help and advice for newbie please...

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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hiya :)p

i'm getting my first guinea pig on thursday evening. :) he's coming from a rescue centre and has had two unsuccessful bondings with other boars - they bullied him. so he has been neutered and the rescue thinks he might bond with a sow, or he might be ok living in a home with loads of love and attention. i can give that as i am home all day everyday, but i will be looking for a friend for him when he has settled as i think he should have one.

so what do you think the chances are of him bonding with a very young boar? he was tried with a youngish boar but it didn't work. i am keen to get a boar as a friend rather than a sow. nothing against sows, i just always get male pets! but obviously if a sow was the only way he could have a friend then i would do this for him. :)

i have set up his cage for him ready. it's a trixie 150 cage so it's 5ft long and 2 and a half ft deep. is this ok for him? i have put those mesh cubes (c&c ones) around it rather than have the cage roof on. he has a pigloo and a tunnel and hide box in there, and his bowl and bottle. he will also have a big litter tray. so that's the cage, does it sound ok?

bedding wise the cage will be lined with newspaper and the litter tray will have newspaper, megazorb and then hay in, and he will also have hay in a hay rack aswell. the rest of the cage i am putting soft fleece blankets down for him. does this sound ok?

he is already on the guinea excel so i have ordered some of that in. i am getting a list of the fruit and veg he is already eating so i can get that in, but i wanted to know if any new foods have to be introduced gradually and for how long. food wise, what are the things that are ok to feed everyday? also, are those mixed salads ok to buy, the ones with lettuces in and tomatoes etc?

i buy meadow hay already from dustfreehay.co.uk for my two bunnies, i will be feeding him this. i get the buns some soft and some stalky of the hay. the soft has meadow hay and grasses and the stalky is meadow hay with bits of timothy hay aswell. are these ok?

can you tell me what routine to have for him health wise aswell. how often do i cut his nails, do i have to bathe him every few months, and what protection from flies etc do i do? i have some products from gorgeous guineas that i use for my buns. i have the buzz off, bugs be gone and some neem gel already. i could use the bugs be gone as a routine protection from mites, lice etc could i? i was going to give him a brush everyday, sit him on my knee and check him over daily. is this ok?

exercise wise, he has his cage inside but no run attached. could he play on the floor at the same time as the rabbits? he will always be supervised. or i could build him a run in the room. i would like to have him sit with me on the settee alot aswell for lots of attention and cuddles. i have a hutch outside for him to play in if he wants and a run on the grass aswell so he can graze.

sorry for all the questions! just want to make sure everythings right for him. if there's anything i've missed out please let me know!

by the way, he is a little boar, 2 years old, called ginger (he's ginger and white!) and he's gorgeous!

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hope you like the pics! he's arriving at mine thursday evening and i can't wait! i'm excited but nervous aswell! :)
 
It all sounds good!

The cage sounds HUGE! - plenty of space for him and a friend when one comes along. I've never had a boar who wouldn't accept another one (I'm sure there are more experienced members who can advise you more on that) but if they've tried a couple of times and failed, I'd say your best bet would be to try a sow.

Piggies don't really get any nutrients from lettuce so it doesn't really do much for them. Iceberg is a no-no although other kinds as a treat are OK. Some piggies like tomatoes (mine don't...fussy little things!) and they are OK as a rare treat as too many can cause sores round the mouth due to the acidity (same goes for citrus fruits). There is a guinea pig shopping list in the food section which lists what is and isn't safe for pigs.

Some forum members bath their pigs regularly, others don't. My boys get quite stressed over bath time so I try not to do it unless it's necessary. Keep an eye on his grease gland (positioned where his tail would be if he had one) and make sure it doesn't get too clogged up otherwise it can be sore.

As for nails, just keep them tidy. Don't go too short otherwise you risk cutting the artery that feeds the nail. It's not too bad if you accidentally do it, although they do bleed all over the place, it stops quite quickly. I tend to keep an eye on their nails and trim when they look too long - before they curl. As long as their feet are flat on the floor, they should be fine.

