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General A few questions and concerns

chrisshane09

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Hello everyone.

Yesterday, I brought home little Lenny, bought from the local petco. Although it wasn't planned I am glad I got him. I have done a lot of reading online to make sure I am a proper owner to him, but am having a few concerns.

I uploaded a couple pictures, but along with him I bought Petco's "complete kit" Pretty good size cage, water bottle, food dish and I bought a little barn for him. The kit came with food that had dehydrated veggies in it, and the store associate informed me that they are not used to that type of food. Sure enough he was just picking out the pellets so today, I bought a bag of just the pelets. She told me that he needs Vitamin C, so she suggested I buy the drops to put in the water. When I got home I added the drops and he didn't seem to mind, he drank almost the whole bottle of water yesterday. I read today that the drops are not a good product but now I'm really worried that hes not going to get enough vitman C. Today I bought some green peppers, I cut a slice for him and he nibbled on it for a bit. I put it in his food bowl along with the pellets and Hay, but it has gone untouched. Now I'm wondering if I should keep using the drops to ensure he gets some Vitamin C. I also am going to get him a "roommate", but I want to make sure he is alright first.

Can you gguys give me some advice?

Also:
How long should he have free range time a day?
Should I cover his cage at night?
 

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Vintage

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Hello everyone.

Yesterday, I brought home little Lenny, bought from the local petco. Although it wasn't planned I am glad I got him. I have done a lot of reading online to make sure I am a proper owner to him, but am having a few concerns.

I uploaded a couple pictures, but along with him I bought Petco's "complete kit" Pretty good size cage, water bottle, food dish and I bought a little barn for him. The kit came with food that had dehydrated veggies in it, and the store associate informed me that they are not used to that type of food. Sure enough he was just picking out the pellets so today, I bought a bag of just the pelets. She told me that he needs Vitamin C, so she suggested I buy the drops to put in the water. When I got home I added the drops and he didn't seem to mind, he drank almost the whole bottle of water yesterday. I read today that the drops are not a good product but now I'm really worried that hes not going to get enough vitman C. Today I bought some green peppers, I cut a slice for him and he nibbled on it for a bit. I put it in his food bowl along with the pellets and Hay, but it has gone untouched. Now I'm wondering if I should keep using the drops to ensure he gets some Vitamin C. I also am going to get him a "roommate", but I want to make sure he is alright first.

Can you gguys give me some advice?

Also:
How long should he have free range time a day?
Should I cover his cage at night?


Welcome to the forum! Taking a look around the forum is a good start to finding tons of helpful information. It true that the vitamin C drops you purchased are practically useless. Continue to give your guinea pig a selection of vegetables, he'll eventually come around. I use and recommend Oxbow guinea pig pellets and hay, they are a higher quality than the dehydrated veggie mix. I don't think you can purchase them at Petco but Petsmart usually carries them.

As for free range, it's really up to you. My girls don't care for it but I believe most people give about an hour a day. And no, you do not need to cover his cage at night. Good luck with Lenny, he's adorable :)
 

TacoBellWinnieP

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what are the dimensions of his cage [MENTION=28051]chrisshane09[/MENTION] ? As a general rule, pet store cages are overpriced and not big enough AT ALL. I personally suggest either building a c&c cage (cubes and coroplast), buying one from this website, or going on amazon.com and buying a Midwest Guinea Habitat (the Plus model comes with a divider with a ramp and a lid where as the regular does not). The latter is what I did for my two boars except I bought two cages to connect them. As for food, the fancy ones with all sorts of colors and variety aren't good. Getting plain pellets was the right choice, so good for you :) I personally use vitamin C drops in their waters and they love it, but just to be sure, they get plenty of vit C rich veggies! I chop up foods they don't particularly care for and mix them with their pellets so they end up eating them anyway. Lol. Make sure he has a big enough cage before getting him a friend as well. Imagine being locked in a bathroom with a stranger all day.. Not comfortable. That's how they would feel. Guineas also need a minimum of 1 hour each day of free range floor time, but make sure they have access to food and water. Mine usually end up getting two because I get distracted by them playing so they stay out longer :) I don't think it necessary to cover the cage at night because it's already dark. Unless you have small children or animals with easy access to the cage, I think you should be fine with leaving it uncovered.

p.s. You have an adorable pig! What's his name? And also, make sure his roommate is the same sex or you're in for a treat (; Go to a vet to double check the pet store's opinion because they are frequently missexed in stores.

Welcome to the Pig Family!
 

bpatters

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Welcome to the forum! And to the abominable lack of knowledge from Petco -- I'm sorry you got so much misinformation in your first encounter with them.

For one thing, the cage is way too small. See the Main tab above for the recommended sizes for cages, and remember that bigger is always better. If I were you, I'd take that cage back and get a C&C cage -- you can either order them from www.guineapigcagesstore.com or make your own. Much more flexible, and much better for your pig. And since you plan to get another pig, you'll need way more space than those cages offer.

