JUNE'S NEWSLETTER IS HERE!!

This is Eva -- https://2img.net/h/i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr263/brownsugarsmom/DSCF11521.jpg
And This is her story:

Eva is my foster guinea pig. She is a female, and we're guessing that she's approx. 2 months old. She is very small, and only weighs 13 ounces. That's less than 1 pound.
Eva and her male cage-mate were together at the pet store. Somebody came in and saw Eva & her cage-mate. The pet store said that they were both males. So that person bought them both for his daughter.
After a week or so went by, the owner noticed that things were not as they seemed to be. By looking at Eva, he thought she might be a female, and he got scared that she was pregnant.
So he took her to our nearest SPCA shelter, and dumped her there. Keeping her male cage-mate, because it was most likely less of a burden to him.
Eva is at my home now, where she will be cherished, loved, and care for.
We are on pregnancy watch, and once she becomes eligible for adoption, we will be adopting her, and making her stay in our home a permanent one.
PLEASE don't buy from a pet store. It is their fault that Eva may be pregnant. Because they bought from a backyard breeder who didn't know, or didn't care enough to seperate the two sexes.. Eva's too young to go through this, and we don't want any more young females to have to go through this.
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Cubes and Coroplast cages offer your guinea pig lots of space to run around. It is always best to have their cage inside where they are safe. Having their cage outside poses many dangers to your guinea pig such as:

---Guinea pigs need a consistant temperature between 70-80F because they cannot handle extreme weather conditions.
---Other animals such as dogs, cats, or foxes could find a way to get into your pig's cage outside. This would be very harmful for your pig.
---Guinea pigs get sick very fast. If you have them with you inside your house, you will notice a sick guinea pig faster. Your pig will then have proper treatment quicker, which could probably save it's life.
-- Never house a guinea pig with any animal other than guinea pigs. Rabbits can and will harm a guinea pig.
-- Do not house a guinea pig outside.

2) Bedding
There are different kinds of bedding that you can use depending on what works best for you.
---Carefresh or Critter care---
They offer softness. If you use EITHER one of these, be sure to put 1-2 inches on the bottom of your cage.
---Aspen shavings, or Kiln dried pine shavings-----
These are easily avaliable, and are low in cost. If using EITHER one of these, be sure to put 1-2 inches on bottom of cage.
---Towels, and Fleece----
With a layer of towels, and a layer of fleece over top, this makes a soft, re-usable bedding that guinea pigs love.

DO NOT USE!

-sawdust, or
-cat litter---Guinea pigs could eat these, and they could become a choking hazard.
-cedar, or raw pine shavings--These give a strong odor that can cause guinea pigs to have respiratory problems.

To maintain a clean cage, you may want to:

1) Daily spot clean--vacum, or sweep the poop
-change heavily soiled areas.
2) Weekly Clean--A complete clean should be done once, or twice a week. Strip everything in the cage. Wash bottom of cage and bowls with a solution of vinegar and water.
For more information, go to Guinealynx.com
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It is best to quarantine any new guinea pig that is brought to your home as well as any guinea pig that becomes sick. Illnesses and parasites like to transfer themselves from one pig to another. By keeping your guinea pig seperate from any other, means that you are protecting all of your guinea pigs. This is not required when rescued from a reputable shelter that already quarantines it's guinea pigs.

--How to Quarantine--

--Keep the new or sick pig in it's own cage (by itself) in it's own room, with the door closed.
--Wash hands and possibly arms well between handling any other guinea pigs.
--You may want to change your shirt, also.
--This process takes about 3 weeks to properly quarantine your guinea pig.
--In the meantime you should have your new or sick pig checked out by a qualified vet.
For more information, see Guinealynx.com
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Cavy Galore is a website forum that is dedicated to learning about guinea pigs. We are a rescue friendly forum, and we are absolutely against the breeding of guinea pigs. We also prefer to adopt our guinea pigs from a rescue shelter, rather than purchasing from a pet store.

We treat each other with dignity, and respect. We share photos & stories of our guinea pigs. We offer support & advice based on our experiences with guinea pigs, and above all we have fun! We encourage others to learn, and take proper care of these delicate little animals as well.

Our members are: friendly, young adults, and older adults. We offer a live chat room, games, contests, and we also share stories, & photos of our other pets as well.

