Behavior Got Stephen a buddie, now what?

[Catayn]

Well, I got Stephen a buddie. I went to the pet shop and put them all together (with Stephen) and he actually chose one of them. It's weird, but he did. They wee-weed at each other and then started playing and everything. It was so cute!
I took them home and, as they seem really friendly, I put the both in the cage. It´s been two days and they are still very happy and they chat a lot! No problems sharing the food bowl, or the water bottle.
Should I still get extra bowls and a bottle? They even eat from the bowl together at the same time! Could I leave them like this?
Another thing, now that I got the other on (Scott) Stephen seems not to like me anymore. Yes, I know it's ridiculous, but he just ignores me because he wants to stay with Scott, which by the way is REALLY afraid of me. Will he ever get beck to normal or has the new piggie taken my place?

 

[MapleSyrup]

You should have adopted one instead of buying. Please, Don't Buy while Shelter Pigs die.
You must quarintine the new pig before you put them together. You should quarintine for 2-3 weeks. Also, since you bought from a pet shop, you should take him to a cavy savvy vet, incase of disease like URI.
Just because he plays with his friend all the time doesn't mean he forgot you, just go on with the normal routine and both will adjust, and you will soon have two piggies that loves you. Scott will soon get used to your house. and will warm up to you.

 

[Peggysu]

Well what now. I guess quarantine is out of the question.

Please adopt next time. There are many homeless guinea pigs that need a home.

 

[Tessa Bea]

How big of a cage are they in?

Judging by your post, I'd guess that you didn't quarantine Scott? Hopefully he had no diseases or anything that he could pass onto Stephen, but for future reference new pigs need to be quarantined when being brought into a preexisting environment, unless they come from someplace you can trust. And believe you me, you canNOT trust petstores.

Are you sure Scott's a boy? Double, no- triple check and make sure.

If both of them are boys, it may do you good to give them two of everything, just to dull the chances that they will duke it out over supplies.

And one other question- did you look for any pigs to rescue, first?

 

[Catayn]

People, understand : THERE ARE NO SHELTERS FOR GUINEA PIGS IN BRAZIL
What should I do, leave him alone? It was my best shot...

 

[Catayn]

I did look for pigs to rescue, trust me, there aren´t
what´s a cavy savvy?

 

[MapleSyrup]

Did you look in Cragslist in Brazil? Maybe ads in the newspaper or something? A cavy savvy vet is a vet that is expericed with cavies (guinea pigs) and their care.

 

[Heady]

People, understand : THERE ARE NO SHELTERS FOR GUINEA PIGS IN BRAZIL
What should I do, leave him alone? It was my best shot...

I'll be honest...I know NOTHING of Brazil and did poorly in Geography class...however, I was wondering if there is something like craigslist, or perhaps even craigslist where you can find pigs that need homes, rather than getting them from a pet shop? Or maybe a newspaper with a classified section for pets? Typically, if you're in an area that sells pigs at pet stores, more than likely there will be homeless pigs around. Sometimes they're hard to find. but it's possible and absolutely worth it!

Now that you have Scott and Stephen, please be absolutely sure that they're both boys. I know that with younger pigs it's hard to tell, but you should be able to. Here is an excellent page that shows you the difference between male and female pigs at all ages: Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig

If you do decide to eventually get a third, remember to look elsewhere and always, always quarantine for 3 weeks. That way you can be sure that your current pigs won't get infected with anything the new pig might have.

I would get two of everything. My boys do well if they each have their own thing...their own territory, I suppose. Two of everything will keep potential bickering at a low!

Also, be sure the cage is not a pet store cage and is big enough for the both of them. I believe it's 10.5 square feet for two boy piggies.

It's not that Stephen doesn't like you anymore! When I got a second pig for Santino, he wanted to hang out more with the new pig than me That's okay, and it's perfectly normal. Just be sure to give them both a lot of proper floor time (I call it play time). That way they can spend time with you and each other.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

So you took your guinea pig to a pet shop and plopped him in a tank with other potentially sick and missexed guinea pigs (never mind that it was their territory and could have induced fighting)? Am I reading that right??


