HELP I'm lost!! I nedd Guinea Pig advice!!!

[dieselgrl48]

Guinea pig's are pretty awesome and fairly easy to care for.Just don't make the mistake of getting 2 unless you are Extremely sure of the sex lol.I went from 2 to 16 with the 2 first one's I had.We wound up having to place them at a local pet store that took them.I had cage's literaly stacked in my kitchen with baby pig's.They do require the C Vitamin and the cage cleaning is an ongoing venture.I've never heard of litter training one.I have 2 ferret's and when they have free out time they do have a corner litter box but no gaurantee's on that one.I would much rather sweep up pig dropping's than ferret poo's lol.None of mine were ever agressive or bit but I have heard of them biting. Good Luck with your new baby congrat's.Post a pic when you can.

 

[math ace]

ONLY 2 girls should be put together. 2 BOYS will fight. 1 Boy and 1 girl will repopulate the earth.

BITING - - - They will bite if they are afraid. If DD handles them gently and securely = = = They will not bite, but if the guinea pig is afraid of falling he/ she will bite.

MAKE sure you feed food with vit "C" and supplement with washed fresh veg - Romaine (NOT ICEBERG LETTUCE), chopped carrots, green bell peppers.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND you check out a book from the library on how to take care of them.

My one guniea pig lived 3 years ( normal) and the other lived 8 years ( longer than normal).

They can catch a cold easily (from a/c or other drafts) and die quickly.

Wait to you hear the first we we weeeeeeeee noise when you open the refrigerator door. It is so FUNNY !

 

[Ema]

ok from someone who has guinea pigs...do not feed your guinea pig rabbit food it is not the same at all. second guinea pigs need room to exercise and also a balanced diet. they need hay every single day, in fact they should have it all the time. the way they grind their teeth down is by chewing and the best thing for them to eat is hay. They also require lettuce and other fruits and vegies to complete their diet. they should have water all the time. I have 2 guinea pigs in a 6 foot by 3 foot cage and they each have a house to go into, they really like and need a place to be their own to sleep or waht ever they prefer to use it for. I could go on and on on cage size and what to feed and when. but the best advice I can honestly give you is check out this forum here and they ahve all the information and more you require on your Absinnian guinea pig. I have one very much like yours aswell as a peruvian check this site:

http://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html

also make sure your children handle the guinea pig every single day and allow it to walk about on a blanket because they will poop and pee anywhere. if your children handle them gently and pet them every day the guinea pig will be very nice and eventually will learn not to pee on your kids. guinea pigs that are not used to being touched will be scared but eventually they get used to you. they love parsley, baby spinach and lettuce so that can be something the kids can give him or her to introduce themselves. but be sure once food is gone they wash hands or he will mistake their little fingers for food. Guinea pigs are very social, you should never have just one guinea pig they require a friend. never put a guine pig with a rabbit, the rabbit will kill it, no ends or buts about it. it is simply dangerous. Also keep in mind each guinea pig needs 7 sq. feet of room for a cage. hamster cages are too small and confining, your guinea pig will outgrow it and be miserable in it.

the website above will even teach you how to sex your guinea pig in case you want to get him a freind which for him or her to not get depressed will require. I bought one and was told it was a female and it turned out it was a boy, so you can't go by what the pet shop says. never place them in cedar bedding, its poisonous. kiln dried pine shavings are fine. I used newspaper then 4 inches of shavings, fresh water at all times, and their pellets (meant for guinea pigs only) never give a guinea pig corn they can't really digest it and it will make them sick. I give mine every night 2 lettuce leaves, a slice of apple a mini carrot and if I have parsley or a few leaves of baby spinach, they get this every evening. we use a soft bristled baby brush to brush their hair and remove lose hair. if you take your time with them, they will even learn to love swimming in a tiny baby bathtub where they can still touch the ground, they are so funny and even more when they sing to you. my guinea pigs are such amazing animals and I am not the only who thinks they are wonderful. guinea pigs under 1 year of age need more calcium than older guinea pigs.

