Newbie here...please don't be mad.

[ldrew7]

Hi everyone! I am a proud new cavy owner. It's been a whole week since I got the boys: Elvis, Dexter, and Ozzy. I did buy them from a pet store. I know it was a stupid thing to do and I have no excuse for it. They are very healthy tho and have been to the vet today to confirm they are males and that they are healthy. I have them in a large 2x4 C&C cage and I use fleece and towels as my bedding. I tried Carefresh but have thus ended that because it makes too much of a mess, plus it's very dusty. I read all about the fleece and have taken very well to it. So have the boys. Right now I have a Bengal Tiger pattern because I live in Cincinnati and I'm a big fan of the Bengals. I also got a weird camouflage pattern. They are doing very well so far. They get fresh greens everyday. Also Timothy hay all day, everyday. We still can't pick them up without a bit of a chase but they are warming up to us very quickly. I think I have read everything I can about them and hope I am doing a swell job at taking care of them. Ozzy is to the left, Elvis is the black one in the back and Dexter is the albino one.

 

[lauraj]

cute pic. welcome. i too am new here. have four, three girls and one male

 

[CavyMama]

[MENTION=22064]ldrew7[/MENTION] - a 2X4 is a bit on the small side for 3 pigs - particularly for males, as they tend to be a bit more territorial than females. It's funny that you got one white, one black and one combination of both! LOL. Also, "albino" is not a breed of guinea pig. The kind you have there would be considered a PEW (or pink-eyed white). All look to be American short-haired. They are very cute but please remember to adopt next time you are looking for a pig.

[MENTION=21959]lauraj[/MENTION] - Is your male neutered? Or are the females living separately from the male?

 

[ldrew7]

I know the 2x4 is on the small side. I did not anticipate getting three though. I didn't want to take only two of them because then one would be alone. I also thought that what if I took the two that weren't really bonded to each other and the third one would be heart broken. So I took all three. I hope to upgrade to a bigger cage once I am able to. What do you suggest? Thanks for the input, as well.

 

[CavyMama]

I know the 2x4 is on the small side. I did not anticipate getting three though. I didn't want to take only two of them because then one would be alone. I also thought that what if I took the two that weren't really bonded to each other and the third one would be heart broken. So I took all three. I hope to upgrade to a bigger cage once I am able to. What do you suggest? Thanks for the input, as well.

Well, it's a good thing there weren't 5 pigs in one cage then! LOL

The good thing about C&C cages is that they are ideally situated for upgrading and changing. You wouldn't have to increase it by very much. A 2X5 is suitable for 3 pigs.

 

[RodentsRus]

I love the white one..

 

[SeeSpotSit]

Well, it's a good thing there weren't 5 pigs in one cage then! LOL

[MENTION=12813]CavyMama[/MENTION] - Ha! Right?

Don't worry, a lot of people buy from a pet store before they know how many piggies there are out there who need homes. We bought one for our niece before we knew, now we have rescued 3 for ourselves (sadly, 1 already went to rainbow bridge) and 1 other as a buddy for the pet store piggie. As they grow, you'll probably want a bigger C&C. I thought the 3x2 with a loft was HUGE when I first got it, but as my 2 boars got bigger, I realized how small it really was for them. Now I have a monstrosity...but they love it, so I live with it. That little Ozzy has a very cute expression!

 

[cavyluvr]

Well first of all welcome to the forum and congrats on your new buddies. I bought my girls from a petstore as well so don't feel bad in my opinion and obviously not everyone is going to agree with me on this some may not like me for saying this but personally I think buying from a petstore is adopting in a way yes yes I know we should be discouraging petstores mainly petsmart from buying animals and I for one don't think petsmart should sell animal for a number of reasons but I got my girls at my local petco and they are very healthy and petco actually teams up with adoption programs for all of the animals they sell well maybe exceot for the fish but anyway. You don't know what kind of home Ozzy,Elvis and Dexter would have ended up in if you hadn't taken them home and someone else much less knowledgeable about guinea pig would have most likely only gotten one and they wouldn't have had the good life they have with you. I would say get a bigger cage when you can a 2x5 would be fine for your three or adding an upper level say like a 2x2 upperlevel would work as well. Hope you have fun with your boys.

 

[zoenanai]

Hi! It looks like you have a ramp in your cage. What is it made out of? I'm looking at ideas to make a piggy-friendly ramp with sides like that. Thanks.

 

[nousername]

I got my boy from a pet store too, but he has fungus infection.(it doesn't show until 2 days later...) Pet store told me to exchange him and I was like "WTF? You are not gonna kill it, right?"

