Help California Guinea Pigs

Hi readers. We want to make you aware of a very serious, very urgent issue that is happening right now in Northern California. A large breeding/hording situation was uncovered this week, and there are nearly 600 guinea pigs who need your help.

The Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue was called in to help out and they drove all the way to Northern California and have spent the last few days sexing, medicating, feeding, and separating a massive herd of neglected pigs.

Here is their Facebook page where you can follow updates: https://www.facebook.com/laguineapigrescue

Here's the first video they posted:


And here is their Facebook live footage of the piggies being rescued:

We at Cavy Savvy have donated and encourage you all to help, too, if you are in a position to do so. They are a 501c3 Rescue and ALL donations are 100% tax deductible.

Want to help out? Here's how:

LA Guinea Pig Rescue's Amazon Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/MRE8VDQV7URK

Direct Donation
https://www.laguineapigrescue.com

The good news is that these piggies will finally be getting the help they need and hopefully be adopted very soon. Hooray for the LA Guinea Pig Rescue!

Guinea Pig Grieving

Even though it is often said that time heals all wounds, the loss of Lola still makes us sad. Immediately after losing her, Buffy and I had been sleeping close to each other in the little cage, when we usually slept separately in our own pigloos. As social animals, many of us will take the loss of our cavy companions pretty hard, although this can vary from pig to pig.

Here's some advice on how you can support your piggies while we grieve:

• Regularly monitor your guinea pig's weight while they grieve; once per day for at least a week after the loss is recommended. Some pigs may stop eating.
• Consider adopting another guinea pig from a rescue or shelter, especially if you are down to just one guinea pig. A happy, healthy guinea pig may help cheer up a depressed guinea pig. Some guinea pigs may not accept another cage mate if left alone too long on their own.
• Try to spend extra time with your grieving piggies.
• Thoroughly clean the cage and everything in the cage to remove the smell of the lost companion. (This is especially a good idea if the deceased had something communicable.) 
• Changing up your cage configuration and feeding routine can be helpful according to some.
• Some guinea pigs may enjoy having a plush animal companion. (However, you'll want to make sure we don't chew up our plush toys. The stuffing can be harmful.)

Finally, keep in mind that we can support you as you support us. When you feel sad about losing your piggy, we'll be happy to sit in your lap and commiserate with you. (Buffy is still likely to nip your fingers if you try to commiserate for too long, though. Some things never change!)

Where should I get a guinea pig?

Our humans were not always as Cavy Savvy as they are now. Some of us were purchased from pet stores, which is not the best way to get your guinea pig. Here's why:

• Some pet stores value profits over pets to such a degree that their animals are not given proper veterinary care.
• Even though some (perhaps most?) pet stores do take good care of their animals, by buying animals from a pet store, you are still supporting the breeding facilities that supply these animals, which are largely unregulated.
• Even if the pet store and the supplier are treating the animals well, a purchase of a guinea pig from a pet store encourages the breeders to keep breeding more guinea pigs, and is a lost opportunity to adopt a piggy in need at a shelter or rescue.

We have been told that not all countries have the same problem with homeless pets as the United States. Be that as it may, we still recommend trying to find a guinea pig rescue and seeing if there are any guinea pigs who need a home near you before you consider buying at a pet store or breeding, which can be very risky. Guinea pig rescues should also be supported because they usually are much more interested in making sure the guinea pig will end up in a good home than a pet store is.

I'm glad the humans gave me a good home for me when I needed one!

Guest Piggies: Willow And Athena

Today's guest post is extra special: the two piggies you see here are up for adoption! If you live in South Carolina and are looking to invite one or both of these two very special girls into your home, contact Safe Haven Animal Rescue. 

This is Willow, an adoptable guinea pig located in Simpsonville, SC. She is approximately 6 months old and is very calm and sweet. Willow is special needs due to chronic eye problems so she will needs extra love and vet care. If you or anyone you know may be intersted in meeting Willow, please let them know at safehavenarsc@yahoo.com
*Adoption will require application, home visit, vet references, and an adoption fee.

This is Athena, an adoptable guinea pig located in Simpsonville, SC. She is a 2 year old female guinea pig. She is very sweet and is looking for her forever home. If you or anyone you know may be interested in meeting Athena, please let them know at safehavenarsc@yahoo.com
*Adoption will require application, home visit, vet references, and an adoption fee.

Want your piggies to be featured on Cavy Savvy? Just send an email with a photo of your piggies to cavysavvyaguineapigblog [at] gmail [dot] com and tell us a little about them!

