Question about cages...

[littlebear]

I bought my grids online at walmart.com. The shipping is a lot though.

 

[OSUCavies]

You need to put something UNDER the fleece to absorb the urine as the fleece wicks its away. I use bath towels.

thats very interesting...


i want my cage to be as colorful and fun as possible.


so ill have to look into the fleece thing.

and i like the idea of a hay hut for the cages too!

 

[OSUCavies]

any suggestions at what grids are better or anything?

ill try to avoid all the bad experiences as I can!

walmart did seem like a good idea, littlebear. dont they sell them in the actual store?

 

[Hansel]

I really like fleece because it IS so colorful and it is cheaper for me than any other bedding. It is easy to clean and looks nice. My pigs really seem to like it too. After the initial investment of the fleece and towels, all you need to do is wash the stuff.

 

[OSUCavies]

I really like fleece because it IS so colorful and it is cheaper for me than any other bedding. It is easy to clean and looks nice. My pigs really seem to like it too. After the initial investment of the fleece and towels, all you need to do is wash the stuff.

how often do you wash it all?

 

[Hansel]

I have 4 (I think) complete cage changes. I generally will wait until the last clean set is in the cage and then wash the other three.

I can usually go for a week and a half - 2 weeks before I have to completly change the cage. I have a 1X2 area bedded in Carefresh for hay, and they do a lot of thier business if you will, in there. That is change out every several days.

 

[OSUCavies]

I have 4 (I think) complete cage changes. I generally will wait until the last clean set is in the cage and then wash the other three.

I can usually go for a week and a half - 2 weeks before I have to completly change the cage. I have a 1X2 area bedded in Carefresh for hay, and they do a lot of thier business if you will, in there. That is change out every several days.

thats a good idea too. have plenty of backups.

id do that for her just to make her happier and let her run around


i use soft sorbent...is that....frowned upon?>
it seems like everyone else uses carefresh

the reason i switched to carefresh was because layla would eat it and i heard it could make her sick

but for some reason she doesnt eat the sorbent

 

[Hansel]

I have never used it but cant recall anything bad about it. Carefresh was really expensive and on the dusty side.

 

[OSUCavies]

yeah i remember the same with carefresh

the sorbent is pretty nice. i think it helps with the smell a LOT.

its about 9 dollars for a smaller bag, though. so its pricey



ill have to keep you all updated on the cage thing. ill hopefully have something built in the near future.
im not much of an engineer so we'll see how much I can do...thankfully the boyfriend is good in that department.


thanks everyone so much for all the helpful information!
its much appreciated

ill also have to keep everyone updated on Shelby. I hope she ends up pulling through so we can buy her back

 

[Hansel]

Just post if you have any other questions! Its after 3 am here I need to go to bed lol!

 

[OSUCavies]

i need to clip miss layla up and do the same!!!

have a great night

this place is gonna get sick of me and all my questions! haha

 

[OSUCavies]

ahh, hansel. im in columbus. so im moderately close to you...

and im also 23.

I just need to get 2 more pigs to catch up with you haha

 

[this_lil_piggy]

We won't get sick of your questions, guaranteed We appreciate pet owners that want to provide the best for their pets. There are a lot of people that are set in their ways, and aren't so accepting of the information.

I caught this post late, and I think you have already gotten tons of great advice to get you on your way.

I just want to give you some extra encouragement in offering the veggies. Pigs who are new to them can be pretty stubborn at accepting them, but eventually they will. You will enjoy the excited wheek wheeks she makes to beg for them, once she catches on to the being yummy. The best thing to do is to pick a veggie and keep offering it until she accepts it, then add another veggies until she accepts it, then another....take it one at a time. The best to start with is fresh grass and leaf lettuce. You may can squeeze the juice from an orange or strawberry over the lettuce to entice her. Cilantro is also good, and red and green bell peppers are one of the best veggies for them, but can be the hardest to get them to accept. You can try putting some lettuce in her hay rack ...it may help her associate it with being food. At this point she just doesn't understand what they are.

Some walmarts carry the grids, some don't. Noe of my walmarts do Target has them occasionally. If you have the ability to order online, walmart.com has pink and purple ones on clearance right now for 10.87 box. You probably won't need over one box of them, maybe two depending on the size you want to build.

