Chonkerz
New Born Pup
Been made aware of a neglectful situation and it’s making me feel so bad 
Another girl on my course (18) at uni moved in with her boyfriend (23) who had guinea pigs. Initially we just bonded over how cute we thought they were but it soon became apparent they didn’t really know a lot about them when she was shocked I was giving them hay and veggies everyday. I explained to her why they need hay and veggies everyday and sent her a few YouTube videos and then a link to the guinea pig forums to allow her to search for any info herself.
I left it at that, not wanting to be over bearing. She came in the next week or so and told me she’d been feeding them differently and they really seemed to be enjoying it. I was happy she’d taken on my advice and she said that she never even knew but was glad I’d told her. However, then she told me one of her guinea pigs had something wrong with his nails.
She told me they looked like pellets were mushed on them so I asked her to send a picture when she was home so I could see. It was definitely poo but I could only see one paw with the way she took the picture so I showed her how to lift them and hold them up so I could get a better look. She sent me a video and all 4 of his paws had nails encased with poo. She had told me they’d been cut only a month before so this was a new issue and I was unsure how it had got so bad. I advised her to soak them in lukewarm water and then rub gently with coconut oil once it had soften to hopefully break it up.
Again I left it at that and she came in yesterday telling me she had tried soaking him but it didn’t work. She agreed that it was poo because the water was getting dirty but she was too afraid to ‘pick at his nails’. I suggested that if she was too nervous she could try again over a couple of nights to soften it over a gradual period and then wiping wouldn’t need to be so harsh. We began speaking on the subject of cages and out of curiosity I asked how often they cleaned their cage.
She hesitated and I offered ‘once a week? Every two weeks?’ To which she replied that they hadn’t cleaned the cage since they moved into their flat which was just more than two months ago. She said ‘it sounds abusive when I say it like that’ and started telling me her boyfriend was the one who dealt with cleaning and kept putting it off, reasoning that they were ‘scavengers’ and didn’t need it. I informed her that if that was the case, her boyfriend IS abusing them in a way since they are being forced to live in unhygienic conditions and unlike these wild scavenger guinea pigs he’s thinking of, they can’t escape the cage they’re in to move to a clean area.
I asked if they would consider giving them up if they can’t keep up with the upkeep of them and she said no, there was no way she could do that. So I told her that if they didn’t have a clean cage they would end up getting sick and costing more money in vet bills. She panicked at this and said I was scaring her. She insisted that she would pick up the slack and get the woodchip to clean it herself. After talking to her though it seems like her boyfriend is treating her like a fool, borrowing money, skipping on his half of rent, making her do the chores etc. So I really feel the pigs are suffering as a last priority and she doesn’t have time for them while he’s making her do everything else.
Obviously I can only give advice so I left it at that but I feel so burdened now by the knowledge that these poor pigs are in a tiny pet shop cage, sitting on piles of poo and pee with dirty surroundings. She even said their food bowls had pee in them. I was trying to be understanding because she was really being open with me admitting all this and asking for help but she didn’t tell me the full story to begin with. I know they’re her boyfriends pigs but she’s become a bystander to abuse and now so have I.
Another girl on my course (18) at uni moved in with her boyfriend (23) who had guinea pigs. Initially we just bonded over how cute we thought they were but it soon became apparent they didn’t really know a lot about them when she was shocked I was giving them hay and veggies everyday. I explained to her why they need hay and veggies everyday and sent her a few YouTube videos and then a link to the guinea pig forums to allow her to search for any info herself.
I left it at that, not wanting to be over bearing. She came in the next week or so and told me she’d been feeding them differently and they really seemed to be enjoying it. I was happy she’d taken on my advice and she said that she never even knew but was glad I’d told her. However, then she told me one of her guinea pigs had something wrong with his nails.
She told me they looked like pellets were mushed on them so I asked her to send a picture when she was home so I could see. It was definitely poo but I could only see one paw with the way she took the picture so I showed her how to lift them and hold them up so I could get a better look. She sent me a video and all 4 of his paws had nails encased with poo. She had told me they’d been cut only a month before so this was a new issue and I was unsure how it had got so bad. I advised her to soak them in lukewarm water and then rub gently with coconut oil once it had soften to hopefully break it up.
Again I left it at that and she came in yesterday telling me she had tried soaking him but it didn’t work. She agreed that it was poo because the water was getting dirty but she was too afraid to ‘pick at his nails’. I suggested that if she was too nervous she could try again over a couple of nights to soften it over a gradual period and then wiping wouldn’t need to be so harsh. We began speaking on the subject of cages and out of curiosity I asked how often they cleaned their cage.
She hesitated and I offered ‘once a week? Every two weeks?’ To which she replied that they hadn’t cleaned the cage since they moved into their flat which was just more than two months ago. She said ‘it sounds abusive when I say it like that’ and started telling me her boyfriend was the one who dealt with cleaning and kept putting it off, reasoning that they were ‘scavengers’ and didn’t need it. I informed her that if that was the case, her boyfriend IS abusing them in a way since they are being forced to live in unhygienic conditions and unlike these wild scavenger guinea pigs he’s thinking of, they can’t escape the cage they’re in to move to a clean area.
I asked if they would consider giving them up if they can’t keep up with the upkeep of them and she said no, there was no way she could do that. So I told her that if they didn’t have a clean cage they would end up getting sick and costing more money in vet bills. She panicked at this and said I was scaring her. She insisted that she would pick up the slack and get the woodchip to clean it herself. After talking to her though it seems like her boyfriend is treating her like a fool, borrowing money, skipping on his half of rent, making her do the chores etc. So I really feel the pigs are suffering as a last priority and she doesn’t have time for them while he’s making her do everything else.
Obviously I can only give advice so I left it at that but I feel so burdened now by the knowledge that these poor pigs are in a tiny pet shop cage, sitting on piles of poo and pee with dirty surroundings. She even said their food bowls had pee in them. I was trying to be understanding because she was really being open with me admitting all this and asking for help but she didn’t tell me the full story to begin with. I know they’re her boyfriends pigs but she’s become a bystander to abuse and now so have I.
I think phoning the rspca is a good idea, I'll give it a go. I'm reluctant to report her because she would know it was me and I don't want her to lose trust if I'm the only person she's told.