Should I Get Another Guinea Pig?

Thinking about adopting a new pig into your herd? You should think carefully about what will need to change before you adopt a new bundle of furry joy. Here are some things to consider:

Broccoli is the newest member of the herd.

Interactions between us takes interesting new twists and turns

Since guinea pigs are herd animals by nature, throwing a new pig into the mix forces us to reassess our social hierarchy. The battle for top pig begins all over again, so be sure you introduce us carefully and monitor us so the fighting doesn't get too ugly.

You'll need more space (and an extra pigloo)

The number of pigs you have should determine how many square feet our cage should be. Check out the guineapigcages.com handy guide for exact measurements.

Make sure you can handle the extra expenses

You may think that since you already invested in cage, hay, pellets, your water bottle, bedding, etc., that another pig won't be a big deal, but consider that if you have one pig and get a second, your vet bills will double. If you have two and are adding a third, that's triple the vet bills. In our experience, vet bills are always the biggest expense, and can be as little as $20 here and there for nail trims to $80 for check ups each year, to $400 for major surgeries. So just remember that you'll have to put some extra cash aside for your new furry friend. We love the saying, "If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet."

We get a bit louder

Our need to communicate broadens from just chatting with you, the human, to this new pig. Be aware that we will have a lot to say, and we might not stop chatting just because you've gone to sleep at night. 

Guinea Pig Village!

Did you know that there is a magical place where guinea pigs of all shapes and sizes can frolic in the sunlight, munching on crisp fresh veggies, scamper under bushes, and snuggle together in cuddle cups? It exists! It's called the Guinea Pig Village and it's in the Netherlands. Watch this two minute video from Vice magazine:

http://www.vice.com/the-cute-show/guinea-pig-village

Agents Of the Month AND A New Pig!

Hello Cavy Savvy readers! For our 100th post, we're proud to announce two exciting pieces of news. First, we won Undercover Guinea Pigs Halloween costume contest and as a reward, we are featured as November's Agents Of The Month! Thanks to everyone who voted! We were neck and neck with Flower, who we have to admit, made a very adorable witch this Halloween.

Second, we appear to have a new cage mate. Well, he's sort of a new cage mate, as he's in a separate cage next to our own. His name is Broccoli (Broc for short), and he's in a different cage because he's an unneutered male. Not only that, Broc has an amazing, heartbreaking story that you won't believe. Brace yourselves, humans.


Broccoli was found living outside, fending for himself in a nearby yard. The human who found him said he appeared to have been living outdoors for several weeks at least, and was keeping warm in the chilly Autumn weather by nesting under someone's porch. The human who found him knocked on the doors of homes nearby to see if anyone owned him, but nobody claimed him or knew how he ended up there. The best they can figure is that someone cruelly abandoned him because they no longer wanted him.

This is perhaps the worst thing a human can do. Humans, listen up: If you can no longer care for your pig, never, ever, ever leave them outside to fend for themselves. We cannot survive outdoors, where there is cold weather and predators after us. It's a miracle that Broccoli survived for as long as he did. He was extremely lucky that his guardian angel human found him when he did.

She took him in by luring him to her with a piece of Broccoli (hence his name), and then took him to a vet to get checked out. Aside from a dirty ear, some malnourishment, and teeth that have grown too long from not having access to timothy hay, he's doing okay. The vet thinks that giving him some chew toys and timothy hay will help get his teeth down to a healthy size. He had his ear cleaned out and he seems to be recovering well.

Our humans heard about Broccoli's story and adopted him from the human that found him. She would have kept him, except that she has dogs and Broccoli finds them scary. Now that our humans have him, he's being lavished with an insane amount of attention. The day after they adopted him, they went out and bought him all new chew toys and treats and cage accessories. We are so jealous, but we're glad that he's safe now.

If the vet decides that he can be neutered, and if we accept him into our cage, he will become our new cagemate. For now, he's a very interesting roommate to have. For one thing, he's a BOY. We've never actually seen a male pig before, and we are absolutely fascinated by him. He smells differently, he looks differently, and he even wheeks differently. He seems equally interested in us. He perches on the split level of his cage and looks at us all day. How's that for an exciting 100th post?

SPECIAL NOTE:

If you are as moved by Broc's story as much as we are, and would like to know how you can help save guinea pigs in similar situations, we suggest donating to your local animal shelter. If you live in an area that has a guinea pig rescue, even better. One such rescue in our area is the Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue, and you can donate to them here: http://www.mgpr.org/MGPR/Donate.htm

Remembering Annie

In two of our past posts, Annie has come up. I mentioned her way back when I introduced myself, and again when we posted our baby pictures. So who was Annie? Annie was the first piggy that our humans owned. They got her off Craigslist from a woman who was moving away and could not bring Annie with her.

