Hello, new cavy owner

[herbmommy]

We just got a pair of females from a lady needing to rehome. I am clueless to guinea pigs. We did some research and looked at them in the pet store and thought they would make a nice pet. My mother picked them up yesterday and they are huge. We thought they would fit in the three story cage we had for our rats that recently passed away but they are too big so we have them in an indoor rabbit cage. Needless to say, we are in search of cheap cage options and toys. They had nothing in their cage at the ladies house and their nails look trerrible. I have so many questions and appreciate any help. I will add pictures as soon as I can. Thanks!!

[GuineaFood]

When you say huge, just how big are they? I'm sure the rabbit hutch will make an adequate temporary acommodation, but depending on their size, they may well need a larger permanant home. As for things to have in the cage...
Clipping their nails is not difficult, but if you are unable to do it, then vets will do so (but that will cost)
Willow balls/sticks are good, toilet rolls cut along the side and stuffed with hay make a good feeder/toy which will keep them amused, and pigloos make good shelters from draughts Can't wait to see the pigtures

[FoolOnTheHill]

If you're in search of a cheap cage, you've come to the right place!
C&C cages are great as they are very inexpensive, easy to clean, are fun to change and modify and of course provide lots of space for your pigs to popcorn in! You can get cubes from lots of chain stores in America, but they're a bit harder to find in the UK (not sure where you are). Coroplast is available from sign shops or maybe a craft shop.
Guinea pigs are kind of big compared to rats. I think there is a breed of very large guinea pig but they're quite rare. The three-storey rat cage isn't really suitable anyway, since g-pigs prefer a large space to run around in over lots of small storeys.
It sounds like the piggies haven't had a very good start in life, but hopefully that will all be changed soon. You might want to treat them for mites and definitely cut their nails. A check up with a cavy-savvy vet might be a good idea too.
Guinea Lynx is a great care site. (Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig)
Here's a page about mites on there: Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites There is a link to a page about ivermectin on there too, which is what you treat them with.
This is about cutting nails: Guinea Lynx :: Nail Clipping If you're unsure how to do it, ask a vet to show you how and you can probably do it yourself after that. I recommend you read through the whole site as it's full of great information and will give you a good start.

Feel free to post other questions! Have you got names for the pigs? Oh - that reminds me - you might want to check they're both boys or both girls or ask your vet to.
Pigtures please

[Ly&Pigs]

Here is a great link to get you started:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ost-first.html

It contains just about everything you will need to know including cage info, toys, diet, medical, etc.

[herbmommy]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the links. I have spent 3-4 hours on the internet reading today.

I believe they are both females, I do not see any male parts. Their names are Coco and Pebbles and they have been together for over a year. Pebbles, the calico colored one, is 8-9 inches long and about 6-7 inches high. I was honestly expecting something the size of the ones we saw in the pet store (I will not buy animals from there) but I believe they were young, these are more small rabbit sized. I will not be able to go to the vet with them until after Thanksgiving so their nails will have to wait. They are quite long and curled so I am afraid to clip them myself.
Today I put a toy my parrot no longer plays with and also his happy hut in with the pigs and a small box. They went crazy playing and having a good time. We are trying to let them acclimate to their new home and I am trying to acclimate to their noises, they are very cute.

Thanks again for the info!

[nonamian_girl]

I'm sure you can handle clipping their nails at least a little bit. Just use a regular nail clipper and as long as you stay at least 2mm away from where the nail comes out, you should be okay! Get someone else to help you out, it'll make it easier. It sounds like those nails should be clipped asap is all.

Good job on rescuing, welcome to the forum!

[JarBax]

Welcome herbmommy! Glad you are finding loads of great info to read, to improve the lives of your little ones! Are you thinking of building them a C&C cage? You will be able to use the base of the wee cage they're in at the moment as a kitchen/potty area!

[herbmommy]

nonamian_girl: With bunnies(had one) and parrots(have one) it can be dangerous to clip the nails because the blood doesn't clot very well. In fact, the only time I clipped our parrots nails he bled and had to be taken to the vet because it would not stop bleeding after 3 hours. Is it the same with guinea pigs? I do not want to kill them. Also, the nails are bent and curvy. If my camera had fresh batteries, I would take a picture.

