Proud owners of a new little Piggie...

[Former_Member]

I never had pets growing up.

We have a new guinea pig named Goldie, she is adorable. Any piggy advice would be most welcome. My 6 year old is in love!

[Caviesincozies]

I have been a guinea pig and rabbit owner for YEARS. any questions you have feel free to ask!!!
Be sure to give your piggy lots of veggies. Vitamin C is VERY important!

[Former_Member]

LOL Don't they make the cutest sounds! Eep! I want one again. :)

[Caviesincozies]

Yeah i have three and every time i enter my room (where they live) they all just squeak. its so fun.

[Former_Member]

Hi Pook...I have 4 piggies. Our latest was adopted on March 15th and she's 3 months old. I have had piggies my whole life.
~keep them out of drafts or they will get sick. If they get a respiratory illness, it is hard to save them.
~give them paper tubes to chew on to keep their teeth from growing too much.
~keep them clean. Never use cedar chips - they are toxic. Pine chips, cloth liners, wire bottom cages are fine. But make sure to clean often.
~give fresh greens or fruit daily. Never feed them poor quality.
~handle them often by supporting them under their fanny. The more you handle the less jittery they are. We can reach into our 3 older pigs cages and they don't even move. The new one still needs some work!

Have fun!

[Caviesincozies]

Catcalls! I got a new guinea pig a couple weeks ago.. she is about five months old now.
baby guinea pigs are SO CUTE!

[Former_Member]

Hi, I'm a slave to five guinea pigs (3 sows and 2 boars) and don't forget hay. Mine get Timothy hay, but Orchard works also. For a special treat mine love fresh grass (non chemical treated grass only).

[RatAttackTeam]

I had adopted 2 piggies a few years ago. They were a lot of fun, especially to bathe LOL Also don't forget to always give quality timothy hay! Vit C cuz their bodies don't make it . Don't buy cheap petstore food either, good stuff like OxbowHay!
Have fun with your new baby ;-)

[Caviesincozies]

hahaha I love that. I am a slave to three guiena pigs. I really am. they are so spoiled and they know all they have to do is squeak their heads off and i come running. hahaha.

[Former_Member]

Everyone has given great advice for the piggies. I raised them for about 5 years and they are wonderful pets. ( also raised rats, mice, syrian hamsters and russian dwarf hamsters and Loved them all)
Some favorite memories are of them singing. I had 2 boars, Mad Hatter and Justin (Hatters son) that would swing their necks way up and make little OOOO mouths when I sung to them.
Trying to think of something not already mentioned. I did give mine some herbal suppliments to boost immune systems and hand fed babies. I even have photos of babies being born...so if wanting any herbal type advice I might could help.
I always made our hammocks and carriers too when young. Yes they will sleep in a hammock. You just have to make sure to put it where it is Easy to get in and out of since they do not climb like other small animals.
I took lots of fun photos. Tricks to good pics is use great backdrops. I used large scrapbook papers, props like fake flowers, had lots of treats and of course Lots of patients.
Good luck with the new piggy.

[Former_Member]

Here are my piggies, with the last photo being Violet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandsewforth/sets/72157625648827412/

[Caviesincozies]

Aww your guinea pigs are so cute. All my guinea pigs are pictured in my shop banner. charlie being the newest couple week old guinea pig.

oh and if you want to see guinea pigs in hammocks.. just to get an idea, look at my hammocks listed, my guinea pig ben is modeling how to sleep in one.

[Former_Member]

Geez :) I literally LOL'ed at the piggy in glasses! They are all awesome!

[Former_Member]

~keep them clean. Never use cedar chips - they are toxic. Pine chips, cloth liners, wire bottom cages are fine. But make sure to clean often.
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Actually, pine is known to cause respiratory problems as well! I do not recommend pine! Use aspen or carefresh. Or better yet, use fleece!!

While vitamin C is very important, they get all of their vitamin C from the veggies you feed them and from their pellets and hay. You may see vitamin C water drops for sale at pet stores, but do not purchase them or use them. The drops or for extreme cases or when your piggy already has scurvy. If you use the drops while your pig is healthy it could dehydrate him. They hate the taste and will drink less.

Another common problem with guinea pigs is their cage. Almost all pet store cages are too small for guinea pigs. I highly suggest getting a C&C cage.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/

You should have at least 7.5 square feet for one guinea pig.

Other than that, make sure you clip his nails and feed him plenty of fresh veggies.

Good luck!! Hope I helped! :)

[Former_Member]

This is some very very very great advice and I appreciate it so much! about the fleece bedding mention. Can I just make a soft fleece blanket for the bottom of her cage instead of using the recycled bedding stuff? what about shredded newspaper??

[Former_Member]

P.S. I will take some pictures really really soon. We are holding her for long periods every day. She purrs in my arms :)

[Former_Member]

It might do her some good to have a friend. Guinea pigs should be kept in pairs. If she's still young enough to introduce her to another guinea pig about the sama age, and if you have enough room, a companion would do her a lot of good.

For the fleece, you can make a soft fleece blanket for the bottom of the cage. Just make sure you secure it to the side of your cage so she can't get underneath. You'll also have to have an absorbant layer under the fleece. This can be towels, puppy pads, or any absorbant material. Then you can put newspaper under the towels, puppy pads, etc.

I use puppy pads. They're more expensive, but I find that they really absorb the moisture and odor very well.

You'll need to wash and dry the fleece at LEAST three times (without fabric softener) in order for it to "wick" the liquid to the absorbant layer.

You'll need to spot clean the poops a few times per day. But I think fleece is worth it because it's so comfortable and they love popcorning and sleeping on it! :)

[Former_Member]

Here's my setup:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y119/bapity88/cage.jpg

I'm buying an extra grid to expand their cage soon now that they're getting larger. The fleece is attached to the sides with binder clips. They have a litter area that holds their hay. They do most of their "business" there, so it REALLY helps!

[Former_Member]

~keep them clean. Never use cedar chips - they are toxic. Pine chips, cloth liners, wire bottom cages are fine. But make sure to clean often.
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Also, I meant to add that wire bottom cages are not good for guinea pigs. They can break their toes, and it's just plain uncomfortable and not an ideal situation.



Sorry if I'm adding too much information. Haha! I just love guinea pigs!