Hey Clint Laidlaw, Why don't you get to think of a suggestion and creating a UKposts Videos all about the🐠Ray-Finned Fish Group🐠on the next Clint's Reptiles on the next Saturday coming up next?!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍👍👍

@ClintsReptiles Clint, I've been watching and enjoying your channel for a while. I hope you see this comment as it comes from a place of genuine care. I really appreciate this video and have been looking forward to it, however I really think it's important that you bring in a professional and not just a random guinea pig owner. It makes me begin to wonder if other videos that I've seen on your channel are less trustworthy than I had previously believed. Before I begin- I am not saying that Jessie is not doing what he should be as a pet owner. Based on what he said, and the way his pigs act, they seem to be very well taken care of. I just don't know if he was the best person to be talking unscripted about care, as things are obviously going to slip the mind. Something like care and diet really ought to be more scripted. Many things said were not necessarily the best things to be saying to people looking into owning guinea pigs. Much more time should be spent on the size of the enclosure, since 8 square feet is the absolute minimum for 1-2 pigs and they hardl touched on that. Not a single pet store cage is suitable for them. Unless you're lucky enough to live near an organization like LA Guinea Pig Rescue, you will need to order a cage online. They are significantly more work than I feel was implied. Hardiness being a 5 is an absolutely bonkers thing to say. Guinea pigs will try everything they can to die. Children are not good guinea pig owners, they require an adult caretaker, or at least an adult who is checking they're being cared for on a daily basis, and is actually willing to step in and care for the animal. Scurvy is very important to mention and I appreciate that you did so, however it's far from the only concern. Upper respiratory infections, heatstroke over 80 degrees, hypothermia under 60 degrees, GI Stasis, impactions, getting their head caught in hay racks, etc. Guinea pigs can survive in terrible situations sometimes, they're determined to live just like us, so please don't use those cases as an excuse to continue to raise piggies poorly in replies to my comment. A well kept guinea pig is also much more expensive than you'd think, not to even mention the vet bills, since they're exotics. However, there are ways to save on this, like buying hay from a feed store/farm instead of bagged from the store, or using fleece like Jessie mentioned. I personally use fleece for 3/4ths of my cage and a litter box for 1/4th which I fill with *kiln dried* pine shavings, eco flake. It's branded towards horses so you get a much larger amount for a more reasonable price than you would buying stuff at the pet store. However, and this is crucial, if you're using pine shavings, they *must* be kiln dried, or the oils will give your pigs an URI. EcoFlake is what LAGPR uses for all of their animals, and they recommend that or fleece. There are lots of things advertised towards guinea pigs and sold at pet stores that are completely unsuitable and sometimes downright dangerous. Please, please, please, look into the conditions guinea pigs and other animals are kept in by the breeders large pet stores buy from, and the conditions they're put in at the store, where they sometimes live their entire short, sick lives. Do not support Petco, Petsmart, or any store that keeps animals in such horrible conditions. If you're looking into adopting, check your local shelters and search to see if there's a guinea pig rescue near you. I really hope you read this and so I've posted it both as a comment and as a reply to your comment. Please look into LAGPR, Squeak Dreams, or any of the other wonderful guinea pig youtubers there are. P.S. One of your editors seems to have used this video uncredited ukposts.info/have/v-deo/hpNhnpB7eoSjy3k.html If I missed the credit I do apologize, but in that case it ought to be easier to find. It seems to be nowhere in the description, google doc, or on screen. In fact, the "links in description" aren't even the products shown on screen, most of which are his own store's products. The channel this was taken from, The Pig Room, also probably wouldn't agree with the way a lot of the things were said in this video. Frustrating that someone took the time to watch videos from a channel (and business) providing proper care, but that research seems to have been done *after* filming the video. Your channel is a very valuable resource to pet owners around the world, please keep it that way.

Correction: Pigs have poop beans, hold there shape, and leave no residue!

Hey you probably won't see this but I wanted to ask a question if you did, you see I got this 9-year-old leopard gecko from a teacher whose daughter had left it behind after going to college cuz she didn't want it anymore and it wasn't in the best condition for awhile, but after it started putting on weight and getting a bit bigger it's started turning iridescent blue when you look at him close in the light and I wasn't sure if that's normal as this is my first time owning a lizard and I can't find any information on this

Hey Clint can we get a Australian Olive Python pet review 😫

really I had no idea.

