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Last Updated: 9/26/24
Photos and videos are listed from oldest to newest. Videos include the word video and will take you to You Tube.
These photos are from the day that I got Princess Gina:
Princess Gina - top view
Princess Gina - tummy view
I got Princess Gina at a rabbit and cavy show on 11/16/19 along with Cornelia and Jasmine. Princess Gina was a silver agouti American shorthair guinea pig. She had a white tummy. She was born on 8/29/19. She weighed 437 grams the day that I got her. Of the three guinea pigs, she was the most adventurous, the first to eat, first to drink, first to run around, and first to go up the ramp to the other levels. I would say that she was in charge! None of the pigs would eat any fruits or vegetables at first. It took about a week for them to realize that they like fruits and veggies and to eat like, well, pigs.
I took the three new pigs to the vet on 11/22/19. He could not find out anything wrong with any of them. They weighed Princess Gina at 490 grams so she had been eating like a pig. I weighed her the next day in a little carrier tared on the balance and got 511 grams!
On 11/30/19, Princess Gina weighed 564 grams, an increase of 53 grams! On 12/7/19, Gina was 613 grams, up another 49 grams! The breeder told me that she could not be pregnant since she separates the sexes at the appropriate times but I am not so sure! She was getting heavier much faster than Cornelia or Jasmine. Her tummy was fatter but I did not feel any babies in there. On 12/14/19, Gina was 668 grams. By 1/4/20, she was 808 grams and quite chubby. I could not feel any babies though, and I had then had the pigs for seven weeks which would put her less than three weeks until due if pregnant. So, that seems unlikely. She never had babies.
In 2020 (did not record the date), Gina developed sores on her back. Once they started to smell, I realized something was going on because she had a yeast infection. I watched and learned she was standing with her back on the nozzle of the water bottle so water was wicking on her back. All three pigs had been biting each others' backs. Maybe the cool water made her injuries feel better. I raised the water bottle an inch, and the yeast infection went away. I treated the back wounds with Neosporin when needed but the injuries were usually just spots with hair missing for all three of them.
I took the pigs to the vet on 10/5/21. Gina was very obese. She weighed 1430 grams. She had trouble breathing sometimes. The vet listened to her and said that she did not have asthma. The problem was in her upper airway, probably related to being overweight. All three pigs got the same food so Gina had a metabolic disorder. I reduced the amount of food that the pigs had but they did have unlimited hay of five kinds.
As Gina aged, I sometimes saw her have trouble breathing. On 4/11/24, I witnessed Princess Gina have a seizure. She was partly on her side and partly upside down. Her little legs were twitching quickly. I opened the cage and turned her over, and her eyes were missing. In other words, they were rolled back in her head. Once I touched her, she stopped seizing within just a few seconds. She seemed startled but was then normal again. I had no idea why this happened. Her vet retired so I did not take her to the vet.
I witnessed Princess Gina have multiple seizures on 6/16/24.
On 7/10/24, I noticed a small lump (like a stye) on her eye. I picked her up and touched it. She then twisted her head back over her back and starting having repeated seizures, falling onto her back and twisting her head around with her mouth open. She was back to "normal" after a few minutes. I was fairly certain she had a brain tumor. Yet, she was still otherwise acting as she should.
On 9/14/24, I picked up Princess Gina to find something shocking. She had been dragging her hind leg for many months, and I had looked at it before and concluded it was likely neurological damage from her seizures. But, on this day, it was obvious that she had a very large, very hard cancerous tumor at the joint of her left rear leg. I am not sure if it originated as breast cancer but that is one possibility. I handle and groom the guinea pigs at least every few weeks so I do not understand how I never saw the tumor before that day! Princess stopped eating, and she passed away on 9/17/24.
Go to Pigtopia for photos and information on Princess Gina's home.
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