Newbie Here!

sallyvh said:

If you're not willing to provide adequate vet care when needed then guinea pig's are not for you. Not many guinea pig illnesses can be treated in home and they are extremely painful. In my opinion it is extremely inhumane to sit and let an animal suffer because you cannot or will not take it to the vet.

To add, yes, humans and animals have lived for hundreds of years without medical assistance but that doesn't mean that they had a good quality of life. Animals that go without medical care when needed will live significantly shorter lives. Modern medicine has made it so we can live much longer and healthier lives.

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bpatters said:

I don't see that they were doing fine in the wild, and neither do you. They've been domesticated for hundreds of years, and are almost, if not totally, nonexistent in the wild because they were prey for everything else and couldn't defend themselves. Wild animals have much shorter life spans, much higher death rates, and a lot more pain and suffering than domesticated pets do. Watch a few videos of wild animals on the Animal Channel and see how well those prey animals live.

You can do as you like, of course, but if I couldn't provide care for a pet I chose to be responsible for, I'd either not get one, or get one that I could take care of.

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pumpkinpigg said:

thanks so so much!!! You made my day, I'm just worried about the temperature here, in marrakech I am afraid they will not survive or something... Anyways thanks!!!!

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koalamissy said:

Hi pumpkinpig, first, my name is Michele. Since I've never had pigs before, I think I'm going to "start" with females. They sound like they'd be a little easier for me to handle to start with. I'm going to start with two and down the line hopefully add two more. I have a choice of two different rescues I can try, but they both are about an hour or more from me, but hey, I'm sure it will be worth it. As for the breed, I think the only one(s) that I wouldn't be able to handle right now would be the long-haired ones. Other than that, I really don't care what the breed is. I do love the look of abby's, but I'll love whoever I can get. At this point and time, I'm not picky.

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Portal_Corgi said:

Welcome to the forum! I live in Oklahoma, USA and it can easily get above 37 celcius in the summer and below -9 celcius in the winter. From what I've read so far, if you keep them inside, they'll be fine. As long as your comfortable, they will be too.

I would also like to add to guinepig's post and say to watch out for signs of bladder stones since my piggy's brother just died from them and bladder stones can be fairly common. His symptoms were hunching up while trying to use the bathroom and squeaking with pain when he tried to go. He also squeaked when I tried to touch his abdomen and was very lethargic. He died within less than a day so if you see any these symptoms, get him to a vet asap! I would also suggest taking them to the vet when you first get them if you can just to make sure they're ok since they can hide illness really well and the sooner you can treat them for illness, the less it will probably cost. Where I'm from, it's less than $20 USD for a regular check up. Hope this helps!

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ThePigAlchemist said:

There are a lot of guinea pig ailments you can't just check on yourself. You can't do surgery on a guinea pig with stones or ovarian cysts, nor diagnose with the precision of a good vet.

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MrsGuineaPig said:

I also think the link you posted wasn't any good. All those piggies, stuffed in a tiny cage? And I didn't see any food either. You said there are responsible breeders where you live, to me, that link did not seem like one. I am sorry, but I would not buy a piggie from them.

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LuvCavysLuvCats said:

@ThePigAlchemist I think she meant she would do checkups herself. Which is what all of us do when we weigh them weekly. If something were wrong she did clarify she would go to a vet.
@pumpkinpigg I'd look now to find a good, reliable and knowledgable exotic vet just so if something happens, you know where to go or who to call right away. Hopefully after some research you can find a few vets like that in morocco. Remember guinea pigs hide their illnesses very well so this is why when you actually see a symptom, you need to go the vet as its probably something you cannot fix with home remedies. Also even if it was, you can't decide that by that one symptom alone, you don't know whats really going on and you can't diagnose something without the education of a vet. I'm not putting you down, it's just a fact. There are minor injuries that you don't need to go to the vet for... but there are no minor illnesses. I think all of them can be fatal without a vet. I know you know this, I'm just making sure.

That link you posted yesterday for a pair of pigs wasn't working for me for some reason. Did you decide to get them?

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