I'd really like your opinions on my new piggy, new owner too :)

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piggi

Hi there everyone, new to the board and would really like some of your thoughts and opinions as I am a new owner with quite a few questions.

I have had problems sleeping due to thinking about my piggy i've had for 2 weeks which would make him 11 weeks old.

I have never had guinea pigs before - infact never had a pet before unless you count goldfish!

I went to my local pet store (a national chain) to have a look at the small animals for my daughter really. After an hour and a half in the shop we'd researched the best we could and decided that a guinea pig would suit our family, lifestyle, home and my daughter to the ground.

We approached an assistant who talked to us about how ideally guinea pigs should be kept in pairs as they like company but all the ones in store were all males and there had been issues with them fighting so they'd be happy with us just taking 1 as long as we spent time with it.

My daughter chose the one with a brown bum and in closer looking it had bite marks out of its ear. I agreed that that is the one we should have. (he also feel s like he has scars on his back but his coat is fine)

That was 2 weeks ago and i'm a little worried about him.

He lives in the house in a large cage downstairs where we talk to him all the time.. worried my little one is a bit noisey but he seems to be accepting her all the same. He eats his pellets and is always munching the hay provided, he loves grass but not sure if he is allowed to eat it? The only green he will eat is cucumber and yesterday started eating it out of my hand. I was very pleased. he drinks often so i'm happy with that side of things.

From day 3 I have taken him out of his cage everynight for at least half an hour and petted him on my knee _ well, I cradle his bum and he sits on my chest looking up to me! He sits there for around 30 mins but last night he was snuffling around my jumper like he wanted to bite and was very squirmy. I was a little frightened of his behaviour so I put him back in his cage after 10 minutes.

He has a nightly run around my floor and has a free run for about 20 minutes, he gets in and out of his cage during this time. He run around the floor and under cardboard tunnels making squeeking noises. Can any one help tell me if he is happy or not by that noise? He has purred once or twice when I have stroked him but it was only for about 5 seconds constant then wore off.

I have seen him this week 'bunny hop' around his cage on a night when all is quiet and i'm milling around him. he runs through his little tunnel, round and round, up his ramp , then jumps back down again. It is a pleasure to watch and I think he's doing it because he's happy (thats the vibe anyway) or do I have a guinea pig that a bit, you know, a bit of a divvy?

Any thing else? I think i'm worried that he is lonely but i'm at a loss what to do. i relise that it's only 2 weeks and I can see slight progress with me handling and attending to him all the time but i'm falling for him! I really am getting quite attached to him and want him to have the best possible life with me and my family. I really need to get shrekki a friend but i'm scared how to go about it. he's 11 weeks old with bite marks on his ear. Do I get another male.. a baby? Advice on this in particular would be super.

Any opinions you have would be fantastic. I do have a lot of questions but i'm eager.. and in all honestly - ill prepared to have bought a guinea pig.. but I so want to give him a good life x
 
Sounds like you are doing very well so far. When he got squirmy after 30 minutes it was likely he needed to pee and it was his way of telling you this. You will need to offer him a bigger variety of vegetables - see the thread on guinea pig cages about what, according to different nutrients, you can feed daily, weekly etc - http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...cavys-diet-read-me-nutrition-charts-info.html. If he isn't willing to eat it right away, persevere!

When you come to get him a friend please consider rescue before giving the pet shop your money - there are many, many homeless cavies across the world. Since your piggy is so young he would probably settle with either an adult male or a baby. Depending on how big your cage is you might need to re-assess it if you want to get him a friend. Recommended sizes are at www.guineapigcages.com.

Welcome!
 
Thanks for info. I guess there are so many guinea pigs who need homes. i never gave it a second thought. Honestly, I have so much to learn and i'm pretty cross with myself for going to Pets At Home in the first place without even thinking of looking for a gp who needs a home. I'm falling for these animals big style and already thinking about the conditions my gp was living in. Should they be living with such big rabbits? Anyway, i've been looking into rescue shelters in the Durham area and have found one 5 miles from me. I never knew it was there to be honest but at the same time I don't know the area very well.

Bobby needs a home. He's an adult male who is quite shy apperently. http://www.farplace.co.uk/adoptions.php?id=107&archived=2 I so want to contact them but I know i'm not set up for another gp just yet. I guess it's not as easy as just introducing the two of them. I'm going to research the correct procedure for introducing gp's but I know I havn't the money to buy a bigger cage just yet. I'm saving for a large hutch with underrun for when the weather warms up and plan to invest in a larger cage for indoors for next winter. Can you see i'm trying to fight not contacting the rescue centre. I'm typing all this trying to be sensible as I know i'm ill - prepared but my heart is saying - go get him, look after him. WHAT HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO! I had no idea I would get so attached to these little fluffy fellas x
 
Well if you are sure you want him i am sure the rescue will hold him for a while, this sounds like a perfect set up for you also something else to consider, I'm not sure if its 4 or 6 months of age they can be neutered where you could maybe get him a little girlfriend that choice is yours but just another idea for you to consider, have you thought about any of the free ads checking if someone is giving away a hutch etc thats how i found my first one it needed work admittedly but tbh i really enjoyed doing it and when i bought my boys home they loved it (I had mine from Pets at Home! so dont worry i didnt know either!)

