Hello, New and Got Questions :)

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flm1977

Hi there, someone recommended me this forum.

I inherited a guinea pig 2 weeks ago from a colleague of my husband. Have never had a guinea pig before, but am absolutely loving him to bits. But obviously learning as we go.

He is approx 1yr old. When we got him he had just finished antibiotics because he was in a hutch with another guinea pig and they fought and he had bad bites. So they were seperated and now he is on his own with us (his previous owners moved house so had no room for him).
We took him to the vets a week ago because he had a really dry patch on his back. Vet gave him some medicine on his back, said it could be mites but he really wasn't sure. We have to go back next week and if not cleared then he's going to get a bath?

Anyways, we've discovered he likes carrot tops, carrots, brocolli stems, apples (prefers yellow to red). Doesn't like bell peppers of any colour. Will try other things out with him as we go along, I've been looking online at various places for things to feed him. He LOVES fleece blankets and loves to sit snuggled up in my son's dressing gown on my chest wtaching TV.

He doesn't seem to eat the hay we give him. What kind should I be looking for? We've tried some with peppermint in it and some with dandelion in it, my husband reckons we need plain hay? Nearest petshops we have is Acorn or pets at home.

4 main questions are:
1. what way to stroke them/pet them, tickle them etc to make then make a noise. I've only managed to get him to make a noise once. He's very quiet! Any time I try something he just looks at me as if to say 'what on earth are you doing?'

2. How can you tell the difference between a bad vibration and a good vibration. LOL this all sounds rude but I'm sure you know what I mean.

3. When I put him in the run in the garden, or let him run about in the livingroom, he doesn't move all that much. I put a cardboard box in the run which he generally just sits in, comes out for a few nibbles of grass and goes back in again. In the livingroom, he just goes and sits under the coffee table (where no one can actually reach him) and doesn't move! I don't like the thought of him in his hutch all day but is there any point in taking him out/inside if he's not going to move either?

Is this normal or have we inherited a quiet lazy piggie or is he not used to us yet or what?

4. And should be get another piggie to keep him company? I'm scared that if they fight, I don't have room to keep 2 seperate guinea pigs. But I don't want him to be lonely either. If we get another one, should he be older or younger?

lots of questions, hoping someone can answer :)

Fay
 
Hello and welcome!

Congratulations on inheriting your piggie...i'm sure you'll have a wonderful time together!

You sound like a very good mum already to me, you're doing all the right things so far as far as i can tell. I've only had my piggies two weeks, and its still very much trial and error with the food as to what they'll eat and what they won't. Just keep trying lots of things, variety is best! If you're not sure which foods are ok and which aren't go into the Shopping List thread (I think its in the food forum?) and that has a very comprehensive list of foods to use and to avoid!

I wouldn't be too concerned about him being quiet. He is just getting used to you! Mine don't make any noise at all at the mo when i stroke them. We only do for short periods at a time, as i don't like to worry them. But increase the contact daily and as he gets to know you he'll soon start to chatter away happily! Listening for the dove like sounds...thats good...and its very cute!

Guinea pigs are prey animals, so do get startled easily. the like the safety of enclosed home...whether it be a cut out shoe box or a wooden hut. Also get him a Chube (from Pets at home) mine love ours. Just give him time to get used to his environment and he'll soon be running around...

As for getting a friend. I would say yes, once he has settled in a bit. Guineas are very sociable creatures and tend to go a bit dotty on their own. Other more experienced people on here will be able to advise you on what and how to pair up with another guinea..

Keep up the good work...i;m sure it will pay off!

Oh, and post a piccie :smitten: :smitten:
 
Firstly congrats on your new piggy ;) Sounds like you're having great fun and have already learnt a lot your self :D

As for the mites/bath - have a look on the Gorgeous Guineas website, they have some great shampoo which should get rid of them. If your not sure what to get email the owner, she's really friendly and helpful ;) I personally just feed 'plain' hay - I get it from a local feed shop which sells horse food and stuff like that. Do you have one of those near by? Some people buy it from farms also. PAH do sell hay but it's usually very dusty and 'bitty' and not that nice - but if it's all you can get and he likes it it's better than nothing. You can also buy hay online, but I'll wait for someone else to link you to a good website because I've never bought any off the internet.

Sometimes certain piggies are just generally very shy and quiet and don't talk much, my piggies hardly ever make a noise when I'm stroking them.

Not sure what you mean about the vibrations lol.

When he is in the run or in the living room he is probably not moving about much because it's a big open space and he's scared - put tubes, various places to hide, toys and hay and things around, he should venture out soon - some guineas are shy too.

