my piggies!

[poeticrat]

Well, I got my first two piggies on Saturday. I adopted two girls from SC guinea pig rescue One is an adult female that is brown and white with a little bit of black. And the other is about 10 weeks old and is black with a little bit of tan. Both are short haired. Their names are Daisy and Mindy, but I'm going to give Daisy a new name since we already have a Daisy in the family (my mom's kitty). So I'm trying to think of a new name, either Chloe or Claire. I think its going to be Chloe, I like that name.

They've settled in pretty well I think and seem to enjoy their C&C cage. I've caught them running laps a couple times. And of course they love their veggies. I printed off the veggie and fruit guide from guinealynx, that's very helpful for a guide. Their favorites seem to be the green leafy vegetables and the green peppers. They are a little hard to catch, but very sweet once you hold them. I've read its normal for them to run from you when you go to pick them up though. Do guinea pigs use hammocks? I have hammocks in all my rat cages, but I didn't know if they would need one. Sorry to be so long, I am just pleased to be a new piggie mom. I will post some pictures soon!

[Fire Cracker]

Congratulations on your new pigs! I look foward to seeing pictures they sound adorable.

[poeticrat]

OK I put some new batteries in the camera, hope you enjoy the pics!
Chloe:


And Mindy:

[2pigs4rats]

GAH! They are so cute! congratulations on your new piggies!

[poeticrat]

Thanks, I just redid their whole cage, I'm trying out the wood pellets as bedding instead of the aspen, so we'll see how it goes. Is it normal for guinea pigs to shed a bit? They both shed, but Chloe seems to shed more hair then Mindy. They are both very sweet piggers.

[Fire Cracker]

It is perfectly normal for pigs to shed. If they have patchy fur loss than it may mean that they have mites or lice. A bald patch behind the ear however, is normal.

[poeticrat]

Thanks, I was wondering. I thought it was normal, but I wasn't sure. They came from rescue so I'm sure they were treated for mites if it was needed. These are my first piggies so I have a few questions. Do you think my cavies would like a hammock added to their cage? I was thinking of adding a low fleece corner hammock. I am feeding Oxbow cavy cuisine for my pellets. Should I be giving any alfalfa since Mindy is a younger cavy? I picked up some alfalfa cubes for treats today but I haven't given them any yet. Thanks for the help everyone!

[My Baby Mu]

Some guinea pigs like hammocks some don't. When one of my guinea pigs was a baby he liked his hammock, now not as much (it may be just because of the different design of hammock).

You can mix some alfalfa pellets if you want. What may be better is if you take Mindy out away from Chloe for a while and give her alfalfa hay/cubes. You can also take Mindy out and fed her more parsley then you would Chloe.

Your guinea pigs are very cute! I'm glad you did some research before and are feeding them Oxbow pellets, these are some of the best pellets on the market.

[poeticrat]

Yeah, I had been thinking about guinea pigs for about a year, so I've done lots of research. I was recommended the oxbow by rescue, and it does seem like really good feed. It smelled so good when I opened the bag. Here's a couple more pics I took today (I like taking pictures, can't you tell?

[CapuPebbles]

Congratulations! They are both cute piggies.

[PiggieMom]

They're precious. Congrats on you new babies. Sounds like their in for a great life with you.

[JennG]

Good for you for researching until you were comfortable enough with your decision. I'm very happy to hear that you adopted as well as providing the girls with a great diet. Congrats on your girls who are both very beautiful and I like the name Chloe. It seems to fit her better.

[jdomans]

They came from rescue so I'm sure they were treated for mites if it was needed.

SC GP Rescue treats all the pigs she gets for mites so you are correct in your assumption. I got 4 of my girls from her as well. As for the shedding, you may want to buy some cheap generic chewable Vit. C and crush a bit of it up over their salad a few times a week. My boar I rescued was an excessive shedder and when he went for his well vet check-up right after I got him, Dr. Bink noticed it and suggested early stages of scurvy or maybe had a touch of it at some time. Doolittle was fed Hartz food and the only veggies he had ever had were carrots. Just a sprinkle over the salad not the entire tablet for 2 pigs.
Your girls are so cute. Oh my girls love their hammock. All of them do.

[jdomans]

See this about Vit. C http://cavyspirit.com/care.htm #5.