Do you guys have info about guinea pig stuff in Belgium?

[Pinby!]

Hi everyone,

I guess the title is a little bit self explanatory

Does anyone else here live in Belgium? I was wondering:

1) which brands are sold there that are good/trusted?
2) which rescues do you know of (in case i decide to get another sow)?

Please, I'll have to ask you not to link to social media, as I don't use social media (I'm the old fashioned sort in that regard).

Thanks!

 

[VickiA]

I’m afraid I don’t know anything about rescues in Belgium. @Wiebke is our specialist with links to European rescues. She’s rather busy at the moment but if she spots this tag she may be able to tell of any rescues she has links with.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

According to the one piggy keeping Facebook friend in Belgium that I have, there aren't any rescues or shelters with guinea pigs in Belgium; you may want to consider whether you can get to one across the border in the Netherlands (I think you can cross the border with a pet without any quarantining but you may need to research any paperwork).

Versele Laga is a leading pellet brand on the Continent and should be easily available in Belgium, too; grain-free Versele Laga Cavia Complete is listed in our nugget chart as a recommended pellet brand. If it is not in the pet shops, you may want to order it online. Nugget Comparison Chart

As to hay, look for good quality timothy, orchard or meadow hay if you can only use pet shops; the nice green stuff. Hay makes at least three quarters of the daily food intake.
If you can only get very stalky timothy hay, then consider getting softer orchard or meadow hay for playing/sleeping in (important for enrichment) and feed the timothy from a fabric hay bag or a rack but make sure that your piggy's head cannot get stuck. Like with bread for humans, piggies do like a bit of variety and all three hay groups can be fed with a good conscience. It is not life-shortening not to feed only timothy hay!
Our hay guide will help you look out for what hay varieties you want look at even without brand recommendations (we have tried to ensure that is works also for members from other countries from around the world as much as possible): A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

C&C grid cages etc. may have to be imported but Zooplus sells traditional cages in larger sizes and much more cheaply online than you will find in any shop. They have a Belgian website. We strongly recommend getting a rabbit cage of 140 or 160 cm length. Guinea pigs are ground ranging animals and need all the space you can give them!
Bestellingen naar België (on their Dutch website)
Here are the direct links to both recommended traditional cages on their Belgian website. If you can inf space for it, please order the larger cage; it really makes a difference for your guinea pigs. The cage can still be delivered to your home irrespective who orders and pays.
Cage Plaza 160 pour lapin et rongeur (price 85 euros for 60 x 160 cm)
Cage Plaza 140 pour lapin et rongeur (price 75 euros for 60 x 140 cm)

Here are examples from our forum members how those cages look furnished and what a difference the size makes: Member Gallery: Commercial Cages (start looking at the gallery from the end rather from the start)

If you are looking for fleece bedding, there may not be any ready-made fleece liners but puppy pads for their favourite peeing spots and/or cheap cotton towels for the non-toiletting areas for the absorbent underlay and a cheap acrylic or polyester bed cover from a place like Primark will work well as the fleece top layer, too. You may need to wash the fleeces 2-3 times with softener-free non bio washing powder first because the softener seals the fabric so the pee would otherwise sit on the surface and not wick through into the absorbent underlayer. Get two of each so you can use one set while you wash the other. More information and care advice on fleece bedding:
A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding

Here is our helpful forum practical starter information collection for new owners, which you may want to bookmark: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners

Please note that all the green links apart from the zooplus ones are to further helpful information on this forum.
If you struggle with ordering a cage online, please ask family or a friend (a friend's relation) to order the cage for you.
All the other recommendations you should be able to get in Belgian shops.

 

[Helen C]

Hey, a fellow belgian! Hello

I know of a few small animals rescues in Wallonia :

Adoption | Paco Cat's & Co (La Louvière)
SOS petits museaux (Orp-le-Grand - [email protected] - they only have a Facebook account, no website)
Les P'tites Bouilles (Pont-à-Celles - [email protected] - again, only a Facebook account)
Most SPA refuges have rabbits and guinea pigs waiting for good homes as well.

I don't have any information on rescues in Flanders, but there might be.

I mostly order their food on Zooplus.be or Zoomalia.be (verse laga pellets are easily found, and I tend to give them several varieties/brands of hay (they love the "Mucki" hay on Zooplus, JR Farm, Timothy hay (I find it on Zoomalia, it's sometimes called foin de fléole/foin de phléole), I've already bought the Hamiform one and they seemed to enjoy it...)

If you're looking for a cavy cage, there's now a site in Belgium (You can also find them on Amazon and Etsy, I believe).
The bigger "traditionnal" cages, ferplast plaza 140 or 160 mentionned by Wiebke, can also be found on Zoomalia or Amazon.

As for bedding, if you decide to go for drybed, I usually order mine from this site.