Yes!

I don't think I could tell the difference if I didn't have a size reference in the picture...

He really likes talking about animals shitting on him for some reason

@@__-be1gkyeah, maybe because it was something brought up in the video?? Maybe because it's a natural thing and is a major part of working with animals?

@@__-be1gk because that is the reality of having pets, especially rodents. If he didn't talk about that and someone got a pet because of his video and suddenly get surprised pooped on I don't think they would be very happy

They often let you know by teeth chattering

@@Rynn21 One of ours always gave us a gentle nibble when she needed to go.

What is popcorning?

​@@blasttyrant3228 It's literally jumping for joy!

I noticed that too. XD The rabbits did not react the same.

@@blasttyrant3228Lots of silly Guinea pig terms, you should look into to it if you want some quick awwwws.

I remember when we cleaned their cages. EVERYTIME the guinea pigs lick your fingers and try to get touched while you clean their cage. They are very appreciative.

Mine would start as soon as I entered the hall to my apartment and I could hear them plainly all the way from there. It's a wonder I didn't get a neighbor complaint! They also did it every time I opened the fridge. They are food obsessed.

@@yzettasmith4194 Ours would squeal as soon as they heard my mom go downstairs in the morning because they knew it was veggie time. This was often at 6am. I miss them a bit but they are so much work for a rodent. I need more friends with them so I can visit some.

And if you ignore them they will chatter their teeth at you sometimes. XD

Imagine my scenario: Females in one side of the house (8) and males on the other (6). The echo between the rooms 😂

I'm like that about my coffee ☕😂

Do you know what's the penalty for it? I've been searching and can't find anything

They going to throw you in prison because you only have 1? What if you get 2 and one dies?

​@@trayas2272big guinea pig wants you to buy another, younger guinea pig, thus trapping you in the cycle of blissful guinea pig ownership

​​@@lookwhosinsideagain3489As the law is pretty new there is no precedent. I guess it would be a fine plus court costs. Btw its not specificaly for Guinea Pigs, its for communal animals..

​@@trayas2272 You can rent a companion and give it back when your original dies. We did that but then we stocked up to 4 again.

When I was a kid, we got 2 female guinea pigs. We ended up with 4 because the one my mom picked was pregnant, 1 boy and 1 girl. The boy lived in his own cage.

