New and Nervous :P

Hello and welcome! You will learn so much from this site! I found this site after my son had lost his gp at 2 yrs old due to an upper respiratory infection and I am so glad I did. The other members will chime in soon, but I want to let you know guinea pigs are social animals and do so much better with a buddy. I thought having two would be a burden but it is a joy when I see them chase each other and play together. Just make sure you know the sex of the ones you get, and please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue instead of the pet store. Members on this site can help you locate one in your area. Pet stores often get their stock from breeders who do not care about the health of the animal.

I wouldn't invest in multiple fleece sets unless you're sure you like it. You could buy some remnants from JoAnn Fabrics and sew it into a piece that fits the cage and use old towels under it to give it a try. If you like it, then you can invest in Uhaul pads, which are lighter weight, to put under the fleece. I made fleece pads which have fleece on two side and a single layer of uhaul pad in the middle. I can flip the pads and use both sides. I have a single layer of fleece under the pad. I have two pads per cage, slightly overlapped so I can clean one side at a time without having to take out the guinea pigs. I have two double decker cages with two guinea pigs in each. I have three female pairs and one male pair. I just adopted a new one for my remaining single guinea pig so I have 8 total.....Rescues, shelters and Craigslist are all good places to find guinea pigs. Ditto not gettting them from pet stores or breeders. The last one I got was off of Craigslist. It was an accidental litter.

Being nervous is totally normal. Mine were an unexpected emergency adoption, and I still get kind of spooked when they do something weird. But everyone here is super great and friendly and it's an extremely useful site.

One good piece of advice I can give you (since we're both nervous types) is: don't overdo it. There's a LOT of information out there about scary, horrible, weird medical conditions guinea pigs can get. While it's important to know what a healthy piggie looks like, reading all the what-ifs and all the pictures...it's like going on Web-MD for a headache and leaving thinking you have a brain tumor, you know?

On that note, find a good local vet who knows and understands guinea pigs. They will be your best friend, especially if they do phone consultations. That way, if you're really just paranoid over nothing ("Help! My guinea pig keeps making squeaking noises!"), they'll be able to tell you that before charging you a bunch of money for a visit.

LOL! Thanks for the welcome and for the advice! I have a question about the fleece and uhaul pads. I was reading about how they will stay drier with the vetpad, which is why I was considering it. Why is fleece better? Does it get them wet? Why is it better to use that versus the shredded bedding stuff? Sorry for the silly questions - I just really don't know! How often do I have to change the bedding? I know about cleaning up the poop, but that is about it.

The fleece wicks the moisture down into the underbedding, so the fleece stays dry while the pee gets trapped away from piggie feet. With fleece, you usually have to change it every 5-7 days, but your mileage may vary. As for if it's BETTER...better is a matter of opinion.

I used carefresh (shredded bedding) with my pigs exactly once.
I opened the bag and it smelt like pee. A fresh bag! Strike One.
The largest size wasn't quite large enough to fill my entire big c&c cage. Strike Two.
Cleaning my cage (changing out all the litter) took over two hours! Strike Three! NO MORE CAREFRESH!

With fleece, I can easily dustbuster up poop and messy hay every day, and when the time comes to change it, I just pick it up and toss it in the wash. Then I lay down my backup fleece (I keep two so that they never have to go without). It takes less than fifteen minutes and the piggies seem much happier and more comfortable.

But, you know, everyone's experience is different. Some people hate fleece. I'm not those people, though.

Awesome! I'm convinced! I already have some extra fleece Or I just might let the kids choose a new design, since I am not sure just how much of it I have. OH! I do have some old fleece blankets (spongebob, dora) - could I use those?! Okay, so do I do the fleece, uhaul pad, fleece thing? I sew them together and then toss in washing machine as needed? :/ It also seems, as I look at sites, that they really love fleece, lambswool, and fuzzy/cozy things. Do I make/buy one of those beds for them?

I'm getting excited!

Oh, one other thing. I see a lot of homes that include ramps and even some tubes.....the woman at the pet store said that they don't like that and that they aren't into climbing....or does it just depend on the piggie?

Ramps are okay as long as they're not too steep. And tubes...do you mean, like, hamster-style tubes like this:


Because no. They can't do that sort of climbing. Their spines aren't flexible like hamsters, mice, and rats. Speaking of, don't buy them a hamster ball, either. That can really injure piggies.

But if you mean tubes like this:


They LOVE those kinds of tubes. And yes, they do love all manner of warm and cozy sleeping spots. If you're handy with your sewing machine, you can make them all kinds of fun places to play and nap. Even if you're not, just tying a few strips of fleece to the roof of the cage can make a little fleece forest for them to hide and play in. They love those.

Fleece will work amazingly well if you make sure of a few important details.

Preparation: Check out this article. https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html It gives a lot of great info about fleece, including how to prepare it to wick moisture down to the absorbant level rather than staying wet on the surface.

Absorbant layer: Sounds like you want to use u-haul pads. That's perfectly fine. It will definitely work. Other options include: Puppy pads, bath towels, anything meant to absorb moisture. One note - Avoid newspaper. It's not absorbant and all you end up with is a big wet mess.

As for climbing, many won't but some can be coaxed to use an upper level, providing the ramp isn't too steep and has protective sides so the pigs can't slip off.

And for finding your little piggy, have you checked out Pet adoption: Want a dog or cat? Adopt a pet on Petfinder ? This is a great place to locate shelters and rescues in your area that have guinea pigs for adoption. Just pull down the "animal" menu and pick "Small & Furry" then enter "guinea pig" in the "breed" space then enter your zip code. Guinea pigs thrive in groups, so you might look for a bonded pair of pigs. If you don't see any, the shelter or rescue should be able to help you pair up two pigs.

