The Grey's Gang

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:10 pm


Raised on a farm, I grew up around tons of animals. No 'small animals,' per se, but we had about 8 dogs, cats, and a lot of cattle. At one point, we also had outdoor rabbits. I moved off to complete my graduate work and earn my doctorate, into a two-bedroom with no roommates and no dogs allowed. Last year, I decided that I was either going to have to get myself some furry company, or I was going to go slowly insane. I started out with two dwarf hamsters. As a pharmacy student, I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy, so they were named Christina and Meredith. I loved the little furballs and still do. One day I went to the pet store to get some of their food when I happened to look at their wall of animals. Inside one of the ridiculously tiny cages was an entire litter of Syrian hamsters. It broke my heart to see them so cramped...so I took home three of them. Since this forum isn't about hamsters, I'll skip to the end of that road and say that after a year I ended up owning 2 dwarf hamsters and 4 Syrian hamsters, all of them spoiled rotten.

I was doing a clinical rotation about an hour from home and had a long lunch break, so I decided to stop by a family-owned pet store and see their puppies. Inside a little plastic tote on the floor next to the puppies were two TINY baby Syrian hamsters. I had made up my mind I was coming back for one at the end of my shift when a woman (one of the owners) comes up to me with a ball of fluff. "Hamsters are great, but you're never going to look back if you get one of these," she told me. In her hands was this small white guinea pig with little spots of white around its eye. I knew NOTHING about guinea pigs, so I told her not today.

Work was slow when I returned, and that little fluffball was still in my mind. I started using my phone to google guinea pig care, and I spent the majority of my afternoon doing so. After work, I stopped back by the pet store, still only planning on getting the baby hamster. I looked in another storage bin on the floor and inside were 3 guinea pigs. After my research, I knew their enclosure was far too small (MAYBE 3.5 sq feet), and I felt truly sorry for them. Thinking she could use some breathing time out of the little box, I picked up a mostly gold guinea pig with white stipes and a little mohawk. While the others were terrified of me, this little girl was crawling up on my shoulder and nuzzling my neck. I was in love. With the little hamster in a carry-home box, the guinea pig rode in my lap the entire hour drive home (she would not stop screaming if I tried to get her to ride in the pet carrier). I got home, built her a very large cage, and loved on her quite a bit. While I knew I should let her settle in before loving on her too much and stressing her out...she wasn't too keen on being left in there alone.

After more research that night, I could not leave her without a companion in good conscience. The next day after work, I got a second guinea pig from the same place. Her black, orange and white chubby butt made her look like an adorable out-of-season Halloween decoration. She warmed up to me quickly and got along great with the first guinea pig, probably because they had shared a cage at the store. I finally decided on names. The gold and white mohawk received the name Amelia, after a very adventurous character on Grey's, and the other, Bailey, the gruff boss (which is still a VERY accurate description of Bailey the pig's attitude). All night I felt guilty as Hades for leaving that poor last guinea pig all alone in that tiny tub. It broke my heart, but each of the guinea pigs were $50 a piece, and that was before the other costs of caring for them. In one week, that is a hit to a college student's budget. I went to bed telling myself that two was plenty...but I'd go check on the remaining one at the store after work and make sure she was ok.

After work, I went and checked on the final guinea pig, the first one the owner ever showed me. Her white fur and little eye patch made her look like a tiny, lovable pirate. It was probably in my head, but she looked soooo sad. She didn't even run from me, and her food and water looked untouched. The owner said she had acted a little off all day. They were all from the same litter; I had just ripped her two siblings away, so I obviously felt guilty. The owner decided that the guinea pig was better off with her sisters than alone and depressed and told me she would give me her for free. So...Lexie, the name I gave the 3rd guinea pig, rode home with me to join her sisters.

I have fur balls whining at me for their bedtime snacks, and this long post is probably putting anyone who reads it to sleep, so...to be continued. I promise the rest of the story gets much more interesting.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:22 am


You have me hooked! I want to hear more!

p.s. the white guinea pig sounds like it may be ill. I also hope you were wise enough to determine their sexes and that the pet store had not mixed males and females.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 11:54 am


Ditto Lynx. Turn them all over and compare their nether regions. Pet stores are notorious for missexing pigs.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:11 pm


As Lynx and bpatters said, check the little ones carefully. If necessary have a vet confirm sexes. I know that's a big expense, but it could be necessary. Your little pirate may need to see one anyway.

However, that said, I'm very jealous. Enjoy them while they are this small. It doesn't last for long. :o)

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:30 pm


Y'all already guessed what's coming.

I had checked all the guinea pigs sex, and they all looked like girls to me, but I still had not learned how to appropriately check them. There are no cavvy savvy vets close to me, but I found one about an hour away who could get me in the next week. The day before the vet appointment, I was holding Lexie and felt a little bump on her tummy, so I took a closer look. Luckily it was just a bit of bedding (I used paper at the time), but it got me looking closer...she looked just a little bit different 'down there' than the other girls did. I started looking more information on sexing them, and after a lot of reading, I checked all the guinea pigs again. Amelia and Maggie were definitely girls, and Lexie certainly was not.

I took them all to the vet the next day, with Lexie in a separate cage. The vet confirmed they were all healthy and Lexie was definitely a boy. He said that the likelihood of my girls being pregnant was extremely high. I was not a happy camper to say the least.

I took the babies home and built another big cage for Lexie--now known as Owen. A few days later, I decided Owen didn't need to be alone, so I found a guinea foster-mom in Little Rock and made the long drive down there. I found this beautiful black angel with a white swirl on his back, and a tiny teardrop of orange next to his eye. He was a bit mean, but he eventually let me hold him. I looked at the rest of her babies and saw this tiny, so tiny, little fur ball in the corner of a cage. I coaxed her out, and she uncurled as I pet her head. This little baby was white with eyeliner on one eye, tan on one ear, and black on the other. Then, on her rump, she wore pants...perfectly divided down the middle, tan on one half and black on the other. She was definitely a girl, but I was smitten. She was shy, but she loved to cuddle, she curled up in my hands and began to lick my fingertip. Something about her told me she had to come home with me. So, Derek and Sofia went home to meet their new siblings.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:51 pm


IMG_4672.JPG

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:52 pm


Sorry, I tried to post a picture but I apparently have NO idea how, or how to delete the comment that says 'IMG_4672.JPG'
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GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:12 pm


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Amelia

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Bailey

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Owen
Last edited by GreysGuineaPigs on Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:12 pm


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Derek

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Sofia

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:45 am


What adorable guinea pigs!

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:33 pm


I REALLY like Sophia's coloring. They are all gorgeous, though!

GreysGuineaPigs

Post   » Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:21 pm


Thank you! And honestly, Sofia's coloring has to be my favorite, too.

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