Thanks for rescueing them, but some things to think on for future around sterilization There are multiple ways to sterilize animals, with gonadectomy (full spay/neuter) being the option most common/available. It reduces the hormones, which sterilizes and decreases libido/sexual behaviour/some territorial behaviour, but that recuction of hormones may be causing issues that most aren't aware of. For example, it may also cause anxiety/depression. For some common pet species, there's is a lack of research assessing overall mental health/anxiety levels/depression (instead focusing on behaviour issues, which anxiety/depression can contribute to but also may not -- depression/anxiety [making an animal more cautious] may improve some behaviour issues for some animals/species). However, rodent, monkey, and human research has been done showing these issues. Look for research on these issues + gonadectomy/oophorectomy/castration/hormone deprivation/etc (there's several surgical and medical ways to reduce hormones and thus need to use several terms to look into this). So many vets and experts just ignore research on this finding negative side effects, likely prioritizing reducing overpopulation (which is important), but with that, denying clients ability to make informed medical choices for their pets. Check out what the VCA says about neutering rats (that there's been no research finding issues) then check out the actual medical research in rats for a very blatant example (as rats are used to study human medical care, the studies for them are more thorough/don't have owner as a contributing factor since lab rats [tho the conditions lab rats live in is a contributing factor, but the groups are at least living in similar condition unlike studies with pets/owners] :/ ). Also, example, for dogs, a lot of vets will claim it doesn't change personality while reducing aggression, but while true it can reduce some types of aggression, several studies have showed increased behaviour issues associated with anxiety including aggression in gonadectomized dogs. Tho, the dog research is bit conflicting, but there's likely confounding bias going on around socioeconomic factors/size/etc (intact dogs are more common in low income households, which increases risks to behavior and health in several ways [more rural, less vet care, less training, outside more, more likely guard dog, owner home less due to work requirements, etc]). Also, quite a few studies are just not long enough to assess long term side effects -- like one of studies trying to determine "long term" is just 9 months -- compare that to study in spayed monkeys that's three years (which found a decrease of serotonin in spayed monkeys -- vs shorter term studies in dogs/rats showed initially it may increase serotonin, thus the need for studies to be properly long term). Also, the dog research shows another issue: while it can decrease some health issues like breast cancer, it can also increase other issues -- tho the early death in intact from likely socioecomic factors (and size differences in sample sets, as larger dogs have shorter lifespan) makes it hard to say which is net best, as like the increased cancer in gonadtomized dogs just may be due to early death meaning intact dogs don't get old enough for some cancers (tho, blood/bone cancer and alc tears/joint/muscle issues do seem to be caused by gonadectomy, particular for large dogs and dogs who were had the surgery prior to adulthood). So, studies for overall health and lifespan really need to be done for species they haven't been done in, and properly account for owner's income/other factors. Also concerns around effect on immune system, allergies, skin issues, etc. The alternatives to gonadectomy include hormone sparing sterilization options -- vastecomy, ovary sparing spay, tubal ligation being the main ones there. Unfortunately, most vets aren't trained to give these options so they're not super accessible. Considering the increased risks for surgery for small animals, having a one-sex household for small species may be a better option. However, going with hormone sparing sterilization allows them access to non-reproductive sex, which may be good to their overall well being (considering the more recent research around sexual activity in many animals -- lot of older research has religious/misogyny biases leading to while idea that other animals just have sex for reproduction, when that's not really the case at least for some species [see the book b*tch: on the female of the species for a deep dive into that -- or just consider that snake cli ts were just discovered recently...]). Trying to control their animal behavior by making them anxious and sexless is rather dystopian. Also, experts using very biased research to promote medical surgery and public policy isn't great from a medical trust aspect; as we all probably been made aware of the last few years, medical mistrust is a global health issue.

@@hefoxed 😂You're not getting paid to write an essay but I gotta respect the passion 😉

@@hefoxednot reading allat

oh my goodness, I have just two cavies (female + neutered male) and they're loud enough with just the two of them. 34 guinea pigs sounds adorable but so LOUD

You just have to remember: you did the best you could, with the information that you had.

Very true 😢it's often mortifying. But it's very good to see how people are trying to improve. I just wish pet stores would be better educating... Most are clueless and provide misinformation

I remember trying very hard with my hamster. partly because i thought we could get a dog if i impressed my parents with my upkeep and my parents were mess averse but also because i just cared. I remember reading two care books before i got my hamster and i remember the info now seems ridiculous. I also remember judging my friends for how dirty their hamster cages were. I don't have plans to get any soon but it blows my mind how i, as someone who just wanders the internet, managed to learn some basics about up to date hamster/etc care . And yet some people will still go buy a pet, whether its a rodent or lizard or fish or bird, and put it in the crummiest enclosure with a flimsy single piece of plastic for enrichment or decoration. People today have no excuse. Also i said i wasnt planning on getting a hamster but if one in needs comes my way i might offer up my home.. . Even if just to make it up to my childhood hamster

Back in the 60s and 70s, I don't remember any of our vets even being willing to see a small mammal pet like a rat or rabbit or guinea pig. 😔

Yeah, same. We had a single guinea pig iirc, and then two rabbits. The rabbits' cage was way too small, and I feel so bad thinking about them being crammed in there most of the time :( and we did meticulously read two books about their care, I don't remember their care instructions but we must have followed them and they probably were just insufficient. Those bad memories kept me from wanting to adopt another pet for a long time.

Finally another furry watching Clint's Reptiles lol

@@SonicBoone56 here too.

I’m a little sad to hear that about the diseases. 🥺 I’ve avoided ever getting rats because of their susceptibility to illness and short lifespan…

@@wraith1320 I feel the same way about rats. They are so lovely but sometimes it feels like they’re made of glass. I will say, Guinea pigs live quite a lot longer than rats though. Unless something extreme happens you can almost always expect at least four years out of a Guinea pig. But yeah, most of my Guinea pigs have died at around 6 years old, often from cancer or having to put them down because of some chronic issue, typically dental or recurring infections.

