Guinea Pig Connection

Is It Too Hot To Talk About Cozy Cups?

We're always on the lookout for new sources of things to make a small critter's life luxuriously comfortable and, fortunately, there is a growing community of craftswomen opening up shops on the Web.

(I say "craftswomen" because, so far, everyone we've found out about is female. There may be men out there making stuff...we just haven't run across them yet.)

We have to hand it to this community, they do their best to support the small critter rescues. (Fabric is not cheap, even if you take advantage of every coupon and sale at places like Joann's Fabric & Crafts.) So we do our best to give them exposure, and hope you'll try their products and spread the word about them through your favorite social media channels.

Debbie Warren, who lives in southeastern Connecticut, opened her own online business named Simon's Shoppe. She's been very generous to the rescue. The pigs love the comfiness of her cage accessories, and Cindy loves their durability. Currently, you can find Simon's Shoppe on Facebook. For those who aren't on Facebook and don't want to be (like me), hopefully Master Simon will consider setting up his Shoppe someplace like Etsy (hint hint...nudge nudge). In the meantime, you can contact her at SimonsShoppe [at] gmail [dot] com.

Another Source For Cozy Cups

Although I haven't personally ordered anything from her (yet), I wanted to let folks know about the AZ Crafty Crew, a new entrant in the marketplace of handmade items for small and furry critters. Located in Arizona (hence the "AZ"), Rochelle recently launched her own site after operating on Etsy for awhile.

Her product gallery includes cozy cups (one of which I've shown here), piggy pads (cage liners that replace store-bought bedding), dribble catchers (to soak up those annoying drips from water bottles), and pillow pads (for putting under pigloos and other hidey houses). Prices on all items are quite reasonable.

We're all for supporting the handcraft entrepreneurs out there because their products are made with love and designed from first-hand experience to be durable enough to satisfy humans and comfy enough to satisfy critters. Please check her out, try her products, and spread the word!

6 Reasons Why A Water Bottle Will Make A Pet Stop Drinking

The near-80-degree weather in Connecticut yesterday and forecasted for today is making small pet owners start shifting their thinking to "summer mode." Hydration is always important for animals, but when temperatures start climbing above 70 degrees and higher humidity starts kicking in, hydration becomes exponentially more important.

So, it's essential to keep water bottles in top condition. Some of the reasons a water bottle can discourage a guinea pig (or any small animal) from drinking include:

• The bottle isn’t cleaned frequently and/or properly. A buildup of “backwash particles” (commonly from the food pellets that small animals eat) gunks up the drinking spout and the bottle. Regular rinsing of both with hot water, and frequent cleaning with water bottle brushes (available at most pet stores for $1.99 to $2.49) will prevent this buildup. 
• The bottle was washed with detergent and water, leaving a residue that puts an icky taste in the water. Water bottles should be washed or soaked in hot water only; hot water and a bottle brush will more than adequately clean bottles.
• The water isn’t changed frequently enough, causing the water and the inside of the bottle to get a little slimy (thus giving the water a bad taste).
• The water bottle was filled with water that was too cold. Really cold water has a habit of jamming up, or “freezing,” the ball bearing in drinking spouts.
• The rubber ring inside the bottle cover could be degrading. Some of the old bottles had black rings instead of clear ones; when they start degrading, they put an undesirable taste in the water. If your water bottle has a black ring in it, rinse the ring and dry it with a white cloth. If you see a black smudge on the towel, it’s time to replace the bottle.
• If you have hard water, it could be leaving residue in the drinking spout; as this residue builds up, it interferes with the ball bearing in the spout. (Also, if you have hard water, there’s a good bet your animals don’t like drinking it any more than you do.)

In the weeks between now and the real start of summer, give your water bottles a thorough once-over to make sure they're operating properly and are free of buildup. If something is amiss or the bottle is showing clear signs of age, toss it in the recycling bin and buy a replacement. Your guinea pigs will thank you!

Related Posts

• A Better Bottle Brush
• Why Water Bottles Need Frequent Cleaning
• Cleaning Water Bottles

 

What Toys Should I Buy For My Guinea Pig?

A very short post today, in response to a new reader named Zoya who asked us what toys she should get for her new guinea pig.

Toys are a gamble with guinea pigs. Cindy and I have encountered less than a handful of guinea pigs who have demonstrated sustained interest in many of the toys on the market, such as small balls they can push around. (Keep in mind that Cindy has had more than 750 guinea pigs come into the rescue over the last 6 years. I've had 28 come through my home in the last 11 years. Fewer than five pigs in that combined list have cared about "toys.")

What guinea pigs do like -- hands down -- are things that they can crawl under, run through, and hide in. Tunnels and hidey houses are the best investment of any caregiver's money, and there's many to choose from. We have a lot of those options listed in our Amazon aStore (look in the Hidey House and Toys categories) and our How To Spoil Your Guinea Pig page on Squidoo. Save the money you would have spent on other toys and use it instead to buy your guinea pig a wide variety of healthy fresh vegetables and fruits.

