How to Avoid Common Rat Illnesses

Unfortunately, rats are prone to many common illnesses. But they can be easily prevented. Here's some of the common illnesses and how they can be prevented.

Preventing Bumblefoot
Bumblefoot is an infection on the back padding of a rat's foot. Many other small animals can get bumblefoot too. It can be easily prevented, but is very hard to treat. Bumblefoot is caused when rats constantly walk on hard surfaces, wire floors, or live in dirty conditions. You can prevent bumblefoot by:

~Padding the floor of your rat's cage/levels in the cage with fleece or blankets. You can binder clip fleece to their cage shelves.
~Avoid exposing your rat to wire floors/ramps. You may want to cover cage ramps with towels, fleece, or a small blanket.
~Keep their cage clean. Spot clean their cage floor daily and do a complete cage cleaning 1-2 times a week depending on your cage size and number of rats in the cage.

Preventing Abscesses 
An abscess is an infected sore or puss filled lump. They can appear anywhere on your rat. Abscesses can be easily drained at home (ONLY if you are very experienced with rats or removing abscesses) or a vet can do it. Abscesses are caused when a rat in injured/bitten by another rat or if your rat is cut by a sharp object such as a wood splinter or loose cage wire. Abscesses can be easily prevented by:

~Avoid using plastic or wood houses in your rat's cage. These can become sharp or splinter, causing an abscess. Use beds, hammocks, and houses made of fabric instead.
~NEVER use pine or cedar bedding. Not only are they very dangerous, but they can irritate your rat's skin.
~Properly bond rats. Don't put rats together that haven't been properly bonded. They will fight and injure each other.

Preventing Tumors
Tumors are one of the most common causes of death in rats. Female rats are much more prone to tumors, but males can get them too. Female rats are at high risk of mammary and pituitary tumors. Tumors are not easily treated. Surgery for tumor removal can be quite costly. Spaying and neutering your rats drastically reduces this risk. Depending on where you live and each vet's prices, spaying usually costs between $30 and $65. Neutering typically costs between $20 and $50. I can honestly say that none of my past rats had tumors, and all of them were altered.

Spring's here!//700 subscribers info

Hi. (: Spring is finally here, YES! :D That means summer's almost here- only 40 more days of school! Stay tuned because I'm going to try to upload 1-2 videos a week.

Here's some upcoming videos:
~An Easter vid (being uploaded on Easter obviously)
~Some more videos of my guinea pigs
~Bathing/grooming videos

[: Thanks for support! Alsooooo, if and when I get 700 subscribers (I know, I'm a longshot) I will let you guys come up with ideas of some crazy thing you want me to do in a video... maybe dancing in public? Pranks? Anythingg. I'll chose the top 3 things that I would do and let you guys vote . [: So once I reach my goal of 700 subscribers I will do that(: And maybe I could have 1,000 subscribers by the end of summer? Just maybe[: *And NO I do not "sub 4 sub". I prefer to actually EARN subscribers and have never ever asked anyone to subscribe to me*

~It's that time again... updaters.~

Heeey all you people who are reading this- it's May! I haven't made a video in a month... sorry, but I've had no time and it's the holidays A.K.A.... I'm busy.

So I don't really know what to update you guys about so here we go. I have new C&C Cages now so I will make a video on that.. when I have time. Also, referring back to my "We saved the shelter piggies" video, ALL the pigs have been adopted now with the exception of Kissy who will be staying with us permanently. Yep, a new piggy! If you're wondering why he's staying here well I'll explain that now. Recently we discovered that Kissy has a genetic defect in his left eye that made an abscess inside the eye. The eye was partially removed (only a certain part of the lens of the eye was removed so he can still have some vision in that eye) and he's much better now. Right now Kissy is at the adoption center until he has a C&C cage built for him. He may stay at either the adoption center or with my other pigs. I think he may do good with Pearl and B.B. since they have a 2x5 cage now.

Well, I'm gonna go now. Lots of family is still here. :P I will make a video of Kissy very soon! Thanks for almost 400 subs! You guys are the best :)

xoxo May

Lots of news to tell and things to share :)

Hi my lovelies! I'm in quite a 'YouTube mood' right now so videos shall be coming! :)

Fall Break has been awesome. On Wednesday I traveled all the way from east North Carolina to Malibu, California.. very exciting :) It was the best vacation I could have asked for, but I'm glad to be home and see my babies (my pets, of course).

I'm sorry that I haven't done my 300 Subscribers Celebration, make that 350 subscribers now! I'm working on that video - a lot of editing to to do! Over the time left in Fall and throughout Winter I'll be making up for deleted guinea pig videos, while also doing other species - and just fun videos too. Guinea pig grooming has been my main request - but I am not going to do a video on that (except I WILL do a video on bathing your guinea pig, thats also been requested) because its included in my "DAILY CAVY CARE [best video yet]" video.

