any guinea pig money saving tips?

MarkyMarkD

Ours were "still young" when they got them - and we chose 2 girls to avoid babies - but they turned out to both be pregnant and soon enough we ended up with 5.

We gave away the boy baby and kept 4 girls throughout their lives. They showed some dominance behaviour to each other, but generally got on pretty well - all huddling up together at bedtime, for example.

Notsosharp

My Gps love the grass I go and pick from the side of the canal (I only have a yard) and they also love bananas with the skin on, apples and spinach. They are not too keen on carrrots (although the rabbit loves them!) Dandelion leaves are always a winner and they are gone as soon as I put them in the hutch. And they eat all the hay I put in thats meant to be for bedding....! I think you can feed them pretty much any veg but don't feed too much stuff like lettuce and tomatoes because it can give them the runs.

I leave the food bowls in so they can eat as and when they like but you have to watch because they can get fat because they will just eat and eat. I don't put vit C in the water and they seem to do fine without it.

lellie

Aww. Yay for Guinea Pigs!

We have two, Fred & Barney. Both rescues, about 6-8 months old when we got them and we've now had them just over a year.

They used to be best friends, but sadly as two (we believe unrelated!) boys they fell out when they hit adolesense. We took them to boarding when on holiday and I believe the presence of girls in other cages might have caused the arguments. One got badly bitten and scratched in a fight and we made the decision to split them. If they just see each other now the chattering of teeth starts and they will try to get at each other, so it's just not worth it.

Don't worry about yours arguing though. Seems like normal behaviour to me. One will always be a bit bossy. If it does get a lot worse and one got hurt though it might be worth splitting for a bit, or at least making sure they can get away from each other having 2 hideaway areas in their cage, but I doubt it will be a problem with two girls. If they start chattering their teeth at each other though then that can be a sign of aggression.

They will be very timid and shy. Maybe forever, but attention will always help. One of ours is a lot quieter and more timid than the other, but actually is handled better. He will sit quite calmly. The other is more bold and noisy in his cage and always seems less scared, but he doesn't like being picked up so much and will run a mile to get away from you. If you do get him he is a bit stroppy and will try to head butt you, although sometimes he softens a little after a cuddle.

As for other tips:

Food:
We feed our pigs Super Guinea Excel - orange bags. Pellets are good as they discourage selective feeding ensuring they get a balanced diet. They have those, hay and water all the time.

They also get their daily veg every evening. I'm surprised yours don't like peppers.. Try again. They can take a while to get used to foods. Carrots are good - get whole ones with the tops if you can - they love them! Spinach, lettuce (not iceburg!! Cos/Romaine, Red Little Gems and other dark coloured lettuce are good), spring greens, curly kale, dandelion leaves and other greens all go down well. Brocolli stalk is more popular than the head, which is good for us as they eat the scraps! Celery (and the leaves) is popular as the strong smell attracts them but cut very short as the stringy bits can get wound around the gut and make them poorly if too long. You get the idea.. they like their veg! Just DON'T feed them onions or mushrooms!

The best food in the world for guinea pigs seems to be the outer husks of fresh sweetcorn. You shouldn't feed them too much as it's very fattening, but good if one isn't eating too well or feeling a bit under the weather. Nice as an occasional treat too - funny to watch them as they will dig it out of all their other food and eat it so quickly you'll never believe it until you see it!

Vets, Mites & Rescue:
Good move to book yours into the vets. Especially if you suspect mites - antibiotics should clear it up though and it's not too expensive. You don't want it to get worse or spread to the other one.

Ears being chewed is quite normal in overcrowded conditions and will heal, but some anti-biotics might be recommended just to help them along the way.

You said they were in crowded conditions when you got them. Did you buy them? I'd suggest you give your nearest rescue a bit of a tip off and see what they think.

Hmm what else can I say..

Housing & Cages:

Cages - ours have an indoor homemade cage, bedded out with ikea fleece blankets, with newspaper underneath. I'll try and get a pic online and post it if you like. It's on two tiers and quite large, so lots of space to run around.

They also have 2 small indoor cages we use for travel - so we can take them with us to relatives or on short weekend trips, rather than pay for boarding and they have runs for the lawn too.

Ours are semi-litter trained now. Not always good boys, but more often than not, which makes it a bit tidier and easier. We use "back 2 nature" pet bedding, which they like more than the wooden GP litter. I know some keepers that have perfectly trained pigs and ours are improving, but it's taking time.


So yeah.. our guinea pigs are spoilt incase you can't tell! hehe!

tr3mor

lellie wrote: »

Fred & Barney.

You forgot their outdoor runs on the grass. Radio 3. Bathtime. Squeaking like crazy when the hear the fridge door creak. Etc...

Hello...



Dora, whereabouts in Cheshire are you? If you're local you could pop round for a cup of tea and to see our piggy palace!

lellie

tr3mor wrote: »

You forgot their outdoor runs on the grass. Radio 3. Bathtime. Squeaking like crazy when the hear the fridge door creak. Etc...

Hello...

*pic of fred & barney*

Dora, whereabouts in Cheshire are you? If you're local you could pop round for a cup of tea and to see our piggy palace!

Hehe, That was fred and barney when they were still friends. Fred is the grey and white one. Barney the fluffy one. They're a bit (lot!) fatter now and wouldn't sit next to each other like that anymore without trying to kill each other!! Silly pigs.

