The crazy life of a surprise family member

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Sun Dec 06, 2015 1:30 pm


I thought I mentioned it earlier, but must not have. After the first night, I had her put in with the girls. Gina has been there ever since. It is on the warmest floor and she's closer to the girl who likes things warm, so she even has the warmer side of the room. Currently, she's adjusting to her first winter fine.

Also, the majority of the day, she is out with everyone. Others are surprised over how affectionate she is. I laugh over how Curious and much of a daredevil she is. One day, she kept out of the youngest's arms (she's almost 11 now and was the one who got her) and missed the door. Luckily, she landed in the constantly open dresser drawer which was only a couple inches drop. She still launches herself in AND out every day.

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:46 pm


Last night was the most she stayed in the cage. Of course, she just HAD to inform us of how horrible we were. She's got quite a streak in her. Molly keeps a close eye on her and immediately lets us know if anything is wrong. Between family doctor appointments and school events (bowling match and choir concert) she only was out for an hour. So, she did have a reason to complain. Her veggies were done when we got home! We were late on her night time veggies too. Little miss picky even ate the lettuce! In return, I cut her some kiwi and she licked the juice from it off my gloves (I'm allergic to them and strawberries, so it's a real special treat for her to even get them) as apology.

I'm considering a different hay for her. My doctor says that part of why this sinus infection of mine is hanging around is due to the hay. They are going to run more allergy tests on me once it clears up because my dad DID test positive for allergy to her, but he has so many allergies and he doesn't handle her that it doesn't bother him more than the rest. So, does anyone have good tips on how to change the hay? I'm currently thinking, since she's picky already, just mixing the two til the one runs out with gradually making it more of the other. I'm currently planning orchard grass. I'm also allergic to bluegrass, lucky family allergies.

She's still working on training her mommy on when she needs to go to her cage to pee. Everyone else has the different bite down pat. Another issue is her not wanting to leave hoodie pockets at times and the screaming and biting she does to stay in them. No, we can't take her to the bowling alley no matter what she thinks. Lol. She's not THAT much family.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:14 pm


Just make sure the new hay is high quality and really good to eat and you should be fine.

www.guinealynx.info/.html

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:45 am


Sounds like she and your cat have the family well trained. Good to have your slaves running after you! A real cutie she is!

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GuineaPiggin

Post   » Thu Dec 10, 2015 2:04 pm


Congrats on your new family member, it sounds like she got her little paw wrapped right around you from the start. She is adorable!

In regards to the hay, I was going to suggest bluegrass, but then read that you're allergic to that as well. =\ That said, I highly recommend KM's Hayloft for your hay source. Don't let the shipping scare you, it's still a MUCH better deal than anything you'll find in a commercial pet store.

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:05 pm


Thanks for the words of wisdom everyone. I'm still looking around and may have found a local horse guy who will get some bales of grass and sell them to me when he gets his orders for his horses. Cheapest price I've found ever too. Gotta love my local feed stores.
Lately, we've discovered Gina's love of her rice socks. But, she waits to cuddle them until after they are cold again. Then, she likes to move them to the door and talk to everyone. She really likes the Christmas music boxes when they play. It's very interesting to discover her likes and dislikes in everything. She is still content with peppers and parsley. Even fruits are picky with her only wanting cantaloupe and grapes. This summer I plan on getting her more corn silk and dandelion greens, since she liked it this past summer from the yard. Yes, I know to make sure it isn't coated with chemicals. Only three yards on our road get treated and none are near us. It's mostly farmers and other older families here who don't see a need to treat for weeds.
This Christmas she's getting a homemade sleeping bag for her. The fleece is remnants from this past year's sewing projects for the girls. Has anyone else had a Guinea pig who has color or pattern preferences? We noticed that she prefers dark colors and animal prints to other ones.

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Sat Aug 25, 2018 11:41 pm


So, after a couple years, I finally can get back on and give a last update on Gina. She was certainly pampered.

We learned after a few attempts at playdates with other guinea pigs, she didn't like them. She would bite and chatter at them. If one went to fight back, she would get more aggressive. So, we stopped trying after six months. But, she also started "helping" Molly hunt for mice. I wish we had taken videos of it. Especially after when Molly would offer the dead mouse to her. She even would start grooming Molly when they were laying together.

Gina fell in love with all forms of technology, but especially computer parts. She had a habit of climbing next to whoever was working on a computer and wanting to push tools to help. We even discovered that she loved cooking shows and certain music. Her favorite word ended up being pepper. Her favorite was red pepper.

