Pig Notes

Myth #10: Small Cages Don't Do Lasting Harm

Sparky came to us by way of a thrift store, an abandonment case that involved pre-teens who were not taking proper care of him and a newly pregnant mom who thought she couldn't be around him. (Sparky was the inspiration for our Myth #9 posting.) When I arrived at the store that Saturday morning two weeks before Easter, I wasn't sure what I'd find. When you're picking up an abandoned guinea pig, you're never entirely sure what you're going to find; too often, it's a sad, thin, unkempt piggie.

Sparky turned out to be a beautiful black Peruvian-Abyssinian mix with a swipe of white on his nose. Despite the commotion of the thrift store, and all the people who stuck fingers through the cage bars or put their faces up to the cage, he was remarkably even-tempered. He was sociable, clean, healthy, and overall well cared for.

Except for his cage.

The cage was about 22" x 14", thinly lined with pine bedding. The wire cage top was falling apart pretty much every way that it could fall apart and was held together by binder clips and twist ties. Sparky was sitting on the right side of the cage; his food dish, water bottle, and pile of hay was on the left. He had less than 10" of space for moving around. And no hidey house.

When I brought him home to foster, he was placed in a C&C cage. For three days, he stayed on the right side of the cage...not venturing more than six inches in any direction. I spent an evening coaxing him to be a brave piggie and walk around the cage. For four days, I had to artfully position veggies around his cage to encourage him to move around. And he was obsessed with his waffle-block house.

Once he was comfortable with the cage, I put him in a play area that was bigger than his cage. Again, he would not venture more than six inches in any direction. Even the girl piggies in the neighboring play areas could not lure him out. Strategically placed veggies didn't either. It was all enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Finally, after four days, I put my male in the play area with Sparky. In a few minutes, they were doing a piggie train around the perimeter of the play area and criss-crossing back and forth across the middle. The next night, though, Sparky forgot what a brave little piggie he'd been the night before and Winston once again had to pay a visit and coax Sparky around. And had to for several more nights.

I eventually got Sparky to the point where he'd run around my dining room or, at least, around the perimeter. In his cage and play area, he still favors the right side. And whenever he's introduced to a new environment, he reverts to his old habit -- right side of the cage, six inches in either direction. It's all still enough to bring tears to my eyes.

We can't stress it frequently or loudly enough -- pet store cages do not give guinea pigs enough room to live and play. The single best cage environment that owners can give their guinea pigs is a C&C cage. Your pigs will love you for it!

Myth #9: Pregnant Women Can't Be Around Guinea Pigs

We've had a surge in inquiries in the last three months from pregnant women wanting to know if they had to surrender the family guinea pig(s) before the pregnancy proceeded any further.

This likely stems (somehow) from the prevailing concern about pregnant women and cats, due to the risk of exposure to toxoplasmosis. (By the way, if you or someone you know is pregnant and has a cat, you might want to read this info from Yale before you take Kitty to a cat rescue.)

We've checked with the vets at South Wilton Veterinary Group and Pieper Olsen Veterinary Hospital -- as well as several OB-GYNs in southern Connecticut -- and the consensus is that pregnant women have no need to be concerned about being around guinea pigs.

They added that if women still have residual concerns, basic common-sense hygiene practices -- washing one's hands, keeping cages clean, and so forth -- should lay those concerns to rest. If all else fails, have husbands (and/or older children) clean Piggy's cage during the pregnancy and -- while they're at it -- Kitty's litter box. 

We're In The New York Times!

We were one of several specialty rescues interviewed for an article that appeared in the Connecticut section of today's New York Times. The article, titled "For Abandoned Pets, the Kindness of Strangers," is currently available on the newspaper's Web site.

The print edition of the article ran with a great photo of Cindy and Pogo (one of the rescue's sanctuary pigs...and one of Minerva's roommates). Regrettably, the photo did not make it into the online version.

Our thanks to the article's writer, Gail Braccidiferro, for doing the article and helping to raise the public's awareness of specialty rescues in our state.

A Better Bottle Brush

Do you find yourself wishing that your bottle brush cleaned your guinea pigs' water bottle just a little bit better?

Our finned friends in Fish Land may have an option you'd like better -- a filter brush. I came across this option purely by accident years ago, when my pet supply store didn't have a critter bottle brush in stock. I bought the brush as a temporary solution and wound up liking it so much that I've stuck with. The one shown here (which is what I have) is the Aquatic Gardens Flexible Twin Head Brush, which retails online for about $3.99.

What I like about the brush is that the bristles don't mash down within the first few uses and, even if they get a little flat, they can be restored simply by running your fingers over them in the opposite direction. The flexible wire coil in between the brush ends makes it easy to twist a brush end around so that you can really scrub at the top and side surfaces of the water bottle, and even in that hard-to-reach spot just inside the bottle's opening.

The brush heads are small enough that you can run them down both ends of the drinking spout for 8-ounce and 16-ounce bottles. They are, however, just a little tight when you try to pull them back out...but I've never had one get stuck.

The brush heads clean quickly under warm or cold running water, and dry quickly as well. Because the brush is 19" long, it can be a little trickier to store than the standard critter bottle brush but its cleaning ability far outweighs this.

You'll be amazed at how much cleaner your critter water bottles can be!

Someone For Everyone

During Adopt a Guinea Pig Month, we wanted to let folks know about a wonderful little book.

