Oh my word, what that landlord said about putting your rodents in the oven is absolutely disgusting! That boils my blood, what a cruel thing to say. I'm glad you and your precious piggies got out of there!
As a new piggy owner, I’m obsessed with gaining knowledge about how to keep them happy and healthy. Your channel has helped so much in this new journey. Thank you!!! Truly. Rip Pixie ❤
I just got mine 3 days ago and I’ve been scrambling to get them a new cage and just a better environment. This channel has made me feel so hopeful about raising them. Thank you! 🍀
This helps so much. Whenever I take my guinea pigs to the vet, I will always check what’s going into them. Rip pixie 😭 💔 ❤🩹. I literally cried irl for her
As beginner pet owners, I feel like even with the most research, we can still fall short. I regret how I kept my rabbits when I first started raising them! In those wire cages or in a hutch in my garage. It took me actually "listening" when my rabbits were out for their free time in my room and home that I realized they were a lot happier with places to run around. Don't beat yourself up over it too much because you do amazing now!
I love hearing that, I hope everyone in that situation sees the light and moves their bunnies into better care situations. ❤ We are all doing the best we can with the information we have at the time.
🍀 We were taking our pigs to a local vet who specialised in small animals, also not knowing that meant cats and dogs. They weren't awful but we did lose a piggie last year and wonder if they missed something. Now I now we need to go to an exotic vet although I have an eye condition and can't drive, and my partner has inflexible hours with her job so I'll be trekking with the pigs on the bus to take them to the vet. We also had boys when we thought we had girls :) Miss them every day. We now have 2 girls, one just under 1 and the other around 6 months. I think the older one may have a possible sludge issue so we're monitoring that and getting ready for their first vet visit but she seems fine in general, normal behaviour, eating etc So fingers crossed it's nothing.
I made the mistake of keeping my piggies in a small cage in a dark garage. I'm haunted by it too. I have two hutches that I'm taking to the tip as I don't want to sell/give away and piggies or rabbits end up in them. My girls live free range in my kitchen diner. I just put them in their c & c cage at night. I've made sure there are no wires that they can reach. Also your advice saved Mabel's life. I had the critical care in the cupboard and used it before I could get her to the vet. Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing as a fairly new piggy owner before I ever adopted my two boars not only did the research I watched all your videos and learned even more information about the Guinea Pig world and their care Whistler and Scamper are two intact boars that are bonded and because of your information their bonding was very smooth they are 1 year apart in age Whistler is the dominant but their bond is strong and Scamper is perfectly happy with being subordinate ❤
Thank you so much for making this video. It showed how heart broken you still are over the loss of Pixie. I am so very sorry. I love my piggies so much and its never easy having to wait to see them again in heaven! ❤️⚘️
This was a great video! Thank you for being so candid. My first pair of guinea pigs was almost 20 years ago. I just followed the directions I was given by the petstore. I made many mistakes. Small cage, not enough hay, and vitamins in the water. Not a day goes by that I don't regret how I cared for them. My pigs now are treated like the queens they are. I'm so grateful to you. You were the first channel I found and taught me so much!
Thanks Sarah for this video! When I think back of the first piggy I got (more then 30 years ago) I feel sorry for the little guy. There wasn't any social media back then to inform us like today. Luckily today there are TH-cam channels like this one to give us good advice. Sadly to say that the petshops still haven't learned to inform people the proper way, even after 30 years 🙄 I could feel your grief over your lost piggy Pixie. I experienced something simular with my piggy Nobbynobs. He got a cold and the normal vet gave him antibiotics that did't help. And I had to let him go, he was only 7.5 months old. I felt gutted. Today I go to the university vetclinic with my piggies, where they are treated by the rodent proffessors of the university. Still feel sad that I couldn't safe my Nobbynobs back then, he was such an adventurous and very human friendly piggy. 🍀❤
Thank you so much for this. The last one is the one I'll remember the most. Pedro taught me that rescue piggies are the best. Now Pixie has taught me that I have to be an advocate for my pets too. By your telling her story you have helped a lot of piggies have a better life. Thank you so much. ❤🍀🍀🍀❤️
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us! I used to keep my two guinea pigs; Chippy & Truffles, in a 2.5x1.5 store bought cage. I never saw them popcorn, and all they did was eat, drink, and sleep. No room to play. It was awful. I never had the opportunity to see them as happy piggies! But now I have them in a 2x5 C&C cage and they are very happy. And it’s all because of you, Sarah!!! Thanks so much for inspiring me to give my piggies what they need to enjoy life. 💖 🍀
A good tip for building your own cage is the cheap devan beds - once you get the fabric off an old one you have a basic wooden frame to use as a starting point and cover the sides with chicken wire and a staple gun - all you need then is a peice of vinal flooring to stapel to the bottom. Works great and its a fair size to keep them happy
I just got two piggies recently and your videos have helped me a lot being a new guinea pig owner. My first piggie, Buddy, was so happy about his new home that he immediately started pop-corning not a second after I placed him in the pen! I was also able to get him a roommate, Momo, who is submissive and they have bonded quite well. I am thankful that I can watch so many videos for advice on how to properly take care of my piggies so as to give them the best, healthiest life these fluffy little potatoes could hope for.
🍀 So sorry about Pixie. 💔 I teared up hearing your regret. My first vet was an exotics trained vet but too new to it and hadn’t treated enough on their own especially surgery. I lost two guinea pigs under his care. And that was after a significant search just to find him! I left him after the bad experience and have found two exotics I keep both on file. I like getting both opinions and even then sometimes go by my research either from online forums or experienced owners like yourself or my experiences to date. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you Sarah for that video, I fell into the trap of a small hutch in the garden before, but now I can safely say they are living the life in a c and c cage ❤ . Thank you for all you have done, you have helped so many piggy parents, addressing misconceptions and giving reliable information when we need it ❤ 🍀
I love your editing, especially the sound effects. Clever having your pics reacting to the content with their little squeaks. RIP Pixie. Never knew to double check prescriptions from professionals. Thanks for this video! 🍀
I had a single piggie back in the early 1990s and it lived in a 10 gallon tank, not a shred of hay or a hide in sight. My piggies now have a similar situation to yours. Thank you for your educational videos, as they have helped us make informed decisions!
Hi, I'm a new guinea pig owner, I've had mine 2years now. I'm so sorry to hear about your piggy. I lost one of my boys when he was a year old, he was making a squeal when he weed and I knew it was a pain cry. Three lots of antibiotics and an ultrasound later and I managed to find an exotic vet that wasn't too far away. Over £1k later, another ultrasound, a bladder flush antibiotics and antiinflammatory, he went into surgery and I was told that his bladder was fused to another organ which was causing him pain and constant bladder infections. There was nothing he could do, if he tried to fix it and seperate the organs, he could've caused more damage and more pain for him, but it wasn't fair to not do anything and him be in pain, so we made the decision for him to be put to sleep. I still regret to this day not trying harder to find an exotic vet straight away, although this could've been something he was born with it also could've been an infection and his body trying to heal itself. Your videos are so helpful and informative, i watched tones of your videos before I bought them and your bonding ones when I got a new friend for my other piggy. thankyou 🍀❤️ xx
Thank you so very much for this video. We got two piggies last month. Though the pet shop employee assured me the cage we purchased with them was enough space, it's clear to me it's not, and purchased what I thought would be a larger, multi-storied upgrade- only to find that the piggies had zero headspace, and struggled with the wire ramps. I've been looking for a suitable solution- and the nod to C&C cages was just what I needed. I and our piggies thank you!
