LAST UPDATE: 8/26/22

Mischa & Melanie were rescued by Little Buddies Refuge on June 28th, 2022 after seeing a post circulating of a Craigslist ad in which two female guinea pigs were living in poor conditions.

• WHO IS WHO?

Mischa: white, tan & black; to the right
Melanie: white, brown/red & black; to the left

• ABOUT THEM

RELATIONSHIP: We believe these two to be sisters.

AGE: We estimate Mischa and Melanies birthday to be May 13th, 2021.

PERSONALITIES: Mischa is a sweet girl but quite skittish. Same goes for Melanie, but with some TLC, these two will definitely come out of their shells and even have somewhat while being with us. They have a lot of fun in our herd and absolutely adore their fleece beds. You will often find the two of them cuddled up individually in their respective beds. They absolutely LOVE hay, and sit in the hay tray and munch on hay most of the day.

FUN FACTS: We believe Mischa to have some Peruvian or long-haired genes as she has some long hair around her ears. It is ADORABLE!!!

• BACKSTORY

On June 25th, 2022, I was browsing Instagram stories on my rescue account. I came across a repost that had been circulating in the guinea pig community of two females living in a very small pet store cage with no hay and crappy pellets. The post said that they wanted $50 for everything, which is a ridiculous request for a small cage and two poorly cared for guinea pigs. 

I reached out to the poster with the intent to rescue them. Upon texting this person, I realized I already had their contact in my phone with "guinea pigs" in the name. This meant that I had already tried to rescue guinea pigs from them before, which implied that they had been posting guinea pigs for a long time and that they may have quite a lot or are even breeding them. To no surprise, in response to me asking why they were re-homing them, they told me this: "I breed them, I have a lot more, and I need some more room that why am selling it".

I drove up to Allentown, which is about an hour and five minutes away, where they were located on June 27th, two days after seeing their post and deciding to rescue them. I met this person at a corner store where they had the girls in their small cage. To my dismay, this person violently grabbed the guinea pig I eventually named Melanie, and held her to show me while she screamed and thrashed around in terror. I was horrified at how this person was handling them and was so relieved to be saving them from this treatment. I didnt know what to say, and didnt want to cause any trouble, so I just smiled, paid them, and took the girls to the car.

When I got home, I made sure to be very careful when handling them but they were unsurprisingly very afraid of being held. It is clear to me that they need a lot of TLC to become comfortable being handled again.

I did the normal intake protocol––clipped their overgrown nails, gave them a drop of Ivermectin, and weighed them. They were not underweight in the slightest and are honestly a good weight for their age and size. 

I dont know very much about their background, besides that it was less than satisfactory, and am so glad to have saved them and are giving them the life they and all guinea pigs deserve.

• ADOPTION REQUIREMENTS

OWNERSHIP: Potential adopters must be knowledgable of guinea pig care. Previous ownership of guinea pigs is not required. Children must not be the main caretakers or be financially responsible.

CAGE SIZE: These girls requires a MINIMUM of 10.5 sqft in their cage, regardless of how much time outside the cage they get. This could be a 2x4 C&C cage, or two Midwest Guinea Habitats put together. Of course, bigger is always better, and if you can give them more space then you should!

CAGE NECESSITIES:
WATER BOTTLES: They should have at least 2 water bottles filled with fresh, clean water and refilled frequently.
PELLET DISHES: One pellet dish is enough for the two of them.
BEDDING: Safe, clean, cozy, and unscented bedding is a must. We highly recommend fleece liners from GuineaDad.
HIDES: This pair will need at least one adequate hide per pig. We recommend 3 hides for the two of them. While beds are cute, they dont necessarily count as hides. Adequate hides for each of them should be wooden or cardboard. Tunnels are great, too.
ENRICHMENT: While not entirely necessary, toys are fun for piggies. Toys would be great for them as long as theyre safe and dont contain any harmful ingredients. He does not require time outside the cage if his cage is large enough.

DIET NECESSITIES:
HAY: All guinea pigs should have an unlimited amount of fresh hay available in their cage at all times. These two are over 6 months old so they should be offered timothy or orchard grass hay.
VEGGIES: 1 cup of veggies per guinea pig per day is ideal. These two get fed 1/2 cup varied veggies twice per day––morning and night. After about 30 minutes to an hour, uneaten veggies should be removed and disposed of.
PELLETS: Pellets only make up 5% of a guinea pigs diet, and should be fed in limited quantities. 1/8th cup pellets per guinea pig per day is the ideal amount. These two are over 6 months old so they should be offered timothy-based pellets without any additives or harmful ingredients. Uneaten pellets should be removed and disposed of.

• STATS + LIKES & DISLIKES

WEIGHT AVERAGE
adult male guinea pigs: 900-1,200g
adult female guinea pigs: 700-900g

WEIGHT | MISCHA
6/27/22 –– 884g
7/6/22 –– 899g (+15g)

WEIGHT | MELANIE
6/27/22 –– 864g
7/6/22 –– 882g (+18g)

MISCHA
LIKES: unknown
DISLIKES: unknown

MELANIE
LIKES: unknown
DISLIKES: unknown

• OUR PROTOCOL

Guinea pigs are adorable and make great pets, however as many small animals often do they require special care. We ask that you do some research about their care before reaching out to us uninformed. Please check out the following link for our personalized LBR Adoption Guide:

https://www.littlebuddiesrefuge.com/adoption-guide

For more information, please reach out to us via email!