I hope Shelby gets treatment and you are able to take her back from Petco. I would call and worry the crapt out of them every single day. Otherwise, they are likely to never treat her. They don't bank on most people wanting sick animals or to ever come back to retrieve them, so they just cage them in their back room and wait for them to die, giving them little or no treatment. It is really sad the practices they carry out that most people don't know about.

Keep us posted on how things go, and when you get your cage built. You will be suprised how much Layla comes out of her shell with more room to play and live in.

 

[OSUCavies]

Thanks so much lil piggy!

I hope that we can bother Petco into taking proper care of her. I made it a point to tell the manager that we wanted to buy her back as soon as she was medicated. So hopefully this will encourage them a little bit.

I'm very excited to build a new cage for Layla. I think she'll be super pleased with it. I'd just love to see her run and jump around on the ramp and go up to different levels. The possibilites seem endless.

Thanks again

 

[Hansel]

ahh, hansel. im in columbus. so im moderately close to you...

and im also 23.

I just need to get 2 more pigs to catch up with you haha

Haha how funny is that! My Aunt lives in columbus, right by the zoo! I love going down there to shop at Easton!

 

[Crazybouncycrls]

I am a little late on your post!

Good luck for Shelby! I hope all goes well with her and you get a happy healthy piglet!

About fleece, I tried fleece and found the best things for under it were
Puppy Pads.....the self stick ones for puppys so they dont move. Stick it to the bottom of the cage, I use 2 and then I put a layer of towels (cheap dollar store brand) and then the fleece
Right now I am using Critterfresh (walmart carefresh) until I can get some fleece of the right size for my new cage.
That was the system that worked for me.
Good luck with your little babies!

 

[VoodooJoint]

what is up with the colored bits being bad?
are they just not healthy?

The colored bits (seeds, dehydrated veggies/fruit, kibble) are all too fattening, contain too much sugar and cause poor dietary habits as the GP will pick out their favorite pieces and ignore the more beneficial pellets. They can also get caught on or between teeth and cause mouth infections and tooth problems. They are also suspected to be a choking hazard.

The pellets themselves in those types of foods usually contain cancer causing preservatives (one is called Ethoxyquin). They are also normally very high in salt, sugar, calcium and fat--all things to make your GP like them (like candy) thus making *you* think that it's good for them.

I Feel like a bad mommy.

Nope, not a bad mommy at all. We all started somewhere. You thought, like most, that foods available in a petstore would be healthy for your pet. After all the stores claim to do it all for the love of animals.

In reality most of the foods they sell for small animals are very poor quality as are the treats, suppliments, cages and accesories. The employees rarely know much about the true dietaty, medical and housing needs of the very animals they sell so give out bad advice regularly.

You are going to get innundated with advice and ideas now that you are here. It is all going to seem very overwhelming. Just breath deep and take it all a step at a time. No one is mad at you as most of us started out making the same mistakes.

 

[OSUCavies]

Update on Shelby:

I just called Petco and asked them when they thought Shelby could be seen by the vet. I talked to a younger sounding guy (that actually sounded the most concerned out of everyone else I spoke with) that said they hoped the vet would be open tomorrow but if not, it would be taken in as soon as possible on Tuesday by a "pet care specialist". He said the guinea pig would be "treated here until the vet could see her". When I asked what kind of treatment, he just said making sure it's cleaned up and given food and water. Which isn't treatment... that's just taking care of a guinea pig. But, I guess as long as I know she's alive and has food.

She wasn't in the worst condition when I took her there, so I'm hoping even if she's not seen by Tuesday, she will still be okay and end up living from this terrible event.

I also asked the guy if we could come in and see her after the vet and he ecstatically said "Yes! Please feel free to come in aaaanytime and see her."

So I hope this ends up having a good ending. He said to call tomorrow and see if the vet was open or not, he said he wasn't certain if they'd be open on New Year's Day. But at least he wants us to call.

 

[VoodooJoint]

I'm very curious to know how the GP that Petco is treating is doing? Have you called? Have they given you any info?

 

[werm82]

I talked to the lady who sold Shelby to me on the phone today. She said she had taken and picked her up from the vet today. The woman told me that she had "an eye infection and a 'nose infection', or runny nose". She will be ready to come home in 14 days, hopefully.