Make sure before you build your C&C cage, to check out the cages page. It gives size requirements for the cage based on the number of pigs.

I have decided to get a Guinea Pig for my kid

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Just remember that you'll be the one looking after the guinea pigs, not your kid.

You have been given awesome info and help, but I just wanted to make sure that you know Guinea Pigs are social animals so please get two or more (of the same gender unless one is neutered, but the same gender is better then risking neutering.) guinea pigs, unless if you really want only one rescues usually have a couple of pigs that just will not get along with others.

CavyMama said:

Fleece will work amazingly well if you make sure of a few important details.

Preparation: Check out this article. https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/bedding/21568-fleece-project-study.html It gives a lot of great info about fleece, including how to prepare it to wick moisture down to the absorbant level rather than staying wet on the surface.

Absorbant layer: Sounds like you want to use u-haul pads. That's perfectly fine. It will definitely work. Other options include: Puppy pads, bath towels, anything meant to absorb moisture. One note - Avoid newspaper. It's not absorbant and all you end up with is a big wet mess.

As for climbing, many won't but some can be coaxed to use an upper level, providing the ramp isn't too steep and has protective sides so the pigs can't slip off.

And for finding your little piggy, have you checked out Pet adoption: Want a dog or cat? Adopt a pet on Petfinder ? This is a great place to locate shelters and rescues in your area that have guinea pigs for adoption. Just pull down the "animal" menu and pick "Small & Furry" then enter "guinea pig" in the "breed" space then enter your zip code. Guinea pigs thrive in groups, so you might look for a bonded pair of pigs. If you don't see any, the shelter or rescue should be able to help you pair up two pigs.

Make sure before you build your C&C cage, to check out the cages page. It gives size requirements for the cage based on the number of pigs.

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Thank you SO much! That REALLY helps a LOT! I don't care whether I use the uhual pads or not - I just want to use something effective. I will check the pet adoption site as well. We adopted or dog and have fostered a couple of dogs, so I would love to go that route for the piggie as well. I already have the instructions for the C&C and heading to Home Depot today to get the coroplast And I didn't know I was going to have to do anything with the fleece - so THANK YOU!

Lovecraft - thanks for clarifying that I didn't think they could use those tubes in the 1st picture. But it seems like I can use some PVC piping for them to go through (as long as it is the right size for them of course). I also saw that I can use cardboard tubes for them to chew/go through, is that right? I know there are something I shouldn't buy at the pet store, but is there anything I CAN get there in order to have ready to go asap - toys, hay......until we get into a groove and order stuff from KM or Sweet Meadow?

OH! I had yet another question. I understand they like to chew wood. I saw those little wooden blocks decorated like the mini ABC blocks for kids. I have a regular set from the kids....can I give them those or could it be dangerous due to the paint?

This is awesome! My hubby gave the okay and the kids are ecstatic. And yes, I am kind of excited too

Benja said:

Thank you SO much! That REALLY helps a LOT! I don't care whether I use the uhual pads or not - I just want to use something effective. I will check the pet adoption site as well. We adopted or dog and have fostered a couple of dogs, so I would love to go that route for the piggie as well. I already have the instructions for the C&C and heading to Home Depot today to get the coroplast And I didn't know I was going to have to do anything with the fleece - so THANK YOU!

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You're very welcome If you can't find coroplast at Home Depot, almost any sign store will carry it. Sometimes they have a large enough piece in their cast offs to sell you (or even give to you for free) that will work for the cage.

I also saw that I can use cardboard tubes for them to chew/go through, is that right? I know there are something I shouldn't buy at the pet store, but is there anything I CAN get there in order to have ready to go asap - toys, hay......until we get into a groove and order stuff from KM or Sweet Meadow?

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Yes, the cardboard tubes are fine for them. My pigs love them. They are usually sold with some fluffy stuffing inside. If you get one of those "chubes", just chuck the stuffing. It would be bad news if they ingested any of that. There are actually many things to avoid buying at the petstore: any of their packaged treats (yogurt drops, honey logs, etc) are not good for them and in some cases can be harmful. Don't bother. Keep treats natural, like a piece of fruit they don't get often (like a slice of strawberry, or a chunk of watermelon).

As for what you CAN get from the petstore...some Oxbow products are sold at Petsmart. Look for Cavy Cuisine (for adult pigs) or Cavy Performance (for baby pigs). Oxbow hay is also sold there.

Oh if you are ordering from KMs, you are in for a treat! Fresh, green, soft hay and fresh pellets. My pigs go bananas as soon as I bring the bag into the room.

OH! I had yet another question. I understand they like to chew wood. I saw those little wooden blocks decorated like the mini ABC blocks for kids. I have a regular set from the kids....can I give them those or could it be dangerous due to the paint?

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Guinea pigs do sometimes like to chew but the main wood chewers tend to be hamsters, gerbils, etc. I wouldn't give them the children's blocks for the reason you mentioned. Jury is out on how useful those made-for-pets wooden blocks are.

LOL! I GOT one of those tubes today (on clearance ) and put it in with the stuffing! I read this and then walked over to remove it, so THANKS!

Well, we got him today! I was not planning to get one until this weekend, so I would have time to put together the C&C and the fleece, but he was SO good with the kids - even my four year old was able to hold him without squirming too much! So Rocco has joined our family. I cannot tell you how much all of your help has HELPED! LOL! So thank you!!!!

Awwww we are piggy picture crazy around here so please post some pics as soon as you can. We would love to see the little one!

Not the greatest picture, but the best I can do right now since he is still kind of hiding. But this is Rocco aka, Rocky Road. I forgot to mention that he has the EXACT same markings on his other side, but in black - VERY cool!

He is very handsome. Welcome to the forum.