This wheek the very lovely Calista went to be a Star on Planet Guinea. Calista was 5 and had been gifted to Planet guinea as part of the Satin Study (to establish whether or not Osteodystrophy is present in UK guineas), Calista’s breeder kept impeccable records and we could see if OD was likely to happen. Because such care had been taken when selecting Calista’s line it was thought that there was unlikely to be any OD in it, her ancestors had shown no signs (though OD can be carried) and her breeder was also the owner of several generations of pigs before her.
Calista never showed any signs of OD, she did have some tooth root problems which she overcame. She had an horrific abscess and I was all for giving her every treatment available, however Jenny (our vet) calmly suggested we try the least invasive form of treatment first- antibiotics and flushing and go from there. Calista’s Incisors turned brown for nearly a year but they came back white and strong much to my suprise and she had no trouble after that.
Calista went to Piggy PMs where she was a ‘guinea pig’ in the Vet Room, she helped in the demonstration on syringe feeding and giving tablets etc. Her quiet and calm manner made the vets and nurses look quite professional!
At home Calista was a ‘nursey pig’, she snuggled up to the lovely Angel when she got older and washed her eyes for her 
. A very quiet and unassuming little girl but always standing her ground. I will always remember Calista for the way she snatched up food and held her head high before trotting off to some far corner to eat it, away from anyone else
Calista is the Cinnamon Agouti Shiny Star on Planet Guinea, a chocolate grey but subtly shiny star that hangs round in the foreground, unassuming but unmissable
Karen (who can’t believe how quickly the last 3 years have gone)…
