I am, it's literally scarred me and disturbed me. All these people seem to care about is money, so yes, someone rich visiting and setting some sort of foundation for these animals would be fantastic. I've seen too many kittens with dead mothers, and I've even heard of farmers who rape their goats.. This happens commonly in Africa, most countries on the continent have little or no animal rights.
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Skinny Guinea Problems...
- Thread starter Hazi
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I am, it's literally scarred me and disturbed me. All these people seem to care about is money, so yes, someone rich visiting and setting some sort of foundation for these animals would be fantastic. I've seen too many kittens with dead mothers, and I've even heard of farmers who rape their goats.. This happens commonly in Africa, most countries on the continent have little or no animal rights.
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piggyfan
Argh how sick and twisted is that. 
It is so sad. You need to get out of there my friend.
It is so sad. You need to get out of there my friend.Argh how sick and twisted is that.
I certainly will soon enough.. I have an incredibly special someone waiting for me abroad ^_^ Is it possible to take such small pets aboard a plane, by the way? Like hamsters and guinea pigs? I always wondered xD I'm guessing it'd cost quite a bit of money. She's loving the parsley I bought her, btw xD I also bought and put okras in her cage as those are high in Vitamin C, though she's not liking them as much as the parsley xD
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piggyfan
I cannot imagine guinea pigs liking okra as it is stringy. Try bell peppers,cucumber,broccoli. I have no idea if you can take your babies with you. Which country are you travelling to?
CharlieH
Teenage Guinea Pig
Just wanted to say I think how much you love your little piggy and hamsters is so great. You've been really receptive to what people have suggested which lots of people aren't and it just shows how much you care 
I hope she has a lovely life with you, it sounds as if she will and she'll be very loved and spoilt
Well done you!
I hope she has a lovely life with you, it sounds as if she will and she'll be very loved and spoilt
Well done you!
JayneG
Teenage Guinea Pig
Hello. You have such a lovely thing saving this piggy. Well done! This forum is really brilliant and there are a lot of nice helpful folks on here. I've learnt lots. She is really lovely x
I'm moving to Scotland ^_^ Hungary first, then Scotland for a year or so and move back to Canada. I tried bell peppers, the green ones, and she didn't like them at all o_o We don't have brocolli at the moment, but I'll certainly buy some. I just took her out in the sun and she's such a curious little beauty.. She's still very scared of me, so I'll avoid handling here for a bit until she comes to my hand on her own, and she feeds from my hand every now and then, too ^_^ Which is good news, I'm guessing <:
Thank you so much ^_^ I do love my pets, and I really think that any animal owner should give their pets the best they can afford. And not just buy them to look at them, like many people do. I was at the local pet store today and when I asked for guinea pig pellets, one of the vendors told me that guinea pigs can eat anything and that they don't need litter.. I was shocked. I can't believe how misinformed these people are, a vendor should know everything about taking care of an animal, each and every single one in the store.. No wonder the guinea pigs that very same store imported died the very same day, they were all cluttered in a very, very small metal bucket, about 5 or 6 skinny guinea pigs. I was appalled..Just wanted to say I think how much you love your little piggy and hamsters is so great. You've been really receptive to what people have suggested which lots of people aren't and it just shows how much you care
I hope she has a lovely life with you, it sounds as if she will and she'll be very loved and spoilt
Well done you!
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piggyfan
That is awful. They are so uneducated about guinea pigs and clearly do not see them as anything important. I would hold your little one everyday to get her used to you. Guinea pigs do not like being picked up but they enjoy cuddles and strokes once they are used to you. The only way to get her used to you is to handle her everyday. You can just have her on your lap and speak softly to her just for her to get used to you and your smell and voice.
