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Guinea Pig Record Keeping

PIGGYMAMMA495

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Hi Everyone. After talking to quite a few new people and friends, I've decided to do a post about this.
I know that it will be beneficial to everyone including newbies if we all share our ideas on how we keep our records on our piggies.

I peronally have a binder system I use. I have made up spreadsheets in Microsoft Office Pro. I have a basic spreadsheet with each pigs name then they have columns that include, weight, date, nailclipping, brushing, trim, butt trim, bath, Flea/mite Prevention, Type of treatment used.
I just put a check in on each item they use during that weekly weight and other things. I have a Vet Check Spread sheet that shows the names and dates including treatment and recomendations of the vet. This helps.

I also have a sheet that I keep with a physical description of each pig, their likes and dislikes, and also markings. I also include any cagemates with thier description. I also have a photo on each cage on a index card sized piece of paper. This way, if I had to go somewhere or was ill my helpers would be sure to put each piggy with who it belongs with.

I have a medication chart with a colum for the dates and each piggys name. So the name of medication, dose, freuquency and Dr. Perscribing it. Also included reason for meds and start and end date. Also have a comments section in case the cavies had a reaction to it. And then I type the days of the week that they will be taking it and put a check mark in the space along with the time of the day they were given the med.

Then of course there is a list of all emergency numbers, poison control, regular vet, emergency vet, and other helper phone numbers.
I think that good record keeping can save your pigs life literally. I also take notes during floortimes. I include individual pigs behavior, and especially if they are sick I jot down their symptoms even if very small because they sometimes turn into something big and it's a huge helper to the vet when you are that organized and can rule out problems easier with notes. Be sure if your piggy is sick or apperars to be sick you jot down their temp. I hope everyone can put in their ideas and we can all share ideas on record keeping.

I know on my mothers computer in one of her microsoft programs she can open a file that is already in the computer and it is neat, it has vet records, medication charts and all kinds of neat pet records already made up. So all you have to do is print them out. I will try to go there tommrow and get the actual names of the files and which program they are in exactly.
I can't wait to hear everyone elses suggestions and ideas. Thanks.
 

EmmetKelly

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Wow! You are really organized! Good idea!
 

Paula

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I keep a binder too. It's a great idea. With as many pigs as some of us have, it's the best way to keep ALL the info all in one place. I get copies of any vet records too in case they ever need to go to the ER vet for anything - all the records are organized and I can just grab it and take it with me. Having a dog who's had to make MANY trips to the emergency room in the early hours of the morning has taught me to keep copies of all vet records in a place we can quickly get to them, so that's the only thing I can add to your suggestion.

Oh, and I also keep a color photo of each pig on the front page of their section - a picture's worth a thousand words, eh? :)
 

PixieStix

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I keep a small book with the pigs' weights, as well as important print outs (dangerous meds, notes for pig sitters, veggie charts, vet contact info), which I'm hoping to add more to. You're very organized!

Paula, the picture idea is great. Even though I only have two different looking pigs, it's amazing how hard people find it to tell the difference between the two (or mix up the names).

The dogs have a file each with all vet records.
 

JennG

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I keep a binder/briefcase type thing for all of my animals. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like.

Here is the binder closed. It has a strap for easy carrying.


When you open the front part up, you can see the tabbed areas I keep my records. It has all of my vet bills, all the adoption forms and other miscellaneous things.




Then there is a zippered area that I keep my other pertinent information on the pets. I have copies of dosing Ivermectin (for mites), Advantage (for lice), copy of how to hand feed & how much, the piggies' (& dog's) birthdays (or best guess), as well as other things.
 

JennG

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Every pet has a tab w/ their name on it.


And I have a picture of each pet and their bio as well as their grooming chart which helps me keep tabs on their weights, nail trims, butt cleanings, fur trimmings, and meds given.






This really helps me stay organized especially w/ all the piggies and my dog.
 

PIGGYMAMMA495

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Wow JennG that is a nice binder with the strap on it. Where did you get it?