I'm not sure on the friend - I personally think all guineas should have a friend but it really just depends I guess. Maybe you could get him neutered and get him a girlfriend, or maybe a spayed girlfriend without him being neutered? You could also attempt a very young male with him.
 
hiya! welcome ! :D
sounds like you're a great mummy already!
i would definitely get him a friend, probably either get him neutered and fing him a girlie friend or find him a girlie friend that has been spayed, it can be quite difficult introducing two different boars and they often fight and damage each other.however, sometimes it can work :)
With the mites i would get some shampoos, melts and possibly lotion from Gorgeous Guineas http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/products.html Vets often misdiagnose/ aren't sure on piggy skin problems, so the identification pages should help. :)
As the others have said don't be worried about him not being noisy, he just needs to settle in and he should be fine. Try not to pick him up from above as thats how some predators would catch them in the wild. as for stroking, always go the way their hair grows, they hate it being ruffled. You'll soon find out what they do and don't like. mine like their chins and necks being rubbed, and head scratching and general stroking, they don't like me going near their tummys must feel threatened. :o
As for vibrations, it's hard to explain, but if they sort of rummble thats not good they also make a sort of u u u u u noise which means i don't like that. good vibrations are wheeking cooing and almost sort of purring i think. :-\
He's probably a bit scared when he's out, so give him time, don't make sudden movements or loud noises and give him some hidy holes and he'll soon get used to it.
With the hay thing, try him with plain hay, he might like it better, hay is an essential part of the diet so make sure he gets some good qulity stuff. as for Pets @ home, the hay there is a bit :P in my opinion. it's dusty, and cut really short, not good quality. i don't have an acorn near me so i can't comment. are there any local farms near you that sell bales/bags, thats how i get mine. Just make sure the hay is not dusty, mouldy and is sweet smelling and it should be fine.
Trying out different foods is a good way of finding out what he likes, and you'll soon know. Most of our shopping is for them ::)
Mine love snuggling in blankets too :smitten:
Well done for a great start. Keep us posted on his progress, hope he is better soon and happy piggy keeping.! :smitten: :smitten:
P.S sorry for the loooooooooooooooooooong post! ;D and can we see some piccies!
 
Thank you sooo much for your replies :)
I will get a piccie of him once I can get a good one, so far the flash just seems to bounce off his eyes and he looks scary in the photos lol.

I had a look on gorgeous guineas and to be honest, the identification bit, he fits both fungal and parasitic so I've no idea. Will ask the vet what he is bathing him in next week and will get some bits and pieces from gorgeous guineas.

I've no idea on where to get hay from a farmer...eeeek! But sure I can find something. A friend's mum has guinea pigs so might ask her where she gets hers from.

I suggested to my husband about getting our piggie neutered and well I'm sure you can imagine his response ::) think I'll need to work on him, I imagine getting him (our piggie that is not my husband) neutered would be easier than finding a female that has been spayed already. But I know he too would like another piggie. We were just saying the other day that if we had known, we'd have gotten a guinea pig as a first pet rather than a hamster (not that I didn't love my hammie too)
But i did say if we have two, how do you manage to love them both equally...lol like having children!

thank you so much for your help :)
Off to take him out his hutch and give him a wee cuddle :)
 
Hi,

If you email Chrissie at gg she will advise you which products would be best.

As for neutering,I really do not advise this,it is putting a healthy piggy through unnecesary surgery with all ites risks.There have been some tradegies on this forum lately with neutered pigs.You may be able to get a spayed sow from a rescue,but you could get another boar.Again go to a rescue and take your piggy with you,they will try and find a boar of the right temperament.
 
Hi, and welcome :)

Your guinea must eat hay as you know :) Mine aren't keen on the Herbal Hay, but do like the Meadow Hay. Hay from farms is not good quality at the moment (round here anyways!) because of the weather and lack of harvest. Timothy Hay (Second Cut) is a great favourite but you don't need anything fancy just some good hay, I would just keep trying different products until you find one he likes.

Burgess Forage/Readigrass are favourites too and as good as hay temporarily but you need to find hay :)

Sounds like he needs a Magnificent Melt from Gorgeous Guineas- the CocoNeem one would be good :)

Yes to a friend, where are you? If you don't know a good guinea pig vet then I wouldn't advise getting him castrated. I have had four successfully castrated recently and I'm sure others have too but you will only read about the bad ones, which is good because you know the other outcome- a happy boar that can live with sows is the obvious one :)
If you don't have room to seperate them if they fight what will you do? Its quite possible that they will which would leave you in the same boat (sorry to be negative :) )

Where are you? Maybe we could help find a rescue.
 
flm1977 said:
4 main questions are:
1. what way to stroke them/pet them, tickle them etc to make then make a noise. I've only managed to get him to make a noise once. He's very quiet! Any time I try something he just looks at me as if to say 'what on earth are you doing?'

