How has your piggies life changed compared to before TGPF?

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

Hi all,just wanted to post a thread asking about the general care of your pigs before the forum ect and how it is since joining this forum,mine is long lol
Now I'm going to be 100% truthful and i hope others are too,so no bashing eachother as i expect some bad answers but I'm really looking forward to the care they get now,ok here goes

Before
-1 boy piggy from a petshop
-lived in a tiny hutch with my sisters two boy pigs who i was babysitting and knew nothing about.
-Veges when i had time maybe twice a week
-No hay
-a yuck seed mix from the petshop(my sister had told me not to feed it but i ran out of the half decent one and figured it wouldnt hurt them)
-Salt licks
-slept only on shredded paper
-no health checks

Basically i knew Nothing,my sister was very in the dark too,her piggy pepsi had gotten sick so she took him to the vet and found out the petshop advice to feed them iceberg lettuce in large amounts had made her pig so ill,so Pepsi was put on meds and recovered fine,she researched a big food list by peter gurney or someone similar as i know now all the foods on it are safe,So basically what happened is she moved away and i was to look after them for 6 months,now she didnt know much but loved them like crazy.
A month later her himi Sprite fell ill and we rushed him to the vet but he was dying when we got there and couldnt be saved,so then pepsi was left and by that point my sister had said he needs a friend,so off i toddled to a petshop and brought Bandit.
They were together for one full day when my 3 year old daughter let my bully x dog in the backdoor and poor Pepsi was killed8....
So we were then left with Bandit and my very distraught sister.
So down i went to the petsore that was closer to my house and i brought a pig called Smokey to befriend Bandit.
While i was in there i layed eyes on a huge 1800gm tri coloured pig who i fell for like mad,i knew nothing but something told me i had to have him,a few minutes later an inexperienced OH thought it was cute that new pig(boris) was running on top of the very high petshop cage,when he went to pick up Boris of course Boris ranb over the edge and fell to the floor.
He was checked over by the Petshop girl and sent home as he was "fine",so we went home and put Smokey,Bandit and Boris in the hutch that was smaller than a 2 x 3(shame on me),the next morning Boris had no feeling in his legs and i knew it was bad.
We got him straight to the vet for xrays and not knowing better i let them give him a GA when he didnt need it.
they found out he had a broken back,in the time that we were waiting for the vet to tell us all the options(as he had to contact specialists as they are dog/cat vets),i got home and just cried and cried,i then stood up and said to OH i need to find someone who can help us,so on the pc i went and type in "guinea pig forums" and of course this one popped up first,i was in that much of a hurry i didnt even notice it was UK based until i joined.

Ironically the first person i spoke to was Glynis(an aussie) who has been a great friend to me even now.

From there i recieved the most amazing help from many people,all these wonderful people helped Boris and i through the 3 months that he was ill as our vets here arent good with GP's,Boris did end up passing away due to infections/bad vet care but just a few days after owning him i was already starting to improve there care and 2 weeks into Boris sickness i looked after him as best i could so at least he got some good care before he passed,he had good food,C&C cage and much love and care,his life before me was bad as he belonged to a teenage boy who worked at the Petshop and was thrown into a tiny hutch with tons of sows and they just bred him over and over
Basically my sister arrived back for a holiday and severly neglected Smokey and Bandit as she saw them as strangers not her pigs so they ended up being mine,so then i had 3 pigs,with Boris passing that makes two

Now
-1 more Petshop piggy right before i got into rescuing
-1 boy from an accidental litter
-another boy from accidental litter
-8 from rescue (more on the way)
-Big C&C cages
-there own piggy room
-bedded on fleece
-no more salt licks
-heaps of floor time and cuddles
-a good vet which has taken me ages to find
-weekly heakth checks
-fortnightly nail clips
-good variety of veg/fruit and grass morning and night
-unlimited good quality hay
-good quality oxbow pellets or chaff depending on availability
-A loving home that will do anything they need
-locks on backdoors and bedroom doors to keep them safe

Basically thats my pig history and it is horrific but I'm proud that i could become a good piggy mum,i only wish Pepsi and Sprite had gotten some good care.
So thankyou to everyone on this forum and in particular ellie for creating this sites as without it my boys would have horrible lives and half of them would still be at rescue without a home.

