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katiem

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Hi All! I just found out that a guinea pig has been living in a dog crate with no bedding and is being fed dog food. I plan on rescuing it tomorrow but I really need to know what to do first. What supplies do I need immediately? I know the crate has to be at least 30x36 and 30x50 if I plan on rescuing a second one as a friend. Where do I get the crate by tomorrow? Aside from pellets, a water bottle and hay, what else do I need right away? I've never had a guinea pig before and I want to make sure I have the best home for him/her tomorrow. Please help!
 

GuineaGal2013

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This is a great site to learn from. And I'm glad you are rescuing the poor piggy. They need a decent sized cage to run around, and plenty of fresh veggies. They also need a hidey house to feel secure and a friend is an AWESOME idea. :) Just browse the site and you will learn all kinds of things
 

bpatters

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You can make do with a smaller cage for a little while than you'll need long term. You can put him in a bathroom or a bathtub until you can work something out. A fleece blanket over towels will do for bedding. You'll need timothy hay, plain timothy pellets (unless you think he's less than six months old, in which case you can feed alfalfa pellets), and a water bottle. You can make some temporary hideys out of soda pop or shoe boxes -- just cut the bottom out and cut holes in the end. Get some red or green leaf lettuce to try him out on, and maybe some cilantro or parsley. If he hasn't had veggies before he may not eat them, but you can offer.

Read the information on the Main page of this site, and also the articles at Guinea Pig Education, Care, Rescue and Adoption at Cavy Spirit. That'll get you started on what you need to do, and you can always post questions here.

I'm assuming this pig has had no medical care. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a vet check him over if you've got a good exotic vet around, but don't waste time or money on a dog and cat vet. The main concerns would be the state of his teeth, since he may not have had hay, and whether or not he has any vitamin or calcium deficiencies.

Thank you for taking him in. Do please keep us posted on how he's doing. And BTW, pictures are a requirement!
 

R5 plus

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Don't know where you are writing from, but you can get storage cube grids (9 squares across/down per grid) from Bed, Bath, & Beyond for approximately $20 and ziptie them together for a temporary cage. Put a vinyl tablecloth or shower curtain underneath with a fleece throw on top (absorbent layers between can be towels). Make sure other pets can't get to him/her.

Hidey houses bought at pet store or $1 store has different things that could work. Clean cardboard box with doorway cut into works too.

Pellets shouldn't have seeds or colorful bits. Oxbow is a better brand. Timothy hay.

Start slow with veggies, building up to a cup per day per pig. Introduce new veggies slowly.

Keep reading this site. Hope everything goes well.
 

Varcoda

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if you have an old kiddy pool, and assuming you will have the piggy indoors and have no other pets that will be a potential danger, you could use that with towels and a fleece blanket as bedding.

if really desperate, you could just put the towels and blanket on the floor in the corner of a safe room and block off any escape route. do keep in mind that some can jump, so make sure whatever you use to block it off is high enough.

meantime, visit a pet store to get a temporary cage (their biggest sizes are usually suitable for one pig). your piggy may not be so used to new foods, so introduce important foods like hay and proper guinea pig pellets slowly :)
 

MLT2007

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GuineaGal2013 is right...this is an excellent place to learn about guinea pig care. You will learn over time what to do and what not to do, but for right now just get the basics and get that pig out of there!! Bless your heart for saving the sweet piggy :love:
 

katiem

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Thanks for all of the advice! I'm going to get to Petsmart this morning and try to get the timothy hay, pellets, a water bottle and a hidey house. I'm so disappointed that a pet store would not keep a humane sized cage to sell but I will see what I can find and try to order one that can be overnighted. When you say introduce the food slowly, what amounts are you talking about? I'm glad you said that because I would have put unlimited food. When I call around to vets, will they tell the truth about whether they are good with guinea pigs or not? Should I make that appointment right away or give him/her a few days to calm down first?
 

