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New here...with questions

Veggielady79

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Hi all,
We adopted a sweet little guinea for our girls (5.5 years) for Christmas. He's about 10 weeks old, and unfortunately, we still can't all agree on a name for "what's his name" :). I've been doing lots of research, and quickly remembering what a great little addition to the family they are (I had an albino guinea, Rhoda, growing up). But a lot has changed since then, too!

I'm interested in getting fleece for bedding to cut down on costs. Do you just cut fleece to fit the cage (I have ZERO sewing skills!)? Multiple layers? I understand a layer of uHaul blanket is recommended underneath. Do I have to tack it down somehow, or is it fine to just lay it down?

He's been getting plenty of cuddles and daily exercise in our (guinea-proofed) guest room. I am starting to learn his various noises, and just found the guinea sounds website last night, thanks to this forum -- I noticed when petting him, he makes the purring sound, which I first thought meant he had had enough (he doesn't purr right away; usually after a few minutes of being held). I THINK I've distinguished between purring (good) and rumbling (bad). Would this seem right, that he'd purr after he's warmed up and settled on a lap, as opposed to starting to rumble when he's had enough (I'm not petting him any differently)?

A couple times when I've been holding him, he's sort of lunged his head at me. What is this? My one daughter says he's done it to her a couple of times, too. He hasn't bit any of us (other than nibbling our fingers), so I'm not sure if this is a sign of aggression. It certainly takes me by surprise!

I think that is all my questions for now :) I will continue to peruse the forums, but if anyone can answer my questions, or point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks! Glad to be here! :)
 

2198lindsey

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Welcome to the forum, from my girls and me.

Now, congrats on your new family member. Guinea pigs are herd animals and extremely social. This means that it would be in his best interest to get him a friend. The "lunging" he's doing sounds to me like he's being skittish and insecure, and getting him a cage mate or two could actually help build up his confidence and stop that. I strongly reccomend getting him a friend.

Second, I'm sure you don't have a C&C right away, and that's okay. But eventually he's going to need a cage that is the right size for him. This is something that's really important. He needs exercise on his time--not yours. As for fleece, fleece wicks moisture. Meaning moisture just falls right through it. So what we do is put fleece on top of an absorbant layer. The pee soaks through to the towels, or UHAUL pads, and the poop and hay stays on top. Then you can sweep the fleece 2 times a day.

Now for his diet. He's going to need a long strand hay at all times. Guinea pigs are kind of like horses and cows, their digestive systems need something pushed through it at all times. He's going to need a high quality pellet only pellet like Oxbow, Sweet Meadow, or KMS. He's also going to need a cup of veggies a day. He should have 1 slice of bell pepper, one leaf of lettuce (green or redleaf--NOT iceberg), a grape tomato, a slice of cucumber, and some cilantro. This is very important because he does not produce his own vitamin C, so if he doesn't get enough he could get scurvy and die.

I hope this helped, welcome to the forum and soon you'll be a slave to him like the rest of us :)
 

Veggielady79

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Oh, I'm already a slave! ;) My husband and I cuddle nightly on the couch to watch TV, and now he has to wait his turn until...What's His Name...gets his time with me, haha.

Thanks for all your help! I didn't know he needed a whole cup of veggies a day. I will up what I've been giving him. Do you have a link to what fruits and veggies he can/can't have, and how often he can get a specific food a day? I'm looking for a comprehensive list to print out. I enjoy pointing out to my girls how well he eats all his veggies, but I have yet to memorize his diet restrictions. He does get unlimited Timothy hay, and I have been giving him Kaytee brand Fiesta pellets (which was recommended by the pet store employee), but you're saying I should stick with JUST pellets? What's the reason for that, just curious. He seems to eat all the "fiesta" stuff out; it's typically just the pellets left when I give him fresh food.

I will look into getting a friend for him. That would certainly help with two girls who aren't able to agree on a name for ONE! :) I'm now wishing I'd gotten his cage mate, too, right then and there. I imagine there needs to be an introduction period? I have also looked at the C&C cages -- so neat! Oh, and just as an aside, I'm a stay-at-home mom, so his free time isn't limited to our work schedules. He's out multiple times a day with me, much to the chagrin of my jealous girls.

Thanks again for all your help.
 

Princess_Piggie

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Welcome to the forum from me, Daisy, and Minnie :)

I hope you come up with a name for "what's his name" soon haha!

