Joy Hi! We're new here! Meet Peanut!

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

Hi there. I am a new piggie owner and I have had Peanut for a week and a half. He is still pretty scared when I put my hand in the cage, he likes to run away and hide. Once I do scoop him up though, he is very happy and loves to be pet and played with. I have just built my own C&C cage, so he is happy with the extra space! He really love carrots. And at nighttime before bed, he runs around and around in circles at 100mph going crazy! I am considering getting another GP, but I have to wait until I can afford it and have enough space for them both.

Here's Peanut!!

Starthecavy123 · Mar 12, 2014

Hi and welcome to the forum. If there is any questions you need answered don't be afraid to ask.

Deffinetly getting him a friend would help him come out of his shell. So I would highly consider getting him a pal just make sure you get another male.

piggydaddy1 · Mar 12, 2014

Hi Peanut.

mtk2000 · Mar 12, 2014

Welcome to the forum! Peanut is adorable&#55357;&#56842;
I saw that the pellet food you are feeding him has colored pieces and isn't plain. This can possibly cause him to choke, make him obese, and the added sugar can cause diabetes. I recommend feeding oxbow pellets. If peanut is under 6 months he should be fed the young cavy mix but if he is over 6 months the adult cavy cuisine is the right choice. I purchase mine at my local pet store but you can also purchase it from amazon. Another good brand is KMS hayloft which you purchase from their website. Congrats on the new addition!

piggydaddy1 · Mar 12, 2014

Welcome to the forum

CavyMama · Mar 12, 2014

Peanut is adorable and welcome to the forum.

A few suggestions: @mtk2000 is correct. Plain pellet food is the right way to go. The colored bits encourage picking around the nutritious part (the actual pellets) and eating just the colored bits. A little like a child eating only the marshmallows out of his cereal and leaving the actual cereal.

Also, it's difficult to tell but what kind of bedding are you using? If it's pine you need to make sure it's kiln-dried. Otherwise there are aeromatic oils that can cause respiratory problems.

We can't see the entire cage so maybe I'm wrong about this but I don't see any hay. Guinea pigs need unlimited access to hay. It helps keep their molars worn down and keeps their digestion moving.

I would also take that Snack-Shak log out. It's made with honey which isn't good for pigs.

You will eventually want to get him a friend but wait until you are able to expand the cage to at least a 2X5. Male pigs need more space than females and tend to fight if there isn't enough space for both.

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

Thanks everyone!!

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

CavyMama said:
Peanut is adorable and welcome to the forum.

A few suggestions: @mtk2000 is correct. Plain pellet food is the right way to go. The colored bits encourage picking around the nutritious part (the actual pellets) and eating just the colored bits. A little like a child eating only the marshmallows out of his cereal and leaving the actual cereal.

Also, it's difficult to tell but what kind of bedding are you using? If it's pine you need to make sure it's kiln-dried. Otherwise there are aeromatic oils that can cause respiratory problems.

We can't see the entire cage so maybe I'm wrong about this but I don't see any hay. Guinea pigs need unlimited access to hay. It helps keep their molars worn down and keeps their digestion moving.

I would also take that Snack-Shak log out. It's made with honey which isn't good for pigs.

You will eventually want to get him a friend but wait until you are able to expand the cage to at least a 2X5. Male pigs need more space than females and tend to fight if there isn't enough space for both.

Hi there. Below are pictures of the food and bedding.
The food is a variety diet that the pet store told me to get.
Also the bedding is not pine, it's the fluffy stuff. I tried using a blanket, but that was messy and a lot of work. Also peanut didn't like it. He loves this bedding so much more!
There is also a picture of hay. It's in a holder on the side. Keeps the cage and bedding MUCH cleaner and Peanut doesn't mind.
Lastly, there is no snack stick in there. There is a green chew stick, but it's just wood for him to chew on. He also has a big log thing where he hides in which also good for his chewing and nails.

Thanks for all suggestions and tips. I am new to the GP world!!

Starthecavy123 · Mar 12, 2014

elmoabt said:
Hi there. Below are pictures of the food and bedding.
The food is a variety diet that the pet store told me to get.

I wouldn't believe anything a pet store tells you they usually are very poor judges.

WheekingPiggies · Mar 12, 2014

Welcome! Your Peanut is adorable. Unfortunately, that food isn't good quality. I'd recommend Oxbow, which is available in Petsmart, and KMS, which you can buy online (broken link removed). Your bedding is perfectly safe, by the way! Also, I believe @CavyMama was referring to the edible log, not the wooden chew stick. The edible log is made with honey and isn't good for piggies, so I recommend you take it out. Willow tunnels, bendable bridges, cardboard tubes, fleece cozy items, plastic or wooden houses, and woven hay tunnels are some alternatives.

CavyMama · Mar 12, 2014

elmoabt said:
Lastly, there is no snack stick in there. There is a green chew stick, but it's just wood for him to chew on. He also has a big log thing where he hides in which also good for his chewing and nails.

@WheekingPiggies is correct, I was referring to the brown log. It's called the snack shak log and is made with honey which is bad for pigs. It's not good for chewing or nails, no matter what the petstore said.