Review cage size and read Guinea Pigs Social Life

You need at least 2 to 3 of everything in the cage.

 

[CavyMama]

People, understand : THERE ARE NO SHELTERS FOR GUINEA PIGS IN BRAZIL
What should I do, leave him alone? It was my best shot...

Okay, a bit of advice? When you are asking for advice, be polite. Getting snippy like you did here will get you nowhere.

You say there are no shelters with guinea pigs in Brazil, how about looking in the local papers, Craigslist, petfinder? How about asking people you know?

As for your introductions - you should have quarantined for 21 days BEFORE introductions. Pet stores are notorious for selling ill and diseased animals. He could have mites or a URI. Pet stores are also notorious for mis-sexing pigs so you best make very sure they are both male.

How big is the cage you decided to plop them both into without doing introductions? Do you have at least 2 hideys?

 

[Catayn]

Yeah, they have places to hide and so. I've just got another water bottle for them. I am sure my cage is way too small, but I've been doing some research about piggies and I found a specialized store in a city about 6 hours from here, I'll try to go there tomorrow and see if they have something better than what I have. Here we have the matric system, so my cage is about 1,5 square meters... I don't know if that is enough, I mean, they seem pretty happy, but I am sure the bigger the better ^^
I also managed to find a vet specialized in piggies, rabbits and chinchillas. It was the best I could find. He checked them for mites and everything else. He said they are fine, but he gave me a vitamin C complement to put in the water.
Well, I tried to do my best and find one in a shelter. I don't know, people don't really believe me when I tell them Brazil is the end of the world, rs
I also thought about searching for something abroad, but I thought they would suffer to much in a plane or something...
Please don't make me feel worse, I just thought Stephen would be happier with a friend... I put a lot of thought into it, because I am really afraid of the fighting thing, but I decided to take the risks... I swear I had the best of intentions and now I can't really change the past, can I?
Ahn, they are DEFINITELY males. The vet checked and showed me, he didn't really need to because it was so clear that I could see it by myself, rs
Look, I am really sorry if I kind of looked a little bitchy but, as I said, I didn't really know what to do and I tried my best. They seem alright (aside from the fact that my cat tried to eat Scott, rs) so am glad about it...
But I swear I didn't mean to be rude nor to offend anyone. I just wanted you to know that it's hard around here. I even announced on the radio that I was looking fom a piggie, but there were no replies...

 

[Heady]

Don't use the vitamin c supplement he gave you, it's more harmful than anything! Supplementing through water will make the water taste bad, thus discouraging the pigs from drinking it, plus the vitamin c will degrade once it hits light. Pigs get their vitamin c from proper veggies, such as green bell pepper.

 

[Catayn]

OK, that's it! I give up, officially. It just seems I can't do anything right for them, rs
What was my husband thinking when he decided to give me such a sensitive and hard to care pet? They are more fragile than fishes! I wish he hadn't done that... Well they are there now and I just can't be one of those evil people who give their pets away... I guess I'll just have to live with it, rs
Honestly, I'm really sad...

 

[Heady]

No need to give up! By giving up on them, you'll be missing out on very important information that you can use to enrich their lives. I think they're wonderful pets to have and not overly difficult if you learn everything you can about them and do the right stuff.

Honestly, if you don't think you can care for them properly, it's not evil at all to find a more suitable home for them. I've been in that position before with other animals, and I feel that giving them to someone better suited for them was the best thing I could have ever done.

I'm not sure what makes you feel like you need to stop at this point. In my opinion, I think you're just starting to learn and by asking the questions you've asked, being a member here and getting input you will learn everything you need to know to keep them happy and healthy.

I can't understand why your vet recommended vitamin drops, but, on his part, that was a very bad suggestion. Vitamin drops are not only unnecessary, but they're also bad for the health of the guinea pig. If you're able to provide a good range of proper vegetables and good quality pellets, they will get their vitamins from that.

