Elsie and Edna

Welcome to the forums.

I would like to state that this forum is very against buying/"adopting" from pet stores and breeding. We are extremely pro-adoption. May I ask why you chose to "adopt" from a pet store when you knew the risks?

I suggest that you start reading the stickies (permanent threads) at the top of each forum category, especially this one:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...conceptions-about-guinea-pigs-their-care.html

Unfortunately, pregnancy and illness occurs very frequently with pet store guinea pigs. It is hard to tell exactly from the pictures, but she does look very round around the middle. Make sure you have a cavy savvy vet lined up for emergencies. Have you verified the gender of both pigs?

Out of curiosity, what type of cage are they in?

Sorry for the late reply. I was trying to figure out how to reply without sounding stupid...

Anyways, you are right that I should have known better. I did look for over a week for a couple female guinea pigs in my area but I realise now I should have waited longer. I am admitting I was wrong and hoping no one will say anything else about it. Also, I'm hoping I can still be welcome here as this is the most active and informative forum I've found.

I am a big supporter of rescues. All but 4 of the almost 20 rats I've owned have been adopted, my dogs were both adopted, and my cats were given to me by my bf's parents who aren't very good pet owners. So yes, I knew better, but everyone makes mistakes. I'm not proud of it.

If Elsie is not pregnant(I'm thinking not), we are thinking about adopting one or two more sows. Those would definetly be adoptions and we will wait as long as it takes. If she is we do have a vet lined up and we're prepared to keep them all if we don't find good enough homes for them.

Their cage is half of a modified ferret nation. I used grids and coroplast to make a second level and ramp:



The bottom has aspen shavings, with an in between in the litter box of wood pellets to have less aspen stick to the fleece. Their hay, pellet dish, and water bottle is on the bottom. This is their kitchen/potty area. I just started using the aspen there and was using fleece before but it was getting too smelly too fast so I'm trying out the aspen.

The ramp is made of two grids bent and zip tied together. Then I put on a rag rug from the dollar store and wrapped a fleece baby blanket around it for aesthetics.

The top is where they get all of their cozy stuff made with fleece. I'm hoping with this setup there will be less aspen making it's way to the top and sticking to the fleece.

Thanks!

-Amanda

Hello and WELCOME !

Did you use to have ferrets ? Oh, I had ferrets once, three of them ! There names were Oscar, Felix and Murray from the old half hour comedy t.v. show ! They fit their names EXACTLY ! I once had a three level cage for my beloved guys. Man, though, as much as I loved them, they were a TON of work. Along with their big cage they had a whole room ( we had a spare bedroom, lucky !) to themselves pretty much. They not only got out twice at least every day to play with us in their room, but they had the hallway, and often the whole apartment to enjoy !:crazy:

Thinking now about the "room" your two girls have in this present cage. I know it may seem great for them, but I wonder if it is enough room for them to run and do laps in ! There just doesn't seem to be enough room, plus you have cozies and np sacks that take up even more room for them to get the exercise that they really need, dear. Please, please don't be hurt, or offended. I am only trying to help you understand that for them to be most healthy, and get the exercise they need, it just doesn't "seem" big or rather, long enough...that is all !

Hi, welcome to the forum. I agree that your cage is too small. There's another problem, too, though. They can jump over the coroplast along the front section of both levels and could be injured or die from the fall. Coroplast and grid cages have a grid barrier around the sides that extend 14" high around the cage. You don't want anything that they can jump over.

pinky said:

Hi, welcome to the forum. I agree that your cage is too small. There's another problem, too, though. They can jump over the coroplast along the front section of both levels and could be injured or die from the fall. Coroplast and grid cages have a grid barrier around the sides that extend 14" high around the cage. You don't want anything that they can jump over.

Click to expand...

Pinky, I'm pretty sure this is a critter nation cage; there are doors on the front to prevent things like that.

To the OP, just to expand more on cage size, guinea pigs need continuous space to run laps. A split-level condo simply doesn't cut it for them. But it's lovely for them to live in while you work on a bigger cage for them!

Thanks for everyone's replies and kind words. I didn't take offense to any of it.