I'm a new piggy owner and learning a lot from your channel. I've had mine just over a week and they are about 4 months old, never handled, 3 sisters, from a breeder. I feel mine will never be this tame! They run and hide every time I'm near them. I've watched your videos on taming but they just hide and won't come out!
🍀 Sat here crying whilst sat with my girls. Thank you for your videos and for sharing mistakes. Honestly made the same mistakes when I got my girls (small cage, pet shop bought) but finding you and the whole piggie community has been wonderful and hopefully I’m giving my girls the best I can which they deserve. ❤
For me I'm a new piggie owner - I adopted my guinea pigs from a shelter, but unbeknownst to us they had severe URI's. Several heartbreaking weeks and thousands of dollars later we'd lost both of them 😢😢 I'd never go to a big shelter again. So much so I went to a private rescue for one of my new pigs, and a breeder for the other. Now I'm biased and will probably continue to go with breeders as our boy is big, courageous, and healthy. I'm glad you posted this video, I think it's important to learn from mistakes so we don't repeat them ❤ and I'm sorry about Pixie, that wasn't your fault and the vet shouldve known better 😞 Your videos have taught me so much about piggie ownership, and my spoilt boys live in a 2 x 6 C and C cage inside with fleece and bath mats and more handmade beds and tunnels then necessary 😂
Oh my thank you Sarah for being so open with this, so many points you brought up that we have done in the past... The hutch in the garden was our first piggies when B was young, we kept them in a shed for the winter... Now 20yrs later she has them living in a c&c cage in her bedroom... Its so great, when we come up the stairs we are always shouted at for food for them.... But a month a go we lost Pippin which was a big shock as they were only 2.5yrs old and bought from P@H the vet said he had a respiratory infection and he may have had it from birth. His breathing was very laboured, she gave him antibiotics with an injection and we had to give him one tablet each day too, we still lost him 😢 as he wasn't eating so well and we couldn't get him to take the critical care. I feel the critical care was difficult to get right as we struggled to suck it up into the syringe, we wasn't sure about things like the consistency and whether we was swallowing it or not. It was a very difficult experience and ended with us losing him anyway. 😢 We are now ready to get Merry a new buddy and think we may have found a rescue here in our hometown.... So we will definitely be rescuing one for Merry to get a new friend as he really is starting to miss Pippin now. Thank you for all you do Sarah it has been so helpful and as novice owners we have learned from our experience even though is was a sad one. Hugs to the you and the girls xx🍀
🍀thank you for sharing your story about what happened with Pixie; our hearts break with yours💔😭 we absolutely love your channel for all the knowledge and information you continue to share so we all can provide the best life ever for every piggie out there☺️
Thanks so much, you’re saving so many guineapigs with this content! Mine live in a c&c mansion with a great diet and are so healthy and happy bc of content like this!!🍀🍀🍀
Thank you Sarah! I don't know what I would do without your information. Many here in the US don't know a lot about guinea pigs. I know I didn't until I started watching your videos. You have helped tremendously and my piggies thank you! ❤🍀
So sorry to hear of your bad vet experience, but thank you for sharing. My local vet is nice enough, but nice doesn't necessarily mean competent. I learned this the hard way. PLEASE RESEARCH THE BEST PIGGY VET NEAR YOU, WHEN YOUR PIGS ARE HEALTHY. An expert (recommended by others) will be worth it. My new vet owns piggies themselves & I can just tell they radiate both empathy and knowledge. They're also cheaper than my previous vet! Further to travel to, but 100% worth it
I just adopted two guinea pigs from a friend, and I have to thank you so much for your channel! I've been binging your videos, learning a ton and have already switched up their cage design, am using flannel liners (WHY anyone would want to use messy wood shavings is beyond me!), and am creating a daily routine to help tame the shy one. Thank you so much!!
So sorry about Pixie. I nearly lost two rabbits to the same thing, only the antibiotics we used do work often in many rabbits and aren't considered (or weren't then) not recommended. It can be a roll of the dice that even a good vet will make. Luckily for me it was 24 hour lasting oral medication so I was able to get them thru it. But because they couldn't keep taking it they got sicker, one eventually didn't make it (after penicillin did a huge amount of damage as well, and everything else including age caught up with her.) But the thing is my bunnies were really poorly, not just having a small uninfected wound. The amount of risk you take with medications depends on what the animal is dealing with. The vet shouldn't have chosen something so strong and so irretrievable for something so slight. It's a real shame, and I really appreciate that you are educatuing people. It's hard because every situation is different but the more knowledge and experience (generally) that we have before going into a crisis situation the better chance we have to make good choices for our pets. But there are no guarantees, sadly, and hindsight is 20/20 so regrets are almost inevitable.
I'm so sorry about Pixie! I'm crying. My heart is broken for you. 💔 My piggies have an exotics vet AND I will search anything they want to give them, 🍀 thank you. 🍀
That last one, your biggest regret brought me to tears. I’m so sorry that happened to you but thank you for your videos as I have learned so much about guinea pigs. The dos and don’t the good and the bad. I and my 2 piggies thank you. 😊😊😊
Thank you, Sarah, for the video. It's amazing the way to show us the right directions and help us avoid the wrong ones. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you keep up with your videos and allow us to follow the great piggies work you've been developing. 🧡
all these pet shop horror stories ive heard makes me think I lucked out with my abandoned little guy who so far hasnt had any cause for concern, loves pets and seems to be bonding well with the friend we got him(from the same place that found the abandoned guy)
I’m so incredibly sorry about Pixie, I haven’t been watching your videos for crazy long so I didn’t know. That just proves really how important it is to find the right vet 💔😞
Thank you Sarah for the video. This made me feel a little bit better about the mistakes I've made as a pet owner and to also not be so harsh on myself. Mistakes are for learning
Hi Sarah👋🏼When I was younger, I had pet rabbits. I shudder now as I think back to all the mistakes I made, but I also know I did my very best at the time. There was no TH-cam back then (late 80s/early 90s) and given the chance I would do things so much differently now. My heart was in the right place, as was your’s in your early days of owning piggies, so we mustn’t be hard on ourselves. I’m so sorry about your dear Pixie❤️ Love your videos! You and your sweet piggies are an absolute joy to watch! Sending much love & hugs across the pond to you!💕💕💕
Sarah sorry about Pixie.yes I agree that Exotic Vets are the way to go. My last episode with my Teddy Boy was when he stopped eating. The exotic vet was on duty at the emergency vets office which gave the regular vets access to consult with the exotic vet. I had been to the exotic who was wonderful but I felt the regular vet was new and possibly did not present his issues to the exotic vet appropriately. The exotic vet saved Teddy’s life a few years prior. It was his teeth and they did surgery on Teddy and I nursed him back to health with the critical care and meds. This time he was refusing the critical care and I was told to force him which I didn’t really feel great about doing. I called back and another vet (not exotic) but she was sharper than the first vet I used the day before. She told me to stop by and she would give Teddy that med that stimulates his gut. The other vet failed to give that to him. I also had to pick up more melixocam for pain as they never gave me enough to begin with. I got more critical care into him that nite but when we woke up , he was hiding in his cave and didn’t pee or poop or eat or drink. I felt that was a horrible sign and felt I should have him put to sleep from my own personal vet that my dogs see. I feel guilty and think I should have let nature take its course and keep him home. I just didn’t want him suffering but maybe it would have been better letting him stay with us.of course I stayed with my Teddy boy until he passed at the vet office. So sad. Still missing him and so are my dogs and granddaughters. 💔💙 By the way, my regular vet did feel something in his stomach which she made me feel. So I’m sure he was uncomfortable. Ty Sarah for always sharing your good and bad stories. Your girls are beautiful. Can’t wait to Hear how your new little guy does!!!
