Aloha from Hawaii...soon-to-be piggie mama

~Mel~ · Jul 25, 2009

Aloha from the lovely state of Hawaii! My name is Mel (hence the user name, lol) and my husband, daughter and I are preparing to becoming piggie parents.

We have already constructed our cage. It's C&C and is a 2x4 cage. We plan to use fleece bedding for our piggies.

I say that we plan to because we haven't acquired our guinea pigs yet. We are waiting for a pair to become available for adoption. We're hoping to adopt 2 at the same time, from the same source, if at all possible, because we'd like to avoid any introduction issues, as well as any quarantine from one another.

We have a local source for Oxbow hay and pellets, as well as leads on a couple of cavy savvy vets in the area.

I stumbled across this forum while looking for bedding alternatives. We have owned mice in the past and had issues with the bedding. We tried Carefresh and were less than satisfied with the mess. And prior to that we had aspen and didn't like the dust factor. So fleece it'll be.

I am so glad that I found this forum because I have learned a few things about cavies that I didn't know. I feel that we are well prepared for owning a couple of piggies. I am on pins and needles waiting for the right piggies to become available for us!

Oh, a little more about us, my husband is in the Navy, my daughter is almost 8 and I work from home, so our new piggies will have someone near them all the time. We have no other pets currently, so our piggies will not face any competition for attention, nor is there the worry of them being the victims of a predatory pet.

I hope to be able to update soon to share information about our piggies...now...just waiting for the right pair to become available.

akstrohm · Jul 26, 2009

Welcome to the forum! It's wonderful that you have researched how to take care of your pets before adopting them... you sound like you will be a wonderful piggy owner!

The only thing you didn't mention is veggies, so make sure you take a look at the nutrition charts in the diet and nutrition forum if you haven't already.

You could post in the wanting to adopt section if you are having trouble finding pigs.

Just ask if you have any questions!

CavyMama · Jul 26, 2009

Welcome to the world of piggie pet ownership!

I have to say, I'm very impressed at your level of research and information gathering for never having owned guinea pigs before. Well done!

As akstrom said, make sure you take a look at the nutrition charts to find what piggies should (and shouldn't) eat and how much of each is healthy.

Pellet food should be plain pellets - no colorful bits or little dried fruits or nuts in there.

Another thing to consider is that the guineas should never have an exercise ball or wheel. It's not good for their back or toes. These are mainly for smaller animals like mice, hamsters and gerbils.

Welcome once again and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. There are lots of friendly and very knowledgeable people here to help.

akstrohm · Jul 26, 2009

CavyMama said:
Pellet food should be plain pellets - no colorful bits or little dried fruits or nuts in there.

She's feeding Oxbow, so no worries there.

Bdmellohead · Jul 26, 2009

Aloha! You will love this site and keep learning new things! I can't wait for you to post pigtures of your little ones when you adopt them! I think it's awesome that you are adopting since I know a lot of pet stores on Oahu sell puppies and kittens in their stores. Welcome!

~Mel~ · Jul 27, 2009

I have been checking out the nutrition charts for the fruits/veggies and have been making plenty of notes, lol. I am definitely going to be relying on the nutrition charts for making absolutely certain that our piggies will be getting the proper nutrients and such. I am so grateful to have all of these resources at my fingertips!

I knew not to use an exercise wheel or ball--I didn't even like having them for our mice, but a wheel for mice seems to be a necessity, you know? Just having plenty of space for running laps is good for the piggies and floor time, of course!

When I first started researching, I didn't understand why seeds and such were a bad thing for piggies. I didn't even consider that choking was possible. Thanks to this site, I found that out before any mishaps!

I tend to research and plan things to the extreme, but it has paid off in so many ways in the past that I don't mind it. For me, there was never a question of whether to adopt or buy...I HATE the idea of buying an animal when there are those at shelters who need homes. We even adopted our mice from a local rescue when we had them! The only pet I have ever purchased was a fish and I felt bad doing that.

