A little Cheese and Butter

Hello all! I am a new piggy owner. My daughter just turned 4 this summer and for the last year all she has ever asked for is a guinea pig. I am not sure where she got the idea, since I have never owned one, nor do we know anybody who has them, but I am very glad that we did. Several months ago I started researching guinea pigs, what they need, and how they live. I stumbled onto this site and I have been lurking here, gathering information and ideas ever since.

After doing all the research I could, I contacted our local piggy rescue and went through the process of adopting our new boys. They were lab animals who spent the first year or so of their lives in a glorified plastic shoe box, when they didn’t have to run mazes or do other tasks. We went to the rescue and my daughter and I fell in love with these two right off the bat.

I brought home all the materials to build their C&C cage, and thanks to all the wonderful information on this site, I think I did pretty well. They now live in a 2x4 cage with a 1x2 kitchen and a 1x2 loft area. I designed the ramps in my cage so that they have a max amount of running space on the ground floor. They have Carefresh in the kitchen and fleece everywhere else. I have added pictures of our piggies to my profile. I have also added pictures of our cage. Any and all advice and suggestions on the cage would be very welcome.

We ran through a lot of possibilities of names for our new little guys, but my daughter finally settled on Cheese and Butter. A little bit unconventional, but she was adamant about them, and they don’t seem to mind, hehe. They have been home with us for less than a week and we have been adjusting things for them a little bit. I have an extra grid set for their floor time so they can have a 3x5 running area, and we have been working to get them used to being around us. Yesterday, I sat in the play pen with them while they ran around in the hay and toys, and they already seem to be a little more relaxed. I let my daughter scoop pellets into their bowl, and help me to vacuum the cage each day, and I take care of the rest of the chores. I have to say this has been a great way to get her to eat veggies too….she gets a kick out of eating lettuce and carrots like her piggies do.

So far the only concerns I have are that Butter will walk up and down the ramps with no problems, but it seems like Cheese just stays full time under the hay basket in their cage. I am not sure if that is good or not. They get a couple of hours each night on the floor, but the rest of the time he only stays in the top. Also, it doesn’t seem like they are eating very much hay at all. I have the same type of timothy hay that they were fed at their rescue and during the day they don’t seem to eat very much. When they have floor time, I spread it out on the blanket and they seem to nibble it right up, but other than that I do not see much hay eating. They get fresh veggies twice per day, a small offering of pellets, and a big basket of hay and the hay level doesn’t appear to be dropping.

I am really excited to “officially” join the forums here, thanks for having such a great place to come and share!