I love your videos and all the wisdom you share about guinea pigs. I have two and I just think they’re the cutest. But sometimes I worry that I might do something I shouldn’t and because of ignorance just harm them. Thank you!
I also have a big regret that cost the life of one of my piggies. My Pippin had a respiratory tract infection and while the vet was amazing and not at all to blame, i feel this relates to what you had. He had basically stopped eating so i was having to syringe feed him critical care and for a while he seems fine but he started struggling and when I had though okay enough is enough you've had some food at least lets stop for now, he started (what i believe to be ) choking and there was little i could do. He passed away on my lap whilst i was doing what i thought best for him, last month.🍀
Your story about Pixie made me cry. Don't feel guilty tough, you did what you tought was the best thing for her, and I'm sure she's in piggie heaven now popcorning with an unlimited supply of fresh hay, grass, fruits, vegetables, and toys!
I had no idea that there were medications that are toxic for piggies! Thank you so much for sharing this information and allowing others to learn from your past mistakes. This is definitely something that I will add to the information I will share during my Educational Programs when I begin them and also share with potential adopters and new owners.
Making bad mistakes as an owner of a pet is really stressful for me. For me, the biggest mistake is not getting 2 piggies. I get so sad when I here my friends say: I just got a guinea pig!😢 And good that you mentioned about cage space, small pet store cages just get me so angry! The piggies look very happy today! Im also happy becouse this is the first time in Latvia🇱🇻 that it 20+ degrees🎉🎉. Going to get ready for eurovision, so see you next week! ❤❤ ~Beatrise
My parents are building a new house and we're currently renting. I wanted a cat so badly. My mom said she's allergic and it'll kill her, or whatever. I asked for shih tzu or a bulldog. That was also a no. Kinda jokingly, I asked for a guinea pig. My parents agreed and I have been vehemently researching how to best take care of them. You have been a great resource and have helped me so much in getting inspiration for the cage and preventing hat seem to be rather common mistakes.
i’m so sorry about pixie, i have been watching your videos for months to learn more on how to take care of my 2 guineas. it has helped me so much and i thank you for sharing all your knowledge. unfortunately, Neo, my first guinea passed away 2 days ago due to something like pixie. i’m so devastated, and i wish Neo had gone to a different vet too or not even had to go at all. i miss him so much. he was only 8 months old. i am heartbroken i miss him so much.
Hi Sarah thanks for that video it I’ve made mistakes with putting Guinea pigs in to small of a cage when I first started out I don.t buy Guinea pigs from a pet shop any more due to having one die not long after I bought it never know what was wrong with the Guinea pig. Now I get all my piggie from a rescue. With vets am happy to say I have a great vet who I trust good job too used them this week had to make very hard decision and sadly had my rabbit put to sleep am heartbroken hope your girls are well
Thank you Sarah for all your great videos. I’ve had piggies for a long time now but I’m still learning new things from channels such as yours. I’ve recently lost a three and a half year old piggy who died overnight and gave no symptoms of sickness at all. I’m finding it difficult not to feel guilty and wonder what I did wrong. Your piggies are so beautiful.
I made SO many mistake with my first guinea pig, largely because all we had back then were care books, and because so much knowledge has changed. It's good that information is more readily available nowadays.🍀
I want to thank you so much for putting such an effort into your channel. Half a year ago I went to a local rescue and got guinea pigs for the first time in my life. I was about to buy a "normal" pet store cage but thanks to your videos I bought the "largest" one available in the store and set up an even larger free roaming area using C&C. They love it and always start popcorning when I put them in 💖 So again thank you very much, you make the life better for countless little piggies!!!
I'm so so sorry to hear about Pixie.. that's terrible. ❤ I've made so many mistakes with my past guinea pigs and I've been feeling flooded with guilt and regret recently. I'm finding it hard to forgive myself :( 🍀
This video makes me feel that I'm not the only one who made errors. I had a small pet store cage to start with as I was told it was ok. Never again. Them poor poor piggies had no space at all.
I have to say..... I love your videos. They are so informational and have taught me allot. Thank you for sharing your experiences both good and bad. I printed the link for both good and bad medications and saved the link to my desktop. Looks like a very thorough website to refer to. Thanks for posting that and keep the videos coming!!
❤ I appreciate all of the videos you share. They helped save one of my sweet piggies. I also model how I care for them after I found your channel. My biggest piggie mistake was buying the "biggest" cage at the pet store, not realizing how insanely small it was. I spent so much money on it. I eventually got a c&c cage that we're very happy with for my 3 girls. Technically I have room for a 4th piggie, but I'm happy with my little herd of three.
Re cage sizes I still remember the dubious look on the guy's face when I went to pick up my (now late) doe from "back yard dog crate" situation; as I picked her up, her then-owner said, worried, "That's a really small cage." It was a cat carrier. To carry her home. To the house where she would be able to run around for most of the daytime. 🤦🏻♀️
I honestly dont know what I did wrong, but whatever it was, it was something that the rescue will no longer let me foster or adopt piggies anymore. It all started when I fostered two wild piggies that absolutely did not like each other at all. They were the first experience I ever had. I was accused that I was the reason they had become unbonded. I had them in a 6x2 cnc cage. I was told if they were fighting then obviously my cage was too small. I had to take pics of my cage before fostering if they thought it too small then why did they allow me to foster? Then I was told I was not feeding them enough. I fed them two handful of pellets every morning, fresh veggies at 6 and 2 bathmats as kitchenettes full of hay on each side because they each had to have thier own. The 3rd week we had them they had just started to take treats from our hand...well one did. We were told they were adopted even though a previously lady fostered them for a year. We loved them. Now that I have adopted two from a fellow church member I get to expierience 2 piggies who only motorcycle when they dont want to be bothered and are actually bonded. The 6 year old love pets, the baby one sniffs my hand but backs up if I move to pet her but no longer runs and hides so we are getting there. I would have loved if the Rescue had told me what I did wrong or actually tried to educate me instead of false accusations. Its like they were making stuff up trying to find something I was doing wrong. I think the lady who had them for a year wanted them back but as bad as those babies came to me from her I hope she did not get them. Its sad I am banned and she is not. All I did was care for two wild piggies. But my piggies I have now I think are amazing. Even though I would love to support a rescue because I absolutely believe in it, here in Alaska, unless she changes her outlook, I will not. I will adopt from posts or the shelter because it was made clear to me thats my only options.
Thanks for sharing your mistakes new piggie owner . My husband got me gunies pigs as present he got them pet shop cage which after me doing research I realised was too small and they now have c&c cage . One had ring worm when she came to us . I would now love a neutered boar to join our girls but have been looking resuces as now my knowledge is wider since owning guinea pigs and watching you videos so thank you for sharing all mistakes. I am so sorry you lost a piggie due one of them 💔
That had to be hard to share all of that. But I am so glad you did because I learned something about the injectable issue and the list you showed. I will keep that for the future. You always do such a great job!! Thank you !!!❤❤❤
I had several piggies growing up. We bought them at KMart. We were not told anything about cages, food, etc. One of my piggies starved to death because we didn't know they had to have something to chew on to keep their teeth worn down. His teeth grew so long he couldn't eat. To this day I feel bad for my piggie that I let that happen to him. My poor buddy.