I think you should stay and learn more. We're not here for ourselves, we're here for our guinea pigs. Our responses may seem abrasive and maybe that's why you're throwing in the towel, but the first priorities are Stephen and Scott. They will benefit the most from you being here and learning what you need to do.

Once you know what to do, then you CAN do anything for them!! Stick around for your boys! If you're feeling overwhelmed, then I would suggest you do what I did and look through the forum at all the different threads about care, housing, food, etc...

 

[Peggysu]

Once you learn to care for them properly, it's really not all that hard and they are very rewarding pets if you put the time into them.

A proper sized cage and an appropriate diet are great places to start.

 

[fieryone]

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about guinea pigs. It's "common knowledge" that they only need about 2 square feet to live in, that they need vitamin C (which is true so pet stores sell the drops for the water instead of advocating for fresh veggies), they don't get along in pairs, etc, etc. All of that "common knowledge" is actually very wrong and came to be because of breeders. The truth is that breeders don't care about quality of life. They care about producing more guinea pigs and need as much space as possible so they give their pigs the bare minimum needed to survive.

Please don't feel like you can't do anything right. This site is full of information that can be quite overwhelming at first. Most people here have started out doing all the wrong things because it's what they were told and led to believe. You're here now and asking questions. This is a great place to learn about proper guinea pig care and once you learn the basics, keeping guinea pigs is really rather easy and much more enjoyable than they would be if you followed all of that "common knowledge". Stick around, ask questions, and do a lot of reading. You'll be glad you did because a well cared for guinea pig is a great pet.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Ditto on ditching the vit c drops. If you want to supplement, supplement them directly rather than putting anything in the water.

Chances are any cage you will find in the pet store will be inappropriate. Please look around this site and learn how to build an enclosure for a fraction of the cost.

 

[heartpiggies]

Okay take a deep breath lol You've done quite a few things so far that are looked down upon by this community but the good news is it's not too late to start taking better care of your guinea pigs! First, you need to get them into a larger cage. This site specializes in teaching you how to make cheap, appropriately sized cages so you should have more than enough info to work with. If you can't find cubes or coroplast where you are, you can make an alternative cage like I did. Basically, I ordered 2 large small animal playpens online and just hooked them together and used a large blanket for the bottom. I put Gary's old cage inside and leave the door open so he can hop in when he needs to eat or go to the bathroom. It works very well. Next, it sounds like your pigs are getting along fabulously which is great! However, you need to watch for when they enter into puberty between 5-6 months. They might begin to fight at this point and may even need to be separated. This is why it's a good idea to have 2 of everything, less opportunities for territorial issues and you have everything you need should they have to be kept apart. Oh and I agree with the others, toss out the vitamin C drops. They're completely unnecessary if you're offering a variety of fresh veggies everyday. Lastly, your first piggy is probably just so excited to see another piggy that he's forgotten about you LOL. Give them some time (and plenty of healthy treats and cuddles) and they will both come around. Hope that helps!

 

[suzilovespiggie]

You are on the best site in the world to learn how to care the proper way for GP's.
Don't give up. Most of us, at first did not have a clue as what was best for our pigs. We all had to learn. GP's are the best and sweetest little friends you could have. They make wonderful pets and you will so grow to love them.
Just check out the site, read all the info and ask as many questions as you like. We are all here for you and your pigs.

 

[Catayn]

Yeah, I know it's just no so impossible, but I'm kind of freaking out here, rs
The cage is a difficult issue to be solved, because it needs to be hanged really high on the wall (Maine Coon cat ^^) and it's really hard to find those cubes around here. So I think I am going to buy another cage (They are actually in my rabbits' old cage) and I am going to find a way to connect them. It should be fine as it seems that this is the right size for 1 piggie, so 2 cages would be enough for 2 piggies, right?
The only problem is that they are so ugly! My husband hates their appearance, rs
I was actually considering taking them out of my bedroom and putting them in the office, but then they would rarely have any contact with humans... So another possibility is that I might get a cage done somewhere with the exact measures that I want and maybe prettier, but also cat proof. My cats are just obsessed about the piggies, rs
Another thing, if I get them neutered, is there less possibility of fighting?