Have you all met Patxi yet??
Patxi (pronounced PA-chee) is a big sweet boy who we took in as a sanctuary after his previous owners accidentally dropped him and he lost use of his back legs. He was later adopted by our amazing foster Lori, who fell in love with Patxi at first sight, and we can’t blame her. Patxi has shown a level of positivity, resilience, and strength that has us all in awe of him. We bought him a wheelchair but this boy is so strong, that he can go FASTER just pulling himself with his arms. The day he stole a piece of lettuce from another pig and ran with it, we realized he was going to be okay 🤣🥰😃
More recently, he started using his right back leg a little bit, which has us all excited. Hopefully he’ll continue to improve, although it’s unlikely he’ll make a full recovery.
Patxi is currently boarding at Casa Lucia with his cage mates Guilly and AGPR’s very own sanctuary old boy Piglet.
Breakfast like a king!
Our boy Pumpkin knows how important it is to start the day with a big, nutritious meal. His weight continues to go up and down, but he’s hanging in there and enjoying his food and his siestas (his baths not as much, but he always feels a million dollars afterwards).
As our wonderful foster Kailey said the other day, when she was visiting, people forget taking on a pet also means providing this much needed special care when they’re at an advanced age.
We love you, Pumpkin! 🤗🥰❤️😍
À la carte lunch for these sweet babies!
Dino and Pumpkin are sanctuary pigs but Shuffle is up for adoption (as a friend to another male) and so will Maximus once he calms down a bit (he’s currently being socialized and trained to stay still on someone’s lap - it’s been an experience! 😂😂). Happy Sunday everyone! 🤗❤️
UPDATE on our Maximus:
Although he doesn’t always make it easy with his medicine, Maxi has been a good boy and his right hand, which was so sore and swollen, is so much better now ☺️
Can you believe he has put on half a pound since we got him less than a month ago?!
This strong boy is a fighter 🥰
Nothing like a good breakfast to start one’s morning! Can you all remember our favorite old boy’s name? Call it out in the comments! He wishes everyone a great Sunday ❤️
Our old boy Pumpkin has been losing some weight recently, so we’ve been trying to give him a boost with some supplement food. He laps it up every time! He will even take it while he’s in his cage, but the problem is his cage mates Piglet and Patxi get jealous and want some too 🤦🏻♀️😂 So we go elsewhere and get extra cuddles with our sweet old boy during feedings 🥰❤️
(Dear Moose was humanely euthanized in early July. 🌈 This video was taken as an update when we were desperately trying to help him get well). Spending as much time as possible with our sweet Moose, who’s not feeling great. We’re trying everything we can but he’s still not wanting to eat and looking so down. Please keep him in your thoughts 🙏❤️
Laios is such a good boy… (until he’s not 😉)
🥰❤️
Sanctuary boy Dino is always so excited when we clean his cage 🥰😂❤️
Laios and the oats tube
Laios is having fun with the oats tube while we clean cages! Kabru enjoys watching him. Both boys are available for adoption and looking for a cage mate. Any single boys out there in need of a friend???
Shark Attack!
Oh me goodness it looks like sanctuary guinea pig Piglet has been eaten by a shark! His foot is twitching though… oh yes! He’s alive!! 😃😃🥰
It’s Friday funnies! Post your favorite, funny, guinea pig videos and pictures…we had a rare occasion where someone gifted oranges, which are not a normal food nor do we feed these to guinea pigs at the Foster house on our regular menu As they are not a healthy item to feed at any frequency…and we got lots of entertainment, letting them try a small taste.
Some piggies are so special and trainable! Post your favorite smart and sweet guinea pig video!
Our cute little teddy babies are growing up
Teeter and Benny
We have a wonderful bromance story to share with you this Valentine’s Day. Remember Benny, who was staying at Casa Lucia for a few days while his adoptive parents were away? They had always wanted to find Benny a friend, but had given up as Benny is very intense and he wouldn’t stop trying to mount the other pigs, which never ended well. We had the same issue with Teeter, who had been so sad since his cage mate Tot passed recently but who would behave the same way as Benny. So I thought, why not put them together?? Well, they are a match made in heaven! After a pretty intense episode of (non-aggressive) mounting and running around each other, they have settled into a new normal. Both boys are so happy to have a friend and we are ecstatic to have been able to make this happen. Grab those tissues!! 🥲❤️🥰😍❤️
Benny!
Benny, a sweet, sweet guinea pig who was adopted by one of our board members a while back, has been staying at Casa Lucia for the last few days while her momma was away, and he’s being the most wonderful guest. He eats everything we give him 😂😂
Did you know we offer boarding at AGPR? You couldn’t get better care for your pigs and they’ll get to hang out and make some friends 😃❤️
Our boarding request form: https://petstablished.com/petlover/adoption_contract/54353
Sometimes, when you run a rescue and people bring you a lot of tragedy. You forget about the small miracles. The things that go right. Polari came to us in horrible condition yet with a couple months of good care birthed two beautiful babies with no help from me 🙂.
Happy Saturday from our sanctuary herd at the intake house…
Note: The cage is 18 feet long - herds just love to congregate on one side.
Building a herd of guinea pigs is part art, part science, and a lot of oversight on behavior.
We use herds at the rescue to be efficient with cage space because guinea pigs are happy in groups, some of our guinea pigs stay with us forever, and it helps guinea pigs socialize and become adoptable, and willing to pair with other guinea pigs, which is something people request of us frequently.
Please remember that building a herd takes time and knowledge of the guinea pigs personalities and backgrounds. Contrary to popular belief, you can build both single sex herds of males as well females. Male herds are more successful when they are built as youngsters with An older gentleman guide male to discipline the younger ones and they also require more floor space than female herds.
We like to start our herd cages with at least two guinea pigs that already came from a herd situation. For example, we have had too many breeder pigs abandoned this year, and so they are already used to being in very large herd situations, so they make good bases For herds and are more open to welcome other guinea pigs.
Then, we introduce one pair at a time, and observe them for several days to make sure nobody is getting abused, nipped, or having trouble. We also will often put in one neutered male as that helps keep the peace and prepares the male to be adopted with single females as the herd of females will teach him manners.
You cannot put multiple males in a cage with females, unless they are completely peaceful, and do not fight with each other, which is common even in neutered males.
In a healthy herd there is no fighting or bullying.
Cage size is critical, and for a herd of eight guinea pigs we are offering almost 30 ft.², which is pretty much the entire length of a large room. It is also critically important to make sure every guinea pig h