Yes, that's exactly what I do lately, thank you <: There's a new problem that arose. I went to that same store I bought Citrom from again today and I found two other guineas who seemed to be her family, a very frail, skinny pup, and a large male who I'm guessing is the Father.. I felt so awfully sorry for both of them, and I was shocked at how the vendor handled them when I told them I'm purchasing them.. he held them from their necks like they were filth.. I purchased the pup, who's female, and my sister purchased the male adult, and I'll certainly be helping her take care of him and giving her tips.. As for the pup, she seems awfully, awfully scared. I really am confused on what to do.. She did eat and I gave her a small, warm little bath and dried her with a towel followed by gentle hair-drying afterwards, which she seemed to enjoy. But my God, she's horrendously skinny, it's shocking. She has longer hair, and it makes her look a bit fatter, even though she's really not. I introduced her to Citrom on this little guinea/dog bed, and they seemed to have no problem with each other, but the more I looked at the baby pup, the more I saw how shocked and scared she was. I kept stroking her very gently and fed her some parsley and cucumber, she was very hesitant at eating them and only ate when I stroked her back.. I then decided to put them both in the cage, but for no reason at all, the pup would run around the cage like a maniac whenever Citrom approached, even though Citrom did nothing.. Then, for some reason, Citrom began nudging her with her nose and the pup started squealing ): So I had to seperate them, I put her in a very large laundry bin, filled it with bedding, added a towel for her to sleep on, and a tray of veggies and a tray of water (as I can't put a water bottle in the bin, not to mention I'm not sure the pup knows how to use the bottle).. I'm really confused and worried for her, though she seemed a lot more comfortable alone, I think it would be a good idea for me to let her alone until she's gained more strength as well as weight, then re-introduce her to Citrom, and hopefully they'll get along better this time. Any suggestions? I still need to buy those vitamins, as I forgot when I was out ): I'll certainly get them tomorrow along with towels for the fleece bedding, I already have the fleece, just need the towels.
Julesie
Senior Guinea Pig
I am incredibly sickened reading how people treat these animals in Egypt. I wish I were rich so I could set up the foundation or that animal selling would be illegal so these poor animals don't have to go through this. I always thought Egyptions were great with animals from hearing about how cats were treated in the past but hearing about modern day Egypt I am beyond shocked.
Well done you for saving these three piggies. You really are their angel.
As for the little baby I'd reccomend leaving her to become accustomed to the new surrounding for two days so she can feel more at home, only approaching to give her food and drink. After that try and feed her some treats through the bars so she starts to trust you more.
She definitely needs to be put with the older piggy but as I'm used to having males I won't advice on how to go about this. Good luck and thank you again for saving the three.
Well done you for saving these three piggies. You really are their angel.
As for the little baby I'd reccomend leaving her to become accustomed to the new surrounding for two days so she can feel more at home, only approaching to give her food and drink. After that try and feed her some treats through the bars so she starts to trust you more.
She definitely needs to be put with the older piggy but as I'm used to having males I won't advice on how to go about this. Good luck and thank you again for saving the three.
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piggyfan
Although it looks bad it is just normal guinea pig behaviour and there was no need to separate them. With guinea pigs one is always in charge. This poor baby has been treated so badly it is no wonder she is so nervous. I am so upset at the way she has been handled. No wonder she is frightened. It is wonderful you have rescued her and your sister has rescued the father. You will just have to be very gentle with her and patient which I know you will be.
I am incredibly sickened reading how people treat these animals in Egypt. I wish I were rich so I could set up the foundation or that animal selling would be illegal so these poor animals don't have to go through this. I always thought Egyptions were great with animals from hearing about how cats were treated in the past but hearing about modern day Egypt I am beyond shocked.
Well done you for saving these three piggies. You really are their angel.
As for the little baby I'd reccomend leaving her to become accustomed to the new surrounding for two days so she can feel more at home, only approaching to give her food and drink. After that try and feed her some treats through the bars so she starts to trust you more.
She definitely needs to be put with the older piggy but as I'm used to having males I won't advice on how to go about this. Good luck and thank you again for saving the three.
Yep, that's what I'd really want, too. It's just bizarre how many people are in this country.. They say that people who feed their animals healthy, proper food are stuck-up and spoiling their animals. As for the little one, things got even worse when I put her back into the cage ): Citrom began chasing her, the pup wouldn't stop squealing, and Citrom actually tried to bite her. I found this out because I saw her teeth flaring and I tried putting my hand in to stop her and I felt her bite me. Though, fortunately, I didn't get wounded or even scratched. Citrom's hostile behavior towards the little one reminds me of a Syrian hamster's to another hamster. They're very territorial and don't like living with others. THough clearly guinea pigs aren't the same, so there must be something I'm doing wrong..
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piggyfan
You are nor doing anything wrong. Citron is asserting herself as the dominant pig and this is how they act. This thread will teach you more about sow behaviour.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
They have to be bonded before you can put them in the cage together.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
They have to be bonded before you can put them in the cage together.