Hope that helps!

 

[Pinby!]

Hey, a fellow belgian! Hello

I know of a few small animals rescues in Wallonia :

Adoption | Paco Cat's & Co (La Louvière)
SOS petits museaux (Orp-le-Grand - [email protected] - they only have a Facebook account, no website)
Les P'tites Bouilles (Pont-à-Celles - [email protected] - again, only a Facebook account)
Most SPA refuges have rabbits and guinea pigs waiting for good homes as well.

I don't have any information on rescues in Flanders, but there might be.

I mostly order their food on Zooplus.be or Zoomalia.be (verse laga pellets are easily found, and I tend to give them several varieties/brands of hay (they love the "Mucki" hay on Zooplus, JR Farm, Timothy hay (I find it on Zoomalia, it's sometimes called foin de fléole/foin de phléole), I've already bought the Hamiform one and they seemed to enjoy it...)

If you're looking for a cavy cage, there's now a site in Belgium (You can also find them on Amazon and Etsy, I believe).
The bigger "traditionnal" cages, ferplast plaza 140 or 160 mentionned by Wiebke, can also be found on Zoomalia or Amazon.

As for bedding, if you decide to go for drybed, I usually order mine from this site.

Hope that helps!

Hey! Bonjour / Dag!

Thanks for the info Unfortunately, I don't think we're close to any of those places, as we live in Flanders... and we don't have a car! - I actually wanted to get my piggies from the shelter that came up on the news back in October - the one in Limburg - they had like 400 guinea pigs that need a home, but the thing is that, as we'd have to go with public transportation, it'd be between 3 and 5 hours to get there (plus the same amount of time to come back) - mostly because of having to wait in between for trains/busses and having to walk a lot...

That's the website we used! zooplus.nl - we got hay, the verse laga pellets and pea flakes from there. Our c&c cages we got from Pets Gifts, same as the water bottles. Great to know that I can find other kinds of hay on those websites!

With regards to bedding, we're currently using fleece I'd like to get/make some pee pads, though. Do you know where to buy fleece per metre at a good price in Belgium (preferably online)?

 

[Wiebke]

Hey! Bonjour / Dag!

Thanks for the info Unfortunately, I don't think we're close to any of those places, as we live in Flanders... and we don't have a car! - I actually wanted to get my piggies from the shelter that came up on the news back in October - the one in Limburg - they had like 400 guinea pigs that need a home, but the thing is that, as we'd have to go with public transportation, it'd be between 3 and 5 hours to get there (plus the same amount of time to come back) - mostly because of having to wait in between for trains/busses and having to walk a lot...

That's the website we used! zooplus.nl - we got hay, the verse laga pellets and pea flakes from there. Our c&c cages we got from Pets Gifts, same as the water bottles. Great to know that I can find other kinds of hay on those websites!

With regards to bedding, we're currently using fleece I'd like to get/make some pee pads, though. Do you know where to buy fleece per metre at a good price in Belgium (preferably online)?

Rescue access sadly very much depends on your local possibilities. All you can do is give it a try, which is great; but please do not feel bad if it doesn't work out for you.

The best way is to google for polar/micro/non-pill fleece fabric - these are the names that the kind of fleece you are looking for is being sold; you should find providers in your country or the Netherlands. My Belgium friend was able to get polar or micro-fleece for her own cages. There will be online facric wholesalers that sell it by the metre.

This is also the way I source my fleece for the 2 grid deep C&C cages while I find the single bed covers perfect for a 3 grid deep cage.

Alternatively, look for soft acrylic bed covers or baby blankets in a place like Primark shops that sells them very cheaply and use them to make cosies. Look for fleece without textured patterns and check whether it is nice and soft to the feel - piggies are comfort junkies every bit as much as humans!
DIY Tutorials For Making Fleece Liners, Hay Bags And Cosies and sources of materials

 

[Katsycakes]

Hello from across the border in the Netherlands!

You’ve already got some great recommendations but I can also recommend medpets.be (or medpets.nl where I shop). We usually buy Vitakraft Vita Verde Alpenweidehooi for hay (but only the 5kg bags, the 1kg bags are really dusty). We like JR Farm and Esve carrot cottages and hay tunnels and we’ve also been using Kaytee Clean and Cozy paper bedding from Amazon for their kitchen area. Also had great success with Kavee cages shipping to the Netherlands.

We have also found our usual Science Selectives grain free pellets here although much more expensive than in the UK!

 

[Michelleanne]

Hello,

I realise this thread is a bit old, but looking for advice from anyone living in Belgium. Have you come across any guinea pig boarders?
We are trying to go away but I’m struggling to find someone I trust to look after our guinea pigs. We had a wonderful set up in the UK but really struggling to find something here.

Thank you for reading