Right now I'm trying to type this while a huge pit bull is on my lap. It's my baby, Crater. He's a big cuddly love bug :)

Continuing this blog post.. there will be a new small pet coming into my family - and it will be my baby! I just now realized how I call all my pets, my babies, haha. Can't tell what it is yet because that would ruin the surprise.

Well.. I think I'm gonna go.. expect one (possibly two) videos a week from me during the school year.

xoxo,

May

WE DID IT!

As you know, on the way to the river, we were going to a kill shelter to SAVE 5 piggies... WE DID! They're sooo sweet! :) The mother's name is Big Freddy (the shelter named them all), the father's name is Charley, and the babies' names are Lil Charley, Bugsy, and Kissy (my personal favorite). I have made numerous videos of them and those will be posted when I'm back :)

xoxo
May

Bye guys!

As you probably know... I'm leaving! But its a good thing :) I'm going to be spending about a week at my river house in Virginia :) So this is kinda gonna be a goodbye post and all that mess. Ya ready?

Right now I'm all packed. I have a jam packed suitcase and about 4 big duffle bags full of stuff I wanna take... yes, I like to overpack... just a bit :] I have that feeling that imma forget something... I'll double check after this post!

Long car rides are always hilarious with my family. And other times... its just crowded. I'm gonna be riding in my dads car I believe.. I think my grandma's gonna be driving the car that has all the luggage in it and my mom will be driving the car with all my dogs in it... now thats gonna be one CRAMPED car! Plus, my grandma's 3 little dogs... holy moly.. thats 10 dogs! Hopefully my mom plans on bringing them in the dog rescue van. My little pekingese Manzy will be riding in my lap with me :3 he's my baby :) I'm gonna miss my piggies. They're at my moms vet-office until we come back. They'll be in good hands I know :) But I'm SOOOOO excited to see the SHELTER PIGGIES! Until we name them I'll just call them "The Shelter Pigs", k? :] Their temporary cages are in the car. While they're at the river house we'll split them up among two 2x3 ft. cages. Then they'll be put into a quarantine when I get back home just to see their temperments and stuff :) And then, finally, they'll move onto appropriate sized C&C Cages :) The shelter said that there was a father, mother, and her 3 babies, aww =]

Okay, well I have to go! BYEE! I'll make a video of the shelter pigs!

XoXo MaY <3

ADOPTION OPTIONS! :)

So I've been getting a lot of messages on YouTube of people saying they can't find shelters on PetFinder, so I thought I'd post your "Adoption Options" on here. Right now there is a huge pet overpopulation. Piggies are in kill shelters, rescues, or some piggies just need homes. PetFinder isn't the only place to find an adoptable or needy pig. Adopting is the most ethical way of getting a piggy, not just for your pig, but for you too. Most of these pets at rescues have already been fully vetted, neutered, given dental exams, and more so you don't have to worry about a sick piggy, which you'll most likely get if you buy from a family owned pet store or a chain store like PetLand, Petco, or PetSmart. Guinea pigs and other pets have become products... you buy them... don't like them? you can "exchange them". In my opinion, pets aren't something you get rid of. You make a lifelong commitment when you get them and you must stick to it. So here's your Adoption Options...

PetFinder.com - Always try PetFinder first. It will feature most all rescue groups and shelters in your area. There is no reason not to get a piggy if its 1-2 hours away. I've known people who took 8 hour round trips to adopt a guinea pig. If you have absolutely no luck with finding a piggy less than 1-2 hours away, then try ...

Craigslist.com - Craigslist allows people to list pets (or other things) they want to give away. Basically the pets listed on here need homes. Just go to your state, then choose your area and search "Guinea Pig" and go through any local listings. You should be able to find a some piggies less than 2 hours away. Be careful to not be tricked by a breeder. They are NOT allowed to sell on Craigslist, so if they say "Lots of Babies" they may be breeders or if you're not sure, you can contact them and ask. If no luck there... then go to...

