Meet Nico the guinea pig, and well, his owner. c;

[Tablo]

Hiya guys!

I've had my guinea pig for about a year now (will be officially 1 year on the 17th, and it's also the day that I've got to schedule my ankle surgery... :C) and he's about a year and 4 months old.

People say that pet store piggies aren't very good but mine is doing fine! He's black with a tiiiiny bit of orange on his head, neck, shoulders, and paws. He's also my avy! I've had to take him to the vet once because his aspen bedding was too dusty and gave him a URI... I use Carefresh now and he's okay. c:

His name is Nico, and it's very... very obvious that he is a boar. My mum was skeptic at first... I proved her wrong very quickly!

I start school again on September 4th, and after surgery, I won't be able to spend as much time with him as I should. I've got a 2x3 C&C cage, but I plan on making it bigger. When I first got him, I bought a pet store cage and he only got around 3 feet of floor space and it was way too small so within 2 weeks, I was able to get his C&C cage set up and he's a lot happier. c: I'm making it bigger so that I can get him a new friend.

I have found that I can use a TINY bit of Cetaphil (VERY gentle, amazing for sensitive skin as I probably have the most sensitive skin out of anyone you will ever know) and out of the 5-6 times I've bathed him, it hasn't given him any problems at all, so it's okay! I also let him swim around in clean water after his baths just to make sure it's 110% out of his fur.

Nico is a snuggle bug, but he HATES it when his nails are trimmed...

He gets 6-8 large romaine lettuce leaves, a couple handfuls of spinach, a tiny handful of basil, 1/3 of a cucumber, and 2 kale leaves a day... He gets all this because he HATES fruits.

This whole post has been about my piggy! :c Here's a bit about me now c;

I'm 14, gonna be 15 in March. I love animals with a burning passion, especially my piggy. I'm going into my freshman year in the fall. c:

Sorry that this was so long, but that's all about my spoiled rotten piggy. c:

[bpatters]

Welcome to the forum! We'd love to see pictures of your piggy.

But I have a word of (I know -- unasked-for) advice. Spinach and kale are waaayyyy too high in vitamin A to feed him that much of them -- they should be fed very sparingly, small amounts only once or twice a week. Romaine has also been implicated in excess calcium excretion in the urine (which may contribute to urinary tract stone formation) in some pigs, but not in others. If you notice white spots where his urine has dried, then switch him to red or green leaf lettuce.

It's fine that he's not wild about fruit -- it's too high in sugar to be given more than a couple of times a week, and only a small bit then.

Here's a chart that will give you some guidance about what he should be fed and how often: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ants-list.html.

You don't mention hay -- are you feeding him hay?

Good luck with your surgery -- hope you have a very uneventful, quick recovery.

[PigPandemonium]

Welcome! We would love to see some pigtures of him! The problem with pet store piggies, is that often (Not always but very very often) They come sick, pregnant, or miss sexed. Pet store pigs also come from breeding mills which do a ton of bad things, so by buying a pig from there, you are funding it. That's why this forum recommends adopting, since there are so many pigs that need homes. You may want to cut down on the veggies though. Pigs need 1 cup of veggies per day, no more or no less. More than that can make them not eat as much of their hay as they need to, so it can lead to health problems. Also spinach can cause bloat, so only about one small leaf per week at the most is recommended, you can look here for more about veggies and such: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/22156-read-me-cavy-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

Edit: @bpatters You beat me to it! xD

[Tablo]

I've been giving him spinach since I got him, and he's never had a problem! Not that I've noticed, at least. The kale we have around here is garden grown, so the leaves are quite small, but I'll keep it in mind, so thank you!

He's never had problems with the amounts of veggies I get him, and the romaine lettuce leaves aren't actually that much because he doesn't like the inner leaves or the lighter green or crunchy parts... he only eats the leafiest bits and then pretty much leaves the rest.

And he gets hay all the time. Most of it gets spread around his cage, but he's always got unlimited amounts of hay, and if he runs out, he squeals until you give him more. He likes orchard hay a lot, but I don't know how much is TOO much with that, if there is at all. And really, the whole handful thing is more like... A double handful for ME is actually like a half a handful for an adult man. But again, I will keep all of this in mind for his to-come salads.

This was him today, after his bath time:


He's really not as little and pudgy as he looks, but he was unhappy because I had clipped his nails and he had been washing his face, so he scrunched up. c:

Also, thank you for the good luck!

[bpatters]

Orchard hay is fine, as is any other long strand grass hay. Hay is what keeps their molars ground down and their guts moving properly.

You can google "vitamin A toxicity" to see the problems associated with too much vitamin A. If your pig exhibits any of those at any time, you can cut back on the kale and spinach.

[Tablo]

I've never seen anything of the such in my piggy.

Orchard hay is also more expensive and you can't find it in larger bags... which makes me sad. But Nico loves it, so it's worth it. But he goes through a large bag of timothy hay in like 2 weeks... a lot of it is all over the floor of his cage though.

[bpatters]

Buying bags of hay from a pet store is absolutely the most expensive way to get it. You're in prime hay country, and should be able to buy a bale locally for less than $10. But even if you order it online and pay for shipping, it's still cheaper than a pet store.

Good sources of hay are KMS Hayloft, Grass Hays & Fortified Feeds From the Valleys of the Pacific Northwest, American Pet Diner, Sweet Meadow Farm - Premium quality hay, pellets, and treats, and Oxbow shipped in bulk to a pet store.

[Tablo]

I am definitely in prime hay country, but few people have pigs around here so it's hard to find stuff like that, and you really need to check it over. I even check the store bought stuff, just in case, because you absolutely NEVER know.

But really, thank you SO much for those links, and I already passed them on to a friend who is getting her pair of pigs this week!

[Agrimony]

Welcome to the forum! He definitely sounds like a spoiled little guy, and it sounds like you care for him very much! He is a very cute piggie too!

[cavyhelp56]

Hi!!! Since you stopped in on me i will too. Im defenitly going to try to buy in bulk because prices are outrageous in Massachuesetts.