I have 2 boys and 4 girls. The two boys each have their own cage that's 6' x 2 '. I've tried to get these boys, and others, to live in the same cage but unless the boys are raised together from a young age they probably won't be able to live together. Even if they are raised together from a young age they still don't always last together once they hit puberty (6-10 months around.) If this helps, for an outdoor cage I'm from Manitoba, Canada so there's no way they will be outside in the winter. -10 to -35C is not going to happen until things warm up in spring. However, in the spring through to summer and fall, when the temperature is above 13C and below 33C (fans needed then) they come out into their outdoor cage for the day. The cage is metal with a solid cover over the top. The two boys each have a 2' x 8 ' cage each and the four girls have a 4' x 4' cage. At no time are these piggies unsupervised, ever. Sure, there can be a stray cat or even a dog off the leash, this cage can sure stop that for a little bit, but my biggest concern is people. It's best not to test it and to bring them in before things get late. Hope this helps with Piggie happiness! Thanks for a good piggie site Sarah!
Thank you for your amazing advice and honesty Sarah- what a great video with brilliant advice. I was so sorry to hear about dear Pixie ❤ Love your Asda piggy bed set-I bought the same one too- it’s very cute! xx
So sorry to hear about Pixie, that must have been so terrible. I’ll be sure to make sure that my vet knows what their doing now. My pigs are only 2 months old and I definitely don’t want them to die too young
🍀 oh that last one got me so much😭! I’ve been so picky when it comes to picking a good vet. If I got a bad feeling, I didn’t go back. Hugs to you and the piggies! 🥰💔
I used to give my guinea pigs a bit too large a portion of pellets, and they became a bit overweight! My vet has given me guidelines of the right amount for them, so they are on a stricter diet now and have lost some weight :)
I don't own piggies now and have not for years but I know the painful regrets of owning pigs and rabbits back in the day when small cages outside was just how it was done.
As ever, a brilliant and incredibly informative video, Sarah and piggies! It’s so good to be reminded about all these lessons - we are still holding off adopting until we make the move to the Lakes in the next year (hopefully!) - best for the piggies for us to be settled and secure and all the things - including a suitable vet! - are in place! And we accept that piggies will make and break our hearts, but they’re the best animals ever! xx
☘️. Aw. So sorry to hear about your experience with Pixie. As for me, I've made mistakes too. I've owned piggies for around 25 years now and have learned along the way too. Yes I did research, but it was based on my partner at the time who had owned piggies before, pet shops and I think a book or two. This was pre-internet/TH-cam so limited information available. I had them in hutches, indoors thankfully, never had outdoor piggies, but then moved on to pet shop cages thinking they were better which I know now they aren't. I've had them with little or no outside cage time, no floor or garden, living singly not in pairs, admittedly their cages wouldn't have been big enough for two. Wrong type of bedding, wood shavings that weren't as dust free as they should have been leading to irritated skin . Whilst I wish with benefit of hindsight and gained knowledge things could have been different, I loved them all and did the best I could at the time. These days, I have a pair of boys, in mid-west deluxe cages, joined by open door. On fleece with litter trays. I ideally want to upgrade to c+c but currently one of my boys is senior and the youngster has a tendency to try and steal his food, so I separated them at veggie time, and re-open when all gone. They have free-running floor time, or go in their run every day. Run is set up indoors if weather bad, outside if good. Thank heavens for channels like yours that help educate and don't shy away of difficult subjects. Keep up the excellent work. 😁
My guinea pig drinks from a bowl but won't touch the hanging bottle thing. She was a rescue from a house with children, so I boil down all her quirks to the environment she lived in for her first year. Yes they got her from a pet store. She doesn't like crinkly things or anything that makes noise. She's extremely skittish and is hard to pick up for lap time. I always wonder if i'm doing something wrong, which is why I watched this. I now know to do my research on vets and treatments. Thank you
Same thing happened to me! I was taking my Guinea pigs to my friends house who own a ton of Guinea pigs, so she’s checking them to make sure there healthy and stuff, and then to my horror she says “these are girls…” I was shocked. One of my guinea pigs are larger and we had thought that she was pregnant thankfully the other one was a girl to. We went to pets mart to complain about it they said “we don’t even sell girls” what a lie.
REALLY GREAT VIDEO! Thank you so very much for sharing your experience and heartfelt advice. You are literally saving cavy lives with this priceless information. ❤️💔❤️
My husband and i have one really big regret. We didnt have a vet that took pigs for the first yr, and we had one of our first pigs pass suddenly. about a year later we had a pig with a URI and realized she made a very similar sound to a sound the passed pig had made. So because we didnt realize the sound was a URI sound or even a sound to worry about we didnt get her looked at. The 2nd pig who had the URI was also doing other things we knew were not normal and that was how we decided to take her to the vet. and oh boy we were lucky we got a mama and her 4wk old daughter from a shelter and while we were meeting them my husband had the mama who was all black and had like 6 white hairs at her crest, he was looking at those (he named her Grace because of those and hes not even religious) he noticed one white bug. we kept them away from our other 4 and had a call in to the vet and a visit the very next morning, both had lice. We called the shelter so they could treat the foster home and specificly Grace's son's which we couldnt take.
Oh poor sweet Pixie 😢 makes you so angry when you hand over these precious litter critters and the vet doesnt even do basic research! I have learnt alot from this, especially from my little namesake Pixie, the name of that injection is burned into memory along with the others listed.
For some reason my guinea pig (Twiglet!) loves watching your videos each time he come up to my house for social time with his friends! lol He also watches anythimg that comes on TV or the ipad ect!!
I'm so sorry about your Pixie piggie. I feel like all of us piggie people have at least one big regret. My biggest regret is when Aphrodite died (my first piggie) I didn't let her cage mate, Nellie, say goodbye. Nellie wasn't the same after Aphrodite died and she actually died 10 months later when we couldn't stop her from having seizures. I'm convinced to this day, 10 years later, that losing Aphrodite without understanding she'd died killed Nellie. Ever since I've been sure to show the cage mates the body of any piggie that dies.
When I think back to my first guinea pig, I feel so sad for her. I have no idea how she lived so long. We all loved her and she was always happy to get picked up and socialize with us. But she lived in a tiny cage and wasn't ever fed a proper diet. Luckily she did get to enjoy the summer grass a lot. She lived to be 6 or 7. She never had another piggie friend. :(
I'm so sorry about Pixie, truly idiotic that they put toxic medicines in a poor guinea pig...💔
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Oh my word, what that landlord said about putting your rodents in the oven is absolutely disgusting! That boils my blood, what a cruel thing to say. I'm glad you and your precious piggies got out of there!
As a new piggy owner, I’m obsessed with gaining knowledge about how to keep them happy and healthy. Your channel has helped so much in this new journey. Thank you!!! Truly. Rip Pixie ❤
me too
I just got mine 3 days ago and I’ve been scrambling to get them a new cage and just a better environment. This channel has made me feel so hopeful about raising them. Thank you! 🍀
This helps so much. Whenever I take my guinea pigs to the vet, I will always check what’s going into them. Rip pixie 😭 💔 ❤🩹. I literally cried irl for her
As beginner pet owners, I feel like even with the most research, we can still fall short. I regret how I kept my rabbits when I first started raising them! In those wire cages or in a hutch in my garage. It took me actually "listening" when my rabbits were out for their free time in my room and home that I realized they were a lot happier with places to run around. Don't beat yourself up over it too much because you do amazing now!
