Guinea pigs mse style

Merv987

I'll check out some rescue places. :-)

questionss

We used AstroTurf to line the cage. It's really good for guineas and stops them getting pressure sores or abrasions on their hocks.
We had loads of hay too and a litter tray in one corner.

mickeymouse303

We recently adopted a guinea pig as one of ours died. We thought about going to a rescue centre but then were warned abiut the less 'official' centres being a risk for ring worm. The one that we got had been ill but had had free unlimited access to the inhouse vets. He'd never had a home, just outgrown the normal guineas for sale due to being ill. Nevertheless, he's very friendly and we hvae no issues with handling or any fights.

teddysmum

krlyr wrote: »

Even in a small petshop, you're still likely to get the issue of not sourcing from really reputable breeders - it's just the nature of things, a good breeder will want to choose who they home their animals to, and they can't do that if they've sold them on to a petshop.

I went into a small petshop a couple of years ago and noticed that they had male and female hamsters in the same tank.


The man in charge said he had no idea how to sex them and didn't realise that they could breed (in this case with siblings as the litter was bought from someone whose female produced after purchase) and didn't dare handle them, so I ended up separating them for him.

PasturesNew

Don't use paper from a shredder, the sharp edges can cut their little feeties.

Never feed them potato peelings, they're poisonous (as my friend found out when he threw his into the hutch).

VeGGie-STyLe

I have my guinea pig on towels and/or fleece. Started out using woodshavings but I was having to hoover my flat every day, and because guinea pigs bodies are low to the ground, they were getting stuck up his bum and in his willy!

Saves money on buying bedding. Just have to do one extra wash per week.

I am not even slightly MSE when it comes to food..... he is so spoilt. Parsley, kale, baby leaf salad, tenderstem broccoli, etc. He eats better than I do.

Check out http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk. It's a nice little community for GP owners, with lots of helpful info.

bouicca21

We used to have sawdust (pet quality) over newspaper. We put the newspaper in so that we could redo the toilet corner more regularly than the rest of hutch.

As pointed out it is important to be sure that wood shavings/sawdust are suitable for pets.

krlyr

bouicca21 wrote: »

We used to have sawdust (pet quality) over newspaper. We put the newspaper in so that we could redo the toilet corner more regularly than the rest of hutch.

As pointed out it is important to be sure that wood shavings/sawdust are suitable for pets.

Even many of the shavings for pets aren't really suitable - it's to do with if they're hardwood or softwood and whether they're kiln-dried etc. which can eradicate phenols. But even then, they make a lot of dust (and I'd never use sawdust itself) which must be very irritating to their respiratory systems! I had pet rats too which had very sensitive little lungs and were quite prone to breathing issues, but I still would avoid shavings/sawdust for most small furries.

Rambosmum

This is a fantastic resource and forum.

https://www.guineapigcages.com/

Definitely look up rescues there are loads.

We had 3 piggies, all from RSPCA rescue near us. They need more space than you realise - they really love to run and jump. We used to section off a large bit of kitchen and let them run around for a few hours a day, they loved it.]

They are a great dustbin for veg peelings- (not iceberg lettuce or potatoes).

HappyMJ

Rambosmum wrote: »

This is a fantastic resource and forum.

https://www.guineapigcages.com/

Definitely look up rescues there are loads.

We had 3 piggies, all from RSPCA rescue near us. They need more space than you realise - they really love to run and jump. We used to section off a large bit of kitchen and let them run around for a few hours a day, they loved it.]

They are a great dustbin for veg peelings- (not iceberg lettuce or potatoes).

Iceberg lettuce is fine it just has no real nutrient content as it's mostly water so it's no good as an essential daily food but if you've got some offcuts then there's no harm throwing a (very) little bit in when you're preparing a salad for yourself. Don't feed it daily. Kale is much better as a daily food.