 

[Glynis]

Bonnie darling we all have learning curves............
remember i bought our boys Dukey and Sully for the kids.........
look how far you've come on from then x)

It's your tenacity that has bought you this far as well, look at all the research you've done!
And yes TGPF family has been just wonderful, i too could never have lived thru what i did with Duke if not for my lovely TGPF family xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Kira]

Okay...here comes the honesty....

When I first became a piggy mum::
-Bought from a pet shop
-lived in a tiny cage
-Housed on sawdust
-Given wilkinson's flake mix despite the selective feeding - I didn't actually know you could get pellet food at the time!
-Would just grab the piggy for cuddles, wouldn't be slow and offer hand to sniff first ect
-No health checks
-Never weighed
-Never clipped nails
-Washed with a human shampoo
-Small variety of veg, mainly just carrot
-Rarely given Hay, which was Wilkinson's stuff again
-No snuggle sacks just a log bridge to hide under
-Not registered at a vet
-Salt lick
-No toys
-Not brushed
-Sex not double checked


Now::
-Rescue piggys
-Huge Cages
-Whole spare bedroom to themselves for free time
-Housed on fleece
-Given a pellet food
-Weighed regulary and weekly health cheeks
-Nails checked and cut if needed fortnightly
-Gorgeous Guinea shampoo'd x)
-Large variety of veg which I am still adding to!
-Tonnes of hay
-Cute snuggle sacks
-Vet registered with a vet I am happy with
-Lots of toys
-Brushed
-Sex always double checked (no offense to the rescues! :red)
-Each pig has it's own list of likes/dislikes in veg
-Support from everyone on here x)


It's very very difficult to sit and list all I did wrong...but it also shows me just how much I have improved as a piggy mum and that means a lot to me.

 

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

Bonnie darling we all have learning curves............
remember i bought our boys Dukey and Sully for the kids.........
look how far you've come on from then x)

It's your tenacity that has bought you this far as well, look at all the research you've done!
And yes TGPF family has been just wonderful, i too could never have lived thru what i did with Duke if not for my lovely TGPF family xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

aww thanks Glynis,its been great learning so much about piggies,and you have taught me alot too x

Okay...here comes the honesty....

When I first became a piggy mum::
-Bought from a pet shop
-lived in a tiny cage
-Housed on sawdust
-Given wilkinson's flake mix despite the selective feeding - I didn't actually know you could get pellet food at the time!
-Would just grab the piggy for cuddles, wouldn't be slow and offer hand to sniff first ect
-No health checks
-Never weighed
-Never clipped nails
-Washed with a human shampoo
-Small variety of veg, mainly just carrot
-Rarely given Hay, which was Wilkinson's stuff again
-No snuggle sacks just a log bridge to hide under
-Not registered at a vet
-Salt lick
-No toys
-Not brushed
-Sex not double checked


Now::
-Rescue piggys
-Huge Cages
-Whole spare bedroom to themselves for free time
-Housed on fleece
-Given a pellet food
-Weighed regulary and weekly health cheeks
-Nails checked and cut if needed fortnightly
-Gorgeous Guinea shampoo'd x)
-Large variety of veg which I am still adding to!
-Tonnes of hay
-Cute snuggle sacks
-Vet registered with a vet I am happy with
-Lots of toys
-Brushed
-Sex always double checked (no offense to the rescues! :red)
-Each pig has it's own list of likes/dislikes in veg
-Support from everyone on here x)


It's very very difficult to sit and list all I did wrong...but it also shows me just how much I have improved as a piggy mum and that means a lot to me.