GuineaGal2013

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They will tell u if they work with guinea pigs. A lot of vets don't work with "exotic" pets at all. And u can always read reviews online before you go if you aren't comfortable taking them there without hearing from patients if they do a good job. Get used to being disgusted at pet stores. People share a lot of pet store horror stories here.I would suggest right away with the vet so u know right away if it needs special care. While u r there be sure to ask if the guinea pig is male or female they r mis-sexed all the time and then people end up with surprise babies. Pregnancy can be dangerous for piggies, so it is good to know for sure the gender of ur piggy
 

GuineaGal2013

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Also... don't be afraid to ask questions. Call and ask if they work with exotic pets. If they do ask them how much experience they have with guinea pigs. If they don't work with exotics, or have little to no experience with cavys ask if they can recommend another vet in the area that has worked with this type of animal before.
 

bpatters

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Don't bother with a pet store cage, unless you think you'll be traveling and it would be suitable for that, or if you want to have one on hand for quarantining. Otherwise, they're a waste of money.
 

Cavy Treenie

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Ditto [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION] I would think about ordering some coroplast or a base from the guinea pig cage store. And some grids of course, if you have room for a C&C cage. C&Cs are a TON better than any store bought cage.
 

MLT2007

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Please keep us updated!
 

katiem

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I found a vet that treats guinea pigs and we can get in on Thursday. Thanks for the link and the tips! I am going to pick him/her up this evening. Headed out to pet store to see what I supplies I can find right now. I'm more confused than ever about the cages. I don't have a ton of room but want to get the largest I can. I'm also not the best at assembling things and need something right away so I don't know if the C&C option will work for me right now. I just spoke with the child who has him and she told me she thinks he is a boy, he came from a pet store and she was told not to feed him any vegetables (or fruits) or they could kill them. Guess the store didn't mention that dog food and a wire crate would kill him. Disgusting.
 

GuineaGal2013

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That is great news about the vet. Again, I highly recommend having the vet "sex" ur guinea pig so u can feel confident in the gender when picking out a friend! And I told you to prepare to remain disgusted at pet stores. They really have no clue what they are doing, which is sad. C&C cages actually aren't that hard. My fiance and I just put one together not that long ago. They can take up as much space as you want them to and if the space you have isn't actually big enough, you can add a loft or second level so they have more space. But if you don't feel comfortable with that, you don't have to do it.
 

addictivejuliet

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I'd go with what the Moderator has said :)
I think it's amazing you're rescuing the piggie, GOOD LUCK,
and we'd all love pictures.
 

katiem

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Just got home with "Ricardo" about 30 minutes ago. It wasn't as easy to take him as I had counted on but he is here now - warm & safe with food, water and hay. I made a tempoary home out of 2 boxes put together. I have his food, water and hay in one and the second one has a blanket where he can hide and sleep. He ate some pellets as soon as he saw them and he's back to hiding for now. He is awfully cute! I'm sure he is a little freaked out after how he has been living, the move and trying to figure out where he is now so I am going to leave him alone tonight to chill out. When I got him, he had been taken out of the dog crate and was living in a plastic milk carton with just a shirt in it. So sad. What's sadder is that the girl loves him a lot - she just had NO idea how to begin to care for him. I'm glad she gave him up to me. Is he going to chew through these boxes tonight or will he be ok? I tried to find a temporary cage at Petsmart but the largest one they had was too small. I will probably order the C&C tomorrow morning. Thanks again to everyone for the help! I will take pictures when he feels a little safer.
 

Megaredize

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that is so great that you saved him. im sure he will soon be very happy. I ordered my cage off the cage store here and it is great. the coroplast is pre cut and scored so all you have to do is fold and tape really and the grids are not too hard to get together. they also give you a lot of zip ties to make sure everything is secure. I cant wait to see some pigtures of him.
 

katiem

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Is it possible for a guinea pig to eat so much he gets sick? He is really chowing down on the hay and the pellets. Is it possible to overfeed him or will he stop when he has enough? I think the poor thing is so excited to see real food for the first time that he can't stop himself. : (
 

GuineaGal2013

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baby guinea pigs can have unlimited pellets, older guinea pigs need to be limited. And hay is always unlimited. It should be the biggest portion of his diet. Here is a link I found that will help you better understand his dietary needs (broken link removed)
There is also a veggie chart on this forum somewhere that tells you what veggies they can have and how often
 
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