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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
Are you thinking about bringing home a guinea pig this Christmas? Have your kids been pestering you for weeks or months to let them have one?
You're not alone.
At a Creative Memories scrapbooking event this weekend, I sat at a table with several mothers who between them have seven kids under the age of eight. The conversation turned to Christmas wish lists and pets, and two of the moms said their youngsters had been pestering them for guinea pigs.
"I don't know if it's a good idea," said one mom. "We have a golden retriever that always chases rabbits and squirrels."
"I can't take care of one more thing," said the other. "I have four kids and a cat. I know I'll end up taking care of a new pet, and I'm not always sure I'm giving the cat as much as I should."
Mentioning that I work with this rescue, I asked them some of the questions from our questionnaire...and it only took two or three for them to realize that a guinea pig and its unique care needs were not going to fit easily into their household at this time.
If you (or someone you know) are considering a guinea pig for your home, we invite you to check out Are Guinea Pigs Right For Your Home on our main Web site. Below are the critical questions you need to ask yourself:
You can find detailed explanations for each question on our site. You'll undoubtedly think of other questions to ask yourself as you read, but it's better to ask these questions now rather than later when an animal has settled into your family. And, as always, you're welcome to ask us for more information!
Folks who have pets often feel they need to use a quick hand sanitizer, for pet-related reasons and not, but worry if their pets (especially the little ones) will have adverse reactions to the sanitizer when they come in contact with your hands again.
Super Pet has a gentle, effective, clean smelling Hand Sanitizer Gel. This gel features light cucumber-melon scent that neither human nor animals will mind. The product can be easily in online pet supply stores, and in some bricks-and-mortar stores (with a little more difficulty).
Another excellent product is Method's Hand Sanitizer, which comes in eucalyptus mint, green tea, and sweet water scents. It, too, is gentle and effective -- and earth friendly to boot. We especially like them for their "humanifesto," which states: "We see ingredients that come from plants, not chemical plants, and guinea pigs that are never used as guinea pigs.
Method products can be purchased online at their own e-store and are easily found at Target. Some grocery stores are also beginning to carry at least a small portion of Method's product line.
With temperatures dropping here in the Northeast (and elsewhere) -- apparently for good this time -- it's a good time to review the cold weather care needs of our piggie friends.
Cages
Home Environment
Diet & Grooming
And, finally, watch your pigs carefully for signs of developing colds and respiratory illness, including sneezing and runny nose. If you see them, waste no time getting to a vet.
Got a magazine you need to renew soon? Giving someone a gift subscription for Christmas? Looking to add a couple of new additions to your professional reading list as last-minute business expenses to claim on your 2007 taxes? Got a hobby that needs support?
Before you send in that subscription card, or order online, check out the online fundraiser that Joanne Colangelo has set up for the rescue. There are more than 650 publications to choose from, so you're bound to find what you're looking for. The best part? 40% of every purchase will go to the rescue. Anyone can participate, so please pass the link on to friends and family that you think would be interested.
Thanks for the help and hard work, Joanne! I'm off to renew my beading magazine.
We get asked a lot about what to buy for guinea pigs in terms of routine care and extra indulgences.
To help people out, we've put together an Amazon aStore that features some of our picks for food, hay, cage accessories, care guides, and toys and treats. We've also included kids' storybooks that feature guinea pigs (without perpetuating misinformation) and some neat little toys, including the Playmobil Guinea Pig playset (pictured here).
A percentage of each purchase initiated through our aStore goes to the rescue, providing much-needed funds for general daily care of the rescue pigs.
Please visit often. We'll be updating the store as more of our favorite products and brands become available in the Amazon Marketplace.
It's with some mixed feelings that we announce that the rescue is presently full and unable to take in any more guinea pigs until further notice. On the one hand, we're happy to have been able to help so many pigs in need. On the other hand, we worry about the pigs that we can't help until adoptions help restore some space at our facility.
We're asking owners who need to surrender their guinea pigs to check out some of the guinea-pig-friendly Web sites where they can post their own photos and adoption notices. A list of these sites can be found on our Guinea Pigs 101 lens on Squidoo, just look under the heading "The Adoption Option". When we once again have room, we will post an update here, on our main Web site, and on our Petfinder page. In the meantime, we appreciate your understanding.
We will honor contractual promises with Critter Connection adopters in the event that they need to return the guinea pigs they adopted from our care.
The critters need more than your understanding, though. Summertime is a tough time of year: slow adoption rate, slow donation rate, slow recruiting time for new volunteers. This year is no different, and the slow economy in Connecticut has made for leaner times than usual. Additionally, several neglect cases that we took in this spring and summer required extensive medical care (surgeries, antiobiotics, follow-up visits, special diets), and recent emergency surgeries for two boys in our sanctuary program depleted our...well...our emergency reserves.
How can you help?
No donation is too small to make a big difference. The critters thank you, in advance, for your support and generosity!
Recent Comments