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Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

New@Piggies

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Hi. I'm a rodent lover (have had 3 rats previously & hamsters, even mice) & now my 20 year old daughter has suggested we get guinea pigs. Yes, suggested by my daughter, but enthuisiastically taken up by me, who LOVES the idea of piggies :) So basically they will be my piggies & I will just pretend to share them with my daughter ;)

I live in Cape Town, South Africa, where we unfortunately cannot get hold of the wire crating system to make a C&C cage and I'm most annoyed about this. I want us to have set up the cage first before we look for our piggies. We know they are socialable so we are keen on 2, but I am terrified I end up with a boy & a girl & they mate before I am aware of it :( (I am very anti breeding just because male + female = babies), all my other pets (3 dogs and a cat) are sterilised.
I know this forum is against store bought piggies but unfortunately it doesn't seem that there is a guinea pig rescue in the Cape Town area so unless I find one in the next month or so, we are going to have to get from a petstore. It's not my 1st choice, as it is we saw one today at the store (investigating what we would need to get) who was a year old & we were so tempted to take him as it seemed no-one wanted an adult pig :( But the store assured us he was fine living there so with difficulty we walked away (& we would want 2 as they prefer company & I don't have a clue how to introduce a youngster to an adult so thought perhaps I should know more about piggies before I attempt something like this).

Now for some questions:-
Would it be better for the piggies if they come from the same litter, as in they know each other & will 'settle' easier & get along better? I believe 2 males together might not get along so that leaves 2 females together as the 'better' option? Is this correct?

Is it possible for the store to sex them at the time we are looking? 1 store today said they could not sex them & suggested we get 1 rabbit & 1 pig as they make good buddies, and another store said he could sex the piggies & that we can rest assured he would get it right.. ? To be perfectly honest, rabbits are not my favourite animals (childhood memory of being bitten by one) so I would prefer 2 piggies..

I have some questions about accessories for the cage but will leave that for another time, as I think I've waffled enough for my 1st post :)
 

RodentCuddles

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Welcome! :)

I find it great that you are doing your research before getting piggies!
I myself love rodents as well! Well I love all animals, but I have a huge soft spot for the smaller ones.

Fist of, it is just a myth that males will not be able to live together and will fight if not brothers or brought up together, there are many of us on here that own multiply numbers of boars, I myself one of them owning 6 pigs; and i have 3 wonderful boys living in a cage together the two older ones are half-brothers but are now 1 year and 9 months old (give or take) and the youngest one is about 6 months old.

I'm totally against going to a pet shop, seeing as there is no set date you have to get your piggies by I would try find someone who is re-homing theirs. I know of (but can't remember who) another member who also lives in Cape Town, South Africa and couldn't find any pigs until she told someone at her work about it then they said they were selling their two pigs...ta da...she was able to give those pigs a lovely home when they needed one.

Pet store often (usually) know nothing about any of their animals as all they do is 'stock' them up and sell them to make money, Rabbits and Guinea Pigs can NOT live together for multiple reasons a couple being that they need different diets, the rabbit can give the pig sickness and if they are lying down and the rabbit gets spooked it could easily kick out (by accident) and kill the guinea pig.

Yes you can sex your pig before you get them, here is a good page that shows you how too:
Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig
 

New@Piggies

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Thank you both :) great links, I have saved them both. Thank you for both clearing up the myth about 2 males together, I am not fussy about male/female as long as I don't have 1 of each).
I will try find guinea pigs that are being rehomed / for sale on the classifieds, versus a pet store, although I feel very sorry for the ones in the pet store because they are locked up on the stores all night with no humans to love them.
Cage-wise, as there is no availability of storage systems for me to make a C&C cage, we will probably have to go with the largest one we can find in the store (it's about 1.2m). It only comes with a hay rack. I know I will get a water bottle & a food bowl (is one enough?) & then I'm not sure what else I need to get. I know I will want to get a hammock & at least one sleep sack but these items are not available in any pet store here, I will have to order from Johannesburg. I have also seen a 'toilet' (well the stores call it a toilet) - is this a necessary item?
Thank you :)
 