 

[Akane]

Majority of male guinea pigs get a long just fine. The key is to not cram them in a tiny cage. Your standard pet store cage is like locking 2 people in a closet. You may love your roommate but you would still probably come to blows if kept in the same room 24/7 much less a space you can hardly turn around in. Females are easier to introduce than males and it is suggested males lean toward the larger end of the suggested cage sizes (10sq ft for 2 instead of 7sq ft) but the only males I've seen that would not get along with others under any circumstances were weaned young and then only kept for years with only females. They simply lack social skills. If you do have babies it's best to seperate them at 3-4weeks in to a cage with adults of the same gender so they can learn how to avoid causing fights and how to communicate that they are upset before resorting to biting the other guinea pig. I've seen the same thing with horses that were weaned at a few months and then thrown in a stall to be exercised alone daily. They just don't know how to interact or when to back down so if you put them in a herd they end up causing fights that lead to injuries. Usually to the extent that you can never keep those horses with a herd for the rest of their lives. There are rescues with dozens of male guinea pigs in cages together without a single issue. Some of the largest rescues in the US have reported that only 1% of the pairings they try fail to work.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I have a Lilac Pig and she is very skittish. I can't even pick her up, or she squeels. Were trying to tame her down a bit, but she has never bitten anyone.

 

[willkatdawson]

Oh my goodness! y'all are just a wealth of knowledge. I feel so much better now. We have had Gwennie out of her cage almost all day long. Yesterday she did her business whether we were holding her or not, today we would take her to her cage every hour or so and she would run to her "bathroom corner" of the cage and go. What a smart little girl!! We love he so much already. She hasn't offered to bite and purrs when we pet her. I can't believe we haven't done this before know. I'm thinking the cage we got her which was "the" guinea pig cage isn't going to be large enough for her when she's grown. I think from what y'all said I really need to consider getting a friend for her, but so far her dance card has been full! I spent the afternoon cooking while she slept in the pocket of my apron. I know it sounds crazy but it made me think back to having my babies in the sling while I worked in the kitchen.
Thanks Again for the great sites and all the info!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ema]

Quote:
that is awesome!!! she is super beautiful..the guinea pig too!! LOL...ginea pigs love attention, mine love to stare at the computer screen when I am typing, or sit on my kids shoulders, or laps. they climb all over my cats and the dogs, being in your apron is a super treat because they love little hiding spots like that. my have little soft blankets that they move around and put in their blanket in thier hammock before climbing in to sleep. they are very smart animals.

oh make sure you learn to cut their nails, a regular nail clipper will work but once every two weeks will keep those nails from curling, if you don't cut them it will cause a big mess of issues on their paws. its not hard. check out the guinealynx website for all your info!!

 

[willkatdawson]

Oh my gosh! I saw those poor little things with their curly nails. I've trimmed her already not because they were long but because they were needle sharp! We love her more every day!

 

[math ace]

She is a REAL CUTIE ! ! !

Have the "BLOOD STOP" powder on hand when you clip the nails. The white nails aren't too bad to clip . . you can see the vein that runs through them. However, the black nails are like clipping in the DARK and BLINDFOLDED at the same time. . . .

A little powder on the nail clipped too short and the blood stops. I use the same powder on dogs, cats, pot belly pigs and guinea pigs. Great STUFF and a LITTLE will last FOREVER !

 

[Akane]

Little needle type nails are the sign of a fairly young pig. As they get older their nails steadily get thicker. Eventually they will get a blunt end if you trim them properly. If you don't trim them they start to curl since the thicker they get the less easily they will wear or break. Some people put bricks or rough stone under the water bottle or set pellet dishes up on it. It helps wear down the nails naturally so a little less trimming is required and if placed under the water bottle the brick will absorb just enough water to keep a leaky bottle from getting the bedding wet.