If you do NOT breed guinea pigs, then we invite you to come & have a look around. It is ABSOLUTELY free to join our foum. There is no monthly fee, and you can quit at any time. So if this is oemthing that sounds interesting to you, please feel free to drop in at "CAVY GALORE". Here's our link - http://www.cavygalore.proboards.com/index.cgi
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1. If you have a C & C cage, you have to make the same design as everyone else's cage? True, or False?
2. Pet store cages are the required size for guinea pigs? True or False?
3. Quarrantine should be behind closed doors? True or False?
4. Quarrantine is not important? True or False?
5. Cranberry juice helps prevent the chances of having a recurring UTI? True or False?
6. You only have to quarrantine for a couple of days? True or False?
7. Guinea pigs do not need clean bedding? True or False?
8. Quarrantine protects Mites from spreading from one guinea pig to another? True or False?
9. Anti-biotics are helpful in treating UTI's? True or False?
10. C & C cages can be cheap to make? True or False?



1. If you have a C & C cage, you have to make the same design as everyone else's cage? FALSE. With a C & C cage, you can create your own cage design as often as you want. Change the size, add a loft. Whatever your mind can create.
2. Pet store cages are the required size for guinea pigs? FALSE. Pet store cages are way too small. Check out http://www.guineapigcages.com/index.htm for the correct size that your guinea pig needs.
3. Quarrantine should be behind closed doors? TRUE. You can protect your guinea pigs from airborne illnesses, by closing a door to a pig that's in quarrantine.
4. Quarrantine is not important? FALSE. If you do not quarrantine, you are risking the health of ALL of your guinea pigs.
5. Cranberry juice helps prevent the chances of having a recurring UTI? TRUE. Offer your guinea pig cranberry juice every so often, and it may help cut down the chances of recurring UTI's by half.
6. You only have to quarrantine for a couple of days? FALSE. The minimum time required to quarrantine a new or sick pig is 2 weeks.
7. Guinea pigs do not need clean bedding? FALSE. If the bedding in their cage is not clean, this may cause a recurring UTI.
8. Quarrantine protects Mites from spreading from one guinea pig to another? TRUE. Mites are tiny microscopic parasites that like to spread from one gp to another. So while your new pig is in quarrantine, treat him for Mites with the proper medication. By the time he comes out of quarrantine, the risk to the rest of your guinea pigs will be over.
9. Anti-biotics are helpful in treating UTI's? TRUE. UTI's need an anti-biotic to help overcome the illness. Vets will either prescribe: Baytril for guinea pigs older than a year, OR Bactrim for guinea pigs that are under a year old.
10. C & C cages can be cheap to make? By purchasing your grids, and coroplast, you can create a much nicer, and cheaper cage. Rather than purchasing one that is too small at a pet store.
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OUR NEWSLETTERS:
We offer a monthly newsletter. We do this to help spread the word about guinea pigs. How to properly care for them, and how to avoid dangers like pet stores. Our newsletters come out on the first of every month.
Feel free to contact us at -- Our e-mail - littlewheekers@gmail.com
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A UTI is a Urinary Tract Infection, and it is common among guinea pigs.

Possible Causes:

-- The problem is guinea pigs have short legs that put them low to the ground, where they pick up bacteria from wet bedding.
-- I am also looking into genetic factors. Perhaps a gene that is inherited from a pig's anscestor. I completely strip clean my cage every third day, & spot clean every day. My gp Sylvester still got a UTI. So maybe it's possible that there's some heritary factor that makes Sylvester more prone to UTI's than any other gp I have. Because I clean all of my cages at the same time..


Some Symptoms

Look for these signs:
---blood in urine
---squeaking while peeing.

A Vet Visit:

--a vet visit is needed to help recover from this illness.
--your vet should examine the guinea pig and the stomache.
--there may be x-rays taken.
--your vet may take a urine sample
--Anti-biotics are prescribed, and they usually run for about 2 weeks. Anti-biotics are always needed for recovery.
--Call your vet immediately if the infection comes back after the anti-biotics are finished.

Prevention:

--Keeping your pig's hairs around his butt trimmed short.
--Bedding may need to be changed more often.
--Offer your guinea pig plain, unsweetened, diluted cranberry juice every so often to cut down the chances of recurring UTI's.
--You can either offer cranberry juice by syringe, or in water bottle. If your using the water bottle method, make sure to change the juice twice every day.

THANK YOU FOR READING

BsM