autumn grace

Earlier this month, I said goodbye to Marshmallow, who was one of my first guinea pigs (along with Peanut), that I brought home with me in 2020. I had known this time was coming for months, and I’ve made peace with the fact that it was her time, but it’s still so sad. It feels like the end of an era, in a way.

Marshmallow had been struggling with breathing issues for almost 10 months now, she’s had a reduced lung capacity due to what we thought was an abcess near her heart. Over her last week, she’d had a significant decline in appetite, movement, activity and overall quality of life. Her breathing was getting more labored.

We did another X-ray and found that she had a significantly sized tumor that left her with very limited lung space. She was struggling to catch her breath, and she was possibly also swallowing air in an attempt to do so. I knew the time was close, so I took her home for a few final days with lots of pain meds and a nebulizer mix to keep her as comfortable as possible.

On her last night she enjoyed her final veggies, eating a pepper for the first time in a week. Her body had begun to shake when she moved, and she was really weak. This morning, I said goodbye. All of the herd was there to say goodbye as well.

I’m glad that I hadn’t waited, or prolonged her pain. There’s a sort of peace in knowing she’s had a long, fulfilling life, with a peaceful end and not a painful one.

I’ve had Marshmallow since she was barely a month or two old. She’s always been sassy, and yes, she has bit me and multiple others 😆 but at the same time she was sweet, outgoing, and enjoyed chin scratches and head pets.

It’s hard to believe that she’s gone, it’s been so consistent in my last five years of having guinea pigs that she was always there. But it was time, and I feel glad to given her a happy life surrounded by her herd.

Rest in peace, baby Marshmallow 🥹❤️🌈

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1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 630

autumn grace

did someone say crossover episode? 👀

1 month ago | [YT] | 27

autumn grace

Hi everyone, I have some sad news to share. I came home Saturday to find that Koda had passed away sometime in the five hours I had been gone. I have no idea why. He had been eating, greeting me, taking his meds, and acting like his usual self. I simply do not understand what happened 😭😭

I had recently begun the process of bonding Koda & Luna to Teddy, but had taken a break for a bit because Luna and Teddy were not getting along well. And now this…and Luna is alone again.

I honestly have hardly processed this and I’m in shock. Koda has struggled with health issues since I adopted him, with malocclusion with his teeth and issues keeping weight on because of that. But it doesn’t make sense to me why that would cause him to pass so suddenly. I’ve decided to do a necropsy because I just need to know what happened to him.

I’ve received preliminary results for the necropsy, and it turns out he had an ear infection that was too deep in his ear to be felt on a physical exam. It’s possible that this ear infection spread into his brain, but we won’t know for sure until they finish further testing.

Koda was the best match for Luna I could have ever asked for. They were a love at first sight bond and were grooming within hours. He loved her so much, and while I cannot believe he’s gone after so few years, I’m glad he never had to be without her.

He was such a sweet boy, affectionate and active and playful like a puppy. I’ll miss him so so much and I just can’t believe this.

Rest in peace my sweet baby Koda, you were gone too soon. 🩷🌈

5 months ago | [YT] | 470

autumn grace

well...this happened 😭

8 months ago | [YT] | 19

autumn grace

meet my eight guinea pigs! <3

10 months ago | [YT] | 45

autumn grace

Y'all know I'm big on financial transparency, so here is my pet spending recap for 2024. More details on the breakdown below ⬇

This is for my exotics, over the course of this year I had nine guinea pigs, two rabbits, and a hedgehog.

I've included slides comparing my total spending and vet spending to previous years, it's only slightly up from 2023 so I'm feeling very good about that.

This past year was the first year I used pet insurance, and I had five of my exotics insured under nationwide. (Two rabbits, two guinea pigs, and my hedgehog.) At the end of the year, using insurance saved me $1,555.09

However, all my insurance rates are increasing for 2025, so I'm a little nervous as to whether I'll continue to save money with it this year. Before I found out my rates were increasing, I had planned to insure more of my pets, but now I'm just not sure it's sustainable as the monthly cost would be quite high.

So, is the insurance worth it? For this past year, definitely. Even though it didn't cover previous existing conditions (arthritis, Koda's teeth issues, Luna's EC, etc.) it still saved me money.

If you only have a few pets I'd say insurance is worth it. For me it's a gamble on who to insure because I never know who will end up getting sick or having chronic issues down the line.

Let me know what you think of this breakdown and if you have any questions!!

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 84

autumn grace

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! If you haven’t seen it yet, I decorated my pig cages a few days ago 🎄🩷

1 year ago | [YT] | 34

autumn grace

Hey y’all! I really want to do a Christmas guinea pig cage video for you…but I’ve been sick this week and lost my voice 😫

How do we feel about a more asmr/music decorating video?

1 year ago | [YT] | 39

autumn grace

pet parent spotify wrapped...

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1 year ago | [YT] | 79

autumn grace

IT’S FINALLY HERE! My guinea pig room makeover for 2024! 🎉💕 Hope you all enjoy and let me know your thoughts on the new room ☺️☺️

1 year ago | [YT] | 21