2. How can you tell the difference between a bad vibration and a good vibration. LOL this all sounds rude but I'm sure you know what I mean.

3. When I put him in the run in the garden, or let him run about in the livingroom, he doesn't move all that much. I put a cardboard box in the run which he generally just sits in, comes out for a few nibbles of grass and goes back in again. In the livingroom, he just goes and sits under the coffee table (where no one can actually reach him) and doesn't move! I don't like the thought of him in his hutch all day but is there any point in taking him out/inside if he's not going to move either?

Is this normal or have we inherited a quiet lazy piggie or is he not used to us yet or what?

4. And should be get another piggie to keep him company? I'm scared that if they fight, I don't have room to keep 2 seperate guinea pigs. But I don't want him to be lonely either. If we get another one, should he be older or younger?

lots of questions, hoping someone can answer :)

Fay
Click to expand...
1) It is purely down to the pig. My dandylion will pur when you stroke her but my Acorah will just sit there until she gets bored and mooches off elsewhere. Just fuss your piggy as you feel like and you'll know if your piggy doesn't like it.

2) Usually by what they're doing as well.

3) Most peoples piggies I've met online are the same and will go someplace and stay there. But it's not a waste it's a change for your piggy and the freedom to run if he wants to or not to. My Acorah used to sit under my shelves and only come out to get under your feet. As his confidence grows you may find that he comes out more. I know Dandylion used to run and hide in the smallest place possable, but now she wanders around like the queen of the flat.

4) As your male has already been with another male and faught, and I don't know any two males that haven't become unbonded with age, I'd say if you do get him a friend make it a girl and if you don't spend a lot of time with him. Piggies are social creatures.
 
Hi & welcome Fay :)

They sell hay in supermarkets. Mine enjoy it & I often get it for them from there. Do always make sure he has hay to chomp on.

Mine are indoor pigs, I let them out for their run in the passage upstairs (our living room is upstairs.) I have old towels & sheets going all along the length of the passageway by the back wall as this is where they lie & pee & poo! There is a table & a cage here also which they like to lie under, but i have various tubes down for them to go through. When I get them out in the morning for their run I also give them their veggies for breakfast. But what I do is, leave them to run about abit first before I go fetch their breakfast otherwise they eat it & just lie down! This way they get to have a sniff & nose about. Once he gets to know the routine you have with him you may find he will squeek happily when he hears you go to the fridge or hears a bag rustling. :)

They do like company of their own kind. If you contact your local rescues you should be able to take him along & they will introduce them & see how it goes. This is what I did as my Frank died in April leaving Murran on his own. Now Murran (age 4) has a new piggie pal called Gilbert (age approx 3) & all is well. They hit it off straight away but it's all down to the personalities of the pigs in question. They either need to sort out who is going to be top pig, or as in the case with my Murran & Gilbert, neither of them is worried about being top pig they are both laid back boys & just like each others company.

I have to agree with Mary when it comes to neutering. Of course in most cases all is well with this operation but it depends if you want to take the risk or not.

Can't help you with the bathing question as I've not ever needed to bath my piggies but this Gorgeous Guinea shampoo sounds just the job O0
 
ooo more replies. wow eveyrone is really friendly nad helpful.
A magnificent melt sounds good...do they do adult ones too? LOL

I'm in Aberdeen, Scotland. Have googled for recuse centres, one has come up with 2 guinea pigs! LOL but I don't have room for 3 piggies.

Maybe a look in the yellow pages would help too.
 
ooo success!
I decided to put him in the hallway instead of the livingroom today, it is narrow and much smaller.
Put in a towel with some hay, grass,his food bowl, his cardboard box that I normally put in his run outside and a fleece blanket.
Cue one very happy piggie! Lots of happy squeaks and he bounced a couple of times.
So funny to see him toddle about :)

We have glass paned doors on the livingroom and kitchen, so he can stay in the hall and my kids can stay in the livingroom watching him through the door, which keeps them happy and piggie not scared with them being noisy.
My daughter sat in the hallway with him and he came and pinched some of her apple :D
 
Put Thistle Cavies into search, Wendi has lots of deserving pigs at the moment and loads of good advice. Ask about a good vet too :)
 
Yay! 'bouncing' is good! My girls like to run about in the back passage between the garden and garage at our house and I leave a few things about that they can hide under and some of their fav foods as treats hidden about the place. Maybe the smaller space is less daunting, or maybe he is growing more confident.
Two of my girls and one of the boys like to be tickled under their chin and this is a good way to see if they trust you enough to expose their neck. Laska even makes a sweet bubbly sound when she is getting tickled.
Also all my pigs seem to be scared of the T.V and prefer to be in another room or outside. Its good for them to have a change of scenery even if they don't feel like doing much!
Good luck, hope you will all be very happy together! :)
 
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