GuineaPigCareCenter

The one good thing to come out of 2020… US!

Like many people, I was sent home March 2020 to work remotely. Very quickly I became bored and lonely. I started doing crafts and home improvement projects… But that just made my house messy!

And then one of my friends recommended that to fill the obvious gap in my life, I should get a pet companion. I had guinea pigs as a little girl but was too busy during high school and college to have any other animals. Now in my own home, I thought why not?

I began to research.

I learned a lot! They need large cages, special food, money saved for expensive vet bills. But that didn’t discourage me!

Bella and Yuki, rehomed from a couple in my area, found a new home with me. They came with a C&C cage and lots of hay. They were curious about their new home and even took some lettuce from my hand in the first week.

Everything was going great! Like most guinea pig lovers, I was obsessed. I needed more!

So I found Cinnamon and Claire, who also was looking to be rehomed from a family whose kids had gotten bored.

When I met them in the parking lot, I was a little surprised to see them being dropped off in a pet store cage. I assumed it was only a traveling cage but by the end of the meeting, I learned it was their everyday home. I didn’t think too much about it. All I knew is that it is a good thing that I would be their new mom and they will love their new cage!

It was loud in that parking lot. When I tried to feed them a piece of lettuce, they burrowed themselves in the disposable bedding, terrified. I assumed they were just scared of being in a new area. Of course, they were.

I also expected them to be a little nervous on their first few nights in their new home.

What I didn’t expect was for them to stop eating completely.

They both hid together, in the same hidey, for over 26 hours, not even trying to get hay while I wasn’t in the room. It was scary!

In hindsight, I now know things that I should’ve done differently. But what I got from that experience is a passion for scared guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs are often marketed by pet stores for being “friendly, social animals great for children.” I learned that that is not really the case. Guinea pigs are prey animals and have completely different ways of expressing emotions compared to mainstream pets like dogs and cats. Scared guinea pigs are often surrendered because “it doesn’t do anything”.

Fast forward to today, Cinnamon and Claire are running around happily now, with their friends Bella and Yuki. It took a ton of training and patience to get them where they are now, but it is so fulfilling to work with them.

My goal is to teach and train guinea pig owners how to tame and bond with their guinea pigs, decreasing the likelihood surrendering and increasing the number of guinea pigs who find and keep their forever home.

I am active on social media, sharing guinea pig education and care to all, and I’m constantly innovating guinea pig products and accessories.

Even if one guinea pig’s life is saved, I’ll know that I’ve done my part in making the world a better place.

“In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:10
"They might only be here a part of our lives, but to them you are their whole life" Unknown

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