veggies: Good veggies to give your pig are: Green/red leaf lettuce, cherry tomato, carrots every once in awhile, and green bell peppers. Green bell peppers are a good source of vitamin c for a pig. Piggies cant make their own vitamin c, so giving them 1/8 of a green pepper a day will help them. To add about the carrots; guinea pigs cant process sugar that well, so keeping the amounts of fruit and carrots small and spread apart is best. There are other veggies you can give your pig and how often to, and what veggies are not good to give: (broken link removed)


Care and cleaning of your pig: Guinea pigs rarely need baths, unless they are super smelly or dirty. A good shampoo to use for your pig is either Gorgeous Guineas, or Squeaky Clean for small animals from a petstore. Also, their nails do grow and there are tutorials on how to clip them or have a vet clip them for you. If you ever need a vet, make sure they are an exotic pet vet and are cavy savy.


Getting a buddy and how to introduce: Guinea pigs are happier with a buddy. If you are looking to get a buddy, please check recues, craigslist, or petfinder. Do not go to a petstore or a breeder. This forum is anti-breeding/petstore and pro-adoption. Breeding guinea pigs is hard on the mother and babies. Petstores get their pigs from breeders, often the pigs are sick, missexed, or pregnant. Breeding also means a 20% chance the mom might die. Anyway back to buddies and introductions. You will need a same sex pig friend for your own pig, or if your pig is a girl you could also find a neutered boy. Or if your pig is a boy, you could get a spayed female. After you found your desired pig, there is a 21 day quarentine to make sure your new pig isnt sick. Quarentine needs to be in a different cage, in a different room. After quarentine is over, find a large open space for your pigs to meet. It needs to be on neutral ground where neither pig has been before. Do not just plop your guinea pigs in a cage, this needs to be done on neutral ground. Put a pile of some veggies in the area and a pile of hay, and put the pigs in the area. See this for more details: https://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

I hope this helped you! :)
 

SciGirl

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I am so sorry for your loss.
I'm new to the guinea pig world. I will share your story to my friends that also have guinea pigs.
I hope it gives you some comfort to know that sharing your story might prevent other loss.

hugs
 

Rywen

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I'm really sorry to hear about what happened to Botan. So sad. I have some dried berries from petco that my mom bought for my piggie as a Christmas gift, they are going straight into the trash, thank you for the warning.
 

ClemmyOddieIndy

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Sorry for your loss. What type of berries were they?

As already mentioned, cabbage and spinach can cause digestive upset and bloat (which can be very dangerous). Nuts are also dangerous and should be avoided too.
 

KmParis

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Thank you so much for all the helpful tips as I am still a new guinea pig owner. We do plan on getting a new friend for Stellar. In the mean time, I have been comforting him one on one and he seems to be doing ok with the grieving process. He is eating his Timothy hay as usual and is staying fairly active. We are not sure if a week would be too soon or not to adopt another furry friend? Have you had any personal experiences with guinea pigs and their behavior after a companion dies? Is it normal for them to be a little less active but still eating? I will let Matt know about this info it really does help! Thanks A million :)
 

KmParis

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Thank you so much for your sympathy! It has been a tough day for all of us including our little boy Stellar. He seems to be eating his hay like normal and I am giving him lots of one on one attention. We hope by Friday to adopt a new addition to our guinea pig family! I will be sure to post a forum about name ideas!! So keep a look out for me on that :)
 

KmParis

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Thank you for the tip...we do feed our guinea pig cabbage and spinach as they love it but will be more aware. I am glad that I am not alone in my guinea pig care journey. :)
 

KmParis

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Your welcome, we are still uncertain about what happened to cause Botan's multiple seizure episodes but glad that I could join such a wonderful site as this one. :)
 

KmParis

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That is exciting! They are certainly a delight to have around when life isn't such a topsy turvey amusement park lol if you know what I mean. I appreciate your sympathy and look forward to improving the lives of my beloved guinea pigs :)
 

KmParis

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Thanks for the tips! I will definitely keep that in mind when I am caring for Stellar and the new friend that we hope to adopt on Friday. I will keep you posted and excited about learning more about my babes health. <3
 

foggycreekcavy

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I moved the posts about pet stores and breeders to a new thread in the Kitchen, so as not to muck up this thread.

I'm sorry for your loss.
 

KmParis

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Thought I would post pictures of my pigs. Stellar is brown and white, Gizmo is black and white, and Botan was orange and white.

babies 1.jpg

100_0786.jpg
 

chewyguineapig

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They are gorgeous! Oh I mean handsome... Haha :)
 

maddy harper

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what a sad storry...
welcome to the forums from me, chock and spike the pigs and honey the guide/seeing eye dog...
 
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