New Owner Help Please

[ChillyWilly79]

New Owner Help Please

Hi, I've had my guinea pig for a week now and she's a month old. She's my first guinea pig, and I have some questions:

1. Should I give her unlimited amounts of pellets or give her a given amount each day? I noticed that she eats constantly and don't want her to get too fat.

2. She sometimes looks like she goes crazy when I touch her and runs around really fast, shakes her head, and jumps around. Is this normal? She sometimes lets me touch her, but its almost impossible for me to pick her up. Should I keep trying to pick her up because everytime I do, she's scared of me for a while after, but I'm also afraid if i don't do it now, she won't ever let me pick her up when she's older.

3. And she pees everywhere in the cage especially in her hiding box and near the water bottle. I have a corner litter box, but she never goes in it. Will she eventually pick one spot to pee in? I know she's young still, but will her habits change?

Thanks for all the help!!!!

 

[golden sonata]

WEll, I'm pretty sure the peeing and scurrying away are all normal.. my pig does that sometime.
Handle her carefully, and don't pick her up for the first few weeks. Pet her gently, so she knows that you don't mean any harm. After she is familiar with her surroundings, you can pick her up.
YOu can give her as much hay as possible, but I'm not sure about the pellets. Fill your pig's dish with what seems reasonable for a day.

YOu can housebreak your pig, but its going to take a bit of effort:
If you don't want her peeing everywhere, gently pick her up everytime she is about to pee (maybe after a couple of days) and put her in a sandbox (or wherever you DO want her to pee). Repeat the process and she'll get it.