What do you do when the world is on fire or seems like it is going crazy in various ways, to include all the political crap and lies - literally (and I am entitled to my opinion), people unable to get along - which is a lack of respect, acceptance, morals and values, a society where only certain people are allowed to speak their OPINION, but others are bashed/mistreated if they disagree - another example of lack of morals, values and respect, AND a pandemic that has increased isolation? (Yes, that was a major run-on sentence, with more than one conjunction!) All the world’s negativity is a pandemic within itself! Basically, this all contributes to stress and even anxiety in many.
We, humans, are actually “pack” animals in need of LOVING families and friends, which provides a positive support system to deal with these hurdles in life. Having someone or something to give love to and to receive love from can have tremendous positive affects to our whole being. In my case, I opened my heart up to a couple of baby Guinea pigs I named Koko & Nutmeg.
First, I did months of research, which helped take my mind off the “mad world on fire events.” It also backed up my belief in knowing how to properly care for an animal prior to getting said animal. This is something I did before getting my chickens, which I’ve written about on my blog. What have I learned?
Here’s my Guinea pigs 101 crash course: Guinea pigs are also called Cavia Porcellus, and cavies. They aren’t actually pigs, but are a rodent (gnawing animal, with continuous growing incisors - two top and two bottom front teeth) found in South America, in the grasslands and mountain slopes of the central Andes mountains. They weigh from 1 to 3.5lb., live 3-8 years, can be 8 to 16 inches long, and are diurnal (active in the day) and also crepuscular (mostly active at dawn & dusk). They are prey animals, so they have a great sense of smell and hearing, which can help protect them. They are very social and a herd animal. They also sleep with their eyes open.
In my opinion, the Guinea pig “cool fact" is that they only have 4 toes on their front feet, and 3 toes on their back feet, which makes their feet really cute.
A female Guinea pig’s gestation period is approximately 58 - 72 days. Babies are called “pups” and are born precocious - fully furred with eyes and ears open, and teeth erupted, and able to walk. Pups are able to eat regular food within hours of being born, but also nurse from their mother for 3 weeks, sometimes longer if they are smaller, because of being from a larger litter. Average age for weaning is 3 weeks.
Guinea pigs are considered adults at 6 months of age. Sadly, despite not being adult size, a female can become pregnant at just 1 month old, which can be life threatening to her and the babies.
Guinea pigs have been domestic pets for many hundreds of years. That being said, it doesn’t mean that all the care requirements for these little creatures have been properly meant - a sad fact within the pet shop industry of today. Better information is available in today’s technological world, which provides the information on proper care needs via the internet and youtube videos.
Most people have heard of puppy mills - the unscrupulous breeding of pure breed dogs, just for the sake of making money, without regard to the health and well being of the dogs or puppies. These dogs are kept in deplorable conditions, with their puppies sold to the general public and to pet stores for re-sale to the public. These puppies come from poor genetic breeding, and come with health issues and poor social skills. Sometimes this same thing happens with full breed cats.
In the U.S., various animal groups, like Best Friends Animal Society, the ASPCA, humane societies, and lots of animal rescues groups have worked tirelessly to educate the general public about puppy mills and over-population within the humane societies and animal controls. This has helped, but not all puppy mills have been shut-down.
Sadly, what most people do not know is this same “mill breeding” situation happens with pocket pets, which are then sold in the pet stores. This means sick animals are then sold to the public. With Guinea pigs, there are warehouses with rows of cages with Guinea pigs being bred, and rebred, just to “crank out” as many babies/pups as possible. These breeding animals and pups are not even fed or cared for properly.
An incorrect fact - the pet store industry likes to tout is that Guinea pigs are low maintenance and an “easy” pet for people/kids. The truth is no animal is low maintenance or “easy,” because each creature has its own needs and requirements for health and happiness, just like us humans. Pet stores also like to sell very small cages, which are not even close to being humane. There is one cage sold in some pet stores, which meets the minimum requirements - a Midwest cage. When it come to proper space for a pet, I like to think and tell others this - how would you like to live in a small bathroom (6ft. by 8ft.) for the rest of your life?
My research on Guinea pig care:
1) Cage requirements are a minimum of 8 square feet for a Guinea pig. (I made a 2X5 C&C cage, with stand and 2 lids - because I have dogs and a cat. C&C means cubes and coroplast. Coroplast is used in the sign industry for temporary signage. It is a plastic corrugated sheet.)
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| My C&C cage with 2 Lids ©Photo by Tracey R. Simmons-Danz |
2) Since Guinea pigs are social herd animals, they should not be kept alone. They need at least one other piggy for company, because you, as their human, will not/cannot be there all the time for them, and they can become depressed and die at a younger age. (You, also, need to keep them in same sex, so that you do not cause unwanted breeding.)
