Our stories

[toffeerules]

I thought it might be a good idea to write our stories of how we came to love piggies. maybe this could be stickied Dawn??

[toffeerules]

here is my Story:

My Obsession with Guinea-pigs (cavies) started 3 years ago in Febuary 2006 after fallig in love with Some guinea-pigs at a visit to Longleat, after some encuragment from my auntie Sarah i decied to ask my mum if i could by two sows as Pets, Mum agreed after some encouragement from Auntie Sarah. it was aranged that we would go with auntie Sarah to get some from bristol cavy club on the 1st of April 2006.


A few weeks after i could wait no longer to have some guinea-pigs, I was speaking to my Grampy and mentioned that i was getting some guinea-pigs, he mentioned that his friend "Sid". a week after that i arrived at Sid's to supposadly buy 2 Sows, after 1 hour i had fallen in love with 3 sows and a boar, Dad said i could have all of them, so i did! and named them Spirit, Sky, Rodney and Hermiony.

5 weeks after i walked out to the hutches to feed the Cavies and i opened the door to find the Spirit had given birth to 3 boars.

about 9 months after, 5 weeks before Christmas i was in the pet shop with my friends in town while my friends were looking at the Rats, Mice and Hamsters i had a look at the guinea-pigs i saw a little sow at the front who was very friendly, 2 weeks after, on christmas eve me and dad were doing some last minute shopping, me and dad went into the pet shop and i saw the little sow from the fortnight before
dad bought her for me as an early chritsmas present, later on that day i found out that Holly was a argente which are rather rare, a month after that i got two more argentes and in Febuary 2007 Close Cavies started up. [

[Dawn - Admin]

Consider it down Mary great idea

Dawn

[ang1477]

Okay, so I'll go next.

I was going to get my daughter a hamster. Well the more I thought about it, I decided against it, maybe some fancy mice. But I really wanted to get something she could really enjoy. I belong to a bird forum and did a "poll" on there. We were already leaning towards the guinea pigs, but wanted to get some feed back on experiences with different small pets. Well, the guinea pigs won, but I didn't even think to put rats on there or they would have beat out the piggies. LOL So my daughter and I went to see some babies and brought 2 sisters home. We are so glad to have chosen then piggies!! We both fell in love!!!! We are thinking that one day we might get some more, but I need to make room for a bigger cage!!

[Dawn - Admin]

My obsession began when we were going to Manchester Muesum one May Bank Holiday. When we went to park up all the cars along the street had been broken into so we decided to go somewhere else instead. On the way home we passed Pets at Home so decided to call in. I know bad place to buy but I knew no better then. I fell in love with a gorgeous tri coloured aby Boar. Paul knew I wanted him so much so he bought him for me. I was gutted when he fell ill less than a year later and died. I just couldn't imagine not having a piggy in the house so we went to our local shelter and took home two 3 year old brothers that we called Fudge & Bobby.

Dawn

[bloblover]

I love reading about how people came to love piggies. So heartwarming !!
If you would like to read my story, you can find it on a post I started some months ago. It's called, " How my love for cavies began.." It's on the General piggy talk board, if I remember correctly.
Irene.x

[juniormylove]

My turn!

My sister had about 4 hamsters by the time I was 8, and none of them had lasted more then 8 months. When my parents said i could get a pet, I knew i didn't want a hamster.

It was actually a news report of the best first pets that I saw that got me hooked on guinea pigs. I saw how sweet the one they showed was, and loved how cuddly they looked. My parents were totally against it though, because they thought guinea pigs would be too much work.

I immediately went to the library and got every single book on guinea pigs. I must have had 10 or 12 of them. I googled guinea pig care, and found out what they needed to eat and how they were taken care of. I guess my mom was impressed, because she said I could get one. My sister decided she HAD to have one too, so we were up to eventually getting two piggies. We looked at every rescue within an hour, and met several nice piggies, but I didn't want any of them.

It was actually at a Meijers that I found my babies. My sister and I were looking for fish food when I spotted the baby guinea pigs. It only took one look to know that they had to be mine. We managed to convince my mom to let us get them, and I knew right away which pig I wanted. My sister chose her within minutes, too.

