Awaiting the arrival of my new babies

Welcome. Good luck with your new piggies, they're great little animals. It's good to have your children help out with age-appropriate tasks, just make sure you are also involved with the care and the pigs are always taken care of (which it sounds like you'll be doing). We'll love to see pictures when you post them!

I am so excited. We are picking the guinea pigs up tomorrow late afternoon. Today I am going to be getting their space ready for them and sewing some cuddle cups, cuddle bags and some tunnels for them. As you might be able to tell I am super excited. I am also talking with two other people who have guinea pigs that they don't want anymore. The only problem is that I don't drive so I have to arrange a time that is good for them and for my husband so we can get them.

I do have a question. Should I keep the guinea pigs in the cage they come in for the three week quarantine time or put them into a C&C cage right away? I am just worried that if there is something wrong with them that the new cage would get contaminated. I guess it wouldn't be a big deal to move them and if something happens I would have to sterilize everything again.

You can put your new pigs in the C&C right away. You only have to quarantine a new pig coming into the household if you have existing pigs. Since these are your first, it is good to be especially watchful for signs of illness, but they don't need the whole quarantine procedure. It's good you're already being very carefull though! I'm sure the pigs will appreciate the extra space right away. If there is illness occuring, it's best just to clean and sterilize everything again.

Have fun sewing them cozies, they're lucky you're preparing all this for them. It's great you're excited, have fun with your new piggies!

Welcome!

You definately sound excited! WOW, your husband works somewhere that he has access to coroplast. I'm so jealous! I want a husband that can bring home coroplast.

We had a slight change in plans. Instead of purchasing the three guinea pigs I was given a male that needed to go right away. The lady who has the three has been trying to sell them for a while and isn't in a huge rush for them to be gone.

So we now have a male guinea pig. He is a peruvian 2 year old named Popcorn. He is white with tan (orangish) markings. They had been trimming his hair so it isn't very long, but he definitely needs some brushing. He came with the petstore cage so he is currently in a blocked off corner of the living room. He will spend the day in the corner and then spend the night in his cage (which is getting a towels and fleece for bedding). I was happy to see that he had Timothy Hay pellets but that is where my happiness ended. He was in a dirty cage - she said she didn't clean it cause she wanted me to see that even when the cage is dirty the pig doesn't smell . She told me to just put him out on the lawn during the day cause he won't run away and he really likes grass. And there was no hay for him, not even a little bit in the litter.

On the way home with him we stopped at a grocery store and I ran in and grabbed some veggies for him. He has had three leaves of romaine lettuce, a baby carrot and a couple slices of zucchini. Not very fond of the zucchini. I am so looking forward to spoiling this cutie. Oh, and I would imagine she got him from a pet store so I am going to have to check and see if he really is a male.

ETA: I should also mention that I know that Popcorn needs a playmate, but I am going to wait until I find out if he is in fact a he. But I will definitely be adding a friend for him very soon (and introducing them after the quarantine period).

Popcorn has gone through a name change. He came to us with the name Popcorn, but my husband and children decided he needed a name change. So Popcorn has now become Anikan (do you think we have a few Star Wars fans in our house?). And Anikan is definitely a male. I had gone to the page suggested to tell the sex and looked over all the pictures. Then I sat and snuggled Anikan for a while cause I figured I should get to know him before checking out his naughty bits. Apparently he really enjoyed snuggle time cause there was no mistaking the fact that he is definitely a he. I also realized how skinny he is while snuggling. Definitely needs to put on a bit of weight.

My question now is should I look for a young male for him or should I look into having him spayed so he can be put into a pen with females?

I'd look for a male, so he doesn't have to go through surgery.

I'd look for a male. Male pairs and groups usually bond just fine, it's a myth that they won't get along. Just make sure they have enough space to get away from each other, and you introduce them on neutral ground. If you adopt from a rescue, they will often let you bring in your existing pig for intros (all rescue pigs will have been QT'd first and healthy) to see who gets along with who.

We picked up our two girls last night. They are so skittish. They are very beautiful. Princess Leia is a two year old and Padme is 6 months old. Padme is an American guinea pig (I think) and Princess Leia is a Silkie. I haven't loaded the pictures onto my computer yet, but I will do it tonight and post pictures of all three cuties.

I am going to look for a young male to put with Anakin. Then I will be done for a bit.

I have attached pictures of our guinea pigs. The long haired black and white one is our two year old girl, Princess Leia. The short haired white and brown one is our 6 month old, Padme. Anakin is the little sweetie peeking out of the pigloo. He seems to be scared of the camera and took off when I tried to take pictures of him.

Aw, all are so cute. I especially love Anakin, he is gorgeous.

The edible log line of products aren't healthy though. They contain honey (sugary), alfalfa (high in calcium), and sawdust. It's best to ditch it and use a wooden house or another safe alternative.

Welcome! Your pigs are adorable!