Radio 3 - Guinea pigs like music. It can calm them down. Light classical stuff on radio 3 can go down well, although we find when they're in the car they're quite happy with anything that's vaguely melodic/rhythmic and not too unexpected or loud!

Bathtime - Piggies seem to hate baths. Or at least one of ours does. They do need occasional washes, especially if they have been in the sun as the oil in their fur can get quite greasy. Barney, being the white fluffy one can get quite grubby looking, so will need a bit of a wash.

We use a small stacking box, set in our bath to catch splashes. We wash them with guinea pig shampoo and warm water. They can swim naturally, so you shouldn't worry too much about them, but don't make it too deep. They don't mind just the water so much, but do seem to hate being lathered and rinsed! Barney will make a racket and will try and jump out of the box, so it can take 2 people to do it properly. One to hold him still and other to rinse him off!

They like being towel dried and cuddled afterwards though. We use the hairdryer on a low heat to get them nice and warm and dry quickly.

Fridge Door - ours being in the kitchen are used to the sound of the fridge door. No matter what time of day it is, if they hear that they go mad. They make a racket and expect you to feed them. They've got very good at telling you what they want too - will go stomp in the correct food bowl or sit next to the hay rack squeeking until it is full!

dora37

Wow! Thanks for all your tips.

We have them indoors in a Pink Cage (!) at the moment and will go out next spring in a Wooden Hutch with run beneath.

I have ordered a playpen for them to do their exercise in.

They have shredded paper in their 'bedroom', newspaper and aubiose (absorbent horse bedding) in the rest of the cage and hay for eating - does that sound alright?

dora37

lellie wrote: »

Ears being chewed is quite normal in overcrowded conditions and will heal, but some anti-biotics might be recommended just to help them along the way.

You said they were in crowded conditions when you got them. Did you buy them? I'd suggest you give your nearest rescue a bit of a tip off and see what they think.

We had tried a couple of rescues but didn't have any girl babies; so I was directed to a site called Preloved (which I had never heard of) where I saw some advertised not too far from where I live.

The person was selling hers due to work commitments.......when we went round there, there were about 6 different hutches with about 9 or 10 in each, there was also a crate on a garden table with some in and she also had some very young babies in the house (didn't go inside, so do not know if there were anymore). Some of the runs had black plastic over presumably to stop the rain and they were all situated on the grass.

The lady said they were normally in the shed but they were having a sort out. What surprised me was the amount in each hutch, the fact they weren't separated and that some looked to have scars/mites? near to their eyes.

She had taken a new job and I think she had become a little overwhelmed time wise - as there are so many.

At one point I didn't know whether we should just walk away, however we did pick 2 and I think she realised the condition of them and didn't charge us...so in a way we feel we have rescued them.

lellie

dora37 wrote: »

We had tried a couple of rescues but didn't have any girl babies; so I was directed to a site called Preloved (which I had never heard of) where I saw some advertised not too far from where I live.

The person was selling hers due to work commitments.......when we went round there, there were about 6 different hutches with about 9 or 10 in each, there was also a crate on a garden table with some in and she also had some very young babies in the house (didn't go inside, so do not know if there were anymore). Some of the runs had black plastic over presumably to stop the rain and they were all situated on the grass.

The lady said they were normally in the shed but they were having a sort out. What surprised me was the amount in each hutch, the fact they weren't separated and that some looked to have scars/mites? near to their eyes.

She had taken a new job and I think she had become a little overwhelmed time wise - as there are so many.

At one point I didn't know whether we should just walk away, however we did pick 2 and I think she realised the condition of them and didn't charge us...so in a way we feel we have rescued them.

My mention of the rescue wasn't really about contacting a rescue to source your own pigs (now that you have two I suspect you don't want anymore just yet!) but for ensuring the other poor piggles are looked after. I'm glad that you rescued these two though - definitely sounds like they needed it.

It doesn't sound like the woman who was selling them is looking after them very well. I assume she is breeding and if she's overlooking mites I'd be worried about the conditions of all of the others. How many more poor pigs is she bringing into the world? Are they all going to end up unloved and poorly?

It may even be worth a tip off (I believe you can do this anonymously if you like) to the local RSPCA just to get it checked out. They might decide they're okay, but they might also help her get them rehomed and looked after quicker.

MarkyMarkD

She does sound like she's either mad or a breeder who's just pretending she's giving up. But then, given that she didn't charge you, it's hard to tell.

dora37

lellie wrote: »

My mention of the rescue wasn't really about contacting a rescue to source your own pigs (now that you have two I suspect you don't want anymore just yet!) but for ensuring the other poor piggles are looked after. I'm glad that you rescued these two though - definitely sounds like they needed it.

It doesn't sound like the woman who was selling them is looking after them very well. I assume she is breeding and if she's overlooking mites I'd be worried about the conditions of all of the others. How many more poor pigs is she bringing into the world? Are they all going to end up unloved and poorly?

It may even be worth a tip off (I believe you can do this anonymously if you like) to the local RSPCA just to get it checked out. They might decide they're okay, but they might also help her get them rehomed and looked after quicker.

I think I will wait until we have been to the vets in the morning to see what condition the vet thinks our 2 are in and then I will decide whether to contact the RSPCA.