Since then, my sister has decided that friends and drugs are better then guinea pigs, so Buddy has become mine. Her obsession with pigs has ended, but I know mine hasn't, and never will.

Kudos to you if you read that entire novel :]

[kikie]

When I left my parents house, to go study. I wanted to have a pet. I didn't really know what I wanted, so I started asking people around me, what would be a good choice for a pet. I knew I wanted something that lived in a cage or aquarium.

Someone talked to me about a rat, they had a the petshop where he worked a while back, and how friendly he was.

So I deciced I would get myself a pet rat. I had rats for many years (about 5 years so far). We know that rats don't live very long (about 2-3 years). On March 8 2008 one of my pet rats died, and I was dearly attached to that boy. I knew I wanted another pet , but that would live longer.

It did about one year I was reaserching on guinea pigs... and I had a friend who had one, and I just fell in love with her little girl!!

So I decided I would get myself a guinea pig. It now does since March 8 2008 that I have my guinea pig Daphnée.

I know they are better in pairs, so I am giving her some time alone, to see if she might be pregnant... if in about a month, I still don't see anything, well I'll go on a search to find her a little female friend!!

[illyria]

Here's my story:

I don't own a guinea pig.......... yet. On easter monday my rabbit, Bobby, died. I like to be surrounded by pets so I decided to get another one. I didn't want another rabbit because I fancied a change. I was looking into ferrets but my folks said a definate NO! After that I decided to look into guinea pigs which didn't get such a negative reaction from my parents. After reading about them on various websites I decided that they are the pet for me. I have the cage and the cubing to be used as a run to attach to the front of the cage and a pen in the living room. Now I'm just waiting for a phone call to say that guinea pigs are available.

[snickers]

Great Stories! Here goes! I am a veterinary technician at an animal hospital and am always faced with stray or abandoned animals of some kind, probably the hardest part of my job next to euthanasia....I have two children 6 and 10. I already have 2 dogs and a cat but had been considering a "rodent" of some sort for the kids. Well, a client approached me about an adult 1 year old pig that she was looking to give away because the family "did not have time" for her anymore, never will understand that one, but anyway, I thought that was a perfect opportunity and want to show my children that taking in an older pet that needs a family can be just as rewarding as buying a new one!!! We have now had her for a year and she is part of our family!!!

[snickers]

Sorry, I entered before I told how I came across Baby Ruth! We have the whole candy bar theme going on..HAHA! About 6 months ago, my kids and I decided that Snickers needed a companion, so we went to the pet store looking to buy one. Well of course the guy mentioned that they had an adult guinea that had just had babies and was up for adoption because she was no longer suitable for "purchase". She was so thin and unhealthy looking to me, especially compared to Snickers, and I was so proud of my kids when they said "mommy we should take her because noone else will want her!" So we did. There are times when you guestion yourself as a parent, alot of times, but that was one thing I knew I had done right! Baby Ruth is now a healthy little round guinea pig, and has been a wonderful addition to our family!

[bloblover]

Lovely to read about your piggies, Snickers ! So heartwarming too, that you are teaching your kids to have compassion for unwanted animals too. Please show us pics of your 2 piggies when you can.
Irene.

[dobbylecavy]

This seems fun, me next!

My boyfriend and I recently relocated for graduate school and we wanted a companion. A few years ago my beloved cat Venus died after 12 years of constant companionship. I knew I wanted something that would be around longer than a hamster or rat but we had to have something small because we live in an apartment, so we considered a chinchilla or bird.

I had been actively looking on Craigslist.org and the local Humane Society from the first day of our move. One day on Craigslist, I found a posting for a female guinea pig with accessories for only $10! The only hurdle was the long drive to get her, it was an hour away from our city. We were to meet the previous owners at a pet store so we arrived early to shop for new items for our new friend. When we were paying at the register I looked outside and saw three people with a cage looking around the parking lot and could barely contain my excitement! When we first saw her we swooned at how cute she was. There had been no photo online so it was a complete surprise to see her fuzzy little face.

