Beiträge von Sarah97

Findest du ?
Flicka und Ibo habe ich jetzt seit Anfang des Jahres, Shy kam im Mai dazu und jetzt kommt noch Sunny. Ich finde einfach, dass eine schöne 4er Gruppe besser wäre
Es ist immer nur ganz schlimm, sich zwischen meheren Schweinen zu entscheiden :oops: Ich finde Sunny ja super, aber andererseits möchte ich auch sehr gerne einem älteren Schwein ein neues Zuhause schenken...uff die Qual der Wahl..

Das tut mir echt Leid für Lexi, ich hoffe ihr geht es gut, wo sie jetzt ist
Mein herzliches Beileid und alles Gute..

Ich habe zwei Scharniere gekauft, die ich unten an der Treppe und an der Etage befestigen werde^^
Was die Glasscheiben betrifft finde ich nicht diese kleinen Halter, die du auch gezeigt hast...uff...wir haben letztens zwei Schränke abgebaut, aber da waren auch nicht solche Halter..

Ja hat sie bestimmt
ja so einige, ich habe eine Freundin von mir gefragt, mal drüber zu schauen.
Sie ist echt verdammt gut in englisch.
Vielen Dank für eure Hilfe!

murmel 51:
Das hoffe ich Meine Drei kommen jetzt erstmal zu angelika in die Notstation, während ich das Gehege aufbaue.

Meerwutzenvaddi:
Das Brett, dass neben der Etage liegt wird zur Treppe umgebaut^^ Es ist schön breit und extra lang, damit sie nicht zu steil steigen müssen. Sie müssen die Etage nicht benutzen, aber ich dachte mir ich mache trotzdem mal eine Treppe dran
Im Endeffekt wird die höhe der Etage nur 25cm betragen und die Länge der Treppe ist 80cm.

Soo endlich mal wieder was neues von meinen dreien

Leider hat sich Ibo an seinem rechten Pfötchen einen Pilz eingefangen
Sie wurden schon vor einem Monat gegen Milben behandelt, weshalb ich denke, dass es Pilz ist.
Heute geht es ab zum Tierarzt!

Hier eine wunderschöne Prinzessin in 'lady-like' Pose
http://www.fotos-hochladen.net

Mein persönlicher Favorit an Portraits von Ibo ?
mit seinem kleinen Paprika Schnütchen :wink:
http://www.fotos-hochladen.net

Panikschwein und Neuzugang 'Shy' darf natürlich auch nicht fehlen
Ein Foto von ihr zu bekommen ist fast unmöglich, weshalb es nicht sehr schön geworden ist. Aber besser als nichts
Sie ist eine große schwarze Rosetten(mix)dame
http://www.fotos-hochladen.net

Und hier alle drei im TÜV- Körbchen
http://www.fotos-hochladen.net

Bald kommt auch noch Weibchen Sunny dazu Freue mich schon total darauf.
Kleines Bildchen von ihr aus der Seite 'Meerschweinchenzuflucht Marl'

http://meerschweinchenzuflucht.tidesoftime.de/sunny/

Liebe Grüße~

Soo habe heute ein paar Fotos gemacht

Vor 3 Tagen wurden die Bretter und alles drum und dran gekauft, dannach schön mit Klarlack lackiert und schonmal aufgestellt
Leider finde ich kaum jemanden, der handwerklich begabt ist, weshalb ich einfach nur hoffe, das alles gut geht

http://www.fotos-hochladen.net

Die Vierkanthölzer mussen noch zugeschnitten werden.
Das Gehege wirkt total riesig und die Etage kommt mir voll klein vor
Insgesamt macht das Gehege 2 x 1,80 m
Die Etage/Der Unterstand ist 1,20 x 0,60 m + breite Treppe

Das wird Arbeit, aber ich freue mich schon total ?

Ich wünsche Dir und deiner Snowball viel Glück Hoffentlich wird sie wieder gesund..

Ich drücke dir und deinen Schweinchen auch die Daumen

Naja ich habe 'eher selten' geschrieben. Und dem ist auch so. Bedeutet natürlich nicht, dass es kein Schwein terffen kann.
Meine Flicka hatte auch eine leichte Blasenentzündung.

Für mich hört sich das wie agouti an, bin mir aber nicht ganz sicher.
schau mal hier:
wo sind die Agoutis geblieben?

Löwenzahn verfärbt den Urin leicht rötlich.
Ansonsten kann auch eine Blasenentzündung und/oder Nierensteine dahinter stecken.
Aber ich will jetzt nicht den Teufel an die Wand malen. Ich glaube eher dass es eine Verfärbung ist. Bei einer gesunden Ernährung und guter Haltung sind Nierensteine und Entzündungen eher selten.

So bin fertig
Muss nochmal alles durchschauen, nach Fehlern aber ich glaube so ist es gut.
Tut mir Leid für den großen Spam ^^"

Guinea pigs are one of the most favorite pets.
They look cute and it's just fun to watch them interact with others of their kind.
But much people also ignore the fact that guinea pigs are not that simple and uncomplicated to keep. Just like other animals, like dogs, horses, cats etc. they got requirements. They are no cuddle toys for kids and no birthday presents.