I think we all did wrong kira,but look at us all now,its so impressive to read what we use to be like and how it has changed all because of our love for the piggies,the forum has changed so many people,i dont know what we would ever do without it x

 

[Lisajazz]

I did what I thought was alot of research before I got ours. I got them for the kids and the day they came home it was in an indoor hutch. BUT that was going to be temporary as hubby was building an outdoor hutch and I wanted a C&C for inside as I had seen them online.

So he started the hutch and I bought the stuff for the C&C. I never once saw them in the main part of the indoor hutch they always stayed in the bedroom.

I put them in a one storey C&C that weekend and they were on sawdust. They were fed museli and on the advice from the petshop they were given veggies like they were sweets - once or twice a week. Rubbish cheap hay, really cheap!

I was a visitor on here for ages before joining properly and my piggies numbers got larger fast as a direct result of being on here and seeing multiple piggy households. I had piggy envy |)|)

But first thing I did was swap to megazorb and pellets. I also started getting nicer hay - BUT I have been over the top with hay as I developed quite an addiction to buying it and I have had almost every type on the market.

Megazorb was too messy so I went to vetbed and then finally I have settled on fleece - not fussed on vetbed.

My guineas have litter trays now which they didn't before either.

I have totally overhauled everything thankgoodness. And we're all much happier for it too.

 

[daleksarah]

i feel really bad thinking about this 8... i thought i was a good pet owner but i really wasnt at all 8...
when we had our old piggies bubbles and starlett they had a crap wooden hutch on wood shavings, the thought never crossed my mind to give them fleece8... they had straw sometimes as well as hay.they never had the mix of veg that mac and rascal have i thought all lettuce was bad for them when its just iceberg. and something really bad i must confess, when i found hobo the rabbit i put her in with them!!:{:...

 

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

i feel really bad thinking about this 8... i thought i was a good pet owner but i really wasnt at all 8...
when we had our old piggies bubbles and starlett they had a crap wooden hutch on wood shavings, the thought never crossed my mind to give them fleece8... they had straw sometimes as well as hay.they never had the mix of veg that mac and rascal have i thought all lettuce was bad for them when its just iceberg. and something really bad i must confess, when i found hobo the rabbit i put her in with them!!:{:...

dont be upset this is a thread to show what we have become so please post the happy ending xx>>>

 

[daleksarah]

okay the happy ending is Mac and Rascal have the life of piggie luxury they live in my living room,they sprawl out on fleece have lots of different veggies, basically get what they want and i know that if anything happens to them i can get the best advice in the world from you lot on here. also i have found people who share my love for them

 

[skrikopanik]

The one thing I did right from the beginning was to get my pigs from a rescue because they will telll you what to and what not to do

I was told to feed 80% hay, 20% veggies and not put hay in a hay rack.
I didn't buy a small petstore cage.
No salt lick
I got good pellets to supplement with.
I didn't get a lone pig.

On the forum I have learnt that kale, cabbage and broccoli can be bad and should be fed in moderation.
That I shouldn't worry about Bo sexually abusing the girls.
That I will need to build a bigger cage.
Signs to watch for illness.
Ways to make my pigs tamer (and they are improving slowly!)

The support here is invaluable... I love the non-judgmental and caring advice! I know my pigs are happy I'm on this forum

 

[candywishes]

My very first piggy was called squeek and my dad brought him for me when i was about 8 after much nagging on my part. He was a baby and ginger, and squeeked like mad whenever you went near him. (looking back he must have been scared out of his wits poor thing)
He was housed with my brothers baby rabbit outside in a small hutch.
I didnt know anything about piggys and to be honest, didnt spend hardly anytime with him. I didnt have him for long, when my baby brother opened the hutch door to show his friend and forgot to lock it again. My mums jack russell got to them both and killed them. I came in from school to find total carnage and I was devestated.