@@victoriap1392 Well, that’s at least quite a bit longer of a life than rats… What can you do to stave off infections or dental issues? Besides the obvious things, like keeping the cage cleaned and using appropriate bedding?

Yeah....I'm bummed they didn't mention how prone to illnesses they are. And how they have a *very* sensitive respiratory tract!

We had 4 guinea pigs and they all got some kind of a respiratory infection. First one started breathing weirdly and it quickly deteriorated. We took her to the vet, got prescribed antidotes, but she didn't make it past that day. Two months later the other 3 started showing similar symptoms and we quickly took them to the vet. They too got prescribed some kind of antidotes for it, but sadly despite the proper medication and care they were not getting better and we ended up putting them down. I honestly do regret that choice .. I feel like I could've saved them somehow, maybe a higher dose of the antidote could have saved them?... idk :(

My rats rarely pooped on me - they were more likely to poop on the ground while exploring. I think they learned that poop/pee getting on me resulted in me putting them back in their cage and going to wash up, so they tried to avoid it.

@@ettinakitten5047 my girl was fastedius too, always cleaning herself whenever I touched her

That's the first I've heard of soap being bad for ratty sinuses. I'm hoping to establish a mischief again soon (I've kept some in the past but didn't do my research properly back then) - would you be able to give a bit more detail about this issue?

@@tabbitee when I got my girl, she'd been kept in cedar chips & it took weeks to figure out that they were causing her constant sneezing. My wife bought only heavily scented soaps at the time, so I avoided using them to protect my rattie girl's sinuses moving forward.

@@michaeljames8329 tysm for the clarification! Can I assume that very mild or unscented soaps (ie simple dishwashing liquid) might be okay for washing hides or toys or such? We used to wash our girls' toys and hides in dishwashing liquid.

You did the best you could with the information you had.

Rats not quite so much, in my experience, because their diet is more varied. Their droppings can attract other rats and their poops are not nearly as nice to encounter in compost. I tried. Rabbits, on the other hand, their poop is fantastic for gardens and composting!

Chickens are the absolute best for this, in part because they can and will happily eat most weeds, including some that cannot be composted, like wandering willy. And you also get eggs, and so long as you don’t have a rooster most areas allow chickens.

And rabbits

And rhesus macaques.

Yes. It was guinea pigs that helped a Hungarian scientist discover vitamin C because like us they need vitamin C in their diet otherwise they get scurvy

This is something that doesn’t get said enough!

Oh no 😂😂

Haha! Did they not know what sex means haha? You need to look at their bits.

@@conlon4332 Yeah they thought long hair = girl T∆T Although I do understand nobody told them what to look for, still if you're not sure, ask.

How did they mow your grass? 😯 That sounds really nice, lol.

Considering how sensitive to heat they are I guess the Australian government isn't too worried about them getting loose and running amok like so many other invasive species there have. Even the cold seasons might be too hot for guinea pigs there.

@@chriswhinery925 lol, not when I live! Average maximum in the hottest 2 months(January and February) here in Tasmania is under 22 degrees Celsius. Part of Canada, Windsor Ontario is closer to the equator than we are! 🤣🇦🇺

@@chriswhinery925 Weather aside, domestic guinea pigs just aren't suited for living wild. Escapees are lucky to last more than a few days.

@@cass7448 True, they are kind of fat and pathetic. Lucky for them they're so cute that humans love them.

Mine escaped when I was cleaning their outdoor hutch and lived in the shade house for 2 years before I could catch the lil buggers again. After the a couple of hours when it became clear I wasn't going to catch them unless they let me or i moved the several hundred pot plants and stress them a lot moved their food and water to where they could access it.

I developed allergies to my rats. I got my first rats at age 15, and by about 24ish, I was so allergic that just being near the rat's cage would give me an asthma attack and when I held her I got hives everywhere she'd touched me. That was my last pet rat, I kept her until the end of her lifespan and didn't get any more. I miss having rats, but they're not good for my health.

