New Guinea Pig

[valleygirl11093]

Hi,

My daughter received a new guinea from a friend who could no longer keep her pig. We notice that it is spending it's time in the hidey-house-although it did come out during the night to eat and go to the bathroom. Should we try to interact with it ie. pet it etc. or wait a bit until it has more time to get used to its new surroundings. Any advice would be most appreciated by us and the guinea pig too! Thank-you!

 

[ice_on_fire]

i think you should wait a while or so for your piggie to get used to its environment before you pick it up and cuddle it.. you should also consider getting your piggie a friend cuz they are more happy in pairs..

 

[GuineasGalore]

How long have you had it? I think that the sooner you let the piggy interact with you the better things will be. (otherwise you might have a very shy pig on your hands)

Some people(although this is controversial) turn thier hidey houses upside down for the first two weeks or so until the pig is used to his surroundings and then turn it upsidedown when the pig is comfortable in his new home. But like i said not everyone agrees with this idea, so you might want to get a few more opinions.

 

[Piglet]

Give him some time, he is just getting used the cage and his new surroundings. Best advice: Try to get him a pal

 

[valleygirl11093]

Thanks for the advice-I want to wait just a bit before bringing another guinea pig into the house. I want to see how my daughter handles the responsibility of having a pet to care for. He did come out for some food while we were all in the room though,so I guess that's progress.

 

[Piglet]

Thats definately sounds like progress and I think it is a good idea to monitor your daughter.

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

It's a great idea to monitor your daughter, but that was the wrong reason to get a pig. I hope all goes well, and please think about getting her a friend!!!

 

[valleygirl11093]

We took the pig in since it's previous owner had tired of him. My daughter is 11 years old and so far has shown the makings of a great pet owner. We look forward to learning more about guinea pigs and possibly adding another one to the family. Many thanks for the replies, it's great to get info. from experienced owners.

It's a great idea to monitor your daughter, but that was the wrong reason to get a pig. I hope all goes well, and please think about getting her a friend!!!

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I was just saying because most of the homeless pigs out there come from a situation when a well meaning parent buys a pig (or hampster or whatever) for their child to teach them responcibility (however it's spelled lol) at the age of 4 or 5 and then realize that they are the ones taking care of it and 'get rid of it'. I am glad you took it out of that other situation!! And seeing as your daughter is older, I bet she's getting a lot of love (he or she...whatever you pig is, I didn't catch sorry! lol) Good luck to you and I hope all goes well! By the way, tell us a bit about him/her! have any pics!?

 

[valleygirl11093]

As far as we know G.P. is a male. We named him G.P. after the guinea pig in Hammy Hamster-all my kids loved that show. Not sure how to show his picture-not too computer saavy yet but he has a black head with a white spot on it and the rest of him is a lovely brown colour. We haven't tried to pick him up yet-even though we would like to give him some floor time in a safe, play environment. We were thinking of trying in a few more days since he only came to us on Monday of this week. We discovered that he likes parsley, carrots and canteloupe-I have read to go easy on the fruit so I only gave him a small chunk. I plan to get some green pepper and romaine next grocery shop. He was being fed the gourmet pellets so I am trying to pick out the coloured bits and all the sunflowers. Any other advice I need to know?

 

[mncavylover]

Well, here goes... ( I really should just copy and paste...)

Hay: They need it in unlimited quantities. (broken link removed) hay is the best!
1. fresher
2. greener
3. waaay cheaper
4. bulk
5. no gas or time wasted
6. not supporting a pet store

Food: Oxbow Cavy Cuisine for pigs under 1 year old, Oxbow Cavy Performance for older pigs. Nothing compares, see the food thread for more info.

Unlimited water, of course.

Veggies every day, see (broken link removed).

Good luck!

 

[mncavylover]

Oh, and skip the green pepper. Go for the red! It's the highest in vitamin c ever!

 

[loves2travel]

Food: Oxbow Cavy Cuisine for pigs under 1 year old, Oxbow Cavy Performance for older pigs. Nothing compares, see the food thread for more info.


Good luck!

you mean the other way, right? cavy performance for the young, and cuisine for the older ones.

 

[mncavylover]

Oops! I apologise for my lack of thinking skills tonight. I'm really tired. A big thank you to loves2travel for catching my stupid mistake! =)

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

HHAHAHA...I'm right there with you hun, I'm SO tired!!

Yeah, as far as bell pepper goes, stay away from the green, they probably wont even like it! Mine like the red and orange best, didn't care for yellow or green. Also, keep the parsley to a minimum because it's said to help cause stones in pigs. Someone told me that when I was saying how it's my girls (I have 4) favorite snack!! They also like carrots, Kale, chard, oh, a new favorite for my gals is cucumber...I also tried radishes...they didn't go for it. Does anyone have that link to the shopping list of veggies!? Someone had it a few weeks back and I can't find it now...I need it for a friend too!

 

[mncavylover]

Here are some links:
https://www.guinealynx.com/nutrition.html#lists
https://www.guinealynx.com/nutrition.html
https://www.guinealynx.com/nutrition.html#fave

hope that helps!

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed!!

 

[loves2travel]

• red or yellow pepper, 1/8 to 1/4 of whole pepper
• Romaine lettuce, one or two large leaves, sometimes more
• Tomato, wedge of large tomato or small Roma tomato
• Carrot (baby), one small
• Parsely

Could i serve this menu every day? fruits and occasional veggies would be substituted for variety. what should veggies i use? how often will i need to substitute because i read that they must have a variety and not the same old thing every day.

 

[DaCourt]

For our pigs, it is green bell peppers all the way. This is their absolute favorite. They kind of like the red ones...but the green ones...HEAVEN. I have seen them play tug-o-war with the last piece. They will literally fight over it. So I always have to have one extra piece handy for when that happens. They will eat that over fruit any day. They care that much for fruit.

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

lol...too cute! Mine don't have the option of fighting over food...daisy (formally spice) gets the last of everything...she makes sure! lol