any guinea pig money saving tips?

Rummer

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I can just imagine you fighting with a guinea pig! It reminded me of our cat who would go wild for a brussel sprout, he would sneak in while you were preparing them snatch one and make a run for it. I swear he would have had your arm off if you tried to get it back off him!

gettingready

Oh, remember a year when I had 5 cats at home and every moring had to pick up ALL decorations from the Xmas Tree off the floor.......

Give the guinea pigs a cuddle from me, luve them little creatures LOL

pug_in_a_bed

They never seem to do wees out the cage, and only do them in one spot in the cage, theyve never even done one on my lap. Nuggets are ok if they are running around as you can just pick them up , i dust buster them! They seem very particular about where they do number ones so might be ok :j

top_drawer_2

hi,

They do unfortunately do wee's - they seem to then sit in it as when I pink them up to put them back in their cage their fur is wet ;(( The no2 arent too bad but they keep going behind furniture and its getting to be a chore to get into some of the really awkward positions that they manage to get into to brush them up......

I gave them a corner litter tray when I got them and they do do stuff in it but they also do it in other places in the cage .....

I was hoping I might be able to toilet train them as they seem to have learnt some things very fast this past few days when I used the water spray. I was also wondering if anyone had any suggestions on something I could put on the wooden furniture (tv stand and bureau) just to discourage them from grinding their teeth on them..... My parents dog used to like the wooden decking and they tried alsorts - tabasco sauce (he loved this!!) and washing up liquid (not so keen but still chewing/licked it off until he could get at the wood) were just two. But both of these might be a bit much for the little guys and it might damage the furniture.

Jen

top_drawer_2

hi,

I posted awhile ago in relation to my piggies fighting and it seemed to settle down once I bought them a second bed so they didnt have to sleep together. However, last night they kept me awake again with theyre racket and I have just noticed that one seems to have a mark on his face, there was blood but it has dried now. I have had a look and I dont think its that serious, however there seems to be a lot of kerfuffle going on ........... teeth chattering, and when I held Augustus (who has hurt his face) he was virbrating in his body, thats the only way to discribe it really!!

I am especially worried as I am going away today until tommorrow (going home to parents overnight for a meal) and I'm worried what could happen when I am gone.

Jen

neveah

hi we have 2 male guinea pigs as well and although they chatter and vibrate they dont fight as yet . no wonder you are worried .the only thing i can think to give you peace of mind is a seperate cage for the min ..sorry i cant be of more help nev x

amy104

If they have drawn blood you must seperate them. Try a trial seperation with a mesh divider, sometimes a few hours time out can help calm things down. Don't leave it too long before you try them together again.

It might be an idea to get both checked by the vet.

How much space do they have?

beachbeth

As Amy104 said, you must separate them. Sometimes, even guineapigs that have grown up together can start to fight (they have different personalities too and don't always like each other!). However, we had two placid, grownup males that we put together and they were fine despite never having met before. Sometimes its just a question of different personalities and you can't make them like each other.

top_drawer_2

hi again everyone,

I cant be sure the mark on the piggies face wasnt caused by him scratching his face. I could look at separating them for a few hours ... one would have to come in the lounge with me for awhile while the other stays in the cage for a bit. The cage is a 4 ft by 2 ft one and they have a tent thing, an igloo, a hay ball, 2 dishes and a wood thing (theyre supposed to chew it but dont seem too much). Ive also got them a second water bottle and a hay rack too.

They survived the 24 hrs without me and yesterday together but they are still scrapping. Last night I woke up for the loo at about 4am and noticed they seemed to be short on food so to prevent any argument I added a handful to each bowl. I had just got back into bed and there was a kerfuffle!!

I have just been sat watching them and what it seems to be is one going to bite/attack the other and then the other trying to get away..... this morning they were running around and around the cage ...........

I have been in the pet store this afternoon and they said the final answer may be to have them both nutured. I don't know how much that will be so going to have to enquire .....

No further forward than on Saturday really!!

Jen

Kirri

Hi Jen
Neutering won't help the character of the guinea pig at all, please ignore the pet shop, it doesn't help at all in guinea pigs with aggression, and is only used for birth control matters.

More space, two of everything etc can all help but sometimes 2 pigs just won't get on. Hiding places, ie pigloos, beds etc can just give the dominant pig something else to be dominant about.

You could try increasing the cage size, I guess these are indoor pigs - have you seen the Cavy Cages website? You can make a cage (with shelving grids and correx, so quite cheap) any size or shape and could add a second floor so the less dominant pig has somewhere to go to get away. Ultimately you may still have to put a divider between these two if that doesn't help but these home made cages are ideal for that.

How old are the pigs now, are they just starting to become 'teenagers' at all?