In addition to the information you've already been given, I'd recommend spacing his veg out, so he gets 1/2 cup in the morning, 1/2 cup in the evening, as pigs are grazers :) Also, you don't have to feed all the veggies listed by [MENTION=25452]2198lindsey[/MENTION] on a daily basis - while they're all excellent veggies that should indeed be fed on a regular basis, it's okay to switch the cilantro to parsley a couple of times, or give him a baby carrot instead of a tomato now and again...you get the gist! Pigs like a varied diet so just have a look at the chart bpatters linked you to, it's my go-to chart when I wanna get the girls something new to try :)

With regards to the fleece, UHAUL is by far the best absorbent layer from what I hear, but being in the UK I just can't get hold of it, so I have a towel, and newspaper, under my fleece that I change every couple of days since it isn't as absorbent as UHAUL. You don't have to connect the fleece and your absorbent layer, but a lot of people find it simplifies the cleaning process by having fleece pads which are a layer of fleece, uhaul, and a layer of fleece, all stitched together. If you google 'fleece flippers' 'fleece cage liners' etc, you'll get what I mean. A flipper has a piece of coroplast in the center to stop it from wrinkling, a liner is just material.

You can also give him some alfalfa hay, or extra parsley, or an alfalfa based pellet (not all three though) until he's 6 months old, then it's strictly grass hay and grass based pellets.

I look forward to seeing pigtures of "what's his name", and finding out what you named him! :D
 

2198lindsey

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Here's a link to the chart of veggies they can have. I actually have this printed off on my fridge, and one copy in my purse. https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...n-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List#post254730

I notice you said you adopted him. Did you buy him from a pet store or adopt him from a shelter/rescue?
We are a pro-adoption and anti-breeder forum. Animals you buy from a pet store often come from terrible conditions at pet mills. We believe that this is an issue that needs to be stopped, and the only way is to not support them with your money. So instead we adopt from shelters and rescues, we rescue from craigslist, friends. So I strongly suggest when you plan on getting him a friend to adopt.

That being said, if you can give me the area you live in, I'm pretty positive that I can give you some links of some pigs in need near you. :)
 

Veggielady79

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Thanks, everyone, for all the tips. It's unfortunate that I was given pretty terrible recommendations and info at the pet store. He was adopted from Petco (not bought from Petco itself), so he was brought in by a family. I know to take most employees' words with a grain of salt, but this was an older woman who said she had guineas of her own at home. Now I want to go back and tell her to do more research! :/ She recommended the Fiesta food, JUST a quarter of an orange a day (I knew from growing up with a guinea that their diet was much more varied than that). She also recommended the Snack Shack, which I read was not very healthy?? Can you recommend another method of keeping their teeth filed?

My parents actually bought an identical cage (it's Kaytee brand 17 x 29.5in) because we usually visit a couple times a month (for the weekend). Would it be sufficient space if hubby rigs the two cages together, most likely one on top of the other? Or is side to side better? I am in North Central Vermont, and there is a pic of him on my profile page -- I thought I was uploading it as an avatar pic, but obviously failed! :p He is such a darling, and my hubby actually likes "what's his name?" We've had a lot of fun with our guests asking, "what's his name" and answering, "That's it..." "What's it? What's his name? "That's his name." "What's his name?" "Yes, that's his name" ................Haha.
 

StarTaleMaddnes

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So a couple tips here from a pretty recent newbie- I got the first of my two girls in august, and my second in september. As far as their diet goes you'll work our what types of veggies work best for you and for "What's his Name" as you go. I feed lettuce, a few slices of green pepper, cilantro morning and night, and at night a carrot for each of my girls. Everybody's household is different and what your family will already have in the house is diffrent than mine so the best thing to do is experiment a little no one way is the right way. You should feed good quality pellets though, and stick with the recommended amounts instead of limitless, the only thing that should be limitless is their hay.

As far as fleece goes no sewing required if you don't want to. fleece doesn't unravel at the edges like most other fabrics so you don't need to hem. There are a ton of fleece threads on here so if you go to search, or the fleece section of the forums you'll find a ton of detailed info but I'll give you a quick run down right now. I use a layer of towels on the bottom, dollar store towels are great, followed by a layer of uhaul, with a single layer of fleece on top. Depending on the bottom of your cage and if your guinea pig is a burrower you may have to secure the fleece, but experiment a little and you'll figure it out. I also use piddle pads, essentially a uhaul pad between two layers of fleece for each of the corners and underneath their water bottle to catch any drips. the bigger the cage the longer between full out changes you have to go, I go about 6 days with my two girls in their 2x4 cage, but I know boars do better in larger cages, and they are also more potent so changing may need to be more frequent. You'll also need to sweep up the poop at least once a day, probably 2-4 times if you have a smaller cage, this is a great job for little kids.

If you are seriously considering a second male, i'd definitely think about doing a larger cage they can get extra testy in close quarters from what I've gathered on this forum. Best of luck.

Also Watson might be a cute alternative to "Whats his name" since it sounds pretty close. However guinea pigs don't care what you call them as long as they get food.
 

