Help!

[Heytheguineapig]

I just got a guinea pig from a friend yesterday, she is 2 years old and her name is lilianna but I call her hey because she responds to hey , she won't come out of cage, how do I coax her out of her cage? Should I get her a cagemate? How do I make sure the cagemate is right for her? Her nails need to be trimmed badly but she isn't used to me yet so i cant pick her up yet, so I'm not sure how to do that? As my friend who had her didn't take care of her all that well, hey was in a cage with 1/2 inch bedding with water, food, an hideaway igloo, and a wood stick, even worse the hay was spread out on the bedding! I don't blame her for hiding in her igloo all the time n trying to bite me!

[PigPandemonium]

First, leave her alone for about three days to let her get used to her new home. She needs time to get used to the new sounds, cage, sights, smells, food, toys, etc without also having to deal with what she views as a huge hungry lion trying to pick her up. Just don't touch her or anything for about three days, leave her to herself. After the three days, then you can start picking her up, cuddling with her, cutting her nails, etc. She will also be more used to her new home by then, and will hopefully start coming out of her pigloo

[Heytheguineapig]

She has had that same cage for two years, she lets me pet her but nothing else, thanks, I'll leave her alone for three days

[Heytheguineapig]

What about If I should get her a cagemate n how do I pick the right one for her so they get along?

[PigPandemonium]

Yep, a cage mate will help to keep your guinea pig happy and healthy, and all pigs should have a friend to play with Most guinea pigs will get along fine as long as you have a big enough cage, and do the introductions right, so it's ok to just pick out one from a rescue that you like. Here is a link on guinea pig social life, and how to introduce them, and keep the peace between them, make sure you read the whole thing, as lots of the info is very important to giving your pigs the best chance at getting along. Guinea Pigs Social Life

[kananaka]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You can read about the life of you guinea pig here Guinea Pigs Social Life which includes cage sizes and how to introduce a companion for your guinea pig. Housing two guinea pigs (or more) is recommended; they are very social and most do better with a friend. The most important thing is having an adequate sized cage, even more so with having multiple pigs, next is making sure quarantine (if needed) then introductions is done properly. Finding a guinea pig rescue will help as most do introductions before adoption to make sure the pigs are compatible. If you need help with anything please feel free to ask.

So glad you took her in and are looking into her welfare.

[Heytheguineapig]

Humm, I can't find an girl guinea pig around where I live but I did find a sweet boy guinea pig, if I keep them in separate cages but next to each other would it be considered company/socialization?

[PigPandemonium]

No, your piggy still needs a friend that they can play around with, you can;t do that through a cage, plus it may torture the boy being next her, some boys will even climb out of the cage trying to get to them.

[Heytheguineapig]

Hmm, ok ill keep looking, thanks

[schavarry]

Hmm, ok ill keep looking, thanks

If you tell us your general location (city/state not your address!) we can help you locate a rescue to find a friend for "hey"

Also, if you can find a neutered male it would make a good pairing! If all you can find near you are males you might look into having one neutered yourself so you can pair him with your girl.

Good luck!! - BTW I love the name

[Heytheguineapig]

So can have a male if he is neutered? That's great news, I'm in saint Paul minnesota

[Heytheguineapig]

Another question, I'm using pine bedding, but it makes such mess, I see in some pics on here to use fleece blankets, won't it hurt them if they chew on the blankets?

[minto1980]

Is hay ok for bedding?. My cuz uses it for her guineas. She puts it in the igloo home and replaces it every day. Do you think the Guineas are happy with this? or do they need different type of bedding?

[bpatters]

Most pigs don't chew the fleece. But if you're thinking about switching, read the sticky fleece thread in the bedding section. There are some definite pros and cons to using it, and you don't need to make a quick decision about it. For one thing, the upfront costs are much higher than for other bedding, although lower after you get set up, unless you have to go a laundromat.

Hay isn't a great bedding. The pig can sit in its own wastes, which isn't good for the feet or the skin. You need some sort of absorbent bedding that gets the urine away from the pig. Not to mention, peed-on hay smells awful.

[Heytheguineapig]

How often do I change out the fleece blankets? Because I'm thinking I'll change out to that, a load of many fleece blankets once a week equals one bag of pine bedding per week! Lol

[bpatters]

It depends on the size of your cage. Fleece works better in large cages than in small ones.

My suggestion is that you wait on changing to fleece. People generally cut fleece to fit their cage, and you're talking about adding another pig, which means cage changes. That means the fleece you cut for the old cage probably won't work for the new cage. Use aspen or something similar until you've got the pigs you want and the cage configuration you want, and then consider fleece.

[Heytheguineapig]

Ok sounds good, thanks! I have the store brought cage which is way too small for her, she walks around but she doesn't run, I'll be buying a cage soon, iis 2 floors best or does it not matter? Asking because I have a cat so..... Can the cat tip over a two floor cage? And I can't buy online so where can I get the cubes and coroplast?

[PigPandemonium]

Two guinea pigs will need at least (The very very minimum) a 2x3, bigger is always better, after you have the minimum, then you can add a upper level, and no I don't think your cat could knock it over. Coroplast you can find at sign shops, and Grids you can find online or in some shops, thought make sure the grids are nine by nine squares, if they are any less than that (Like 5x5 or 8x8) Guinea pigs can get their heads stuck in them.

[Heytheguineapig]

2x3 is what width and length? Because the cage will be on a 30 in width by 35 in length table

[bpatters]

If you look at the Home page of this site, it will tell you the lengths and widths of various configurations of C&C cages.