Frazzle and Rocky are here to stay.

[lazeebones]

Hello, I am new to the world of guinea pigs but am hooked thanks to a chance visit to Petco where there was this, what I call a throwaway, little guy setting out in the middle of the store on a table. I’m a sucker for throwaways, 2 of my 3 rabbits were a craigs list throwaway. So for 40 bucks including the cage I brought Rocky home and then proceeded to study up on them. Right away I find out that he should have a friend. As luck would have it, for me, not so much for Rocky, I was back in Petco 30 days later and there set poor little Frazzle, he was not happy at all. Much more shy than Rocky and obviously terrified. These poor little drop offs come with little or no information. Rocky they knew his name and he is 2yrs, belonged to a young mother with 2 toddlers and he didn’t sell on Craigslist so she deposited him at Petco. Frazzle they knew less about, they think he is 4 yrs old, no name so I named him Frazzle. Rocky had already warmed up to me and comes to the edge of his crib to check me out and isn’t scared of me anymore. Frazzle, well it may take longer, but I have only had him 4 days now. He is a real fast little fellow. And so far Rocky doesn’t think much of Frazzle, so for now he is in a separate crib. This I am not worried about, I had to keep 1 of my rabbits, BB, all females, separate from Pea and Furbee for a yr before they began to get along and now everyone is happily coexisting.

 

[bpatters]

Welcome to the forum!

FYI, the pet cage you bought is too small for two guinea pigs -- you'll need something different so you can put them together. See the Main page of this site for cage size recommendations.

Also, read Guinea Pigs Social Life for information on how to get your two guys together -- the introductions section is about halfway down.

Your pigs need long strand grass hay ALL the time. The most expensive way to buy it is in small bags from a pet store (that's mostly the worst quality hay, as well). The cheapest way is to find a local supplier, but make sure it doesn't have fescue in it, nor too much alfalfa. The in-between way is to order it online, from (broken link removed), (broken link removed), (broken link removed), or get the big boxes of Oxbow sent to your local pet store.

They need 1/8 cup each of good timothy pellets per day -- no colored bits, no nuts, no seeds. The best quality pellets you can buy are from KMS (URL above) and Oxbow, but watch their urine for dried white spots if you use Oxbow. If you find them, you may need to switch to KMS.

They need a cup of veggies each per day -- staples should be lettuce and bell peppers. No iceberg lettuce, and you may find that romaine also causes dried white urine spots (they're a sign of excess calcium in the urine). Many of us use only red or green leaf lettuce. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html for what else you can feed and how often, but note that fruit should be only an occasional treat because the sugar upsets their digestive tracts.

Examine them carefully for lice or mites. You can't see mites, but you can lice. If you find them, post back here and we'll refer you to some treatment instructions.

Good luck with them, and we need pictures.

 

[angie901]

What cute little piggies.

 

[lazeebones]

thanks for the warm welcome, I will go with all your advice. But why not fescue grass, I have some wheat and timmothy grass in the field but there might be some field fescue mixed in.
their cribs are 4x2.5 each, what size should they be?

 

[bpatters]

The problems with fescue depend on where you are. For a long time, more than 90% of the fescue fields in the US were contaminated with an ergot that caused death in several kinds of animals that ate it. The Extension Service has worked hard to eradicate it, but the success has been spotty. Since there's no way for us to know whether a fescue field is clean, we just continue to recommend against it until such time as there's no danger to guinea pigs. You might check with your Extension Service agent to see whether your fescue is ok or not.

And fescue isn't one of the recommended hays for guinea pigs, but if it's clean, a little mixed in won't hurt. Timothy is the preferred hay because it's usually easier to get than some of the other kinds, and it provides good nutrition for guinea pigs. But it's more likely to cause allergies than the other long strand grass hays, so some people switch, usually to orchard or meadow.

 

[lazeebones]

Thanks, I will check my grass out with our local extension agent, he is only 3 miles away. I have a 11 ac use to be horse pasture and a old wheat field next door available to me, patches are left uncut for me. Been cutting this grass with shears for the last year for my rabbits, I cut a lot of grass often, they love it. I buy my oxbow timothy thru waggs cause they sell very large bales and it arrives within 48 hrs, quite convenient.

I have some orchard for a chance in taste for the rabbits, I'll give it to Rocky and Frazzle instead until I get more.

 

[bpatters]

The pigs can have a little wheat, but the nutritional values of wheat and long strand grass hay are very different.

 

[RodentCuddles]

their cribs are 4x2.5 each, what size should they be?

So they are 2.5 x 4 Grids? While you do your intros with them maybe you could get someone to keep an eye on them and then make the cage a bit bigger? They are both past purberty which is good but seeing as you know not much about their back ground they could both want to be alpha males so the more space will help and even if they are not more space is always better with males.

You probably have already read the link Bpatter posted before but just remember that Unlike intros with rabbits, you just do one intro in a neutral area for guinea pigs and unless blood is drawn you then put them into a newly cleaned cage.
So No Play dates as that really stresses the pigs out and can make things worse. (;

 

[lazeebones]

So they are 2.5 x 4 Grids? ...... (;

their homes are made out of old baby cribs, I use it as the frame work to attach grids to where needed. they are on wheels which come in handy.

below is the cribs from before they were converted for the pigs and now the rabbits live on the other side of the sliding door on the patio and only sleep inside for bad weather. in the evenings the girls (rabbits) come in when I'm in there doing stuff. .