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Thank you for the quick reply. If you don't bathe your pig, what do I use to wipe down a long haired pig to keep him clean? As for a cage mate, we are not sure as we have been told both great and not so great stories about 2 or more pigs. One of my good friends had 2 and one kept attacking the other. I would hate to have my two kids, 9 and 6, witness that with their first pet(s). Thoughts?

Hello n welcome. theirs an abundance of information you can find on this site plus great advice as well.I would suggest looking at the front page of this site for cage size info also since you got him from a pet smart I'm guessing they might not of given you good nutritional advice. I would suggest looking on the diet and nutrition of the site theirs a great veggie chart to go by.if I may ask what are you feeding your little guy.and also for future and hoping you may never have to use it but look around and make sure your local vet has an exotic vet some one who primarily deals with small animals. anyway welcome and good luck with your new fur baby.

For my long hairs I keep the fur on their stomach and rears trimmed short, along with trimming off any fur that is touching the ground when they walk. I use scissors so I normally use a pair sharp enough to cut hair but too blunt to cut skin if I were to mess up (which has only happened once but the bluntness of the scissors meant I only pinched his skin). I also have to be very careful and aware of where their nipples are (which is easier said then done for some long hairs).

Most of my long hairs are used to this routine now and don't wiggle at all any more but at one point the butt trimming was a two person job. I almost never have to give my long hairs butt baths because with their fur trimmed they almost never need one.

Welcome! Your BedHead sounds adorable. I have found innumerable resources and useful information here so try using the search. I've spent hours looking at old posts that answered a lot of questions i was having. One thing I would look for is do make sure he is a boy especially if you are getting him a companion. I don't know if petsmart has a history but many pet stores can improperly sex guinea pigs and lead to problems. (happened to me). Other than that patience and good food will go a long way in warming him up. Food bribery has definitely made my girls open up and be out of their hideys more.

So things have been getting a lot more exciting. We have been feeding BedHead oxbow essentials pellets for young guinea pigs and timothy hay. We have also been introducing a myriad of greens, vegetables and some fruit. He seems to really like the romaine lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and apples the best. He has also been gaining weight. We are still trying to figure out all the sounds and what they mean. We have hears sample sounds from other sites and tried to compare them to BedHead. Overall, he seems content. One new thing that started happening when we bring him his "tossed salad" of food, he will eat, then stamper and make some cute noises and rut about then eat some more, jump around, stamper about etc. My daughter thought he was having a seizure at first but she now calls it his "happy dance" as he only does this when his salad arrives. I guess it is just his personality coming through. He has not been aggressive at all and has not bit anyone thus far. I was afraid of the kids handling him improperly but everything seems to be going ok. I tried to post a pic a while back but I don't think it saved. I'll try again.

spanknoid said:

He also is using the same area to sleep and go to the bathroom. This is causing some serious issues as we don't know how to bathe him. Any suggestions are welcomed to help keep the sleeping area away from the bathroom.

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Most store cages are too small which leads to pigs having to eat, sleep and poop in the same area. Have you considered C&C cages? Much more room for guinea pigs, easier to clean, a lot less smelly (because of the size) and pigs are not forced to eat, sleep and poop in the same area.

He's adorable sounds like your doing things right.the happy dance as you called it sounds like he's popcorning which means he's happy and content. just watch the amt of fruits because of high sugar content. look under diet n nutrition.

Our cage is 2 feet by 4 feet with a large attached play pen that opens up that he can crawl up and down into. We are pretty happy with the size of the cage. Actually, now that he his getting used to us, he seems to be pooping in other areas of the cage besides his hidey.

mdodge said:

He's adorable sounds like your doing things right.the happy dance as you called it sounds like he's popcorning which means he's happy and content. just watch the amt of fruits because of high sugar content. look under diet n nutrition.

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We cut up a sliver of apple a day as a treat. I found a Guinea Pig food pyramid we are learning from. Thanks for the tip. He hasn't taken to oranges yet as another friend told me to do to get his vitamin C. Any other fruits to try?

He can't get enough vitamin C from oranges to do him any good without way overloading him on sugar. GPs are not engineered to be able to process sugar, and you can induce a potentially fatal bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract if you overdo sugar. Bell peppers are a much better source of vitamin C for him.

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List for what you can feed and how often.

Welcome To The Site, Cute Guinea Pig!

bpatters said:

He can't get enough vitamin C from oranges to do him any good without way overloading him on sugar. GPs are not engineered to be able to process sugar, and you can induce a potentially fatal bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract if you overdo sugar. Bell peppers are a much better source of vitamin C for him.

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List for what you can feed and how often.

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Thanks for the info.

spanknoid said:

Thank you for the quick reply. If you don't bathe your pig, what do I use to wipe down a long haired pig to keep him clean? As for a cage mate, we are not sure as we have been told both great and not so great stories about 2 or more pigs. One of my good friends had 2 and one kept attacking the other. I would hate to have my two kids, 9 and 6, witness that with their first pet(s). Thoughts?

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I had to bond one of my femlaes many times, and you were right for some of it; they do fight but not in a gruesome or scary way. they only really fight when you first introduce them, that's when they establish dominance, maybe you can do it when your kids aren't home but if you can't don't worry because it's only a bit of nipping and some chirping sounds RARELY does blood ever draw. In the long run, having 2 guinea pigs is reallyyyy good, because you can sense that their happier, and the relationhip they build is really cute! They will only "attack" each other (although it's really usually harmless nipping accompanied with dominance establishing ) , if they aren't bonding, or they are still establishing whose the domnant pig...