Jarbax: The cages are great, I haven't looked close enough to find out how much it costs but I like the ease of set-up. The pictures on this forum have been so helpful!!!

A final question: Coco sounds like she has lung congeestion, is this a normal sound?
Their coats look good, eyes and nose clear, but a few rough/scaly looking patches on the front feet. I hope they are healthy. They came with a pelleted food and a bag of Timothy hay. They eat all the time...hay, veggies and pellets. The rats we rescued were not fed well and did not live as long as they should have. They also had terrible days/weeks leading up to their euthanasia but they had a happy life for eight months with a large cage and good diet.

Thanks again!!

[Ly&Pigs]

It's not dangerous to clip piggies nails. If they are light in color and you can see the quik, just clip them yourself. For dark nails have someone shine a flashlight either over or under so you can see the quik. If you accidentally clip into the quik then dip the nail in flour if you have no quik stop.

They sound as if they badly need a nail trimming. It's very painful for them to walk on long curved nails.

As far as the congestion sound in Coco (I have a CoCo too), it's not normal. Sounds as if she may have a URI or another respiratory problem and she will need to be seen by the vet and get on antibiotics.

Grids are pretty cheap. If you are in the US, go to Target. A box of cubes costs around $13-15. It's enough to make a nice sized cage. Coroplast costs depend on where you get it. Call sign shops and printing shops. I think if you have to pay over $25 for a 4'x8' sheet, it's too high. C&C's are easy to assemble as well.

[pamziaw]

Hey and welcome to the forum. First thing i'd recommend is a vet check up for a couple of reasons, pet shops are notorious for selling sick animals and missexing them so i'd get a check up to make sure all is ok. Also it will give you a chance to find a vet, which means when you do need one you won't be frantically calling them all.

[Tulip]

Hello and welcome aboard!!!

[herbmommy]

I hope all of you do not mind a few more questions.

When I have the new piggies in my lap and rub their back, they make this sound like something from Star Wars , it is a vibrational sound. Is this a happy sound or a leave me alone sound. If pressure is on their bellies then they make a piggie squeal sound. I have noticed the squeal sound when I pick them up from their cage and put them in my lap but that stops once they are on my solid lap.
They seem to be doing great. As soon as we find the coroplast they will have a bigger cage. They met the dog and all seemed well between both parties, the dog stays out of their room unless we are there and then she is curious. They do not seem bothered by the hamster who shares their room or my children who play in there. They had lots of fresh veggies tonight and almost fought over the cilantro but they seem to eat hay all the time, and they cleaned the veggie bowl within 10 minutes but they munch on their pellets throughout the day. Can they eat too much and get overweight?
Final question, I have noticed toilet paper rolls in pics on this forum but I learned not to use toilet paper rolls for my parrot because it is treated with a glue that is not supposed to be safe. We also stopped it for the hamsters. Is it OK for piggies? (Maybe I am too paranoid from the parrot forum I belong to.)
Thanks for all of the info. This site is great and I have learned a lot. Also, thanks for being patient with me, I have so many questions.

[cavylola]

Congratulations on your piggies!! I think it is so great to have so many questions, and I also love that there is this great place to share experiences.
I had guinea pigs as a child, but I was pretty young. So, this is all kind of new to me also. I am also wanting to hear everyone's experiences and info. We are planning on adopting a second piggy from a nearby rescue.
Thanks for the good questions.

[mkkayla]

They will generally not over eat. They are made to eat small amounts pretty much all the time. They should have 24 hour access to fresh, clean, good quality hay. Pellets are fine to be made available daily; generally around 1/4 cup per pig per day. It's best to limit the pellets to encourage them to eat more hay, not because they will make them fat. The hay is better at keeping their teeth in good shape. They love to exercise and will do so if they have a large enough cage, that will keep the excess weight off.

[Mags&Abby'sMom]

You could build a C&C cage really fast and really cheap. My husband and I built our 10.5 sq feet cage in about 45 minutes, and for only about 35 dollars. That price includes materials for a second floor that is still in the works. The instructions on this site are really informative and easy to follow. Plus they have ideas for places to buy the materials. Look through the photo galleries for ideas that will work best for you.