We just found out that a local rescue got several piggies in from a single source and once they are evaluated, they'll be placed up for adoption. We are on the call list for when that happens because we have our adoption profile forms already submitted. YAY!!!

bunpignkids · Jul 27, 2009

Hello Mel. We are also in Hawaii and would like to know where you are getting Oxbow products and where you bought your C&C materials. We have been lurking around this forum and website for some time and really want build a bigger cage. Our little pig has a fenced area in our 17 x 20 den for running and playing but his cage is only 4' X 4' and single level. Want to build bigger so we can try to introduce her to a friend.

~Mel~ · Jul 28, 2009

We got our C&C cage materials at WalMart for the cubes and we went to One Shot & Grafic Art Supplies for the coroplast. They sell it in 48" by 96" sheets for $22.45 per sheet, plus tax.

One Shot is on Waiakamilo Road, off of Dillingham Blvd. in Honolulu.

We will be getting our Oxbow products from Waimanalo Feed Supply in Waimanalo (on the Windward side of the island), although there are some other locations on the island that sell Oxbow.

Obviously, I am on Oahu, lol. I hope this helped!

NicholsS10 · Jul 28, 2009

It's wonderful that you will be getting your piggies soon! I can't wait to see pictures!

bunpignkids · Jul 28, 2009

Thanks for the info Mel. We found some coroplast for $15 a sheet but they only have white so we are going with your source. We are getting started on our C&C cages today, a 2 story for the rabbit and 1 story for the GP. Good luck on your adoption.

~Mel~ · Jul 31, 2009

Re: Aloha from Hawaii NOW A PIGGIE MOM

An update on me...We adopted our girls yesterday! They got the all clear and were released for adoption.

Their names (chosen by our daughter) are Meap (pronounced meeep) and Pearl. They were a bonded pair who were surrendered by a family because they didn't wish to take them with them when they moved because it was too much trouble for just guinea pigs (their words, not ours).

We were happy to adopt them and give them a forever home! They are so sweet. I'll give you all more details in the next day or so. It's almost 1 am here in Hawaii and I am dead tired.

Here's an image of my girls to get started and I posted others in my Photo Gallery.

akstrohm · Jul 31, 2009

Re: Aloha from Hawaii NOW A PIGGIE MOM

They are adorable! Congratulations!

Peggysu · Jul 31, 2009

Congratulations on the adoption! They are so cute!

~Mel~ · Jul 31, 2009

Thanks! We just love them!

They are too funny when it comes to veggie time. Pearl (the darker one) popcorns around the cage and wheeks really loudly (it actually almost sounds like a shriek) when she hears me chopping veggies. When I bring the veggies over, she attacks her veggies and chuts to herself while she's eating. She also purrs while eating.

Meap, the lighter brown and white, gets on her hind legs and wheeks when she sees me coming with the bowls of veggies. She stands and wheeks until I put her veggies down and then she eats. She doesn't make much noise while eating, unless Pearl gets too close to her pile...then it's teeth chattering and rumbling at her sister. When she's done, she curls up on her blue towel lump (you can see part of it in the pic I posted in this thread) and pulls hay out of the hay rack over her to make a curtain of sorts. She does kinda talk to herself then--it sounds more like a giggle, almost--so I guess a chubble, lol.

Pearl prefers either the Pigloo or paper sack right after she finishes eating. After about a half hour, both girls get up, meet in the center of the cage and talk to each other. Then they head for the Pigloo or elsewhere to curl up together and groom each other's backs.

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Aloha from Hawaii...soon-to-be piggie mama

~Mel~

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akstrohm

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CavyMama

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akstrohm

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Bdmellohead

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~Mel~

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bunpignkids

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~Mel~

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NicholsS10

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bunpignkids

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~Mel~

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akstrohm

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Peggysu

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~Mel~

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