A Few Questions.... (please Look) :)

[PistachioPiggy]

1. How do I ensure that my guinea pigs get the right amount of pellets/veg e.g one is being a bit greedy
2. What kind of fleece is best
3. Is laptime necessary every day? (I will be doing floortime everyday)
4. Is it worth litter training?
5. Lastly, how often do i feed forage? e.g dried forage from woodlands (that type of stuff)

Also if you have some recommended items you could list me (or links) that would be awesome xx

 

[Galaxy&nibbles]

1. How do I ensure that my guinea pigs get the right amount of pellets/veg e.g one is being a bit greedy
2. What kind of fleece is best
3. Is laptime necessary every day? (I will be doing floortime everyday)
4. Is it worth litter training?
5. Lastly, how often do i feed forage? e.g dried forage from woodlands (that type of stuff)

Also if you have some recommended items you could list me (or links) that would be awesome xx

1- hay is unlimited, pellets I'd go by what it says on the pack and veg is one cup per day per piggie.
2- I've only got 2 types, a sofa throw kind (not fluffy) and a short cheep like fleece. I can't say I find either better than the other.
3- I don't know if it's necessary, but I have mine out every day.
4- I can't answer about litter training, mine aren't and it's not a problem.
5- I think forage can just be mixed in to the hay. I don't know what apart from dandelions and I think stinging nettles. I don't give it myself as would be scared of picking the wrong thing. I hope someone more helpful will come along soon!

 

[PistachioPiggy]

Thanks xx

 

[Wiebke]

1) Feed pellets and veg in smaller portions rather twice a day (so there are no leftovers) and in bowls that are at least one body length apart.
2) Antipil microfleece wicks best and stays driest in my experience. it is not the cheapest (about £6 per 100x150cm), but it will last you for years.
3) Whether you want lap time every day is up to and up to your piggies. I don't cuddle with all of mine, but I make sure that I interact with each of them.
4) Toilet training in my experience is not working. Most piggies have their peeing corners, though, so if you place a shallow hay tray under a hay rack, your piggies will use that as a toilet and at least do a good part of their peeing there.
5) You can give a pinch per piggy as a special treat every day. it comes in handy for training them to learn some daily rituals.

 

[Maddykins]

For fleece, I just use really cheapo pet blankets from B&M and Poundland. They last quite awhile and when they get grotty they're really cheap to replace anyway so it's not a big deal. They are nice and soft and because they're so cheap I'm not bothered about them getting hay all over the place and so on. As long as the pigs are happy so am I. They get a full cage clean-out every four days.

Laptime is up to you, they need interacting with every day but whether you want to hold them depends on what you and your pigs like. I usually have laptime with my pigs every other day for 5-15 minutes (depends how they are feeling at the time), but neither of my pigs are cuddly or really enjoy it. It's mainly just so they are used to being handled and not terrified.

I've never tried to litter train my pigs but don't think it would work if I did. They pee mostly in corners, I usually change the puppypads in the corners that are wet every two days.

I only feed a bit of forage now and then usually mixed in with hay.

 

[PistachioPiggy]

Thankyou! That was useful xx

For fleece, I just use really cheapo pet blankets from B&M and Poundland. They last quite awhile and when they get grotty they're really cheap to replace anyway so it's not a big deal. They are nice and soft and because they're so cheap I'm not bothered about them getting hay all over the place and so on. As long as the pigs are happy so am I. They get a full cage clean-out every four days.

Laptime is up to you, they need interacting with every day but whether you want to hold them depends on what you and your pigs like. I usually have laptime with my pigs every other day for 5-15 minutes (depends how they are feeling at the time), but neither of my pigs are cuddly or really enjoy it. It's mainly just so they are used to being handled and not terrified.

I've never tried to litter train my pigs but don't think it would work if I did. They pee mostly in corners, I usually change the puppypads in the corners that are wet every two days.

I only feed a bit of forage now and then usually mixed in with hay.

 

[CogGirl]

1. How do I ensure that my guinea pigs get the right amount of pellets/veg e.g one is being a bit greedy
2. What kind of fleece is best
3. Is laptime necessary every day? (I will be doing floortime everyday)
4. Is it worth litter training?
5. Lastly, how often do i feed forage? e.g dried forage from woodlands (that type of stuff)

Also if you have some recommended items you could list me (or links) that would be awesome xx

I've only been a piggy-mama for a fortnight, but:

2) We bought cheap children's blankets from Asda, which are brilliant. You need to wash them on hot, with a cup of vinegar, three times before using them to make sure they wick away moisture right, and don't use softener on them.

3) We've not done much laptime with the girls yet (they're still very skittish); I suspect it depends very much on the temperament of the piglet, as some of them aren't keen on being held at all and some are perfectly chill

5) I mix ours in their hay. I also buy the little straw-grass nesting balls they make for gerbils (checking first that they're not a size the girls could get their heads stuck in) and save cardboard toilet tubes (cutting down the sides of them) and stuff them with the forage-stuff or else with long veg (greenbeans, carrot sticks)