Until Fourth of July weekend this year, she was perfectly fine. Unfortunately, we had a super hot weekend and no air conditioning. All day, she had been fine. Half an hour after I went to work for the night, I got a call from my oldest. She was choking on her hay and not moving. He could barely hear her heart and thought she wasn't breathing. I told him to wrap her in a damp blanket and he drove her to my work for me to check her. I was also suddenly calling all the vets open in the area. Lucky us, the ones who did guinea pigs were all out for the weekend. I saw her, gave her a light kiss, and said I'd keep calling. She ended up lasting thirty minutes longer but passed away cuddled up in the oldest's arms. He wouldn't let anyone speak of her in front of him because he was so upset. This was the first of two pets we lost that month. The old man dog finally passed at the end of the month. Molly still looks and meows for her at times. She cuddles us more than while Gina was alive.

It took until a couple days ago that any option of getting another. The oldest said ok to a new one. Today, we have the first of two new girls. We are waiting another week to get the second one. Yes, she is a little girl. The lady we got Gina cried when she heard about her especially since she kept in touch with her and that was the main person we did the later playdates with. So, I will try to do better with Ryzen, pronouncing as "Raisin" according to youngest, and our not yet named one.

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GrannyJu1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Sun Aug 26, 2018 10:13 am


I'm SO sorry you lost her. She sounds like she was a very special and loving pig.

When it's hot, there are a couple of things you can do for the pigs. I keep gallon jugs of water frozen in the freezer for emergencies. I slip them into fleece bags so they can't get to jug itself. The other thing you can do is wrap fleece around freezer packs. That way they can lay against it and cool off as needed.

Again, I'm sorry she passed. It sounds like she had a wonderful, if short, life.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:24 pm


I am so sorry you lost her. She does indeed sound like a special guinea pig.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:31 am


I am so sorry you lost your beloved fur baby. So glad she passed in the comforting arms of your eldest. She is now running and popcorning at the bridge munching on the green grass. Waiting for the day you can be together again. In the meantime she is telling everyone how lucky she was to be loved and cared for by you and your family. RIP wee one till you meet again. Sending big hugs.

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:24 pm


Thanks everyone. She was definitely the one who ran the house. The oddest part was walking by her cage and not seeing her eating her hay while watching the computer. And her mommy kitty is slowly getting better. The oldest has informed Ryzen that he isn't going to let that happen to her.

Speaking of Ryzen, she is so different from Gina. She has already declared her favorite place is to hide under our hair by our necks. So, she is shy right now. Once you get her to stay on your lap, she just sprawls out. But, you better have dark colors on or it isn't happening. Expect to stay put as long as she wants too. This girl is in charge.

Another difference is that we have a climber. Where Gina was ready to just zoom across rooms until she got to a step, Ryzen decided to try to figure how to get higher.

Molly got introduced to Ryzen. She was sniffing her box, but refuses to look in. The oldest told her to not hurt her and she got upset and ran off. This morning, she watched from afar and then wanted more petting and even cuddle. We are going to watch and see how they interact because of how sad Molly has been.

As I said, we have to wait a couple weeks for her partner in crime. A big part is room. When Ryzen thinks we aren't paying attention, she starts running around and enjoying the space she has. We are currently trying to convert the former air hockey table to a cage for both girls. So, we only have the cage for one and don't want to have them share it or put one in the travel carrier. Hence the wait.

Ginasgrandmom

Post   » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:09 am


Ryzen is becoming quite a personality. She isn't loud, but she is constantly chattering about anything. She still prefers black on anything. She has a new favorite blanket, which is black and furry, for when she is having lap time. So, everyone is careful sitting near it because she blends in except the eye. It seems that I have yet to get a good picture of her on it too.

I saw somewhere that someone else has a car rider. We have found out she loves them. Her head perks up every time she hears a car slow near our place (common since it is by a hill and curve) and runs to the door to see if she can get in. The carrier we have she jumps into and starts doing little zoomies even as we carry it to the car. I think this is going to help with her first well visit to the vet this week.

Since we have discovered how much Ryzen loves her heights, I've given up on figuring out how to convert the table to my liking. Instead, we measured it and discovered we could safely put a 2X4 c&c on it and have it enclosed. That was my biggest issue anyway and once I decided to make it a double layer (if Ryzen thinks she can climb it, she does), I just didnt feel confident enough to do it on my own. So, now we wait. And, yes, Ryzen helped pick her cage colors. We did tell her she needed SOME color though. When the cage is done, I will add pics of her (maybe her partner too) then.

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