3) They need a constant source of quality hay - Timothy for adults, and alfalfa (higher in calcium for growing bones) for pups up to 6 months. (Some adult piggies do better on orchard grass hay.) Because their front incisors continue to grow, they need the hay to chewing/gnaw on, not only for nutrition, but also to keep the teeth worn down to proper length.
4) A clean source of water is needed at all times, with water bottle or dish kept clean.
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| Another view of my 2x5 C&C cage on a stand ©Photo by Tracey R. Simmons-Danz |
5) Quality hay pellets are needed. (They do not need all the fillers or coloring that many pellet producers put in, which can be unhealthy.)
6) Certain veggies and limited fruits (because of sugar content) are needed.
7) Daily cage cleaning is required, as Guinea pigs can get respiratory and foot problems.
8) You need to find a vet who has experience with Guinea pig care.
Here is my getting Guinea pigs story: When it came to me getting Guinea pigs, I wanted quality bred piggy babies and wanted the American breed, which has a short, smooth coat. I tried to contact the American Cavy Breeders Association, asking for a contact for a quality breeder of the American cavy breed. Over a few months, I sent emails to 3 different people listed on their websites, and waited for responses. In my mind, a quality bred piggy would have been started out right in life with proper food and care, which leads to better health. (I was/am dealing with health/coat issues with two of my rescue dogs, and EPI in Hope - my deaf dog, who requires enzymes on her food, so I wanted to avoid more problems with badly bred Guinea pigs.) Sadly, when it came to the American Cavy Breeders Association, for whatever reason, not one of the 3 people I contacted via email ever returned an email to me.
Seeing young Guinea pigs in the pet stores did cause temptations to buy them. In the end, I chose to adopt Guinea pigs from a rescue, because I do not want to be a part of “helping” the “Guinea pig mills.” With a Guinea pig rescue, I believed a pup’s life would, at least, start out with proper food and care.
Going to petfinder.com, I found the color of babies I wanted at a humane society several hours away. I made contact, but it was the weekend. They were adopted before I even got a response. Not meant to be, so on with the search. I found another rescue just a little over two hours away - Kentucky Cavies Guinea Pig Rescue. Although, their website is through facebook, which I do not do, they do have a “chat” button you can click to communicate with them. I liked what I could read on the public part of this rescue’s fb page, so I sent them the very specific information of what I wanted - 2 female babies, American breed, one mostly black with a little white and one mostly brown/reddish or tan with a little white. (Koko and Nutmeg were the names I had picked out for these colorings, and picked out long before looking for babies.) Thinking it might be awhile before I got a response, I was pleasantly surprised when I had one within hours. A picture was sent of four babies, just days old, and not yet posted for adoption. Were they the colors I wanted? Nope, but I wanted them anyway, so I filled out the paperwork and waited for them to be weaned.
On a warm March day, a friend and I made the drive to pick up Koko & Nutmeg. They are little stress relievers, little therapy beings in this world on fire times!! After bringing them home, I felt like I’d miss out on something special for year, but didn’t even know it until I got them. Because they were so little, just 3 weeks and 2 days old, I had to put cardboard all the way to the top of my C&C cage, because I didn’t want to take a chance they could somehow squeeze through the little squares and get out. That means I cannot see them in their cage unless I stood up and look in, but if I did that they would hide. The funny thing is when they got/get a case of the “zoomies,” which happens in the evenings around 7pm, because I can’t see them, I hear their little feet running back and forth, zip, zip, zip…like a heard of tiny little elephants. Lastly, holding them and hearing their little noises brings pure joy. More stories about Koko and Nutmeg will be coming in future post.
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| Transported Home! Just 3 Weeks and 2 Days old. ©Photo by Tracey R. Simmons-Danz |
Thanks for reading my long-winded post!!
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| Now 8 weeks and 5 Days old. ©Photo by Tracey R. Simmons-Danz |
Kentucky Cavies Guinea Pig Rescue is based in Louisville, Kentucky, with a mission to not just rescue, but also promote education on Guinea pig care. They also want their piggies to go into non-smoking homes, which I totally agree with 100%. Prior to adopting my two babies, this rescue answered many questions, and even after adopting, they have answered many questions, as I still don’t know everything, despite all my research and youtube video watching to educate myself on Guinea pigs and their care. If you are wanting Guinea pigs, or need a friend for a solitary piggy, and are within a few hours drive of Kentucky Cavies Guinea Pig Rescue, I highly recommend them. They also have various supplies available for purchase.
Kentucky Cavies Guinea Pig Rescue Website
Below are various links to just some of the educational videos I have watched on Youtube and highly recommend before getting Guinea pigs:
Must see videos from LA Guinea Pig Rescue:
Emergency Kits for Guinea Pigs
Things You must Do for Guinea Pigs
Guinea Piggles C&C cage building:
Guinea Piggles C&C Cage building
Guinea Piggles C&C lid construction
LA Guinea Pig Rescue has a great website with information. In addition, I highly recommend Scotty's Animals Youtube channel and website for information as well.
