Guinea pigs!

[cloverleaf1985]

Tell me all about them please!

I'm thinking about taking on 3 of my friend's piggies but ive never had them before (had a rabbit years ago). I'm not sure she's looking after them very well.. She has 2 males in one run and a male on his own.

Do they smell much? I'd be keeping them indoors. How often would I need to clean them out?

How would I bond them?
Also, the one on his own is long haired. How much grooming would he need?
Also, what would be the best bedding for them/his long hair?

I have a reasonable idea about their diet after doing some research.
I.e Ad-lib hay, a few pellets (they're on muesli at the moment) and fresh veggies.
So many questions! Sorry

 

[weebarney]

Im no expert but I know they are herd animals like horses and need company, they are nice little creatures. Im wondering why the 3rd male was kept separate, maybe he wasnt getting on with the other 2.

 

[cloverleaf1985]

There were 2 pairs, sadly his friend died and has been on his own since.

I don't think she's ever tried to bond him, I feel sorry for him that he's on his own

 

[catxx]

I'm not a Guinea keeper but cannot recommend the information on this website enough, especially all the diet stuff and medical stuff:
http://www.guinealynx.info/
They have forums too.

 

[splashgirl45]

they are lovely little creatures to have in the house. i had 4 in 2 large cages right next to each other and when one died the one on her own was fine because she had the other two very close and they could touch noses through the cage wire...i used to take poos and any wet patches that i could see out daily and completely cleaned them out twice a week and mine didnt smell. i used woodshavings with a base layer of newspaper as i found them easier. had used paper and also tried cardboard bedding as we were trying it for the horses.not sure what would be best for a long haired one...i used to brush mine about once a week but they were all short haired....if you check through petbox im sure there was a thread about piggies quite recently. also if you google guinea pigs or cavies(their other name) there are some good sites with lots of info. this is what i did as i had never had guinea pigs before(at age 50!!!!) unfortunately mine have all gone to rainbow bridge now but i did get very fond of them...when handling them its best to do everything slowly and be very careful when you pick them up to support their weight and remember, piggies dont bounce!!!!!!so its very important not to drop them. sorry this turned into a rather long lecture.have fun with them

 

[Alaadin]

Basically the reason why the male is probably on his own is because it's very rare to be able to bond a trio of boars. Boars work best in pairs!

They don't smell, unless you leave them ages without cleaning them out. My four are in my bedroom and I clean them out about once a week. The long haired one would need grooming daily or every few days depending on how long his hair is.

I have mine on medibed. It's a horse bedding but is basically really finely soft chopped straw (normal straw isn't suitable) but there's lots of other bedding you can use. I think the most common bedding used by people who don't research into it is shavings. However, some guinea pigs react badly too them. They can cause dry skin and respitary problems.

It's great to see that you're doing plenty of research though. Most people don't! They are lovely animals. Very friendly once they get used to you. Just remember they are social and should at least be kept in pairs or groups if sows. Most rescue centres will 'bond' a single guinea pig with a suitable one. If you let me know whereabouts you are then I can help you find a good rescue centre that could help. It's amazing how much happier they are with a friend. Speaking as someone who had a single boar for 6 months before bonding him with another.

I learnt most things that I know from this website www.theguineapigforum.co.uk There are lots of experts on there and lots of invaluable info!

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions

 

[cloverleaf1985]

Thanks guys.

I quite like the look of C&C cages like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/C-C-large...et_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item43bb20fcd4

I like the fact i could add to it if i wanted a herd of them and should we move etc it can be pretty much flat packed.

That should be big enough for 2/3 guineas shouldn't it?

I may try Megazorb for the bedding.

 

[suestowford]

If you get the C&C cage you can make it whatever shape you like, so if the lonesome boar won't mix (and he probably won't, as was said earlier, they're best in twos) you could at least keep him in the same cage but separated by a grid. Then he could see & talk to the others but you would avoid fighting.
I clean mine out every three days, but they are kept on paper and hay, and after three days they have usually eaten all the hay and weed all over the paper so it needs doing that often. Some people keep them on fleece which could be good as you can put that in the washing machine.
They are great pets.

 

[Hexx]

I have 5 piggies - all girls, since I lost my boy Fudge at the beginning of the year. If the two boars have bonded, its best to leave them to it. You could always neuter the other boar and find him a girlfriend ...or two!). My one and only boar was neutered and he got on well with the girls, in fact they were a lot more calm with him around as he ruled the roost and sorted them out if they got lairy with each other!

They have an outside hutch for the Spring/summer (April to October) and I only bed them on hay. I don't use shavings as they can cause allergic reactions and make the skin itchy. They go out on grass every day and get a handful of veggies and mix for breakfast plus fresh hay.

In the winter, they come in to the utility room where I have two cages joined together - they get very clever at jumping over the join of the two cages where i put a little "bridge". Again, they are bedded on hay and are supplemented with readigrass as they are not out in the garden in the Winter (November to March).

They get cleaned out once a week, so they don't smell - in fact the fresh hay everday gives them a lovely "outdoors" smell.

They are very sociable animals and bond quickly to humans and other pigs alike. My 5 also are not fussed about the dogs and they regularly have nose-touching sessions, although Toffee does have a tendancy to nip noses. They are very vocal, and especially when they are in, they will set up a chorus of wheeks and squeaks when the fridge door opens, hoping to get little treats.

They are very addictive - I used to have 13(!), but it was my Mum's fault - she should have let me have piggies when I was younger, then I wouldn't have overcompensated. Anyway, 5 is enough for the timebeing!