Thank you ^_^ THe chasing has stopped, for now.. One thing I'm afraid of is that the baby pup won't drink from the water bottle, though she has a constant supply of cucumbers so that should keep her hydrated. I also sometimes hold her and bring her mouth to the bottle tip and she drinks some water, she should learn in time ^_^ Thanks for all the help <: I put the fleece in, as well, though Citrom always goes to the sides and messes it up and the towel underneath becomes visible xD
Some Guinea Pigs don't drink much water. It sounds like you are doing everything right! Good for you for rescuing those poor pigs. My Guinness likes to dig up the fleece and burrow under it. I have had to fish him out many time.mallethead
Thanks ^_^ And that's unbelievably adorable :O I use a fleece blanket, though, not shredded fleece <: The cage looks unbelievably cozy and beautiful now, I also added some new things in there:
That's Boob, my sister's male Guinea cuddled on the bed, his face and ears are incredibly adorable and so is his size and fur coloration, he's also an incredibly sweet, friendly, intelligent piggy, I'm so glad we saved them from that awful place... And that's my cage behind him, Citrom and her pup are inside ^_^
Citrom and her adorable baby inside the cage ^_^
I adore the lighting without the awful flash xD
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piggyfan
Aww they are adorable! What have you named the baby? She is so cute sitting in the food bowl! Haha Is that guinea pig food? It looks like it has seeds in which are not really good for guinea pigs. Sorry if you feel I am nagging you my friend I really do not mean to.
Thanks <: I haven't named her yet, but the name will come out on it's own :p And the vendor told me it was guinea pig food o_o I thought so from the pellets ): And the seeds were quite tiny compared to the ones I give my hamsters.. It looks like I'll have to search more for the guinea food ): And you're not nagging at all, you're being very helpful and I'm truly grateful for it ^_^
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piggyfan
It just does not look like guinea pig food to be but I may be wrong. I wonder if you can even get pellets there. Were you able to get hay? That is the most important thing for them to eat.
I'm sure the pellets are here somewhere.. I haven't gotten the hay yet ): There's berseem hay being sold here somewhere, but it's incredibly difficult to find during this "season" they call it.. Isn't alfafa hay the one guinea pigs love to eat? That's the one I really need to find ): I'm currently feeding them several veggies including Parsley, which they truly love. They also love the okra, too <: ^_^ I'm on the constant search for the hay, though, and my Grandmother's going to make an adorable little house for them xD She's a fantastic, incredibly talented woman <: I also bought the tablets today, they seem to be the ones for adults :/ Even though the vendor told me otherwise xD
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piggyfan
Alfafa hay is for babies and nursing mothers as it is too high in calcium for adults. You really need hay more then anything else as it is essential to keep their guts moving and teeth from becoming overgrown. What a shame it is so hard to find there. What about people who have donkeys? Wouldnt they have hay?
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
Here, the vitamin supplements are adults 1000 IU D3 and children's 200 IU D3 so yours seems high for a children's supplement. A piggy needs 10IU per day or the equivalent. While piggies need calcium and B12 I don't know about the dosages. Not all liquid supplements contain sugar. The back of my children's vitamin D3 bottle says "no added yeast, gluten, lactose. sugar, artificial colours or flavours, artificial sweeteners or preservatives or dairy products".
Even if yours had sugar, given that you are unable to find guinea pig pellets fortified with vitamins and minerals needed by piggies, the amount of sugar that your supplement might contain would be negligible in the dosages you would give piggie.
This is how I determine my dosages using my children's vitamin D3 liquid supplement. The bottle says that each .5ml contains 200IU. To get 10 IU means .025ml which is difficult to measure. My smallest syringe goes down to .1ml which equates to 40 IU, so as I have 2 boys I give them each half of that every 2nd day.
To give them enough vitamin D3 through sunshine, according to the vet department of our university, they need the equivalent of 1 hour sun on their fur 3 days per week. For many months of the year it is far too hot here to allow the boys to get an hour of sun. So I space it out to various 5 minute sessions per day per week to get the same amount of sun, depending on time of year.
While it is easy to find piggy pellets fortified with vitamins and minerals here, most of what is on offer has ingredients that are not so good, such as preservatives, molasses (sugar!) to hold the pellet together, and those food additives with names none of us can understand in processed human food let alone piggy pellets. So, I am in somewhat the same situation as you. I feed piggy food devoid of any additives, which means vitamin D3 is a concern.
Oh ): Would berseem hay work? That's the one they feed to donkeys here in Egypt.. I'm sure I can find it, perhaps I can buy it from a donkey rider somewhere. But is it enough?
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
The photos are adorable! I don't understand myself how anyone can look at such cute animals and abuse them.
