NEW here...Lots of Questions about my new guinea pigs....Want to do best I can!

[Cherrish23]

My daughter(almost 9) recently lost a male guinea pig that we all adored.
His name was Brownie, and he was a sweet, loving pet. We always took good care of him but we did not have any luck on getting him to chew and his teeth overgrew. After taking him to the vet for not eating and a runny eye, the vet decided to put him under so they could file his overgrown teeth down. He passed away shortly after he came home from surgery He was almost 3 years old....
About a month later we decided to get 2 guinea pigs, both male from the same litter. So far, so good. One has assumed dominancy and they seem to like their new home.
I have several questions....what kind of bedding is best? We are using Aspen right now but I am pondering using fleece. Can you use regular fleece fabric? I have a ton as I am a seamstress so I was just curious if it could be any old fleece. Also...for the C&C cages, how easy it to make and how expensive? Currently, they have a 17" by 40" cage with a platform....

I also bought them some chewing toys but so far it doesn't look like they have chewed them. I do NOT want the same thing to happen to them as Brownie. My daughter was heartbroken as was I to lose him.
Thanks for any ideas, and info
Oh, btw, we have had our new guinea pigs, Stitch and Oreo for four days now.

[Xeygwyn]

Welcome to the forum! I am bouncing around at the moment so I am just going to drop some short information - though I know many people will likely come and give you much more in-depth and useful advice.

C&C cages are cheap and easy to make. You can usually get the grids from your local Wal-Mart for about 17-20 bucks, and there are a LOT in one box. Don't use grids where the inner-square measurements are greater than 1.5 inches. If your boys are still little, you may need to "baby-proof" to keep them from getting their heads stuck. This is done by overlapping grids. Coroplast can be found at local sign shops, though call and ask around about pricing. Don't pay more than $20 for an 8'x4' sheet is my own opinion.

As far as chewing, your piggies don't need toys to keep their teeth worn down. They need an unlimited supply of timothy or other long-strand hay. Usually a problem with the teeth starts with the molars, which can affect a lot of your piggy's health. The hay will keep the molars worn down and is wonderful for the digestive system.

Also, piggies should get a cup of fresh veggies every day. Fruits are more of a treat.

Fleece is a personal favorite of mine. Some like aspen more, some fleece. I use U-haul padding under the fleece to absorb urine etc. I have used all kinds of fleece - anti-pill, blizzard, etc. for my bedding. If you search for making fleece cage liners, you'll find some great ideas.

Sorry so jumpy, got a 2 year-old to chase and piggies to feed! Make sure to post pigtures of your little boys!

[Momma2000]

Unlimited grass hay, not alfalfa hay, will help keep the teeth wore down. Also the C&C cage will cost around 30-40 to make. If you need a cover due to other animals, it could add an additional 20-40 if you use closet shelving.

Good luck with your boys!

[CavyMama]

We always took good care of him but we did not have any luck on getting him to chew and his teeth overgrew.

Some pigs will chew on toys but what they need more than anything is unlimited access to hay. Hay works to keep their teeth worn down. It also keeps their digestive tract moving.

If your new pigs are younger than 6 mths old, supplement their timothy pellet diet with some alfalfa hay. If they are 6 mths or older, use timothy hay with their diet.

Hay is the #1 most important part of their diet for the reasons I mentioned above.

About a month later we decided to get 2 guinea pigs, both male from the same litter.

If you got them from a pet store, I would check to be very sure they were both male. Petstores are notorious for missexing their pigs. Even if they say they only sell one sex, they are often incorrect resulting in many people ending up taking home pregnant pigs or taking home what they think are two males or two females with one ending up becoming pregnant.

I have several questions....what kind of bedding is best?

It depends on who you ask and what your situation calls for. Loose bedding like Carefresh or aspen is fine. They work well and keep the smell down. Carefresh can be expensive and it's not always as "dust-free" as they claim but it works well. Aspen is less expensive than Carefresh and also works but can become heavy when wet.

It's also something that becomes a regular expense in that you have to keep buying more.

Fleece is great as well and the only cost involved is initially when you buy the fleece to use. It does increase the laundry loads you do each week but I think it's worth it to not have to buy more every week.

We are using Aspen right now but I am pondering using fleece. Can you use regular fleece fabric? I have a ton as I am a seamstress so I was just curious if it could be any old fleece.

Here is some information about using fleece. It gives you info about fleece in general but also how to prepare it for initial use. http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ect-study.html

Also...for the C&C cages, how easy it to make and how expensive? Currently, they have a 17" by 40" cage with a platform....

C&C cages are really easy to make. If you have a store like Bed, Bath & Beyond, they sell boxes of the organization cubes. The boxes of grids are about $18.

The grids come with connectors. Obviously, the connectors are to connect the grids together to form the walls of the C&C cage. Alternately, you can ziptie the grids together but I personally find that the cage ends up not being as stable this way and because there is no space between the grids like there is with the connectors, it throws the dimensions for the coroplast off.

Other than grids, you need coroplast. You can get this any just about any sign store. It is sold in sheets, you just have to give them the dimensions. They might even cut and score it for you.

