[Gpdd] [ANNOUNCE] New member here - introducing myself and my piggy

[Janna Hoskin]

Hello, everyone!

I'm Janna; used to belong to this list WAAAAAAAY back when I was in 
University.  I don't recall if I actually had any piggies at the time.  
I've kept guinea pigs on and off since I was ten.  Usually just one or 
two, though I had three at one point.

I lost two guinea pigs earlier this year.  First Katonia, my female, 
contracted pneumonia, and after $500 to the vet and lots of Baytril, she 
finally just gave up.  Then we moved, and about a month after that 
Napoleon, my male, stopped eating.  I syringe-fed Critical Care daily 
for a week, but it seemed like he just didn't care.  I think he might 
have been depressed; the two never lived together, as Napoleon was 
intact and Katonia had never been bred (and both were about 4 when they 
passed), but their cages were kept right next to each other, and they 
kissed through the bars a lot.

Well, on Sunday I went and picked up a darling little girl who I've 
named Isabella.  She's a tortie & white short-hair with a small ridge on 
her back.  The family she'd been living with didn't want her anymore 
(kind of how I wound up with Napoleon), so I took her in.  I was pleased 
to see that they had a decent-sized cage (luckily it fit in my car!), so 
she's had plenty of space, but no hay to be found and the food is 
alfalfa mixed with seeds (at least it says it's for guinea pigs on the 
bag!).  I have timothy hay and timothy pellets, so I'm planning to 
slowly transition her food over.  She also needs her nails trimmed.  
She's a very sociable little thing and spends most of her time outside 
of her igloo.  Going by size (I haven't weighed her yet) she's probably 
between 6 months and a year old.  The family said they had two until one 
of them died (about a month ago, I think), so of course I'm keeping a 
close eye on her.  She seems perfectly healthy, which is good, but her 
belly is suspiciously round.  Time will tell if she's pregnant.

Today or tomorrow, I'll be going to pick up Guido, a male piggy my 
friend needs to rehome (they're moving and can't keep their pets, which 
is too bad because they're all animal people).  I've only met him once - 
held him so my friend could trim his nails, and he bit me good - but I 
seem to recall him being a busy little fellow.  Sometime next month, 
I'll make him an appointment with my exotics vet, get the pre-op 
bloodwork done, and have him neutered.  Then (a month after that) I can 
house the two together - I'm sure they'll both like that!  :)

I've been told I can't have more than two at a time, sad to say.  My 
boyfriend tolerates the animals, and he doesn't mind looking after them 
and giving them treats once in a while, but that's about it.  So I'm 
consoling myself with the thought that if I can't have more than two 
live pigs at a time, then I should certainly be able to have plenty of 
guinea pig paraphernalia - calendars, figurines, books, etc.  (The bf 
doesn't seem to buy into the idea, but I'll talk him into it eventually.)

-Janna & Isabella (until Guido arrives)

-- 
http://thehoskincentre.com

"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Albert Camus
"I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble." - Karen Cushman