​​@@ettinakitten5047 i sorry to hear. Never owned rats myself, but i watched a lot FriendlyRatForcast and they seem like cute lil energetic babies. Was sad to learn that their livespans r SO short compared to, say, guinea pigs.

Get that poor guinea pig a friend. Keeping just one is literal animal cruelty. It may not look like it, but a single g-pig is constantly suffering from loneliness.

@@kennikittyIt depends on the pig, some actually prefer being alone, just like humans we all have our preferences, though as a pet owner it’s their responsibility to find out if their piggy likes company.

@@Corvus_Clemmons Absolutely not. I have to disagree with you on that one very strongly. G-pigs absolutely need a companion. There is no such thing as a guinea pig that prefers to be alone. There's no room for discussion. They suffer alone. They ALWAYS suffer alone. Keeping a single g-pig is animal cruelty. The only thing there is, is very poorly socialized individuals - either because they were separated from adults way too early and were kept in Baby-groups, or we're kept alone from a very young age and never really got the chance to properly learn g-pig behavior. It can be very hard to find a suitable companion for such individuals. It sometimes helps "throwing" them into a large well organized and socialized group... for a crash course so to speak. Sometimes very mellow and soft-spoken individuals make good friends for such poorly socialized piggies, sometimes very dominant boss pigs are better suited to whip them into shape. It's hard to match them, but it's still worth it. Never keep a g-pig alone.

I thought it was a whole guinea, but I think it's true

guinea is a 17th century term that basically means foreign, which is pretty much what peru was to the english

That is a hypothesis for where the name originated, just like many others we don’t know for sure so we can’t say for sure why they are called Guinea pigs.

There are four primary theories behind where the 'guinea' comes from. 1. The were introduced to the American country Guyana and the surrounding Guianas in the 1500s. From there they were exported to Europe, where it've mighted been corrupted from Guyana pig or Guiana pig. 2. They were imported via the African slave trade routes, most commonly passing through the African country Guinea, so they were perceived to come from there. 3. They were worth a guinea (I've never heard half a guinea, only ever one guinea), which is equivalent to US$100 today. 4. The word 'guinea' was old English slang for foreign, thus guinea pig was simply slang for 'foreign pig'. The 'pig' is a little more cut and dry. They squeal and they look like roasted suckling pigs when prepared. This carries through to their gender terms of boar and sow.

That’s just SUCH a downside, though. 🥺 I really wish they lived at least five years, and I’d love to have some… but it just seems too painful to get attached and then only have two years or so. 😢

There are hairless guinea pigs now - sometimes called Skinny Pigs. And hairless rats. Not sure if that would be enough to bypass your allergies, but thought I would mention it just in case😊 I have a feeling it wouldn't help that much - the little scratches from their claws would probably really cause a reaction.

@@scrubjay93 breeding them is illegal in several countries bc breeding a deformed animal on purpose which causes them discomfort (no thermoregulation, high risk of skin injuries, also they lack vibrissae their "whiskers" which normally are very sensitive and aid orientation) falls under animal cruelty laws promoting hairless animals to allergic people is pretty much a scam tbh, most people are mostly allergic to the dandruff, tiny skin particles, obv a naked animal still has skin

what's AMSR?

ooops, ASMR?

@@daisypekin6787 Google it.

@@daisypekin6787 I forget what the letters stand for, but it's a pleasantly tingly feeling or a deeply relaxing one from listening to certain sounds.

I keep wanting to ask this of somebody who uses open-top enclosures: how do you make sure they don’t launch themselves out??? I’ve seen a video of one adult that was startled by a noise, and managed to scramble over the side of a C&C enclosure. It made me feel so uneasy about that…

What do they taste like

They are about the intelligence level of a lot of things we eat on the regular so it does make sense. Certainly less than regular pigs probably...I had cuy once, it was at a special cuy restaurant where they serve them spitted out like regular pigs. It was pretty good, but I'd like to try it as part of another dish. It seems like cuis raised for meat tend to be bigger lol. (I had a cuy as a kid; unfortunately we didn't have the best understanding and I wouldn't call myself the most responsible owner...she ended up having misaligned teeth because she didn't get enough roughage and starved. 😥)

I,v never tried but I wouldn't mind it

As someone whose family is from one of these countries, I do find it hard to see them as pets and not as just food. Same with chickens, some people keep them as pets, or just eggs, but others, well… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, for those asking, they are quite good, I always think it tastes like dark meat poultry.