Aside from coroplast, you can also use a shower curtain, clipped to the grids..

I also bought them some chewing toys but so far it doesn't look like they have chewed them. I do NOT want the same thing to happen to them as Brownie. My daughter was heartbroken as was I to lose him.

They might never use the chewing toys. Hay is what is needed to keep their teeth worn down.

[cross]

i saw their pics they are adorable

[Cherrish23]

Thanks so much! I do have pics of them, and will probaly be getting the C&C cages with fleece in the next couple of months, as they get a tad bigger Thank you for the info on Timothy hay, I did not know that. I gave my old guinea pig hay only once per week. Maybe that was the issue...

Thanks again, I have a 18 month old as well...I understand the chasing.

[mufasa]

Welcome! Love the names (I have a cat named Stitch).

I'm so glad you found this website so you could learn about grass hay. Many people don;t realize it's critical for dental health, and petstore personnel are usually woefully uninformed.

Since you have two boars, the current cage might cause problems in adolescence since it's too small. It's a good thing you're going to build a C&C because more space means more likelihood that they'll continue to get along.

Have you read about the more unpleasant aspects of boar care here yet? They need to be cleaned in their "private" areas, unlike sows.

[Cherrish23]

Thanks to all for the info...I am learning a lot!
I can't wait to switch to a C&C cage! I also have a pitbull rescue who is NOT animal friendly so we keep the babies in my daughter's room, on a shelf. So I am wondering if a C&C cage is easily raised off floor level....just in case...we would not want anything to happen to them.
*My dog never messed with the other pig we had...but she does seem jealous over the extra attention. We always get them out in her room with the door shut, too...unless the dog is outside, and we will take them in the living room to run*

[Cherrish23]

wow, no...I had not read that. How often should they be cleaned?
Also, a sidenote....my submissive male, Oreo got peed on by Stitch and now has a knot in his fur I was trying to wipe it down and brush it but he seemed like it hurt him...any ideas on how to remove it without causing too much pain?
Thanks for the compliment on the names...my daughter LOVES Stitch and we are Disney freaks...haha

[mufasa]

Here's a good page on male piggy maintenance, as well as a problem that can arise when they get older:
http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html

We're Disney freaks, too, as you might have guessed by the cat name and our piggy Mufasa (sadly, the little guy is over the Rainbow Bridge). I also have a horse named Figment and live close enough to Disney World to hear the Illuminations fireworks every night : )

[NarwhalsRock]

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of Brownie! If you provide good quality grass hay, this helps quite a bit with teeth being ground down.

Any old fleece will do. Just wash with vinegar at least once a week, and spot clean about twice a day, and you're all set to go!

[Cherrish23]

Thanks again...and lucky you, Mufasa We live in Delaware, a 2 hour plane ride from Orlando...we went to DisneyWorld in April, going again this year.....
How much vinegar to put in wash??

[bpatters]

@Cherrish23 , that's not pee you're trying to get out of Oreo's fur, that's boar glue -- put there by Stitch in an amorous moment. Or, if it's on Oreo's face, possibly he did it himself. The best thing to do is to let the hair grow a bit and then cut it out -- it hardens into something that could be used as construction adhesive.

[Cherrish23]

Ok, I had no idea that two males could do that?? You mean semen, right? I am a little bit disturbed haha...

[bpatters]

Don't be disturbed. It's perfectly normal. As you can tell, no penetration occurs, and any part of the receiving pig's body is fair game.

[Cherrish23]

LOL...ok...my husband had said that and made a joke about it but I didn't think that actually happens. Is that part of the dominancy role assessment so to speak or just normal behavior? Poor Oreo. Haha.

[bpatters]

Both. Just keep a sharp pair of scissors around.

[ThePigAlchemist]

You can either get a table to put the C+C on, or you can build a stand out of grids for it if you want to raise it off the ground. I keep mine on the floor but I know a lot of people have them off the ground.

[mufasa]

Thanks a lot, everyone. Now I have that scene from "There's Something About Mary" stuck in my mind.

[leopardjunkie]

hi, still working on an introduction myself, but if you don"t have the space or shelf etc to raise your C & C off the ground, consider a metal walk through baby gate ( i like the tall ones) they run about $70 -$80 new and anywhere from $12 -#30 seccond hand, i check kids thrifts stores for stuff all the time. My favorite are kid play yards that fold up for piggy play areas, baby gates to keep dogs out and water proof bed mattress protectors for under my fleece (they are semi absorbant, water proof and easy to wash. Also you can find used but clean chinese prefold colth diapers at some which are also great under fleece!!

I would still shut the door when using the gate when she takes the pigs out cause if you dog is a jumper or plows through with determination you have extra time to react But I like the extra security of the gate. I have two American bulldogs and volunteer with a pitbull resscue so I understand where you are comming from. I also bought some metal shelfs from Homedepot and cut them to fit my c & C.

as for vinegar generally you can add it to your softener tray for laundry or a downy ball. If it is heavily soiled you can add in more to the water. The smell of vinegar will be gone by the time it is dry for wicking mositure on fleece soap build up is your enemy