New to the forum and new guinea pig owner

[GhostWillow]

Hi everyone, my name is Rachael and I pretty recently became a guinea pig owner (around a month ago.) I found this forum through lurking around the internet about guinea pig diet, cage, and behaviour information and saw how knowledgable and kind everyone was so I decided to join. I have only one little pig whose name is Chloe, she's a longhair and pretty young (three months) who loves lettuce and pears.

 

[Cavyness]

Welcome to the forum!
Cloe is adorable

 

[bpatters]

Welcome to the forum!

Not much pear, I hope -- they should only have small bits of fruit a couple of times a week. Their digestive tracts are sensitive to too much sugar, so it should be carefully controlled.

 

[kananaka]

She is sooo fluffy! I just wanna cuddle her. Welcome to the forum.

 

[GhostWillow]

No, not too much pear, just tiny slices once or twice a week, her diet is mostly hay, pellets and supplement balls mixed in that's fortified with vitamins. Thank you everyone I was also thinking about getting her toys, what kind of things to guinea pigs like playing with?

 

[boofp]

Welcome to the forum, Tunnels, wood chews, and a friend. C & C CAGES ARE AWESOME AND FUN.

 

[Petlovr]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy it. Her hair is so cute!!! I love it!

what kind of things to guinea pigs like playing with?

toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay, & piles of hay to dive around in are fun for the piggies.
As for diet, please read here:https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html
the supplement balls sound suspicious to me....they are probably unnecessary.
Diet is a main topic of discussion around here, we're very careful with our pets diets. This is the link that we all use for diet-based decisions.

Edited by bpatters: Actually, no, that isn't the link we all use for diet-based discussions. This is the one on this website: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

 

[GhostWillow]

She has a little tunnel, it's fuzzy on the inside and she spends a lot of time in there. I set it up next to her hay dispenser so she can poke her nose out and eat in there
The boyfriend and I were talking about building her a larger area, but where I live there's sadly not a lot of options so we were thinking of doing it ourselves, the thing is I wouldn't know where to begin! So we just clear out the yuckies from her cage every day and take her out for at least two hours so she can roam around a larger area.

As for the balls, the box says to mix it in with her regular pellets and it has vitamin C and a high fibre content that prevents vitamin deficiency, not knowing much about those things I just followed the directions on the box. It's called "Vitakraft special."

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitakraft-Guinea-Vita-Special-Junior/dp/B005VAF74S

 

[bpatters]

Look at the main page of this site for information on building cages, and at the photo galleries for ideas. There's one section for C&C cages, another for alternative cages.

She really needs a friend, if you can swing the extra space. But two pigs (one pig, even) need a minimum of 7.5 square feet. However, cages can go on tables, dresser tops, whatever, to give you more room.

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html for diet information. If she gets a cup of veggies a day and a good quality pellet, she won't need vitamin supplements.

 

[Petlovr]

It's called "Vitakraft special.

Ick. Stick with Oxbow for anything-pellets and/or hay, and you'll be OK. Vitakraft and Kaytee should be avoided, in general.

 

[GhostWillow]

Just took a look at the front page, the C&C cages seem pretty easy to construct, now all I have to do is find out where to buy coroplast and grids in my area. Thanks for all of the helpful information! Why is Vitakraft to be avoided?

 

[bpatters]

Vitakraft and Kaytee are just lower quality in general than some of the other brands, either becauses the main ingredients aren't the best for guinea pigs, or because they add too many sugars to it.

A plain alfalfa pellet, with stabilized vitamin C, calcium, and some trace vitamins and minerals is fine, and then switch to a similar timothy pellet when she's 6-12 months old.

Many, maybe most, of the things in pet stores for guinea pigs are designed to put money in the pockets of the manufacturers, not to actually be beneficial to your guinea pig. Unfortunately.

 

[kananaka]

Hi found this https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/scandinavia/798-coroplast-sweden.html and (broken link removed), There are posts about where to find the materials. Do not know if it will help but.. hopefully it will :cheerful:

 

[couchon]

Also, she needs at least a cup of fresh veggies a day, consisting of red/green leaf lettuce, cilantro, and bell peppers, as the basics!

Agreed as to what everyone is saying about the pellets: pet store pellets are very bad for their health. The only good brands are Oxbow and Kleenmama's. Let us know if you need help finding them!

 

[bpatters]

The OP lives in Sweden, so KM pellets are out. There is an Oxbow distributor in Sweden, but sometimes they don't import all the products, particularly if the demand isn't high enough.

 

[GhostWillow]

Aw, that's not nice of the stores. I thought I did a good job researching everything guinea related before I got Chloe. I do live in the third biggest city here though, so the chances of finding it are pretty high if it's a popular brand. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for them. There are also a few farm supply stores so they'll more likely than not have hay and pellets. She gets fresh veggies every day, but doesn't like carrots much. As for the cage supplies, if I absolutely can't find coroplast and cubes I intend to use alternative materials. Would wood be a bad substitute material for the bottom piece of the enclosure?

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

That has to be one of the most adorable piggies I have ever seen!

 

[GhostWillow]

Thank you, I think she's adorable too.

 

[piggi_zone]

Would wood be a bad substitute material for the bottom piece of the enclosure?

wood would not be a good idea try something like a shower curtain or a tarp. I use tarp for my cage