New Piggie Owner in Seattle

You came to the right place. You will get tons of advice.

First off you will love C&C Cages. Buy from the site or make your own. Cheap and personal.

Second your piggy will need a friend. You are a great friend but she will be happier with a piggy friend as well.

As for the veggies. Sometimes they just dont like things and sometimes they just arent use to change. Both my piggies had never had veggies till I got them. At first they would only eat stuff like carrots and grapes. But everyday I gave them a small salad. Like one leaf and half a cherry tomato (just so I didnt waist it) after about a week they started trying it and found the love it. Now they get a big salad each with all the goodies they need and want.

Enjoy your new friend and enjoy the site. Everyone has so much to share with you.

Welcome to the forum! I am glad that you rescued the poor baby.

For a single pig, you want to make at least a 2x4 C&C cage; it is recommended to go as large as you can. The place to start is to figure out where you would put the cage - somewhere there is decent amount of activity that is not too loud or too quiet, and somewhere where you will be sure to stop by and interact with her frequently. A living room, dining room, kitchen, or a frequented and wide hallway are all good options.

Once you've decided on a good location for the age, measure the area. Measure the length of the potential area and divide the number in inches by 14 (the width/length of one grid). Round down, and that is the largest amount of grids you'd be able to fit. Do the same with the width. Choose another spot if the area is smaller than, say, a 2x5. You can also go wider than a 2-by. Some people do a 3x3 for a single pig, a 3x4 for a pair, or a 3x5 for a trio or larger.

A large cage will not mean that you can leave the guinea pig in the cage all day long. You'll still need to take her out several times daily for handling and exercise time in a piggy-proof area in either a pen or a safe room.

You should also consider adopting a friend for your little one. Most guinea pigs need the companionship of another guinea pig for happiness and health. Learn more here.

Your little girl is probably not used to eating veggies. The trick is to start slow and in small amounts. For example, you can do a small piece of lettuce and then a small piece of pepper each night. Once she starts to eat those well enough, you can start trying different veggies. It takes time and patience, really.

You know about proper diet, right? If not, you can learn more here.

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice!

For the first few days I made a mini salad for Roxie and just left it in the cage for her, I even tried sprinkling some of her hay on it to get her to eat it, but she just ignored it or spread it around the cage, so I stopped. But it's good to know that you had success with getting your piggies to eat veggies, so I'll start giving her small salads every day again and see if she gets a liking for them. And I've been reading a ton about diet, etc and I think I have it right - timothy hay pellets, unlimited hay and water, and fresh veggies (once she starts eating them) right?

I am definitely thinking about going with a C&C cage. I picked up some grids, but I'm having trouble finding the other 'c' (I always forget the name). I was wondering if its really necessary. My Roxie is very good about pottying in one corner (of course in a small cage it's harder for that corner to be far enough away from her house, food, and hay...) So I was wondering about maybe keeping her old cage in the new cage? and get her used to just pottying in there and then maybe I can just put like a ferret litter box in that corner once she's mastered it? What do you think? In that case I would love to just use a layer of newspaper under a towel or blanket for bedding and then I wouldn't have to worry about having wood shavings spread around and stuff...
oh, and what do you think about a second level? Is it a good idea for a smaller cage to have a second level on half or not?

Also, I'm living in a house with two girls who aren't big animal lovers, so Roxie has to live in my bedroom, which doesn't give us much space. I'll probably go with the 2x3 cage and then give her plenty of fun floor time.

I would love for her to have a friend. But I'm not sure that I have the space for a larger cage. I spend a lot of time at home and as we're getting more comfortable with each other Roxie is spending more and more time outside of her cage, so she won't be alone in her cage all day or anything.

thanks!
Tori

WELCOME ! I just wanted to say hello, and make you feel welcome ! How wonderful that you adopted her !!! ( or....did "she" adopt you ? Hee.hee ) Have you decided on a name for her ? I am a new piggie owner myself...I have two girls, Cuddles ( the boss, meaning the dominant piggie, but she is such a gentle boss ) who is 3 months, and Buttercup who is 2 1/2 months. You will learn a whole bunch here on this site...with really top-notch information to help aid and guide you through the often wacky, yet wonderful world of owning a guinea pig !! I have had in my lifetime all kinds of animals as pets...but never had a guinea pig, for me, it was a little overwhelming because there is also a lot of "mis-information" ( by unintended well meaning people ) out there when one researches via books, or even the web, Petstore owners ( I feel STRONGLY that Pet stores should KNOW BETTER, and more often than not they give veryVERY bad information, since I have been getting up to speed ( slowly...) on just how bad their consistent bad advice they give out, and in most cases ( I honestly didn't know the conditions and rough incompetent treatment of Pet stores myself until I joined this forum !) If I had known the tough reality behind the scenes that these poor little creatures have to endure...I would definately, DEFINATELY adopted instead. However, I didn't realize all the beforehand, and so that anyone that does adopt wellll that's just to me, truly, truly special. So, sifting through all the misinformation can be quite a task....but This place is the best in many aspects. The guinelynx site...is a great one...as are many others..and most people on here are kind and quick to help or tell you were you can go for "such and such" a need...and answer any questions you might have. I wish you well with your new piggie, and I am SURE she feels safe and loved for the first time in whose knows how long...right ? I am sure she is enjoying your lovin' and kisses and snuggle at this point. I, personally would give your new pigge a little time to adjust to her new home with you..which is enough stress ( stress isn't always a bad thing, thier's good stress too which then choose to grow and develop . It also helps to have the support of others around you "like here in this forum) to encourage you, gently tell you when your not doing something right or whatever for your little angel along in your new journey in this wonderful, sometimes delightfully WACKY world of guinea pig ownership ! However, if you feel you can afford it, and it's within your means...after she has settled in a little, maybe a week or two at the most...she sure would be much happier with one of her own kind to be with,play with..cuddle with, yeah...even fight with. They are alot like people that way ( we all need one another even the ones that don't think they do..they do..) I wish you WELL my friend...and please keep us all up to date with your "rescue baby" and do you have any pigtures you could show us ? And do you know how old she is ? And her name...what did you decide on ! They have a wonderful food diet guinea lynx link someone here much know it....If you look around here I am sure you will find everything you need...hey a cute name for how you met her just popped into my head if you don't have a name yet already.. what do you think of the name, " Destiny"....she hopped over to you and you saw her and you said that's it...she's destined to be mine..I just think that lil' story you shared was sweet and special... and... at that one moment in time...you connected. How cool was THAT and then, what you did, by taking her and giving her a nice home, and I KNOW she appreciates any kindness, love and patience you can give her will maximize your chances of having a very sweeeeet close bond....but it does take a little time..and as she learns to trust you, which might take her a bit of time( since we really don't know what kind of life she had before her guardian angel YOU showed up and probably saved her) However, as you learn how to properly care for all her needs that you will surly give her in her new life with you....she will shower you with her own way of love and affection ( Every single piggie is ONE-OF-A-KIND...they all have their own little personalities, and those personalities often blossum best when they have another one of thier own kind to love, and live with too....but still, just in my opinion alone, not sure if I am right....I think it's best to let her settle in, have a little "honeymooon special time, just the two of you" for now...but all of that you need to decide for yourself. Hope you didn't mind my long- winded "welcome note".....good luck, and warm wishes to you both ! K