So where does our guinea pig come from?
Guinea pigs come from middle- and South America. They live in caves above ground in thick vegetations and their natural diet consists of grasses, herbs and other green plants. They are highly socialized animals who live in groups, so called harems. A harem is known as a group with one male guinea pig as a leader and his many 'wives'.

What do we have to know as Owners?
Anybody who keeps an animal as a pet should know that keeping a pet means responsibility.
We should take the nature of our pets as an example in order to give them a beautiful and species-appropriate home. To make this real we cannot put our animal in a little cage with unhealthy food as a present for a little 5 year-old child. Only a human, who is responsible, can take care of animals. They are no birthday or Christmas presents, no toys, no dump and no propagation machines. They want to live, they want to be healthy, they want conspecifics, they don't want to feel pain or suffer and they want to be happy. And we want to give them a happy life in our home.

What do guinea pigs need?

Social life:
Guinea pigs are highly socialized animals and live in groups. You need at least two guinea pigs, but more than 2 are way better, because they will interact much more.
You will feel the liveliness of your guinea pigs, like they were reborn
You know from their natural life system, that guinea pigs life in harems. So the best thing you can do is to get a castrated/neutered male and one or more female guinea pigs.

The keeping of groups of one gender is impractical. Why?
For example some people, who are familiar with guinea pigs, can keep groups of males. The problem is that not every male tolerates other males, depending on their socialization status. Many guinea pigs were separated from their mothers in a very young age, so they never got socialized.
In their first years of life they go through puberty. People who never owned guinea pigs often cannot assess these hormone surges. This can end fatal, if the amateur guinea pig owner doesn't know what to do. Also important is that male guinea pig groups need much more space than harem groups, so they can avoid each other better.

Pure female groups are not welcomed. The reason is that guinea pigs, living in female groups are more susceptible to hormonal diseases, like uterine cysts. This way of keeping guinea pigs is unhealthy and unnatural.

Guinea pigs shall never stay alone! They will wither and get mental problems.
It's like putting an animal in jail for doing nothing wrong. A good hint for the next topic:

The enclosure/cage and guinea pig equipment:

Besides to healthy food and social life, this topic belongs to the most important ones.
Just like rabbits, dogs and other animals', guinea pigs need much space. People often say that their guinea pigs are slowly moving, unmotivated, that they don't do anything; they bite the cage lattice and so on, but why?
Even if it sounds a little bit rude, you can answer yourself this question with a healthy human mind.
If people would put their dog in a little Guest Bathroom for 24 hours a day, a lifelong, what will happen to this dog?
He will get frustrated, maybe even insane and tries to bite, he will get fat and after all that's not a good life, don't you think so too? This would be animal abuse.
And it's just the same as with guinea pigs and rabbits. They want to run (and hell yes, they can run fast ), they want to explore their enclosure, they want to live with their companions.
Two guinea pigs will never be happy in a little 100x80 cage.

After many people kept their guinea pigs in cages, they noticed that they needed something: More space!
People who are familiar with guinea pigs will advise you to build/buy a/an enclosure/cage with at least 0, 5 square meter per pig.
You'll need a cage with the sizes 140x0, 80 or 1, 60x0, 80 for two guinea pigs. We know that such a cage costs very much and many don't want to buy it.

But first:
Every animal is expensive! If you don't want to spend money for a good cage/enclosure, you won't pay the vet costs as well! That means you should not keep animals.

2:
A self made enclosure is low-priced and better.
For sure some people know these '300 Euro palaces', but you don't have to spend so much money for this.
There are hundreds of ways to build a nice enclosure; you can also 'tape' an enclosure.
If you got even more space: nice! A beautiful 200cm x 100cm enclosure for 2-4 Guinea pigs would be the best! Your guinea pigs will love you for doing this!
Guinea pigs are bottom dwellers, they rarely use floors, also a reason, why you should not buy cages with floors. They won't be often or never used.

Summed up, you just need 4 wood panels and a urinary dense ground (so as example, pond foil or PVC coating). Tape or screw the panels together. That's it.
Even if the enclosure will be big, you should not forget to let your guinea pigs go outside sometimes

Guinea pig equipment:
Just like in their natural habitat guinea pigs need many hiding places. They live in thick vegetations and don't like it, to move in an open area.
Because of being a flight animal, they feel insecure, when the cage or the enclosure they live in is 'empty'. Every guinea pig needs at least one little 'house', little 'shelters' will be gladly accepted too.
Be careful with equipment in pet stores, some are very dangerous or even deadly!

