Furry Little Beast

12/08/2024

10/08/2024

I said what I said 💅

I recently read an infuriating comment (read: unsolicited advice) on a friend's post about the vet care they'd chosen for their guinea pig.

The comment was to the tune of "I've been breeding guinea pigs for x years, and I've never taken my pigs to the vets."

1. That tells me you don't actually care for the pigs you're breeding from. How do you know they don't have any genetic problems passed down to their litters? How do you know they are reproductively healthy before you force them to have babies?

2. I have 20+ guinea pigs. There is not a month, sometimes a week, that goes by, without someone developing a problem (or needing a revisit for an existing problem) where I need vet advice. I am an exotics vet nurse, AND I STILL NEED VET ADVICE. Either you don't care that your pigs aren't healthy (see point 1), or you don't know (educate yourself), or worse still, you are treating at home with limited knowledge which is DANGEROUS.

Guinea pigs should have at LEAST a once a year health check with a vet. It is not a money-making scheme from the vets; we actually CARE about our patients' health, and we love proactive treatment because it improves quality of life.

Bragging about not going to the vet with your pets is not the flex you think it is.

06/07/2024

04/07/2024

We bought bok choy tonight specifically so we could photograph Bok Choy next to some bok choy 🥬

02/07/2024

Bunning Sausage Sizzle at Acacia Ridge this Saturday 6th July! 🌭🌭🌭 Get a snag and a drink and support an excellent cause!

Opening hours for this wheek! 🐹 (1st - 7th)

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

Thursday - BY APPOINTMENT Grooming and Health Checks (9am - 12pm)

Friday - *Prearranged contactless hay pick ups only*

Saturday - Bunnings Sausage Sizzle!
- At Acacia Ridge Bunnings from 8am till 4pm
- Come by for a sausage and drink to raise some much needed funds for vet care! Hoping to raise enough money to made a dent in our long list of pigs to desex ✂️

Sunday - *Prearranged contactless hay pick ups only*

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 ❤️

23/06/2024

🧼 July Grooming 🧼

22/04/2024

Sometimes you just need to see a guinea pig in a cowboy hat and everything will be ok 🤠

16/04/2024

🎵 Guess who's back, back again. Bok Choy's back! Tell your friends! 🎵

Bok Choy is an 18ish month old boy who was born via C-section at the end of 2022 when I fostered his mum, Banoffee Pie, for the Animal Welfare League. He, along with his three brothers, and four cousins, were then transferred to Brisbane Southside Guinea Pig Sanctuary's care to be rehomed.

Unfortunately Bok Choy has been overlooked by many adopters in his short little life, most likely due to some pesky bölls that make him a little *too much* for most male pigs to handle. He is on the list for a 🍒 removal in the coming weeks, so he can chill out a bit, and ready himself for a new life with a lady friend or two.

14/04/2024

It's been a hot minute since I've posted about, well, anything, tbh. I have depression (on top of other mental health issues), which makes maintaining a consistent online presence difficult.

Today was Cage Cleaning Day, which is typically my least favourite guinea pig activity, but I can't deny the end result makes it all worth it.

I've had a few people ask what my Pig Room looks like, so now that it doesn't look like a hovel, I don't feel ashamed sharing a photo.

Kristoff is loving life, despite having lost his bestie, Starbuck, this morning. He now is friends with Mikey and Murphy. Yes, I have a boy trio! All three boys are pretty chill, and I think that's the key to having a harmonious group of boys. Our previous trio of Raphy (🌈) and Ted² worked well because of their laidback natures. If the trial with the M boys didn't work out, I would've trialled Kristoff with the Teds.

What sort of content would you like to see more of from me? As a guinea pig veterinary nurse, I have a wealth of knowledge about all things veterinary/medical/disease related, and have heaps of hands-on experience with maternity care and hand-raising, if you'd like to pick my brain on topics that are a bit more than basic. Hit me up in my comments or DMs!

~ Lana

01/04/2024

Needing to rehome your guinea pig/s?

Check out Brisbane Southside Guinea Pig Sanctuary's Community Rehoming Program!

