Thursday 22 October 2015

Guinea Pigs Update & Care Tips!

Hi guys!

So, with the start of my college classes it has been quite difficult to gather my thoughts on writing a new post. From now on my schedule is most likely going to be insanely full. Considering that blogging has turned out to be a very challenging task so far, I imagine that things are about to get even more difficult for me. Even so, I will give it my best (as always) to keep posting interesting articles as frequently as possible. It might be about time to make a "blogging schedule"... 

  So, I thought that for today's post I could write an update on the guinea pigs and how they're doing, since the last time I wrote about them was in their introduction post, 6 months ago.

 First of all, I think it's about time I announced some very sad news.

  On August 23, 2 months ago, my beautiful guinea pig Cairo sadly passed away while we were on vacation. I don't want to share many details of how it happened because it was an awful and traumatic experience and I get very upset thinking about it (I'm literally tearing up right now). His death was due to over-heating (heat-stroke), which makes me feel completely irresponsible as a pet owner, because I should have taken better care of him. I tried everything I could think of to save him -we had no access to a vet (let alone a vet experienced in treating exotic animals)-, but unfortunately there was nothing I could do for him.




  After this painful experience, I feel the need to warn other first-time guinea pig owners. If you fall under this category, please, try to be as responsible and careful as possible for your pets as they are incredibly sensitive animals, especially when it comes to temperature.

1. Make sure that you don't keep your guinea pigs outside when it's either too hot or too cold and never leave them or their cage exposed to the sun! The ideal temperature for guinea pigs is between 18 - 24 degrees Celsius.

2. If you have to keep your guinea pigs outside (perhaps because you are bothered by the noise/smell of their cage) pay close attention to tip #1. If your family refuses to allow the pets inside the house and you feel that the temperature is too high or too low for them to feel comfortable in, make every possible effort to bring them inside, possibly by finding an area to place the cage where the noises/odors won't bother anyone (and also offer to clean any mess they might make).

3. If you need to leave the house and your guinea pigs alone for an extended period of time, it would be best to bring them inside. If the weather is very warm/hot open a window to ventilate the room or turn on your fan/air conditioner (but you shouldn't place the cage directly under the air current). If the weather is very cold make sure that the windows are closed and that your pets have a blanket or pouch to hide into and warm up.

4. Do NOT leave your guinea pigs alone in a vehicle on a warm or sunny day, even if it's for a short period of time (I learned that lesson the hard way)!

  These are only a few basic tips to ensure your pet's safety, but for further information and important rules for guinea pig care, please check out the following articles:
Summer Safety for your Guinea Pig
12 Tips For Warm Weather Care
Summer Heat Management
Winter Management
18 Ways To Keep a Guinea Pig Warm

                           
                             As for Ren:

  On a rather positive note, Ren has been extremely excited about being on his own. After his brother passed away, I was very worried that he wouldn't be happy on his own or that he would, in the worst-case scenario, fall into depression. However I was surprised to see how lively he became a few days after his brother's sudden absence (he must have hated Cairo so much). He has gained weight and grown a lot. He keeps running around, popcorning (which from what I've been told is a sign that a guinea pig is happy) and squealing every time he hears someone approaching (obviously begging for snacks). I find it absolutely adorable when I enter the room and he's standing on his hind legs, wheeking away at me.
  Lately Ren has also become more cuddly and he loves being stroked. I usually let him lie next to me on the bed on a warm blanket while I'm watching a movie. It's so damn cute when he stretches out and yawns!
  I'm very relieved that Ren is happy, healthy and safe and the whole experience with Cairo's death has motivated me to become a more careful and attentive owner. It's certainly much easier to care for a single guinea pig, but I'm definitely considering getting him a companion some day, especially if I come to notice that he's no longer happy on his own.



Before I end this post, I'd like to give a shout out to my boyfriend for helping me edit the pictures featured in this post, because, sadly, I am still inexperienced in that kind of stuff.

If you are a first-time guinea pig owner with little experience, I hope that this post and the articles I recommended helped you in some ways.

If you liked this post, please share it.
Also, I would love to read about your own pets, so make sure to leave a comment about them in the comment section.

Thank you for reading!

Love,
Stephanie

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you so much for reading, Paula!
      I think they are friggin' adorable too! :) <3

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