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New Member, New Piggies

MrElussive

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Hey everyone,

I just wanted to say what's up! I ordered a guinea pig cage off this website, a 2x5 with a 2x2 upper deck. I purchased two guinea pigs; unfortunately neither of them were babies. I got them both from the only local pet store that had the pigs in stock. One of them is a couple months old and the other looks like he's 1 or 2 years old, maybe more.

These are my first two guinea pigs and so far they are not too friendly because they've never really been handled by people when they were at the pet store, but I still love them.

Their names are Bacon and Bastardo and I will post some pictures of my fluffy new friends later on tonight.

Thanks,
MrElussive
 

SemiCharmedShoe

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Well its great that you got a pair. Congrats. Many of the people on this forum are extremely informed. This site does not encourage people to buy animals from pet stores or breeders although I am guilty myself of that charge. Please check your animals and keep a close eye on them for sickness. My boyfriend got me a guinea from petsmart who was indeed sick, so we returned him. Now we have two healthy long haired girls from a very polite and informed breeder. Its great that you are getting them a cage from the website. Please do take a look at the various posts about good vegetables for them and look into getting quality oxbow hay and oxbow pellets if they are available to you. If you've already done all that then pat yourself on the back and enjoy. As far as getting them used to you, I love to cuddle my girls, although when they first got here they couldn't have been more afraid of me and my bf. They were in a corner of their cage just jumping on one another trying to hid under the other. If you go slowly and always pick them up carefully, (try holding them to your chest they like that always supporting their rear) they will grow more comfortable with you. I also make sure to pet them in their cage and not always pick them up, this seems to help reduce the freak out factor of knowing that whenever I put my hand in the cage I am going to scoop them out of it since sometimes I only pet. We keep them in my boyfriend's bedroom which seemed to help them get used to us rather quickly. Do give them some time and some hidey houses just to make the change a little easier on them. Best of luck! If you read the forums and still have questions ask away. :)
 

MrElussive

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Thanks for the post. The cage is already here and setup, I made sure to have the cage first, and then get the piggies. They have a wooden hidey house and a chew tunnel (with a cuddling blanket inside the chew tunnel) for sleeping. There is also an exercise wheel for running, but I do not think they have used it yet. I am aiming to purchase another wooden hidey house because they really love it, but they prefer sleeping in separate quarters.

They enjoy eating the hay more than the pellets, but they really go crazy over apple. I give each piggy a slice of apple every morning and they love it. When I first greet them in the morning they get really happy and start whistling/squeaking cuz they know they are getting their apple soon!!
 

seagirl96

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oops! Banish the exercise wheel. You will learn here that those and the exercise balls are very bad for piggies. They're okay for rats, gerbils & hamsters but piggies spines are not built that way. The rest is all good. A cardboard box with a couple of door holes is fun & so is a paper bag. Welcome1
 

Tulia&Susie

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SemiCharmedShoe, usually I don't post like this but I would warn you this is a anti-breeding forum. And did you just not your piggy that was sick from the petstore? Did you just not want to care for a sick guineapig?
 

MrElussive

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It is one of those super huge guinea pig wheels. So far they are not using it but I will monitor the arch of their spine if/when they use it. I am quite sure they will have plenty of room but if it looks stressful to their spine, I will get rid of it. But ultimately, I'll leave it all up to them.

Shoe, thanks for the advice, I will browse the forums for past threads and figure out the "Do's" and Do not's" to ensure the best care for my lil fellas! :D
 

Percy's Mom

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As was already mentioned, this forum is very anti-petstore and anti-breeder, but since you already have your pigs, what is most important is taking good care of them. I would highly recommend that you find a good cavy savvy vet for them and make sure they are both actually the same gender and healthy. Pet stores are notorious for mis-sexing small animals and selling sick animals.

Please do not wait for your pigs to use the wheel while you "monitor the arch of their spine." Guinea pigs do not move the way mice, hamsters, gerbils, or chinchillas do. Their spines are much too stiff for a wheel, ball, or lead to be safe without a very real risk of a broken back.

Also, take a few minutes to read though the links in the following thread for newbies. You will find a wealth of information to help you take the best care of your guinea pigs as well as information regarding forum rules and philosophy.
 

pignewton

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Please just ditch the wheel. There is no such thing as a "guinea pig" wheel. It has nothing to do with the size. They are dangerous because pig spines are not the same as hamsters, etc - they dont bend in the same way.
 

mommyoffive

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Agreed, wheels and rolly balls=bad! Welcome to the site though, you'll find a lot of great info on here!
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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Please adhere to the posters and throw it away before you have a dead pig on your hands. It'll too late to 'monitor' a broken spine. The pet store sells tons of items that are harmful including those. They can slap for guinea pigs label on anything - doesn't mean it's ok.

