Buddy joins the family

Hi and Welcome. Domesticated guinea pigs are more often referred to as guinea pigs or cavy (cavies). When you say cuy, it makes me think of the guinea pigs that are used for food purposes as they are referred to as cuy.

Ack! No one is eating our piggie!

I have a piggy named Buddy too. Hopefully yours is as wonderful as mine. Are you planning to get him a friend?

BTW I looked at the pics of the cage. The size is awesome but that carpet and cardboard is going to get really nasty really quick. Have you considered fleece and coroplast?

ojars said:

Ack! No one is eating our piggie!

Click to expand...

You may want to change the name of your pigs cage to the Cavy Containment System so not one will think you are raising pigs to eat.

If you have any questions, be sure to ask!

JD In Van said:

I have a piggy named Buddy too. Hopefully yours is as wonderful as mine. Are you planning to get him a friend?

BTW I looked at the pics of the cage. The size is awesome but that carpet and cardboard is going to get really nasty really quick. Have you considered fleece and coroplast?

Click to expand...

Coroplast is on our to do list!

Tell me about fleece. I see references to it in other posts.

We wash the carpet pieces regularly. By the way, it is an easy way to clean the premises every other day. There are layers of newspapers below the carpet and thick corrugated cardboard below those. The cardboard is a stopgap until replaced by Coroplast.

JD In Van said:

I have a piggy named Buddy too. Hopefully yours is as wonderful as mine. Are you planning to get him a friend?

BTW I looked at the pics of the cage. The size is awesome but that carpet and cardboard is going to get really nasty really quick. Have you considered fleece and coroplast?

Click to expand...

I noticed the cage as well I think the carpet will get very filthy very fast and be hard to clean so fleece would probably be a good idea. Couldn't really tell if that is cardboard or wood you used for the base? For my cage I used stiff board and contacted it so it was water proof. You can also get vinyl or lino tiles which will stick on it and also make it water proof. It is best to have an easy to clean surface that won't soak in water. So yeah if not coroplast then those are a couple of ideas. You can also use a shower curtain etc.

My friend joked about eating my guiena pig once. I was quite horrified ha ha.

Oh and also - that is a lovely big cage by the way

Ly&Pigs said:

You may want to change the name of your pigs cage to the Cavy Containment System so not one will think you are raising pigs to eat.

If you have any questions, be sure to ask!

Click to expand...

I changed the photos today!

Unable to edit post.

ojars said:

Coroplast is on our to do list!

Tell me about fleece. I see references to it in other posts.

We wash the carpet pieces regularly. By the way, it is an easy way to clean the premises every other day. There are layers of newspapers below the carpet and thick corrugated cardboard below those. The cardboard is a stopgap until replaced by Coroplast.

Click to expand...

There are plenty of threads on fleece you just have to search for them. Hands down it's the best and most affordable bedding in my (albeit limited) experience.

I got curious about the cuy/cavy/guinea pig distinction, so did a little googling. You might be interested in what I found.

Cavies include guinea pigs, South American wild cavies, capybaras, and maras, which look amazingly like rabbits. This has a picture of a mara.

"Cuy" seems to be used mostly in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia for the ones that are raised for eating.

It seems that in English, cavy = guinea pig is much more widespread than in other languages, although there are some others. An article at the (broken link removed) website has a couple of paragraphs on the name origins, and a lot of translations.

Read the Fleece Project sticky in the bedding section. It should answer all of your questions. Carpet will stay wet when it gets wet. Fleece wicks the moisture through to an underlayer so it will stay dry. Therefore it's better for your pig's comfort and health.

Yes, I was beginning to wonder if these pigs were going to be eaten. I was thinking, cuy, oh no!

I like the German name for guinea pigs: Meerschweinchen! lol Say that 5 times really fast!

Welcome to the forum!

Billy joins the family

Billy just joined out little family. He is a bit small at ten weeks (10.8 oz) -- I suspect his siblings ate most of the food.



Billy follows Buddy around -- learning to be a serious cavy from the big fellow.



They both like the marble slab!


I want to thank the folks who tipped me off to putting grass in tubes and to the idea of having a stone resting spot for the cavies.

The open cage now has a penthouse suite. I have found two possible sources for Coroplast and am also watching out for fleeces on sale.

My kind regards to the community for all these great ideas!

Re: Billy joins the family

I'm glad he has a buddy and that they are getting along! Where did you get the new guy from? Did you verify that they are both boys and quarantine the new pig for three weeks behind closed doors before doing introductions?

Because we board Buddy when we take a trip at the pet shop where we got Billy (and Buddy), we did not quarantine the little guy -- Billy is clearly a male!

Their introduction did take place on neutral ground -- thanks again for great information! Never seen so much enthusiastic mounting in my life. We also took the precaution of changing out all bedding materials in the Cavy Confinement System.

Billy follows Buddy around and notes what Buddy eats and how he behaves -- just like a little brother.

We had not realized how massive Buddy has become at nearly 5 months (24.7 oz.) until we compared him to Billy at 10 weeks (10.8 oz.).

Wait, I'm not sure I understand your reasoning for NOT quarantining. You got both from a pet shop (please adopt) so...why...no quarantine? Pet shops are notorious for selling ill and infested guinea pigs. I'm not sure why getting them at a pet shop means you don't have to quarantine.

Sorry to have been unclear.

1. We got Buddy from a little pet shop.
2. We have boarded Buddy twice at that shop in the vicinity of other cavies.
3. Buddy was at that shop when we got Billy.

Based on the available evidence to date, both cavies have experienced equivalent environmental conditions. A quarantine is not indicated.

ojars said:

Sorry to have been unclear.

1. We got Buddy from a little pet shop.
2. We have boarded Buddy twice at that shop in the vicinity of other cavies.
3. Buddy was at that shop when we got Billy.

Based on the available evidence to date, both cavies have experienced equivalent environmental conditions. A quarantine is not indicated.

Click to expand...

1. I'm sorry to hear that you got them from a pet shop. You've missed or ignored a tremendous number of posts about how that perpetuates the cycle of "mill" breeding operations and guinea pigs in shelters remaining homeless.
2. Boarding a guinea pig in a pet shop in the vicinity of other cavies puts your healthy pig at serious risk of coming down with an illness, many of which are quickly fatal.
3. Maybe so, but an unknown number of other pigs have been in and out of the pet shop since, carrying who knows what illnesses. A quarantine was definitely indicated, but it's too late now.

Traveling cavies

Buddy is up to 847 grams and Billy is up to 681 grams!

These little piggies have really porked up after their recent trip to Orlando.

Billy figured out a way to escape the Cavy Containment System. Exactly how that was done is unclear. We have added a panel near the ramp, in case Billy tried his lemming act -- he is a fearless little leaper!