She was very shy at first and it was obvious that the previous owners did not do much to care for her. For a few days her floor time was spent sitting, looking lost and fresh foods were often rejected after close inspection. We had to give her a bath because she seemed dingy and her nails were ridiculously long making her first few nail trimmings a scary experience for her as she had never had them trimmed.

I'm in love though! She's warmed up a lot and dashes during floor time, follows us around, and is a marathon pooper. I am happy we found her because I hate to think of what she had been used to.

[guineapiglover]

I bought a calico piggy named "lucky" in march 2006... Lucky died in 2007 on the 21 of December just 4 days short of his first birthday
I was horribly sad and decided to get a beige guinea pig. I still have him (His name is nibbles and he's as big as a rabbit!) Nibbles has
helped me through countless hardships over the past year and I Love him more than anything. He is now one years old and although
I still miss Lucky more than words can tell I love nibbles and thank God every day for having him. Right now I'm looking into buying another piggy companion for nibbles. All I can say is that having guinea pigs has changed my life for the better!!

[wednesday]

When I was thirteen years old, I really wanted a pet. Not something major like a Dog or Cat. I really wanted something cuddly, cute, small, and sweet. That's when I went with my Mom to the pet store to get our Dog some toys, when I saw a cage full of guinea pigs. They were so small and cute. My Mom picked one up and I pet it while it purred, and fell in love with them right then in there. I brought two home that day -- Scooters (a boy) and Trixie) a Girl. Scooters was neutered, so we didn't worry. I spent half my day each day playing with my piggy's at home. I was constantly staring at the cage making sure Scooters and Trixie were okay, and always buying new things for them.

After they died of old age, I kinda forgot about guinea pigs because I was depressed and busy with school work. My love for them started up once a gain when I turned 16, but I never adopted/bought them until now.

[perfectpaws92]

Aww, such lovely stories!!
My mum bought me a guineapig when I was 5, because my older sisters each had a rabbit.
I feel abit guilty now looking back, because the poor thing was put into a hutch with the two rabbits, who must have bullied him!
I did'nt know better at the time, but would never ever do that again.
I love all animals, and have loved pigs since then, although I don't have one at the moment.

[jcdscaviary]

Let's see...

The pig fascination didn't happen right away. My husband and I loved going to a pet store and looking at the animals in the back (the ones available for adoption). Well one day in Jan 2007 my husband and I did just that, we looked in the back of the store at the adoptable pets). Well there were 2 small cages with 2 guinea pigs in each. One had 2 boars and one had 2 sows in them. They were only $10 with everything included (small cage, igloo, food dish, water bottle, and piggies). So my husband looked at me and said "can we get them?". I never say no so I asked which one he wanted and he picked the two boars. So we brought them home. They were Punky and Bruister. It was said that a family had to give them up since they could no longer care for them and that they were a year old.

Here is a picture of them after we brought them home


Eventually we learned that their cage was too small for them, they began to fight and then needed two cages. Then in the summer of 2007 we lost Bruister, he was fine the night before then that next morning he was gone. It was a sad day. We then found a pet breeder near us. She gave us one of her boars since he had been with sows and hadn't produced anything. We brought him home and loved him up, named him fuzzball since his hair went everywhere. I have a picture of him somewhere...


Well then he died within a few months of getting him. So then we stuck with just having Punky until I found other breeds of guinea pigs online. Then that was the start of my fascination with piggies. I found Elizabeth of Dynasty Caviary and became quick friends. Got some texels and peruvians from her and found more cavy friends. Then found this place.

There that's my story!

Oh and Punky is still alive to this day. Here is a pic I took of him in Feb of this year (at 4 years of age)

[abby]

