Hi. My name is Kelsey and I am a proud piggy-mom of 4 guinea pigs: Blackie, Brownie, Brandy, and Jeffrey. Blackie recently passed away following a long battle with abscesses :sad:. His brother, Brownie, just turned 2 years old. Brandy and Jeffrey are also brothers. They are about 10 months old.
My guinea pig journey began last year when I was working at a early childhood education school/daycare. The toddler classroom I was working in had "class pets" (Blackie and Brownie). I was no guinea pig expert at the time, but I am an animal advocate and lover to the core. I knew that their living conditions were not right. I will not get into details as it makes me very upset to think about. I soon took over taking care of the guinea pigs. I worked towards getting them a bigger cage, brought them home on long weekends, and personally purchased their food and bedding. I fell in love with Blackie and Brownie and with guinea pigs in general. I decided to adopt my own. Soon after, on a Monday, I came into work and noticed a giant lump under Blackie's chin. I was able to bring him to a vet and was told that he had an abscess. From that day on, Blackie and Brownie stayed in my care, at my house, so I could properly treat Blackie (give him medications, etc.) and give him the care he needed. Remember when I said I decided to adopt my own? Well, I still did. I went to the MSPCA in my area and took home two baby brothers (8 weeks old). At the time, I thought that Blackie would get better and he and his brother Brownie would have to inevitably go back to the school so taking care of 4 guinea pigs was just a temporary thing. Weeks turned into months, and Blackie's abscess wasn't responding to the antibiotics. At that point, I emailed the owner of the school I worked at, asking if they would be willing to pay for surgery and I got a brief email back asking how much it would be to put Blackie down. I ended up asking if I could adopt both Blackie and Brownie (to keep them together) and I would take any financial burden going forward. They said yes. So, in an instant, I owned 4 guinea pigs. My entire life changed. Everything I did was for them. I did everything in my power to make sure that Blackie (and all my other guinea pigs) had the best life possible. About 6 months after I first brought Blackie to the vet, it was time to let him rest. He was the strongest, happiest, sweetest guinea pig I could have ever asked for. Although I could not "fix" him, I know that I gave him the best life he could have had.
I no longer work for the school that I adopted Blackie and Brownie from. I still have Brownie, Jeffrey, and Brandy. Jeffrey developed an abscess less than a month after Blackie passed. It ended up being the same pathogen that Blackie had. I flushed and drained Jeffrey's abscess(es) at home and medicated him. Luckily his abscesses healed without surgery and they have not came back since. Now I have 3 happy and healthy guinea pigs. I left out the lengthly details of Blackie's surgeries (he had 2) and treatment, but I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has, if it can help another guinea pig.
My guinea pig journey began last year when I was working at a early childhood education school/daycare. The toddler classroom I was working in had "class pets" (Blackie and Brownie). I was no guinea pig expert at the time, but I am an animal advocate and lover to the core. I knew that their living conditions were not right. I will not get into details as it makes me very upset to think about. I soon took over taking care of the guinea pigs. I worked towards getting them a bigger cage, brought them home on long weekends, and personally purchased their food and bedding. I fell in love with Blackie and Brownie and with guinea pigs in general. I decided to adopt my own. Soon after, on a Monday, I came into work and noticed a giant lump under Blackie's chin. I was able to bring him to a vet and was told that he had an abscess. From that day on, Blackie and Brownie stayed in my care, at my house, so I could properly treat Blackie (give him medications, etc.) and give him the care he needed. Remember when I said I decided to adopt my own? Well, I still did. I went to the MSPCA in my area and took home two baby brothers (8 weeks old). At the time, I thought that Blackie would get better and he and his brother Brownie would have to inevitably go back to the school so taking care of 4 guinea pigs was just a temporary thing. Weeks turned into months, and Blackie's abscess wasn't responding to the antibiotics. At that point, I emailed the owner of the school I worked at, asking if they would be willing to pay for surgery and I got a brief email back asking how much it would be to put Blackie down. I ended up asking if I could adopt both Blackie and Brownie (to keep them together) and I would take any financial burden going forward. They said yes. So, in an instant, I owned 4 guinea pigs. My entire life changed. Everything I did was for them. I did everything in my power to make sure that Blackie (and all my other guinea pigs) had the best life possible. About 6 months after I first brought Blackie to the vet, it was time to let him rest. He was the strongest, happiest, sweetest guinea pig I could have ever asked for. Although I could not "fix" him, I know that I gave him the best life he could have had.
I no longer work for the school that I adopted Blackie and Brownie from. I still have Brownie, Jeffrey, and Brandy. Jeffrey developed an abscess less than a month after Blackie passed. It ended up being the same pathogen that Blackie had. I flushed and drained Jeffrey's abscess(es) at home and medicated him. Luckily his abscesses healed without surgery and they have not came back since. Now I have 3 happy and healthy guinea pigs. I left out the lengthly details of Blackie's surgeries (he had 2) and treatment, but I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has, if it can help another guinea pig.