A good few years later at the age of 25, I decided I wanted to have guinea pigs again. I did my research this time before i got them. I decided I wanted to rescue after reading all the horror stories about pets at home. After joining a few forums, where most of the people where very judgmental and NOT very nice, I found this place.

After finding my beautiful piggys to adopt, they now live in a 3x7 c&c cage, bedded mainly on fleece (now and again on sawdust) with a 2x1 kitchen area. They are fed a selection of veg everyday, morning and night, they have good quality hay, and are fed excel pellets

 

[venice]

I found out about this siye a week after I got my first guins
Very timely as one was pregnant thats how she arrived

I can tell you they were rescues
it has been use ful and it is so refreshing to find a community of like minded people


thanks for your non judgemental help and advice

venice

 

[MrsM]

was thrown into a tiny hutch with tons of sows and they just bred him over and over

Bonnie, somewhere this side of the rainbow, your little man lives on... Find comfort in that. I still think about Boris often and cannot imagine how you must feel...

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Nice thread Bonnie, it's interesting to see just how much the forum has helped people and their piggies.
Bonnie, I too will never forget your Boris. He was a truly inspiring and precious piggie, and your devotion to him lives on in all your current and future guineas.

I joined the forum a year ago but was in a reasonable position then anyway - my main learning curve came in March 2005, when I joined a US piggie forum, so I'll do the then and now. Everything I have changed is a result not just of the first forum I joined, but even up to here and now - owning guineas is a constant learning experience! I've learnt so much since joining here I can't begin to think how far I've come.

Before:

- Got two males neutered as they were fighting;
- Later took one male back to pet shop - he was bought by someone else to live with a rabbit in a two story hutch;
- Remaining boar lived alone for 9 months in a 1x2 sized hutch (advertised as 3x2ft but inside no bigger than 1x2);
- Given less than a handful of hay, bedded only on newspaper;
- Fed muesli type dry food;
- Limited variety of veggies, usually just romaine, cucumber, carrot, broccoli.
- Salt lick/mineral wheel;
- Still lived in 1x2 sized hutch after pairing him with a young sow.

Fast track nearly five years, and although both the boar I kept and his first lady friend have since passed, the situation is very different!

- 12 pigs, eleven of whom are adopted from rescues;
- Three pairs of pigs in a 2x5 each, and 6 pigs in a 5x4;
- Bedded on fleece;
- Fed oodles of Oxbow hay;
- Fed a plain pellet - usually Wagg Optimum or Oxbow Cavy Cuisine;
- Fed a wide variety of fresh veggies - staples now are coriander, parsley/dill, peppers, tomatoes, lettuces.

The transformation is me is quite something too...when I had to give medicine to my first pig, it took three people to get it down him. Now I do it all myself - from syringe-feeding, medicating and examining the molars, to nail clipping, bathing and trimming hair without any help! I'm quite proud of myself really, I've become very self-sufficient when it comes to looking after the pigs.

The best thing I did in the early days of "piggie ownerhood" was keeping the pigs indoors. From day one I couldn't keep them outside, I was not comfortable with that idea. I was a caring owner then, just grossly uninformed despite doing some sketchy research on the internet.

 

[Hoggle*&*Ludo]

This is my late piggy I am referring to as I had researched into Hoggle & Ludo before I got them but here goes:

She lived with my rabbit
She lived in a hutch outside
She didn't get much veg, the odd carrot and brocolli

On the positive side, she lived a very long life, I rescued her from a nasty life of an uncaring man who subjected her to her friends/siblings being killed by rats and foxes and very much nearly herself.

It took her a while but she loved cuddles and I loved getting her ginger hair all over my clothes! |) I loved her smile.

She also adored my gorgeous bunny despite me now knowing they shouldn't have been together. They loved chilling on the grass in summer. I just feel sorry for the both of them being outside in winter. We did occasionally keep them indoors but had to keep them in the pen as we didn't have an indoor cage.

