Hello!

[Ashley Cobb]

Greetings to everyone here. lol I'm a complete newbie here and to the world of caring for guinea pigs. The one I have is a male, Atredius (Atre for short), and he's been with me for nearly a week. Even in so short a time of having him, I'm completely in love with taking care of and interacting with him.

I'd love to meet some friends here who can help me along with tips and suggestions for a better cage, as well as things to do to ensure my pig remains happy here with me and has a good home. As soon as I take some measurements of the cage I have at the moment, I'll put them up. I feel that it needs to be bigger, I want him to have plenty of space to exercise and explore.

 

[Catayn]

I hope you can get him a great cage. Building a cage is so much fun. Enjoy it! I am sure your piggie also will. There are many things here to help you, I hope you can find everything you need.

 

[Hhbean]

Hi and welcome! We love piggy pictures so if you have some please share. What type of piggy is Atre?

 

[Ashley Cobb]

Oh, building one does sound like a lot of fun, I may just do that and have fun with it. I've been browsing around reading the tips and suggestions and such, trying to find out what to do and not to do. My main worry is keeping my pig happy and healthy, he's such a sweet little guy and I want him to do well. =)

Thank you for the suggestion of building a cage, that could be a great thing for me to do, and a bigger space would certainly make him happier I'm betting.

 

[Ashley Cobb]

Hi and welcome! We love piggy pictures so if you have some please share. What type of piggy is Atre?

Hi there, and thank you! =) I'm not sure what kind he is, but I'll definitely be taking some pictures of him soon to put up. With the holiday just ending it's been really hard to get much of anything done. As I have no idea what kind of pig is which, it could help in getting someone to identify him for me too. =)

 

[ellisa]

Welcome to the forum! Can't wait for pictures of Atre! Be sure to check out the stickies for each forum topic, especially the awesome nutrition charts made up by Ly&Pigs!

 

[Ashley Cobb]

Thank you Ellisa. =) I'm hoping to get some taken tonight or in the morning to post. I'll definitely check out that chart, thanks for suggesting that for me, all help is ever appreciated. Just a quick question for anyone, is it normal for pigs to be skittish for a little while until they settle into a new home and get used to being held and interacted with daily?

 

[ellisa]

Oh, yes, that is very normal. Guinea pigs are prey animals so it can take some time to gain their trust. Once they realize you're not out to eat them they will start to warm up to you! Just talk softly to him and you could try hand feeding him veggies as a peace offering

 

[Ashley Cobb]

I'll try feeding him some veggies and see how that goes. =) Since I brought him home, I've been careful to be as gentle with him as possible, and I worried that I was doing something wrong because he runs like crazy when I try and pick him up. He mellows out once I'm holding him in his blanket though, he just doesn't like being held while I'm moving. Hoping that with plenty of interaction and love, he'll calm down a bit. =)

 

[CLV71]

Do you have any plans to get him a friend? Guinea pigs are social animals and prefer to be in pairs or groups. If one is fun then can you imagine what a party it would be with 20? LOL Ok maybe 20 is a bit much but at least 1 more would be great. Sorry if someone already suggested getting a friend I just kind of skimmed over the thread so it's possible I missed it.

 

[ellisa]

You may want to use some sort of "elevator" to pick him up in. For example, try to scoot him into a tissue box and then place your hands over the open ends (so he doesn't fall out) and lift him that way. I use a cuddle cup. Many pigs hate being grabbed at but are fine once they are being held.

 

[Ashley Cobb]

[MENTION=20217]CLV71[/MENTION]- I've thought strongly about getting another to keep with him, when I got him I was unsure if I could handle two, but he doesn't require a ton of work other than keeping his cage and things cleaned and keeping him fed properly. I will definitely need a bigger cage before getting another though, I don't want them cramped together and have territory issues. But I do love the idea of him having a playmate. =)

[MENTION=17918]ellisa[/MENTION]- Didn't think of trying that! I'll give it a shot when I take him out again and see if that helps him to be calm while I'm getting him out of the cage. You all are so helpful, and it is greatly appreciated to this new piggy parent. =)

Will definitely be posting pictures of my little guy soon, and as soon as I'm able to get or build a bigger cage, getting a second will be next on my list.

Speaking of getting pigs, there is a feed and seed store type thing in a nearby town where I went looking for a pig before I found my Atre for adoption. The conditions their pigs lived in was horrible, no bedding on the cage bottom had it looking really nasty and the smell was terrible. There were at least six packed into one of the pet store kind of cages, it broke my heart to see them like that. Is there anything I can do to get that stopped so they're not suffering?

 

[lovemyguineas]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on getting a piggy. They are a wonderful pet. You will find lots of great information on this site. I know I have, and I am so glad I found it. We all are crazy for piggy pictures so any you want to share would be wonderful!

 

[Ashley Cobb]

Thank you! =) I love it here already, there are so many helpful topics and posts, for new owners and veteran owners. For me, it's a treasure trove of knowledge. I have posted some pics I took with my phone last night, they're in my album. =) Feel free to look at them, they're a bit blurry, but I'll have more when I get time to take some of him with my camera.

He's hardly been still enough today for me to get any, he's hyper for some reason and completely enjoying his time on the floor mat. It's good to see him so active, he's been really shy up till today, so I'm glad he's playing and getting some good exercise. =)