Brisbane Southside Guinea Pig Sanctuary

08/01/2025

2024: “I was pretty horrific right? Nothing can beat me 😜”
2025: “Hold my drink 😎”

Both Banjo and Harley were at the vet yesterday for ultrasounds. When the vet wanted to see me in person rather than explain things on the phone, I knew it wasn’t going to be sunshine, rainbows and daises.

Firstly, Banjo, because he’s the somewhat less complicated of the two. In short, he’s developed chronic kidney disease (I for one would like to give kidney disease a good slap in the face, anyone else?). In addition to this, his ureters (the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder) are huge. One is triple the size of normal, and the other one double. It’s odd that there isn’t more fluid present on his scans due to the jumbo ureters, but we’re calling that a win at least. Banjo doesn’t do things in halves apparently 🥲
Due to the enlarged ureters were are worried about a stone or some other form of blockage but we’re not freaking out about it just yet. We’re beginning him on daily subcutaneous fluids for the kidney disease, waiting for his bloodwork to come back, monitoring and will be booking him in for X-rays in the near future (once funds allow).

Next, Harley, who’s now almost 6 years old (when the hell did that happen?!). She is…complicated. To begin, she has a (tiny 2mm) stone attached to the wall of her gallbladder. Her kidneys look good, but her liver not so much. It’s developed mild changes, which we honestly aren’t that surprised by given her symptoms. Lastly, the thing that we’re most concerned about, is that her spleen is enlarged. There is also some fluid in her abdomen, which could either be caused by the spleen or liver.
The plan is to give her a month on liver supplement medication and recheck the ultrasound in a month. If the fluid is down, hopefully it was related to the liver and things will be managed on the new med. If the fluid is still there, expands or if the spleen looks any larger, we will have to look into surgery. So crossing literally everything that we can avoid surgery and the fluid resolves soon 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

The beginning of this year has been a baptism of fire. Behind the scenes, I’m also having a really bad spell with my health so it’s made things even more difficult. We’ve extended our break by a week, which is helping (not on the financial side, but I’m almost beyond caring at this point) but I’m keen to get back into things when I can. Thank you to everyone who’s been so patient and respectful over our break! I really do appreciate it.
Happy new year! I hope everyone is having a better start to the year than we are 😅

08/01/2025

Apologies for the inconvenience, but we will be extending our break by a week to the 18th of January.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to seeing everyone once we’re back ❤️

06/01/2025

This was a post that I wished I would never have to make, but when it rains it pours I suppose. This morning Sprout crossed the rainbow bridge 💔

She had seemed a little off since Friday and had a consult booked in for tomorrow to see how things were going. We’d started emeraid feeds and she was taking them well so we were hopeful. But as of yesterday, she was seeming more painful and her independent appetite had dropped off. By this morning, she was refusing to eat independently and her feeds were also much smaller (went from taking 10-12mls per feed to 2-3mls), she was also in significantly more pain.

I decided to bite the bullet and take her in for an emergency consult this morning. Unfortunately, we were out of options. Her pain meds were maxed out, we’d tried every other therapeutic option to treat her osteodystophy. Her body was failing her so we decided to help her pass peacefully and end her pain.

I knew that this would be coming at some stage, but it’s still absolutely heartbreaking. I know that it’s a miracle that she got to 2 years and 7 months, considering that our original goal for her was 1 year. She had her first, and only dental at 4 weeks old at a teeny 101 grams. And she fought like hell every moment onwards, she had a good little life. One I hope she was happy with 🩷

This one is really hard. Going to miss her an insane amount but there is some comfort knowing that we worked so hard to give her a good life and now she can go join Yogie and her mum, Alba over the bridge.
We love you sweet girl, rest easy. 🌈

03/01/2025

Starting the year on a not-so-great foot 😔 Sadly, yesterday Iggy crossed the rainbow bridge 🌈

While her pain was pretty well managed, her metabolic bone disease was progressing rapidly. She was having a few tumbles a day and couldn’t correct herself, her jaw range of motion was worsening making independent eating incredibly difficult (even syringe feeding - a 1ml syringe couldn’t reach the back of her mouth) and her front legs were beginning to seize up even more. Her quality of life was deteriorating so we decided to make the call to end her suffering.

We all knew that this was coming, but it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking. For an 8 month old pig, she should not have been in this position, she drew the worst card in the genetic lottery thanks to irresponsible breeding. I wish we could have done more for her, but only so much can be done when genetic conditions are so brutal 😣

For the 6 months she was here, she was so loved. Getting her liquid vitamin C was the highlight of her day, I’ve never seen a pig enjoy the taste so much! Considering everything, she was such a trooper. The fact that her jaw was basically nonfunctional yet she managed to maintain weight and eat her favourite snacks is beyond me. She was tiny but mighty!

