hi there i'm a new cavy owner

Welcome to the forum! This is a fantastic place to learn about guinea pigs. Hope you stick around, I'm looking forward to seeing you around the forum!

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Hello and welcome to the forum! It's a great place for questions and advice. Can't wait for them to come home!

I would say to you, in raising young pigs, to handle them as much as you can (but let them get settled in first). Try lots of veggies out on them so they develop a taste for different foods. Do you have hay and pellets picked out already?

hello and welcome

Bodhi said:

I would say to you, in raising young pigs, to handle them as much as you can (but let them get settled in first). Try lots of veggies out on them so they develop a taste for different foods. Do you have hay and pellets picked out already?

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I just got them today and I've been giving them tons of attention. they are about 2 and one half weeks old. like almost 20 days i think. and they are eating solid foods they love the oxford alfalfa hay pellets i've bought them. they also love romaine lettuce. one is very shy and skittish, she runs into her hidey home as soon as i invade the cage to hand out treats, and the other one is a lot more comfortable around me, she will even come to eat out of my hand! im really happy about that. i know its the first day they got home but i felt really bad about how long it took to get them home and they sorta had a freak out (the white one at least) as I tried to put them into their cage and I think I scared her badly. im not sure though maybe she just needs a while to get settled in.

lets see what else... the brown one wheeks a fair bit. oddly enough not when she sees the romaine lettuce in my hand. its only after i start to rattle the cage and open it that she will get her wheeking up lots. weird...? and as for hay and pellets i got the oxford hay i mentioned but i've been observing them and i don't really see them munching on the hay i did buy them, which is timothy hay, not alfalfa. i know they need alfalfa hay but i figured it'd be fine since i got them pellets made from alfalfa hay. will they not even touch the big box of timothy hay i've gotten them? =s

other random stuff... the girl i bought them from told me to use a bowl to make sure they get water since they're used to it and i have provided one but they're already using the water dispenser... guess they're fast learners? and did I mention they really like romaine lettuce? haha. the girl told me actually they love the lettuce so I made sure to get some... how much can the lettuce can I feed them? I plan to get some cucumbers and carrots tomorrow.

any advice to get them to open up to me fast or is it just a patience thing? am i doing anything wrong by invading their cage too soon? the brown one really seems to like when I open up the cage to interact, he wheeks a lot and nibbles on my finger and licks it and stuff. if i do try to pick him up though, he'll run right into his hidey space. i dont think she's warmed up to me in that regard... and the white one definitively not yet at all. i only managed to coax her out to get some romain lettuce, but she still will grab it out of my fingers and run into her hidey hole to munch it. and btw they consume it really fast! im worried about feeding them too much so im only feeding them a small handful of romaine lettuce at a time since theyre young. how much can i feed them it..?

sorry for all the text but i had a lot to get out here. phew!

They can eat a lot of romaine lettuce but no iceberg! Let them know your scent and when you walk into the room, start talking and calling their names so they know it's you! It's great if one is already eating from your hand! What cage are you using? Is it a C & C cage? I think it's fine if they're eating alfalfa pellets but I'm not a baby guinea pig expert. Make sure they gets lots of vitamin C!

MrsGuineaPig said:

They can eat a lot of romaine lettuce but no iceberg! Let them know your scent and when you walk into the room, start talking and calling their names so they know it's you! It's great if one is already eating from your hand! What cage are you using? Is it a C & C cage? I think it's fine if they're eating alfalfa pellets but I'm not a baby guinea pig expert. Make sure they gets lots of vitamin C!

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Actually red and green leaf lettuce is better than romaine. They're young so they do need extra calcium now, but they're already getting that with the alfalfa pellets (which they can have unlimited until 6 months - then switch to Timothy based pellets, and 1/8th cup per pig per day). Some pigs have excess urinary calcium issues with romaine lettuce.
Veggies should be 1cup per piggie per day. Green bell pepper is a good way to get them vitamin C.

There's a very good nutritional chart here: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

Choose bell pepper, kale, parsley, or cilantro over the cucumber.

Let them run out of pellets so they have to try the hay.

