Hello everyone!

[NothingMore]

I am a first time guinea pig owner, I have a sweet little boar named Oliver. Here are links to some pictures:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/DSCN9670.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/DSCN9669.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/DSCN9668.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...s/DSCN9667.jpg

I got him a little over a month ago, from my science teacher. My science teacher didn't take great care of his cavys, and when I got Oliver, he had mites. So I took him to the exotics vet, and they gave him a checkup and medicine. I caught the mites in the very beginning, so he hadn't started to loose any hair, and his skin wasn't irritated. The vet said other than the fact that he had mites, he had very nice skin and hair, and that his nails and teeth were in great shape.

For the first two days I had him, I kept him in a big tupperware bin (I know it's a big no no, but I only kept him in for two days until I could get my hands on some cubes.) He's now in a 2x3 C&C cage, but I was unable to find any coroplast in my area, so I used part of a tarp and some binder clips.

I am a high-schooler, and I do keep Oliver in my bedroom. I know that a lot of people here would rather me not keep him in my bedroom, but he would probably recieve less attention from me, and my family, if he were in the family room. I spend most of my time in my bedroom, so I keep an eye on him, hold him for a while every day, and am trying my very best to monitor his health. The rest of my family spends little time at home, so I feel that if I were to keep him in the family room, he'd spend a lot of time without any human interaction.

He's got a constant supply of timothy hay and clean water, and right now he has a constant supply of pellets (The vet said he was pretty skinny and needed to gain a bit of weight, so I've been giving him lots of pellets). I'm planning on getting him a companion (from a rescue, not a pet store) sometime in the near future, but the only rescues that are close enough, have either intact females, or male skinny pigs (and I really don't want to adopt a skinny pig).

I've constantly been trying to give him veggies, a few pieces of spinach, carrots, romaine lettiuce, bell peppers, oranges, but he won't touch them. He won't go anywhere near them. Does anyone have any suggestions to get him to eat his veggies? I'm thinking that if I adopt a cavy that eats veggies he might be more inclined to try them. Until then I have the vitamin drops, which my vet told me to use as a last resort. Oooh, and another question. Do any of you know what breed he could be? Not that it really matters, but he does seem to have longer hair than the shorthaired piggies I've seen.

Oh, and is the correct plural for cavy, cavys or cavies? I think it's cavies, but I'm not sure. If I think of any more questions to ask you guys I'll post them later.

[nonamian_girl]

Welcome! It sounds like you're doing a great job . Don't worry, a male pigger will come your way. Check Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten. and look in your local newspapers and craigslist.com (I think it's .com?) for people trying to rehome their pigs.

[NothingMore]

I've noticed that Oliver has been sneezing quite a bit (like, 3-5 times a day) I dont know how often Cavy's sneeze, but his energy level hasn't dropped off at all, he's still running around the cage and wheeking, and he's still eating and drinking normally. I tried to listen to his breathing last night, and I didn't hear anything other than his heartbeat, and his eyes aren't watery/crusty, and his nose isn't running. Do you think I should take him to the vet, or just monitor his condition, and if anything else happens then take him to the vet?

[nonamian_girl]

What brand of hay do you have? Some types are really dusty and can make them sneeze more.
Have you read the guide to a healthy guinea pig on www.guinalynx.info
Just monitor him and watch for further symptoms, but I'm sure he's fine. It's if he starts sneezing 3-5 times an hour that I'd be more worried.

P.S. He look like two totally different pigs from each side!

[NothingMore]

Actually, I did recently switch the brand of hay I was getting, and that's when he started sneezing (I get it at the pet store because it's so close to my house). I've been meaning to go to the feed store sometime, but I keep forgetting. So when this bag of hay starts running low, I'll go to the feed store and see what they've got. Do you think it'll be ok to go ahead and finish this bag of hay? He's about half finished with it.

[Tulip]

[FONT=Book Antiqua]Hi, there! Maybe you could broaden the selection of his veggies? Have you tried kale? It usually comes in a big bunch at the grocery store for like 99 cents. I've known many piggies who love this, and it has vitamin c ~ if he likes it you can just get a plant! Anyway, maybe he just likes a different variety! Keep trying and don't give up! [/FONT]