Want a Guinea Pig(s) Hot Tips for first time users i've found it be alittle helpful.

I agree with everything except for the salt thing, chew toys, and scentedbedding. The scent smells horrible for me, since I'm allergic to it, and the scented bedding can cause a breathing problem in piggies. They chew on hay, and they don't need the salt.

Hmmm....there are quite a few things in this that are not what you should be doing for your piggie.

1. No scented bedding.
2. No Vitamin C drops in the water.
3. No salt lick is needed.
4. Bathing is really only as needed.

Not sure I would blast music but maybe that is just me...I would say doing research on this site would offer much more viable information for new owners.

Have you read anything off of this site? All your information is terrible.A lot of people on this site uses fleece, and I'm pretty sure scented bedding is bad because guinea pigs have a good sense of smell and it would bother them. Also,NO vit C drops in their water. It doesn't do anything and it changes the taste of the water, likely causing them to not want to drink. Also, carrots are not good for everyday feeding and it can only be the size of a baby carrot. Guinea pigs also do not need salt wheels as their food should cover it.

Pet stores should not be mentioned. This site does not support pet stores nor breeders. Before posting bad care information, please read what this site has to offer you.

Regarding bathing, most people never have to bathe their guinea pig. Bathing too often will dry out their skin. It is not a good idea to bath them if they don't truly need it. (Unless you are trying a buddy bath for new additions.)

jessicaivette10 said:

yes, i explained the bathing can be done every3 months if needed and they don't need salt but they chew on humans for salt, ( vet told me) and also the vet told me to give her vitamin C. they do need it! either in water or in food. And the bedding it's for it to absorb its pee and poop. i put lots of timothy hay above it. Its a preference.

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This is outdated information.
You should give your guinea pigs a array of different veggies to satisfy their vit C dietary needs. Never put it in water. It is okay to put it in their food until they start eating veggies.
Most people here use fleece, you should check into it.
By the way, babies need alfalfa hay as well as a good quality timothy hay.

jessicaivette10 said:

I went to a vet and they told me it's good so their teeth don't over grow. And also, not too much of scented by a bedding i meant, it's one which absorbs the pee and poop. It actually works fine for me. But again it's to everyone's preference.

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I think you should try a type of bedding called Aspen. It's not scented, but they use it with horses, hamsters, rabbits, and lots of animals and it absorbs more than pine or wood shavings. You can get a lot if you buy it from a store that sells hay for horses. Some farms have horse hay (120 pounds) for under 20 dollars. Those are called hay bales. You can get Aspen from some of them, too. Or at a petstore, but its more expensive.

jessicaivette10 said:

And just a word for everyone some of the things I've said are from vets that have told me not from me personally, which i have used some and it works for me.

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Regardless of who told you, this is outdated information.Do not put Vit C in your piggie's water. Do you feed your guinea pigs veggies?


Also, read up on this page https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html. Many of us use fleece in our cages. I do not have any odor with it, it's easy to clean up the poops, and we only have to do laundry three times a week. It is cheaper than bedding and cleaner.

Bathing does not need to be done at all actually...piggies clean themselves. Salt is absolutely not needed they will get what they need from a proper diet. If you feed the high quality pellets and proper fresh veggies there is generally not a need for extra vitamin C and especially not drops added to water. Did you vet tell you that you have no idea how much the piggies are ingesting when you put it in their water?? I think as a newbie maybe you should do more research and not post information regarding care. I say this as a newbie who has read everything I can on this site to become informed.

flssgrl said:

Bathing does not need to be done at all actually...piggies clean themselves. Salt is absolutely not needed they will get what they need from a proper diet. If you feed the high quality pellets and proper fresh veggies there is generally not a need for extra vitamin C and especially not drops added to water. Did you vet tell you that you have no idea how much the piggies are ingesting when you put it in their water?? I think as a newbie maybe you should do more research and not post information regarding care. I say this as a newbie who has read everything I can on this site to become informed.

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People who have white piggies need to bath their guinea pigs to remove pee stains. (If their piggies like laying in it.)
Also, buddy baths are done to improve chances of guinea pigs getting along.
If a guinea pig is a rescue and is very dirty, then it is also needed.

jessicaivette10 said:

yes, i explained the bathing can be done every3 months if needed and they don't need salt but they chew on humans for salt, ( vet told me) and also the vet told me to give her vitamin C. they do need it! either in water or in food. And the bedding it's for it to absorb its pee and poop. i put lots of timothy hay above it. Its a preference.

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You shouldn't put it in water because the piggies may drink less of it because they may not like the taste (even if its orange flavored. My pigs hate oranges, or used to!). Hay doesn't absorb pee and it smells after a while, so they just eat it if you put it in a hay holder. Vitamin C can be found in cilantro or lettuce (green leaf or romaine, etc.) and there's enough vitamin C in those for your piggies.

Carrots are treats only, since they have a lot of calcium (to much for a small pig). I give mine a baby carrot every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes longer, even. They can have lettuce every day.

I may reply slowly, because i'm watching a Pokemon movie.