I love hearing that, I hope everyone in that situation sees the light and moves their bunnies into better care situations. ❤ We are all doing the best we can with the information we have at the time.
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We were taking our pigs to a local vet who specialised in small animals, also not knowing that meant cats and dogs. They weren't awful but we did lose a piggie last year and wonder if they missed something. Now I now we need to go to an exotic vet although I have an eye condition and can't drive, and my partner has inflexible hours with her job so I'll be trekking with the pigs on the bus to take them to the vet.
We also had boys when we thought we had girls :) Miss them every day.
We now have 2 girls, one just under 1 and the other around 6 months. I think the older one may have a possible sludge issue so we're monitoring that and getting ready for their first vet visit but she seems fine in general, normal behaviour, eating etc So fingers crossed it's nothing.
I made the mistake of keeping my piggies in a small cage in a dark garage. I'm haunted by it too. I have two hutches that I'm taking to the tip as I don't want to sell/give away and piggies or rabbits end up in them. My girls live free range in my kitchen diner. I just put them in their c & c cage at night. I've made sure there are no wires that they can reach. Also your advice saved Mabel's life. I had the critical care in the cupboard and used it before I could get her to the vet. Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing as a fairly new piggy owner before I ever adopted my two boars not only did the research I watched all your videos and learned even more information about the Guinea Pig world and their care Whistler and Scamper are two intact boars that are bonded and because of your information their bonding was very smooth they are 1 year apart in age Whistler is the dominant but their bond is strong and Scamper is perfectly happy with being subordinate ❤
Thank you so much for making this video. It showed how heart broken you still are over the loss of Pixie. I am so very sorry. I love my piggies so much and its never easy having to wait to see them again in heaven! ❤️⚘️
This was a great video! Thank you for being so candid. My first pair of guinea pigs was almost 20 years ago. I just followed the directions I was given by the petstore. I made many mistakes. Small cage, not enough hay, and vitamins in the water. Not a day goes by that I don't regret how I cared for them. My pigs now are treated like the queens they are. I'm so grateful to you. You were the first channel I found and taught me so much!
Thanks Sarah for this video! When I think back of the first piggy I got (more then 30 years ago) I feel sorry for the little guy. There wasn't any social media back then to inform us like today. Luckily today there are TH-cam channels like this one to give us good advice. Sadly to say that the petshops still haven't learned to inform people the proper way, even after 30 years 🙄 I could feel your grief over your lost piggy Pixie. I experienced something simular with my piggy Nobbynobs. He got a cold and the normal vet gave him antibiotics that did't help. And I had to let him go, he was only 7.5 months old. I felt gutted. Today I go to the university vetclinic with my piggies, where they are treated by the rodent proffessors of the university. Still feel sad that I couldn't safe my Nobbynobs back then, he was such an adventurous and very human friendly piggy. 🍀❤
Thank you so much for this. The last one is the one I'll remember the most. Pedro taught me that rescue piggies are the best. Now Pixie has taught me that I have to be an advocate for my pets too. By your telling her story you have helped a lot of piggies have a better life. Thank you so much. ❤🍀🍀🍀❤️
Thank you for sharing, poor Pixie, that's so so sad. You are a wonderful piggy mommy no matter what xx
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us!
I used to keep my two guinea pigs; Chippy & Truffles, in a 2.5x1.5 store bought cage. I never saw them popcorn, and all they did was eat, drink, and sleep. No room to play. It was awful. I never had the opportunity to see them as happy piggies! But now I have them in a 2x5 C&C cage and they are very happy. And it’s all because of you, Sarah!!! Thanks so much for inspiring me to give my piggies what they need to enjoy life. 💖 🍀
My guinea pig always made the food requesting voice, he weighted 3-4kg at the end and survived 5 years, with a decent place, with little wooden house
A good tip for building your own cage is the cheap devan beds - once you get the fabric off an old one you have a basic wooden frame to use as a starting point and cover the sides with chicken wire and a staple gun - all you need then is a peice of vinal flooring to stapel to the bottom. Works great and its a fair size to keep them happy
I just got two piggies recently and your videos have helped me a lot being a new guinea pig owner. My first piggie, Buddy, was so happy about his new home that he immediately started pop-corning not a second after I placed him in the pen! I was also able to get him a roommate, Momo, who is submissive and they have bonded quite well. I am thankful that I can watch so many videos for advice on how to properly take care of my piggies so as to give them the best, healthiest life these fluffy little potatoes could hope for.
Thanks so much for this! I always beat myself up when I've made mistakes with my piggies over the years.
🍀 So sorry about Pixie. 💔 I teared up hearing your regret. My first vet was an exotics trained vet but too new to it and hadn’t treated enough on their own especially surgery. I lost two guinea pigs under his care. And that was after a significant search just to find him! I left him after the bad experience and have found two exotics I keep both on file. I like getting both opinions and even then sometimes go by my research either from online forums or experienced owners like yourself or my experiences to date. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you Sarah for that video, I fell into the trap of a small hutch in the garden before, but now I can safely say they are living the life in a c and c cage ❤ . Thank you for all you have done, you have helped so many piggy parents, addressing misconceptions and giving reliable information when we need it ❤ 🍀
I love your editing, especially the sound effects. Clever having your pics reacting to the content with their little squeaks. RIP Pixie. Never knew to double check prescriptions from professionals. Thanks for this video! 🍀
I had a single piggie back in the early 1990s and it lived in a 10 gallon tank, not a shred of hay or a hide in sight. My piggies now have a similar situation to yours. Thank you for your educational videos, as they have helped us make informed decisions!
Hi, I'm a new guinea pig owner, I've had mine 2years now. I'm so sorry to hear about your piggy.
I lost one of my boys when he was a year old, he was making a squeal when he weed and I knew it was a pain cry. Three lots of antibiotics and an ultrasound later and I managed to find an exotic vet that wasn't too far away. Over £1k later, another ultrasound, a bladder flush antibiotics and antiinflammatory, he went into surgery and I was told that his bladder was fused to another organ which was causing him pain and constant bladder infections. There was nothing he could do, if he tried to fix it and seperate the organs, he could've caused more damage and more pain for him, but it wasn't fair to not do anything and him be in pain, so we made the decision for him to be put to sleep.
I still regret to this day not trying harder to find an exotic vet straight away, although this could've been something he was born with it also could've been an infection and his body trying to heal itself.
Your videos are so helpful and informative, i watched tones of your videos before I bought them and your bonding ones when I got a new friend for my other piggy. thankyou 🍀❤️ xx
Thank you so very much for this video. We got two piggies last month. Though the pet shop employee assured me the cage we purchased with them was enough space, it's clear to me it's not, and purchased what I thought would be a larger, multi-storied upgrade- only to find that the piggies had zero headspace, and struggled with the wire ramps. I've been looking for a suitable solution- and the nod to C&C cages was just what I needed. I and our piggies thank you!
I'm a new piggy owner and learning a lot from your channel. I've had mine just over a week and they are about 4 months old, never handled, 3 sisters, from a breeder.
I feel mine will never be this tame! They run and hide every time I'm near them. I've watched your videos on taming but they just hide and won't come out!
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Sat here crying whilst sat with my girls. Thank you for your videos and for sharing mistakes. Honestly made the same mistakes when I got my girls (small cage, pet shop bought) but finding you and the whole piggie community has been wonderful and hopefully I’m giving my girls the best I can which they deserve. ❤
For me I'm a new piggie owner - I adopted my guinea pigs from a shelter, but unbeknownst to us they had severe URI's. Several heartbreaking weeks and thousands of dollars later we'd lost both of them 😢😢
I'd never go to a big shelter again. So much so I went to a private rescue for one of my new pigs, and a breeder for the other. Now I'm biased and will probably continue to go with breeders as our boy is big, courageous, and healthy.
