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Cooley's Creations - Glass Etching
Cooleys Creations - glass pg 2
Etched Glassware - Sample Catalog
Cooleys Creations Ordering Information
Cavies - Basic Care
Feeding your Cavies
Rabbits - Basic Care
Firstaid for Rabbits
Common Concerns for Rabbits
Teas - Treats- Remedies
Cooling down your rabbits and Flystrike Info
Breeding to Selection
Showing ABC's - Tattooing to Writing
Pet Rabbit Information
Quarantining to Culling
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Welcome to our Cavy Basic Information Page
We have been raising cavies since 1996. Unfortunately, our first few cavies died. We didn't know why and no one would help us. At the time, we didn't know that they needed vit C supplements daily nor did we know that cavies could pick up the human cold. All we knew was that we really loved our cavies so we kept trying until we succeeded.
We now not only raise them, but we also show them. We have also learned what great pets these little wheekers can be. We currantly have anywhere from 30-80 little piggies depending on if we have babies or if we are saving quite a few show/breeding potentionals back for our herds needs.
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This is one of my favorite images
This is my good friend Hal. I took this picture on his birthday. I think he likes to be in pictures. |
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The scientific name is Cavia Porcella in the
Cavies or more commonly known by most pet owners, as Guinea Pigs, are in the rodent family. The so called Guinea Pig name has always been a question of orgin since they are not pigs and they are not guineas nor did they come from New Guinea. Guniea Pigs came from Peru, South America and have been around forsome 3-4 hundred years
What kind of equipment do I need to have to raise a cavy?
Equipment Needed
Cavies need a cage with a solid floor, a water bottle, a feed dish, shavings for bedding, a little box for them to hide in, and a block of wood for chewing onCavies need the solid floors because of there feet. A wire floor cage can cause your cavy to have feetproblems and once a cavy has a foot problem it cantake weeks to months to heal.
Sanitation
How often should I clean my cavies cage?
A Clean Cavy is a Happy Cavy. We found that changing the cavies cage and playpen area every 3 days kept the smell down and made for happier cavies. Some people that we know, change their cavy cages only once a week. I feel that your cavy will stay cleaner him/herself if there cage is kept clean
Don't forget, if you can smell it and it is offensive to you, then think how your cavy feels when they are walking and living in it!
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Cavy Food - What kind of foods can I give my cavy to eat?
Cavy food must be fresh because cavies need certain vitamins to maintain being healthy. Vit. C is a very important vitamin to make sure that your cavy gets because they can't seem to store it in their systems. I do not suggest getting cavy food from the pet store. Who knows how long ago it was made. Cavy food for the most part shouldn't be fed to your cavies if it is over 90 days old.
Some of the things that are high in Vit C that your
cavy can have is;
Parsley, turnip greens, kale leaves, collard greens w/o the stems, trimmed broccoli, lemons with the peel, oranges with the peel, spinach, dandelion greens, and whole guava.
Some things that they can have that have Vit C but in lower amounts is;
pineapple, beets, celery, carrots, unpeeled pears, apples, romain lettus, cucumber with peel, winter
squash, green beans, beet greens, parsnips, endive, and rhubarb. There are other things too, but I think
these are some things that are easy to find at your local grocery store.
When ever giving a new source of feed stuff, do it in small amounts and see if it has any undesirable reaction to your cavy, such as diarrhea.
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Living Arangements - Can 2 or more cavies live together?
When we first got our cavies we were told first off that2 boars, (males) couldn't live together because they would fight. We were told that 2 sows, (females) could live together very nicely. The 2 sows that we had seemed to fight a bit or leave each other well alone. We were then told that cavies really are social animals and liked having company of each other, but one or another would let the other one know who was boss usless we introduced a boar into the pen. So we got a boar that was the same age as the 2 sows. Yes we know that we will have little piggies before to long and
that is ok with us. Our little pigs get along great and even have become more friendly to each other and to us. The sow that used to bite us, no longer bites and actually craves the attention we give her
More cavy care info - This site is not part of my site, but I highly recommend it for more in depth cavy care
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Spoiled Piggies
All of these fruits and veggies are given to our piggies each and every morning prior to anyone else getting breakfast.
These piggies are depending on us to make sure that they get the vit C that they require. I think that we have gone a bit overboard, but hey, we love our little piggies. |
Some things that we found that make our cavies happy
Above Picture; This is Joe playing with one of the 3 day old Teddy babies.
We found that a box for them to hide in or rest in was something that they liked. Ours also likes to get out of their cage and play in a big wooden box that we have. We just filled it with shavings and a couple of tolit tissue rolls for them to play with, a water bottle and a feed dish and they seem to have fun running around. Our cavies also like sitting on our chest or arm while we are watching TV. We have also noticed that whenever we walk into the room, they will talk to us, almost asking for attention, so we often will upon entering a room, go over and at least pick them up for a minute or pet them for a little bit. Our cavies love to be talked to also. |
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