Farewell little one. Safe travels over the bridge, please say hi to everyone for us ❤️🌈

31/12/2024

Happy New Years Eve! Our raffle winners have been drawn 🥁🥁🥁🥁

Reigan has won first prize, and Fiona B has won the second!
I’ll be in touch soon to arrange pick ups of your goodies 🥳

27/12/2024

Coming out of our holiday hiding to share this 🥵 It’s going to be 36 degrees today and there’s no doubt that by this afternoon, multiple people will be posting on social media about how their piggies have passed or are suffering from heat stroke. 😣
Please keep your pigs cool and safe. If they have any sign of heat stoke, get to a vet!

The summer heat has well and truly kicked in - please keep your guinea pigs safe! They’re sensitive to warm weather and are very susceptible to heat stoke, which is often life threatening. 🔥🥵

Things you can do to reduce the risk of heat stroke:
1. Make sure your piggies are in a cool space. Whether this be in a room with aircon, or in a well ventilated area with fans running, cool air circulation is key. 🌬️
2. Place multiple covered frozen water bottles or ice bricks in their cage, particularly within/next to spots that they frequent.
3. Provide cool (not freezing cold) drinking water at all times 💧
4. Make sure their cage is out of direct sunlight ☀️

What to do if you suspect your guinea pig has heat stroke:
1. Get to a vet AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Do not post on social media for advice and do not waste time trying to nurse at home (especially force syringe feeding water - this often does more harm than good). The damage from heat stroke, if it isn’t fatal, is lifelong. Heat stroke can cause brain damage and significant deterioration within their vital organs, the sooner veterinary treatment commences, the better your pig’s chances of survival and recovery are.

I know this sounds alarmist, but without fail, every time SEQ has a day over 30 degrees there will be people posting on social media talking about how their guinea pig/s passed away in the heat. Or that their guinea pig has somehow taken ill, and they don’t know what to do (often resulting in the piggy passing away).
So, PLEASE (!!!) take precautionary steps to ensure that your pigs are safe in this weather. Heat stroke is preventable!! 🥵

Here are is a list of vets in SEQ that can help in the event of your piggy suffering from heat stroke:

The Unusual Pet Vets, Jindalee - 07 2104 9499
Brisbane Birds and Exotics Veterinary Service, Greenslopes - 07 3217 3533
The Exotics Vet, Redcliffe - 07 3060 2112
The Unusual Pet Vets, Buderim - 07 5353 6090

A quick note on why don’t we recommend syringe feeding water or putting the pig in an ice cold bath:

Syringe feeding water is not only the least effective form of rehydration (Guinea pigs need 100ml per kilo of water a day, subcutaneous fluids are a much faster way to meet this goal when dealing with heat stress) but it also puts your guinea pig at risk of aspiration. When a pig is in heat stress, their ability to swallow is often hindered meaning syringing water into their mouth often leads to the water making its way to the lungs. Aspiration can be deadly, it’s incredibly important you rely on tried and tested ways of rehydration by your vet rather than trying to nurse at home.

Ice cold baths are a quick way to send your guinea pig into shock and make their temperature far too cold! They’re also pretty ineffective in helping your guinea pig get to a point where they can maintain an ideal internal body temperature (38-39 degrees Celsius).

23/12/2024

Vale Waffle 🤎🤍

This morning we said goodbye to Waffle. Following his hospitalisation, things had continued to go downhill. Since Friday, he had lost over 100g despite intense feeding and his bloody urine was also not improving. He was becoming paler and more uncomfortable 😔

We took him in for his ultrasound this morning, but after speaking with the vet we decided to go ahead with euthanasia instead. Something was very wrong and he was suffering.

I’d like to say he was a super sweet pig, loved people and was easy going. But that would be a lie, he was stubborn as hell, highly opinionated and often a lil cranky. Yet, he still had a good time earth side. He had a few different piggy friends throughout his lifetime and would sacrifice his first born (he probably has kids out there somewhere from his life before living here) for a slice of cucumber. 🥒
Today his sock sweater was covered in ‘🖕🏼’ and I think that sums him up to a tee.

He was a complicated little lad, but we loved him. Rest easy and without pain, my boy ❤️

22/12/2024

Tomorrow we start our break! We’ll be closed until the 18th of January for some much needed rest over Christmas and New Years 🎄

Some important things to know over our break:
- We will be offering contactless pick ups. Please message us to order, or jump onto our online store (https://brisbane-southside-guinea-pig-sanctuary.square.site/s/shop). Please note, there will be a 2-4 day turnaround for orders. Please be patient with us ❤️
- Our End-Of-Year raffle is still going! You can purchase tickets on our online shop, the winners will be drawn on the 31st of December. 🥳
- We will announce our next set of opening hours after we reopen. If you’d like to book in for grooming, please check our booking page on the 10th of Jan for upcoming availability, everything will be updated then.
- Feel free to message us for things other than orders, but please be patient with replies. If it’s a non-urgent issue, we may not reply until we reopen. If you’re seeking medical advice, please reach out to a vet.
- Those with veggie hamper subscriptions, these will continue over the break, just with contactless pick ups or delivery if nominated. 🥕