Second, vitamin C degrades almost instantly in water, so shortly after you've put it in, there's none left in the bottle. You need to teach your pig to eat vegetables, preferably starting with green peppers. Dice the pepper VERY finely and sprinkle it on his pellets. He'll get enough by accident to get accustomed to the taste, and then you can start feeding it in larger pieces and start dicing a new veggie.

You don't have to cover his cage, and I wouldn't worry about floor time for a while. Let him settle in, but do take him out and put him on your lap and feed him goodies every day. And by goodies, I don't mean the pet store treats, but bits of veggies, herbs, or an occasional bit of fruit. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22156 for what he can and can't eat, and how often.

Watch your pig very carefully for any signs of respiratory infection or parasite infestation. Unfortunately, many pet store pigs come with either or both of those things.

Please don't buy your next pig. There's a guinea pig rescue at Sellersburg that has a ton of available guinea pigs, and by rescuing one, you won't be contributing to the horrible breeding mills that the big pet stores support. Look at www.petfinder.com, choose "small and furry" for the type and "guinea pig" for the breed.

You can buy better and cheaper pellets and hay at places other than pet stores. In fact. the absolutely most expensive way to buy hay is in those packages they sell. (broken link removed) has excellent pellets and hay. You'll think the shipping is too expensive when you first look at it, but the pellets are way cheaper themselves than you find in the pet stores, and the combined shipping and pellet cost will be comparable to what you pay at Petco, and the hay will be way cheaper.
 

chrisshane09

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Thank you all for the warm welcome.

The brands of food I have now are "Small world Guinea pig" Complete feed for Guinea pigs. and carefresh Timmothy Hay.
I posted a link to a simmilar cage, but it had to be approved. 30" L X 18" W X 20" H I thought it was pretty big, but I guess I am wrong.
Ok so no drops, I figgured that, I'll try dicing up the bell peppers, but it worries me.
 

Agrimony

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Welcome to the forum! Your piglet is such a cutie!

Most pellets have some vitamin C but if you keep trying with the peppers and maybe try a few other finely cut fresh veggies and fruit I'm sure they'll start being eaten. If he's never had fresh fruit and veg before he may be a little hesitant but I am sure he'll stat begging for them soon :)
 

chrisshane09

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Should I measure out what he eats? The only thing I see him really eating is the hay.
I just don't want him to get sick.
Sorry for the questions.
 

oldnewie

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Welcome to the forum. You'll find lots of good advice here. Yeah I agree with recommending you return the cage & look at getting a bigger one, which you'll need anyway when you get sweetie Lenny a friend (same sex) soon. Your piggy will get vitamin C from fresh veggies & some fruit. Grass also has vitamin C & fibre & give lots of hay. Try the pepper first, sprinkled in his pellets as the others advise. It usually works, my girls now love their peppers which I give every day. He may also like small pieces of red or green leaf lettuce, baby carrot etc. as you will have already read on the nutrition list. If he's not used to veggies & grass, give in small amounts first. You could try vitamin C tablets ( 1/4 of a tablet I think. Someone can verify that) sprinkled over his pellets if you're still concerned, until he is eating the veggies & grass. I can tell you're gearing up to be a great piggy slave! Oh, and piggies poo & pee a lot!!
 

oldnewie

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Is he not eating the pellets? Keep offering the chopped veggies until he starts eating normally then gradually increase the amount. The recommended amount is usually 1 cup veggies per day. You could offer him a piece of apple (skin included) as a treat - not any of the core & pips. He might be having a nibble when you're not around maybe? You're doing fine. Keep asking, researching, asking, researching all things piggy!
 

lunarminx

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I took everyone's advice and diced the pepper up very small and mixed it with the pellets and they now eat in. The cage is very small, if you decide to build a C&C make sure the grids have 9 holes, Bedbathbeyond has the 9 hole grids, other places do too but I do not have the links.
(broken link removed)
If you have the room, you can order hay by like 50 lbs, it takes the price from 3-5.00 per pound to like a 1.00 per pound. The same with the pellets. Your piggie is very cute. I am sure you will decide to get him a playmate, a shelter/rescue should provide a nice one too. I bought my two little ones from a feed store and got the 3 1/2 year olds from a shelter, it lessened the guilt for me.

My guys love their cage covered, as soon as I do it they go nuts running around to where the cage shakes but it's only one end that gets covered.
 

chrisshane09

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Thank you guys very much.
Ill try dicing the peppers and see if that helps at all.
I might get the tablets too.
I think he needs a new food bowl, he keeps knocking it over.

It's really hard to tell if hes eating the pellets.
 

lunarminx

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A heavy food bowl helps...lol I use a wide base catfood dish now.
 

chrisshane09

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Yeah, I think I need some more shallow, it's pretty deep.
 
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