Any Guinea Pig Owners? = )

[lisa h]

Your piggy is totally cute! Just a few more things to mention: Mine loves oranges, and sometimes apples. She starts squeeking if she smells anything orange based, including cleaning products and perfume. She gets a piece of orange almost everyday. Also, Timothy based pellets are the best, and they are good for keeping them slim. I use Timothy Hay as well, for the same reason. Mine likes to push balls around -- the kind made for rodents to chew, made out of wood or hay or wicker. My piggy *never* stinks. My rats and bunnies definitely smell worse.

Good luck with your new friend!

 

[Amanda1801]

It's good that you brought it up though! A lot of people who own the pigs never treat them for mites because they don't see any! I feel bad for those little guys! It must be awful and very itchy!

yeah, mine are done once a year as a precaution - sometimes i feel sorry for all my pets - they get prodded, poked and palpated on a daily basis!

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Your piggy is totally cute! Just a few more things to mention: Mine loves oranges, and sometimes apples. She starts squeeking if she smells anything orange based, including cleaning products and perfume. She gets a piece of orange almost everyday. Also, Timothy based pellets are the best, and they are good for keeping them slim. I use Timothy Hay as well, for the same reason. Mine likes to push balls around -- the kind made for rodents to chew, made out of wood or hay or wicker. My piggy *never* stinks. My rats and bunnies definitely smell worse.

Good luck with your new friend!

Thank you! I have a few oranges so maybe i'll chuck a piece with her. I was given a bag of alfalfa and she seems to really like it. I noticed she's REALLY pudgy so might have to put her on a mini diet. She has a turkey chin... How do you deal with their pee and poop? I put her down on our bed and she peed and pooped on it. It might be that she's still a little afraid but she shows no fear what so ever. She is SO calm, I am surprised. I let her roam a bit in our bedroom and she was exploring a bit. She didn't run or squeal, nothing i'd say were stress signs.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

If in doubt (i.e. before you get another!) just pop him/her down to your vet and get them to check. Does he/she seem to have a hunchback or anything? like a raised bit behind the head.

Also have you checked him/her for mites? mine were COVERED when i got them

I'm going to take a closer look tomorrow when the sun is out. I haven't seen her scratch or anything so don't think he has lice BUT again, will take a closer look. My bf broke our lap top so i'm using my brother in laws I can't really be on the computer too long and research as much as I would like to but i'll get to some more research when I can. Thank you for all of your help and of course am always open for more suggestions.

 

[Amanda1801]

Thank you! I have a few oranges so maybe i'll chuck a piece with her. I was given a bag of alfalfa and she seems to really like it. I noticed she's REALLY pudgy so might have to put her on a mini diet. She has a turkey chin... How do you deal with their pee and poop? I put her down on our bed and she peed and pooped on it. It might be that she's still a little afraid but she shows no fear what so ever. She is SO calm, I am surprised. I let her roam a bit in our bedroom and she was exploring a bit. She didn't run or squeal, nothing i'd say were stress signs.

They are pretty good at toileting everywhere

Also - as long as you feed her a good diet, she should be fine - it sounds like shes going to get a hell of a lot better care with you, and I imagine if shes been kept in a small cage and is fat, shes prob not had much exercise!

 

[PrettyInInk87]

They are pretty good at toileting everywhere

Also - as long as you feed her a good diet, she should be fine - it sounds like shes going to get a hell of a lot better care with you, and I imagine if shes been kept in a small cage and is fat, shes prob not had much exercise!

Aw, thank you. I don't think she had much exercise either but she'll be well taken care of now.

So she'll pretty much pee on the carpet? I guess i'll just lay towels everywhere when I leave her out.

 

[lisa h]

Alfalfa is pretty fattening -- that's why they like it! Switch her to timothy if you can, and let her run around and explore. As for the poops and pees, I hear they are not as easy to litter box train as rats or rabbits, so, I don't know. I know mine just goes wherever she likes. She's more likely to go if she's nervous, so maybe once yours has had a chance to get used to you and your home she may be a little better in that department. Or not. LOL

 

[pssh]

Plus there's a lot of calcium in alfafa. Guinea pigs look very pudgie. If you put your hand under their belly and let a little bit gravity pull them down, they look like they swallowed two beach balls. The best way to monitor is weekly weighing. Timothy and other bays are good. I use a lot of orchard grass hay as it's always the freshest when I go to the local feed supply store.

Don't give oranges too much. Fruit every now and then is okay as treats. Oranges and citrus are known for causing mouth sores from the acidity. They are high in bit C though, so they are a good choice of fruit though!

Edit: mine are pee trained for the most part. They like to pee in hay or that carefresh litter. I only use the carefresh for floor time because of it! They do poop all over the place though. I lay down a cloth shower curtain where they spend most of their time so I can just take it outside and shake the poopies out.

 

[lisa h]

Kara, when you say "a lot of calcium in alfalfa", do you mean too much? Just curious. My piggy doesn't like it anyway -- she prefers timothy and orchard grass hay, but it would be good to know. As for oranges, I was told to give a fair amount because of the level of vit C. Is this unecessary if they are getting proper GP pellets, which have added vit C? Her "raw food" consists of some leafy green, carrot and either orange or apple. Good, not good?

 

[pssh]

Well a better choice of vit c would be bell peppers. Oranges are good, it's just the acid and sugar that's not so good. I can't remember if cilantro has a lot of vit C, but I know it's okay to feed daily.