The food you have actually looks like guinea pig muesli which they do sell here as well. If it was marketed as for guinea pigs, they can eat it. but as I mentioned in my other post, not everything marketed for piggies is good for them. However, in your situation, you have to weigh the pros and cons of giving them muesli as opposed to no piggy dry food at all. I think you will find that the long green tubelike things are hay pellets. You could just take those out and feed them to piggies instead of the whole museli mix. I notice sunflower seeds in there which is a common thing in piggy muesli for vitamin C. Piggies do love to eat them too but those look unshelled so could be a choking hazard.
Alfalfa hay is beloved of piggies but only should be fed to babies and pregnant piggies because it has too much calcium for the average pig. I have a problem sourcing hay other than lucerne (alfalfa), depending on time of year, so have had to learn a heap about hay. Piggies can eat oaten hay, meadow hay and any hay made from grass. When I was in Egypt I noticed a lot of farmers using donkeys for plowing and such. Whatever hay or grass they feed those donkeys should be good for piggies. Believe it or not piggy digestive systems are most like horses!
The food you have actually looks like guinea pig muesli which they do sell here as well. If it was marketed as for guinea pigs, they can eat it. but as I mentioned in my other post, not everything marketed for piggies is good for them. However, in your situation, you have to weigh the pros and cons of giving them muesli as opposed to no piggy dry food at all. I think you will find that the long green tubelike things are hay pellets. You could just take those out and feed them to piggies instead of the whole museli mix. I notice sunflower seeds in there which is a common thing in piggy muesli for vitamin C. Piggies do love to eat them too but those look unshelled so could be a choking hazard.
Alfalfa hay is beloved of piggies but only should be fed to babies and pregnant piggies because it has too much calcium for the average pig. I have a problem sourcing hay other than lucerne (alfalfa), depending on time of year, so have had to learn a heap about hay. Piggies can eat oaten hay, meadow hay and any hay made from grass. When I was in Egypt I noticed a lot of farmers using donkeys for plowing and such. Whatever hay or grass they feed those donkeys should be good for piggies. Believe it or not piggy digestive systems are most like horses!
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piggyfan
I have not heard of that hay but hay is essential so I would use it. I hope you can find it as soon as possible.
Wow, that's a lot of information, thank you so much. And it all does make perfect sense... I take my piggies out for sun about 20 minutes everyday, I think that's perfect. As for the liquid vitamin, it seems to be an awful Egyptian produced supplement, and it really has no text on it besides what I posted earlier. I'll check around several pharmacies and try finding the proper one.. Can you give me it's name? I can ask a good pharmacy in another area and they'd certainly have it, though it'd be an awfully long drive.. It's really annoying how difficult it is to find the simplest of things. It seems Egyptians are never concerned with details.. Most are every shallow and with not much depth to their personalities, so I'm not surprised animals are treated in such a way. While I was at the local pet store buying a little food tray for my piggies, I saw the vendor kick a golden retriever puppy for playing.. I wanted to tear his legs off, to be quite honest.. I really can't bear such cruelty. We even have this government truck that comes by every neighbourhood according to people's complaints and kills any animals that cause disturbances by shooting at them with a shotgun... Some people here actually cut cats' tails off because they're "annoying"..
I've removed all the seeds from the mix ^_^ I hate the smell of the pellets, but the piggies seem to love them xD They're getting along more and more with time. They do feed their donkeys berseem clover hay, which is quite difficult to find this time of year, but I've tasked a friend to find me some as a favor ^_^
I hope so too <:
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piggyfan
Is there nobody you can report that disgusting man to for mistreating the animals? Surely somebody would care? Why the hell is he working with them when he clearly hates them?
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
I doubt there is anybody to report this too if gov't trucks come around to shoot animals complained of by people. It seems a very harsh world there.
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
It is one made right here in Queensland, so doubt you'd have it there. It is called "Ostelin vitamin D liquid" and "Ostelin vitamin D liquid kids".
Hope you can get that berseem hay soon. Have read up a bit about it on the Internet. It seems likely that will be the only type of hay you will be able to get in Egypt. It is even internationally known as Egyptian hay! Egypt exports the seeds all over the world as apparently it is a valuable hay. It is a clover type hay so is not going to be as high in calcium as alfalfa (legume hay) but still higher than any grain/grass hays. In your situation the berseem will be better than no hay at all.
I'm not surprised the piggies love the green pellets as it will be some sort of compressed hay. So a step in the right direction. But you will need uncompressed hay as well as the piggies require those long strands.
Great to hear your piggies are getting along.
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
I have discovered this animal welfare organisation based in Egypt. They even talk about the authorities shooting animals. Please contact them to report the abuses you have seen.
http://www.sparelives.org/
http://www.sparelives.org/
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