Other things to know, changes in the new year:
- We will not be taking on any new boarding clients. Those who have had their piggies stay with us in the past are still welcome for boarding (subject to availability), but we simply don’t have the space or time required to welcome new clients. We’re sorry for this!
- We have had to increase prices for Cavy Origins Pellets (1.5kg - $20 to $21, 6kg - $45 to $47.50), Oxbow Pellets ($29 to $30) and Torwood Mini Oaten Bales ($20 to $24). We make an effort to be as affordable as possible, but lately we’ve actually been selling these items at a loss due to price increases and high freight costs! This still doesn’t really give us a profit, but it’ll make ends meet. We really appreciate everyone’s understanding with this.
- We will be closed to surrenders and will not be reopening our waitlist for the foreseeable future. Those who have visited recently will understand how full we are! We’re working on getting the last of our adoptables out into homes and will be revamping our Community Rehoming Platform once those piggies are placed. More to come on this in the new year.

Things will still likely be hectic with pig care over the break, but we’re really looking forward to a less demanding schedule and having a bit of a breather. I’ll post occasionally over our break (often the rest helps with social media motivation), but it’ll probably a bit gappy.

This year has been really hard at times, but also really wonderful. I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us. From everyone who buys their piggy supplies from us to fund our work, those who have donated, the kind folks who volunteer their time for vet/veg/hay/woodshaving/supply runs, and our incredible vet team, it truly takes a village. Next year will likely be just as hard, but we’re really lucky to have such an incredible community around us. So, thank you ❤️

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, we’ll see you all in the new year 🎇
In the meantime, I encourage everyone to channel their ‘inner Parker’ and take a nap next to a tasty snack 😋

20/12/2024

Just as we thought Waffle was on the mend, another thing has gone wrong 🙃

Waffle has been batting a brutal fungal infection for the past 6 weeks after returning from foster care and it looks like we’ve finally found a good combination of treatments. Oral anti fungals, multiple pain meds, prolonged malaseb baths, lathering of F10 barrier ointment and wound covering. He’s looking like a werewolf piggy at the moment and is rocking different themed socks!

But, yesterday morning he urinated an insane amount of blood. Not just a few drops, it was a flood. Behaviourally, he was his usual self but we still hot tailed it to the vet because in no world would that amount of blood equate to an okay pig…ever.

In good news (probably the only good news besides how cute he looks in a cow sock) is that he isn’t particularly uncomfortable. The pain meds for his fungal infection/itching have done well in covering his bladder pain - winning 🏆🙃 (would have liked to have caught this earlier, but anyways 🥲)

In bad news, his bladder is filled with debris and blood clots and his kidneys also look freaking terrible on ultrasound. Yikes.

He’s come home for 3 days of antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids, on top of the other meds he’s on and will go back in on Monday for a repeat ultrasound to see if that’s made any difference. If it doesn’t, a bladder surgery *may* be on the horizon but bladder surgeries are their own kettle of fish 🙃

Thank you to everyone who came by yesterday arvo, we managed to cover Waffle’s bill and what’s left should cover Monday’s bill too! It’s a huge help ❤️

I’ll keep everyone updated! We hope everyone has a great weekend 😊

20/12/2024

Just a small set up for this afternoon’s opening hours, but still plenty to go around! We’ve got lots of Rhodes hay, Oaten hay, woodshavings and pellets plus some treats and other bits and bobs.

Open from 1pm until 5pm 😊

Funds raised today will be going towards hospitalisation and diagnostics for Waffle 🤕 Will be posting an update on him tomorrow!

19/12/2024

Darla, Dora, Banjo and Harley all had their vet check ups on Wednesday and overall the news was pretty okay…ish? 😅

Darla was in as she is a new-ish arrival and needed her very odd feeling jaw/skull checked (joys of satins 🙃). Her and her friend Daisy were officially the last surrenders of the year, closing off our rather long waitlist.
Skull wise, her right side is shorter and not well aligned with the left. She also has a thickened and very rounded jaw. Not particularly painful, just very odd bone development which isn’t really atypical for satin pigs. There’s some slight dental changes already, so she’ll definitely become a dental pig in the future but for now she’s doing okay!

