Bringing home Baby

[Piggie Queen]

Hi everyone. I'm about to be bringing home my first piggy (or maybe piggies) in a few weeks and could use some advice. I have been on this site for several months now absorbing every bit of information I can find, but I do have a few questions.

Here's my situation. A good friend of mine ended up with a pregnant guinea pig and she just had 2 babies about 4 days ago. As of yet, the sex has not been determined. If they are same sex, I will be taking them both. If there is one of each, I will take the male and he will keep the female with mom and I will adopt a male from elsewhere to keep mine company. My question is this: I am planning on eventually having them on fleece with Aspen in a "kitchen" area for them, but would it be a better idea while they're still very young to have them on all aspen? It seems to me that, until they get the hang of where the potty spot is, it will be easier to keep up with cage maintenance. Also, I prefer not to order food online as I live in an apartment complex and don't want it sitting on my patio for the stray cats to get into, so would it be an awful decision to feed them Oxbow Cavy Cuisine since that's all my local pet store sells? I really want to do the best for my little ones, so any advice or helpful tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Also, because I'm sure someone will ask, I am not going to be building a C&C cage, but rather will be ordering one from Midwest

[Skeetersmom]

My guinea pigs were young when I got them a couple months ago. I use fleece and just put a litter box under the hay rack. They do most of the peeing in the litter box and I sweep the cage daily to pick up the excess poops and hay.

As for the cage, I have that cage and I like it because I didn't have to make it, but ended up buying a 2x4 cage from C&C. It is much sturdier and I can move it if I have to. The Midwest cage is very flimsy and doesn't have a solid bottom. The canvas/vinyl bottom is nice though. I washed and dried it a couple times and it was great! I would not recommend it to anyone but it isn't that bad. I would go for the cage with a lid though, it makes it a litter more sturdy when the lid is on. I have dogs that would fly into the house and then end up knocking into the cage so it made me a little nervous.

I don't know about Cavy Cuisine. My local store sells the baby Oxbow food so that is what I bought. Maybe they can get it for you.

Good Luck!

[Deb's4Pigs]

Oxbow Cavy Cuisine is the good food. It's what I feed.

[Res Judicata]

Pigs are not big on bathroom corners. Or at least I have never had a pig who is. From my observations, they tend to find themselves a place against the wall to urinate. So you might want to reinforce those areas, bedding-wise. I use fleece, so that is where I put the thickest towels before laying down my fleece. Poop is all over the cage, because although they tend to poop mostly in a few places, they end up scattering it as they move about the cage.

[fieryone]

I have read here that it's acceptable to feed timothy pellets and supplement with alfalfa hay.

When my pigs were under 6 months I fed the Cavy Cuisine and supplemented with alfalfa hay and higher calcium veggies. I know you can do one or the other and don't have to do both, but I would give less alfalfa on days that they had more kale, parsley, etc and vice versa.

[EvanInEyePatch]

I say go with the shavings all around. My pigs got a nasty case of mites as a resault of the fleece.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Guinea pigs cannot catch mites from fleece. You are more likely to catch an infestation from wood shavings or hay if it has been contaminated.


To OP - I'd still expect the pigs to pee and poop on the fleece. You can't really potty train them.

[ferndalezoo]

Evanineyepatch-- pigs can't catch mites from fleece. Mites are a microscopic parasite that needs a host to live on. The eggs can be found in infested bedding (wood shavings are one such culprit). If there were mite eggs in your fleece, your pigs already had them to begin with.

[akstrohm]

Yes, Cavy Cuisine is totally fine as long as you add some alfalfa hay or veggies rich in calcium.

I would just start with the fleece. Figure out what spot they use the most and put the litter box there.

That cage is okay for space, but C&C cages are cheaper and customizable. If you're concerned about finding materials or being able to build it, just ask. But the most important thing is providing enough space, so as long as you can do that, a non-C&C cage is fine.

[pigsforlife]

All my pigs (even as bubs) have been on Cavy Cusine as it is all I can get. I didn't bother with the alfalfa hay either. I just added in extra veggies that were high in calcium. Carrot is a good example but check out some of the stickies in the nutrition thread for more ideas.

Fleece is brilliant. I love it. I also love my kitchen area and I highly suggest you include one in your cage. Basically, it is a corflute/coroplast pan that slides into one end of the cage (mine is 1x2 grids). The main area has fleece and the kitchen area has kitty litter. In the kitchen area I include; hay rack, pellet bowl/s, water bottle. The pigs spend so much time in here, that it keeps a lot of mess off the fleece and lengthens the time in between cleans. I just spot clean the kitchen area daily.

[akstrohm]

Carrots are actually very low in calcium. They shouldn't be fed in large amounts either. Take a look at the nutrition charts to find veggies that are higher in calcium and low in sugar.

[blessedbeingmom]

Fleece is brilliant. I love it. I also love my kitchen area and I highly suggest you include one in your cage. Basically, it is a corflute/coroplast pan that slides into one end of the cage (mine is 1x2 grids). The main area has fleece and the kitchen area has kitty litter. In the kitchen area I include; hay rack, pellet bowl/s, water bottle. The pigs spend so much time in here, that it keeps a lot of mess off the fleece and lengthens the time in between cleans. I just spot clean the kitchen area daily.

What kind of kitty litter are you using? I thought I read here that kitty litter wasn't recommended to use with piggies?

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ty-litter.html

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/371471-post5.html

[rabbitsncavyluv]

If you order things online, they are usually sealed and boxed up. A stray cat couldn't do any damage I think unless they know how to unpack boxes and open the plastic bags.

[pigsforlife]

This kitty litter is made 100% with recycled paper products. It is not clay based and does not clump. It is not the type with crystals either. When wet it does not go to powder so does not cause respiratory issues.

This is a quote from Ly on that same page;

Recycled newspaper products are good to use if you use fleece

Which is exactly what this product is.

[blessedbeingmom]

This kitty litter is made 100% with recycled paper products. It is not clay based and does not clump. It is not the type with crystals either. When wet it does not go to powder so does not cause respiratory issues.

This is a quote from Ly on that same page;

Which is exactly what this product is.

Thanks for clearing that up. I just didn't want to cause confusion for anyone else who read that and didn't realize you weren't just talking about plain kitty litter.

[pigsforlife]

Not a problem. You do have to be careful when going down the road of kitty litters. Wouldn't want anything harmful for them! I have found that the litter stays in their kitchen areas better and is less likely to get kicked out onto the fleece and stick to the fleece.