GuineaPigHome.com - This website will feature piggies that need homes from private people, rescue groups, and shelters. Its easy to navigate too.
So if you still haven't found ANY pigs that are less than 2 hours from your house, feel free to contact me, because I'm sure I could find something. I've never ever not been able to find someone an adoptable piggy!

xoxo May :)

New C&C Cages, Virginia :)

Hi all people who read this :) So over the last day or two I've been re-making 2 2x5 cages and a 2x3 cage with a 2x1 loft. Why? Because my poor piggies were all on treatment for mites, and just to make SURE, I trashed all the other coroplast. Now I'm finished with the new cages :) Roxy and Olive will be coming to the basement to live with me so I can be with those 2 piggies a lot :) Plus, there's tons and tons of room for them to explore in the basement :)

AND as you saw in my latest video, I'm going to my river house in Virginia on TUESDAY! :D I'll be back the following Monday[: And as you also saw (if you watched it!), there are piggies that NEED saving! They're at a kill shelter (yes, a kill shelter that WILL put down small animals too! there's just no room there for them) and we're going to get them on Tuesday when we get near Richmond, then go to the river house, set them all up, and then go back to Richmond for heavy duty SHOPPING :) And thennn back to the riverrr! I'll make videos of the piggies. I believe there's 5 of them. We've already called the shelter telling them we're coming. Eek! :/ They also mentioned that the pigs are already properly sexed and the males have been neutered. They were an owner turn in :( But we'll get them all fixed up, good health, and place them for adoption! :)

xoxo May

A topic-ful post ;)

Hm.. I thought I would update you guys with any pet news.
Lezz get started!

So as most of you already know, I'm getting one or two more piggies. I've thought about the time I have for 2 more pigs and I really think I can handle it. YES, my dream will be coming true! A TEXEL! They've ALWAYS been my dream piggy! To me, they're the most gorgeous of all guinea pigs. :) I have two perfect names (not sharing them yet!). I'm hoping to get a Texel first then later on in the year get a Coronet. They're pretty too :) My texel will be coming all the way from California to North Carolina. How many of ya can say your pig came to you on a plane? ;) But we'll have to drive a total of 4 hours (there and back) to an international airport :P

As far as piggies I already have... Roxy got a bad case of mites (Why does everything happen to little Roxy?) so I'm treating her and all my other pigs for mites. They just finished treatment for mite eggs yesterday. Hopefully this will kill all those pesky mites! And besides that, they're all good.

OH! And I will be gone August 4 til that following Monday. I'll be at my river house in Virginia :) Also, there's a kill shelter there with about 5 guinea pigs that my mom wants to re-home so they'll never be put to sleep. I'm excited about that if we get them! I'll make videos on them :)

Until my next post,
Take care of those piggies!
xoxo May

Answering Your Questions & My IDEA!

Hey everyone. I've been asked a few guinea pig questions recently and thought I should answer them on here. (: Well here I go...

1) How do I get my guinea pig to let me catch her? How do I get my guinea pig to stop squirming when I handle her?

Well, this is typical of all guinea pigs. Just put yourself in their position: This huge living thing is trying to pick me up and carry me high up off the ground. You'd be pretty scared too, huh? Well, just consider that. My pigs might seem extremely tame, but none of them are fond of being taken out of their cage, not one of them. I doubt there is a pig that likes it. But there are some pigs that just run away from you. Thats just a matter of taming them (see my taming your cavy video for help) and it may take awhile for some pigs. Statistics show that American bred cavies are more timid than other breeds. Abysinnian guinea pigs are said to be the most tame since they were the first ever breed of cavy so taming also depends on your pig's breed. No pig is ever going to be perfectly tame. Just about every pig is going to squirm when you handle them, just stroke them for comfort. (: Hope this helps.
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Okay, so I had this idea...
Considering that YouTube is a huge community, it can do a lot of good.
My idea was of making an internet organization against pet stores and why not people shouldn't make impulse buys. Considering the movie G-Force is coming out. I'm not so excited for this movie. Why? It's going to:
-Cause impulse buys. Kids & adults are going to see the movie and want a guinea pig. The same thing happened with the movie 101 Dalmations and many other movies, causing impulse buys on whatever animal was the main character(s). Then the kids will get bored of the guinea pig and it will most likely be dumped at a pet store or let go.
-It gives a whole different definition to guinea pigs. The movie shows guinea pigs being little "heroes" by swimming (which guinea pigs can NOT do & if you put them in water they'll just go into toxic shock) and thinking on a human mentality level.
-It features pet stores, guinea pigs in tanks (with other animals i.e. hamsters, mice), and running wheels. It also shows guinea pigs being dressed and treated like tea cup chihauhauas.
So, I think my idea would possibly help prevent impulse buys. Who's with me? (:

We could make it like a club or something... maybe come up with a name ;)

Just tell me what you think! Oh! And if you'd like to help prevent impulse buys due to G-Force, you can go to the link below and print out this poster to pass out to people leaving the G-Force movie. Just make sure to ask the theater first. Thats what I'll be doing on opening night at my local theater, my friend's dad is the manager and said we could both pass them out :) The link is:

http://www.guinealynx.info/pdf/g-force.pdf