[Gpdd] [ANNOUNCE] re: New Classroom Guinea Pig

[Susan Eastin]

Hi Flanscha and All-
Congratulations on your new piggie, and welcome to the GPDD.  I think you'll
find there's little you would want to know about guinea pigs that someone
here
can't help you with, in one way or another.  I know others will respond as
well,
many with much more experience than I, but the more the merrier (and the
sooner the better, in this case!).
It would depend what you consider 'not much' as far as eating and drinking
as to whether you should be concerned. I would imagine she is still a bit
frightened by her new surroundings, they are such timid creatures.  A couple
things I would suggest. First, get all the gp information you can and learn
as
much as you can about them.  This website (GPDD) is excellent - go to the
Archives and just scan through the posts - you will learn so much (about us,
as well as gp's in general!  Check out some other gp websites, such as Peter
Gurney's, CavyMadness, etc. (some links below, there are many more!), and
 try to get a good book or two on their care (again, Peter Gurney's is our
favorite).
The other thing I would recommend is just watch your little friend closely.
When they do have a problem, they can get very ill very fast, with little or
no warning. Probably she is fine and just needs to adjust. Have you
considered
a friend for her?  A lot of us think two piggies are happier than one, but
you
would want to get another female, or a neutered male.  I'm guessing from
your email address you are in Iowa? Perhaps you can find some other guinea
pig owners in your area to help, even come and talk to your class.
What fun!  And this is an excellent opportunity to teach those children the
responsibility of pet ownership, and animal stewardship in general.  Please
stay in touch, let us know how it is going, and ask any questions you may
have.
Also, if you have any pigtures to share, let us know as well - we all love
to look
at the piggies!
Here are some links to some good websites:
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~petergurney/  Peter Gurney's GP's
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/  Peter Gurney's Health Guide
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~petergurney/preface.html PG's A to Z of GP's
http://www.comfycavies.com/  Comfy Cavies website
http://www.cavycages.com/index.html  Cavy Cages - good info on housing
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/  Seagull's GP Compendium
http://www.cavymadness.com/  Cavy Madness (check out our buddy, K.C.)
http://www.cavyinfo.com/  Cavyinfo International
http://www.guinealynx.info/   Guinea Lynx  - lots of good health care info
http://www.cavyfun.com/    Guinea Pig Fun pages - some fun stuff for the
kids
Also, considering the fact that our members are scattered all over the
world,
a fun project might be for the kids to mark spots on the map where some of
our members and their piggies live.