Dora next! She’s also a satin lady and has pretty advanced Osteodystrophy in her shoulders and elbows. Her barbering has increased of late so we’re going to 1) put a barrier up in her cage to confirm that it isn’t Earl, her cagemate (unlikey to be Earl, but she’s already on quite high doses of pain relief so we want to be 100% sure before upping those) and 2) up pain relief if the barbering continues.
Otherwise, she’s tracking along well. Fingers crossed we can get the barbering sorted soon 🤞🏼

Next up, Banjo 🪕 He’s had some slow but consistent weight loss so we thought it was best to get him in and get him checked. His teeth are good, but he is far less than pleased when our vet tried to palpate is right kidney. So next step is to run bloods +/- an ultrasound to see how his kidneys are functioning. We’ll get this done in early Jan (which is only 2 weeks away 🤯).

Lastly for today is Harley! She’s also been on a slow weight loss trend and she’s been a bit quieter/less sassy than usual. We took her in for repeat bloodwork and the good news is that her levels are normal which is great, but it doesn’t quite tell us what’s going on. Next step for her is to have an ultrasound, which we’ll also get done very soon. For the time being, she’s going well on her pain relief and supplements. Hoping that we’re able to get some answers in the new year ❤️

19/12/2024

We have a 120cm cage with stand in good condition for sale, $100. Please message us if interested 😊

18/12/2024

Hi everyone! Just a quick reminder that we’re open tomorrow afternoon. I’ve just extended our hours to 1pm - 5pm as grooming slots filled up super quick! So if you’re after a one of our last grooming slots for the year, I’d recommend jumping onto the website to book that in now 🛁✂️

We’ll also have all of our usual bits and bobs for sale, hay, pellets, treats, toys, etc. For those wanting Oaten hay, we *should* have some in stock by tomorrow arvo (we’ve been going back an forth with the courier as the hay was supposed to arrive over a week ago, but fingers crossed it arrives today/tomorrow 🤞🏼).

This is our last set of opening hours before our break! So be sure to swing by if you’re needing any supplies for your pigs 🐹

Over the break we will be offering contactless pick ups, but please be patient with this as we won’t be monitoring messages for urgent orders (there’ll be at least a 24hr turnaround).

17/12/2024

Last minute gift shopping for Christmas? Want to support the sanctuary while you’re at it?!

We have a bunch of cups donated by GE Designs and a ridiculous amount of other designs that can also be made up! They’re just $12.99 each 🎄

Just message us if you’d like to order, or see what other designs there are (everything from Christmas, Winnie the Pooh, Lilo & Stich, cutesy bows, flowers, sharks, Super Mario, Monsters Inc, Care Bears, swear bears, Bluey, Pingu, and more!) ❤️

17/12/2024

Bleasby has found a new love in life…watching (and trying to taste test) the cobweb duster 😂

16/12/2024

Opening hours for this wheek! 🐹 (16th - 22nd)

Monday - Thursday - *Prearranged contactless hay pick ups only*

Friday - Open 1:30pm - 5pm (last opening hours before our Christmas/New years break!)
- Please book appointment for grooming
- Walk-ins welcome during opening hours for hay, veg, pellet and other product purchases 😊

Saturday - Sunday - *Prearranged contactless hay pick ups only*

Purchase raffle tickets: https://square.link/u/HI51yKNh

Order a veggie hamper: https://forms.gle/AmQPv3HNH1nKSF6o9

Order hay here: https://forms.gle/fnPWdJqFECiNDpoq8

Shop our online store: https://brisbane-southside-guinea-pig-sanctuary.square.site/

Book Grooming/Health Checks here: https://brisbane-southside-guinea-pig-sanctuary.square.site/s/appointments

Apply to adopt here: https://airtable.com/appIYfjI3ycoinRMe/shrZBoX9G0iEBIVrg

Have a great wheek ❤️

14/12/2024

Came across a very cute helper when setting up for today! We’re ready to go for our 9am start 🥳
We’ll be open until 1pm, can’t wait to see everyone! 🐹

13/12/2024

All of our hay waiting to be bagged for Sunday! We’ll be open from 9am until 1pm this Sunday the 15th of December 🐹

We’ll have plenty of hay, pellets, treats, toys, some second hand items and more available!

Price list:
✅ Rhodes Grass Hay - $15 Jumbo, $6 Regular
✅ Oxbow Adult Essentials Pellets - $29
✅ Oxbow Garden Select Pellets - $29
✅ Vetafarm Cavy Origins - $20 for 1.5kg or $45 for 6kg
✅ Vitamin C Treats - $8
✅ Pea/ParsleyTreats - $8
✅ Enrichment Toys - starting at $2
✅ 2nd hand items starting from $2
+ much more!! Such as leftovers from the garage sale, bowls, key rings, hair clips, snuffle mats, etc!

📍Located in Runcorn, please message for address.

All funds raised will be going towards our upcoming vet trips (X-rays for Iggy as well as consults for Harley, Darla, Banjo and Dora) 🏥

I really look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday! 🥳
Please note that we are now fully booked for grooming this weekend, but we do have slots left for our last opening hours for the year on Friday the 20th. Just jump onto our website to book 😊