Kahlua and Jack

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:12 pm


Got a call from the animal hospital in Ava, MO asking me if I'd be willing to bring some of my guinea pigs in for their one day youth veterinary camps in August and September. It's to introduce high school students to the world of veterinary medicine. I'm happy to do that (anything to help young people) and I've chosen Kahlua and Jack to bring in August. Mr Bubbles and Dean are pretty laid back, but they're getting old and aren't likely to tolerate that much handling by people they don't know. Buttercup would be pretty good with it, but her daughter and cage mate, Muffin is just too high strung, so they're out. Gillian and Skipper don't tolerate too much handling, even from us and tend to get nippy when they are done being handled and ready to be left alone. Wilber and Grady would do well too, so they're going in September.

In exchange for bringing them in, all four will receive a free check up and nail trims. I'd say that's a fair trade. I will be there with them the entire time to make sure they are handled safely and correctly. They asked me because I'm the only one around here who has guinea pigs and willing to bring them in. I'm excited to do this and thought I'd share it with you guys.
Last edited by Renonvsparky on Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:21 pm


That sounds cool! You may have tips for handling them. I generally point people to this page to make sure they are secure and can't bite you:
https://www.guinealynx.info/handling.html

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:28 pm


Ha! That's exactly where I went for tips on handling them and I will be passing that info on at the junior vet camp.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:10 am


Happy birthday one-year-olds!

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:30 pm


That sounds like a great experience for the students, and nice perks for the piggies!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:07 pm


Kahlua and Jack were stars at the Ava vet camp. The kids were really good with them. I gave a briefing about them to start off. I went over housing, care, feeding, social structure, health and breeding (I stressed the dangers with it) and then took questions from the kids. The vet was there too, but he said he was going to leave the briefing up to me. " You probably know more about them than I do", he said.

After I finished answering questions, the kids got to hold Kahlua and Jack. They started out a little bit jumpy, but calmed down fairly quickly. The kids all had stethoscopes and got to listen to their heart, lungs and digestive tract. The piggies were still just a little bit too jumpy to eat any carrots, but otherwise did very well. It was a good experience for the children and me too. Once I got the boys home and back in their cage, they went right back to their normal behavior. Wilber and Grady will be going to the next youth veterinary camp on September 9th. I was pretty busy watching out for the pigs, making sure they were handled correctly, but I did manage to get a few pictures.

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This kid has a pet guinea pig, so he did pretty good with Kahlua, even though he kept trying to run away at first.

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Kahlua had calmed down considerably, but this poor child was afraid to hold him. She did hold on so we could get a good picture. Bless her heart!

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Jack disappeared into the crowd because he was very calm and actually enjoyed being held. I had the vet tech supervise the kids with him since he was much easier to handle.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:10 pm


Cool! I think it is neat you could share your knowledge and guinea pigs!

I do have to say, I would be worried about dropping a guinea pig or having one try to jump out of ones hands. I would be insisting on a grip like the one I mentioned on the handling page.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:53 pm


I kept reminding the kids and correcting them when they held the pigs wrong. I even had to correct one of the teachers who was chaperoning. Mine are usually pretty calm as long as I keep one hand under their belly, all 4 feet and their body against my chest and use the other hand to pet them. They're used to being handled, just not by strangers in an environment they aren't used to.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:58 am


Very glad the pigs did well and returned to your home safely!

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:30 am


That was good experience for those kids and, I'm sure, a lot of fun.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:19 am


Lucky kids, to be around animals and get to interact like that. As a kid I had so many different animals, and then brought even more home when I worked my first job in a pet shop cleaning rodent cages. Here I am decades later, still scooping poop. Some things never change.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:39 am


Pets are each so unique! From the individual to the species. I think we learn things about ourselves, too, when we share our lives with animals.

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