"Someone For Everyone" is an enchanting story, told with full-color photographs, about a guinea pig waiting for a new home for much too (inexplicably) long after her siblings left for their new homes. Sitting sadly in her cage, this lovely and lonely little pig gets advice from the other animals in the store about why it's taking her longer to find a home.

This book especially touched us. Every once in a while we have a pig -- or a pair of pigs -- that we think are, to use Cindy's word, just "awesome" but, for some reason, take longer to get adopted out than we can understand. This book illustrates perfectly that it's all about personality and timing -- finding just the right match between humans and guinea pigs at just the right time. And, sometimes, the perfect match takes a little more time to find...but when it shows up, it's for life.

The book was written and published by two writers in Australia, and is available for purchase online. The book is $19.95 (Australian currency), which works out to about $18.66 in U.S. currency (based upon the currency exchange rate right now); when you order through PayPal with your credit card, your cardholder will handle the conversion and will likely show you the charge in U.S. currency on your next statement.

Get yours today!!

March Is Guinea Pig Month!

Our beloved little ones get a whole month of their own (thanks ASPCA!)!

We'll be appearing at Aetna on March 12 as part of their ongoing program to connect employees with the non-profits operating in their communities. Pets Press is also running several articles about guinea pigs in its March issue, due to hit stands any day now. We're also awaiting word on the publication date of an article -- featuring specialty rescues around the state (including us) -- in the Connecticut section of The New York Times. (The reporter said it's likely to be in the last half of the month.)

If you know someone thinking of adding guinea pigs to their family, please encourage them to adopt!

Rescue Featured On Best Friends

We were just featured in an article in the Connecticut area of the Best Friends Network.

The article, titled "A Special Place for Connecticut’s Guinea Pigs," was written by Kelli Banet (who also fosters a pair of guinea pigs for us). In the article, she talks about the rescue, underscores the importance of not buying guinea pigs on impulse, and highlights their unique care needs.

Check it out! And, thanks Kelli!

More Options For Dinner In A Hurry

Before Christmas, we wrote about how Earthbound Farms' Spring Mix can be a huge help when you need to feed your guinea pigs their morning or evening veggie servings in a hurry.

The large containers of EB Spring Mix can feed four guinea pigs for 2-3 days, depending on how big the servings are. If you're looking for smaller packages for a pair of pigs, you might consider some of the following options from Fresh Express.

• Premium Romaine or Organic Hearts of Romaine
• Sweet Baby Greens (contains some combination of the following baby lettuces: salanova, baby red and green butter lettuce, baby green and red romaine, tango, baby green and red oak, lolla rosa, baby green and red leaf)
• Organic Italian (romaine lettuce and radicchio)
• Organic Mixed Baby Greens (contains some combination of the following: baby red romaine, royal red oak, lolla rossa, new red fire, baby red leaf, tango, little gem, baby green romaine, green oak, baby green leaf, mizuna, tat soi, red mustard, green mustard, red chard, green chard, arugula, baby spinach, radicchio & frisee)
• 5-Lettuce Mix (romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, green leaf, red leaf & raddichio)
• Fancy Field Greens (romaine lettuce, curly endive, frisée, radicchio & shredded carrots)
• Riviera (butter lettuce & radicchio)
• Sweet Butter (green butter lettuce & red butter lettuce)

We should note that Earthbound Farms does have its own variations of many of the salad blends listed above. We have noticed lately, however, that while many grocery stores around Connecticut sell the plastic, recloseable containers of EB's Spring Mix, the preponderance of the smaller bagged salad blends in produce aisles seem to be from Fresh Express.

Be sure to check out these companies' Web sites, as they offer delicious recipes and lists of add-ins for their salad blends that are sure to appeal to the humans in your household!

The Critter Connection 2008 Calendar Is Here!

We're pleased to announce that our first ever calendar is available in our Zazzle gallery!

This full-color calendar features photos of Minerva, Pogo, Skye, Jester, Topper, Butters and Thomas, Newton and Skeeter, and other guinea pigs who have come through the rescue's doors. You can choose from three sizes, and even pick the color of the wire spiral binding.

The calendar is a great way to keep track of all your 2008 activities, show your support for the rescue, and help promote guinea pig adoption to friends, co-workers, and family. The cute photos of happy guinea pigs are sure to bring a smile on even the roughest days!

Get yours today!

Dinner In A Hurry

Want to give your guinea pigs a varied diet of fresh greens but don't always have time to wash and dry produce before the family heads out in the morning?

Check out Earthbound Farms' Organic Spring Mix at your local grocery store. It comes pre-washed (triple washed, actually) in a one-pound plastic container. The mixture includes: several types of baby lettuce, red and green chard, mizuna, arugula, mache, frisee, and radicchio. (Product packaging states that ingredients in each container may vary.)

Prices vary slightly from store to store, but the average is about $6.50. For some budgets, the price may be higher than can be spent on a regular basis but including just one container to your pigs' monthly diet can add quite a bit of excitement..and dare I say, decadence...to your pigs' routine. It's a great item to buy for that week that you know you're going to be particularly busy -- or to give your piggies their own special holiday feast.

If you can hang around for a few minutes after you give your pigs a handful of this mix, you'll find the sounds of happy crunching and munching to be the highlight of your day!