I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

[charlies mom29]

I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I'm new to guinea pigs but I'm already in love with them! Three months ago I was depressed and unwilling to get out out of bed. I've been paralyzed from the ribs down going on 5 years and STILL adjusting with all of it. I felt worthless in alot of ways. I've never had a guinea pig before. I've had hamsters, mice and rats but guinea pigs are so fun! My husband bought them for me and now I say "OK I got to get out of bed because they NEED me!"I'm finding myself so much happier to! I thought I was getting two females but the guy lied. I would say he made a mistake but he checked them three times! When I discovered they were males I was afraid I would have to separate them but when I'd take one out they call to each other. Now I take both out. I can't bear to take them apart. I need alot of help and advice. I have them in a 2×8 cage! I used a Midwest cae and refrigerator grates with Coroplast! It ain't pretty but they are happy! read alot of material about guinea pig care so any advice is appreciated!

 

[CandyApple]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Hello Welcome to the forum!!!
I don't think the guy lied exactly... I think it was more that he was uniformed and not entirely sure what to look for
Theres no need to seperate the boars. Guinea pigs aren't like most other small animals, such as mice, hamsters and rats. I've had all those myself, and I was so used to keeping males on their own, that it came as a shock to me, keeping guinea pig boars together! Its a neccesity for guinea pigs to be kept together, so I'de say, leave them be. Once there is no blood drawn, let them chatter and rumble, and do what ever they have to do! Mine actually have little holes in their ears from establishing dominance. Their fine now though.
Good luck with your guinea pigs, and I hope you learn loads here!!!

 

[doglaurasmudge]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Hai! Welcome to the forum! You sound like your doing everything good, please adopt next time though! Many piggies need homes! Make sure they have 24 hour access to hay and that you are giving them a cup of veggies daily! They can have fruit every once in a while, I'm guessing you already know this as you appear to have done some research which is amazing! I would suggest giving half a cup in the morning and then another in the evening of veggies.

 

[madelineelaine]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

That sounds like a lovely cage! The bigger the better !

And it is a common misconception that all males with fight, yes some pigs do not get along, but gender doesn't have much to do with it. Your cage is definitely large enough for them to work it out, so you need not worry about seperating them unless blood is drawn (Which is unlikely if they're getting along now)

I would urge you to look at these pictures and try and sex each pig yourself, pet shop employees are not always knowledgeable and a mis sexed pair may mean pregnancy, which is not something you want to deal with !
http://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html

 

[CourtArtanis]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Welcome to the forum!
Your husband did the right thing, Guineapigs are fantastic therapy pets Sorry to hear about your paralysis, but it's nice to hear you are still coping as best you can

I agree with [MENTION=22955]madelineelaine[/MENTION] , some boars are inseparable - they are like a married couple sometimes!

 

[pinky]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Welcome! I have two males that are as bonded, if not more, than any females I've ever had. I personally think that males tend to be a little more social, too. There's a lot of good info on here and people ready to ask any questions you have. Your husband sounds like a super guy..... I'm sure you're going to be glad you joined.

 

[RubyRain]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I'm so happy you found some joy with your guinea pigs-that is wonderful!
I'm sure you will learn a lot here-it's a great resource.
Here is a great chart for feeding your guys veggies:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html#post254730

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I wanted to adopt so much but the only adoption place I found was in Oklahoma City, a four hour drive from my house! So I drove 2 hours to the nearest pet shop that supposedly sold girls. Am I supposed to give them a cup of veggies each? I have one of those veggie holder wire ball things and I fill it once in the morning & once in the evening. My husband is a pretty awesome guy. He's stuck by me through it all. Oh also their leaving ALOT of hay behind. Is that normal or is it because of the brand I'm buying? I'm getting kaytee Timothy hay. Thanks for the warm welcome! To be honest I wasn't sure how y'all treated new comers. Anyway thanks again!

 

[Bailey4]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Welcome!!

My girls used to leave a lot of hay too, but I have it in a hay rack now, and hardly any is wasted! Piggies go potty where they eat

As for veggies, I just put them in a bowl. Each pig need 1 cup of veggies a day. Here is a link for nutrition: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html#post254730

I also buy my hay online through KMS hay..my girls really seem to like the 3rd cut timothy hay, here is the link for that: KMS Hayloft, Grass Hays & Fortified Feeds From the Valleys of the Pacific Northwest
It is pretty cheap too!

Please post pictures of your piggies! We would love to see them!

 

[RubyRain]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I wanted to adopt so much but the only adoption place I found was in Oklahoma City, a four hour drive from my house! So I drove 2 hours to the nearest pet shop that supposedly sold girls. Am I supposed to give them a cup of veggies each? I have one of those veggie holder wire ball things and I fill it once in the morning & once in the evening. My husband is a pretty awesome guy. He's stuck by me through it all. Oh also their leaving ALOT of hay behind. Is that normal or is it because of the brand I'm buying? I'm getting kaytee Timothy hay. Thanks for the warm welcome! To be honest I wasn't sure how y'all treated new comers. Anyway thanks again!

Yes, they should each get 1 cup of veggies a day. Many people split that up in the morning and evening.
They should get unlimited hay-they should ALWAYS have a pile of hay in their cage. The Kaytee brand is rougher and not a favorite around here but it's still better than no hay at all!