Equipments:
-houses with 2 or more entrances / shelters
(no 'windows', because guinea pigs can get stuck in it!)
-Big tunnels
-Hay racks (there has to be hay 24h a day, all time! (Be careful, some hay racks are dangerous, because the pigs can get stuck in them too)
- Watering or drinking bottle/s
-cuddle stuff There are many shops in the internet with guinea pig cuddle stuff

Guinea Pig food:
We will take a look again at the natural diet of a guinea pig. It consists of grasses, herbs and other 'green plants'.
Guinea pigs always need grass or hay to keep their gastrointestinal tract fit and to wear down their teeth. They cannot produce Vitamin C by themselves, so they need it from outside (herbs or vegetables).
Not everybody has the option to get herbs and grasses every day, so we can give our guinea pigs vegetables, which they can digest.

Little summary:
-Guinea pigs need 24h a day, every day fresh water and hay (also for their dental care)
-Varied and fresh vegetables, like salads, cucumber, paprika, carrots, fennel etc.
-herbs and grasses, like dandelion, meadow-grass, edible wild herbs etc.
-occasionally fruits, like an apple, watermelon, strawberries etc.

Dry Food, Drops, Sticks, salt licks and bred:
Usual Pet store Pellets (etc.) are full of grain, sugar and animal by-products.
This has nothing to do in a guinea pigs stomach; it's very unhealthy and unnecessary, guinea pigs don't need that!
Only guinea pigs that live outside should get sometimes grain-free dry food for more energy.
They cannot digest starch, they get stomach ache from it. The big portions of sugar in drops, pellets etc. are very unhealthy for the liver and generally for the pig.
Just some of the aftereffects of dry food etc.:
-Overweight (Underweight-> old guinea pigs)
-Dental problems
-Fatty liver disease
-Kidney infections / Kidney stones

So where do I get my guinea pigs from?
If you think you are ready to take care for an animal, (besides you are also familiar enough with guinea pigs, have a nice and big cage or enclosure) you have to think about, where to get your pigs from.

Animal Shelters:
First of all, everyone who wants a pet should visit animal shelters.
There are many animals that want a new lovely home and deserve it as well, as animals from a breeder. Most were given away because of lack of time and exemplary animal shelters let their animals free for adoption in a healthy condition. Males are almost always neutered/ castrated.
In addition, the staff can assess the animals and say how dominant it behaves. (Based on guinea pigs)
There are also private animal shelters for guinea pigs, which they take care off and let them free for adoption again.

Breeders:
If you couldn't find guinea pigs in (private) shelter you can go to a breeder.
Make sure, that the breeder is professional.
People who simply throw guinea pigs in a cage to produce babies are inhuman propagators and animal abusers.
Professional breeders are familiar with genetic and guinea pigs. They know about genetic errors, pregnancy complications, how to nourish young, thin and powerless babies or mothers and and and..
Things that a guinea pig amateur don't know about, so let it be!

Pet stores:
Many people will advise you against, to go to a pet store to buy guinea pigs.
The reason for this are employers, who are not familiar with animals, wrong gender information's, (too young) pregnant females, many animals with genetic errors (because of fabric-like propagation; similar to puppy mills!), animal abuse and not neutered/castrated males.
These reasons should be enough to not visit a pet store.
For sure there will be some stores who look professional, but most of the time it just seems like the pet store would be animal-friendly.
In a pet store animals are just a product.

Health, Medical help and Vets:
Not every Vet is familiar with guinea pigs.
Vets cannot know everything about every animal for sure.
Also guinea pigs are classified as 'unimportant animals', which means that Veterinarians, even small animal doctors usually only deal with farm animals, dogs and cats, some birds and sometimes rabbits. Teachings of rabbits for example are often confused with guinea pigs.
Ask your Vet, if he/she is familiar with guinea pigs and ask him/her questions about guinea pigs.

The Check up:
If you got a guinea pig you should check it up once a week.

-Weigh your guinea pig
(normal guinea pigs weigh between 700-1200g (females) and 800-1500g (males), significant weight loss indicates a disease)
- Look at eyes, nose and ears. Are they clear and clean?
-Feel your guinea pig. Does it have tumors or is it thicker somewhere?
-Investigate the fur and skin of your guinea pig. Can you see bald spots, other abnormalities or even injuries?
-Take a look at the anus. Is it clean?

If something isn't good with your guinea pigs, go to the vet!

Thank you for reading my little article about guinea pigs and owning a pet
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Greetings, Sarah S. from Germany ~

Sie ist in deviantArt weltweit bekannt mit über 1,188,000 'Pageviews'. Das wird nicht nur Niederländer erreichen

Ja da hast du auch recht O_o Das überarbeite ich auch nochmal

Danke Leider kam ich noch nicht dazu, den Text nach Ausdrucksfehler abzuklappern.
Ist einfach runtergeschrieben, bei einigen Fachbegriffen musste ich aber zur sicherheit nachschauuen und nochmals danke :wink:

Ich habe sie ein wenig 'angestachelt' auf ihrer Seite (die hier auch angegeben ist). Jetzt schreibe ich mit ihr in DeviantArt, also privat und darf den Artikel dann auf ihrer Seite veröffentlichen.
Hoffentlich ist sie auch wirklich so offen und tolerant, wie die es vorgibt. Das wäre dann nämlich super!