Hi.. I'm a brand new Guinea Pig owner.
I just received my guinea Pig today!!!! I got her from Petco and have named her Sundrop. She is currently in a smaller cage until I can find the coroplast to make a larger one. I'm at college, and any tips would be greatly appreciated... like how to get her out from under my bed when she escapes...
Ha, I can never get Twix when she escapes. There are so many dangers out there. You'd never believe what I caught her doing after she got out. You'd think i'm a bad piggy parent! Anyway, Sundrop is the cutest name! It sounds like a deep and meaningful hippy name (I mean that in a good way).
Let's see... You can save money by using fleece bedding instead of buying wood/aspen shavings (cedar wood shavings aren't good anyway). If your piggy escapes you can try to lure your piggy in a box or laundry basket You can also lure with food, slowly move close, pet her on the head, and grab her.
Oh, and don't buy coroplast from FastSigns! They tried to sell me a sheet for 45 bucks. I'm not sure about the other FastSigns stores in USA, but ours was too expensive.
Oh, and I wouldn't feed her petstore treats if I were you.
Thank you so much for your advice. The lady that helped me at Petco said to give her orange slices every day, the food, and the hay.. but she said not lettuce, is she correct or should i ignore what she suggested.
Hi Sweetchild,
I could be wrong, I'm a newbie myself, but I've heard that citrus fruits, or should I say too much citrus fruit can 'burn' or irritate the pigs mouth. Has anyone else heard this? I know fruit sometimes in moderation is alright, but I'm not sure about the everyday thing. I also heard that you can safely give the pigs chewable vitamin C tabs, which supposedly they like. I won't be getting my pigs till next month, so I'll see!
Fruit should never be give more than twice a week. Orange are okay to feed. I haven't a clue about other citrus fruits.
I wouldn't listen to any advice she gave, they are often they are wrong.
God...this is why I just go insane over pet stores. Lettuce is one of the best things you can give a pig. Orange slices should not be fed every day because (I believe) their high calcium levels. Anyway, I know it shouldn't be fed everyday. Piggies love leafy greens-here are some links for dietary advice.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...arts-info.html -Diet chart, best thing around for any questions about what to feed and what not to feed.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...gie-menus.html -This is a collection of some of our longest and most experienced members' diets. It should give you an idea about what is recommended.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...r-forages.html -Pretty self explanatory, if you read the title.
If you have any other questions, reading the stickies in the Diet & Nutrition forum should help, or drop a PM to Ly&Pigs, our resident expert in cavy diets, or just post in the D & N forum.
Chewable tablets or supplements of any kind aren't necessary-pigs should be getting everything they need from their veggies, hay and pellets.
Hope I helped!
Last edited by dra&pigs; 03-28-09 at 05:38 pm. Reason: Didn't see post
I bought my coroplast from FastSigns and it was cheap.Originally Posted by Kipsie
an 18 by 24 was $1.50
I think that it all depends on the location for stores like FastSigns. Mine offered it at a relatively cheap price, but I didn't get it from there because I found another, really small, local place that had it for virtually nothing.
Sorry, that should be Oranges are okay to feed.Orange are okay to feed
Oranges are okay on the vitamin C content but green peppers are much higher. Oranges are bad not because of the calcium content (that is things like kale and parsley) but because they are acidic and can lead to mouth sores.
Very true about petstores. They know next to nothing about proper animal care.
DO NOT feed any of the treats they recommend like yogurt drops (pigs are lactose intolerant) or anything with seeds and NO pellet brands other than Oxbow (cavy cuisine is over 6 months, cavy performance if under) or Kleenamamas. Stay away from everything else as they have carcinogens and other bad things in them.
ALL lettuces are good EXCEPT for iceburg. Iceburg has no nutritional value and has a lot of nitrates in it. You should feed a cup of leafy greens every day and about another cup of other veggies, using Ly&Pigs diet chart that Dra&Pigs gave you the link to.