You can often find farmers selling hay on craigslist for way cheaper. You want 2nd or 3rd cut timothy hay (not alfalfa) or orchard grass hay is good too.
If you have a farm/home store they sometimes sell hay too but be sure to ask if it's timothy because mine only used to sell alfalfa for horses.
Because the pigs eat so much hay, it's not a bad idea to get a small bale of it if you can-just store it in a large tote in your garage or somewhere dry.

Keep asking questions We love to help!

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

OK. We have what alot of people would call a ranch. We call it a funny farm!lol my mother in law has cattle & land with us. We also have 5 horses, 5 hunting dogs, 3 house dogs, 2 guinea pigs & a barn cat! We spend more money on our animals than we do ourselves because their worth being broke for! We have a hay meadow, but it's Bermuda grass and not weed proof. I'm wanting to look at our second cutting hay & see if it's useable. Any advice?

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Did I say something wrong?

 

[madelineelaine]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I typed a reply to these questions, but I guess it didn't send. Alrighty then. -.........................-

I'm 99% certain bermuda grass hay is okay for pigs. I would just pick through it and remove the weeds, although I don't think they'll eat it anyways.
Based on my understanding, any long strand grass hay is okay for them, including regular yard grass.

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

4 days ago I saved 2 guinea pigs from a lady who was raising them in totes! One is 4weeks old no doubt. But the other is supposedly 4 months old. Her nails are grown out big time! (Think of Freddy cruger!) All she does is eat, sleep and drink lots of water. Could she b pregnant? The lady claimed she was born from her guinea pig, and was raising them to sell. She had them in totes!! No food no water no hay! I'm just praying she wasn't lying about not doing it again! Oh anyway 4month old Kenya won't eat veggies at all! What do I do? Sadie 4week old will eat carrots very well and I read to put one or 2 veggies in anyway for a week. Ist it true!? I can't believe the nerve of that lady

 

[Carissa6729]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Keep offering veggies, guinea pigs can be like kids and may need to be exposed multiple times before they actually try it. Sometimes people have had good luck with chopping them up finely and putting them with their pellets. I found my boys took to green peppers immediately and everything else was pretty easy after that.

As for the older one being pregnant, if she was kept with a male then probably could be so you will need to watch her carefully and make sure you regularly weigh her. I'm not sure, but I believe they can get pregnant at 4 weeks as well (since males can start impregnating at 3 weeks old). I could be wrong but hopefully somebody else will know. Either way, I would keep a close eye on both of them during the next weeks for pregnancy(ies) or illness).

I would also triple check to make sure they are both females. At 4 weeks old with my boys I had to fully extract their boy parts to make sure they were boys. At 4 months old now, it's very obvious they are boys lol.

I'm going to assume that you have your boys and girls separated, but just going to mention it just in case.

And as for the Bermuda Hay, it is fine to feed but I find my boys hate it but they are kind of hay snobs.

 

[SeeSpotSit]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Ha! [MENTION=24816]Carissa6729[/MENTION] I was going to say the same thing...my boys hate Bermuda grass they love KMS bluegrass and the fresh orchard we get from a local feed store. I once bought them bagged hay, I think Timothy, and they didn't go near that either. They were probably like "what's up with this brown stick like stuff?" Hay snobs!

Welcome to the forum!! Yes, I too find my piggies very theraputic. As for the possible pregnant girl...your weekly weighing might help let you know about that. Although she's young so she will be gaining weight anyway, but maybe you'll notice way more weight gain if she is pregnant. Otherwise, once that pear shape happens you can keep feeling for kicks. Green peppers are important for that vitamin c so keep trying.

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

I really do appreciate your help! Mine are hay snobs to! My boys have a 2×8' cage and they love it! I'm gonna fix them one just as good and I've got several smaller Midwest cages for males if she has babies!

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Now I've got one more question please. Kenya is supposedly 4moths old but her nails are big and long. I've heard that you can tell their age buy their nails. Is it true!? What if she's older and delivery kills her!?

 

[Carissa6729]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

How much does she weigh right now? You might be able to get a bit better idea but there is no guarantee. My boys are 4 months almost exactly and are just over 1lb each. I know many piggies get to be closer to 2 lbs (and up) when they are fully grown.

I've never heard of the nails telling their age thing but I can tell you that if my boys nails had never been cut by this time, they would be long and huge. I've trimmed them every week since I've had them but they grow pretty fast.

It's possible there could be complications, even if she isn't older just like with any pregnant animal. The best thing you can do for her is to keep a close eye and to make sure that you have a cavvy savvy vet on hand, hopefully one that has dealt with a pregnant piggie. Also, read up in the forum section for pregnant piggies and on guinea lynx so you can know what to look out for. If you haven't already, I would take these two and your boys if you haven't already to the vet just to be checked over and so you can get confirmation of gender and get a baseline of what to expect with your piggies.

 

[charlies mom29]

Re: I'm new to guinea pigs & not what you'd call "internet friendly" so bear with me!

Thanks for that. I'm in my bed right now and won't be able to get up to the scales till hubby wakes up. I gotta say VICTORY my baby girl Sadie is eating lettuce! But my big girl just won't eat any.on another subject I gave Kenya a custom made bed and it comes with hair & bamboo fluff. If they start eating any should I take it away?