I wish you well and will keep an eye out for you posting

Good Luck

Michelle
 
Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you guinea is happy. Don't you just love the squeaking? :smitten:
 
yes grass is good for pigs and is just a form of fresh hay - just make sure no other animals like gods have been on it
lettuce is also the most used guinea pig food (wet) so try that
it is good to let your pig run but make sure there are no wires on the floor for him to munch and squeaking is healthy
and the thing about only purring for 5 seconds is natural too, don't ask me why though
i hope this ^ ^ helped
 
Thanks. The purring thing got me. because it was so short lived I wondered if it was a warning sign that he didn't like what I was doing.
 
Our piggies start getting agitated after a while of sitting on our laps. It threw me at first, but now know they are saying 'let me off, I need to pee'. It took several pairs of wet trousers and wet tops before it sunk in :o.

Getting a new hutch is expensive, but do try freeads - I didn't have any luck, but you never know unless you look. I am having one made from a guy off ebay - two storeys, but with two sleeping sareas (not the run underneath type), four foot long and wood treated (which is safe for animals) for £65 which I thought was a fab price, Also check out extreme distributors (think thats correct) on ebay as they do some hutches at fab prices too. They are made by Rabbit Shack and are good quality hutches.

It sounds as though you are being very responsible about getting another one. Its very easy to say 'lets get another one', but you do need extra space etc.


Good luck with whatever you decide to do and don't forget to keep us undated and piccies are always welcome.

I have found this forum to be invaluable for info, advice and support. Everyone is sooooo friendly.
 
clowny said:
Our piggies start getting agitated after a while of sitting on our laps. It threw me at first, but now know they are saying 'let me off, I need to pee'. It took several pairs of wet trousers and wet tops before it sunk in :o.
Click to expand...

lmfao!! ;D ;D
 
I have seen him this week 'bunny hop' around his cage on a night when all is quiet and i'm milling around him. he runs through his little tunnel, round and round, up his ramp , then jumps back down again. It is a pleasure to watch and I think he's doing it because he's happy (thats the vibe anyway) or do I have a guinea pig that a bit, you know, a bit of a divvy?


that made me laugh ;D a bit of a divvy, hes happy :D he is popcorning and is starting to relax in your home environment, you are doing relaly well with everything you are doing
as already said more variety of veggies is needed, if you get anohter one start off by letting them run together, they will make friends, yesterday I took my baby Henry who is now 5 weeks old tomorrow away from mum and put him in with Harvey after a lot of butt sniffing and running about, Harvey took no notice of him, this morning i found them both in the little house they have together with Henry curled up with harvey round him, keep checking and they are doing great even had their heads snuffling the food pot at same time, it can be as simple as that or hard work, there no gaurantees with bonding males, ::),
and the feelings you have got about owning a pig is called utter devotion we all suffer with it on here they are very addictive believe me I have 34 just enjoy him and love him to bits you'll get so much unconditional love back, I cannot imagine my life with no piggys in it, welcome to the forum by the way hope you make lots of nice friends, we are all pig so a good start, ;)
 
piggi said:
Thanks for info. I guess there are so many guinea pigs who need homes. i never gave it a second thought. Honestly, I have so much to learn and i'm pretty cross with myself for going to Pets At Home in the first place without even thinking of looking for a gp who needs a home. I'm falling for these animals big style and already thinking about the conditions my gp was living in. Should they be living with such big rabbits? Anyway, i've been looking into rescue shelters in the Durham area and have found one 5 miles from me. I never knew it was there to be honest but at the same time I don't know the area very well.

WHAT HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO! I had no idea I would get so attached to these little fluffy fellas x
Click to expand...

Hi welcome :) Many people just are not aware of the numbers in rescue, I was about to get mine from a petshop when the idea struck about a rescue, and we ended up getting our three lovely boys from there instead ;D I think more people would adopt from a rescue (like yourself) once they knew. At least you are interested in learning more about them, and have a responsible attitude to it all :)

They are incredibly addictive pets though, and such clever, funny, sociable and noisy little creatures, it's hard to know when to stop accumulating your piggie family! :D

Julie
 
Aww he sounds a happy boy. I have lone boar at the moment and is going to be neutered soon so he can join my two sows. You could have your boar neutered then he could have a girlfriend or two.
 
Welcome to the forum :)
Yes your little one is telling you he needs to have a pee, Duke does this all the time. Mind you when he was little he thought it better if he went from his towel on my lap snuugled inside my jacket peed on me and then ran back to his nice warm dry towel ;D ;D
You'll learn over time what his little habit are :)
Sounds like he's having fun running around his cage.
Good idea to add more variety, they love different veggies, just try them and if he doesn't like it the first time offer something else.
Have fun with your little one :-*
 
Sounds like you are in the same situation as me. I have a loan baby boar with both ears bitten. I feel so sorry for him. He is very lonely i'm sure. I also bought mine form a pet store not knowing (or even thinking) about a rescue home.

I plan to have my little fluffy neutered and introduce him to a lady friend (rescued this time though). I need to look into this as I have heard that the procedure is quite difficult but I fear he would be far too scared (what with biten ears) for another male.

Who knows, I've a lot to learn. Hopefully i'll find the right path but for now i'm concentrating on giving my my new friend time to relax, run around and be cuddled.

Michelle
 
You sound like a great 'mum ' :D if its any help i feed my piggies unlimited hay - each morning they get a little plate with few slices of the following - carrot - cucumber - apple - broccoli - cabbage and there FAB - carrot tops :D He sounds lovely - get him a little friend and he wil be a pig in heaven :D
 
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