Rest in Peace, Regina

Early this morning, Regina passed away while in labor. She looked dehydrated, so we tried to get the fluid into her when she started having her first baby. It was a broken with colors similar to Nightwheek's, but it did not survive. She kept having either contractions or mini seizures a few minutes apart, and in a little while she had a couple more, about an hour apart. She kept having contractions (or seizures) after that, for a couple hours. We think she would have had 5 babies, but at around 1:30 in the morning on the 23rd of October, she passed. Here is Regina and her relatives, with pictures:

Regina, 10/21/14

Regina and her boyfriend, Robin Hood

Regina and her sisters, Snow White and Emma

Regina's daughter from her first litter, Nightwheek

Molly

"Your daughter was eyeing my pigs, by the way," she said. My mom looked over at me. The breeder we were talking to took out an American sow whom she said was a broken lemon agouti, chocolate, and white. "She's 25$, but I'll lower it to 15$ for youth."

"Do you want her, Izzy? Mom asked. "Yeah..." I responded. I can never say no to a new pig. "Thanks! Does she have a name? I asked, turning to the breeder.

"My husband named her Molly."

Molly was 12 weeks old when I bought her at STORRS. I was marveling at the amount of pigs and breeders at the show when I saw a set of cages. In one of them was Molly and another sow. I glanced over to the side, and there was a big sign that said FOR SALE. Near the bottom of the list of animals being sold, there was 'American Sow, Lemon Agouti Broken.' I looked back at the pigs in the cage, and sure enough, one of the sows was partially yellow.

Right now Molly is here at home, hanging out with my brother and his piggy, Nightwheek.

Picking Your First Piggy- Picking the Breeder

        After you pick the Breed, Variety, and sex, you need to choose a breeder. Here are some breeders and their websites:

Americans:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Susan Kline
American Satins:

Abyssinians:

Abyssinian Satins:

Coronets:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Peruvians:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Peruvian Satins:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Silkies:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Silkie Satins:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Teddies:
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
Teddy Satins:

Texels:
Jan Silva, Nativefox Caviary
Cutie Pie's Rabbits and Cavies
White Cresteds:

Your First Piggy: Picking the Sex

        The sex of your first guinea pig is important for a few reasons. Most importantly is that sows cannot be bred for the first time after one year. Their pelvic bones start to fuse together, so the sow or the babies could get hurt and even die. If you get a sow as your first pig, and then breed them to a boar later on, then this is likely to happen. A boar is usually the best first pet for someone who will want to breed someday.

My First Cavy

Your First Piggy- Picking the Variety

        After your pick the breed, you will want to pick a variety. Varieties don't make a very big difference in breeding or showing, but they do, of course, make the guinea pig look different.

Broken. Broken pigs have two or more colors in splotches. Any colors can be combined to create a broken piggy. Examples:

A Broken White and Orange Cavy

A Broken Beige and Lilac Cavy

A Broken Chocolate, Orange, and White Cavy

Self. Self piggies are completely one color. They can be any color. Examples:

A Self Red Cavy

A Self White Cavy

Agouti. Agouti cavies have an even ticking pattern of one tip color and one base color, and a belly band.

Solid. As far as I know, although I do not completely understand solids, solids are a lot like agoutis. However, solids do not have belly bands.

Tortoise Shell. Tortoise shell cavies are basically brokens with red and black patches. They have dark eyes.

Dalmatian. Dalmatians are white with spots of any recognized self color.

Dutch. Dutch are supposed to have a white background with any recognized color as the color for the markings. The requirements for Dutch are very specific, so they are hard to breed.

Himalayan. Himalayans are supposed to be white with markings on the nose, feet, and ears.

Tortoiseshell and White. TSWs are basically brokens with white, red, and black. Example:

A TSW Cavy

Tan. Tan pattern cavies have markings that are to be black, chocolate, blue, beige, or lilac.

Your First Piggy: Picking the Breed

        When you pick your first guinea pig, you will want to start with picking the breed. There are currently 13 breeds of cavy that are showable in the ACBA, and a few that aren't accepted, which will not be mentioned here. The breeds are:

American*. This breed is the easiest to groom and the most common. Americans are always good starter piggies.

Abyssinian*. Abyssinians are easy to groom but very hard to breed because their rosettes don't always turn out quite right.They are good pets, though.

Coronet. Coronets have some grooming required. They make good pets or good show/breeding pigs if you have the proper time to groom them.

Peruvians*. Peruvians take a decent amount of time to groom. However, like with the Coronet, they make good piggies if you have the time for them.

Silkies*. Silkies require a little less grooming time than Peruvians, but still take up a lot of time. They can still be good pets, but must be cared for every day.

Teddy*. Teddys are another short haired breed. They do not require much grooming, so they are also good starter pigs, but they aren't as common as Americans.

Texel. Finally, a breed I know a lot about! Texels require a LOT of grooming every day. One breeder I know told me when I asked about her Texels and Peruvians that "Texels are the hardest breed to groom." However, the breed as a whole has many very sweet piggies that could be kept as pets if they were clipped down every few months.

White Crested. These pigs are basically Americans with a single rosette on the head, or the short haired version of the Coronet. They are pretty easy to keep.

*Satins. The breeds marked with a * also have a second identical breed called a Satin. These breeds are called American Satin, Abyssinian Satin, etc. Satin is identical to its non-satin counterpart except for a few things. Firstly, they have "sheen," which makes them look shiny. Secondly, I have been told that sometimes have health issues and do not live as long as other pigs.

What to Bring to a Show (Besides your piggies, of course)

Extra Travel Cages. Always bring extra holes in case you come home with more than you left with.

Business Cards. Bring business card for your caviary in case someone is interested in cavies that you didn't bring to the show. That way, they can call or email you and arrange to get the animal.

Grooming Supplies. If you bring your grooming supplies, you can groom the piggies that are farther back on the judge's list. You should bring, according to the breed:
Peruvians, Coronets, and Silkies: Comb, Wrapping materials
Texels: Squirt bottle, Scissors, Seam Ripper
Americans, White Crested, Teddy, Abyssinian: Nothing.

Show boards. If you have a long haired breed (Texels optional), then you must bring your piggies up to the table on show boards.

Extra Blankets. Bring these in case you want to cuddle one of your pigs. Just don't mess up their fur!

Notepad and Pencil. You will probably end up talking to other breeders, and if they give you tips, you should write them down for when you get home.

Pedigrees. If you want to register an animal, you need to have their pedigree. Also, you will want to sell an animal with their pedigree, and it will look better if you give them the pedigree there instead of sending it to them when you get home. You are also less likely to forget.

Cage Covers. Shows are often pretty early in the morning, which means it will be cold. Cage covers will help your guinea pigs stay warm until it warms up a little bit.

Treats. Shows are stressful for your animals. Bring treats such as carrots or kale for your cavies to make them a little less stressed.

Standard of Perfection. You can use the Standard to try to judge your pigs before they go to the judge's table. This is good practice for if you decide to try to become a registrar or a judge.