The single best thing you can give a guinea pig to keep him happy, healthy, active, and entertained is a roommate. No pile of toys can ever replace the companionship of another guinea pig.

 

Something Comfy For Piggies To Crawl Through

Ten years ago, at a holiday sale sponsored by the F.A.C.T. ferret rescue in Connecticut, I bought a long flannel tunnel for my guinea pigs. It turned out to be their favorite toy ever. It was long enough for three pigs to snooze in, wide enough for the pudgiest adult pigs, warm, safe, and washable. They loved the thing, literally, to pieces.

My biggest regret was that I didn't go back to F.A.C.T right away to get more tunnels, because I never saw them at the sales again. In a way, I can understand why their maker didn't produce more; two layers of flannel and a layer of polyfill or cotton batting (or whatever it was) would challenge most any sewing machine. I've spent years looking for something else.

I've found it at Jen's Custom Crafts. She calls them "corridors" appropriately because the regular size is 18 inches long and the large size is 19 inches long.

They're made of fleece and your choice or cotton or flannel, which means they're machine washable and dryable. The regular size is $20 and the large size is $25.

With the worst winter months bearing down on us, any guinea pig, ferret, or other tunnel-loving small animal would love to have one (or two or three...)!

Myth #11: Aquarium Tanks Can Be Guinea Pig Cages

On a recent quick trip into the Stratford (CT) Petco to pick up a water bottle holder, I was dismayed to see a sign in the small animals department stating that a 30-gallon aquarium tank is a suitable cage for a pair of guinea pigs.

Really, folks? With all the cage options out there, with all the online content pointing back to C&C cages as the most responsible cage choice for guinea pigs, there's still people pushing the antiquated notion of aquariums as appropriate habitats?

Besides cages that are too small, aquarium tanks are probably the worst choice possible for a guinea pig home. There's a number of reasons why they're so objectionable:

• They're too small.
• They're poorly ventilated, since air only comes from the top.
• They buffer out noise, creating a living environment that is almost sound-proof.

Years ago, we had a guinea pig surrendered to the rescue (at one of our Adoption & Education events) who had spent the first two years of her life in an aquarium tank. In the midst of normal conversation and the shopper activity in the Durham Feed Store, it was easy to see that the unfiltered noise was startling and uncomfortable for her. Her wide eyes and jumpiness at people just talking told me that after years of muffled noises through the tank's glass walls, normal conversation was as loud to her as someone yelling or talking through a bullhorn.

She was so jumpy and easily distressed by noise that we put her in foster care with me, since my home is so quiet (no kids, no dogs). It took five months for her to settle down and not react to a third of the noises she heard, though she still reacted to a ringing phone as if it were a siren and hated the sound of music playing on the stereo (even very low). She ultimately became my pet (I couldn't let her go) and by the end of her first 18 months with me, she was finally calm enough that she generally only reacted to the kinds of noises we expect guinea pigs to be bothered by, like the vacuum cleaner.

There's a lot of bad information that's still being perpetuated out there (inexcusably so), and this myth is right near the top of the list. Pet stores (and the big chains, in particular) have long had a nasty reputation for treating animals like commodities, but in the 21st century, there needs to be a stronger sense of corporate social responsibility and a more consistent emphasis on disseminating accurate information. There are sparks of hope at the store level, in some stores, as store staff tries their best, but anyone who has ever worked in a big corporation knows that it's very difficult to create change from the bottom up. Often, much more needs to come from the top down in the corporate hierarchy.

I've seen this particular poster in two shoreline Petcos in the last week, but have found more accurate posters further inland. It's possible that this is an old poster and the management of the two stores in question are behind the 8-ball in updating their store signage. But no matter. It should be changed -- so points against the stores. It should never have been printed to begin with -- so points against the chain as a whole.

Better Than A Pigloo

If you've had guinea pigs for any length of time, you know that the two hottest pieces of real estate in any cage are the cozy cups and the "pigloos." While I've indulged my pigs' demands for pigloos, I always thought there could be something better. As someone who works hard to give her furkids the (decadent) best, I also thought there should be something better.

I'm delighted to report that there is.

When I was last at the rescue (to trim twenty-some sets of toenails), I noticed some new accessories in some of the cages, a gift from a supporter of ours in Brooklyn, NY. They almost made me wish I was a guinea pig, and definitely made me want to contact their creator and ask if she makes them for humans.

The huts from Jen's Custom Crafts are roomy, soft, and phenomenally well-made. But they offer more than just three walls, a floor, and a door. She's gone the extra step of creating removable, absorbent pads that fit perfectly into the huts. The pads take the most frequent beating in the laundry, thereby reducing the wear and tear on the huts themselves and, thus, extending their life. Although it would take a lot (I think) to destroy these uber-sturdy hideaways, I like Jen's thinking. The huts are big (even the "regular" size), and it wouldn't take many of these to fill a washing machine; anyone who has a lot of cozy cup laundry to do on a weekly basis knows how quickly those fill up the washer's basket.

