MORE INFORMATION ON MY PIGGIES

We definitely spoiled them, we feed them to much sometimes, then put the poor piggies on a diet, which they did not like one bit, they would cry for more food, so what can you do? feed them a bit more, we have been hypnotised by their cries for food, so much so that Sophie ended up a rather  large gp. 

We feed them Gerty guinea-pig food in the morning and at night they got fresh vegetables. In books they say that you are not supposed to feed them lettuce as it gives them colic. The strange thing is that our gp's loved it, and ate it every day, they did not seem to be affected by it and we could only recall the occasional rotten smell!   They also loved dandelion leaves from the garden, but just be careful to check no one has put down any moss or weed killer on the lawns or borders, in case the gp's could get accidentally poisoned, that would be awful.

They actually ate a lot more than just piggie food, they loved pasta, fried rice, little pieces of chocolate, scones with jam and raisins and loads of other human food that wasn't really good for them.   We only gave them little pieces, yes we knew it was not good for them, we just wanted to see if they appreciated the taste of new foods, and they did but they would only eat little bits at a time.

Sophie and Leia lived in the house, my dad made the cage with thick planks of wood ( they are pieces from our old kitchen units, well if they are good enough for the dishes hey they'll do for piggies). They also had a hutch which was kept in the garage and brought out in dry days which we called their " holiday home" they only went out in this when the weather was nice.  They were really house pigs, the cage was kept in my brother's room, he said they could be real noisy sometimes, especially if they were having a face-off fight.   If you have more than one you will have seen gp's do this a lot, its actually a challenge to see who's top pig, a bit like us squaring up to someone and pushing them out the way, then they push you back, so someone's got to give in or the boxing gloves are on!!!

Every day or every second day they would get a run in our hall. They were good at using the newspapers we put down, most times they sat chewing pieces of it, mum said that they were digesting the news, ha ha. 
It was really funny watching them run as they were so fat. We usually let them run for about fifteen minutes and then we would pet them for about ten minutes. When they were younger they used to pee a lot, so be careful with young ones or you might end up with wet trousers.  We could tell when they were needing, as they would start moaning and constantly moving.   I remember once my mum was holding both of them and she was laughing at something on the TV, then I just heard her shriek, and there was two wet pee marks on her trousers.   They are easy frightened so be careful with loud noises, or pay the consequences.

We bathed the gp's every few months. You can buy a special guinea-pig shampoo you can obtain it from your pet shop.   We washed them in a basin of lukewarm water.   We only put in about two inches of water, and gave them a wipe down with a little piece of sponge or cloth, then gave them a nice rub down with a dry towel, they did not like this bathing at all, the girlies would get bug eyed with fright, and just sit there looking shell shocked, but they needed to be groomed and they couldn't reach every part of their wee fat bodies, so it was up to us humans to help them.  
When bath time was over, their little coats would glisten and shine and theyed look so gorgeous again.
Have you seen how they wash themselves? they go up on their two hind legs, and kind of  like sneeze onto their front paws then start to wash their nose, whiskers and round their cute little ears, and apart from a quick lick and promise down below well that's it. 
Gross or what, imagine we cleaned ourselves like that, spitting on our hands then washing all round our faces, etc, still I think they are just adorable, and I wouldn't change them for a million chocolate bars.

SOPHIE HAS DIED
Sadly on the 9th of July '01' my wonderful gp Sophie died.  She was sick for only about 1 week that we were aware of, she was moaning when urinating, so we took her to the vet who examined her and said she had cystitis, and her tail end was swelling up a bit.  Sophie at this point was still eating and licking her salt ring as usual, she never drank water.  She was prescribed antibiotics, which we had to feed to her on her favourite food (lettuce) she was rather clever,  she could taste it so would leave that piece of lettuce, but I was smarter, I would wrap it inside another tasty piece of lettuce and she would munch it that way.   

But by the next day she was listless and wouldn't eat or drink at all, just lying in a corner not taking any interest in anything, so we went back to the vet, he gave her a painkilling injection which he said would last for 2 days, and that he could feel a small lump in her bladder, but we decided not to have her x-rayed as they have to be put to sleep and there is a risk that small animals may die whilst sedated, so we chose the other method.  She perked up straight away and was more like my darling Sophie I know and love so much, eating and lying around but interested in everything going on around her.  

Sadly by Saturday night she was deteriorating again, refusing food again, and lying in a corner.   She was the same on Sunday, we had to wait till Monday as the vet's practice is shut from Saturday lunchtime till Monday morning.   We knew now it was serious as her tail-end had swollen much more and she was dragging her back legs.   The vet said she was very ill, they could operate but she might not survive the anesthetic or die during the operation or even after the operation, what would have been the point of putting her through so much in the vain hope she would survive.

