General Questions about care, food, etc.

Hi!

I dont have access to view videos from where I am.

Basic needs and Care:
No single pig should be left behind... Get them a friend
make sure they have lots, and lots, and lots of grass based hay.. Timothy.. Orchard, etc...
Make sure they have a timothy hay based pellet with Vitamin C.
and of course 1 cup of vegetables per pig per day.
Green Peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery, and all types of luttuce except for Iceburg.

They need a large cage, and floor time.
They also should have lap time but if you just got them, give them a few days.

Do not take your guinea pigs to see a dog/cat vet.
Do not take advice about guinea pigs from pet stores (petsmart petco ect)

Read around this site. It has a lot of valuble information.

I think that most of what you are doing is OK, and it’s great that you are getting a C&C cage for them.
However, I don’t like the look of the green things and the seeds in the food you have. I would recommend Oxbow or KMS hayloft pellets ((broken link removed)), as they have a low calcium content (which is a good thing, as too much calcium can cause guinea pigs to form bladder stones).

It’s great that you are giving them veggies and hay. As @Bacon4EverEver said, they need about 1 cup of vegetables per pig per day, with about half of that being lettuce (however iceberg lettuce has almost no nutritional value, and can cause upset tummies). This is a great chart for how much of each veggie they can have and how often they can have it: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

The bedding is fine. Aspen is OK for guinea pigs, but undried pine isn’t because it contains harmful phenols that can harm piggies’ sensitive respiratory systems (basically, if it smells strong, it isn’t good).

Their cage is too small at the moment, so there will be some fighting, but that should stop when their big cage arrives.

That’s about all I can think of at the moment, but it’s late where I am, so I’d better go. I’m sure someone else will chip in with more information though.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Alright, I have some answers for you!
Pellets: Unfortunately the petstore was wrong recommending those to you. You want to give your guinea pigs a plain Timothy hay based pellet. You don't want any seeds, fruit, or colored bits. The best brands of pellets are Oxbow and KMS. KMS can only be ordered online herebroken link removed) Guinea pigs should have 1/8 cup of pellets a day.
Aspen: Aspen is safe for small pets and it's perfectly fine to finish up the bag.
Hay: It's your preference how you put it in the cage. Many people use a hay rack or bag because it is neater. A big pile is great. Very natural for them and they will love to burrow in it.
Breeds: The lighter one is an American short hair. The darker one is a crested guinea pig. The circle on his head is called a crest.
I'd love to see them enjoying their new C&C cage! Also, they will naturally get a lot more used to you with time. One of my pigs inparticular, would freak out and run in her house when we came in the room. Now she is up by the bars and squeaking for veggies whenever we come in.

I had a big ol' write up with answers to everything, then accidentally ctrl+A backspaced it SO OH WELL, it's probably for the best.

But here are some things that weren't mentioned yet that I wanted to say.

- Make sure you are certain of both of their sexes! One, you really don't want one of them to become pregnant, and two it might explain their fighting a bit more. Two males typically cannot get along in anything smaller than a 2x5 or sometimes a 2x4 c and c, and even two females will tussle in close quarters. Once you get the c and c set up though, they should hopefully get along.

- As said, make sure they get 1 cup of veggies each daily--some good and easily prepared choices could be a leaf of lettuce each (red, green, butterhead, romaine), 1/8 a bell pepper, 1 baby carrot, and maybe one other daily veggie per pig. So for the both of them, just double the amounts. Two leaves, 1/4 pepper, 2 carrots. You don't have to be a Top Chef to make a nice veggie meal like this, and this way you can de-seed and cut the peppers into sections on the weekend and every day when they get their veggies you can put their pepper slices and carrots on top of the lettuce like a little plate and let them chow down. That's what I do, and it works rather nicely. I give 2 cherry tomatoes instead of carrots, though, and raddichio as a fourth veggie. It's really expensive for one raddichio though, jeez...like $2.50 for one little one. But he loves it, so that's good. I would give a carrot, too, but he hates them and throws them out of the cage.


- As for them peeing and pooping in the bowl, I have two theories. One, it's so big they do just sit in it and go to the bathroom. In which case you can get a smaller bowl or two, and hopefully that'll keep them from using it as a toilet. Or they could just be kicking poop in there, which is very likely. However there is not solution to that--they're guinea pigs after all, so just pick the poops out if you see them.

- And it's okay if they don't chew on the applewood. Most pigs won't bother with gnawing, but some do. It's okay if they don't, though, so long as they have good hay eating that will grind down their teeth. Speaking of, it's alright if they kick hay around. Mine loves to burrow in his, so I let him. The only downside is it should be changed out almost daily, as they often pee in it and that can make it mold and soils it. That's one of the reasons people use hay racks--but I love the Mountain Dew hay box, that's fantastic.

- And once they're moved into their bigger cage and have had some time to adjust, they'll come to recognize you as something that is nice and gives them Good Times and Veggies, and they hopefully won't be as skiddish. For now, it's okay if they're a bit spooked, that's very normal. But I know with the power of patience, love, and vegetables they'll warm up to you.


So with that, I hope you have found the answers you seek, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask! Just make sure you post some sweet pictures of them and their new cage when you get it set up, I know they'll love it.

wombats said:

- As for them peeing and pooping in the bowl, I have two theories. One, it's so big they do just sit in it and go to the bathroom. In which case you can get a smaller bowl or two, and hopefully that'll keep them from using it as a toilet. Or they could just be kicking poop in there, which is very likely. However there is not solution to that--they're guinea pigs after all, so just pick the poops out if you see them.

Click to expand...

Adding to this!

You can get little ceramic bowls at dollar tree! they are in the decorative/candle section. They are not supposed to be pet bowls, however they work for this purpose!

^ That's a good point; glazed ceramic bowls are safe to use, and if they get dirty just wipe them out and they're good as new. They're also heavy enough that they can't tip them over, which is a plus.

oops I commented on the wrong post!!!