Annie, shortly after the humans got her.

Annie plays with her hay-ball toy.

One time, Annie got stuck in her toy, though. That's probably why the humans got rid of it.

The reason the humans got us is because they read that guinea pigs get lonely by themselves. Even though Annie bit my ear when she first met me, we ended up becoming good friends. Annie only lived for about a year after our humans got her, but we'll always remember her fondly.

10 Things You Should Know Before Buying or Adopting a Guinea Pig

Hello humans. Buffy and I have put together a list of things to consider before making a decision to get a guinea pig. All to often, humans think, "I want a pet, but I don't want to commit to getting a dog or cat, since those require so much work and care. So instead, I'll just get a guinea pig." We have become known as so-called "pocket pets", which we think is totally divorced from the reality of what it means to own a guinea pig. So if you are on the fence over whether or not to get a guinea pig, consider the following:

1. We eat timothy hay. A LOT of timothy hay.
Every week, our human spend around $10 for a bag of Oxbow timothy hay. By the end of the week, it's all gone. Amazing, I know. How can such small animals eat so much food? The answer is that our digestive tracts pretty much have to be constantly moving, and we need an unlimited supply of hay throughout the day to meet this need. In addition, we need about a cup of fresh vegetables and a small handful of Oxbow pellets to supplement our hay addiction. This can add up. In contrast, a cat or dog eats much, much less and doesn't need to be fed as frequently as we do.

2. All that eating leads to a lot of waste.
Our cages need to be lined with a fresh layer of Carefresh or other paper-based bedding every week. A week's supply of Carefresh costs $20 per bag. You can use newspaper, but we don't like how the ink irritates our feet and it's more work on your part to have to clean it up. Using Carefresh is easy to clean and it takes our human only 5 minutes once a week to scoop it up into the trash with a dust pan. Count on spending $30 per week on hay and bedding alone.

3. We need a constant supply of fresh hay. If you fail to give us more hay when our food bowl goes empty, we will scream. Oh yes, we're good it.
Wheek wheek wheek wheek WHEEK WHEEK! Oh, you don't like that? Well, we don't like that we ran out of hay and you haven't refilled our bowl. No, we don't care that it's two in the morning and you're trying to sleep. Get out of bed and feed us or we'll make your life a living nightmare!

4. Adopt, don't buy us from a pet store
There are so many humans out there who didn't read this guide before getting a guinea pig and subsequently realized they bit off more than they could chew. Now we're the ones who suffer as we wait in an animal shelter for a kind human like yourself to adopt us. Adoption is the most ethical way to acquire a guinea pig. Or try Craigslist! There's a lot of guinea pigs available there, too.

5. We're not always cuddly.
Yes, we are always cute (even Skinny Pigs) but not all of us want to be held. The vast majority of us will run away if you approach us, and we may make angry sounds if you manage to capture us and force us to be pet. Buffy absolutely hates it. I'm more open to the idea, but even I get antsy after a few minutes.

6. We make good pets for older kids, but don't leave us in the care of anyone under eight years old.
The older humans are, the more likely to be responsible they are. Please supervise your children and teach them good habits when handling their pets.

7. We need to be in pairs.
Guinea pigs living in pairs lead happier lives. We like having a playmate and we are social animals by nature. In the wild, we live in herds. In captivity, we'd really like another guinea pig of the same sex to live with. (Learn how to tell our sex us here)

8. We need to be taken to the vet when we're sick, just like other pets.
What, are we not real living animals to you? I hate it when humans say they wouldn't consider taking a guinea pig to the vet if we get sick. We depend on you and you alone to give us the necessary medical attention if we get sick. I'd hate to be owned by a human who wouldn't take me to the vet if I got an infection. To think that some humans wouldn't spend a few dollars for some cheap antibiotics that would save my life if I needed them makes me so thankful that I have the owners I do. If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet.

9. We don't get along with other animals, other than fellow guinea pigs.
Usually. Very rarely, we can be housed with a rabbit. Very rarely. So be sure you're okay with just having us in one cage if you decide to get us.

10. We live 5-8 years on average.
Hamsters, in contrast, live around 2-4 years. Are you ready to commit the next eight years of your life to us? Please be sure before adopting us.