New Here, New to Guinea Pigs, and got THREE in the Past Month

[everydaylou]

My daughter talked me in to Buttercup, a piggie someone was trying to rehome. She had been dumped at a pet shop and was looking for a home through the humane society. Then I got home, got online and realized I knew NOTHING about guinea pigs. I read several sites and determined that the bird cage she had been given to us in was a very bad idea (ordered 8 sq feet of home for her immediately). I also learned that she needed a buddy, so I found her Iris, the cutie in the middle picture. Buttercup had a hard time warming up to a companion, and Iris was lonely, so when I saw that someone was trying to rehome a girl named Lily on craigslist, it just seemed like it was meant to be, so she joined the flower girls, and now everyone is perfectly happy! After getting her here, I ordered another 8 sq feet of compatible cage (should be here Monday!) so the girls will have 16 sq ft to popcorn their little fannies off in. They just got this new popcorn bed today and all three of them took a nap and snuggled.

Buttercup is an Abyssinian, Lily is smooth and I think Iris may actually be a long haired variety because she is fluffier every day. Buttercup is about 9 months, Lily and Iris around 2-3. I would really like a grey textel, so I am going to keep an eye out Clearly, I was hooked instantly. These girls are so sweet, popcorn, purr and Iris likes to hang out in my shirt while I work on the computer. And they are hilarious when they play!



We also have two cocker spaniels and I love doing planted aquariums. We are a military family with three kids of our own and we also do foster care. Our last kids just went home, and I'm taking a foster break for the next 3 months until my husband gets home off of his deployment. We live in South Dakota and love it here. The cage above that my son is in is just our "piggie playpen" that we pull out when the little kids want to interact. Keeps everyone contained. They don't live there.

Let's see, we feed hay, veggies and pellets every day, love the fleece method for dealing with the cage bottom (pure genius, eco friendly and no peed on fluff getting everywhere, so thank you all for sharing that little gem).

That's about it! -Leah

 

[piggielover200]

Omg love all your pigs! I hope you love this sight as much as me!

 

[CavyMama]

@everydaylou , can you do me a favor and count the number of holes in the grids you have there? The reason I ask is because from the pics, it appears that you have the 8 hole grids. These are considered unsafe, particularly with smaller pigs because the holes are much larger and can cause pigs to get stuck or even to escape.

What you need are the 9 hole grids.

 

[everydaylou]

Oh, that's not the cage- I know the holes are pretty big, they are more to keep the dogs out than the piggies in. That is our supervised playpen. It keeps the dogs away, and my kids can sit in a place where the piggies can run. It is never used unsupervised. Their cage is much safer and much more secure. Lily's former owner gave it to us. I immediately deemed it unsuitable, but it is a great playpen for my 4 year old to have supervised play in I keep it under the family room sofa and just set it up when we have play time.


This is the cage. We have a second one coming on Monday, so it will be 18 sq ft They combine really well.

While I'm loading pics, here are a few more ;-)




My 60 gallon tank- all live and natural elements My personal paradise.

My other cocker, Freckles

My daughter, the guinea pig rescuer, and Buttercup

Me!

 

[Sabrina Clayton]

Aww, what sweet piggies! And kids! My parents have a black and white Cocker and he has the same sad little face as yours, hehe. Welcome

 

[Kelly9]

I LOVE that your tank has all live/natural elements. So many people put plastic in there and it seems like it would it be bad for the fish.

Your flower girls are cuties! I didn't think I would fall for a guinea pig as much as I did, since I never was interested in them as a kid. Now she is my baby, not my son's, lol. They do popcorn their way into your heart, don't they? I love the picture of them all mashed on top of each other in the bed.

 

[cavyCarrie]

You're pigs are so cute! Aren't they just infectious? Way to go on wanting to educate yourself on the pigs. I find every day I learn something new from this forum. I have 2 boys, Nacho and Bacon but really want to expand my family and get 2 girls (separate cages of course!). It's a matter of convincing my hubby!

 

[scubafaery]

I love your piggies and their little popcorn bed!! Your fish tank is also very pretty! I have had my boys for just over a month now, and I love them even more!!