Kathlaroon- I used to have rats. The cage was modified for them with hardware cloth over the grids so they wouldn't choke themselves. I wish I could have ferrets, but they're illegal here in California.

About the space, they have about 12 sq ft of space(the cage is 25x36). On the chart on the home page, it says 7.5 minimum and 10.5 preferred. I only said about because the ramp takes up a bit of space, but they were running up and down it last night. So far they seem to have no problem running laps. Do you think that sounds too small now that you know the square footage? I'm only asking because before I bought it the ferret nation looked a lot smaller in the pictures. I appreciate your concern.

I'm trying to talk my OH into a larger cage where my sewing machine cabinet is, and put the machine in the closet. I would still be able to use it in there when I need to with the use of an extension cord(Need to make my GP cosies). Then I'm thinking I could build a 2x4 with a 2x4 second story.

Also, I cleaned out my closet floor, and made it into a play area for them. I try to let themm in there for at least 30 min each day if not longer, so far only in 30 min increments until I figure out a way to add water. If I put my sewing machine in there, I would make a collapsible playpen out of grids so they don't get into any trouble with cords.

The cage has two huge doors.

Thanks again for all of your replies.

-Amanda

Hi and welcome. I have a critter nation for my rats and I don't consider it big enough for guinea pigs. They need more room. Rats enjoy to climb but guinea pigs really don't. Cavies like to run. I'm sure I'm not saying this right. Sorry.

I'm sorry, but I'm having a little trouble understanding here. If the preferred amount of space is 10.5 sq. ft, then why is my 12 sq. ft. too small? Thanks.

Guinea pigs like to run. Like one of my cages is 10 feet long. The other one is five long.

I'm looking at my critter nation now and I just wouldn't use it for my guineas.

amandacv86 said:

I'm sorry, but I'm having a little trouble understanding here. If the preferred amount of space is 10.5 sq. ft, then why is my 12 sq. ft. too small? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Your cage is approximately 2 x 3 which is 6 square feet. You don't add the two levels together. Minimum space is based on the total area they have on a single level. It's calculated that way because they need room to run.

Hi amandacv86,

I think your piggies really suit their names! I love Edna's hair-do.

So, concerning the cage: I think the reason it is too small is because you can't count the second floor as square footage as the ramp takes up running space in the bottom part. Piggies like to run around the edges of the cage. Also, there are so many things in their cage that take up a lot of space. The cage should be big enough to hold their hideys, snuggleys, and toys with leaving them enough left over square footage to be able to run around. I think it is a great idea that you are planning to build them a bigger c&c cage, until then I think their current cage will do as long as they get at least an hour of floor time every day. Good luck on your cage endeavours and welcome

Thanks guys. I'm going to start making more serious plans to make a larger cage. I should be able to fit at least a 2x4 with 2 or 3 levels.

Can't wait to see the new cage!! And when you see them run and popcorn after you made it you'll be so happy you did. Trust me. lol

I'm making plans, but I'm not going to do anything definite until I know 100% that Elsie is not pregnant. I don't want to build a cage, and then find out it doesn't suit my needs. Sometimes I think I'm just imagining it and sometimes I'm almost sure she is.

Here's a pic from almost a week ago:

It's kinda hard to tell. If she was how far along would she be? Wait, you got her from a pet store so you don't know. Duh. Weigh her daily and see how much she gains. y

I agree to the weighing her. It is ridiculously hard to tell if they are pregnant until just a few weeks until they are going to give birth. She doesn't look pregnant to me, just a little chubby (which is cute!!). My piggy Valentine has a similar shape and she isn't pregnant but then again Elsie very well could be. Oh and Welcome to the site! Keep us updated

I'm going to start weighing her today. I hope you're right and she's just fat. I'd feel terrible if anything happened to her.

Until yesterday I was free feeding pellets(Oxbow) and started giving the recommended amount of 1/8 cup per day. I'm thinking I may have been over feeding a little. They still get unlimited hay and a big plate of veggies every day.

Do you know how old they are?

Edna's small so I think she's only a few months old, but I have no clue how old Elsie is.

I'll be taking her to a vet as soon as I know for sure.