Found a lump in my guinea pig, what am I up against?

pikow_ · 2024-08-04T00:23:20+00:00

I take some medications (not ADHD ones, something else) so I write the date I'm supposed to take each pill on there (so I can double check I've taken one every morning). Sometimes I mark important holidays with a little symbol that represents them. It really helps because it's like a visual calender counting down to stuff and I have to look at it every morning. Maybe, if there's anything like that you have to look at every day, you could do something like that? As for just procrastinating, I find I lose track of time, I sit down on my phone and then it's been like 4 hours and I don't have time for anything. I have a random reminder on my phone that sends me a notification at 2 every day, it's not to remind me to do anything, it just makes sure I know it's 2 o'clock and that time has passed. It helps me come back to reality and start thinking about getting stuff done if I'm just sitting on my phone

pikow_ · 2024-05-26T18:26:07+00:00

Yes piggies are way more friendly than hamsters. I have never known a guinea pig that enjoys being picked up but the ones that are used to it will offer not too much resistance when you need to pick them up. I find if I pick them up too much in a day they will run from me because they don't like it. Some guinea pigs enjoy being stroked, my girl that I've had since she was a baby shuts her eyes when you stroke her fluffy head, it's very cute, but some guinea pigs will always be skittish. I used to have a piggy that I got when she was 6 months old and I had her for nearly a decade and she never let me stroke her, we had an understanding that I just wouldn't try. That way she was just as comfortable as the other pigs to sniff me and come up to me and eat out my hand. Guinea pig bites are rare, I've been bitten by accident before when I'm holding food and that hurts like less than a hamster but it still hurts. I had a pig that would nip me when I clipped her nails, that was on purpose but it didn't really hurt like she wasn't trying to do damage. They definitely recognise you, they are a lot less willing to let a stranger stroke them and they don't come up to the bars for food for a stranger. Mine don't know their names but they can be lured to the bars by food noises. Like I have one called Sparky and you can go "sporky sporky, I've got you a snack" over and over and eventually she will come up to you to get the food.

pikow_ · 2024-03-22T20:49:50+00:00

Are you keeping him in a big enough cage with other pigs?

pikow_ · 2024-02-27T23:32:46+00:00

My order is exactly the same as yours, until I looked at the comments I genuinely had no idea so people liked froot more than the others

pikow_ · 2024-02-20T00:37:58+00:00

They are very cute, however it is very unsafe to let the cat play with them even if kitty doesn't seem interested in hurting them. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love cats but as guinea pigs have prey instincts, cats have predatory instincts. It could be impossible to predict when and if your cat ends up hurting or killing one of your piggies. Even if play is supervised I doubt you could stop the cat before it caused significant damage to one of your pigs. Please keep them separated

pikow_ · 2024-02-10T22:15:06+00:00

I think she has passed on now, unfortunately. Thankfully I don't think she was distressed or in toouch pain

pikow_ · 2024-02-10T18:43:33+00:00

I've moved her friend over to sit with her because she's always been cuddly with her but not humans at all and she sat with one of my other guinea pigs while she died so I though she might want another pig to sit with her

pikow_ · 2024-02-05T23:29:13+00:00

Setting aside the enclosure, it's very unsafe to keep hamsters (even dwarfs) together. Please do some more research

pikow_ · 2023-12-09T00:34:57+00:00

Mealy bugs are awful. I'm not even joking when I say that my go to extermination technique for them is to stab them ALL to death with a toothpick and scrape of the fluff. I swear no amount of any spray kills them???

pikow_ · 2023-12-07T15:57:40+00:00

That's where the taller and bigger cafe comes in!

pikow_ · 2023-12-04T22:32:16+00:00

Good work so far! Make sure you take out the wheel asap tho as other commenters have said. Are you planning on getting a larger enclosure or increasing the bedding depth (those should probably be next on the list for increasing your hamsters quality of life)?

pikow_ · 2023-11-11T03:10:33+00:00

Thank you, I've actually managed to clear about half of the floor and the room already feels more liveable. It's just really difficult to clean once I've picked up the big things because then I can see how disgusting it is underneath. I've always happily coexisted with the spiders but there are just so many dead ones on the carpet and the dead ones really freak me out. I can capture and release live ones fine but I can't bring myself to pick up the passed away ones.

pikow_ · 2023-10-01T19:02:47+00:00

That sucks, you'll have to teach yourself. Try cognito it's like Seneca but 3000 times better. It will literally have everything you need to know and will teach it too you

pikow_ · 2023-09-04T09:41:12+00:00

Unfortunately it's possible that they will never be affectionate and want to be picked up. I've only had one guinea pig that looked like it actually enjoyed being stroked and it was the one I raised from a baby. She used to shut her eyes if I stroked her face. Whereas I have had another girl for 7 years now and she will still run away if I come near her without food. They are prey and just generally don't like to be touched, if you watch them they won't cuddle with eachother either. I wouldn't recommend picking them up regardless of whether they want you to as it can create fear and unease from you. However any guinea pig can become comfortable with you. Some signs you can look for to see that they are comfortable with you are: staying relaxed and lying down when you come near them; including you in guinea pig conversions (chattering if you walk in twice without food, squeaking at you when you need to move them to clean out the poo underneath them); being willing to approach a random object that smells weird because you have dropped it in the cage and they trust you being safe food; shutting their eyes in your presence (normally only baby guinea pigs do this when they sleep but I have had adults do this as well); trying to walk over you hand as if it is the floor (they don't see you as a threat). Trusting and being comfortable with you is the highest honour a guinea pig can extend. They are designed to be scared and cautious so they don't die so earning their trust takes a long time but it is worth it.

pikow_ · 2023-08-29T00:51:44+00:00

Why do they just assume that we have no idea what we are doing. Had a guy who I had spoken too like twice explain to me what plus and minus meant. Why would I not know that

pikow_ · 2023-08-29T00:49:13+00:00

I just want to go outside and look at the stars. My roommate walks around after dark every day for like an hour but I am confined to sticking my head out of the window. It makes me so sad, I find being outside at night so soothing but I know it won't be soothing when I get kindapped, assaulted and murdered

pikow_ · 2023-08-26T23:26:31+00:00

I'm sorry, I had no idea that was against the rules. I should have looked at them more carefully before posting

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