For an indoor run, I've used 12 Wilkinsons wire cooling racks from the bakery section and tied them together with cable ties...inventive! Leave the ends open so then it's still adjustable. I just put towels/fleece down on the floor.

Hope that helps. Anything else I've not answered, hopefully someone else can!:)
 
thanks for your reply. :)

i'm glad everything seems good for him and his new friend (when he gets one!)

i'm sure i'll be on here loads asking questions all the time!
 
With regard to bonding him with a baby boar they will be very closed in age and personally as he has had unsuccessful bondings with boys I would talk loads with the rescue where you are getting him from as they will know his personality best and give you information on what to look for when bondiing him with others.

Hope this is of help to you.
 
fi.cantillon said:
With regard to bonding him with a baby boar they will be very closed in age and personally as he has had unsuccessful bondings with boys I would talk loads with the rescue where you are getting him from as they will know his personality best and give you information on what to look for when bondiing him with others.

Hope this is of help to you.
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what age should 'older' boars be if they are going to be bonded with a young boar? :)
 
They say that puberty is a tough time for bonding and from what I remember, Garry and Minty (despite being together from birth) were quite rumbly/snappish around the 1 year mark. After that, however, they settled back down.

When I bonded Benjamin and Dave (Ben originally lived with Garry and Minty for a while, but they fell out), Ben was 5 months old and Dave was a baby at about 9 weeks. Bit of a risky time to do it but fortunately it worked. As Dave got older, he tried to challenge Ben for dominance a couple of times and Ben chased Dave (still does on occasion, but he's not too bad). They never fought though so that's a good thing. Ben is now 15 months old and Dave has just turned one year so hopefully they'll start behaving like adults soon!:))

I think judging his personality might help you to see what kind of friend would be best for him.
 
i have been told he is very nice natured but can be a little shy aswell. in the two bonding attempts he got bullied apparantly. so he sounds like a softie to me! bless him. x)

so if i try him with a baby it will have to be a young baby, and if i try a female, what age should she be?

:)
 
you dont need to worry about the age of a female. Any age will be fine.

Good luck in finding a friend
 
Playing with rabbits

Hello and welcome. This is a really good place to get brilliant advice from piggie owners.

Running around with rabbits always puts the guinea pig at a disadvantage and rabbits will hurt them easily without intending to. I know you said it would be supervised, but if they are out together then make sure the piggie has a hideaway that the rabbits absolutely cannot get into. A frisky rabbit or a bouncy rabbit really can hurt your piggie. Something with a very small entrance that your piggie can just squeeze into and too heavy for a rabbit to tip or paw over.

Our rabbit has not yet hurt our guinea pigs, but we know he could. So I do think watchful care and more care and an escape route is necessary.

Hope this helps, Sarah
 
Sarah from Chucklebunnies said:
Hello and welcome. This is a really good place to get brilliant advice from piggie owners.

Running around with rabbits always puts the guinea pig at a disadvantage and rabbits will hurt them easily without intending to. I know you said it would be supervised, but if they are out together then make sure the piggie has a hideaway that the rabbits absolutely cannot get into. A frisky rabbit or a bouncy rabbit really can hurt your piggie. Something with a very small entrance that your piggie can just squeeze into and too heavy for a rabbit to tip or paw over.

Our rabbit has not yet hurt our guinea pigs, but we know he could. So I do think watchful care and more care and an escape route is necessary.

Hope this helps, Sarah
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hiya :)p thanks for the advice. i've decided to set him up an indoor run so he will beable to play in there away from the buns. i think it's a better idea so he is safe and like you said, the rabbits could accidently hurt him and obv i don't want that.

he has his own run outside and the buns have the run of the garden to outside is sorted.

thanks :)
 
fi.cantillon said:
you dont need to worry about the age of a female. Any age will be fine.

Good luck in finding a friend
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thanks for this info, i wasn't sure! he has been neutered so i think the chances of us finding a friend for him are good. i'm still undecided on whether to try a baby boar or a sow.

i think i might take him to the rescue and see who we find! :) i wanted to ask actually, would he bond with two females easily? or is it best to stick to one? thanks :)
 
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