thank you for that warm welcome!

After much deliberating and even a facebook vote (haha), she is now known as Roxanne (or Roxie). I love names with meaning and quirky names, but when my sister suggested Roxanne, it just seemed to fit.

I just attempted to snap a shot of Roxie enjoying her first exploration of the upstairs of the house, but my camera needs charging.
But I am very excited about having a little photoshoot with her soon and I will definitely share the results!

When I took her home I gave her 24 hours where the only time I opened or entered her cage was to give her food and hay. but she came out of her igloo right away and made such cute noises when I opened the hay (there was none in her cage and no sign of it, although there were peanut shells!). Then I started leaving my hand in, offering her hay and veggies from my hand, and attempting to pet her. Now it's been 8 days and while she's not a fan of the picking up process she makes happy noises when I hold her and she readily hops out of her cage to get snacks from mom.

I am so in love with her and so happy that we found each other! I'm sure this is going to be a wonderful journey, and all of your kind advice will make it so much nicer and easier.

and yes, I will absolutely keep the idea of a second piggie in mind, although I won't be able to do much in the way of adopting until I get a bit more comfortable with piggie care and I get some stuff figured out, including the bigger cage. (I just moved into a new house and 1/3 of my room is not really livable yet, so I'm not able to fully settle in and things are a bit crazy at the moment)

Welcome! Definitely keep trying the salad. Start with the "staples" such as lettuce (Romaine, Green, Red Leaf, Boston - NO iceberg), green peppers, and Cilantro. When she learns to eat those you can start introducing other things like Zucchini every 4 days. Eventually she will eat her veggies. You should cut the feedings into 2 feedings. 1/2 cup of veggies in the morning and 1/2 cup of veggies at night. Unlimited Timothy hay. 1/8 cup of Timothy pellets a day.

You can find coroplast at any sign shop. If you can't find coro than a tarp or shower curtain would work well. The Coro is for the bottom to protect the floor and keep any poos from rolling out. If you do decide to use the old cage inside I would take the top off and use just the bottom as a litter box. You can put the hay over there too. Pigs love to poo where they eat so if the haybox is near the litter she may get the idea to stay litter trained. That is every pig owners dream. lol

Good luck and can't wait to see the pics! Keep us posted.

Welcome to the forum! This is an amazing place to learn everything you could ever hope to know about keeping your guinea pig happy and healthy!

My girls Roxie and Josie... I love that you have a "Roxie" also!!... wouldn't eat any veggies (except for carrot) when I first got them. They had never been given anything other than dry pellet in their whole lives, so I really don't think they knew how to go about eating anything else! Just keep trying with various veggies form the Dietary thread. After about a week my girls discovered they can't get enough veggies. My husband and I get wheeked at like crazy every day at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for salads lol And remember, they have individual tastes just like people. Roxie likes some things that Josie doesn't, and vice versa. Variety variety is key!

Good luck and do lots of reading in this forum! You and Roxie will LOVE a c&c cage. My girls came to me from a friend who had them in a petstore cage. I learned a couple weeks from this site about C&C. They are like totally different pigs when they have LOTS of room to play and run and popcorn... my husband and I literally watch them more than we watch our television lol And adopt a gp friend for her as soon as you can, that is very important for a gp. Again, welcome and congrats! And post pics as soon as you can!

Welcome, and congrats on your first pig! Sounds like you're educating yourself really quickly and getting the hang of things. I just wanted to mention that I'm also a pig owner in the Seattle area, so if you have any questions or need someone to "pig sit" for you while you're on vacation, send me a PM (I'll try to remember to check this site every now and then). Also, we've got a great vet around here who I love. Let me know if you want her name and number.

Welcome!
You've gotten lots of good advice. The only thing I would add is if the bottom the old cage is too high, get a cheap $3 cat litter pan from Wal-mart and cut a doorway for your pig to walk in/out. That's what I did. I use this for the food bowl, hay, and water bottle. Of course, mine pee/poo EVERYWHERE, not just in there. Maybe someday they'll figure it out