I keep my pigtures and bio's in a binder then also on the actual cage that each pair is in. This way like I said above that if my neice is pigsitting there is no accidental visitors in others cages.
There is alot of good ideas above and I think this will show people how beneficial record keeping is, in case some people don't.
I know personally quite a few times, the pigs could have been mis-diagnosed if it was not for good record keeping and observation notes done daily.
Thanks everyone and keep the suggestions comming.
 

Haley0489

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I love your grooming chart JennG! I might have to borrow the idea myself. ;)

At the moment I only have on small notebook. I jot down down their weights every week and make notes when needed. When two of my piggers were on medicine I kept record of when and how much medicine they received each day. That's about it though. :/ Maybe I'll be able to pick up some ideas from this thread.
 

JennG

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Thanks! My husband bought that for me a few years back and I never knew what to do w/ it. I finally thought, "I should use it to keep track of all the animals." It's really helpful plus the front part can come off of the binder to take to the vets if I need to.

PIGGYMAMMA, I have a picture of the piggies, their name and a short description (& which cage they live in) attached to the cage. I just put this together. We very rarely are gone for more than a day but we're going to a family reunion next weekend and will have a pigsitter for the first time. So, I have this to help her know who is who. I'll have to get a picture of it and post them later.
 

khptown

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How do you weigh a guinea pig? I tried to put him on my digital human body weight scale, but je obviously does not weigh enough to register it.
 

Haley0489

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How do you weigh a guinea pig? I tried to put him on my digital human body weight scale, but je obviously does not weigh enough to register it.

Kitchen scale! They usually go up to 5 or more pounds, just big enough to weigh a piggie. Mine, which is non digital, cost about $10 at walmart. :cheerful:
 

wheekypigs

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Excellent thread! Thank you all for the ideas and pictures(really helpful!). I'll have to get one of those files started!
 

PiggieMamaKelly

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Wow Jenn. You're a machine!

I just keep a wall calendar in the pig room and jot down whatever pig info I need at the time. Usually it's just weights and dates of cage cleaning so I know when it's time to clean again. If anyone is on medication I write it down after each dose so I don't have to ask myself "Did that pig get it's medicine today?"
 

JennG

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Well, my numbers have increased dramatically over the past three years and the binder helps me keep track of EVERYTHING.

I now have three separate herds-a younger herd (piggies are 2yrs and younger), an older herd (piggies are 2yrs and older) and then a herd for my seniors. My total number of piggies is now...18! Yeah, I've hit the double digits awhile ago. BUT I'd like to say that I finally got my himi girl (I actually have 2 full fledged himis & 2 wannabe himis) and a self-black girl as well as two neutered boys. :) I just love them!!!
 

JennG

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Here are the bios that I'll have on my cage when we go on our mini-vacation. I just made these up this week.

A close up of the first page:


And what the other pages look like:


Hopefully my petsitter won't need it but just in case, this should help her to see who's who.
 

PIGGYMAMMA495

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lol
How do you weigh a guinea pig? I tried to put him on my digital human body weight scale, but je obviously does not weigh enough to register it.
Well What I purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond is a really neat kitchen scale or for like people on diets who count everything. It has a bowl on the top of it you flip over to put on top of the scale, this way the pigs sit right in it and they love to be weighted now. It was cheap about ten bucks. You can get really fancy models depending on how much you want to spend.
I personally I just weigh them when I do their full on weekly grooming. But sometimes I just throw in a extra weight when I do their daily grooming sometimes. I feel you can never be to overboard when it comes to the piggies and their health ..lol...
JENN G. I absolutely LOVE how you have the pigs all on one page like that and have it colored. I must say that I am going to steal that idea now, so thanks. There is so much creativity in all of your ideas. Im glad I started this post. :)
 

JennG

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PIGGYMAMMA, feel free to use anything. I'm glad you started this thread as well.
 

pigsforlife

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I have a similar system to JennG (thanks to a thread on GL). I have a folder with 6 spaces/sleeves. Kind of hard to explain, so I will take a picture later. I allocated each pig a sleeve/space. Each pig has a biography page, and a picture as well as a chart that looks similar to JennGs. It makes it easy to keep track of things. In the left over sleeve/space I put medical notes (so if the pig does not seem right, symptoms, general notes) and charts showing when they last had revolution, what medications certain pigs are on etc.
 
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