New here and new to guinea pigs

[gmw111]

Hi! I am the mother of two lovely human boys (ages 7 and 3) and we've just welcomed two guinea boys to our home.

The bad: We were uneducated and emotional when we went to the (gasp) pet store last week. We had just finished visiting the humane society and although my boys desperately wanted a dog, I found that even after four years, I'm not ready to "replace" my Bruno- a Bernese Mountain Dog who passed shortly before my youngest son was born. When we saw the cute guinea pigs, I made a poor decision and bought two.

The good: We came to this site and got educated. On Tuesday of last week, I was dumb enough to believe the PetSmart lady who told me they would be fine in a jumbo aquarium. Today, they are housed in their new spacious Midwest Habitat with an attached play yard. Watching them popcorn and squeak has been delightful.

I've been lurking and while I can say this site is intimidating I'm sure that much of the comments come from passionate people who are just tired of fighting ignorance like mine. I probably won't post a ton, but I really appreciate all of the great information. I know that we started our adventure with guinea pigs in a less-than-desirable way, but I must say that they have already worked their way into our hearts and we can't imagine it any other way. So it's sort of hard to regret it- even if I understand we could have made better choices.

Thanks!

Gina- mommy to Charlie and Henry and our piggies whose names have been changed at least ten times this week. For now we'll call them Brownie and Binny Kid Avalanche Pee-Pee (name suggested by my 3 year old).

[bpatters]

Welcome to the forum! The best advice I can give you is to double check and make sure they're they're the same gender -- the big pet stores are notorious for mis-sexing them. See Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig if you need some help.

[Wildcavy]

I love the names! One of our pigs is Joy Maria Burrito Lopez, named by committee (i.e., kids and us), but we call her Jumble. I would love to see pictures!

[gmw111]

I *adore* committee names! I will try and get some pictures up soon. Thanks!

And thank you for the tip regarding sexing them. Last Friday, I noticed one of them had a *very* crusty eye. PetSmart was willing to take him and treat him for free- as long as I left him there for two weeks. That seemed ridiculous when they were finally getting settled in- so I found a vet. Best $60 spent. Since I was headed in anyway- I took both and had them checked out. She verified that they were same sex. Whew!

[Piggie Mom]

Welcome. Many people here have made the same mistake, myself included, but have since adopted rescues or pigs that needed new homes. Since you got them at the pet store I thought I would mention, piggies can't eat pig food with seeds, just regular timothy hay pellets for guineas and tons of hay is great! Also, yummy veggies. I say that because they tried to get me to buy the food with seeds saying that was best for them. Thankfully I knew better.

BPatters has a good point, check their gender. I recommend taking them to a cavy savvy vet for a check up. When I got my two girls I had them less than 48hrs when one suddenly died. The other had to go to the vet because she was pretty sick. Neither had symptoms. Guinea pigs are good at hiding when they are sick, so I would invest in a grams kitchen scale. Weigh them once a week, I believe if they lose more than 3oz they need to see a vet, someone correct me if I am wrong. That was recommended here and at their vet.

Hope that wasn't too much or confusing. Again, welcome and congrats on your new piggies.

[Piggie Mom]

Oops, you posted that you already took them to the vet while I was typing. Sorry about that. LOL!

[gmw111]

Thanks for the welcome and the weight tip! I have a grams scale already (bought it with a vague notion I'd diet someday, hah!) and will use it for the piggies. The vet gave me several good tips, including the food one, but didn't mention weighing them. I'll add that to our weekend routine.

[Gigabyte]

I've made the same mistakes, dear! Don't worry. Also, if you're not ready for another animal as a long-term commitment - think about fostering because it saves lives. Just a thought.
I hope you find all the info you need and don't be afraid to ask questions! No questions are stupid, unless you don't ask them!
@bpatters and @Paula are great gurus! So if they answer any of your questions, they're most likely right.
Also, don't forget to find a great exotics vet in your area and ask if they are a lot of experience with piggies! Then find an ER clinic just in case, because guinea pigs get sick at the least convenient times! Also, I urge you to see the nutrition forum and see the charts and check if you are feeding recommended foods.

Welcome to Guinea Pig Cages!

[BrowniesMemory]

Welcome! My first guinea pig actually ended up with the name Brownie, she had been a pet store piggie too, so I have no room to talk. It's sad just how many people tell you to put them in an aquarium, I've had friends ask why I didn't just put my two boys in the 26 gal aquarium that I have...and it gets old.

I only really have one thing to add; plenty of floor time in a safe area. Even though my boys have a big cage, I'm still trying to hurry and clean up my room so they can have a better floor time area.

Again, welcome to the forums and I can't wait to see pictures of your new piggies.

[gmw111]

Thanks again! So many great tips! I appreciate it.

[englishdaffodil]

For now we'll call them Brownie and Binny Kid Avalanche Pee-Pee (name suggested by my 3 year old).

Hahahahahaha...ohhh, great names! Your (human) kids must be great characters. Welcome to the crazy world of pig-ownership!

[pinky]

Welcome! Check out the diet and nutrition charts for a lot of really valuable info. It's a wonderful site to get your questions answered and learn more about these great little creatures.