Yes I understand that those are not every three month occurrences. I have piggies with white belly's and have never bathed them...if they needed it I certainly would but as needed not as marked on a monthly basis.

jessicaivette10 said:

Again read your information, i don't support breeders or petstores! i said not to buy from these pet stores or breeders. By breeder i meant if you know someone who breed their guinea pig! and when i put a salt wheel on my Piggies cage she stopped nibbling on me. I give her small baby carrots! and like a said bedding is preference. I tried hay and she didn't like it so i switched. So i did my research, bathing can be done at least 2-3 times a yr.

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What type of hay are you feeding her/brand? There's many kinds, but babies need alfalfa in addition to timothy.
Guinea pigs will nibble on you, but that doesn't mean you need a salt wheel.
They are not needed and bad for them. (Do some fourm searching. )
Guinea pigs get all the salt they need from their pellets.

I do not agree with your advice.

jessicaivette10 said:

When buying a guinea pig...

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This especially. I support adoption as does this forum, and you should write "adopt" instead of "buy" to advocate adoption.

jessicaivette10 said:

Buy your guinea pig scented bedding...

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I don't think scented bedding is healthy. It can cause respiratory issues from the harsh fumes and I would never use it for my pigs.

jessicaivette10 said:

Buy the guinea pigs not regular pet store food as it is plain...

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Plain food is best! Added seeds, nuts, and other treat materials are not recommended. Most pet store pellets are low-quality and unhealthy. To improve your advice, you could suggest the better brands, such as Oxbow or Kleenmama's.

jessicaivette10 said:

You should also get them vitamin C drops to put in their water.

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No, this is not a good idea. See THIS link. Excerpt:

jessicaivette10 said:

Do this immediately as you do not know if your guinea pig could be pregnant, especially if you brought her from a pet store.

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If you hadn't bought your pig from a pet store, you could avoid this.

jessicaivette10 said:

...guinea pigs LOVE music! so blast a little bit of music and they'll be happy.

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Being sensitive creatures, I cannot think that "blasting music" will make them happy.

jessicaivette10 said:

Buy your Piggies a salt wheel and also something they can chew on. At first when you handle your Piggie they might bite you because they love salt and actually need it. So please feed them a little salt and also buy them something to bite on. Hint: this is a useful tip as guinea Pigs might get into the habit of not biting and then their teeth tend to over grow and trust me we don't want that!

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Also not recommended.

jessicaivette10 said:

When you also get your guinea pet you might want to bathe it, even though it is not necessary (they can actually be bathed every 3 months). Please go to your local pet store and buy guinea pig shampoo or a spray which you can use to rub in your guinea pigs skin. Hint: Please don't listen to what others advertise on how to bathe your pig, if you are unsure ask a vet, but usually you can walk into any pet store and they will have guinea pig shampoo/ items. Bathe your guinea pig preferably in your bathroom skin with WARM water and be careful not to soap their eyes please. Don't use hairdryers and etc. to dry them. Just warm them in a towel till they are dried.

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Again, this is incorrect information. Why would you bathe a pig if it isn't necessary? And there's no need to bathe a pig every 3 months. As stated above, most pet store supplies are not high-quality and shouldn't be used. A better shampoo would be Bunny Bath.

jessicaivette10 said:

FINALLY, i suggest that you do take your guinea pet to the vet. If you can't afford a vet that is ok. But i suggest this for mainly first time buyers who buy their pets from Petco, Petsmart, etc. these poor piggies usually come from mistreated warehouses and are in bad health conditions. It is known for Petco and Petsmart to buy from these warehouses and also breeders which hold their own private inside chain of guinea pigs. So please be careful where you buy your piggies. It is preferred to buy them from shelters or even trusted breeders. So take this into consideration before buying your piggie.

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A) It is NOT ok if you can't afford a vet. Before you decide to adopt a pig, you should be willing to pay for medical care in the event that your pig needs it.

B) What about buying not at all? You could just avoid all of the issues you know about. Breeders = no good either.

jessicaivette10 said:

Those are my tips for first time buyers.

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This advice is incorrect. Also, what about adding a friend? A large cage? High quality food?

jessicaivette10 said:

Twilight Star this is for constructive criticism not to put others down! i might be a ''Newbie on this site'' But i've handled my piggies longer. So please use your opinions if you want to correct things to your preference but don't be rude. I can take the constructive criticism but i will not be immature just because someone has a different opinion as mine. If you don't like this then stop writing on my post. Thank you ( don't mind if you have your opinions or want to correct it. but that's why we come to this site and everything can be fixed.)

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I'm not putting you down. But you are giving bad information.
You can have your own opinions, but you should at least read the posts on this site, as they greatly differ from what we teach.
I'm not trying to say your wrong or your doing things bad, but it does vary from everything we do on this site.
And I'm sorry, but Vit C in the water is bad for your pigs as well as salt wheels.(Do a forum search.)
Sorry if this seems like I'm attacking you (I am not.) but you posted incorrect information that goes against the teachings of this site, and some of it is harmful.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...conceptions-about-guinea-pigs-their-care.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/grooming.html
Read this please.