Awesome! Welcome to the lovely world of guinea pig slave-dom
You will find so much great info here. Feel free to ask questions. We were all newbies at one point too.
Hi everyone! So, I'm about to get my first guinea pig!
I'm soo excited to finally own one! I've done all the research and am going to get supplies from Petco.
Not all supplies need to be from Petco. It's easy to do one-stop shopping there but as Kota mentioned, not everything they sell, is good or safe for guinea pigs. Avoid their treats and toys. Treats should be kept to occasional fruit and maybe a veggie they don't get all the time. Many of their toys are hazardous to guinea pigs. Their small animal "experts" will try to tell you that guinea pigs need this or that but the people at Petco are woefully under-educated when it comes to guinea pigs.
I was hoping that someone could tell me the basic things I need for my guinea, I already know that piggies need timothy hay, food pellets, fresh veggies, clean water, a hidey hut, and a good sized cage. Any other ideas?
Avoid the hay that Petco sells. Most of the time it's Kaytee which is garbage hay. Usually it's been sitting on their shelf for a while where it dries out and any nutrients that it may have had at one time, are gone. For the same reason, avoid their pellets as well. Any pellets you get, should be plain pellets -- no colorful bits or seeds.
Kleenmamas hayloft or oxbow are top-notch sources for hay and pellets.
Kleenmamas: (broken link removed)
Oxbow:
Oxbow Animal Health | Home
Have you checked out the Diet & Nutrition chart here on the site? I find it to be a hugely helpful resource while Im am out shopping for piggy produce.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html
And I'm looking to build a C&C cage but I can't find coroplast anywhere!
hmy: So I've been searching for alternatives, would plastic work? Any other suggestions?
Coroplast can be found at almost any local sign store. Check the yellow pages or even google your local area to find sign stores near you. Plastic is not a good alternative as the pigs are likely to chew. Some people do use a shower curtain in place of coroplast and put the bedding on top of it.
I'm only getting one piggy so would a 2x3 or a 1.5x3 but stacked? I don't really have a lot of room so a smaller but adequate sized cage would be great!
Guinea pigs are social critters and thrive with company so please consider getting your pig a same sex buddy. Look through petfinder.com or adoptapet.com to find shelters and rescues near you.
https://www.petfinder.com
A 2X3 would be fine (though minimal) for one pig but again, consider adopting two so they can keep each other company.