Piggies

[julesjoy]

I appear to have accidentally adopted a couple of Guinea pigs being given away for free. I've done a big amazon order of stuff and am doing a feed and bedding shop later. What do you recommend for bedding? How much do they eat/drink etc? They're very nervous, are they best left alone to acclimatise or handled to get used to that? What other immediate care things do I need to do? Thanks!

 

[Rumtytum]

Congratulations on your aa! Sorry, no advice to give but when it’s possible could we have some piggie pics? ?

 

[SpringArising]

For bedding I've always used a thick wad of newspaper to stop the wee ruining the floor, and then a layer of dust-free shavings and then loads of hay (it works out way cheaper if you use hay from the yard rather than shop bought hay).

Buy a pellet rather than the hard feed (ha) with different bits in to make sure they get everything they need, and then offer some fresh fruits and veggies every day by hand so they associate the good stuff with you! Guineas don't produce their own vitamin C so make sure they get lots from fruit.

I'd have as much interaction with them as possible from day one TBH.

 

[ester]

I use aubiose for bedding, but plenty of hay for burrowing in too (what sex are yours, I have girls so have never had to worry about them getting bits stuck up their boy bits ). Pellets are better than mixes so they can't selectively feed and some veggies every day is a good idea.
I've recently got some newbies and I think, especially with adults they are better to acclimatise a bit more/get used to you before insisting on too much handling. Generally they can handle well very early on but the reality is that they are just in freeze mode.
When my older girls were babies I did handle daily and didn't let them have hiding places for a bit, these girls got the full set up after a couple of days and have still really come out of their shell.
Mine are having some floor time in the lounge when I'm home and have improved very rapidly. Had them 3 weeks now I think!

Rumptytum, I call this my slow tv compilation of piggies, particularly compared to the zooms video!

 

[julesjoy]

Due to a lack of anything when I picked them up last night they got a load of meadow hay (unlimited I presume) which they immediately hid in and some veg peelings. Good idea on the newspaper. Will add dust free shavings to the feed trip later. No idea how to do photos but will try! They need names too. They are boys.

 

[julesjoy]

Apparently my phone photo file is too large...

 

[ester]

they work if you take a screen shot on your phone, or you need to link to a 3rd party hosting site, copy the location and and

 

[julesjoy]

 

[ester]

aww well done!

 

[scats]

Aww I love piggies!

Mine are bedded on a decent layer of shavings. In their ‘bed’ area they get a big nest of hay to snuggle into.
I feed pellets (they like the pets at home ones the most) and always make sure they have plenty of hay to eat. They have the hay that they burrow into, plus another two large piles in their hutch. They get fresh veg every day, plus I pick them a large handful of grass off the garden.

 

[Courbette]

Scats stole the words out of my mouth, I also love Piggies.

I have had several generations of piggies so have tried most beddings. Shavings with a large amount of hay for them to eat and burrow in is my preferred bedding although I have used fleece for my last three as they two were long haired and this can also work well but is more labour intensive. Essentials are a guinea pig sized water bottle, ceramic food bowl and two or more toys they can hide inside. If you have a dominant pig make sure any houses have two exits. Single type complete pellets are best to prevent selective feeding and as they can't store vitamin c they need some sort of veg daily but introduce this slowly. You can drape a towel over a third of the cage to make them feel more secure to start with.

I would leave them alone for 48 hours other than feeding as they are naturally nervous animals although once you have their trust they can have big personalities. The best way to win them over is though their stomachs. Once they have settled begin offering them a small piece of veg from your hand. You may need to leave it near them but gradually they will start to take it and you are on your way. You can get lovely fleece toys online (I got mine from Ziggies Piggies) and C&C cages are my favourite type of indoor cage. If you can collect a few different toys swap them round regularly and hiding small pieces of food can offer stimulation. They look lovely, I love the teddy coat.

 

[julesjoy]

Thanks ester for photo tips. Right I've got a bag of aubiose and pellets from the tack shop. How often do they need cleaning out?

 

[ester]

You did great with the pic, sometimes it can take more goes than that Do they have names?
When they are in all the time (mind have an outdoor hutch/run too) generally with the aubiose I spot clean the worst spots daily (the aubiose clumps where wet too anyway).
The new two, who still insist on zooms tend to then flick everything everywhere and mix it all up so are having more full muck outs then I ever needed to do for the previous pair. Usually a couple of times a week though.

 

[Rumtytum]

View attachment 43166

They are SO cute! I’m sure with all the care and love they’re going to have lavished on them they will soon be super chilled guineas ?
(And thanks Ester for another blockbuster video, I don’t know how you get anything done. The temptation to just sit and watch them must be great ?).

 

[ester]

haha, saves putting the telly on for sure. I do need to slot an exercise space in for me, rather than them somewhere too though.
Also, a superb use of action cam I reckon, can stream to any room in the house and record when something interesting happens!
The yellow tube has been upgraded to a bigger, red, one. Before somebody gets stuck. . . .

 

[julesjoy]

Poor things are utterly terrified. Refused to eat any veg or even move whilst I'm sat near the cage. This is gonna take time.

Sorry, more silly questions : for 2 piggies do I need 2 water bottles, 2 feed bowls and 2 hideys? Or can they share?

Also, someone said Guinea pig sized water bottle - I got a 600ml one but they're not drinking a lot, is that big enough?

The last small pets I had were a couple of mice and some hamsters 20 years ago (I feel old!)!

They still need names, suggestions welcome.

 

[julesjoy]

More pics, oh not working.

 

[splashgirl45]

i love piggies, really miss mine ....if they are in the room with you they should gradually get used to seeing you around and calm down...mine loved cucumber and also dandelions, not sure which they liked best,,,,well done for the pics. i would have multiple hides so they can have their personal space if they need it but i only had 1 water bottle and 1 feed bowl .you may need to think about names when they show their personality but heres a few.

toffee , truffle, bumble, teddy,

 

[ester]

Don't worry, they will settle just get a bit shell shocked easily, and well, it's hard not to worry about them but they will come round. My baby girls were really bold at the breeders. This was the best pic I could manage at mine, I had slightly forgotten quite how scared they could be about change to start.

Now they are on the floor next to me having post nap eating. 4 days ago I couldn't move on the sofa without them both disappearing at high speed. I'll be working up to feeding them from hand at some point.

Presuming they were living together before they will be fine to share water bottles etc.

Parsley always seems very hard to resist, french beans seem to be as much of a hit with these two as before, and grapes are always a bit of a treat - but they shouldn't have fruit very often.

 

[Cloball]

Spike, speedwell or bubble and squeak Mine used to love dandelions and eat them like they were sucking in spaghetti. I love piggies noises so adorable.

 

[ester]

Oh someone just hit the speed popcorning button here...

 

[julesjoy]

Nope, can't get anymore pics to upload. Sorry thank you, I ordered one hidey along with a bigger cage, I'll get another one.

 

[julesjoy]

Ooh I love Bubble and Squeak!

 

[ester]

Ill pm you my email, always happy to put up pics

it took me 4 weeks to sort names and you seem to be sorted lol

 

[julesjoy]

Sent, thank you ever so much ester!

I still need to decide which is which if I use Bubble and Squeak.

 

[ester]

 

[ester]

I say bubble the top one, because he is too tough looking to be a squeak

 

[ester]

This is a really useful post re. feeding
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/

 

[julesjoy]

That's just what I was looking for, I've bookmarked that, thank you!

 

[ester]

that forum and guinea lynx are usually very good for info.