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

My Guinea Pig Menu

Because this has been requested so much, I have decided to post my guinea pig menu up here. (: Just copy and paste this into a document or print it, anything you want :) This menu is for 1-2 pigs, so double it as neccessary.



Sunday Morning
Green Leaf - 4 Large Leaves
Cherry Tomato - 2 Tomatoes
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Cilantro/Coriander - 4-6 Sprigs
Apple (Granny Smith or Macintosh) - 1/4 Apple

Sunday Afternoon
Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper
Curly Endive - 4 Large Leaves
Celery - 4" Piece Chopped
Curly Kale - 4 Large Leaves
Green Beans - 2

Monday Morning
Corn Silk/Husk - 1-2 Handfuls
Green Leaf/Romaine - 3-4 Large Leaves
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Red Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper
Carrot - 2 Baby Carrots / 1/3 Large Carrot Sliced
Cucumber - 1/2" Chunk

Monday Afternoon
Strawberries - 2 Large
Green Leaf Lettuce - 4 Large Leaves
Celery - 4" Piece Chopped
Green Beans - 2
Cilantro/Coriander - 4-6 Sprigs
Cherry Tomato - Two Tomatoes

Tuesday Morning
Clementine Peel - 1/2 Peel
Curly Endive - 4 Large Leaves
Zucchini/Courgette - 1" Chunk
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper

Tuesday Afternoon
Corn - 1 Medium Cob (un cooked)
Green Leaf - 3-4 Large Leaves
Parsley - 4-6 Sprigs
Red Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper

Wednesday Morning
Swiss Chard - 2 Large Leaves
Musclin Mix (from bag) - Two Handfuls
Cherry Tomato - Two Tomatoes
Cucumber - 1/2" Chunk
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Cilantro - 4-6 Sprigs
Swiss Chard - 2 large leaves

Wednesday Afternoon
Blackberries - 2
Green Leaf Lettuce - 4 Large Leaves
Celery - 4" Piece Chopped
Green Beans - 2
Zucchini/Courgette - 1" Chunk
Carrot - 2 Baby Carrots / 1/3 Large Carrot Chopped

Thursday Morning
Curly Endive - 4 Large Leaves
Red Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper
Cilantro/Coriander - 4-6 Sprigs
Carrot - 2 Baby Carrots / 1/3 Large Carrot Chopped
Spring Mix Lettuce (from bag) - Two Handfuls

Thursday Afternoon
Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper
Green Leaf/Romaine - 3-4 Large Leaves
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Parsley - 4-6 Sprigs
Cherry Tomato - 2 Tomatoes
Curly Kale - 4 Large Leaves

Friday Morning
Green Leaf - 4 Large Leaves
Zucchini/Courgette - 1" Chunk
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Carrot - 2 Baby Carrots / 1/3 Large Carrot Chopped
Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper

Friday Afternoon
Curly Endive - 4 Large Leaves
Red Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper
Cilanto/Coriander - 4-6 Sprigs
Cucumber - 1/2" Chunk
Blueberries - 4
Swiss Chard - 2 large leaves

Saturday Morning
Green Leaf Lettuce - 3-4 Large Leaves
Cherry Tomato - 2 Tomatoes
Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 Pepper
Carrot - 2 Baby Carrots / 1/3 Large Carrot Chopped
Cilantro/Coriander - 4-6 Sprigs
Yellow/Orange Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper

Saturday Afternoon
Strawberries - 2 Large
Spring/Musclin Mix Lettuce (from bag) - Two Handfuls
Parsley - 4-6 Sprigs
Green Beans - 2
Red Bell Pepper - 1/8 Pepper

So how many pets do I have?

This question is asked A LOT! So I'll answer it here. Okay, just so you don't think I live in a house full of animals (it's nothing like that, trust me!) I don't live in a neighborhood, I live on a 10 acre property where we have cows, 2 goats, pigs, horses, chickens, and so much more! Those 'farm' animals make up most our pets. My other pets are domestic animals like my dogs. The large dogs stay outside during the day and come in at night. I have 7 wonderful dogs :) My mom has an animal rescue that mainly deals with cats and dogs. On another property there is a 50 acre adoption center where they live. My other pets are my 3 cats, 9 cavies, hedgehog, a few reptiles, and my other small pets! So that's a rough overview of the pets I own :) My house seems in no way like a 'house zoo' so we're not some crazy animal house like some people think :P I hope this answers your questions! (: 

xoxo May 

Topic 1: Outside?

Well, it's a very talked about subject in the guinea pig world: Should your pig live outside? Day and night? In my opinion and in the opinion of most vets the answer is no. The outdoors is a harmful world for guinea pigs. And you cannot satisfy the essential needs of a cavy if it's being kept outside. Hutches will never do. They are dangerous to the health of a cavy and always, always too small. So if your pig is living outside you obviously can't safely satisfy the essential need of exercise and space. Let's face it, you can't put a C&C cage outside. 

Another danger to cavies is predators. Snakes of course, hunt small rodents and insects, about the size of cavies. Because snakes have bad vision and use the sense of smell for most communication, a snake (or other reptile) could slither right on it to your pig's outdoor cage, even if it's raised on a stand or legs. This happened to my friend's poor bunnies :'( Birds also stand as predators to cavies.

However one of the biggest dangers is heat and cold. During the summer most places stay very hot during the day. Your little pig has a lot of fur, two coats of it. Keeping them in the heat at this time would be like you keeping a heavy coat on all day and staying outside. Even in the shade it's very hot. Then in the winter it stays bitterly cold in most places. Even though they have fur, it's still very cold to them. Go outside during the winter on a frosty night with a coat on. It's still going to be just as cold!

So, think about these things before allowing your pig to stay outside. Considering where you live it will be different. Soon I will post the menu up here (:

xoxo May 

Hello!

Hello all! (: 210 subscribers... I'd say that calls for a party! Or at least a video! Tonight I will make a video showing off my Beta channel talents (; I get all the beta backgrounds from photo bucket. I just ask that you don't use the same ones as me of course! (: So if you're wondering what this is all about I'll tell you now ... This is gonna be where I talk about guinea pigs and also a PERSONAL blog for my SmallPetChannel subscribers to know a little more about me! I'm going to use my original channel more often so contact through 'SmallPetChannel' please! (: ALSO if you want the cavy menu please message me through YouTube. I will post it on here soon. Okay, well I have to go! Bye <3