Guinea Pigs
Snickers (A156576) was a female Abyssinian adopted from the Boulder Valley Humane Society around August 18, 2007.
Approximately four years old, she had serious hair loss and complications due to a life of poor nutrition. Our first guinea pig and a gateway to many other gpig adoptions.
Despite being hesitant on adopting, and having serious concerns about her health, we took Snickers in since she was an older pig with health problems, a bad combination for
guinea pigs in a shelter. There is a more thorough back story, update and final notes. All of Snickers' pictures are available. She began a new tradition of rescuing guinea pigs.
Zesty (A089150) is a female Abyssinian adopted from the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter on September
7, 2007, one of three guinea pigs brought in that were apparently found near an auto repair shop, left to fend for themselves. The only female of the bunch, she was
described by the staff as an 'escape artist' and estimated to be approximately one year old. We feared she was pregnant due to being housed with the two males she was found
with. We soon learned that she was an escape artist but fortunately not pregnant. The queen of the
herd, Zesty is the most feisty guinea pig we have.
Biscuit is a female Abyssinian adopted the same day as Zesty to provide companionship to the feisty beast. Oh, and she was ridiculously cute and mangled. Our third
guinea pig and first baby, adopted at only 5 weeks old, Biscuit knows no fear since she grew up in a happy home full of daily vegetable platters, endless hay and a huge play
pen to run around in.
Nugget (originaly Nibbles) is a female American Shorthair adopted from the Denver Dumb Friends League on November 2, 2007. They
believed her to be about four years old but we suspected she may be a bit younger. She is a short hair guinea pig (our first) with a great personality and strong love for
hay and veggies. The DDFL said she was "surrendered because the previous owners couldn't afford to maintain her" which is sad, as a gpig is relatively cheap to house and
feed. Nugget is our most mellow guinea pig and frequently ends up being a vet buddy when one of the other pigs needs to see the doc.
Waffle is a female Abyssinian personal adoption taken in on November 16, 2007. Hands down the most distinct color we have seen, a great blend of white, grey and
black, giving a 'peppered' appearance. Her black feet are also quite distinct and make her stand out in the herd. Approximately five weeks old when adopted, she seems to
live for fresh hay more than anything else. When she isn't bouncing around her home she is laying in one of the hay lofts for easy access to her precious.
Jinueapig (originally Ginny / A419947) is a female Abyssinian adopted from the Denver Dumb Friends League on December 29, 2007. When we
went in, she was described as "problematic" and it took over 30 minutes for the staff to catch her because "she bites". Given up for adoption for "recently starting to
bite", despite being almost two years old, once securely held she seemed to do fine. Due to her behavior, the DDFL had decided to pull her adoption information down and were
going to declare her unsuitable for adoption. Once we gave the rundown of our current herd and ability to properly take care of her, they agreed that we could provide a good
home for her. In the months after adoption, the only time she would bite is if she felt directly threatened and even then, only warning nips. It was immediately
clear that her previous owners had not given her any veggies as it took several months to get her eating a wide variety. Since adoption, she has been nothing but a sweet
pig and clearly not a biter.
Pringle (originally Cerra / A253868) is a female American shorthair adopted from the Larimer Humane Society on March 9,
2008. Estimated to be around 4 years old, she was picked up and found to be extremely skinny (660 grams). She was surrendered to the shelter with no history other than "good
with kids". Based on her weight and appetite the first night, we'd guess she was not given hay or veggies very often. Once home, she took to most veggies instantly and slept
by the hay bowl half of the night. By the next day she was energetic, standing on her rear feet wheeking happily for veggies and sleeping all over the cage. Better, she was
already up to 730 grams. Her first vet appointment confirmed that she has mammary tumors which were removed succesfully with a very fast recovery.
Tater is a female Peruvian Abyssinian Silky (mangle-poof) personal adoption taken in on April 11, 2008. The runt of a five-pig litter, she was taken from a family that had pigs
living in poor conditions and mostly neglected as they "didn't have time for them any more". If left in those conditions, she likely would have been housed
with mom, dad and any brothers in her litter leading to a very early pregnancy. Said to be four weeks old, we believe she was much closer to two weeks old
when we got her. It only took her a few days to become extremely lively, eat any veggie she was given and develop a great personality. She is currently
living with the herd and integrated faster than any other pig has.
Figlet (originally Willow / A762196) is a female Abyssinian (likely with a peruvian mix) adopted from the Humane Society of the Pike's
Peak Region on June 20, 2008. Originally down there to adopt another 'female', we found two large males with health problems. Despite correcting the shelter on the gender
of the pigs, they didn't appear to care or update the web page. Figlet was in a large cage by herself (good), but with half of it covered in water-soaked litter and no water
in her bottle. Almost unable to hold her, we managed to get her in the carrier and bring her to the pig mansion. She integrated into the herd within hours (after quarantine)
and is doing great.
About: Our guinea pigs live in a custom "C & C cage" built into two adjoining Wide 5-Tier Wire Shelves. Each floor is made of a coroplast
base (with sides) for easy removal and cleaning. Rubber coated wooden ramps allow easy access between the levels. One set of outdoor wire lights provide subdued lightning on evenings when they are not in the play pen. Detailed pictures of the mansion are available. The play pen is built from three collapsable MidWest Homes for Pets' Small Pet
Playpen fences surrounding beach towels. Our guinea pigs get annual examinations and treatment from Dr. Sharyn Esposito at the Aurora Animal + Hospital, a superior Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), referred by the excellent Cavy Care Inc. Guinea Pig Shelter & Sanctuary.