Introducing our Community Rehoming Platform! 🏡
Rescues are being inundated with surrender requests every day, simply too many to feasibly help, hence the creation of our Community Rehoming Platform. Consistently, assisted and fee free rehoming is proving to be an amazing way of finding great homes for pets who need them, without the animal ever having to spend a night in a rescue.

Here’s how it works:
1. Owners looking to rehome complete our ‘Rehoming Submission Form’ (https://airtable.com/appIYfjI3ycoinRMe/pag92HAYIW0MK2bMl/form)
2. We touch base with the owner to arrange a wellness check and confirm details.
3. After an approved wellness check, the guinea pig/s will be advertised on our website (http://bsgps.org.au/community-rehoming-platform/)
4. Potential owners apply via our ‘Adoption Application Form’ (https://airtable.com/appIYfjI3ycoinRMe/shrZBoX9G0iEBIVrg)
5. Once the adoption application is approved, we connect the owners to potential adopters for them to liaise and rehome.

Some preemptive questions and answers:
- Are there fees involved? There is no cost involved for either the rehoming or adoptive families. Not only is it an additional financial burden to an already expensive pet, but research is showing adoption fees have little to no correlation to the level of care a pet will receive in their new home.
- How long will it take to rehome my Guinea pig? In short, we don’t know. Some piggies will only be advertised for a very short period of time prior to being adopted, while some may wait months. It’s important to be aware of this, and let us know of any time constraints if you’re wishing to rehome.
- Is this program only Brisbane based? At this time, yes. One of our requirements for advertising pigs for rehoming is that they visit the sanctuary (located in Runcorn) for a wellness check. This is to ensure the adoptive family receive a well, correctly sexed and non-pregnant pig.
- How does the actual rehoming hand over work? Once the adopter’s application is approved, we put them in touch with the rehoming family via email. It is then up to them to discuss and make plans for adoption.

This program is very much in its early stages, so if you have any recommendations or feedback please feel free to reach out.

We don’t expect this to solve the flood of surrender requests anytime soon, but we’re hopeful it will ease the load and get as many pigs into loving homes as possible ❤️

13/02/2024

💕 Happy Valentine's Day! 💕

The piggies have been working super hard on their Valentine's cards this year! Which one is your fave?

🖤 Autumn
🍑🍑 Daphne and Albert
🧡 Nacho
🖤 Mochi
🤎 Squirrel

04/02/2024

Grooming is back! ✂️

Now that the holidays are done and I have some semblance of my life back (hahahahaha hahahahaha), I have finally worked out some availabilities for grooming this month.

Send me a message to book an appointment!

03/01/2024

Happy Wheeking New Year!

In 2024, we are manifesting good health and abundance (of vegies) and saying goodbye to old habits that aren't in the best interests of our pigs.

🍉🥕🍌🥬🫐 "Feed the rainbow" applies to our piggie friends as well as humans! Guinea pigs need vitamin C from their food, so feeding a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables is a great way to ensure they get all their required vitamins and minerals!

🧑‍⚕️ Vets are your friend! I promise, they just want your pet to be healthy ❤️

🌾 Supporting ethical rescues by purchasing hay and other items means that they can keep helping more guinea pigs in need. That's a win-win-win! Plus, local hay is fresher and tastier... so the pigs tell me!

❌️ The cost of living crisis (or "modern life") is already so hard on people. Why make it harder on yourself by paying top dollar for a small bag of hay that was grown overseas? A bale of locally grown hay is 10x the volume for a third of the price.

❌️ An incorrect "diagnosis" online could be fatal to your guinea pig. Call your closest guinea pig vet for advice instead - it's faster and more accurate.

❌️ The extremes of weather that South-East Queensland has experienced the last two weeks just shows how important it is to have guinea pigs housed inside - weather proof, predator proof, AND you get to spend more time with your furry friends!

❌️ Anything that has seeds, grains or lucerne in it should be left on the shelf. Dont waste your money. The best treats are found in the fresh food section!

Follow for more guinea pig content!