I'm glad you posted this video, I think it's important to learn from mistakes so we don't repeat them ❤ and I'm sorry about Pixie, that wasn't your fault and the vet shouldve known better 😞
Your videos have taught me so much about piggie ownership, and my spoilt boys live in a 2 x 6 C and C cage inside with fleece and bath mats and more handmade beds and tunnels then necessary 😂
Oh my thank you Sarah for being so open with this, so many points you brought up that we have done in the past... The hutch in the garden was our first piggies when B was young, we kept them in a shed for the winter... Now 20yrs later she has them living in a c&c cage in her bedroom... Its so great, when we come up the stairs we are always shouted at for food for them.... But a month a go we lost Pippin which was a big shock as they were only 2.5yrs old and bought from P@H the vet said he had a respiratory infection and he may have had it from birth. His breathing was very laboured, she gave him antibiotics with an injection and we had to give him one tablet each day too, we still lost him 😢 as he wasn't eating so well and we couldn't get him to take the critical care. I feel the critical care was difficult to get right as we struggled to suck it up into the syringe, we wasn't sure about things like the consistency and whether we was swallowing it or not. It was a very difficult experience and ended with us losing him anyway. 😢
We are now ready to get Merry a new buddy and think we may have found a rescue here in our hometown.... So we will definitely be rescuing one for Merry to get a new friend as he really is starting to miss Pippin now.
Thank you for all you do Sarah it has been so helpful and as novice owners we have learned from our experience even though is was a sad one.
Hugs to the you and the girls xx🍀
🍀thank you for sharing your story about what happened with Pixie; our hearts break with yours💔😭 we absolutely love your channel for all the knowledge and information you continue to share so we all can provide the best life ever for every piggie out there☺️
Thanks so much, you’re saving so many guineapigs with this content! Mine live in a c&c mansion with a great diet and are so healthy and happy bc of content like this!!🍀🍀🍀
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🍀 Thank you for all you do to teach and encourage our little Guinea pig community ❤️
Thank you so much for this video! I am much more aware of Guinea pig care! I am really sorry about Pixie 😢. That must have been awful
Thank you Sarah! I don't know what I would do without your information. Many here in the US don't know a lot about guinea pigs. I know I didn't until I started watching your videos. You have helped tremendously and my piggies thank you! ❤🍀
So sorry to hear of your bad vet experience, but thank you for sharing. My local vet is nice enough, but nice doesn't necessarily mean competent. I learned this the hard way. PLEASE RESEARCH THE BEST PIGGY VET NEAR YOU, WHEN YOUR PIGS ARE HEALTHY. An expert (recommended by others) will be worth it. My new vet owns piggies themselves & I can just tell they radiate both empathy and knowledge. They're also cheaper than my previous vet! Further to travel to, but 100% worth it
I just adopted two guinea pigs from a friend, and I have to thank you so much for your channel! I've been binging your videos, learning a ton and have already switched up their cage design, am using flannel liners (WHY anyone would want to use messy wood shavings is beyond me!), and am creating a daily routine to help tame the shy one. Thank you so much!!
So sorry about Pixie. I nearly lost two rabbits to the same thing, only the antibiotics we used do work often in many rabbits and aren't considered (or weren't then) not recommended. It can be a roll of the dice that even a good vet will make. Luckily for me it was 24 hour lasting oral medication so I was able to get them thru it. But because they couldn't keep taking it they got sicker, one eventually didn't make it (after penicillin did a huge amount of damage as well, and everything else including age caught up with her.) But the thing is my bunnies were really poorly, not just having a small uninfected wound. The amount of risk you take with medications depends on what the animal is dealing with. The vet shouldn't have chosen something so strong and so irretrievable for something so slight. It's a real shame, and I really appreciate that you are educatuing people. It's hard because every situation is different but the more knowledge and experience (generally) that we have before going into a crisis situation the better chance we have to make good choices for our pets. But there are no guarantees, sadly, and hindsight is 20/20 so regrets are almost inevitable.
I'm so sorry about Pixie! I'm crying. My heart is broken for you. 💔 My piggies have an exotics vet AND I will search anything they want to give them, 🍀 thank you. 🍀
That last one, your biggest regret brought me to tears. I’m so sorry that happened to you but thank you for your videos as I have learned so much about guinea pigs. The dos and don’t the good and the bad. I and my 2 piggies thank you. 😊😊😊
Thank you, Sarah, for the video. It's amazing the way to show us the right directions and help us avoid the wrong ones. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you keep up with your videos and allow us to follow the great piggies work you've been developing. 🧡
all these pet shop horror stories ive heard makes me think I lucked out with my abandoned little guy who so far hasnt had any cause for concern, loves pets and seems to be bonding well with the friend we got him(from the same place that found the abandoned guy)
I’m so incredibly sorry about Pixie, I haven’t been watching your videos for crazy long so I didn’t know. That just proves really how important it is to find the right vet 💔😞
Thank you Sarah for the video. This made me feel a little bit better about the mistakes I've made as a pet owner and to also not be so harsh on myself. Mistakes are for learning
Hi Sarah👋🏼When I was younger, I had pet rabbits. I shudder now as I think back to all the mistakes I made, but I also know I did my very best at the time. There was no TH-cam back then (late 80s/early 90s) and given the chance I would do things so much differently now. My heart was in the right place, as was your’s in your early days of owning piggies, so we mustn’t be hard on ourselves. I’m so sorry about your dear Pixie❤️ Love your videos! You and your sweet piggies are an absolute joy to watch! Sending much love & hugs across the pond to you!💕💕💕
Sarah sorry about Pixie.yes I agree that Exotic Vets are the way to go. My last episode with my Teddy Boy was when he stopped eating. The exotic vet was on duty at the emergency vets office which gave the regular vets access to consult with the exotic vet. I had been to the exotic who was wonderful but I felt the regular vet was new and possibly did not present his issues to the exotic vet appropriately. The exotic vet saved Teddy’s life a few years prior. It was his teeth and they did surgery on Teddy and I nursed him back to health with the critical care and meds. This time he was refusing the critical care and I was told to force him which I didn’t really feel great about doing. I called back and another vet (not exotic) but she was sharper than the first vet I used the day before. She told me to stop by and she would give Teddy that med that stimulates his gut. The other vet failed to give that to him. I also had to pick up more melixocam for pain as they never gave me enough to begin with. I got more critical care into him that nite but when we woke up , he was hiding in his cave and didn’t pee or poop or eat or drink. I felt that was a horrible sign and felt I should have him put to sleep from my own personal vet that my dogs see. I feel guilty and think I should have let nature take its course and keep him home. I just didn’t want him suffering but maybe it would have been better letting him stay with us.of course I stayed with my Teddy boy until he passed at the vet office. So sad. Still missing him and so are my dogs and granddaughters. 💔💙
By the way, my regular vet did feel something in his stomach which she made me feel. So I’m sure he was uncomfortable. Ty Sarah for always sharing your good and bad stories. Your girls are beautiful. Can’t wait to
Hear how your new little guy does!!!
I love your videos and all the wisdom you share about guinea pigs. I have two and I just think they’re the cutest. But sometimes I worry that I might do something I shouldn’t and because of ignorance just harm them. Thank you!
