Hey - new member, new piggie owner

[Cholland]

Hiya. so Im a brand new guinea pig owner, I have 2 girls, both around 1 year old. Misty and Caramel. They were both rescued by a friend, from neglecting owners, and so were in b8ad shape (and pregnant!!!) when she found them. They both sadly gave birth to still litters, but they are good friends and are much healthier now! I have never had Piggies before, so I'm going off advice from my friend, reading online and my local pet shop advice. Though after reading online and hearing mixed reviews, I want all the oppinions I can get to make sure my Piggies are well looked after XD so .. nice to be here.

[bpatters]

Welcome! Thanks for taking in those piggies.

I do have to offer one piece of advice -- pet stores are NOT good sources of information for pig care. They're in the business of making money, and will sell you all sorts of things that are not needed for your pig, or even good for them. You're doing the right thing by looking online.

Start with the Home page of this site for information on cages and how much room is needed for pigs. Look through the photo galleries for suggestions about almost everything. Here's a good place for information on veggies, how much they can have and how often: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html.

They need long strand grass all the time. You can find it at pet stores, but that's the most expensive way to buy it. Read around and you'll find a good bit of information about hay sources here.

[NarwhalsRock]

Welcome! Here, we are very helpful and if you have any questions, just let us know! Have you looked into C&C cages, yet? Those are cheaper than a "large" store bought cage, and can be as big as you want. How are they, so far? Are they settling in well? Good luck!

[Zuidy]

Welcome to the forums! And this forum is the best for information regarding housing for your Piggies. You will find knowledgeable members and friendly at that.

[Cholland]

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a quick reply. Thank you. They're doing well so far, theyre constantly chatting to eachother, and running around after one another, so I think they're ok. I have had them for one day now haha so not very long. I realised that my pet shop advice was pretty crap when I began researching online.. and also, I believe my cage is not good enough for them, so I will have to invest in something better. I have looked at the C & C cages, they look fab and will be what I most likely invest in asap. at the moment theyre in a shop baught indoor cage, its about 1 meter by 60cm and 60cm high.. but luckily I only work part time, so I'm home a lot of the time.. today they spent most of their time out of the cage anyway so they could settle into my house and get used to me. Its so nice to know that people are about to offer advice. Thanks also for the link Ill look into it all in more detail.

One Question I wanted to ask was about the flooring for the cages. I have softwood bedding, and have layed it out across the entire cage floor.. they have a litter tray in the corner also and a hay rack.. but so far I have seen images and videos of Guinea pig care, and most owners have lined the cage with towling and felt type materials, only using the bedding for the litter tray, any advice on this would be greatly apriciated Thanks.

[Greenbean]

I haven't been a piggy owner that long, but I do believe that piggies are lactose intolerant.
Yogurt drops, donut treats, or anything like that is not good for pigs. It contains loads of sugar and calories.

I would recommend veggies treats. :P

And that's really all that I know. Other than the basics. :3

[Cholland]

thanks. yea I have got a list of what fruit and veg are ok for them and high in Vitimin C.. and it gives ideas of how much and how often. I'm making a rota so I know they get the right amounts and a good variety so they don't get bored XD Thanks

[Owned by cavy]

One Question I wanted to ask was about the flooring for the cages. I have softwood bedding, and have layed it out across the entire cage floor.. they have a litter tray in the corner also and a hay rack.. but so far I have seen images and videos of Guinea pig care, and most owners have lined the cage with towling and felt type materials, only using the bedding for the litter tray, any advice on this would be greatly apriciated Thanks.

Hi there! Welcome to the forum! This place is full of information that you can use to make your piggies a wonderful beautiful life. First off, thank you for taking in two piggies that needed it and for being concerned about their well being. Good for you!

The bedding that you're asking about is fleece. This is how it works. Fleece is the top layer of the bedding that you see in the cages. Fleece works as a great bedding, because when the piggies pee, it soaks through to the bottom layer, leaving the fleece dry for them to run on. The bottom layer can be towels, or Uhaul blankets, or anything absorbent. Then, once a day (or more if you have a smaller cage) you can use a little broom and dustpan to sweep up the poos. Then you can dump them in the trash and it's like having a brand new clean cage.
You change the fleece and towels out a couple times a week, or once a week or whatever you need, throw it in the washer with detergent and white vinegar and presto! it comes out fresh and clean with no smell.

You can either make your own, or you can buy them online. I prefer to make my own with fleece that I buy from the store and Uhaul blankets that are sewn together (the blankets that I buy are from the Uhaul store online) but there are several websites that sell custom made liners for cages as well. A great one is www.piggiebedspreads.com, this site also has great instructions on washing, care and all that. There is another place you can look up, called Jenn's Custom Crafts, that sells online as well.

I hope this helps and just a word of warning, not everyone likes the fleece. I've heard a lot of people say that it smells. I don't think it does at all, and I've had friends and family over that didn't even know the guinea pigs were in the living room, because there is no smell. Just follow the directions on the piggie bed spread site and it'll work out perfect. Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[Cholland]

Oh brill! I have a large fleece blanket.. its just fleece so would it work?
I will need to get 2 sets of it then so I can keep it nicely clean. Thanks so much for that, makes complete sense now and I know exactly what to do. My piggies should be Ok tomorrow with the softwood, and I can get all the bits and bobs on Monday for them. Thanks also for the links, Ill take a look now

[Kota12]

Welcome to the forum!

[Owned by cavy]

Oh brill! I have a large fleece blanket.. its just fleece so would it work?
I will need to get 2 sets of it then so I can keep it nicely clean. Thanks so much for that, makes complete sense now and I know exactly what to do. My piggies should be Ok tomorrow with the softwood, and I can get all the bits and bobs on Monday for them. Thanks also for the links, Ill take a look now

No problem! Yes, just fleece blankets will work fine. Just make sure that you wash it with JUST detergent and white vinegar before you put it in the cage. Any kind of fabric softner or dryer sheets will put an invisible layer on the material to make it softer and it will prevent the urine from soaking through to the layer underneath. If you use fabric softner, the urine will pool on top and smell!

One more piece of advice. Don't use extra detergent on it to get it SUPER clean. You will end up with leftover detergent still in the fabric and the urine will bind with that and make it smell much worse than when you started. If you need to, after washing, you can run just a rinse cycle with 1 cup, about 8 oz of white vinegar. The vinegar will rinse right out and it will take all the soap and smell with it.

White vinegar might smell a bit on its own. It doesn't smell horrible, but it is something that you will notice when you first pull it out of the wash. If it bothers you, you can line dry your fleece or at least hang it outside for an hour or two.

I hope all this helps! Good luck!

[Cholland]

Thanks so much for your advice, its greatly appreciated!

[Owned by cavy]

No problem! Good luck!