Heyo! New, obviously, but...

He won't need a bath. Pigs rarely ever need bathing, maybe up to 3 times per year if they are long haired. Short haired pigs don't really ever need bathing. There are lots of threads about how to bathe if you want to learn for future reference. Just use the forum search feature.

Okay, that's cool. My parents will be happy to know that! Anything else a n00b should know? I glanced through some of the stuff, just wanna get the skinny on the smaller details.

AshleyC said:

Okay, I'm new to this site, new to my guinea pig, and new to being a proud cavy owner!!! I've always wanted a smallish critter, and my mom finally graced me with a pig she got from one of her friends at work.

Anyway, he's male (duh), he's about a month old, my mom said, and I've had him for about a week. I haven't settled on a name for him (I don't even know what breed(s) he is) but I'm thinking of Nudge.

Since I just got him, Mom doesn't want another one in the house because it drives my dog (Rusty, a pitbull) crazy! So how could I convince her to let me get another one?

Also, I've told her that he needs a bigger cage (it's a 24" small animal cage) and she says she'll upgrade him later. I do give him floor time but I don't really like to since there's too many crawly spaces he can get into and I don't really enjoy digging him out. He's not allowed beyond my bedroom due to Rusty. Should I get a really large cardboard box and use that for his floor time?

Last thing. Since I got him, I haven't given him a bath. How should I go about that and how often do they need one? He's only 5 weeks old.

Click to expand...

Hi Ashley,

Welcome to forums.

Firstly you need to get that piggy of yours into a bigger cage! As you're on this site I'm sure you will have seen the main page and how to make a large cage inexpensively. I'm in the UK myself but I know Walmart and Target sell cubes inexpensively.

Secondly guinea pigs are pack animals. Your pig needs a buddy!

My suggestion is you have a good look around this site and forums, read everything you can. Also print off pages for your Mom to read about building a C&C cage and pages that explain why guinea pigs need piggy buddies!

Good luck

No offensive meant to you Ashley, but I'm utterly astonished how many new people, mainly teenagers that post on these forums whose parents have just got them their first guinea pig... yet the parents obviously haven't taken the time or effort to research the animal first! For heaven's sake, they are living creatures, not disposable toys! Then when people realise the animal has more needs than intially thought it's all "Well I don't think my parents will let me get another pig...", "My parents won't buy cubes, they're too expensive." Parents, you should have thought about that BEFORE buying the creature. Irresponsible in my opinion.

I know, right? At least I look them up online and inform my parents of their needs! That's why I'm currently job-hunting, so that I can provide him with a better life. Also, if I show my parents I'm responsible, it'll be easier to convince them to let me get another one. I just wish he could play in the dining room and stuff, but anything outside my room is either baby-area or my dog's territory.

I use more cubes to make a gated area for floortime play. Or use them to block off spaces you don't want your piggy to get into. Walmart sells a small playpen that I think is under $20 if money is the issue.

I agree with Astrantia, get your mom to look over the website with you some time or at least print out some basic care info. Main concern is of course getting him into a bigger cage, after that I'd start looking into getting him a friend. The cage he's in now doesn't have a wire bottom does it? Those are very bad for their poor little feet.

AshleyC said:

Anything else a n00b should know?

Click to expand...

There is a lot to know about guinea pig care. To begin with, read all of the stickies at the top of each forum.

After that, any specific questions you have could probably be found by doing a search. If you still need the answer to your question...just post it. You'll get a lot of good advice here.

It's extremely important to house and feed your piggy correctly. You've come to the right place to learn how to do just that. It's up to you to put it into practice for the sake of your guinea pig.

Welcome, and as Astrantia stated - print off information to keep on hand and have your mom read it. Print off the diet/nutrition guide in the nutrition forum. If you use it daily, your piggy will have a good, healthy diet!

Hey and welcome!

It does sound like he needs a bigger cage. I would suggest a 2x4 so in case you do get another one, and it is a boar, in case of conflict, they can have their own place to "chill".
I would suggest holding off on the second one to see how pig reacts to the dog in various situations and see how the dog reacts. Do not let them get too close. Should you get another pig and you should do this either way, make a cover for the cage so the dig can't access it. Do you feed hay, veggies, etc...?

If you're pretty good at training your dog, or would like to try it, I would suggest training your dog to get used to your pig. I'm not a dog trainer of anything, but I have seen trainers on TV training dogs to see small animals as family, not food. Maybe you should look it up and try it!
But anyways, welcome to the world of Cavy-ness