RodentCuddles

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

You could make make a cage, there a lot of wonderful cages made out of alternative things instead of Cubes and/or Chloroplast.
Here is the link:
Alternative Cages - Guinea Pig Cage Photos

As for genders, if you know of a good exotic vet who has neutered pigs before male/female pairs also work if one is neutered (safer for the boy to be neutered).
But that would only be if you find two different people wanting to 'get rid' of their pigs and one has a male the other has a female.

Some pigs love hammocks others don't (my boys love them, my girls don't like them), Snuggle sacks are a big hit with most pigs! If you are can sew (some instructions are really easy) you could make the Snuggle Sacks.:)

I'm not sure what you mean by a toilet sorry I can't help with that.
 

New@Piggies

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

I have also seen 'bathing sand' - do guinea pigs like this? Is it for their toilet or do they really 'bath' in it?
I also like the domes I have seen but one of the stores told me they hide their hay in it (but I think he is confused as I've seen a few pigs happily in their domes)?
I should have titled my post 'Myth or not' Lol :D
 

RodentCuddles

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Chinchillas need to bath in sand once a day or something because they can't get their fur wet.
But guinea pigs don't need sand, once again sorry I'm not sure what a dome is. >.<
 

CavyMama

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

[MENTION=23045]RodentCuddles[/MENTION], I think by "toilet" she means litter box and by "dome" she might mean "igloo".
 

RodentCuddles

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Ohh! Thanks [MENTION=12813]CavyMama[/MENTION] that makes more sense! :eek:
 

New@Piggies

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

The 'toilet' or 'potty' is triangular (so it fits in the corner of the cage) with a grid & apparently you put sand (?) under the grid and toilet train them to use it.... ?
 

New@Piggies

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Yes Cavymama, that sounds right :D i didn't even think of another word for them :eek: The dome/igloo is the one that looks like an upside down container with a hole for them to go in & out. The litter box is the one where I was told you put sand in?
(hope I don't continue to confuse you guys with my south african words :silly:
 

RodentCuddles

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Sadly, guinea pigs are very hard to toilet train, out of my 6 pigs, 2 will use the toilet area nearly all of the time and the others will poo and pee where ever. I've never heard of putting sand in the litter tray, I usually use Aspen bedding or CAREfresh.

If a guinea pig won't just use a litter tray, then it is very hard to train them. My boys will just walk and poo..walk and poo..haha It gets everywhere! But what goes in must come out. :)

But then my girl Trixie will only ever Poo or pee in her kitchen/toilet area, I was hopping she would teach her new friend Gigi to do the same..nope. It's just the luck of the draw if you're pig wants to use an toilet area. But they mostly poo where they eat and sleep.
 

New@Piggies

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

Ok thanks. I won't get the litter box in the beginning then - will wait to see if they choose a spot to 'go' & then I might get one. For now I will concentrate on trying to find materials to make a cage. And thank you very much for the link to alternative cages, some GREAT ideas there!! Even got my husband impressed (& hopefully that brings out his creative side too).
 

CavyMama

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Re: Hi there. Planning on getting piggies & trying to learn as much as possible :)

New@[B said:
piggies[/B] ;681708]The 'toilet' or 'potty' is triangular (so it fits in the corner of the cage) with a grid & apparently you put sand (?) under the grid and toilet train them to use it.... ?

Yes, the triangular litter box is actually called "The Corner litter box" for that reason. It is supposed to fit in the corner of the cage. I haven't seen one with a grid over it.

Sand probably isn't the best type of litter to use though. It can stick to wet fur in that area and cause irritation. It can also be scattered across the cage and is light enough to be ingested or get into their eyes.
 
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