considering pigs

[Gilraen]

Hello I dunno what to say for an intro really.

I had a gp when I was a little kid who I adored. When I hit 20 I ended up getting back into rodents and getting rats. I like them, but not quite as much. They don't live long enough =/ A while back I decided that my current 3 will be the last ones I keep(at least for the foreseeable future.) I go to one of the local chain stores a lot though and they quite often have pigs that people have gotten tired of and dumped up for adoption. I've been considering getting a couple/few of them for my "rodent fix" but it's been so long since I have owned one that I have questions about better care.

How tall does an open top cage need to be? I've got the bars to 2 cages that would be good to use(1" bar spacing, powder coated bars) that I can make a lot bigger by tearing them in half at the joints. They'd make the house about 15" tall. Would that be too short? Also, what can you use for the bottom? Is there anything cheap and easy to find in most places(I live in the states) that is good to use? The base on my current cage is only 18x30" so not enough room to just use that.

Also, with food. I know the store-bought foods are usually garbage(ALL of them that I can get locally have SOME sort of added garbage like ethoxyquin with the exception of zupreem, which is mostly corn, and I've read that corn based diets aren't good for rodents) For the rats I have been making my own food for a while. It's a mix created by a vet so I know it is a good one. Is there any sort of homemade diet I could use for the pigs?

Also, when I had mine as a kid, she didn't have any toys except a wood chew and me. My parents(which translated to me) didn't know she needed any. Besides a hut of some sort to hide in and a couple of tunnels, what can/should I have? Do they need chew sticks/blocks?

Thanks everyone

[paula.m.moore]

15" tall would be fine if you don't have climbers. Have you looked here: www.guineapigcages.com? It tells you all about coroplast and I believe there's a locator for materials there somewhere. If you can't find a good place for coroplast, some people use shower curtains or tarps underneath, depending on the bedding you're going to use.

As for a homemade diet, if you're feeding plenty of veggies and some fruits, that's sort of "homemade," but they still need grass hay at all times. Most highly recommended on this site are Oxbow - Oxbow Pet Products | Welcome and Kleenmama - Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Home. Both of those also sell very high quality pellets and Oxbow can be purchased in some stores.

They don't really play with toys like some animals do - and usually a tunnel and hidey house of some sort are enough. It's more important that they have fresh veggies and hay available than any kind of chew sticks.

For exercise, they need floor time daily if possible, with lots of room to run around if they want to.

You've certainly come to the right place to learn all sorts of interesting (and accurate) information about guinea pigs and their care needs.

[PixieStix]

http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm and http://www.guineapigcages.com/accessories.htm have ideas for both toys and cage accessories. Some pigs don't play with toys, but many have something they like to use. The most important things are exercise in floor time, a same sex (or altered) companion, a large cage, hay, and hidey houses (some ideas for different hideys are on the accessories page). Once all those things are taken care of, you can get creative making toys (making sure, of course, they are safe for little critters)

[Wheek Weak]

Hi Gilraen...Welcome!

You've come to the right place to learn everything you need to know about the proper care of guinea pigs.

The best thing you can do is to read all of the stickies at the top of each forum, and read all of the info provided on the home page.

Look into rescue or adoption for getting your pigs. There are many homeless cavies out there needing good homes.

[Gilraen]

I was planning on using a combo(depending on what I can find at the time) of aspen chips and paper bedding. And I'll keep the tunnels as toys in mind

The Kleenmama's site looks to have pretty decently priced food too. I'm used to bird and rat food where the horrid quality stuff is moderately expensive and the high quality stuff will break you. . .

What sort of hay is best? I've read somewhere that alfalfa should ONLY be used as a treat for a normal adult pig since it is too high in. . . . Calcuim perhaps? to be a good staple and can cause health problems as a result. And I've also read that pet store hay is usually really bad quality since it is too old/dry.

Also, I know I'd be getting at least two eventually, but it seems that most of the time the pigs come in in singles to the store I was planning on adopting from(they do adoptions, and not only sales ) Would it take a lot to introduce pigs to each other, or they pretty easy going about it? I know with my(female) rats I've never had anything more than minor squabbles between them.

[PixieStix]

Originally Posted by Gilraen

What sort of hay is best? I've read somewhere that alfalfa should ONLY be used as a treat for a normal adult pig since it is too high in. . . . Calcuim perhaps? to be a good staple and can cause health problems as a result. And I've also read that pet store hay is usually really bad quality since it is too old/dry.

Also, I know I'd be getting at least two eventually, but it seems that most of the time the pigs come in in singles to the store I was planning on adopting from(they do adoptions, and not only sales ) Would it take a lot to introduce pigs to each other, or they pretty easy going about it? I know with my(female) rats I've never had anything more than minor squabbles between them.

Kleenmama's sells hay that is great quality, many members here order her hay and pellets. ALL cavies should always have access to unlimited grass hay. Grass hay includes timothy, sweet meadow, orchard, bermuda, and other types. Young, growing cavies (under six months) can have their diet supplemented with either alfalfa based hay or pellets. Yes, alfalfa is high in calcium which can lead to sludge and stones if pigs receive too much of it.

Guinea Pigs Social Life It really depends on the pigs. One thing not to do is introduce them together, then seperate, then introduce again etc (providing everything is going alright). Introductions should be done once properly (idealy) except in the case that there is all out fighting or bloodshed. In that case there are other techniques to get the pigs to bond. Introductions should take place on neutral territory that doesn't smell like either pig.

If intros go well and there haven't been issues (rumbling, mounting, chattering and nipping are all normal), make sure the cage they will live in together is large enough for both. Having two of everything (pellet dishes, pigloos, water bottles, etc) also helps so they don't have to share. Make sure the cage and everything in it has been thoroughly cleaned to remove any scent of any pig. Before you adopt your new pigs, double check their genders Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig to make sure they are both the same sex, unless one or both are altered.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Are the adoptions guinea pigs returned to the store or ones dropped off by owners?

Do they sell guinea pigs too?

[Gilraen]

They sell them too, but the ones for adoption are the ones that people have owned and decided they didn't want anymore, so they give them away(I THINK the adoption fee is $5, which goes to the company's charity, while the ones they sell for profit are 30, last time I looked) They're also the only store in town who will take in adoption animals(petsmart will Not take in a priorly owned animal unless it is within the guarantee's time and then it goes back for sale at the regular price again) and the one of the 2 independents that "takes in adoption animals" will just toss them into mixed sex pens and sell them for regular store price without giving the former owner anything in return. I'm pretty sure that if someone returns an animal within the 15 day guarantee that it just goes back up for sale. That happened to at least a few birds there, they got taken back because they weren't inst-tamed once they went from being unhandled to the person's house and were returned as a result and put back for sale. I can't assume that a mammalian pet returned within 15 days would be any different, Though it may be at the store's discretion to take back an animal for a refund or as JUST an adoption, depending on how long it has been and the reason. I know that with a rat that was bought as snake food and returned after a over a week with no food(I own her now <_<) that since she was literally a bag of skin and bones and could barely move since she was so starved that they refused to give her any money back. Dunno if a cared for animal would warrant the same or not, I've never seen it happen before. And besides them being the only place in town who will take in adoption animals(shelters here are dog and cat ONLY) I've searched petfinder a lot of times since moving into the area and nothing besides those 2 shelters pop up for anything within 150+ miles over mountains.