Greetings from Dawn and Big Louie

Hi, welcome to the forum .

I can't see the picture, which is too bad because he sounds awfully cute!
Ask away about the cages, they are super fantastic. Then we will also provide you with information on how to confirm Louie's sex and where to find him a same-sex companion for adoption .

Hi, thanks for the welcome. I'm not real good when it comes to this technical stuff. I tried another picture - can you see it now? I hope so because he's a beauty and I want to show him off!!

Hi again, I think I got the picture thing straightened out. Anyway, should I post my questions on here? I don't want to be wasting anyone's time with basic questions that they probably already know - not sure how in depth these forums should go versus private emails. Anyway, I noticed you were from Mississauga. I used to live on the Miss. Etobicoke border many years ago. Nice place eh!

Hi Dawn,

wellcome to the forum and I need to say your Yorkshire looks so cute....

Have a nice day,
Moonshine

Aw, he IS a beauty! And yes, Mississauga is great . I'm very attached to it.

Anyways, you can ask basic questions here, but if you want to find out some basic stuff on your own, this post pretty much covers it all: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/introductions/17032-newbies-please-read-post-first.html

Thanks Nona, I did some more reading and had some questions answered. But I still a little confused about the flooring. When looking at the many pictures of these homes, I noticed some of them are covered with some type of shavings material - but other pictures show them covered with what looks like a blanket. So whats up with the blankets? Also I noticed people mentioning using a litter box. I assume they aren't using a full-sized cat litter box in the cage - and what goes inside this litter box - regular bedding material? If I put in a littler box, and he actually uses the litter box, then how often would the whole cage need to be cleaned? Sorry for being such a newbie with my questions, but I want to make Louie's life more interesting and enjoyable.

Hi Dawn and welcome,

Ask as many questions as you want, we love helping new owners and we were all new at some point ourselves!

Blankets:

The blankets are called ''polar fleece''. Fleece should be used with another bedding underneath it. It wicks away urine keeping the top clean and dry. Many owners enjoy fleece (im a fleece user) whilst others prefer more conventional bedding options. Fleece is able to be re used over and over as a bedding so you dont have to keep buying new bags of shavings e.t.c. Just shake off, rinse and pop in the washing machine then let drip dry. It should be washed with vinegar and regular washing powder/liquid as this has anti bacterial properties and eliminates odour. It also comes in a variety of colours, sizes and can add a decorative touch to your cage. Fleece should be spot cleaned everyday. This is where you get either a dust pan and brush or a small vaccum and scoop up any loose hay and poops.

Litter training:

A guinea pig can never be fully litter trained. They will always poop around their cage. However litter trays are mainly used for urine , some pigs may poop in their trays as well but will always leave some stray ones around their own cage. You can put an absorbent bedding in the litter tray such as carefresh, and empty it out daily. Litter trays can be small cat litter trays, small tubs or plastic lids that have sides. Something easy the guinea pig can get into. You can litter train them by placing the tray in the areas where your cavy frequents the most. If he likes his pigloo to pee under you can place a hidey house on top of the tray for starters so he feels comfortable. Cavies like to pee in corners and areas where people cant see. Litter training will keep the cage drier and also teach him to pee in his litter tray during outside of the cage.

Also louie needs a friend. Guinea pigs are social herd animals and need another cavy to communicate with. Id also take him to the vet to be sexed before getting him a same sex friend. Make sure the vet is an exotics vet who is experienced in cavies. Also see https://cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm to see if hes a boy or girl.

And this website is a wonderful care guide on cavies: Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig.

Hi Fluff,

Thanks for all the info, it was indeed very helpful to me. One question though, these fleece blankets, are they something special to buy in the pet shop or will any fleece type blanket do?

Now that I have all this new information from this web site, I will be getting Louie a buddy, as soon as I get the new cage set up for him. Luckly in my internet endeavors, I did find a rescue house only about 15 miles from where I live, so I will be going there for his buddy.

Have a great day

Dawn, You have our curiosity peaked now. Put your pics in photobucket and then resize them to the website/email size. Using the IMG pic, copy and paste in here with your post.

As far as bedding goes, look in the bedding area of this forum and you will find more than enough information to absorb!

For now, do not use cedar shavings! It is bad for their lungs and skin.

Check out Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten. if the rescue near you doesn't have any piggies right now. And check out Index of / 's sexing page just to make sure Louis is a boy, just in case!

Ok, you TOTALLY lost me with the picture thing. What is photobucket? I have a few really cute pictures of Louie that I would like to share, but the rules say they have to be showing the cage, and in one of the pictures, he is actually in the kitchen sink getting a bath. That is his picture next to my name. I believe he is a Peruvian because his hair grows down over his face, which was very cute, but I decided to cut it to make his life a little easier.

Hang on...Free Image and Video Hosting - Photo Image Hosting Site : Photobucket.com. This is where you upload your photos and resize them. After that you use the IMG choice and place a pic in your post.

Now the rules for the GALLERY are that the cage must be in the pic. You can put your pigs in a thread like this:


Fleece: material used to make warm clothes and blankets. You can buy fleece blankets and also fleece by the yard at fabric stores. Hancocks is having a fabulous sale right now.

Here is more info on how to put a picture into a thread: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/feedback-how-do-i/11476-how-do-i-get-pictures-post.html

OK, giving it a shot to see how it works. Hope it doesn't turn out too big or too small.


This is Big Louie

Trying 1 more - this is Louie getting a bath

Ooops, will try again, and then I'm sure someone will tell me how to get the size right.

Just 1 more, I promise. This is Louie and 1 of my kittens - he was actually bigger than the kittie at that point. (Sorry, still having problems with this resizing thing!)

Aw, he's gorgeous. I used to have a Peruvian boy too, I have a soft spot for them.

Thanks. Does he look rather large to you? To me, he looks way bigger than any other guinea pig that I have ever seen. Even in the picture where he is wet, he just looks so big.