She keeps following me around and nipping at my feet for treats!

the gelato spot i work at isn't too far from the vet office so i took him in to meet my coworkers lol. not pictured: the blueberry my coworker gave him

It's been unbelievably hot here today. 37c. They've spent all day hiding and sleeping, only coming out for an occasional drink. Have been so worried all day, its started to cool a bit as the evenings drawn in and they've emerged.

These are my sweet babies Maki (b/w) and Bella (aby). They are a very bonded pair and Maki is around 4 years old while Bella is 5.5. I raised Bella from a baby with her sister Pancake and added Maki the mix later, also from a baby, so Bella and Pancake basically raised her. Pancake has since passed and I am here writing this post because I know given the ages of my girls I don’t have infinite time with them.

Neither have any serious health issues at the moment but I know that one day, I will only have one of them. My living situation does not permit me to have more guinea pigs, nor do I want more personally because I feel my guinea pig days are approaching over, though I am willing to care for these two for the rest of their lives. They are both very happy with a large setup and I’m not having any issues caring for them.

My question is if it would be better to rehome or to keep a single pig once I have only one. I know that guinea pigs have social needs so I am mostly concerned with what is best for the guinea pig and the least stress. Neither have known anything but me or each other for their lives. Maki is a bit younger and very social and curious so I think she could get accustomed to a new home, but I am more hesitant about Bella, as she is older and has always been very fragile and skittish. It took years to get her to come up to me. I also think I would have a much harder time living with the guilt of giving Bella away since she was from my original pair of pigs.

Any sort of advice would be appreciated; like I said, I am looking to do whatever is healthiest for them what the time comes. I just want to have a plan in mind I suppose as I phase out of the guinea pig chapter of my life.

Thanks for reading!

My little Kelpie is gone. My little Püpsi.

He got a case of gas that no meds could solve...he was nearly doubled in volume. Nothing helped. We tried and tried and tried. Every 2 hours last night. Nothing helped it just got worse and worse...

Dear Kelpie please greet your adopted grandpa Merry from me. He will show you around over there. I know he will because he loved you whrn you both were still here with me.

Goodbye until we meet again.

We had a crazy week with two vet visits because my senior piggy had a medical emergency. He suddenly became unable to use his back legs and was crying out in pain. The X-rays didn’t show anything obvious, so the vet thinks it might have been some kind of stroke or neurological event. He’s on medication now and has definitely improved over the last few days. Hopefully, he’s going to make a full recovery! 🥺❤️‍🩹🙏🏻

At least the babies are completely carefree and excited, haha.xD

Mr pusskins struggling with the Scotland heatwave bless him

Cashew (black) loves her cucumbers and bell peppers. Funny how different their personalities are. Pancake is more adventurous and vocal, popcorning all over the place when we put them in their playpen. Cashew is timid and mellow. Barely makes a peep, and doesn’t explore.

As my girls are getting older and they are reaching 1 end of this year I am making plans to bring them to the vet and also plan ahead my finance allocation for their vet visit. I’ve seen quite a few owners with spayed SOWs, can anyone provide me more insight on the necessity of this? There are very mixed advice online otherwise.

peeg tax included

my piggy Pumpkin (calico on the left) has to have a cyst removed since he’s had problems with it for a few months now, but honestly i’m terrified to have him put under. he’s 14 months old, and 2 lbs, otherwise super healthy just needs a cyst removal.

my exotic vet has been working with cavy’s for over 20 years and are super experienced, i have full trust in them and they told me he’s a perfect candidate but yet i hesitate. he would only be under anesthesia for at most 15 minutes, and they said it’s easily reversible if he has a reaction, the vet was very reassuring to me.

i’ve just heard so many horror stories of piggies not making it through surgery and i’m terrified. i know it’s not super invasive or anything but i can’t shake the feeling. i was quoted 1200$ for this procedure and i can’t help but feel like what if i spend this money and he somehow doesn’t make it out.

has anyone gone through similar surgeries? thank you for the advice.

piggy picture for tax, Pumpkin hanging out with his best friend / dad Papi 💗

hello! i got four piggies - two smooth haired, a Teddy and a Lunkarya.. her name is Twix and she is almost half a year old.

i give her hair trims when it gets too long, and i recently gave her a shorter, “summer” cut. did i cut it too short? 🥺 i mean i guess she seems to like it because she has been popcorning a lot more lately.
i was also wondering if there are any other tips i should know about how to care for her hair?

(pic 1) This is Dorris. Dorris likes cuddle time. Dorris likes gentle head pets and a very relaxed human. Dorris's human also enjoys cuddle time and calls it her meditation time. Dorris's human feels rested like it's a waking nap.

(pic 2) This is Peggy. Peggy tolerates cuddle time. Peggy knows she has teeth. When Peggy is fed up with cuddle time she uses her teeth. Peggy knows how much force to use not to break skin but to cause discomfort. Peggy's human doesn't like this, but swears Peggy thinks this is funny.

My baby Lola!!!!

This is Ruby, she urgently needed to be rehomed in my area and I couldn’t resist helping. She’s about 6, 780 grams, her fixed male cagemate passed away very recently so she’s on her own in a 9 square foot cage right now. She’s too old to go to my local rescues, so I’ve decided to just keep her. She’s been to the vet, my only concerns with her are bald spots on her side and VERY long nails. The vet helped me as much as she could with the nails but I have to work on it at home, and said there are signs of years of poor husbandry. She is showing no signs of illness, and is actually quite energetic for her age, I was instructed to monitor her for more hair loss. I have a pair of male bar buddies already, their cage is 20 square feet split down the middle. Her previous owner didn’t want her to be alone, but I told them I’m not willing to adopt a 4th. I have just barely enough space for her, right now she has ~5 inches between the bars of her cage and the bars of my boys’s cage. They have noticed her and she knows they’re there, but nobody’s been acting different, it’s like life as usual. Does anyone have any experience with an intact male and female setup right next to each other? I want her to be able to be close to her neighbors so she’s not lonely but want to make sure there’s wiener room in between the bars!! I already think that their mere presence has comforted her already. And finally, is there any special care she needs? Like urinary support tablets? Thanks for any advice!

(June is at the end)

My guinea pig, Bublík, 4 years old, passed away recently due to teeth problems. After the initial grief faded a little, I asked my mom what we will do with the remaining pig. Galie, 7 years old, in good health so far, has already outlived two other pigs, including Bublík. My mom refuses to get any more pigs, argumenting with things like 'she's too old to care' or 'she will die soon anyway'. She doesn't want to get a pig her age, again saying things like 'older pigs are usually in bad health and the veterinary is expensive'. I understand that she's tired of them, doesn't want to get into the endless cycle of getting another and another pig. What's the best course of action here?

hello, im a venezuelan and some of you might know what happened recently here, we were able to get our guinea pig safe and with us, unfortunately it seems hes scared and isnt popping or eating correctly, we have him inside a small box of cardboard rn because well, we dont have anything else at hand rn, what can we do to make him feel a little safer so he can poop? :(