 

[cloverleaf1985]

That's what I was thinking with the C&C cage, it's effectively 1 cage but the singleton can still interact

 

[Alaadin]

C&C cages are great. I have my pairs both in Ferplast 140 cages, but would use C&C if I had the space. It will be nice for the third boar to be able to interact with the other two, but please bear in mind that this isn't really a substitute for getting him a friend if you have the facilities to.

 

[cloverleaf1985]

The trouble is, I don't know how old he is, so wouldn't want to risk neutering him. I don't have the space for 2 cages, so I would need to try bonding them, or the other option is to only take him on and try and find him a friend (I'd feel bad leaving the other 2 but at least they have each other). A neutered female may be an option.

 

[Alaadin]

You'll very rarely find a neutered female to be honest. In fact I don't think I've ever heard of one.

If you were going to keep them seperate in the C&C anyway then couldn't you just have two pairs?

 

[Alaadin]

Go on this page and have a look at the different styles of C&C you can make. Once you've got the basics you can buy different grids and even build one on top of the other!
http://guineapigcages.com/

 

[cloverleaf1985]

I can fit a 2x5 with a 2x1 tier (maybe one at each end). That wouldn't be big enough for 2 pairs would it?

 

[Alaadin]

I think 2x4 is the minimum for a pair, especially boars who need a little more room. But as above, you could always do one on top of the other

 

[dollyanna]

Haven't had them for a while now, but ours used to be bedded on a thick layer of newspaper with hay on top. Fresh hay went in every day, and once a week the whole lot was lifted out and replaced. The lived inside in the winter and never smelled. Our last one was more of a house pig as she was on her own (didn't want to get any more and she was older then) and she toilet trained herself - she used to go bombing through the house to the downstairs toilet and hide behind the door in the dark, so we just put a little box of bedding in there for her to use

They lived outside in the summer in a huge run with a hutch attached, with regular cuddles. They went for walks on little harnesses from time to time as well which they enjoyed, doing zoomies with us in tow!

One day I will have piggies again, they beat rabbits hands down for me

 

[Paint Me Proud]

i use to breed and show guinea pigs and whilst my females were all together in one big group I always kept my males singularly. I found they tended to fit and bully each other if together but that may just have been because they were breeders and knew their job!

all of mine were kept on newpaper, covered in shavings with straw bedding. Hay was provided as forage, along with daily muesli (pellets hadnt been invented yet) and a selection of fresh fruit and veg each morning. Their favourite was just picked grass, chickweed and dandelions.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I did have two boys together but one died last year the boy that is left is quite old and he seems happy so I thought it best to not try him with another, I also ended up with mine as a friend moved abroad so I said I would have them.

I keep him indoors on woodchip and he has a fleece blanket on the ledge of the cage which he loves sitting on, I clean him everyday not the whole bed but remove droppings and wet a bit like mucking out, I prefer the pellets as mine will only eat certain bits of the mix type stuff, they are lovely animals very friendly mine loves a cuddle and kind of purrs.

 

[cloverleaf1985]

I think I've decided to take just the lone boy as I don't really have the room for 2 cages and he's the one that really needs companionship.

Once he's settled I might try getting him a friend and see what happens.

Very excited and will post piccies when I get him

 

[cloverleaf1985]

Been shopping
Got a bag of Devon meadow hay
A bag of Science selective pellets to mix with his existing food
A snazzy blue house
Some willow, apple and hazel sticks to chew on
A new water bottle
A new food bowl
A double sided comb
Cage disinfectant
Some shampoo (once he has settled in a bit. His coat is a bit manky looking)

On Sunday I'll be stocking up on some veggies and a pot or two of parsley, basil etc.

Do you think I've covered everything?

 

[meandmyself]

You'll very rarely find a neutered female to be honest. In fact I don't think I've ever heard of one.

If you were going to keep them seperate in the C&C anyway then couldn't you just have two pairs?

All of my girls are neutered, and I kept 3 boys together.

 

[FreddiesGal]

I used to have umpteen piggles when I was younger and we had a few litters.

We built an enclosure for them which was approx. 30ft x 10ft and put an open hutch in there for when they had to be put away (with mesh for a roof) but they spent most of their time running around in the garden.

I think piggies are hard work unless you are totally dedicated to getting them tame and keeping their hutch clean - boy do those things poop!! I never used shavings/sawdust as I didn't like the idea of all that dust being so close to their face. We used a mixture of shredded paper and the horses hay which we'd shake out to get rid of some dust

Good luck

 

[suestowford]

Mine love the Devon meadow hay.

Another site you might like (as well as guinea lynx which someone mentioned earlier) you might also enjoy Gorgeous Guineas who make a lot of different products specifically for pigs.

 

[PleaseVenus]

I like Devon meadow hay I usually use lots of newspaper (well property papers because I'm a poor student and wood shavings with lots of hay on top. I dont find they smell until they're
due their next clean. I clean them out weekly.

I've got two boys in a 120x60 cage. I'd probably try and get a bigger one if I had enough space. I also found C&C grids hard to find in the UK. I also give them lots of floor time in my bedroom so they can have a run around. Do you have anywhere they could run around? I think c&c grids can be used to make a
Pen.

They're lovely pets! When you go to get him a companion there's lots of online info. There's a few guinea pig forums which are useful and I know there's a page on introductions, which is especially important with boys. Mine rumbled and chased each other and generally worried me lots at first but I think it often looks worse than it is. There's also a good thread on boys dominance behavior on theguineapigforum.

If you don't want to introduce a companion yourself some rescue centres do 'boar dating' where they'll help match suitable pigs .

 

[cloverleaf1985]

I'm planning on getting an indoor pen on top of lino to put in the living room. He can have his veggies in that and come up for lap cuddles

Will look into boar dating!