Worth noting that although the pet breeds are historically a meat animal, modern meat guinea pig breeds can be as much as 2-3 times larger. They are sometimes available in the US as well, but the meat breeds are a lot more skittish and much less docile when handled

Good information and I hope Clint does see it.

Yeah I noticed that a clip from the UKposts channel, The Pig Room was used but not credited. Hope Clint sees this comment you made!

yes, I was curious about veterinary care for guinea pigs. I kept rats for many years and the closest expert rat vet was 2 hours away and 3-3.5 hours in traffic. I wouldn't advise anyone getting a rat without FIRST having lined up an exotics vet nearby.

In my experience, they do tend to have a main corner, but mine also had oops! poops other places in their cage.

try group of 10. It is really cute. But no touching.

No, it is not "Guinea Pig's' " Not close.

In what nation is the plural English of a non-possessive context noun: 's' it looks clunky.😑

No, "Pig's" means belong to Pig. "Pigs" means more than one Pig.

Good idea! I also kept a pair of tiny ornamental chickens in my house at one time.

personally i’ve always thought the best “beginner” pets will always be cats (assuming you’re prepared to care for them for the better part of two decades at least) closely followed by rats. i feel like a lot of people rarely consider the former just bc they’re very misinformed about cat behavior and don’t understand their body language well - most well-socialized cats do amazing with children, esp if the kid knows how to be gentle with them! i’ve even seen cats who generally dislike most people let kids dress them up, carry them around, put them in strollers and play with like a baby doll etc lol it’s cute. they seem to understand human children as being “kittens” and thus treat them as such by being super tolerant of them. and rats are basically tiny dogs behavior wise so they’re very fun to interact with, it’s just a shame they don’t tend to live very long. guinea pigs are a little more complex imo but if you do the research i feel like they’re also probably a pretty good option. the problem w them tho is the poop like it’s soooo much 😭

@@nckojita Yeah Guinea pigs sure sound like a lot of work, and definitely agree with cats They’re very independent but affectionate, and no where near as much work as a dog Another option I feel would be great are betta fish: very easy to house and care for (especially compared to goldfish!), plus they’re beautiful and interactive

Guinea pigs take a fair bit of work and hide illness very well. They're not cheap and they need a good cavy savvy vet. There is no such thing as a 'beginner pet' but there are a lot of very good rescues who can provide excellent advice

@@garg4531 betta fish are definitely a great choice! i usually only recommend them for someone who’s a little older (like 10-12+ at least) just bc fish in general can be a bit complex due to water changes and stuff, you gotta have the right personality for it. even tho they are relatively easy ik for sure i as an adult could never cos i’m just too damn forgetful 😩 i’d probably look up how often water changes are required and do a couple months to a year of a practice run sort of thing just to be sure it’s something you’re able to handle just cos fish can be really hard to rehome if you end up needing to which sucks :(

@@nckojita I suppose that’s true Though I feel any exotic pet can be difficult to house and care for if you aren’t prepared to set up and maintain their enclosure, so it’s important to make sure you’re invested in whatever type of animal you’re going to get and do plenty of research on them

There is a disease called Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease that began to really spread rapidly in 2020 in some US states. Might be worth just reading up on it to see if it is in your area. It has devastated rabbits in some areas.

@@scrubjay93 I dont live in the US but RHD is a thing here too - my rabbits are vaccinated

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Both will hold it and run to their corner as soon as they get back to their cage. Rats I find are more indiscriminate and will only hold things in for 10-15 minutes, but pigs can normally be handled for an hour or so before bodily functions become a problem.

Capybaras are Guinea Bigs lol

I’m really glad you mentioned this… Growing up, my brother bred and showed rabbits. We had a couple of copies of ARBA’s Standard of Perfection, and I used to browse the cavy section in the back. Anytime I saw them in an exhibition setting, they would be right there with the rabbits. I’d never heard anything about it being dangerous to keep them together. 🤷‍♀️