Your pigs may also have mites, which can make them irritable and unfriendly. Most pet store pigs have them. I would also make sure you do have two males as the pet store frequently missexes them.

fyi - the local mom and pop pet stores are usually worse than the chains
 

SemiCharmedShoe

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SemiCharmedShoe, usually I don't post like this but I would warn you this is a anti-breeding forum. And did you just not your piggy that was sick from the petstore? Did you just not want to care for a sick guineapig?

I am aware this is an anti-breeding forum which is what I did try to politely inform the new member of by saying this website does not encourage people to buy from stores or from breeders. I think your post is asking why we returned our sick pig to the petstore? We returned him being new to it and left our phone number with the store to pick him up since they said if we returned him they would treat him for free and allow us to rebuy him. We left our number and called back for two weeks but they stopped giving us information about him as he was being treated for a number of things. To be quite honest I was very scared that I wouldn't be able to give him the proper care at home for his health problems seeing as I was very new to cavys at that point. This made us not want to get any animal from a pet store, due to our first experience being so poor, so we eventually bought two sows from a woman who breeds peruvians and texels. My boyfriend visited and saw where they were kept and we asked her a number of questions and if anything she and her daughter wanted to be very informed about who they were selling to. I believe they sincerely care for their animals and they are more than delighted by updates with pictures that I send them. I am aware this is not condoned by the website and I am not in any way suggesting others buy from a breeder. I do believe it is much better to acquire an animal from a rescue. That is however the story of how I came to own my girls and I am sure many other people who write on this forum acquired their guineas from non-rescue sources, so I am not quite sure why I in particular had to explain myself. However, for your benefit I hope this post has helped clear some things up.
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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I think the concern was (which you probably didn't know at that point) is that it is cheaper for pet stores to order more from the pet mill than pay for vet care and actually dilligently treat them for illnesses. They probably just gave you lip service and the pig died while sitting in their cold, dark back room all alone. Hence sympathy for the pig.

If you make a big stink to the manager and corporate, they usually reimburse you vet bills to shut you up.

Yes, many have gotten pigs from pet stores before they know better or knew about adopting. If you've been here and still buy, then that is another issue.
 

this_lil_piggy

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I know it may feel you are being a bit picked on about the wheel, but I assure you, you have found yourself on one of the most knowledgeable websites for guinea pig care and the information is valid and founded. Wheels and balls are two of the worst products marketed for guinea pigs. The reason for this is in order to run in/on these things an animal has to arch it's back the way you would when you stand, poke out your chest, and stretch. A guinea pigs spine is not made to naturally arch in that direction, therefore attempting to run the wheel and arch their back can and has resulted in broken backs. It isn't a risk worth taking.

Just on another note, apples are very high in sugars. Green vegetables such as leaf lettuce, cilantro, and bell peppers are high in the vitamin C pigs need while lower in sugars. Your piggies and their health would benefit greatly from trying some of these items out, and limiting the apple as a treat a few times a week.

I hope you understand we are all just eager to help you provide the best for your new pets so you can share long healthy lives together. :)
Welcome to the forums. :)
 

seagirl96

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rabbitsncavyluv, thanks for confirming my suspicions about treatment at pet stores. I took Ink Spot back to Pet Smart, assuming they were telling the truth about treatment but I told them I didn't want my money back, (they insisted). I kept explaining I wanted to keep my piggy. I asked for name & location of vet and I called every single day to talk to the manager and check on her progress! They treated her with something, apparently as I finally got her back, "cured". The next day I took her to my vet as, of course she was sick again. But she didn't die in that back room. I guess I looked like serious trouble to the store.
 

crazywiggy

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Hi, welcome to the forum. I hope you'll find all the info you need on here - some of the most experienced and knowledgable guinea pig people in the world post here so you can get some great ideas and advice. Everyone is always happy to help.

Well done for getting a pair of piggies, and your cage sounds great - nice and big!

Sorry to add to what may sound like moaning, but please remove the wheel. We only ask because they are really dangerous and could lead to serious injury that may result in your piggy having to be put down. You sound like you really care about your boys so I'm sure this is something you wouldn't want to risk.

Anyway, enjoy the site, and enjoy your piggies!
 

MrElussive

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Okay, I'll take their wheel out and put it aside today. For those of you who are that concerned about the piggies' spines, do not worry because I don't think they've touched the wheel. :)
 
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