Poor Pixie, you were trying your best, you expect the vet to know best. I have many regrets/mistakes too 😢
I also have a big regret that cost the life of one of my piggies. My Pippin had a respiratory tract infection and while the vet was amazing and not at all to blame, i feel this relates to what you had. He had basically stopped eating so i was having to syringe feed him critical care and for a while he seems fine but he started struggling and when I had though okay enough is enough you've had some food at least lets stop for now, he started (what i believe to be ) choking and there was little i could do. He passed away on my lap whilst i was doing what i thought best for him, last month.🍀
Your story about Pixie made me cry. Don't feel guilty tough, you did what you tought was the best thing for her, and I'm sure she's in piggie heaven now popcorning with an unlimited supply of fresh hay, grass, fruits, vegetables, and toys!
I had no idea that there were medications that are toxic for piggies! Thank you so much for sharing this information and allowing others to learn from your past mistakes. This is definitely something that I will add to the information I will share during my Educational Programs when I begin them and also share with potential adopters and new owners.
Making bad mistakes as an owner of a pet is really stressful for me. For me, the biggest mistake is not getting 2 piggies. I get so sad when I here my friends say: I just got a guinea pig!😢
And good that you mentioned about cage space, small pet store cages just get me so angry!
The piggies look very happy today! Im also happy becouse this is the first time in Latvia🇱🇻 that it 20+ degrees🎉🎉.
Going to get ready for eurovision, so see you next week! ❤❤
~Beatrise
Thanks for the advice
🍀 Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry about Pixie. Poor little girl. A four leaf clover from our piggy Clover. Love ur vids. 🍀
My parents are building a new house and we're currently renting. I wanted a cat so badly. My mom said she's allergic and it'll kill her, or whatever. I asked for shih tzu or a bulldog. That was also a no. Kinda jokingly, I asked for a guinea pig. My parents agreed and I have been vehemently researching how to best take care of them. You have been a great resource and have helped me so much in getting inspiration for the cage and preventing hat seem to be rather common mistakes.
i’m so sorry about pixie, i have been watching your videos for months to learn more on how to take care of my 2 guineas. it has helped me so much and i thank you for sharing all your knowledge. unfortunately, Neo, my first guinea passed away 2 days ago due to something like pixie. i’m so devastated, and i wish Neo had gone to a different vet too or not even had to go at all. i miss him so much. he was only 8 months old. i am heartbroken i miss him so much.
So sorry for pixie,
It’s so unfair .
Thank you for sharing this with us.😢
Hi Sarah thanks for that video it I’ve made mistakes with putting Guinea pigs in to small of a cage when I first started out I don.t buy Guinea pigs from a pet shop any more due to having one die not long after I bought it never know what was wrong with the Guinea pig. Now I get all my piggie from a rescue. With vets am happy to say I have a great vet who I trust good job too used them this week had to make very hard decision and sadly had my rabbit put to sleep am heartbroken hope your girls are well
Thank you Sarah for all your great videos. I’ve had piggies for a long time now but I’m still learning new things from channels such as yours. I’ve recently lost a three and a half year old piggy who died overnight and gave no symptoms of sickness at all. I’m finding it difficult not to feel guilty and wonder what I did wrong. Your piggies are so beautiful.
I made SO many mistake with my first guinea pig, largely because all we had back then were care books, and because so much knowledge has changed. It's good that information is more readily available nowadays.🍀
I want to thank you so much for putting such an effort into your channel. Half a year ago I went to a local rescue and got guinea pigs for the first time in my life. I was about to buy a "normal" pet store cage but thanks to your videos I bought the "largest" one available in the store and set up an even larger free roaming area using C&C. They love it and always start popcorning when I put them in 💖 So again thank you very much, you make the life better for countless little piggies!!!
I'm so so sorry to hear about Pixie.. that's terrible. ❤ I've made so many mistakes with my past guinea pigs and I've been feeling flooded with guilt and regret recently. I'm finding it hard to forgive myself :( 🍀
This video makes me feel that I'm not the only one who made errors. I had a small pet store cage to start with as I was told it was ok. Never again. Them poor poor piggies had no space at all.
I have to say..... I love your videos. They are so informational and have taught me allot. Thank you for sharing your experiences both good and bad. I printed the link for both good and bad medications and saved the link to my desktop. Looks like a very thorough website to refer to. Thanks for posting that and keep the videos coming!!
❤ I appreciate all of the videos you share. They helped save one of my sweet piggies. I also model how I care for them after I found your channel. My biggest piggie mistake was buying the "biggest" cage at the pet store, not realizing how insanely small it was. I spent so much money on it. I eventually got a c&c cage that we're very happy with for my 3 girls. Technically I have room for a 4th piggie, but I'm happy with my little herd of three.
Re cage sizes I still remember the dubious look on the guy's face when I went to pick up my (now late) doe from "back yard dog crate" situation; as I picked her up, her then-owner said, worried, "That's a really small cage." It was a cat carrier. To carry her home. To the house where she would be able to run around for most of the daytime. 🤦🏻♀️
Thank you for all that information as it is very useful for me because I am a new guinea pig owner.
I honestly dont know what I did wrong, but whatever it was, it was something that the rescue will no longer let me foster or adopt piggies anymore. It all started when I fostered two wild piggies that absolutely did not like each other at all. They were the first experience I ever had. I was accused that I was the reason they had become unbonded. I had them in a 6x2 cnc cage. I was told if they were fighting then obviously my cage was too small. I had to take pics of my cage before fostering if they thought it too small then why did they allow me to foster?
Then I was told I was not feeding them enough. I fed them two handful of pellets every morning, fresh veggies at 6 and 2 bathmats as kitchenettes full of hay on each side because they each had to have thier own. The 3rd week we had them they had just started to take treats from our hand...well one did. We were told they were adopted even though a previously lady fostered them for a year. We loved them. Now that I have adopted two from a fellow church member I get to expierience 2 piggies who only motorcycle when they dont want to be bothered and are actually bonded. The 6 year old love pets, the baby one sniffs my hand but backs up if I move to pet her but no longer runs and hides so we are getting there.
I would have loved if the Rescue had told me what I did wrong or actually tried to educate me instead of false accusations. Its like they were making stuff up trying to find something I was doing wrong. I think the lady who had them for a year wanted them back but as bad as those babies came to me from her I hope she did not get them. Its sad I am banned and she is not. All I did was care for two wild piggies.
But my piggies I have now I think are amazing. Even though I would love to support a rescue because I absolutely believe in it, here in Alaska, unless she changes her outlook, I will not. I will adopt from posts or the shelter because it was made clear to me thats my only options.
Thanks for sharing your mistakes new piggie owner . My husband got me gunies pigs as present he got them pet shop cage which after me doing research I realised was too small and they now have c&c cage . One had ring worm when she came to us . I would now love a neutered boar to join our girls but have been looking resuces as now my knowledge is wider since owning guinea pigs and watching you videos so thank you for sharing all mistakes. I am so sorry you lost a piggie due one of them 💔
I am so sorry to hear about Pixie, something similar has happened to one of my pigs.😢
Thank you so much!!! 😍😍 I’m going to vet this Saturday it’s good to have a list of dangerous medication!
That had to be hard to share all of that. But I am so glad you did because I learned something about the injectable issue and the list you showed. I will keep that for the future. You always do such a great job!! Thank you !!!❤❤❤
🍀 Thank you for this, I see so many bad setups etc on IG, you do something so important for piggies everywhere ❤
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Thank you for the information! I'll definitely be more aware of vets and their choice of medication from now on.
