Guinea Pig Connection

Record Heat Starts Early, Pets Not Happy

The warm weather rolled into the Northeast this weekend, and the Weather Channel is reporting that temperatures are going to stay high for a big chunk of the U.S. for this whole week. It was so warm and humid here in Connecticut this weekend that we were told all the animals at the Middlesex Livestock Auction -- which unfortunately included small animals like guinea pigs -- were suffering in the heat.

It's usually July before I have to do my annual reminder of "warm weather care" tips, but this is the second bout of hot weather we've had -- hot enough to require air conditioning -- and it's only May 31! So I guess I'll do this early.

• Guinea pigs' ideal temperature range is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Middle-aged and senior pigs often start "wilting" around 72 degrees.
• The farther the thermometer climbs past 75 degrees, the greater the likelihood that a guinea pig will suffer from heat stress, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke (which is frequently fatal).
• Hydration is critical. In addition to fresh water in the water bottle, treats like cucumber, seedless watermelon, and cantaloupe or honeydew can provide additional water. Cucumber is particularly good because it isn't sweet.
• Cool, climate-controlled rooms provide maximum comfort for your critters and peace of mind for you. Using window blinds to filter the incoming sunlight, or block it on extremely hot days, can help maintain a room's climate.

Summer is always challenging for those of us with pets, and even moreso when you have aging or ailing pets (of any species) who are less tolerant of heat and humidity. Our efforts are hampered by the fact that actual temperatures often exceed forecasted temps, making us feel like we're playing guessing games while teetering on a tightrope. Regardless of what species pet(s) you have, knowing the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke will help you keep your companions healthy.

Brace yourselves...it's shaping up to be a looooong, hot summer.

Related Posts

• 12 Tips For Warm Weather Care
• Guinea Pig Care In Hot Weather -- Revisited
• Guinea Pigs Can't Handle Heat & Humidity
• ASPCA: Hot Weather Tips
• ASPCA: Pets in Hot Weather Tips

10 Ways Guinea Pig Owners Can Help Mother Earth

Today, April 22, is Earth Day -- a day for each of us to reflect on how we can better care for Mother Earth and help ensure the healthy survival of all the species who live here. This year, Earth Day organizers are coordinating an effort called "A Billion Acts of Green," and are "encouraging people to observe Earth Day 2011 by pledging online to do something small but sustainable in their own lives to improve the planet's health." In the words of one spokesman, "Millions of people doing small, individual acts can add up to real change."

So I've done a quick inventory of things that guinea pig owners do routinely, and where there would be opportunity for us to change a habit or two...or more.

1. Use paper towels made from recycled materials. Seventh Generation and Marcal Small Steps brands are easily found in many major grocery stores and general retailers like Target.
2. Use trash bags made from recycled materials. This appears to be a growing category, and Seventh Generation and GoodSense/EarthSense are among the first brands I'm aware of seeing widely available.
3. Use eco-friendly laundry detergent for cozy cups, fleece sacks, fleece pads, play area towels, and so on. Seventh Generation laundry detergents are easily found in major grocery stores, and Method products are easily found at Target. Mrs. Meyer's Scent Free detergent and Ecover products are stocked in natural food stores. (Admittedly, these products are a little more expensive, requiring you to watch for sales or check online for coupons, but even swapping out a couple bottles of your usual detergent in a year will help.)
4. Recycle the plastic bags that hay and cage bedding like CareFresh comes in. Plastic bag recycling bins are found at grocery stores, some general retailers, and sometimes special bins at municipal landfills.
5. Buy larger sizes of hay and food pellets. For example, buying a 10-pound bag of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine instead of two 5-pound bags puts one less bag in the landfill.
6. Buy bulk bundles of paper towels and trash bags. One 3-pack of paper towels means 2 less plastic wrappers are being thrown out.
7. Recycle the cardboard boxes that bulk orders of hay are shipped in.
8. Compost used CareFresh bedding and old fruits and vegetables instead of sending them to the landfill. (This is difficult for apartment and condo dwellers, but if you own a house with a yard and want to learn more about composting, check out this resource for starters.)
9. In good weather, line dry cozy cups, fleece sacks, fleece pads, tunnels, towels, and so on. A large load of these items typically takes 50-60 minutes to dry in a clothes dryer (unless you have one of those high-efficiency dryers).
10. Replace paper towels for cage cleaning with microfiber cloths, microfiber sponges, and reusable synthetic or natural sponges. Companies like The Fuller Brush Company, 3M, Don Aslett, and others are expanding product offerings in this category. (If you decide to try microfiber cloths, don't overlook sources like QVC who frequently sell bulk packs of high-quality cloths at insanely good prices.)