30/11/2023

It's been a year! Enjoy our wrap-up! 😅

21/11/2023

What a fantastic idea for piggie parents doing it tough!

Brisbane Southside Guinea Pig Sanctuary is located in Runcorn, Queensland.

Introducing the ‘Piggy Pantry’ 🐹

The cost of living is brutal right now and as a result we’ve seen an influx of people wishing to surrender as they’re going through a rough patch and are struggling to feed their pigs.

To try and combat this, we’re starting up a ‘Piggy Pantry’. The pantry will include small bags of pellets (enough to last 2 piggies 7 days), pig mix, hay and occasionally veggies.

Items in the pantry may be pellets that are past their best before date or hay that is a little sun damaged but still perfectly fine to feed to your pigs.
It’s not perfect, but it saves the stuff going in the bin and gives people experiencing financial hardship a way to feed their pigs.

The ‘Piggy Pantry’ will be available at all future open days and if you’re needing help but an open day is a little too far away, just let us know and we can arrange a time to collect some items.

There’s a limit of 2 items per person, but no limit to the amount of times you can make use of the pantry. If you need to stock up once a week for a while or at every open day, that’s perfectly okay.

It’s not a lot, but we hope it helps ❤️

17/11/2023

27/10/2023

How is it nearly November already?!

Here's my grooming availabilities for the next month:

📅 Monday 6th November
📅 Thursday 9th November
📅 Monday 13th November
📅 Thursday 23rd November
📅 Thursday 30th November

Send me a message to book your piggies in! I can even advise on the day what grooming option would be best if you're not sure what they need.

💵 cash or bank transfer accepted

27/10/2023

Murphy wishes you all a lovely, anxiety-free wheekend! 🖤

23/10/2023

🦇 It's Spooky Season! Time to bring back the haunted house meme 🏚

13/10/2023

Have you ever wondered how you can personally help out a guinea pig rescue? Sponsoring a guinea pig is one easy way to do so!

Grace has many adoptable and permanent resident guinea pigs, and for just $5/week, you can help contribute to the cost of food, bedding and medical expenses.

And if you're not in the financial position to do this right now, please share the original post - one of your friends might be able to help out! ❤️

03/10/2023

Why are guinea pig rescues struggling? Read this excellent post from Brisbane Southside Guinea Pig Sanctuary 💕

30/09/2023

Welcome to the world, little ones! 💕

30/09/2023

🙌🙌🙌

With our very public stance against breeding, we are often asked “What about reputable breeders?”
Which begs the question, what qualifies a breeder as “reputable,” especially during a time of such overwhelming overpopulation, causing animals to die daily simply because there’s nowhere for them to go.
The term “reputable breeder” is subjective and does NOT mean animals are kept in desirable conditions. Did you know that the USDA only requires licensed breeders to provide their guinea pigs a 10 inch by 10 inch living space? These breeders typically have hundreds of cavies, stacked from floor to ceiling in wire bottom cages. While this is a much smaller breeding operation than the massive breeding factories most chain pet stores get their piggies from, it’s hardly a step up.
A breeder is a breeder, whether they call themselves reputable or not. We strongly advise against purchasing any animal from someone who is intentionally placing males and females together. Regardless of how big or small of an operation they are running, or how well they care for their animals, it is a direct contribution to the crisis all rescues are facing right now. Don’t shop, ADOPT.

30/09/2023

Girl math.

(Thanks Noah for the inspo!)

28/09/2023

🩺 Common Health Problems in Guinea Pigs 🩺

It's so important to know what types of illnesses and diseases can occur in guinea pigs so prompt veterinary attention can be sought and your guinea pig experiences minimal suffering.

If this is the first post of mine you're seeing today, check out my previous posts where I discuss in more detail dental disease, osteodystrophy, arthritis and middle ear disease.

Other common health problems guinea pigs can experience:

• urinary tract infections
• uroliths (bladder or urethral stones)
• respiratory tract infections
• abscesses
• lumps
• hay pokes and other eye traumas
• ovarian cysts and other reproductive tract disease
• ringworm, mites and lice