Petstores say a lot of things and sell a lot of things that are not good for pigs. They do it because they are only interested in making money, not in the welfare of the pigs. This is why they sell exercise balls, wheels and yogurt treats with guinea pigs on the packaging. None are good for pigs and in fact are harmful.

The green chew sticks are hit or miss when it comes to whether guinea pigs will actually use them. In my experience (and most people here will also tell you) that those sticks are largely ignored by pigs.

When it comes to food, Kaytee is a brand that is bottom of the barrel. They sell the junkiest pellets with all kinds of crap mixed in. It's completely unnecessary to have anything mixed in. As I said, it encourages pigs to root around and pick out the junkfood colored bits and ignore the pellets which are the only part that has any nutrition at all.

I would either pick all the colorful bits out or toss the food altogether. Get plain pellets and you are on your way.

PiggieWigglies · Mar 12, 2014

Besides what Cavy Mama said, another thing is I would fill the hay rack a bit more, it doesnt look like much is sticking out (maybe Im blind lol ) and hay needs to be accessible 24/7

Welcome to the forum!

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

CavyMama said:
@WheekingPiggies is correct, I was referring to the brown log. It's called the snack shak log and is made with honey which is bad for pigs. It's not good for chewing or nails, no matter what the petstore said.

Petstores say a lot of things and sell a lot of things that are not good for pigs. They do it because they are only interested in making money, not in the welfare of the pigs. This is why they sell exercise balls, wheels and yogurt treats with guinea pigs on the packaging. None are good for pigs and in fact are harmful.

The green chew sticks are hit or miss when it comes to whether guinea pigs will actually use them. In my experience (and most people here will also tell you) that those sticks are largely ignored by pigs.

When it comes to food, Kaytee is a brand that is bottom of the barrel. They sell the junkiest pellets with all kinds of crap mixed in. It's completely unnecessary to have anything mixed in. As I said, it encourages pigs to root around and pick out the junkfood colored bits and ignore the pellets which are the only part that has any nutrition at all.

I would either pick all the colorful bits out or toss the food altogether. Get plain pellets and you are on your way.

Oh okay, thanks for all your input. I think I will return the unopened bag of food and change it out for better!! I may even return the log at this point. I have been living at Petco because I keep going back and forth with things. I've already bought and returned a pigaloo because I read on here that they aren't great. Got the log instead. Petco doesn't have great hideout options. I think I'll go to another store tonight and see if they have better options.

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

PiggieWigglies said:
Besides what Cavy Mama said, another thing is I would fill the hay rack a bit more, it doesnt look like much is sticking out (maybe Im blind lol ) and hay needs to be accessible 24/7 Welcome to the forum!

Ha, no it is a little low. It was full yesterday!! Going to fill it in a bit when I get his dinner ready.

PiggieWigglies · Mar 12, 2014

Its amazing how much they eat isnt it? How many grids is your cage btw?

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

They do eat a lot!! And he really loves carrots!! It is 2X2 right now. He is very happy because it is much bigger than the silly one the store sold me. So I think it is okay for now for my one piggie, but I am thinking of adding a fleece forest tonight, and a loft someday soon. Eventually I will make it bigger and get another piggie. I just don't have the space right now.

CavyMama · Mar 12, 2014

They do love carrots but carrots are high in sugar. One baby carrot is more than enough for daily feeding. Have you checked out the Diet & Nutrition chart here on the forum? https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

elmoabt · Mar 12, 2014

So everyone keeps saying that guinea pigs need friends and that I should get a second one, so tonight I tried a second GP. I got him home and put him in cage with Peanut. Peanut was not happy, he burred and put up all the hair on his neck. I moved them around and gave them another chance, but it did not go well. Peanut just kept running around squealing loudly non stop. So I gave the new one back. Maybe Peanut is happy with just him and I!

ILovePiggies456 · Mar 12, 2014

elmoabt said:
So everyone keeps saying that guinea pigs need friends and that I should get a second one, so tonight I tried a second GP. I got him home and put him in cage with Peanut. Peanut was not happy, he burred and put up all the hair on his neck. I moved them around and gave them another chance, but it did not go well. Peanut just kept running around squealing loudly non stop. So I gave the new one back. Maybe Peanut is happy with just him and I!

This is not the proper method to introduce guinea pigs. Here is a useful page on how to properly introduce piggies: https://cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm#Introductions

You should not have placed the new piggy in the cage with your old one. This may be the reason why the guinea pigs did not get along. They must be introduced on neutral territory. There is also a 3 week quarantine that your new piggy should have gone through before you introduced him to your original piggy. This is so you can prevent the new piggy from passing on any hidden illnesses he may have to your first one.

I know you have already returned the piggie, but hopefully this information can help you the next time you decide to get a friend for your boy (please try to adopt!).

Starthecavy123 · Mar 12, 2014

Because you can't just place a new guinea pig in the existing ones cage. Guinea pig are territorial creature and will attack another pig if they are in their territory. You need to introduce them on neutral territory a place where neither pig has been.

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