Well i grew up with cats in the family and rode horses every weekend so when i went to University i knew i would miss having their company and got myself two sibling male rats, Java & Inca. They were wonderful but only lived to be 18 months and 2yrs old and it broke my heart. They both got tumours and neurological symptoms that appeared over night and had to be put to sleep. Eventually when i moved in with Mark i said i wanted to get pets but he was allergic to cats, we both work full time so can't have a dog and he wasn't keen on rats. He had had guinea pigs and rabbits when he was younger so he suggested guinea pigs. One lunch time at work he happened to go into a pet shop and saw two beautiful identical brothers (save for brown ears versus pink ears!) We brought them home that night and i haven't looked back since. Travis & Parsley were wonderful and taught me so much about how to take proper care of them. Sadly after just 3 yrs Travis got very sick one day and died. I only worked out afterwards that it was laburnum poisoning from pods in the hay. I felt terrible guilt and Parsley mourned him for 3wks. In the meantime we had been looking after a friend's piggy, Percy. They didn't want him back as the kids were neglecting him and the parents didn't have time. It worked perfectly for us because Percy could live with Parsley (we introduced them slowly as soon as Travis died and they got on well enough to move in) They proved you can introduce two fully grown boars and they lived happily together for over 2 yrs until sadly Parsley got diarrhoea one day and had to be put to sleep. Spookily it was 5yrs to the day that we bought him. After that i knew that i would be forever in a cycle of having one older boar who would die and leave one younger one lonely so i took a risk and brought two baby brothers home to carefully introduce to Percy. Padraig (pronounced Podrig) and Algie settled in very quickly and my trio is still living happily together now (18 months on). I simply could not be without my guinea pigs. I always knew how important they are to me but didn't realise just how central to my daily happiness they are. This was proved last month when we went away for all of February. I had to take them to my friend's for the month and i got so depressed those 1st few days before we went away when i would come down to the kitchen in the morning and they weren't there to greet me. Then getting in from work on a night to a dark, empty, silent house, it was awful! I can't tell you how happy it made me to go pick them up from my friend's when we got back. They recognised my voice instantly and seemed equally pleased to see me! When i brought them home and put them back in the porch they squeaked and popcorned and ran around excitedly. Percy had lost weight even though he'd been fed well so i was pleased to get them home again, where they belong. I can't imagine myself ever not having them now. Sorry i've gone on a bit too long! :-)

[msantos09]

To: Juniormylove

I read the post about how your sister moved on from the piggies, and it broke my heart. For a few of my teenage years I to became involved with parties and the like and in a way disconnected from the pets I had (no guinea pigs yet, just cats and dogs). After sobering up, i reconnected with my animals and loved them like i had never loved them before. They responded to me in a way they never had before, with so much love and affection. It was as if they new my spirit was dull before, but since sobering up they fully trust me and look to me for love and care. I am now the one that sleeps with all the animals at night! (Three dogs on my bed, and 5 piggies wheeking me to sleep haha

All I can say is CHOOSE PIGGIES NOT DRUGS!

[pastrychef]

ive always loved animals and grew up with various large dogs, It wasnt until i moved out to go to college that i truely fell inlove with guinea pigs. I was looking for a pet to have in my small apartment and started with a russian dwarf hamster her name is paprika. she is a handfull. during my spring break i went home to visit family and had gone over to the pet store. we had to put my 11 year old rottweiler just before i came home and so the house was really quiet. the store had a whole bunch of baby guinea pigs and i fell in love with a black and cream guinea pig and after doing plenty of research i went back and purchased her. Love her to death and my roommate is heads over heals for her aswell. one day when i was out at a local pet store buying toys for anise i spotted another guinea pig who was bigger than my anise and after checking to make sure she was a female i purchased her as a friend for my anise. now i have cardamum and anise and am in love with both. if i had the room i would have more of them.

[piggies]

My turn!

I was more of a rabbit person until my third rabbit died. I love pets and love being around them so I decided I needed another pet but didn't want to get another rabbit. After looking up on the internet I have decided it was a Guineapig i wanted. At first, I was wanting adult guineapigs but when I went to the breeders house to choose them, A female called Snowy had just had babies and she neglect two of them. The breeder was going to chuck them out (Horrible i know!) and I took them. They are now 3 years old and the best pets ever!

[kaleighdaisy]

Well, I feel the urge to post my story now.

I was 7 years old when we went to the petshop to get me a hampster, but when I saw the piggies, I absolutely fell inlove. I took her home with me that day. She was a little red aby. I loved to play with her crests. She lived for 3 months then died of Heart faliure.

Soon after I got an American Short Hair and named her Copper. She was the first piggie I ever bred. She had 4 babies (3 live; 1 dead) She died 2 years after giving birth to digestional problems.

