Water Bottle, Hay Rack Advice for Newbie?

[TripleB]

My family will be getting its first guinea pigs in a week or two...after I have researched everything and made sure I have everything appropriate for the guinea pigs before I bring them home.

I have a couple questions:
1) Since we will have two guinea pigs, I know I'll need 2 or 3 water bottles. Can anyone recommend a good one for an affordable price?

2) I thought you layed the Timothy Hay on top of the bedding but it seems many advise to get a hay rack. What are the advantages of a hay rack and which one would you recommend?

3) Do Guinea Pigs need chew sticks to keep their teeth 'shortened'? If so, what type do you recommend?

Thank you for your help.

TripleB

 

[cuckooforcavies]

1) I'd recommend the "16oz Lixit small animal water bottles." You can get them on Amazon for a very affordable price.

2)Some advantages are that the hay is easier to clean up, and it's easier to manage. You can make a hay rack out of a storage grid by folding it in half and attaching it to the cage.

3) Yes, guinea pigs need things to chew on to keep their teeth shortened. Some inexpensive things guinea pigs are fond of chewing on are paper (not plastic!) bags, blank paper, cardboard boxes, oatmeal containers, toilet paper and paper towel spools, and crumpled-up newspaper(make sure the newspaper has no harmful dyes or staples in it. However, if you would like to buy your guinea pigs' chews, then you can look on Amazon or any other similar site carrying guinea pig products and you will see there is many inexpensive chews for guinea pigs.

 

[pinky]

I have a small kitchen area in my cage where I have regular bedding and fleece in the rest of the cage. I use a small corner triangle shaped litter box for my hay. I have velcro on the sides that attach to the coroplast so it holds in in place. I put a little Carefresh in the bottom before I add the hay. It's worked well for me. I don't even mind if they climb in it because they really love hay and why should I deprive them of something they enjoy. I buy my hay in 50 lb boxes so I don't mind changing it frequently. If you use regular bedding, you can just put the hay in a corner. They'll probably crawl under it and roll around in it. You can also try Orchard Grass. It's lower in calcium and softer than the timothy. I prefer the orchard grass over timothy.