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TMTguineapig · Jan 22, 2011

Hi. I want to officially introduce myself (I skipped this previously - poor forum etiquette?) My daughter received a guinea pig for Christmas. Unfortunately, I lacked the foresight to research on guinea pigs before she got hers (Scooby). Since Christmas, the internet has become my best friend when it comes to learning about guinea pigs.

We quickly discovered that 1) GUINEA PIGS NEED CAGE BUDDIES. So we got a second guinea pig (Rocco). They were kept in separate cages for 3 weeks and I just put them together today (they have been interacting during their free range time and I think they are finally comfortable with each other). 2) THEY NEED A VARIETY OF VEGETABLES. I actually found some very helpful menus on this site. I enjoy vegetables but being the only one in my household that likes them, I have neglected to purchase them for years. It is so nice that the vegetables no longer go to waste!!

I have learned so many things that I never knew before. I had a guinea pig as a child, but it never had a buddy and I don't remember ever feeding it anything other than it's dry food. I don't even think we fed it hay. So I was very unprepared to own a gp. I am very glad I found this site. If you have any advice for me, I am all ears.

idramaxx0 · Jan 22, 2011

Welcome! Make sure you read all the stickies! Especially the ones in the Diet and Nutrition section. They will really help you figure out what food/veggies/etc. to buy and not to buy. I'm glad your boys are getting along! Do you happen to know how old they are?

TMTguineapig · Jan 22, 2011

I was told by the pet store that Rocco is approximately 6 mos. I did not think to ask the age when we got Scooby. He is a little bigger than Rocco so I am guessing he is older although I am not sure by how much.

idramaxx0 · Jan 23, 2011

As someone who has only had boars, I would just keep a close eye on them to make sure no serious fighting occurs. If they are very close in age there may one day be a dispute over who is the dominant pig, even if for months before they were the best of friends. But I wouldn't worry! I know lots of boars that get along perfectly fine. Just make sure you give them a LOT of space.

cam767 · Jan 23, 2011

Welcome! You have come to the right place to learn about pigs! This place is great. I'd be lost without it. lol

One thing is to double check the sex of both pigs. We have heard many stories about pigs being mis-sexed at stores. It would be best to double check to make sure you have 2 boys.

What size cage do you have? 2 boys will need a large area to reduce any fighting that may go on. It seems to happen when the boys hit puberty and they need to figure out the pecking order. Unless there is bloodshed don't separate them. They will hopefully figure it out quick enough on their own. Some boys get along perfectly well with no issues at all. Hopefully yours will stay that way too.

When you can, please post pics. We LOVE to see pics!

TMTguineapig · Jan 23, 2011

Hi. The cage I have is definitely too small. It think it is only 5 sq ft. I guess I got roped into believing it was a good cage for them because it was the biggest one the pet store had. They actually told us a smaller cage would be adequate, but I wanted to make sure they had plenty of room, so I bought the biggest cage they had (what a mistake). Especially since I could have built them a cage like one on this site for the same amount if not less! I am going to have my husband build them a bigger cage (10 sq ft is my goal). Do you think I should keep them in separate cages until then?

Also, I actually bought them from a male only pet store. They do appear to be males to me although I guess I am not totally sure how to tell for sure.

Onetwo · Jan 23, 2011

https://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html

www.guinealynx.info has a ton of medical info as well.

Please feel free to check out both sites! There are stickies at the top of each forum section that are packed with info. You should read as much as you can before you ask questions that already have been asked. This site is really great.

Your boys are just at the beginning of adolecents (5-10+) months so separating would depend on if they are ok with eachother and how long you plan to wait before building them a bigger cage. Pet stores are good at deceving us. We have all been tricked into buying something that needed to be "rescued" or bought... Its best to boycott those places all together. There are better places to buy food and products from either online or in pet food outlets where they dont sell live animals. Just dont let it happen again and be sure to tell EVERYONE you meet how great it is to boycott pet stores and how attrocious pet stores can be... Everyones gotta start somewhere and we are glad you got her eventally.

TMTguineapig · Jan 23, 2011

Thanks for the links. I will definitely read through them thoroughly. I am confused about the stickies. Where are they exactly? Am I looking for something that looks like a post-it? I am very new to forums. I have never belonged to one before, but since I feel it is my responsibility to learn as much as possible about taking care of guinea pigs, I joined this one. I have to say I really like this site so far. Everyone is so helpful.

Hopefully, I will not be too much of a bother while I am educating myself on gp care. This site and pet stores really are two completely different worlds. I cannot BELIEVE how contradictory the two are. But since this site is composed of people who own & love guinea pigs and pet stores are only in it for the money, I realize that the information I have rec'd from the pet stores is not only inadequate, but completely wrong. Look forward to learning and eventually sharing a lot myself.

Deb's4Pigs · Jan 23, 2011

This forum and guinea lynx are the best places to learn about guinea pigs. When I was a kid I did everthing wrong as well. No hay, rabbit pellets because he lived in the backyard with my rabbit. EVERYTHING WRONG.

But, you learn. This is the first forum I went to and joined when I first got my computer.

At the top of the page it says guinea pig cages and care. Click on care and when the page comes up scroll down to the different parts. The stickies are there at the top of each one.

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