Also, since she is from a pet store, I would get her to a cavy savvy vet ASAP, and not the one that PetCo/PetSmart provides. Those vets are terrible. Pet store pigs come from mills and backyard breeder and are often sick, missexed and/or pregnant.
When you can, try to ADOPT you pig a same sex buddy or a neutered male. Check out your local shelter, rescue, classifieds, Craiglist (beware of breders) and petfinder.com
Oops, starshine, forgot to mention the Iceberg lettuce thing. And, thanks for correcting me about the oranges. I knew they weren't so great for them, but I wasn't sure why. Poor calcium gets blamed for a lot!!
You learn something new everyday!!
Iceburg has a high water content as well.Iceburg has no nutritional value and has a lot of nitrates in it.
I bought the Petco Starter kit, which came with the cage that has a crappy balcony and a dripping water bottle, Petco brand Tomothy hay, Ecotrition essential blend for guinea pigs, and a honey treat bar by the same company. I got a package of assorted wood chews as well, due to suggestion for the sales lady. All the above plus the orange slices is the main diet for the guinea pigs at Petco, which i know now to ignore. Is the food and hay alright to use or should i get a differnt brand. My guinea pig is about 3 months old, so is there anything special i need to do for her?
Thanks for everyone's advice.. it has helped a lot!!!
Ditto starshine. Never listen to a Petco employee. They also buy their animals from breeding mills. I'd keep a close eye on your pig. They usually have mites, URI and other illnesses. Have you verified that you do have a female? They are often missexed and pregnant.
I know that the females were in one cage, and the males in a separate. Including Sundrop, they had three females and four males. I haven't noticed scratching, and she's finally warming up to me and her new environment. She was the smallest in the cage.
Get rid of the pellet and buy her one of the other ones I suggested before ASAP (Oxbow, Kleenmamas or Mazuri 5446 formula only). Petco brand food is terrible for you pig and probably has ethoxyquin in it which has been known to cause cancer in pigs. Even if it DOES NOT have this ingredient, it is still a VERY VERY bad pellet. The other three are the only acceptable choices and Oxbow and Kleenmamas are probably the best.I bought the Petco Starter kit, which came with the cage that has a crappy balcony and a dripping water bottle, Petco brand Tomothy hay, Ecotrition essential blend for guinea pigs, and a honey treat bar by the same company. I got a package of assorted wood chews as well, due to suggestion for the sales lady. All the above plus the orange slices is the main diet for the guinea pigs at Petco, which i know now to ignore. Is the food and hay alright to use or should i get a differnt brand. My guinea pig is about 3 months old, so is there anything special i need to do for her?
Thanks for everyone's advice.. it has helped a lot!!!
Throw out the treat stick, too much sugar and in general just not good for your pig. The only treats they need are a variety of fresh veggies every day.
Petco hay is okay, but it's not the best quality. Oxbow and Kleenmama have the best hay out there. The great thing about KM is that it is an online bulk, and even with the high shipping charges it is still CHEAPER than smal store bought bags in the long run. And the best hay out there.
The ecotrition and honey treat bar are bad for guinea pigs. Anything with nuts or colored things in them are bad! Nuts are high in fats and are not good for guineas. Oxbow is a great pellet and so is Klennemama's Hay and pellets. Good luck and Welcome to the site. Cruise around and you'll learn a ton.
I hope you don't feel like we're pushing this information on you. We really mean well.
oh no.. I'm incredibly grateful for all the information. thank you so much. I mean, really thank you. I did my research, but none of this popped up in it. I'm just glad you guys know about piggies, or I'd be lost!
Starter kits are a waste of money. The only usable thing in there is maybe the timothy hay and the quality is subpar.
You'd be surprised at how many times you'd find missexed pigs in each tank. And they do not separate the babies at 3 weeks at their breeding mills. Often they ship them to the store in the same boxes, so the males and females are together. You need to verify the gender yourself. If you have a female, chances are she is pregnant.
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