It's time to learn more

Welcome to the forum! Im really happy to hear you got your guinea pig a friend, most people dont know that they are social and should be kept in pairs or groups. Im sure he's much happier with a brother now How old are they? How are their personalities? If they are a bit skidish, thats normal, it takes time. Also, make sure to take a look here - (broken link removed) and here - Guinea pig photos and cage photos for guinea pigs - Guinea Pig Cage Photos at the cages. We use C&C cages which Im sure you'll grow to love! I cant wait for pics and updated of your pigs! Enjoy the forum! and feel free to ask questions!

We aren't sure how old Patches is, as he was "the largest adult guinea pig" our vet had ever seen. I'm guessing since the previous owner had him before he got that big and using the rate that Speedy has grown (he was a baby when we got him in Feb), Patches is at least a year old. Speedy doesn't seem to like people, he hides when hands come close to him, and seems to be the bully between the 2. Patches loves to be petted. However, since they are still in the cage we got in Feb from PetSmart, they don't get the exercise they need and I'm starting to worry about that. I hadn't had time to really research the best thing for the piggies and now that life has settled down a little I know we need to do something for them. I found this site and c&c cages by googling for guinea pig cages since the cage we have is the biggest we had seen in stores. I do have questions about the bedding though. I noticed a lot of people use fleece instead of the wood/paper bedding in their cages. Don't they chew the fleece? Patches chews on any and everything, clothes, towels, plastic. And what about the pee?

Welcome to the forum! We'd like to see some pictures of Patches and Speedy.

If Speedy came from anywhere other than a good guinea pig rescue, you need to be sure to quarantine him for a full three weeks -- in another room, no contact between them. And if he came from PetSmart also, watch him carefully for signs of mites (scratching, biting) and upper respiratory infections. If you've already put them together, then there's no need to separate them now, but watch them both, and if Speedy has mites, you'll have to treat both of them.

I need to give you one word of caution. If you've had Patches since Christmas, he's probably in full-blown adolescence, and a pet store cage isn't likely to be large enough for two males. Some of it will depend on Speedy's age, but if you get two teen-aged boars at the same time, there'll be a lotta rumblin' and humpin' going on! And maybe snarling and biting, too. Fun times!

Can you join the cages (I assume you had a cage for Patches) with a runway of grids in between? That would give them room to get away from each other if necessary. Or look at the pictures to get ideas on expanding space.

It may not be necessary to do anything at the moment, but do keep an eye on them, and be aware that a too-small cage is often a major contributor to pig fights. If they have problems, you can expand then.

Another tip -- take out anything that has only one entrance/exit, like a pigloo, and make sure you have at least two water bottles and two feeding stations, preferable at either end of the cage. That way the dominant pig can't guard both at the same time. Weigh them frequently and record the weights so you can make sure the non-dominant one is getting enough to eat.

Other than that, read the main page of this site (Guinea Pig Cages, Your Cavy At Home), and the stickies at the top of the Nutrition, About Cages, and Bedding threads. They've got a lot of good information in them.

Enjoy your pigs!

The bullying is probably because of the small space they are living in. Males tend to fight when they dont have enough room and it usually only gets worse too. I would suggest getting what you need to make a C&C cage, if thats an option for you. If you have questions on C&C cages (building,buying,ect.) ask them and yes lots of people use fleece liners for their cages. I actually just ordered mine like a week ago from a lady I know that makes them (if your interested). The fleece is great because its much cheaper than having to keep buying paper/wood bedding from a pet store. Its easier to clean to. You just get a little hand broom and dust pan and sweep up the poos daily and then once a week, throw it all in the wash and wash it to get the pee out. If you dont like that option, you can always stick to wood/paper bedding. If you do that aspen is probably the best for the price. If you want more info on wood/paper bedding or fleece cage liners, let me know.

We are making plans for making a bigger cage, it's a matter of finance at this point. We definitely want to know more about the fleece liners. I'm mostly concerned about Patches eating it. He's been known to chew holes through any fabric he's gotten a hold of.

I havnt used them...yet! Mine should be in next week! From what I have heard, they are great to have because of how cheap and easy to clean they are. Since they are on the floor of the cage, I doubt your pig will be able to figure out how to chew on it since it lays flat. There is no selling aloud on this forum so I would have to send you an email. Can you give me your email and I'll give you more info on the liners?
Oh, and here is a pic of my cage liners in progress.

The lady making them sent it to me :cheerful: The pic only shows my two smaller ones for my 2nd level of my cage and my piggy pillow. Shes working on my big liner for the main level of my cage.

You can search about fleece liners on here. Most guinea pigs don't chew on the fleece, and there's no threads to come off. It works because it actually wicks the liquid down to an absorbant material below (old towels, mattress pads, uHaul pads, zorb diaper material). If you've washed fleece, you know it dries very quickly -- so the material underneath absorbs the piddle, but the fleece surface doesn't feel wet, even at the end of the week. You can buy ready-made liners to fit C&C cages from Piggy Bedspreads (fit over the sides of coroplast) or other places (plain pads that fit the bottom of the coroplast), or make your own (a few different styles have how-to videos floating around), or just layer the absorbant material underneath the fleece. For now I'm using old blankets, but I'm planning to make my own all-in-one liners.

C&C cages are very cost-efficient, especially if you can source coroplast (plastic cardboard -- used in signs). I was able to find the coroplast for about $15, and I got grids from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (sold at mine for $20, I used mailer coupons -- if you don't get them, you can sign up online and get a coupon to print). Most grids now have very big holes (you want less than 1.5" to make sure no one escapes) or are semi-opaque plastic (my hubby hated the thought, thought it cut us off from seeing them and vice versa, but some might light the aesthetic better). I bought one set of grids to make the cage, then another set to put the cage up off the floor (it looked flimsy in pictures, but I find it VERY stable).

The site has TONS of pictures of cages. Many people use old pet store cages as add-ons, either connected to the cage or put on as a second level. Some people like multiple levels, others like one. I like putting lots of hideys and toys in the cage, so a 2x4 cage for two females works well for me (I can put things in and leave room for them to run around the edges). I bought a corner litter pan and use aspen chips in that. I use it as a "kitchen," meaning I put their hay bin, food dish, and water bottle there -- basically bribe them to hang out there to do their business (and spill everything there). It's small, so it's cost-effective to change every couple days. I'm considering making daily-change small fleece pads to stick in the kitchen instead, to avoid the wood chip smell -- but the girls do seem to enjoy the wood chips.

Hope this all helps! I'm still pretty new around here, but there's a lot of resources for newbies here and elsewhere. I often Google my questions, and the best results are often from this forum.

Sure, my email is [email protected].

Emailed you :cheerful:

I was wondering if you are 100% sure that they are both males. From what I gather pet stores make a lot of mistakes when sexing guinea pigs. Just to be on the safe side I hope you take a closer look so you don't end up with any surprises.

Yes they are definitely both males. The pet store and the vet agreed.

then they are most likely males. Did you get my email by the way?