Well, it's not recommended to feed pigs alfalfa unless they are under six months old or pregnant. I think it can cause calcium deposits in pee, which isn't good.

Edit: if you go to www.guineapigcages.com and go to the diet section in the forums they have a TON of resources and sample 'menus.'

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Well a better choice of vit c would be bell peppers. Oranges are good, it's just the acid and sugar that's not so good. I can't remember if cilantro has a lot of vit C, but I know it's okay to feed daily.

Well, it's not recommended to feed pigs alfalfa unless they are under six months old or pregnant. I think it can cause calcium deposits in pee, which isn't good.

Edit: if you go to www.guineapigcages.com and go to the diet section in the forums they have a TON of resources and sample 'menus.'

Awesome, I think I might just go join that forum now. I'll try and see if I can get a different tray and have her pee into it when she's out. I don't mind the poops because they are solid and don't get all over the place, I am more worried about the pee. Ok, well than you and I will go ahead and join that forum so that I can ask more questions and learn a lot more.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

OH yeah, I think she does have lice. In between all of her stuff there was a lice and tick spray. I'm going to research it and see how that goes.

 

[pssh]

If you look at her skin you should see little white lice running around in the fur. They are usually most abundant on the rump and behind the ears.

 

[Elizadolots]

Coming in late...I have a male bonded pair. They are just too cute.

We gave up bedding entirely. We put a towel down on the floor of the enclosure. It's shaken out in the canyon and then washed every night (yes, we have several).

Bath them! It's a great bonding experience for them...they'll unite in their hatred of you. Just put a couple of inches of water in the sink and drop them in...then drain it, and repeat a couple of times...they get pretty nasty. When the water starts looking good, get liquid hand soap and lather the beasties up...they'll hate it. Rinse 'em, dry 'em and put them back...they'll be closer than they've ever been.

Ours hate oranges..so, they get loads of bell peppers.

Note that with some tweaking the food you use for your guinea pigs can be the food you use for your feeder gutload.

 

[pssh]

She only has one right now. The bath bonding will have to wait

Since your girl is short haired, it's probably best not to bathe more than once a year or so. I only give my long haired ones bum baths since they tend to get their butt hair all nasty.

Did I mention that fleece is a zillion times easier than bedding? Well, it is! Plus you can use the left over scraps to make little cuddle cups and bags for them to sit in.

 

[Amanda1801]

She only has one right now. The bath bonding will have to wait

Since your girl is short haired, it's probably best not to bathe more than once a year or so. I only give my long haired ones bum baths since they tend to get their butt hair all nasty.

Did I mention that fleece is a zillion times easier than bedding? Well, it is! Plus you can use the left over scraps to make little cuddle cups and bags for them to sit in.

Mine prefers hiding down the back of the sofa!

 

[PrettyInInk87]

I think i'm going to cry! I looked up how to sex this little "girl" and when I went to sex "her" I found that "she" has a HUGE ball of poo stuck! Also, I don't know any females that have testicles so i'm pretty sure "she's" a he. Anyway, he's compacted. I couldn't resist so I filled the tub enough to cover his feet and his booty. I managed to get most of the caked on feces off of his feet but not all. I was also able to get a bit of his backed up poop out but I didn't want to hurt him so I left the rest alone. It's so TERRIBLE! Also, I checked for lice but didn't see anything move around but I did notice he had lots of dandruff and did see him scratch a few times. Man again, what did I get myself into? I looked over him before I brought him home but I guess I didn't do a very good job at it. I MIGHT have to find him a new home where he can be taken to the Vet. by someone else. I'm TOTALLY broke because of the holidays. I guess I can try and get SOME cash from my Christmas gifts...

 

[Amanda1801]

I think i'm going to cry! I looked up how to sex this little "girl" and when I went to sex "her" I found that "she" has a HUGE ball of poo stuck! Also, I don't know any females that have testicles so i'm pretty sure "she's" a he. Anyway, he's compacted. I couldn't resist so I filled the tub enough to cover his feet and his booty. I managed to get most of the caked on feces off of his feet but not all. I was also able to get a bit of his backed up poop out but I didn't want to hurt him so I left the rest alone. It's so TERRIBLE! Also, I checked for lice but didn't see anything move around but I did notice he had lots of dandruff and did see him scratch a few times. Man again, what did I get myself into? I looked over him before I brought him home but I guess I didn't do a very good job at it. I MIGHT have to find him a new home where he can be taken to the Vet. by someone else. I'm TOTALLY broke because of the holidays. I guess I can try and get SOME cash from my Christmas gifts...

What have you done? you've rescued a piggy! Is s/he eating and drinking?

 

[PrettyInInk87]

What have you done? you've rescued a piggy! Is s/he eating and drinking?

Yes, he's eating and drinking just fine. I did notice he was eating some of his bedding. He eats his pellets but stayed away from the orange... I'm going to head to the grocery store later and buy him lots of good fresh veggies. It's obvious that he was not given veggies at all. I honestly thought I was getting a healthy Guinea, I didn't want to go through what I went through with Hugh. Oh and he also poops! I don't know how he does it but the little pebbles come out!

 

[PrettyInInk87]

Ok, so I looked up how to help him get rid of his extra waste he has impacted and am going to try to help him out later today. Lots of warm water and massaging. I really hope it works!