2198lindsey

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Thanks, everyone, for all the tips. It's unfortunate that I was given pretty terrible recommendations and info at the pet store. He was adopted from Petco (not bought from Petco itself), so he was brought in by a family. I know to take most employees' words with a grain of salt, but this was an older woman who said she had guineas of her own at home. Now I want to go back and tell her to do more research! :/ She recommended the Fiesta food, JUST a quarter of an orange a day (I knew from growing up with a guinea that their diet was much more varied than that). She also recommended the Snack Shack, which I read was not very healthy?? Can you recommend another method of keeping their teeth filed?

My parents actually bought an identical cage (it's Kaytee brand 17 x 29.5in) because we usually visit a couple times a month (for the weekend). Would it be sufficient space if hubby rigs the two cages together, most likely one on top of the other? Or is side to side better? I am in North Central Vermont, and there is a pic of him on my profile page -- I thought I was uploading it as an avatar pic, but obviously failed! :p He is such a darling, and my hubby actually likes "what's his name?" We've had a lot of fun with our guests asking, "what's his name" and answering, "That's it..." "What's it? What's his name? "That's his name." "What's his name?" "Yes, that's his name" ................Haha.
His teeth will stay down as long as he has constant access to a long-strand hay like timothy or orchard grass. They should actually rarely get fruit, mine get fruit maybe 2 times a month. It's like giving a kid too many sweets. Most pet store employees will not have the right information about anything.

As for the cage, guinea pigs have delicate backs and don't need many levels. The wider/longer the space the better. I made my first cage for $21, and it was a C&C. I strongly recommend you doing that. Most likely the pet store cages won't be enough. For 2 boars going through puberty you need AT LEAST a 2x4 if you can a 2x5. I bought a pack of grids from bed bath and beyond with a coupon for less than $20, I bought a $1 mattress cover from the dollar store and some clothes pins to hold the fleece to the mattress liner. Here was my first cage for only $20.

The last photo is that I laid coroplast on the bottom, just to make sure no escaped pee got onto my floor.
 

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bpatters

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@Veggielady79, you don't need to keep their teeth filed unless they've got some sort of a (usually genetic) jaw problem. The hay that they have to have full time keeps their molars ground down, and the molars keep the front teeth ground down. Occasionally a pig will break one front tooth and the others will have to be adjusted until that one grows out, but usually even that resolves itself without intervention. Never let a vet cut their front teeth because they're too long unless you're sure it's an exotic vet experienced in piggy dentistry, but a lot of dog-and-cat vets have no idea how long GP teeth should be, and wind up chopping the teeth off.
 

Veggielady79

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How many inches is a 2x4 (or 5) cage? I'm not familiar with the grids yet; is that 2x4 FEET?. Is something like this suitable? https://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Interactive-Guinea-Habitat-Plus/dp/B001NJ0DQ8/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t? It's 24"x47". I could still rig up our current cage if need be. I'm impressed with all these "homemade" cages! He is in our family room, so I want to keep it as tidy as possible, so I think I'm better off sticking with a contained cage that's more...durable. I love that I can just unhook the top to dump all the bedding in the trash...though I am still planning on switching to piddle pads and fleece as soon as I can get into town where the shops are, so I'm hoping clean up will be even easier (as soon as we get our washing machine fixed, ha!).

When I said "JUST a quarter of an orange", I didn't mean that wasn't enough fruit. Their diet was one of the first things I researched, so I quickly learned fruit wasn't that great for them. Just pointing out that was ALL she recommended feeding him as far as fresh food. That is what they give their guineas at the store daily :/
 

CavyMama

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One grid is 14 inches. The Midwest cages are just okay. The bottom isn't very sturdy and it doesn't really give as much running room as a regular C&C cage does. Not to mention that a C&C cage is very easy to clean. If you wanted to have a lid on it, that is easily do-able. Take a look at these closed C&C cages. (broken link removed)
 

Veggielady79

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So, using the grid system as a cage, what do you use as the tray bottom? I'm looking for something that has the sides to contain mess. And to make a cover, you use the grids as well, and lift them up and back when getting into the cage? Where do you get the bars that rest on the grids to keep the cover from caving in? Sorry to be so pesty! I will be going to Walmart/Home Depot/Bed Bath Beyond, etc tomorrow and want to have a list of materials needed and correct sizes. Thanks so much!!
 

GGXmommy

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I'm new to this forum too. I've been doing extensive research on guinea pigs and looking to adopt one in the NH area. I'm just not sure where. I'm also looking into this cage for two guinea pigs:
  • Living World Deluxe Pet Habitat, Extra Large (Amazon)
  • Measures 46-8/9-inch length by 22-4/5-inch width by 24-inch height

I know C & C cages are preferred but I'm hoping this is close to it.

Thanks



 
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