Whew! Okay, so I've come up with 10 ideas. Can you suggest more? Please share in the Comments section!

Guinea Pigs Don't Need Another Noise To Be Afraid Of

When I first heard about The Pet Corrector spray, I knew it was just a matter of time until someone asked me about its applicability to guinea pigs. Sure enough, the questions have come in from some folks wondering if they could use it to resolve some "behavior issues" in their guinea pigs.

If you haven't heard about this product, it's a spray made for dog training, to deal with barking, stealing, and aggression. According to its Web site, the spray "emits a loud HISS sound which is a natural deterrent (geese, snakes, and possums are some examples of animals in nature who use this)." Somewhere on the Web I saw a video in which a product reviewer successfully used it with barking dogs of all sizes, and found some additional hilarious applications for everything from stopping arguments in meetings at work to stopping people from stealing food off your plate.

The folks asking me about this product were trying to interrupt guinea pigs who were pestering their roommates either out of boredom or out of an alpha-pig desire to dominate or bully cagemates. Neither of these are issues that can be resolved with a spray. And for a species that hears far better than it sees, a spray that mimics the sound of one of this species' predators in the wild (snakes) just creates fear and stress at a guinea pig's most primal level.

To be clear, the manufacturers aren't marketing Pet Corrector for any other purpose than dog training. But the questions have started, and we've seen enough over the years to know that people like to get "creative" and try to inappropriately adapt products for larger animals to use for smaller creatures. And while some "aversion therapies" might work for some problems in some animals, other problems -- such as boredom and dominance issues among guinea pigs -- need to be dealt with at the root level, not the symptom level.

If you are having these issues with your guinea pigs, please check out these related posts of ours:

• My Guinea Pig Is Chewing Her Roommate's Hair!
• Should These Guinea Pigs Remain Together?
• Will My Male Guinea Pigs Ever Bond?

Moving Pets To Higher Ground

Well, a storm is nothing new in Connecticut this winter, but this time Mother Nature is throwing rain at us instead of snow. Ordinarily, folks would say, "Hey, great! Precipitation we don't have to shovel!"

Except that this time we're having heavy rain (1.5 inches in one day is considered a lot) + temperatures near 50 degrees + snowmelt (many of us still have a couple of feet of snow on the ground).

All of this is adding up to flooding concerns for tomorrow (Friday). The newscasts tonight were full of interviews with fire departments and public works officials warning folks of basement flooding. (The first floor of a home that sits at the bottom of even a small slope, never mind a hill, could have a dicey day if there's too much rain and snowmelt and not enough drainage routes outside the home.)

And if that's not enough, NBC Connecticut is saying that "another soaking rain, with even higher flooding concerns, arrives on Monday." One interviewee, as well as the meteorologists, have said that the flood risk is so high (because of the snowmelt) that even folks who have never had problems with flooding could have problems over the next few days.

Great...just great...

So why am I writing about this here? Because there's some folks who (regrettably) keep their pets in the basement, everything from hamsters to turtles to guinea pigs and rabbits to dogs who are kept in crates so they don't tear the house apart while no one is home. If there's flooding, the animals are going to be in a very bad spot -- or possibly worse. (Of lesser concern: all their supplies that you keep downstairs would be ruined by flood water.)

So, do your critters a favor, and move them and their cages, tanks, or crates upstairs to "higher ground." Even if your space doesn't get flooded, your peace of mind -- and your pets' safety -- is well worth the effort of a temporary relocation.

And, who knows? You may even so enjoy having your critters in the center of all your family's action that you decide to make the relocation permanent.

New Year's Intentions

It's been a crazy couple of months (and three snowstorms in three weeks have not helped). Over the last two or three days, I've been catching up on my reading, which is where I discovered a Paw Nation post titled "What Are Your New Year's Pet Resolutions?"

I'm not big into resolutions, because they're pretty much destined to be broken even before you finish defining them. I have found the idea of New Year's intentions to be more successful, for intangible reasons that extend beyond simple semantics.

