Post by purplepaws121 on Mar 4, 2012 15:22:43 GMT
Hello all!
My name is Melinda, I currently have 7 lovely pigs.
I started out with two males at the beginning of last year, Beast and Turbo. I purchased Beast from PetSmart and rescued Turbo from a shelter. I was going to settle with just my two males, but got a call last August about a guinea pig in need. A friend knew of someone who had taken her in but they no longer wanted her. When I got her, she was severely matted (she's a long hair) and her cage had no bedding, she was just in a inch or so of poo and pee. We named her Farrah (after Farrah Fawcett, because of the hair!)....Farrah was very underweight and a bit scared of people.
I couldn't, of course, let Farrah be alone so I went on a search for a girl to pair her with. I rescued Annie from craigslist, she was a birthday gift for a child and a year later, the child no longer wanted her. Annie was in great health but a bit afraid of people also. Annie and Farrah are housed together. I hoped her and Farrah would come out of their shells soon.
So, at that point I was at four guinea pigs. I vowed to stop there.
In December I walked into PetSmart for some items and saw a pig I couldn't pass up - he was ABSOLUTELY adorable. I, of course, couldn't get just one pig, I couldn't let him live alone! So, I bought two so as to have another pair. Izzy and Slash are their names. They are both (best estimate) around 4-6 months old now and still are LITTLE BRATS!! I'm having a hard time with them, they're the most scared out of all the pigs at this point. But, we're working at it.
That brings us to six pigs. I really vowed to stop there. Really.
Sometime in January, I realized the unfortunate. Annie was pregnant. I did NOT at all mean for that to happen, but I had let all the piggies have floor time together for short periods of time, although I tried my best to supervise...I guess someone got to her somehow. I was very upset to not know who the father was.
Annie had a litter of two on 2-6-12. They are adorable, healthy little critters. I hope to find homes for them.
That brings us to my first guinea pig crisis. Guess what - Farrah isn't a girl. Yep, Farrah's a boy pig!! I feel like such a doofus but the long hair I guess made it difficult to tell, and his testicles just aren't quite as prominent as all the other boys.
So, I had to separate Annie and Farrah (new boy-ish name coming soon) and it was heartbreaking. They've been a pair for months!
My second guinea pig crisis came a little over a week ago when sweet Turbo got sick. We took him to the vet when I noticed labored breathing and weight loss. He was given antibiotics but sadly he was older than we thought, and he wouldn't eat. Poor Turbo didn't make it and passed away. RIP Turbo.
With Turbo being gone, that left Beast alone. I gave him a few days
for the grieving process and while he grieved in his own way, he so far hasn't appeared depressed. Because Beast and Farrah were alone, I could now decide to make new pairs of boars.
Izzy and Slash haven't been getting along much since I brought them home. They constantly chase and Izzy was usually in the corner. So, I decided to pair the boars up each older boar with a teenage boar.
As of now, Beast and Izzy are paired and Farrah and Slash are paired. We're on day two and so far there's been a lot of rumbling, mounting, chasing, etc. Beast and Izzy seem to be doing a bit better than Farrah and Slash, as Farrah got a pretty good gash on his nose
i'm hoping they'll work everything out and make two good pairs!
My name is Melinda, I currently have 7 lovely pigs.
I started out with two males at the beginning of last year, Beast and Turbo. I purchased Beast from PetSmart and rescued Turbo from a shelter. I was going to settle with just my two males, but got a call last August about a guinea pig in need. A friend knew of someone who had taken her in but they no longer wanted her. When I got her, she was severely matted (she's a long hair) and her cage had no bedding, she was just in a inch or so of poo and pee. We named her Farrah (after Farrah Fawcett, because of the hair!)....Farrah was very underweight and a bit scared of people.
I couldn't, of course, let Farrah be alone so I went on a search for a girl to pair her with. I rescued Annie from craigslist, she was a birthday gift for a child and a year later, the child no longer wanted her. Annie was in great health but a bit afraid of people also. Annie and Farrah are housed together. I hoped her and Farrah would come out of their shells soon.
So, at that point I was at four guinea pigs. I vowed to stop there.
In December I walked into PetSmart for some items and saw a pig I couldn't pass up - he was ABSOLUTELY adorable. I, of course, couldn't get just one pig, I couldn't let him live alone! So, I bought two so as to have another pair. Izzy and Slash are their names. They are both (best estimate) around 4-6 months old now and still are LITTLE BRATS!! I'm having a hard time with them, they're the most scared out of all the pigs at this point. But, we're working at it.
That brings us to six pigs. I really vowed to stop there. Really.
Sometime in January, I realized the unfortunate. Annie was pregnant. I did NOT at all mean for that to happen, but I had let all the piggies have floor time together for short periods of time, although I tried my best to supervise...I guess someone got to her somehow. I was very upset to not know who the father was.
Annie had a litter of two on 2-6-12. They are adorable, healthy little critters. I hope to find homes for them.
That brings us to my first guinea pig crisis. Guess what - Farrah isn't a girl. Yep, Farrah's a boy pig!! I feel like such a doofus but the long hair I guess made it difficult to tell, and his testicles just aren't quite as prominent as all the other boys.
So, I had to separate Annie and Farrah (new boy-ish name coming soon) and it was heartbreaking. They've been a pair for months!
My second guinea pig crisis came a little over a week ago when sweet Turbo got sick. We took him to the vet when I noticed labored breathing and weight loss. He was given antibiotics but sadly he was older than we thought, and he wouldn't eat. Poor Turbo didn't make it and passed away. RIP Turbo.
With Turbo being gone, that left Beast alone. I gave him a few days
for the grieving process and while he grieved in his own way, he so far hasn't appeared depressed. Because Beast and Farrah were alone, I could now decide to make new pairs of boars.
Izzy and Slash haven't been getting along much since I brought them home. They constantly chase and Izzy was usually in the corner. So, I decided to pair the boars up each older boar with a teenage boar.
As of now, Beast and Izzy are paired and Farrah and Slash are paired. We're on day two and so far there's been a lot of rumbling, mounting, chasing, etc. Beast and Izzy seem to be doing a bit better than Farrah and Slash, as Farrah got a pretty good gash on his nose
i'm hoping they'll work everything out and make two good pairs!