The baby piggies father is Smoki my silver agouti Short Hair. He was my favorite pig and lived to be 6 years old before dying of stroke on his left side. He was a survivor. He lived through a bulldog attack. My grandpa had to give him CPR. I was proud that he made it so well.

I have many other pigs that influenced me:
Maci- tan and chocolate sheltie sow
Unnamed 1: Silver agouti/white Aby boar
Unnamed 2: Tri-color American Short Hair sow
Baby 1: red and white american short hair boar
Baby 2: Pure red American Short Hair boar
Baby 3: Tricolor boar (born dead) boar
Baby 4: Chocolate Agouti sow
Snickers: chocolate roan Sheltie boar

[missjean]

I grew up with tons of dogs,cats,and birds.After I moved out my mother's house I spent around 3 years completely petless and it was such an empty feeling. I'm an individual with a mental problem that makes it very hard to socialize with people,and it makes me very awkward. It's called Asperger syndrome. Pets were always very special to me,as they don't care if I'm odd!

I live in an apartment, so I didn't feel right getting dogs. I'm quite smitten with the overall look of "rodent" animals,especially guineas. I can't look at mine without turning into mush!

So I bought Numa and Buttercup from a petstore, as the nearest shelter I could find did not have bus access or young pigs.Luckily they were sexed correctly and healthy as determined by a vet! They really fill a void in my life and I love them more than words can express! They're not just my pets, they're my family.

[sierralaine]

My Story:

I had never had any rodents before but had always had animals (cats, dogs, horses). When I went off to school, I was lonely without anything to cuddle with or really be there like an animal can be. One animal that was allowed in my dorm was a guinea pig and after going to the pet store a couple times, I finally found Lionel. He's just a baby and we are still learning how to live together but I love that little guy!

[neubunny]

Two years ago, the state 4H Rabbit and Cavy show was held together with the swine show (the two buildings connected by the concession area). My son spent a huge part of the day over with the pigs. Tired of losing him, mom (me) took him over to see the 'little pigs' that were in our building. He bought Alvin at the auction later that day. Minutes later, friends told us that guinea pigs really shouldn't be kept alone - we picked up Theodore to be Alvin's buddy. They lived side-by-side in two cages where they could see and talk to each other all day (and where Josh could watch them from his bed until he fell asleep each night). A few months later, our friend Ally called to say someone had a free pig that needed a home - and so we picked up Simon. He and Alvin did not want to share the little cage, so we picked up a third cage and the three (plus Josh) chatted happily all day and night. Almost two years later, Joshua's herd has grown considerably - several configurations later they all live together amicably in a double decker colony cage (boys in the lower level, girls on the top floor) in Joshua's room. Josh 'won' Chip and Dale at a an silent auction at a show last spring. The girls just presented him with 8 babies - pictures on the nursery page!

[Alice Rose]

My story...
I've always seemed to have some sort of small animal from when I was young. I first had a rabbit when I was about 7 years old, my sister also had a rabbit and my brother had a guinea-pig from a farm. My rabbit got into a fight with my sisters and died within a week, so I helped my brother look after his piggy.

After a few years the piggy passed away and after that we acquired two more piggies from my neighbor as their son was allergic to them. Another few years passed and my younger sister forgot to lock the cage and the rabbit and two piggies ran away, never to be seen again =(
We just had an empty cage (which dad spent ages building) and it felt like a part of the family was missing too.

My sister's friend had a family of piggies and one of their pigs was fighting with the others so we offered to take him in. Malcolm was the sweetest guinea pig ever and we could let him roam around the garden without worrying about losing him. He took a shining to mum and followed her round! We nicknamed him 'mums little man' He lived long past his siblings and long after we expected him to, eventually the old little man died during a bad winter.

Mum was devastated, so for her birthday we bought her a little sow, unfortunately she died in childbirth due to being kept with a boy from birth in the pet shop.

