Unfortunately i lost a baby this morning. The mother gave birth to 7 and this little one was definitely the runt. I had tried hand feeding, lots of warmth but no response from him. I have 2 massive cages, one for the boys and one for the girls to ensure that no more babies are born, as i now have 11, apart from their cages they also have enclosed play areas attached to their cages to ensure they have plenty of room. The babies are going to new homes, but the new owners have been vetted, are given a care sheet and shown my set up that is indoors to protect the piggies from heat and cold. I am trying to be responsible to ensure that no piggies end up in shelters, just a sad morning losing my little one.

i hate it when an animal dies i raise mice and it tears me up when i lose one i was thinking about breeding my cavys i think shes already pregnant i am hoping not now

i am so sorry for youre lose he is the cutest little think i have ever seen now he can be in heaven with all his new frends looking down on you and loveing you all the time

oh what a poor little creture i am so sorry for him i have a pregnate piggie myself but i am a breeder and i know their backgrounds you should'nt breed piggies from pet shops or if you dont know their backgroungs coz this is more tan likely to happen (poor creture)

i am caitlins bff and i feel the same way about pheonix i cant believe someone would breed pigs so carelessly.

Aww... i cant help but cry. i have a very sweet guinea pig myself and i love him to death. these photos are unbearable. the poor baby... i dont kno wat i would do if something happened to my precious piggie mikee.

iam deelply sorry for your lost of phoenix i have 2 guinea pig and i know how you feel i love my guinea pig with all of my heart now he is with god

that is so sad, i have had to save 3 guinea pigs from a back yard that were left behind after someone moved out,they were so thin that i lost one and the other to are still with me today, it was touch and go, they live happy with my two rabbits

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Thats the sadest thing ever:(
poor thing.

I read the other 18 entries and for some of those who responded with pessemistic review I truly do not believe this link is intended to inform the informed.  Granted there are caring individuals however, I hope readers are able to find tune the true meaning of this link which is to provide information to those who are unaware of the implications.  Statistics is not the focus.  For example, I was not aware until two weeks ago that a female pig should have babies within a certain age otherwise her pelvic bone become narrow therefore complicating the delivery of her newborns and endangering her life.  This is education.  It is not "no pain, no gain", or "we'll risk breeding and see what happens".  I hope piggy lovers are more concerned about "no brain, no gain" instead.  Again, this is to educated those who are not aware of the realities that can very well occur and Phoenix is not a scare tactic he has become part of a mission to prevent carelessness.  Those who truly appreciate Phoenix's purpose even after death would not find his message offensive.  I felt that Phoenix's experience took a little more presedece over internalizing and becomming a target of scrutiny.  Just a note...

I have had my handsome Lionel for over a year.  He was given to me by a pet store owner too many piggy's.  Lionel took approximately one year to come around and approach me.  He was bitten by other guinea pigs when I took him in.  Scared and clueless he ran underneath my refrigerator and was stuck there for a few hours while I tried to find a neighbor to help me move it to get to him.  I pulled the plug out of the socket to prevent Lionel from getting burns but that didn't prevent the one he received on his butt.  I applied Aloe Vera on his bites and spoke with him mainly.  I didn't force myself on him to become friendly.  He definely spoke to me when he heard grocery bag noises that potentially contained organic greens and fruits.  He is like a person to me through his communications...  Lionel was just neutered a week and 1/2 ago to prepare him for his first mate.  Lionel loves the outdoors and would prefer living among nature than to lounge around the house or getting his jumping exercises in when he's really happy.  I went to the same pet store where I got him to give a beautiful sow an opportunity to live in a good, loving home.  The pet store has Four females who just gave birth to beautiful babies.  I took Camile knowing she was pregnant because I did not want a white female who resembled Lionel (AKA Polar Bear).  I have taken four days into researching diet, miscarriage, length of pregnancy, complications and the like.  I had planned to take the babies at three weeks to another pet store.  After reading through various articles and links I plan to check the sex of Camile's babies every other day and she is going to move into a play pen tomorrow filled with bedding, a water bottle with more vitamin C, a little alfala pellet treats, timothy hay, and organic greens.  I fear for her babies...  Because Camile is new to our home I want to minimize her stress as much as possible by playing soundscapes off the t.v. music channel or story book tapes with cute, pure sounding to the ear.  Lionel is not quite caged and is free to roam the house but enjoys the upstair balcony of our house as his main living area along with his friends Tess(Pooh)McGuillicuddy who just got spayed to prepare for her buck mate (bunny) and Maxwell (AKA Monkey).  He night bathes under their animal heat lamp and from his eyes is in pure heaven.  I am so sorry to hear about Phoenix's fate however, this little guy inspired me to care for Camile's children as well.  I don't think Lionel will have any problem playing step-daddy.  Lionel is so patient with Camile and finally she is not rejecting him.  It's a match made...  I hope and pray Camile's piggy's are strong and healthy.  In appreciation for Phoenix's inspiration and spirit I name one of Camile's children after him. (Smile)  P.S. Camile will get spayed at the same time Maxwell has an appointment to be neutered a week or so after she gives birth.  This is another topic I need to look up on the internet.  Love, the Branche family!!!  We love you Phoenix...

how did the little fuzz balls get so defomed?
why couldn't someone help them when they were born?

