any guinea pig money saving tips?

top_drawer_2

They are gorgeous!! How can you describe him as looking like a bogbrush?!?! thats so not cute (white pointy spikes encrusted with brown bits) and he so is gorgeous!!

I have put some new things into mines cage yesterday and they were so happy!! I got them a Hay ball for the hay which they are now banging against the cage ... a mesh wooden ball which they nudge around the cage trying to get theyre teeth into it, a chubb tunnel which they have been chasing each other in and out of all night and a litter tray in hope they'll do their business in it and keep the cage looking verging on acceptably clean.... Augustus seems to have misunderstood what I told them last night and is asleep in it at the moment!

TD

amy104

Wood shavings shouldn't be used for piggies as it can cause respitory problems. If you have room to store Auboise or Megazorb which are horse beddings are great and work out cheaper because you are buying in bulk. I always use plenty of hay for bedding - their diet should be 75% hay and they go love to snuggke and munch at the same time.

A little tip for cage cleaning - white vinegar is fab. Eats through and urine stains.

You are wasting your money adding vit c to the water as it deteriorates very rapidly in water and light, also as your piggy drinks varying amount of water there is no way of telling how much they are getting. A good piggy food will be suplimented with Vit C anyway. I recommend nuggets rather than muslie as it prevents selective feeding. If you are worried about Vit C still brocolli and yellow bell pepper are excellent sources.

The best toy is an empty cardboard box with holes cut out. Piggies love places to hide. You can also stuff empty loo rolls with hay and herbs.

If you have specific questions there is plenty of excellent advise on the guinea pig forum which i believe people have already given you the link. If you just fancy a read then http://www.guinealynx.info/ is also good.

amy104

Could be fungal or parasitic.

http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/fungal.html
http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/parasitic.html

You can also buy excellent guinea pig products from the Gorgeous Guineas site which can be used regularly to prevent skin conditions and also to treat. Manuka and neem is a good one. This is not an alternative to a good vet though, always seek their advice first.

http://www.gorgeousguineas.co.uk/p/category/0509067949-Shampoos/

pug_in_a_bed

I've two boars, Martin and Bert. Theyve had some fighting problems in the last few months which seem to have got worse. A few weeks ago, Martin had to have stitches under his front leg where bert had caught him in a row with his claws (always trimmed!). Martin is the bigger dominant one but he always comes off worse, just dont think he is as quick or as good a fighter as Bertie.

They've been neutured as a last resort although I know with pigs this rarely helps. Anyway, have had another row today, and Martin has lost his two front teeth and his poor gums are a bit of a mess Rang the emergency vet who has yet to call back after 90 mins and two reminders :mad:. Ive given him a little of the pain killer left from his neutuering which seems to have settled him down, and he's having a snooze and a drink now. Lots of blood and yukky bits.

So I think now, its time for Berty to leave us ~(had Martin 18 months and Bert since Jan 09), have got a good home for him to go to but still sad:(

I know Martin needs a friend, will he fight with a girl though? Will I have to go through all this again? I know I could perservere for a few more months till Bert is totally out of puberty but I think they must both be stressed out. Martin threatens Bert and dominates him, so Bert is really only getting his own back from feeling threatened but its not got better - this is the worst injury yet though.

tru

How bad are his gums? They might not be as bad as they look. If Martin will let you - you'll need someone to help you - try carefully rinsing his mouth out so you can see the damage. If you hear nothing from the vet tonight, take him in the morning. As he's drinking, he'll probably be OK but best to check him out. I wouldn't worry about his teeth, they grow back quickly. Two of my pigs have lost teeth and they've grown back after a couple of weeks, though we had to chop the food up. Have you ever tried to chop up guinea nuggets? They ping all over the kitchen You'll probably need to hand-feed him for a couple of days, but he'll soon learn to scoop up food with his bottom teeth.

We have 3 boars (aged 14 months) living together (brothers). Timmy is the runt, but when he gets annoyed he's really nasty. Rambo finally fought back a couple of weeks ago and left Tim with a couple of 1cm wounds where he'd bitten him. They were gaping open but the vet said to just clean them and they'll heal really quickly, which they did - a couple of days later they'd scabbed over and you can't find the scars now. Sorry, I'm rambling now

Each time one of the pigs is naughty, he gets put into another cage (we have a spare small one) for a couple of hours. They soon learn, and the time between the fights gets longer.

I've never intoduced a new pig to an older one, so can't help with that. There's a few pig owners on here, they'll be able to help you a bit more.

GUINEA LYNX is a great site for info

breezerockz

i used to work in a petshop, i did gain qualifications, as i didn't want to give out bad advise,
if i sold two boys together they would have to be brothers, and young. i would never recommend putting males together other than young brothers.

i hope your piggy recovers.

Rummer

I have a small group of guinea pigs and a few weeks ago one took ill so we took her to the vets straight away. Although she was clearly ill the vet gave a through examination but could find no obvious cause for illness. We followed the vets advice to the letter but the next day both her and another of the pigs died. Then another two started showing the same symptoms - weight loss and hair loss and again we followed the advice and I have come home today to find one of them has died. I am just devastated that they have gone. I have complete faith in the vet and their advice I just don't know what is causing this. Just wanted to share because no one else I know really gets the whole pet ownership thing.

clutterydrawer

Oh no, I'm so sorry It's horrific enough losing one pet, losing several must be hell.

I know you must be feeling really powerless right now but please take comfort in the fact that they spent their time here safe and well loved. x

Rummer

I am just terrified that more of them will die.

anna_conda

That's a real shame for you. Could you phone the vet again and ask if he could do some sort of post mortem (sorry that sounds quite melodramatic!) They are dying of something which sounds catching, and obviously the vet could not spot that with an 'ordinary' examination.

Just a thought that it might save your other piggies.