She makes the huts in five sizes, ranging in price from $24 to $36 each. Replacement (or extra) pads can be ordered for a very reasonable $3 each, with the pads for the larger huts costing a bit more.

I've been aware of Jen's Custom Crafts for a little while (since she started following me on Twitter), but admit that I just haven't been able to get around to ordering some of her stuff. She's been at the top of my Bookmarks list, but I don't like recommending products until I've held them in my hands and let my own guinea pigs test them. (Anything can look good in photos, no?)

But now I'm recommending them. And so are the pigs at the rescue.

More Things Your Guinea Pig Should Not Eat

Last fall, I wrote about the 10 things that your guinea pig should not eat, which also included links to other lists of poisonous and toxic plants.

Ellen Falbowski (the rescue's board secretary and the person prepping Joanne's piggy photos for the latest batch of photo notecards in our Zazzle gallery) has brainstormed another list of common household items that guinea pigs occasionally come in contact with -- but really never should. Or, as Ellen semi-humorously puts it, "items that could be hanging next to the cage, overlooked by the owners but not by the pigs!"

The list includes:

• electric wire, telephone wire, speaker wire, computer cable
• curtains
• venetian blinds
• venetian blind cords
• plastic bags of any kind, which can result in intestinal blockage if ingested (e.g., grocery bags, garbage bags, paper towel wrappers, bags that contain(ed) guinea pig food pellets or hay)
• deli-style plastic containers and lids (too soft, will be nibbled)
• houseplants, especially hanging plants (e.g., spider plant, philodendron, etc.)

Even if you think your guinea pigs would never fool with these things (because they haven't...yet) don't be so sure. One, guinea pigs have a habit of biting into unfamiliar things in order to determine what they are (or, rather, to determine whether the mystery things are food), and can nibble at them obsessively if you don't interfere and take the thing away. Two, owners should never underestimate the persistence and ingenuity of bored guinea pigs.

So take a few seconds to look around your pigs' cage and play area and see what's there. You just might find a hay bag or houseplant silently waiting to cause trouble!

Repairing A Leaky C&C Cage

Ellen, the rescue's board secretary and occasional foster mom to rescue pigs, was telling me the other day that she had to do some repairs on her C&C cage to deal with a leaky spot.

Now, I've never had any delusions that these cages are indestructible but do know they're tough stuff. Makes me wonder what those pigs of Ellen's are doing in there all day. Must be some rowdy pigs!

[Just kidding]

Anyhoo, she tells me she fixed the cage as follows:

• gave the coroplast a thorough cleaning and drying
• put packing tape on the outside where the pigs couldn't chew at it (I imagine that 3M's super-strength clear packing tape would be a good choice)
• spread non-toxic Elmer's Glue on the inside of each corner
• allowed the cage to dry a full 24 hours before putting bedding and pigs back in

It's certainly a low-cost repair. I'll be interested to hear from Ellen how long that glue holds up, or from anyone else who's tried this kind of repair. Especially someone whose pigs tend to use one or two corners as their "designated bathrooms."

[Thanks for the tip, Ellen.]

Newspaper As Cage Bedding

When I read the e-mail from Joanne, one of our supporters, my first reaction was stupefied silence:

A piggy friend of mine posted that there was a piggy who suddenly stopped eating. It turns out after a vet visit, that a staple was stuck to the roof of his mouth! Naturally, if he tried to bite down it would hurt.  Apparently this person had lined his cage with a publication that contained staples.

My second reaction was, "Really, people? Does this have to be explained? Staples in a cage with critters who chew and gnaw and shred?" (I know...I know...it could have been said more gently.)

My third reaction was, "Oh ick, wet newspaper!" Every time I think of newspaper in cages, I think of the cages in shelters, lined with newspaper that so easily gets wet, then shreds into soggy bits the wetter it gets and the more the critters scramble over it. I think of the guinea pigs and rabbits I've pulled out of those cages, with inky feet and soaking wet bellies and rumps. I always think, "This is no way to live, no matter how temporarily."

I know there's folks who put layers of newspaper under layers of fleece, instead of using store-bought cage bedding. The fleece part I can understand -- it's washable, it's not going into landfills in plastic bags, it may be cheaper than conventional cage bedding (I've never done the math to figure the annual cost of store-bought bedding vs. annual costs for detergent, hot water, and gas or electricity). I also can see using just layers of fleece to line the bottom of the cage.

But handling all that wet newspaper? Ick. Double ick.

So for the folks who use newspaper for cage bedding along with fleece, share with us (please) why you went that route. How wet does the paper get? How much fleece do you layer on top? Doesn't the fleece get inky and hard to clean? What does the newspaper/fleece combination give that just using fleece doesn't? And if you use only newspaper, please share your experiences.