Give them a day or two in their new place before picking them up a lot.

they really like the romaine lettuce but the calcium issues sounds scary and the previous owner actually told me not to feed them too much lettuce or they will pee a whole lot more then usual. >.< lol
I'll try getting some other kinds of lettuce... whats 'red and green' lettuce? do you mean red cabbage and spinach..? @ melynda. and bell peppers... green ones?

i'll try to keep my hands off as well. its a really big temptation though especially since one of them responds so well to touch and sounds. @ mrsguinea pig its a 'living world' cage, the medium sized one @ 75cmx45cm and yes I know it's too small for two guinea pigs but I got it given to me for free and I figure I'll use it for now since its a good size for them until they get a little bit bigger. I'm getting a 4x3 C&C cage from www.theguineapigstore.ca in either 2 months or whenever they grow a few more inches, whichever comes first! I really recommend the site I mentioned btw, especially if you're canadian since she really cares about piggies and will do cheap shipping AND if you live in GTA (I do!) she'll deliver the cage to you absolutely free of charge, fully assembled too.

Anyways... I know my cage is not ideal, but for babies I really think they will be fine and I do plan on getting a much better cage for them just as soon as they need it. Um.. if enough of you guys scold me though, I'll probably get the cage sooner rather then later though... I just feel like this one is plenty for the time being.

Also... another question, but, what kind of things should I get for a young guinea pig ? I don't have much in their cage, aside from the brown hidey space which isn't see thru at all, a fairly thick layer of carefresh which I plan to be changing ever 3-5 days, a a bowl with a bunch of alfalfay hay pellets, and a water dispenser which they seem to be using. And a bowl of water which they also use. I end up changing the bowl every 3-4 hours since it gets a little bit dirty pretty quickly and I want them to have clean not dirty water. But I think I'm opening my cage too much, the white guinea pig scurries into her hiding spot whenever I open it unless I'm REALLY really slow, and even then, she'll scurry away if I move too suddenly or move my hand the wrong way. I'm not sure if I'm doing harm rather then good by interacting and from what I've been reading you're supposed to give them space the first day. >.< I feel guilty when they start wheeking though.

Also atm I think they're sleeping ;c even though I've been up this entire time browsing my computer and I have my window open and cars driving by, they're being really quite and napping or sleeping. I guess thats good? Anyways... lemme know whatcha guys think.

In the grocery store it'll be labeled "red leaf lettuce" and "green leaf lettuce."
Spinach is also high in calcium.
Yes, green bell peppers. They can have red and yellow, too, but best not to give those every day because they are higher in sugar.
They do need unlimited long-strand grass hay, like Timothy or orchard grass. You are correct about them already getting enough calcium with the alfalfa pellets. Alfalfa hay on top of that would be too much.

Come and go as you please to fill food and water, just don't rearrange their furniture. If they are drinking from the bottle, remove the dish. Hold your finger out and see if they will sniff it when you open the cage. That is the nice part of a CnC cage; you don't have to keep opening it. And don't worry too much if they choose the pellets over the hay for now; they are young and growing.

I recommend using a water bottle instead of a bowl, for sanitary reasons. If the previous owner told you not to feed lettuce, they were wrong. Each pig needs 1 packed cup of veggies per day, which should be mostly leafy greens like lettuce.

About what you should put in the cage, not much else. They don't really play with toys, but I do recommend having one hidey per pig in case they don't want to share a hidey.

Make sure the hideys have 2 openings so if one blocks one opening there's another way to get out. Do you have any pictures of the pigs?

@PiggieWigglies I took your advice and ditched the hideaway that came with the cage. My brown piggy is the dominant one and seems to bully the other one... they scuffle about once an hour inside their little hideaway. Since I've removed it though I haven't seen any scuffles nor heard. I've replaced it a custom cardboard house I cut out (it doesn't have paint or whatever for them to chew on) and its got two large exit and entrance holes. I think that solved the problem. But I know for a fact she's trying to intimidate the other one which I hope is ok... does this mean they won't ever get along...?

Also, contrary to what people have been saying in online videos and such, I've been in close contact with my piggies since I've got them. It might be because the previous owner also spent a lot of contact with them, so they're already used to human interaction...? In any case, my white gunea pig who I've mentioned is skittish and really shy and scurries away has warmed up to me a TON already. She's really really still and docile when she's munching away on romaine lettuce, and I'm able to pick her up and move her onto my bed with ease. I put some towels down and let them chillax in front of my fan. They really like rubbing up on the fan and feeling the breeze it's cute to watch!