I take good care of my pigs, buying them the best bedding, a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (Belgian endive and Boston lettuce even make an appearance every few weeks), take them for wellness exams, and make their daily needs the skeletal structure upon which the rest of my life's schedule is built. The "This House Is Ruled By Guinea Pigs" sign in my kitchen is no exaggeration.

So there's no intentions to be set for those obvious things, but I do still have one, and that's to hold them even more than I do. I wrote last September about some recent losses of furbabies, and how during my grieving process I agonize over whether I gave them as good as they gave me. And I always wonder if I held each of my guinea pigs enough. Snuggling through a movie. Curling up with a book. Scooping them up at random times just to give them a quick hug. Sitting with them and focusing on just them...no TV, no books...just them and me. Fully present togetherness. Lots of love. It's a good intention, I think.

What about you? Anything you want to strive for with your pets this year?

 

Pet-Friendly Hand Sanitizers

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.

Wellness Exams For Guinea Pigs -- A Vet's Perspective

Every animal benefits from an annual exam and even more from semi-annual exams. 

I believe that I am an experienced child care provider to my children. I volunteer with the Cub Scouts, have taught classes at the elementary school, have taken numerous classes on First Aid and child welfare and youth protection training. I also have read books on “proper’ parenting and many articles in parenting journals. On top of this, I attended medical school for four years. I take my children to have regular wellness exams.

Based on the argument that people are experienced pet owners or experienced parents/guardians, we would no longer need doctors for preventative medicine. We would be taking a step back and practicing medicine of ages past. It still needs to be acknowledged that wellness exams should not give a false sense of security; no doctor can guarantee health -- this is as true on the human side as on the veterinary side. That said, however, the benefits of wellness exams have been amply demonstrated within our lifetime.

• Most people have regular wellness exams -- the average age of people has increased.
• Most dogs and cats have regular wellness exams -- the average age of cats has increased by about 3 years, dogs up to about 5 years.
• Most people have regular dental exams/cleanings -- most people retain all their teeth throughout life.
• Many avian patients now receive annual wellness exams -- life expectancy is increasing and less severe health problems are being seen.
• More pocket pets are being seen -- requiring more veterinarians to be trained in this area, but the pets are benefiting by seeing a qualified person.
• Reptiles are now starting to be seen more regularly and they too should benefit.

I will say that a veterinarian who is inexperienced with treating guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, reptiles or anything else out of the element can do harm. Just like in human medicine, the code of veterinary medicine is to “do no harm”. I would not treat a horse or a cow because these animals are outside of my realm of experience. I do care for most pocket pets because I have trained in this area and most of my practice is comprised of birds and pocket pets (60%).

While there are things that an observant and experienced pet owner can look for themselves, I still believe that all pets benefit from a wellness exam from a qualified veterinarian. 

Sean Pampreen, DVM
Marlborough Bird & Animal Hospital, LLC
21 South Main Street
Marlborough, CT  06447
(860) 295-1595

5 More Reasons Why Christmas Is A Bad Time To Bring A New Pet Home

This weekend, I started talking about why giving pets as gifts is a bad idea.

To that topic, I'll add a few more reasons why Christmas Day is not the day to introduce a new pet to your household.

• Being introduced to a new home at any point in the year is stressful for a new pet and for any pets you already have. You need to devote time and attention, and a quieter house, to smooth the transition.
• The commotion of holiday guests, kids running through the house with new toys, and the general din created by doorbells, oven timers, barking dogs, meowing cats, squawking birds, and sports fans watching the Christmas Day football game will further stress the new pet.
• The general exuberance and excitement of the holiday can potentially make children grabby, a little less careful in the way they pet and handle animals, and even quarrelsome as kids fight to hold the new pet (we've seen it happen). 
• The commotion of the holiday makes it difficult for adults to keep track of kids, animals, and the safety of both. 
• Pets given as gifts meet the same short attention span as the other gifts a child receives. Eventually, the novelty of the video game, the tech gadget, or the pet does wear off.

If you want to bring home a new pet after the holiday, you can certainly use Christmas Day to announce it.

• Buy some necessities, accessories, and toys and wrap those up with a picture of the type of pet you'll be adopting (dog, cat, guinea pig, rabbit, etc.).
• Make it a post-holiday family outing to head to a shelter or rescue to find your new buddy or buddies. (Bring along some toys or treats to leave for the other animals waiting for adoption.)
• Ask shelter workers for advice or handouts they might have for giving your new friend a successful, stress-free introduction to their new home.
• Keep the house relatively peaceful for a couple of days to allow everyone time to get settled in.