 

[Rubybubbles]

thanks for sharing everyone, I know it must be hard to write some of it down. Just think without the forum?/

I don't yet have guinea pigs, I am having my home check on Monday and have already had contact and seen the guinea pigs I am going to be rehomingx)

From this site:

Large cage, lots of floor time
Hay (I had no idea on this at all)
Pellets
Thinking about fleece, but currently on newspaper and hay at foster mums so going with what they know once they arrive
Sitting down next to the guineas to allow them to get to know my voice
Veggies everyday

Just seeing how much you all love your guinea pigs so much, it's lovely I can;t wait to have the feeling you all have

 

[KingBoris&HisFollowers]

Bonnie, somewhere this side of the rainbow, your little man lives on... Find comfort in that. I still think about Boris often and cannot imagine how you must feel...

aww thanks Audrey,i still find comfort in the fact that for most of his life with me aside from the first few days he was pampered like crazy and it showed with the affection he displayed towards us,xxxxx

Nice thread Bonnie, it's interesting to see just how much the forum has helped people and their piggies.
Bonnie, I too will never forget your Boris. He was a truly inspiring and precious piggie, and your devotion to him lives on in all your current and future guineas.

I joined the forum a year ago but was in a reasonable position then anyway - my main learning curve came in March 2005, when I joined a US piggie forum, so I'll do the then and now. Everything I have changed is a result not just of the first forum I joined, but even up to here and now - owning guineas is a constant learning experience! I've learnt so much since joining here I can't begin to think how far I've come.

Before:

- Got two males neutered as they were fighting;
- Later took one male back to pet shop - he was bought by someone else to live with a rabbit in a two story hutch;
- Remaining boar lived alone for 9 months in a 1x2 sized hutch (advertised as 3x2ft but inside no bigger than 1x2);
- Given less than a handful of hay, bedded only on newspaper;
- Fed muesli type dry food;
- Limited variety of veggies, usually just romaine, cucumber, carrot, broccoli.
- Salt lick/mineral wheel;
- Still lived in 1x2 sized hutch after pairing him with a young sow.

Fast track nearly five years, and although both the boar I kept and his first lady friend have since passed, the situation is very different!

- 12 pigs, eleven of whom are adopted from rescues;
- Three pairs of pigs in a 2x5 each, and 6 pigs in a 5x4;
- Bedded on fleece;
- Fed oodles of Oxbow hay;
- Fed a plain pellet - usually Wagg Optimum or Oxbow Cavy Cuisine;
- Fed a wide variety of fresh veggies - staples now are coriander, parsley/dill, peppers, tomatoes, lettuces.

The transformation is me is quite something too...when I had to give medicine to my first pig, it took three people to get it down him. Now I do it all myself - from syringe-feeding, medicating and examining the molars, to nail clipping, bathing and trimming hair without any help! I'm quite proud of myself really, I've become very self-sufficient when it comes to looking after the pigs.

The best thing I did in the early days of "piggie ownerhood" was keeping the pigs indoors. From day one I couldn't keep them outside, I was not comfortable with that idea. I was a caring owner then, just grossly uninformed despite doing some sketchy research on the internet.

thanks Laura,i certainly hope so,he is still sitting on the shelf in the piggy room(in his special box(cremated in case anyone worrys)watching over his brothers now,and i think thats where he wants to be,he would be proud at how great we treat the boys,
And its good to know even superpiggymums like you were once human and didnt know just like most of us,i think it helps that most people at some point didnt know much, but look at the endings to all of these now they are great xxxxxxx

 

[1stTimePiggieOwner]

I found the site just 1 week after buying my piggies but in that short time I made some mistakes such as buying them from a pet shop in the first place, housing them on shavings, not giving enough veggies, giving them salt licks. I also had no clue about having to weigh them or bath them.

This forum has seriously been a blessing and I'd be lost without it and all you lovely people on here too. For a novice piggie owner like myself it's sort of comforting to know that you experts haven't always known everything there is to know and that you've had to learn too, it gives me hope for myself.

x