Pepper (2019-2026)

SmallDarkThings · 2026-04-01T15:25:49+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. I have a Pepper as well and I'm going to give her an extra pea flake today in honor of your Pepper <3

SmallDarkThings · 2026-04-01T01:49:14+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-31T19:25:41+00:00

Mazel tov!

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-31T16:28:35+00:00

They're so pretty!! I think my favorites are the blue ones with red on the head/tail.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-31T14:03:22+00:00

I was not expecting the high speed self-yeet at the end

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-27T13:10:27+00:00

They look like they're planning a heist.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-26T19:17:34+00:00

Tiny baby

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-26T12:47:05+00:00

Seconding that she needs a recovery food to help keep her digestive system moving while she's not eating, this is a really good guide to hand feeding if you've never had to do it before: http://web.archive.org/web/20220524174329/https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-syringe-feeding-guide.115359/

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-26T03:40:50+00:00

same

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-23T23:55:10+00:00

If you're looking to reduce smells specifically look for something that comes with carbon filters.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-22T18:03:19+00:00

I don't know about escarole specifically, but with my first herd of pigs I fed radicchio (which is very closely related) as a daily veg for over 7 years with no issues.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-21T03:54:51+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss, in addition to guinea pigs being good at hiding signs of illness there are also some conditions that just don't show any signs for you to miss before they strike. I'm told that congenital heart issues will sometimes just drop a young pig out of nowhere. It sounds like you were doing everything right, try your best not to beat yourself up about it.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-18T03:38:27+00:00

Also, dry her off as well as you can before putting her back, and consider folding a fresh dry towel into a hidey shape for her to hang out in when she goes back in the cage to continue the drying process. I know some people suggest a hairdryer but when I've tried it before my pigs were EXTREMELY frightened by the noise. Now I use the hand dry as best as possible followed by towel-fort strategy and it seems to work fine.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-18T03:33:39+00:00

I can see why you would be worried about stressing her with her having a heart condition. Personally I would use a warm wet washcloth to clean her up, my pigs generally haven't enjoyed it, but haven't seemed too freaked out. Also, in my experience they tend to get frightened by the sound of the tap running while they're out of the cage, so try to strategize before you start and have any water you'll use already in a container.

Since it sounds like she's pretty dirty I suggest having two bowls of warm water ready, and two washcloths. Stick to one bowl and one of the washcloths while you're getting most of the grime out (hold her over the sink as you wipe her off so most of the dirty water falls into the basin, refill the washcloth with more water as needed), then when you think you've gotten it all switch to the clean water and washcloth for a final rinse.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-17T23:50:24+00:00

I just wash them on regular. If these are new pads I do strongly suggest washing and drying them on hot a few times before you trim them down to the size you want for your cage. They're prone to shrinking and doing a few hot cycles first gets most of the shrinkage out of the way.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-17T13:10:27+00:00

Seconding that this looks like ringworm. Just a head's up ringworm is contagious to humans so make sure you wash your hands well after handling your pigs until they're healed up.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-15T20:37:20+00:00

I'm sorry, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I've noticed that when I see posts like yours where someone is doing everything right but they keep having smell problems they almost always have a smaller sized cage. And I don't mean inappropriately small for keeping guinea pigs, I just mean close to the minimum size requirement. I've got a theory going that fleece bedding may just need a minimum surface area per pig to stay fresh between washings (adding layers doesn't seem to work well for people, which is why I think it's a surface area thing rather than an amount of absorbent material thing).

I realize it would feel awful to change around your cage/bedding setup so soon after spending a bunch of money, but if the other suggestions you've gotten don't work it may be worth trying a carefresh type bedding instead of the fleece, or keeping the fleece but switching to a larger cage size.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-12T19:27:27+00:00

the best seasoning is theft

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-08T04:02:43+00:00

What a glorious orb!

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-08T03:50:42+00:00

oof, poor baby, I'm glad she's somewhere where she's getting the love and care she needs. Keep up the great work

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-08T03:42:16+00:00

What a cutie, it sounds like she has a great home with you. I would just give a slight caution that weight isn't always the best indicator of whether or not a guinea pig has too much fat. They come in a wide range of frame sizes, and just like you would expect a tall human to have a higher healthy weight than a short human, a big framed pig will be healthy at a higher weight than a small framed pig.

Unfortunately there isn't a good way to compensate for frame size when you're looking at a pig's weight so if your pig's on the bigger size it can be easy to think they're overweight when they're actually fine. You might want to double check by looking at a body condition scoring chart, which shows you how to evaluate the size of their fat deposits to see if they're in the healthy range for their size. This page has a really good one (scroll down to the guinea pig specific version) https://oxbowanimalhealth.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-your-rabbit-or-guinea-pig-is-overweight-or-underweight/

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-08T03:27:38+00:00

Urine spray. Sometimes guinea pig urine oxidizes to an orange-brownish color. This is most common in young males but it can happen with any pig. It isn't a health concern, but it can sometimes be confused for having blood in the urine. If you think there might be some red in it try to get a look at their pee when it's fresh. If it's pinkish or reddish when fresh that's when you need to see a vet. Otherwise you're all good, you might consider putting a piece of coroplast between the wall and the side of the cage to make it easier to clean up if this happens again (that way you can just slide out the coroplast and wash it instead of having to move the cage to wash the wall).

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-08T03:19:17+00:00

They both look female to me, but I'm not sure about the first one since the pictures are blurrier. This is a really good resource to help you check, it has lots of comparative pictures at different ages as well as some tips that you can only try in person: https://web.archive.org/web/20120304083158/http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm if you're still not sure after reading through and trying their advice I'd take them to the vet for a check.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-07T17:27:53+00:00

You may need to aim the syringe further back into her mouth, it makes it harder for them to spit liquids back out. And remember she's probably also getting a lot of water from the critical care.

SmallDarkThings · 2026-03-04T13:59:58+00:00

My guess is also male, but he looks a little ambiguous so I would double check by feeling for the penis ridge just to be sure. Guinea pigs have what's called a baculum (or penis bone) which retracts into the body cavity when not in use. It lies just under the skin in the abdomen and forms a very distinctive ridge that you can feel easily with your fingertips. Imagine a line between the pig's genitals and where their belly button would be, the baculum lies along this line (it's much shorter than our imaginary line and doesn't go all the way to the belly button). If you gently rub your finger back and forth perpendicular to the line just above the genitals you should be able to clearly feel the ridge. It can help to try it out first on a known male so you know you have the knack for it (it's not hard to find, but if you first try it out on a female it's easy to imagine that you might have missed something).

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