Guinea Pig Rescue: News and updates!

I Run a guinea pig rescue called Coven Pet Services, I also breed pedigree show guinea pigs under Lunkys of Coven, though this is very rare as I prefer to focus on the rescue side.

Feel free to post on this topic or PM me should you need advice or just want to introduce your guinea pigs!

CPS FB: Here

LoC FB: Here

Rescue Website: Coven Pet Services

How to donate: ko-fi

All donations go towards the rescue guinea pigs 

Current guinea pigs in the rescue: 21

Rehomed this year so far: 45

See second post for current news

See third post for success stories and the cases of the year

See the fourth post for LoC news

See the fifth for random things about health and guinea pig care and cute photo gallery!

The cavy cottage!

Coven Pet Services news:

28/10/20: Pregnant guinea pig has arrived! Fingers crossed for a healthy delivery! brought in due to being pregnant and owner unsure how to handle it.

19/10/2020: 2 lovely boars brought in to the rescue, one alpaca and one short hair named Charlie and Shaun! Around 6 months old they are a bonded pair and I hope to find them the perfect home. They are both still quite scared so will need lots of love to bring out their confidence.

Reason for admittance: owners didn't have enough time for them ~

This year's cases:

• 3 older boars ~ massive lumps, very underweight, overgrown claws. Left outside a pet shop.

Vet visit: harmless lumps, no need for removal, especially considering their age (5+ years). Teeth trimmed.

Crash, Eddie and Ted (in order of pictures)

Sadly Eddie passed away in the night. 

Ted and Crash found a new home with other boars where they live happily 

Admitted June, rehomed September.

• Lone girl handed over to me~ around 8 months old ~

After 24 hours of having her, I noticed something very wrong with the way she was acting.

Vets the next day: Severe calcium build up throughout her whole urinary tract, had to make the heartbreaking decision to have her PTS as she was in so much pain and the vet said it's very likely it will always come back, resulting in multiple surgeries throughout her life.

Reason for this build-up: Old owner fed her rabbit food her entire life, which is high in alfalfa - this is very high in calcium. DONT FEED GUINEA PIGS RABBIT FOOD.

Worse case this year: 

Coven Pet services: abandoned outside my house we two lovely girls who were in an awful state. Severe ringworm, overgrown nails and teeth. Not to mention the mites and fleas! They didn't even get along with one another. A funky sow i named Piglet and a Lunky cross called i called Penny.

Piglet worse of the 2, a timeline of healing: 

Nails: immediately trimmed I assure you also tried pairing her with another and a fight broke out! Here she is with some mouth wounds looking sorry for herself.

Piglet was paired with another girl and they get along amazingly! Penny also ended up with a neutered boar and is doing well <3

and here's Penny after she received vet treatment for her overgrown teeth and had a bath and hair cut ~

Admitted in April, both rehomed in September.

Lunkys of Coven news:

I only breed one litter a year ~ if and when the demand for show guinea pigs is there and if i feel the guinea pigs are happy and healthy to do so ~ they are pedigree Lunkaryas ~

Olives and Momos babies were born 21/10/2020

4 healthy boars and mum is doing great!

Tips and stuff for guinea pig care ~

• I am not a vet, but I have been rescuing guinea pigs for 15 years and have been involved with many guinea pig specialists and shows.

Live 5-8 years

Never keep guinea pigs with rabbits, they don't have the same diet and they can't communicate, the number of times I have seen both rabbits and guinea pigs with injuries from each other is unreal. I've even known some to die from a bite. Guinea pigs carry diseases that are lethal to rabbits.

Never keep guinea pigs alone ~ They are social herd animals. It is actually illegal in some countries to have alone guinea pig because it is detrimental to their welfare, no amount of human interaction can fulfill a guinea pig's social needs.

Where to get healthy guinea pigs - A reputable breeder or rescue. The best way to know if the breeder is reputable: they should show you how they keep their guinea pigs and the babies parents, should ask you for information regarding how you are housing them, guinea pigs should come to you over 6 weeks of age (never any less, no matter what they say!) and should come with mite treatment and change over food.

You cant toilet train them ~ (I wish I could though!)

Basics:

• Always must have hay! Literally, never let them be without it, it's 80% of their daily diet.
• Need fresh greens daily, They cant produce Vit C so it must be provided via fresh leafy greens.
• Obviously freshwater.
• Good quality pellets, not muesli!  Feeding muesli allows them to pick out the sugary bits and leave the good bits, reduce this with pellets. Make sure they are for guinea pigs and NOT RABBITS.
• Make sure you have a guinea pig savy vet as a regular vet may not be able to help you as thoroughly 
• Can be kept on fleece, hay, and woodshavings ~ as long as its suitable 
• They are rodents so need to have something wooden to chew (needs to be animal-safe, not some random branch in the garden)

Is my guinea pig healthy?

Go to a vet if you are unsure!

Common piggie illnesses:

• Ringworm (highly contagious, humans and other animals can catch it)
• Mites
• UTI's
• RTI's
• Calcium stones
• Cancers, lumps, and bumps
• Hay poke
• Conjunctivitis 
• Bumblefoot 

Photo Gallery of some of the piggies I have succesfully rehomed!

bump fr bump

This is awesome, I love piggies! Definitely following! I live somewhat near a small rodent rescue and would totally rescue one if I didn't have a cat :( I grew up with two piggies of my own named Jemma and Cocoa and they were the coolest little pets!

Looks like your doing good work. Great care sheet too.

thanks, everyone! 

oh, this is neat! i dont have the means to keep guinea pigs myself but i can live thru this thread instead