 

[CavyMama]

I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to derail the thread but I couldn't let this go by without addressing it.

personally I think buying from a petstore is adopting in a way

No. It's really not like adopting in any way. The money that is received when you buy an animal at Petco, goes toward funding the breeding mills where they get their animals from. The money that is received when you adopt from a rescue or shelter, goes toward the care of other animals they take in.

yes petco actually teams up with adoption programs for all of the animals they sell

While Petco does sometimes team up with rescues and shelters, they have nothing at all to do with the animals that are up for adoption. The animals in the adoption rooms at the Petco and Petsmart are from those shelters and rescues. They have zero to do with the animals that petco or petsmart sells. The money from those adoptions goes back to the rescues and shelters in question and does not benefit Petco in any way.

I volunteer with two animal rescues that have adoption rooms at Petco and Petsmart so I know first hand what that's all about.

 

[cavyluvr]

[MENTION=12813]CavyMama[/MENTION] okay thanks for the info like I said that was just my opinion. I personally feel like I'm saving an animal from going to a home with a misinformed owner which is not always but most likely what will happen to any petstore animal.

 

[Senamian]

My first guinea was a pet store guinea. Luckily she surivived a surprise birth, for being so small and young. After her I just adopted Welcome to the forums, and good luck with your guineas! And remember, the bigger, the better! Guineas love space to roam and explore

 

[ldrew7]

Thank you all for the input and saying how cute my boys are. They are a roudy bunch. I do have an upper level. It's a 1x2. I'm sorry it's been a while to reply to anyone's posts but the forum didn't send me any emails to tell me there were new posts. Anywho, everything is going great even after our possible miss sex situation. See, Elvis was chasing Dexter around like crazy and rumblestrutting. He was doing it so aggressively and then tried to get on Dexter that I thought Dexter and Ozzy were girls...I even checked but I miss sexed them. They are definitely all boys after a short vet visit. I was so stressed I was going to have to get Elvis fixed and I might lose him during the surgery. Thank goodness it wasn't true. They are getting along just fine now though. No more 'fights.'

[MENTION=21904]zoenanai[/MENTION] I bought my cage from Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Shelters, Veterinarians - Guinea Pig Zone and when you buy a cage with a loft they provide the ramp. It is made out of coroplast just like the floor of the cage, with a piece of carpet lining it. It's pretty cool how they make it. It is reinforced with 4 bendable wires. Go to that site if you are looking for something like this. You can actually buy everything that comes in a cage package separately. I bought a 2x4 with a 1x2 loft and then bought 7 extra grids along with 7 or 8 extra connectors and a lid that fits a 2x4 cage. It was a bit pricey but totally worth it. See, I wanted a loft in mine but I also had to get a lid because we have 4 cats (only one of them really bothers them and gets on top of the cage, my boy). Everything worked out perfectly with the cage. I just might need to expand it for them at some point. I also use fleece as my bedding with towels underneath.

I got my boys from a Jack's Pets. They didn't know much about guinea pigs just by seeing the conditions that they had these little guys in. I feel that I have rescued them and I see everyone's pov on funding the breeders. I have no excuse for buying from a pet store except that I wanted these little guys from the moment I saw them. They have such a wonderful life with us. I get them out everyday to exercise in a large pen that I bought for them. They get fresh veggies 3 times a day, hay is never ending, and the correct amount of pellets everyday. I also just ordered hay and pellets from KMS Hayloft.

Wow sorry for such a long reply but I am such a proud new cavy owner!!

 

[Senamian]

How many people's cavy's actually use the loft part?? 2 I got as buddies for Honey, I was told they never used the ramp/loft. :/

 

[ldrew7]

Mine do all the time. They actually go to the bathroom up there more than they play there. I actually keep a hay rack up there in case one wants to munch alone. They also play on the ramp by running up and down it when they get crazy.

 

[Senamian]

Huh. lol I might try to see if any of mine will use ramps!

 

[cyndyt]

Welcome.
I hope your guine pigs live a wonderful long life with you

 

[CavyMama]

@CavyMama okay thanks for the info like I said that was just my opinion. I personally feel like I'm saving an animal from going to a home with a misinformed owner which is not always but most likely what will happen to any petstore animal.

Well, whether you buy them or a misinformed person buys them, the breeding mill will be funded either way.

Unless you plan on buying every pig from every petstore, it's inevitable that misinformed people will buy guinea pigs. All we can do is educate them so they become informed. I think I can safely say that every member here, was at one point, one of those misinformed people. But we came here, asked questions and learned from our mistakes.

We cannot control what other people do, but one thing we CAN control is where we get our pigs - i.e. from shelters or rescues and NOT from petstores.

 

[boofp]

Welcome your males are handsome