Hey Fellow Guinea Pig lovers!

Welcome to the forum! Don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have, after all were all here for the piggies!

Beautiful-the cage and the piggies! I would tell you to put another grid next to the ramp on the left side-some piggies jump, and they might launch off the ramp and get out. Another thing, make sure they aren't getting a draft from the window, as that can make them sick, as well as getting over-heated if they are sitting in sunlight. Some ramps I've seen have little ridges or some kind of cover so the piggies can feel like they have a good grip, and check out the threads on fleece bedding. It's cheaper in the long run. I'm finally building my cage this weekend-can't wait to post pics too!

Welcome! Cute boys!!! I love the picture of them sleeping together in the igloo.

I can tell from your hay ball with the bell, and the water bottle, and their pellet dish, and the hanging kabob thing that you got the same pet store cage that Frappe came in! so I have a word of warning- that salt block that is on the kabob thing? The guineas don't need it, and you should take it off anyway because the metal will cause it to rust (the metal rusts and it rubs onto the salt) and get very gross :yuck: that is what Frappe's looked like. Well, her entire cage was nasty, but the fact that she was expected to eat the salt thing at that point was especially disconcerting. The pellet dish, I used the original plastic screw thing that attached it to the cage and attached it to one of the grids. Now it's untippable! I think I have that green corner tray too- originally supposed to be a litter box, such as for a ferret? I put a soft pink blanket in mine and my younger gp, Frappilicious, likes to hop in and sleep :cheerful:
Congratulations on the upgrade! Frappe was so much happier when I took her out of that tiny thing and put her in the Frapp mansion and I'm sure your boys will be happier too! I think it's funny that your fiance wanted them first and now you're the one convincing her to make the cage bigger lol

Thanks @Frapplove. I will remove the salt block when I get home this evening, appreciate the tip. Yeah, I think I might move the pellet dish to side and attach it to a grid. They love to tip it over.
I can't believe I'd love guinea pigs this much, who knew?! They haven't gone up the ramp yet, but I may try to put a rail of coroplast on the one side to see if they feel "safer".

I've named the cage "The Shire" to go along with the LOTR theme... although the pink bedding is ruining it lol.

When I had a 2nd level and ramp my pigs refused to use the ramp until it had "rails" (half grid to prevent them from going over the edge) on it. They were even more apt to use it if it was covered, but they also would sleep and pee on the ramp if it was covered.

They are too cute! I love the picture of them sleeping together and their cage is awesome!

My piggies were scared of using their ramp at first too, what I did was just put them up on the upper level and once they figured out they could go down, they started going up it as well! I also made sure to keep hay on the upper and lower levels so they had a reason to go upstairs, but didn't necessarily have to if they didn't like it. Now both my boys are constantly running up and down the ramp... Cute piggies, though!

I'm taking both piggies to the vet tomorrow for a checkup. Mr. Frodo has been sneezing ever since I got him, so I want to find out what it is. One of them has diarrhea ever since I started feeding them veggies. I think it might be the romaine lettuce, but I'll cut out the veggies for a few days and talk to the vet about it. I'm also taking Samwise to just confirm he's a healthy pig.

As far as the cage, I think I'm going to build an L shaped ramp tonight using two extra grids. They are still scared to even go on the ramp right now.

Even though I wash my pigs stuff with allergy free, dye free, sent free. Carliee sneezed for the first month. I think house changes take awhile for them to adjust to new smells, and cleaning methods.

I wouldn't worry too much about them not using the ramp. I'm no guinea pig expert, but you haven't long had them and if they didn't have one before then they may be a little ramp-shy! Just a thought I'd like to share.

@Crystalkate - yeah that's what I'm hoping it is. I've cleaned everything and changed the bedding hoping that would help. No luck. We'll find out tomorrow!

I'm giving my pigs their first bath tonight. I hope they don't chew off my fingers lol.

cute piggies

Cover the ramp. Draped fleece or cardboard will do. They'll get used to it quicker, and then you can uncover it.

Love the names, now all they need is a nice door on their 'hobbit hole' AKA pigaloo and a wizzardly gray piggy to come knocking with it's staff and scratch a "G" in the fresh paint!

a better ramp for guinea pigs that ive seen in pics is a tunnel from home depot. its black and has ridges in it, probably in the plumbing section. that might be a better solution for you and your piggies.

KD006 said:

Love the names, now all they need is a nice door on their 'hobbit hole' AKA pigaloo and a wizzardly gray piggy to come knocking with it's staff and scratch a "G" in the fresh paint!

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I would love that but I don't think the fiance is buying it lol.

So I got both of the pigs checked out at the vet for the first time today. He did recommend putting a bit of tang in their water for vitamin C. He said the sneezing could be allergies, but his nasel cavity looks fine. He also took Frodo's temperature... through the bum. I felt bad for Mr. Frodo lol. But the good news is they are both okay! The vet says both are in really healthy condition.

Frodo weighs 610 grams. Samwise weighs 760 grams.

I would advise against adding anything to the water, especially Tang. Vitamin C degrades rapidly in water and sunlight and most of it will be gone before your pigs get any. Plus, changing the taste of their water could dissuade them from drinking it, which would be a big problem. If you are feeding the recommended amount of veggies they should not need extra vitamin C. If you or your vet feel they need more vitamin C you can get plain vitamin C tablets at your local pharmacy and feed them a piece of those instead. Oxbow also makes a vitamin C supplement.