hi all!

[nysheikaj]

just a friendly message from me to say hello for the first time! i had visited in the past, but i finally made up my mind to officially join the fun. feel free to email me to chat or give me advise. Geronimo is my very first piggy and i want to take wonderful care of him. thanks for any incoming help!

[guineapiglvr14]

Welcome to the boards!
Guinea pigs are very social animals and should be kept in pairs or more. Look at your local shelters for another guinea pig or go on http://petfinder.com
What kind of cage do you have?
What are you feeding Geronimo?

[VoodooJoint]

Welcome to the forums.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Cute picture of Geronimo in the sink!

[JennG]

Welcome to the forum. It's a great place to learn and share your experiences.

[fourbwabbys]

Welcome to the forum! You'll love it here.

[nysheikaj]

Wow! Thanks to all of you guys for the responses! It seems that I will enjoy it here, especially with friendly folk like you all! I'm feeding Geronimo a pellet mix called Nutriphase Gold. He lives in a cage that I built according to the directions on this very site. It's very spacey and he enjoys being able to move around from what I can tell. If I can figure out how, I'll show you guys a picture of his cage before he moved in. Write back, I really enjoy this!

[Cavyslavesteph]

Awesome job on your pig's cage. You are really doing right by him by letting him live in a C&C cage. I had my girls in a petstore cage at first, and wow, what a difference.

As far as Geronimo's food, your best bet is a plain pellet (avoid mixes with colored bits and seeds). The best pellets on the market are from Oxbow (Cavy cuisine for healthy pigs over a year or Cavy performance for pregnant/lactating pigs, sick pigs, or pigs under a year). Oxbow distributes to many stores throughout the country (try to find one that doesn't sell animals) or you can order online - www.oxbowhay.com. Another pellet choice is from KM's Hayloft. Her pellets are only available online, but I've heard if you don't mind the shipping costs, they are great. You can order them at www.kmshayloft.com. If you can not find either of the other two, Mazuri is also an option. Just make sure it is the plain pellet (Mazuri makes a mix as well).

Also, after a time, you may want to think about getting Geronimo a friend (another male or spayed female). Don't rush into this. Definately take some time to get to know Geronimo first before getting a second pig.

Other than that, welcome! It sounds like Geronimo is lucky to be your piggy. We love hearing about piggies, so keep us updated. And definately post some pigtures. We would love to see him and his wonderful cage.

[nysheikaj]

I actually have thought about getting Geronimo some company. I'm still trying to convince my husband. He says since I'm home with Geronimo all day, I AM his company! (Which is true, but that's beside the point!) Thanks for the feeding tips, but why do you suggest getting food from a place that doesn't sell animals? Here's a link to some "pigtures" I've posted on yahoo. See my profile here on cavycages too! Enjoy and write back. http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/nysheikaj...=/81af&.src=ph

[Cavyslavesteph]

Wow, he is so cute, and what a great cage. He must be pretty young. How old is he? It's not going to hurt to wait to get Geronimo a friend for now. It's definately more important that you and your husband both agree on another first.

As far as the food, petstores that sell animals actually don't make a lot of money on selling the animals themselves. They make their largest profits on the supplies for animals. Here, we encourage people not to shop at stores that sell animals because buying anything from them increases their profit margin and tells them you are okay with what they do (breeding and selling animals, for starters). By buying your products (and not just food, but toys, bedding, shampoo, etc.) either online or from stores that do not sell animals, you are providing the best for your piggy and not adding to the problems petstores create. I see you are in Dallas now. I'm about as far away from there as possible, but maybe another member closer to you can let you know of places nearby that sell only animal products. Actually, I think the mod Susan9608 is from Dallas. She may have some advice about places you can go.

I hope this isn't too much to take in all at once. Once I start writing I can keep going. Keep Geronimo happy, and us updated, and don't hesitate to ask anything.

[C&K]

[FONT=Arial]Nutriphase Gold has a preservative in it called Ethoxyquin, it is carcinogenic in nature, almost no human products are allowed to use Ethoxyquin because of this. Paprika is one rare exception, but no human is going to consume very much Paprika in their lifetimes.

A lot of small animal foods have this chemical in it, very nasty stuff. Most guinea pig foods PetnotsoSmart sells have it in them. (Kaytee is another example) I would highly suggest you look into a timothy based pellet once your guys are 6 to 12 months old, as alfalfa pellets can make them fat, and the calcium can give them stones.

Also, you don't want to feed a mixed pellet like Nutriphase Gold, because the seeds are very fattening, and they can choke on them.

The best pellet makers are Oxbow and Km.
www.kmshayloft.com
http://www.oxbowhay.com/index.sp

They make healthy pellets that are both alfalfa and Timothy based using human grade ingredients. Many petfoods are actually disposal methods for human food processing for product like "wheat or soybean hulls".

You may pay a little more for these foods, but not much more then the food you are buying now, and it will help insure your friend does not run into problems down the road that require surgery, (very expensive and painful).

Also make sure you feed at least a cup of good veggies on a daily basis, and that the pig has access to unlimited grass hay. If the pig is under a year, it can have some Alfalfa too.

The common misconceptions thread is a great place for any guinea pig person to get basic information about their new friends. GL also has a comprehensive care and medical guide.

Common Misconceptions about Guinea Pigs and their Care
www.guinealynx.info


Enjoy your pig! And tell DH that pigs need at least another pig to keep company. While you may be around a lot, you can't be there all the time, and you don't speak pig!

Ps. If you are looking for company, there is an organization called Texas Rustlers who has around 200 pigs in their home right now looking for a forever home. The shelters are pretty full too, and a mod here is looking for a home for some of her pigs.
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