New to pigs! Getting a pair this weekend

Hi and welcome to GPC.

Your cage looks really nice but I have one concern. Those hay balls can be dangerous and hard for the pigs to get hay out of. You need to replace it with a hay rack or something else. Pigs can get their legs caught in them. Hay needs to be easily available to pigs as they spend quite a bit of time grazing on it.

Welcome.

Thank you for adopting. Ditto ly about the hay ball.

Okay, I will replace it Thanks for the input!

First off, welcome to GPC! It's wonderful that you found this amazing website BEFORE getting your pigs, and have been doing your research! To me, that means that you really want to give them the best life possible! You will find loads of information on this website, which I realize can be overwhelming. If you cannot find an answer to a question you have about guinea pig care, please ask! Members here would be very happy to answer your question and help you out! You look like you are well on your way to becoming a good piggy parent! I am also SO glad that you are adopting! There are so many homeless guinea pigs out there in need of homes, and it usually takes people quite a while to realize that humane societies and shelters HAVE guinea pigs (I know I didn't realize until I had 3 guinea pigs already!).

If you haven't already seen the charts created by Ly (which she spent LOTS of time making) please check them out! Here is a link to them: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html#post254730
It shows what vegetables and fruits guinea pigs can have, in what quantities, and how often!

Also, I'm blanking on what kind of loose bedding you are using. I've had guinea pigs for 1.5 years now, and being a college student I know how quickly loose bedding adds up with these guys (they are basically very efficient pooping machines!), so if you haven't looked into fleece, you might consider doing that! Here is a link on how it is used, prepared, etc.: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html
It's just something to consider.

Now, I must also admit that those hay balls can be dangerous, I know from first hand experience.

This picture was taken a few weeks to a month into having pigs, and I was still learning about them. My smallest girl, Skunk, was eager to get inside to finish off the hay, she somehow opened it up and crawled inside. She wasn't in long, and I removed her carefully, but have NOT used the hay ball since.

NicholsS10 said:

Now, I must also admit that those hay ball can be dangerous, I know from first hand experience.

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I had a similar experience with the wire veggie balls with the bells on the bottom. Lucy got her head stuck in it when she was little and I haven't used it since!

kaorte, welcome to the forum. I'm also glad that you're doing research before getting pigs! I did too and I shudder at the thought of what an unintentionally bad piggy parent I would have been if I hadn't!

Yeah, I have quite a few other animals so I know that doing your research and setting up before hand is the way to go and is the best for the animal.

Yep, I have a copy of that sheet, thanks!

The bedding I am using is basically care-fresh. We bought one bag to test it out. I opted not to go with the fleece because we don't have a washing machine in our apartment and I am afraid that this will cause a problem when it needs to be washed. I am sure eventually we will switch to fleece but for now it is more practical to use bedding.

Would it be okay to use the hay ball for supervised floor time? I can understand the risks but, as a college student, I don't want it to go completely to waste.

Oh and here are the two pigs we are adopting: Honey and Bagels!
(broken link removed)

fieryone said:

I had a similar experience with the wire veggie balls with the bells on the bottom. Lucy got her head stuck in it when she was little and I haven't used it since!

kaorte, welcome to the forum. I'm also glad that you're doing research before getting pigs! I did too and I shudder at the thought of what an unintentionally bad piggy parent I would have been if I hadn't!

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I was thinking about getting one of those wire veggie balls, but now I won't! Thanks for the warning fieryone!

I also did my research and shudder at how I could have been if I didn't...but still even with all that research, there is just so much information to process! There is just so much to know about these little guys! So like I said, please ask questions, if you have concerns about what is normal, ask us about that too! And most of all, read, read, read. Read up all you can on this website, on www.guinealynx.info, and Guinea Pig Education, Care, Rescue and Adoption at Cavy Spirit ! These 3 websites contain the best guinea pig care and information about them.

First off, those pigs look adorable! Critter coral is also a wonderful rescue.

Also as a college student, I know what you mean by "not wanting it to go to waste." Personally, as long as it's used just during floor time (so they have access to some hay) and you are supervising them the entire time, I don't see a problem with it. But if you notice that it's starting to become dangerous, obviously remove it for their safety.

Do you mind me asking what brand of pellets and hay you plan on using?

Both Crappy brands
In the near future I am doing an order to KM with my friend who also has two pigs. I looked and looked for the best hay I could find but only bought a small bag.

I couldn't find oxbow pellets so I just grabbed a small bag of something that had the same calcium content.

It's great that you are ordering from KM in the near future. I just got 25lb of their orchard grass TODAY! My pigs go nuts over it. KM also has WONDERFUL pellets. If you are having a hard time finding good pellets around you, and you are ordering from KM anyway, I would order from them. Their pellets are as good as, or better than oxbow!

So I have heard I will most likely be ordering both from them and splitting it with my friend.