Bringing home a new pet should be a happy time for both animal(s) and  humans -- and should be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship. But it all comes down to the right timing and the right decision making.

Why It's A Bad Idea To Give Pets As Gifts

With Christmas just a week away, parents everywhere are still trying to round out their shopping for their kids, still looking for that one gift with a "WOW!" factor. Stumped for ideas, not wanting to resort to more tech gadgets or video games, they start to think about their child's request -- or outright pleading -- for a pet. "Maybe," they think, "I should get them that guinea pig [or rabbit or dog or cat or lizard or...] that they've been wanting."

To that we say simply:

Don't. Resist the impulse.

Pets of any species are not gifts -- they're long-term commitments that carry with them responsibility, accountability, and stewardship. They carry all the things that -- and let's all be realistic here -- a majority of children just are not programmed for.

• Hamsters and gerbils can live 2-3 years.
• Guinea pigs can live as long as 8 years.
• Rabbits can live as long as 10 years.
• Dogs, depending on their breed, can live 10 to 20 years.
• Cats can live as long as 20 years.
• Birds, depending on their breed, can live as long as many humans (60+ years).

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not criticizing kids. Childhood is not the time in our lives in which we're wired for lasting commitments. We're learning, we're growing, we're being taught by our parents and teachers about things like responsibility and discipline. Kids can learn a lot from watching their parents care for animals, and even more from carrying their little chores (such as refilling the water bottle every day) to help their parents care for animals, but kids are not yet ready for assuming sole responsibility for a life. They're nowhere near ready for assuming sole responsibility for their own lives.

• Pets need to be introduced to a household as a family pet, with the adults assuming primary responsibility for the welfare of the animal(s). This is the only scenario in which the addition of a pet will truly work, the only one in which the decision -- and all subsequent decisions -- has the best interest of an animal in mind.
• Pets need to be introduced to a family after some amount of research has been done to determine whether the specific type of pet is appropriate for the household (lifestyle, schedule, other animals in the house, etc.). Children can be included in this process, and lots of information can be found at the local library and from reputable sources all over the Web.

Even if you are bringing an animal in as a family pet, have done the research, and understand that YOU -- the adult -- will be the primary caregiver for the duration of the animal's life, Christmas is still a bad time to introduce an animal to your household. I'll list a few more reasons in my next posting.

Why Specialty Vets Are Needed

A lesson from our friends, the turtles.

Recently, I was at South Wilton Veterinary Group with what has turned out to be an obstinate and finicky patient, when I met a gentleman from western Fairfield County who rescues lizards, snakes, and turtles. He was waiting to reclaim and take home two large turtles who were visiting SWVG for the first time.

While both turtles were feeling poorly (that was how they’d come into his rescue), one was in particular trouble as the result of treatment he’d received earlier in the week from another vet. Its medical condition was something I can neither pronounce nor figure out how to spell well enough to find the correct spelling in an online dictionary. It was gravely ill, and that’s enough to know.

The gentleman grimly told those of us in the waiting room that he’d been following the other veterinarian’s orders and administering Ivermectin to the turtle, only to watch its illness turn frighteningly worse. Upon entering the exam room with one of SWVG’s specialty vets, he quickly learned that Ivermectin was a no-no. The SWVG vet was doing what she could to turn the situation around; if he and her treatment could get the turtle through the weekend, there would be a good chance the turtle could survive. But 48 hours is a long time when you have a life in the balance.

As he and his wife got up to help the vet techs carry the tubs that the turtles were in out to their SUV, the rest of us in the waiting room reached into our carriers to pet our cockatiels, guinea pigs, chameleons, African Greys, cockatoos, cats, and iguanas, thanking Whoever Runs The Universe that we’d found good vets who wouldn’t put our animals in that kind of jeopardy — vets that some of the patients had made an hour-long trip to see.

And we all exchanged comments like “I hope things turn out all right for him” like prayers to the cosmos. Our animals were having difficulties of their own but their lives weren’t hanging in the balance like that turtle’s was. We didn’t envy the man the weekend he was going to have, but we pitied him for it because we knew all too well how hard the next 48 hours were going to be.

I haven’t been back yet to find out how he fared, but I sure hope Mr. Turtle is alright.