Thank you so much for all your videos! They have been so much help. And your piggies are always so healthy and beautiful and cute!🍀
I had several piggies growing up. We bought them at KMart. We were not told anything about cages, food, etc. One of my piggies starved to death because we didn't know they had to have something to chew on to keep their teeth worn down. His teeth grew so long he couldn't eat. To this day I feel bad for my piggie that I let that happen to him. My poor buddy.
Thank you for sharing. My worst mistake has also been not having a proper exotics vet.
I have 2 boys and 4 girls. The two boys each have their own cage that's 6' x 2 '. I've tried to get these boys, and others, to live in the same cage but unless the boys are raised together from a young age they probably won't be able to live together. Even if they are raised together from a young age they still don't always last together once they hit puberty (6-10 months around.)
If this helps, for an outdoor cage I'm from Manitoba, Canada so there's no way they will be outside in the winter. -10 to -35C is not going to happen until things warm up in spring. However, in the spring through to summer and fall, when the temperature is above 13C and below 33C (fans needed then) they come out into their outdoor cage for the day. The cage is metal with a solid cover over the top. The two boys each have a 2' x 8 ' cage each and the four girls have a 4' x 4' cage. At no time are these piggies unsupervised, ever. Sure, there can be a stray cat or even a dog off the leash, this cage can sure stop that for a little bit, but my biggest concern is people. It's best not to test it and to bring them in before things get late. Hope this helps with Piggie happiness! Thanks for a good piggie site Sarah!
Thank you for your amazing advice and honesty Sarah- what a great video with brilliant advice. I was so sorry to hear about dear Pixie ❤
Love your Asda piggy bed set-I bought the same one too- it’s very cute! xx
So sorry to hear about Pixie, that must have been so terrible. I’ll be sure to make sure that my vet knows what their doing now. My pigs are only 2 months old and I definitely don’t want them to die too young
🍀 oh that last one got me so much😭! I’ve been so picky when it comes to picking a good vet. If I got a bad feeling, I didn’t go back. Hugs to you and the piggies! 🥰💔
I used to give my guinea pigs a bit too large a portion of pellets, and they became a bit overweight! My vet has given me guidelines of the right amount for them, so they are on a stricter diet now and have lost some weight :)
I don't own piggies now and have not for years but I know the painful regrets of owning pigs and rabbits back in the day when small cages outside was just how it was done.
As ever, a brilliant and incredibly informative video, Sarah and piggies! It’s so good to be reminded about all these lessons - we are still holding off adopting until we make the move to the Lakes in the next year (hopefully!) - best for the piggies for us to be settled and secure and all the things - including a suitable vet! - are in place! And we accept that piggies will make and break our hearts, but they’re the best animals ever! xx
☘️. Aw. So sorry to hear about your experience with Pixie.
As for me, I've made mistakes too. I've owned piggies for around 25 years now and have learned along the way too. Yes I did research, but it was based on my partner at the time who had owned piggies before, pet shops and I think a book or two. This was pre-internet/TH-cam so limited information available.
I had them in hutches, indoors thankfully, never had outdoor piggies, but then moved on to pet shop cages thinking they were better which I know now they aren't. I've had them with little or no outside cage time, no floor or garden, living singly not in pairs, admittedly their cages wouldn't have been big enough for two. Wrong type of bedding, wood shavings that weren't as dust free as they should have been leading to irritated skin .
Whilst I wish with benefit of hindsight and gained knowledge things could have been different, I loved them all and did the best I could at the time.
These days, I have a pair of boys, in mid-west deluxe cages, joined by open door. On fleece with litter trays.
I ideally want to upgrade to c+c but currently one of my boys is senior and the youngster has a tendency to try and steal his food, so I separated them at veggie time, and re-open when all gone.
They have free-running floor time, or go in their run every day. Run is set up indoors if weather bad, outside if good.
Thank heavens for channels like yours that help educate and don't shy away of difficult subjects.
Keep up the excellent work. 😁
i'm so sorry about Pixie, she was a strong piggie rest in peace 🌈😢🌧🐹❤💔
My guinea pig drinks from a bowl but won't touch the hanging bottle thing. She was a rescue from a house with children, so I boil down all her quirks to the environment she lived in for her first year. Yes they got her from a pet store. She doesn't like crinkly things or anything that makes noise. She's extremely skittish and is hard to pick up for lap time. I always wonder if i'm doing something wrong, which is why I watched this. I now know to do my research on vets and treatments. Thank you
Thank you for such a great video! You always provide helpful information. I’m sorry about your experience with Pixie. 💔
Same thing happened to me! I was taking my Guinea pigs to my friends house who own a ton of Guinea pigs, so she’s checking them to make sure there healthy and stuff, and then to my horror she says “these are girls…” I was shocked. One of my guinea pigs are larger and we had thought that she was pregnant thankfully the other one was a girl to. We went to pets mart to complain about it they said “we don’t even sell girls” what a lie.
REALLY GREAT VIDEO! Thank you so very much for sharing your experience and heartfelt advice. You are literally saving cavy lives with this priceless information. ❤️💔❤️
My husband and i have one really big regret. We didnt have a vet that took pigs for the first yr, and we had one of our first pigs pass suddenly. about a year later we had a pig with a URI and realized she made a very similar sound to a sound the passed pig had made. So because we didnt realize the sound was a URI sound or even a sound to worry about we didnt get her looked at. The 2nd pig who had the URI was also doing other things we knew were not normal and that was how we decided to take her to the vet.
and oh boy we were lucky we got a mama and her 4wk old daughter from a shelter and while we were meeting them my husband had the mama who was all black and had like 6 white hairs at her crest, he was looking at those (he named her Grace because of those and hes not even religious) he noticed one white bug. we kept them away from our other 4 and had a call in to the vet and a visit the very next morning, both had lice. We called the shelter so they could treat the foster home and specificly Grace's son's which we couldnt take.
Oh poor sweet Pixie 😢 makes you so angry when you hand over these precious litter critters and the vet doesnt even do basic research!
I have learnt alot from this, especially from my little namesake Pixie, the name of that injection is burned into memory along with the others listed.
🍀 Thank you so much, these are really important things to know!
so so sorry about your guinea pig pixie
been watching your vids for a couple months cause im getting a piggie soon, rescuing a baby in about a month..learned alot so thanks!
For some reason my guinea pig (Twiglet!) loves watching your videos each time he come up to my house for social time with his friends! lol He also watches anythimg that comes on TV or the ipad ect!!
🍀 Sorry about Pixie, and thank you for sharing this.
I'm so sorry about your Pixie piggie. I feel like all of us piggie people have at least one big regret. My biggest regret is when Aphrodite died (my first piggie) I didn't let her cage mate, Nellie, say goodbye. Nellie wasn't the same after Aphrodite died and she actually died 10 months later when we couldn't stop her from having seizures. I'm convinced to this day, 10 years later, that losing Aphrodite without understanding she'd died killed Nellie. Ever since I've been sure to show the cage mates the body of any piggie that dies.
Thanks for this it really is giving me confidence in getting my first guinea pigs!
When I think back to my first guinea pig, I feel so sad for her. I have no idea how she lived so long. We all loved her and she was always happy to get picked up and socialize with us. But she lived in a tiny cage and wasn't ever fed a proper diet. Luckily she did get to enjoy the summer grass a lot. She lived to be 6 or 7. She never had another piggie friend. :(
I can't get over how adorable Callie is! 😄
Thank you, Sarah🍀♥️