Poor piggie! This makes me cry. I have 6 guinea pigs of my own! I was lucky that my sow had 3 healthy babies. But I will not breed her again. I had not known she was pregnant, but I kept all her babies anyways and wouldn't give them up for anything!!

poor pheonix,what cruel twist of fate could do this to such a cute little pig!

I am really sorry for this little piggy.it is not his fault.i think that the owner should go to prison.these pictures are so touching.

I love this wb site i found when looking for info on pregnant pigs. i have to giunea pigs both females but i think that one might by pregnant but i hope not how can i check.

ive just bought two guinea pigs aware that they were opposite sex but i had NO intention of breeding them but now im almost positive that shes was pregnant before we got her and i'm so worried becuase she may die!!! i never knew guinea pigs suffered these complications and i think there should be more websites highlighting this as i couldn't bare to put my paddy thru this as shes a lovely bundle of white fluff!!

I work at a pet store, and to say that employees don't care what homes these guinea pigs go to is not true, at my store anyway. Most of us own guinea pigs and are very careful screeners as far as families are concerned, and not just with the guinea pigs. We have refused sales for parents impulse buying pets for their kids. Be careful the broad statements you make, bringing pets that you are unable to care for to a pet store is not necessarily a bad thing if you do a little research first into the company and observe the employees who work there.

i don't understand how you can make raising guinea pigs so horriable i had them as a little kid and we had a healthy litter of 8 and they all went to great homes and we saw them often and i can remember loving our little pigs to death and i wouldnt trade their memory for anything yes they are no longer with us but miss piggy died of old age and mokie of either old age or a broken heart as he had lived with miss piggy for 5 yrs

this is truely sad. my female just had 2 babies. she wasent supposed to. i got her from a friend. she said she never had her with a male but obviosly she lied. they are both healthy and looking great. its a shame people dont realize things can go wrong. but there are good ppl out there. i plan on keeping the babies. so they dont wind up in some shelter or neglected. i take very well care of my g pigs.

Your % figures interest me - who is calculating them? The % for things to go wrong and the % for sows to die: Presuably they include ALL sows, including those that are poorly fed, poorly kept and poorly matched with a male, including those that are mated in the petstore with their own offspring, those bred for the meat or animal research market.
What are the % for sows that are kept in ideal conditions, fed optimum nutrition and very carefully researched to find a suitable male?
My pigs have neevr been included in any research - nor have any of the people I know who breed.
I would be keen to take part in a wideranging survey to make sure that % figures are a true reflection

Hi, i think your website is a load of rubbish, yes some people are very irresponsible but what about all the people who want to breed guinea pigs cos they love and care for them. yours jus stereotypin ppl sayin we all should stop breeding guinea pigs and let them eventually die out!

I posted here before, and would now like to say something that came into my head whilst looking at other sites. I get that you have good intentions, and that you are trying to save guinea pigs that are up for adoption and future guinea pigs. But, not every one is a person who will loose interest in their guinea pigs when they grow up. If it wasn't for breeders, alot of my friends wouldn't have their beloved guinea pigs. The whole "20% chance of death or issues during birth" has yet to be found by me on any other rescue center or just plain guinea pig site that I've gone to. All of them say its more like a 5% chance. So how come yours is so big? How do you know all the stuff yo listed will happen? You don't. We all know you are trying to stop something bad, but this site is a total buzz-kill. You make everything about breeding guinea pigs look totaly bad. What if you DO have good homes lined up for your babies? What if you KNOW that no matter what happens you CAN take care of them (ruleing out that you die, as most people would not put their overly-sized rodents into their will, and dont think I'm heartless for saying that, I'm just not a crazy person who spends thousands of dollars on a pet that will most likely die in six years)? You are assuming that everyone who comes to the site will be some air head ready to breedbreedbreed, when they're not. Some may be, but if they're that big of an airhead, why would they check to see the risks of breeding? I would just like to say that as I understand your piont of view on the matter, I do not totaly agree with it. Thankyou.

I am very grateful that I came to this website when I did. Before I read all this, I was planning to breed my Pickle and my Olive once, then got Pickle nuetured. Now I see that since they were both purchased at pet shobs, for all I now they could both have the Roan or RnRn genetics, and could just be creating "lethal" babies. I've allready paid $200 dollars for mite treatment on Pickle, and am about to spend another $200 for Olive's mites. Thankyou for all of your wonderful adivice. Pheonix, rest in peace.

REST IN PEACE buddy.

this is the sad truth as to why people shouldn't breed their pigs. We all love babies, and they are so cute, but honestly, is it worth the risks? Look at what happens. Poor phoenix, and brother unnmaed, RIP.

All I can hope is that it wasn't too painful. At least he had a chance at life, his brother wasn't so lucky. I'm sure you gave him the best chance possible and for that I commend you. All the best for future success.

This story is so sad! He really depended on you and whereas somebody else may have let him go you stayed with him till the end and gave him the best little life you could. I hope you don't have to cope with any more deformities like this as the results are so sad. It's so unfair on this little guy.

This story is heartbreaking. Am thankful that the short time Phoenix had, was spent with someone like you  who really cared. Rest in peace little boy.