I'm not sure why or how but the white one peed on my bed and immediately began wheeking. That mean anything? I immediately put them back in my cage so I could clean up. I had another question, though, I've noticed they loved being pet when they're secure and feel safe, like when I have them tucked into my shirt or on a towel or my blanket, but if I try to pick them or scoop them up, they start wigging out and trying to get out of my hands. I've been transporting them out of my cage when they want to play using a towel. Is there any way to condition them to get used to being picked up? My white one is the only one who lets me pick her up and thats only if shes distracted with the lettuce. The brown one is a lot more alert and outgoing but is still really skittish when it comes to being handled by my hands.

Here's a picture by the way. I'll try and take a short video and more pics of them playing on my bed, too.

Some pigs fight because the area they are in is too small, but your pigs are growing up and hitting the puberty stage which also can make them squabble. I suggest upgrading to a bigger cage soon to make the puberty stage a bit easier since they'll have a bigger space to escape eachother. Also, please don't put them on your bed. There have been many incidents with owners putting their cavies on their bed and the cavy injures itself. One member had their pig fall off their bed. It was paralyzed and had to be put to sleep.
About the wheeking after peeing, it probably means nothing. Since they are so young they probably wont develop bladder stones at such a young age since they need calcium to grow. If it sounded like painful wheek then thats something to worry about but if it was just normal wheeking I wouldn't worry about it.
Almost every pig is skittish about being picked up. Rarely will they run up to the cage wanting you to pick them up. Mine do, but thats because they know Im taking them out for floor time when I remove their hideys. If you have a cuddle sack or a cuddle cup in their cage you can teach them to run in that and then scoop the whole fleece item up with the pig in it. If you have any more questions just ask.

Gpigs do not like it when their back feet leave the ground. Some pigs more than others.
They also don't like when they get wet.

PiggieWigglies said:

Some pigs fight because the area they are in is too small, but your pigs are growing up and hitting the puberty stage which also can make them squabble. I suggest upgrading to a bigger cage soon to make the puberty stage a bit easier since they'll have a bigger space to escape eachother. Also, please don't put them on your bed. There have been many incidents with owners putting their cavies on their bed and the cavy injures itself. One member had their pig fall off their bed. It was paralyzed and had to be put to sleep.
About the wheeking after peeing, it probably means nothing. Since they are so young they probably wont develop bladder stones at such a young age since they need calcium to grow. If it sounded like painful wheek then thats something to worry about but if it was just normal wheeking I wouldn't worry about it.
Almost every pig is skittish about being picked up. Rarely will they run up to the cage wanting you to pick them up. Mine do, but thats because they know Im taking them out for floor time when I remove their hideys. If you have a cuddle sack or a cuddle cup in their cage you can teach them to run in that and then scoop the whole fleece item up with the pig in it. If you have any more questions just ask.

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I watched them carefully and they were cautious not to go near the bed edges.. I thought they'd be smart enough not to ever fall off >.< But I'm going to take your advice and not let them roam around on my bed at all anymore. I've got plenty of floor space so I'll just put my blanket down on the floor and I am contemplating getting a c&c cage sooner rather then later... I think I'll put my current cage up on kijiji.ca and once it sells get a nice C&C 2X3 cage pronto. when do they hit the puberty stage? They're 3 weeks old come tomorrow. But like I said they haven't been squabbling much since I removed the hideaway that only had one hole. and @ the wheeking after peeing it wasn't painful, she just wouldn't stop and then the other guinea joined in and it was quite loud haha. I've also read that the kind of guinea pigs they are Abyssinian, that they won't necessarily ever enjoy being picked up. I'm really happy that they liked being calmly stroked while being held on my lap though.. it really feels nice considering its only been two days now.

I'm not making any baseless assumptions, am I? I mean, if they're sitting still and calmly munching while I am stroking its fur while its on my lap curled up in my shirt folds, does that mean it's happy and content around me...? It's not scared or anything I don't think. But you guys are the experts not me... oh and they will stay still and seem to enjoy being petted and chilling out even when they aren't munching. not too long ago I took the brown one back out for some floor time and the white one started wheeking so I let her out and just let her chillax in my lap and she wasn't eating anything either! to actually get her out I just gently nudged her into a clean dish towel and then gently placed her on my lap.