The vet agreed it would be kinder to put Sophie to sleep and put her out of her misery and pain.   
It was a very hard thing to do but as my Mum said sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.  
So my darling beautiful Sophie was put to sleep, she is now buried in our back garden and we have made a little cross to mark her grave which says 'Here lies Sophie'.   

Little Leia needs us to care for her now, she seems to be ok at the moment, she has cried for Sophie a couple of times but seems to be settling down again, Mum said that we don't really know what kind of memory they have and perhaps Leia will forget very quickly which in a way will help her more, then she wont feel the heartache that I feel right now, I will get over Sophie's death but for the moment it's all been so quick and very upsetting.  We have all shed tears but I cried so much my head was sore and my eyes felt all gritty, my heart was breaking for her, but I know she is at peace now, and I will remember all the wonderful times we had together.

Rest in Peace my darling little Sophie, forever happy in the land of lettuce.

LEIA HAS DIED
Double sadness, dear little Leia died on the 25th March '02'.  She had similar symptoms to those which Sophie was suffering from.  The first time we noticed she was ill, was about three weeks before she died.   There was blood in urine, and she was moaning a little, and she was losing her fine coat, it was bald in places, so we took her to the vet's.

The vet gave her a very thorough examination, saying Leia had a urine infection, she had actually had this last October, was prescribed antibiotics and recovered well, so we were not unduly worried at this point.  As to the hair loss the vet said it was either due to mite's or a hormone deficiency so she put some drops behind her ears, as this is were the mites thrive and the drops would kill them. We were given 1 week's antibiotics and made an appointment for the following week.

Again we had the usual problems trying to give the drug via favourite food, Leia was even smarter then Sophie had been and refused to eat food which had been covered with the drug, so we had to take drastic action to ensure she got her medicine.   Mum wrapped her up tightly in a towel so she couldn't wriggle and held her in the crook of her arm lying on her back, so I could see her little mouth and give her the drug orally.  She sure bucked and kicked a few times but we managed this way.  She had to have this done once a day.   She started to deteriorate for a couple of days, off her food, and listless, when we got her out for a little exercise she just sat in a corner and wouldn't move.  We had been advised by the vet that if she did not improve she would go down the road of an x-ray, then see what the results of this would be before any further decisions could be made.

We discussed the likelihood of Leia being sedated and the risks involved, whether this was the course of action we should take, as Leia was fairly old at 4 and a half years old, which is a very good age for gp's the usual lifespan is approximately 5 years.
We had been reminded by the vet of the chance of her not recovering from the anesthetic which would be required to achieve the x-ray in the first place.  
Then on the day of her second appointment rather strangely she really perked up again, eating and being generally inquisitive more like her old self.

Anyway, we took her to the vet, she checked her over again, she seemed satisfied with her condition and noted she hadn't deteriorated since the week before,  she could feel a small lump in one of Leia's kidneys, but as she hadn't been drinking a lot she thought this could be the main cause, so the vet prescribed a powder which puts back the friendly bacteria into the gut, similar to the drinks advertised on TV like 'Yakult'.  Also more antibiotics as she seemed to be responding whilst on this drug.   As to the bald patches on her coat, they had not improved and were actually getting more noticeable especially around her haunches (back legs) and on her back, the vet decided this must be due to a hormone deficiency, poor Leia she didn't look her usual beautiful tiger striped self anymore.
But gradually over the weekend we could see her going downhill, loss of appetite, and mainly sleeping.   We all knew the end was near, we could sense it, because of the weight loss, she felt like a little bag of bones when we picked her up for a cuddle, and eventually we sensed she just wanted to be left alone, so we respected this, but kept a very close eye on her, if she had been in any pain,  we would not have hesitated in taking her to the vet's and heartbreaking though it would have been we would have asked the vet to put her out of her misery, but she was very quite and sleepy all the time.

By late Monday evening we knew she wouldn't last the night her condition had deteriorated so much so she was unconscious, and sadly we were proved correct, little Leia  passed away peacefully in her sleep. 

Leia is now buried in our back garden, close to her loving sister Sophie and she also has a little cross to mark her grave which says 'Here lies Leia'.   

Rest in Peace my darling little Leia, forever happy in the land of parsley.

We will miss them both as they were a part of our lives for a few years, and brought us such joy and delight, learning about their contrasting  natures, so quirky and different from each other, but both so adorable and easy to love.

We will leave this site as it is, in memory to them both, and hope that you enjoy visiting and gaining and insight into guinea pig care, etc, please still leave your messages to let us know you dropped by, we will call in from time to time to check the message board to make sure there are no broken links etc, thanks for spending some time with LEIA & SOPHIE.