That's when I decided I wanted my own piggy, as all the other ones were technically all family pets, so along came Vincent =) and after Vincent I just seemed to acquire more so he doesn't have to be lonely =)
I didn't have much luck with pairing Vincent, Kyra had a tumour that spread to her brain so after 2 weeks, we had to put her down, it was heartbreaking when I found her and she couldn't move =(
Next was Dwayne, he was a pedigree and older than Vincent, and I think he got diarrhea due to a massive change in diet etc. I was so upset when I found him as they seemed to get along so well =(
I really didn't want Vincent to be lonely, so I tried to find a local breeder. I did and now I have Vincent, Warren, Brendan and Zac =) Zac was from a pet shop that I just couldn't say no to =)

[cgraham]

Hi my name is Charlene and I am a new member to cutie cavies. I had numerous pets growing up but always wanted a guinea pig. My parents refused. I am now 41 years old and I just satisfied that childhood dream! I added two sweet boy guinea pigs to our family - Dexter and Dudley. My mother was appalled but she could not stop me anymore. My husband and kids
think i am crazy because i treat them like two new babies.
I am so pleased to have found this forum and look forward to learning about these adorable creatures.

[lisa21264]

I have always wanted a guinea pig when I was a child but my mother wouldnt let me have one because they eat their poo. She wouldnt let me have rabbits for the same reason. Last year at Christmas my kids decided they wanted hamsters again so we went to the pet shop to purchase two hamsters. Unfortunatley the hamsters passed away so we got two more which were showing symptoms of the same thing the other hamsters. We got antibiotics for them but sadly we were too late and they passed away also. My son decided this time to get a guinea pig. I am so glad he did!!! Terra is the cutest and funniest little guy ever. He is a delightful creature and he has bonded to us. He runs to the cage door to be petted and loves cuddles. I had no idea how to care for him when we got him so I am so thankful for this forum, I have learned alot here. The people here have been very friendly are very knowledgeable. Terra is one of those special pets and I will always have a special place in my heart for him.

[piggiluv]

Well I am a wee bit older then probably most on here, lol, and just joined this forum today. I have had cats and dogs on and off my whole life, and have had various birds over the years (budgies, canaries) and had pet hamsters and mice at one time or another as well. I currently have a house full of dogs, and also have a large aquarium of large fish, a red eared slider turtle with some cichlid buddies, and a tank of crayfish with red cherry shrimp and white cloud buddies also. So I suppose it was inevitable that one day I would have a guinea pig. And that day came not long ago when there appeared on my facebook page, the local Humane Society featured pet of the day. It was a Friday that he was featured, and it was a gorgeous 9 month old chocolate point Himalayan Abysinnian boy, and all I can say it was love at first sight! I will post the rest of my story about my new piggie Friday, and how I then came to get piggie #2, Hershey, as its own post in the introductions area!

[madmommy]

Our son wanted hamsters at Christmas time. We had him wait until a few months later, so that he could prove he could care for a pet by feeding our cat daily for three months. We then went to a pet store that let us hold the hamsters. Crazy fast little creatures! Needless to say, that was not to be. No way a 7 yr old, much less me, could hold onto them. A rat was held next. He didn't like the sharp little claws. I wasn't sure, but found it very cuddly and curious, and easy to hold. However, our son just couldn't hold him well enough.

There weren't any guinea pigs on display, they had just come in and weren't ready to be put out. The pet store clerk told about her pigs (in hindsight, I think she is a poor caregiver, but that's beside the point). We went back a few days later and saw the bunch. The clerk lifted the pigloo, and only one didn't scatter. That was Pop Tart. We took him home that night with a pet store cage (wow, we were so clueless). He popcorned like crazy, and since I didn't know what was happening, I thought he'd had a seizure! Googled it, watched YouTube, felt much better.

I found online a few days later that guinea pigs should be in pairs at least. So we went to another pet store in our town that had guinea pigs. The owner assured us that the one we got was a male (this was Scout, named because that night our son had Cub Scouts). Pop Tart was very happy.

We noticed Scout got rather rotund, but we thought "he" was a good eater. A few weeks later, while cleaning the cage, I lifted the pigloo and found two dead pups. We were very upset. So, Pop Tart got neutered (we don't know if he was the father, of if she got pregnant while still at the pet shop).

I'd love for more, but we don't have room. They are adorable to watch. Not quite snugglers, but hilarious in their own ways