My New Piggie,charlie!

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FaaFaa

FaaFaa

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OK yesterday I got a Guinea Pig! His name is Charlie. I have already switched wood savings for towels. I have given him a bit of orange this morning and will be getting salad greens a little later this morning. I am also quickly realizing that this cage is too small. It's going to have to do for now though. Please help me with your idea so that I can make the most of it for Charlie. He will have to have lots of free roam time with a cage this size. I have a sunroom that will be PERFECT for him to roam in. I know that he will need to be supervised, but how does one piggy proof a room?







 
If you can take the black part out of the cage you could get a little more room since he has his wooden hidey. Just make sure that you cover any areas of the sun room that you don't want him to make a mess of. Also make sure that he doesn't have any access to cables.

Have you considered getting him a friend once you can get him a bigger home? :)
 
The black part has a ramp that goes along with it. When I add the ramp there isn't room for his hide. :( So upset with this cage.

I guess I could get him a friend, but not with this cage!
 
A c and c cage is ideal as you can make it any size you like. Most ready made cages should be banned as they are too small for hamsters let alone guinea pigs.
 
Yea, I'm looking at HUGE cages on another site now, for way less than the one I have. It just stinks because his cage isn't even 24 hours old!
 
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OK well for now there isn't much I can do about the small cage, or getting him a friend. I need you guys to help me make sure that he is being spoiled correctly! I have been looking at piggys for a long time and I'm thrilled to finally have one. I want him to be more like a little dog that can hang out and cuddle and play, not just an animal in a cage.
 
As long as he gets plenty of cuddles and time out of the cage he'll be fine for now so don't worry too much!
 
How long will it take him to settle in? I have had him with me a good bit, but I dont want to over do it and stress him out. He seems to like the bit of orange I gave him. I only gave him a tiny bit though to start.

And I'm sure I will worry a ton! I'm the same way with the dogs, geckos, hamster, and even the tarantula!
 
FaaFaa said:
How long will it take him to settle in? I have had him with me a good bit, but I dont want to over do it and stress him out. He seems to like the bit of orange I gave him. I only gave him a tiny bit though to start.

And I'm sure I will worry a ton! I'm the same way with the dogs, geckos, hamster, and even the tarantula!
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It take a few weeks to settle in, this is normal. Orange should only be given very occasional as a treat :) Here is a link to settling in new pigs http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/

Charlie is gorgeous by the way!
 
What a beautiful piggie!

If you want to see this little guy have a lot of fun when he's out of the cage in a run, I suggest giving him a paper bag to play with as well as toilet roll. My guinea pig, when he was as young as yours went crazy for his paper bag and would zoom around his cage, into the bag, out of it, zooming around again and back in, popcorning (which is jumps of delight) as he played with it.

As for proofing the room, the worst guinea pigs tend to do is chew at things. Three of my boys are pretty good at not chewing much but one of them has a nibble of everything. The doors, the wires we didn't even realise he could get, the carpet, everything. He loves to chew strange things but not the normal stuff a piggie is supposed to chew, like cardboard. So I suggest covering any wires with towels or pillows or anything that can block and hide them.

His first time out, depending on personality, he might either just hide away and not play at all or he will zoom around. Usually having more than one piggie helps with this problem as the braver one explores and the more scared one eventually sees he/she is okay and decides to brave it too. Of course as you don't have one I think you will just have to watch Charlie and see if he is more timid or willing to explore. However, it won't take him too long to eventually realise its fun to explore and play in the house. =)
 
You could add c&c grids to this cage to extend it and then the cage could be the kitchen.Do you have wicked fleece on the towels as well so they don't sit in wet.
 
I'm in FL USA. I have found a decent priced C&C cage that I will be getting very soon. I know oranges are just a treat, but I need to go for groceries and it was what was on hand. I'm going to start him on mixed salad greens, no iceburg, later today. Thanks for the links! It will be good reading while I'm on the treafmill...yuck!
 
As soon as I am off this dreaded treadmill I will post pics of the room I want to use. There arent any wires and only 2 small spots I'm worried about. Thanks for the great ideas!

I dont have fleece yet. I have a TON of beach towels that will do for now. It will only take a second to put in a fresh one every morning. Does that sound like an OK plan for now? I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants on this one!

Is there something special about wicked fleece? Any idea of Charlies age?

I had him out a bit this morning, hes not shy at all!
 
Towels will work for now, change them very regular for the time being and they'll be fine, fleece works well as it wicks away wet leaving the top dry so they don't get urine scalds on their feet.
 
OK Lots to figure out! First off help me pick a cage!

This on is about $85 w/ shipping
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LARGE-4...140?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd9b6b76c
And this one is about $84 w/ shipping
http://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/medium-candc-cage#

So I can't base it off price. I just need to know which would be a better idea.

Charlie is 10 ounces, I just weighed him.

As far as fleece goes, I am going to wait until I get the bigger cage. Can I just buy regular fleece from the fabric store and cut it to size? Do I need to do anything special with it? And do I put the fleece on top of the towels, or remove the towels all together?

I know I'm bombarding you with questions, but I gotta get this all figured out!

And here's the room that I would use for free time.



I'm worried about the space under the dresser, I guess I could just shove a towel in there?


And then there's the deep freezer. Its the only corded thing out there. I'm thinking more towels to block it?


Charlie is munching on some Timothy Hay. I think I'm in love :love:
 
FaaFaa said:
I'm in FL USA. I have found a decent priced C&C cage that I will be getting very soon. I know oranges are just a treat, but I need to go for groceries and it was what was on hand. I'm going to start him on mixed salad greens, no iceburg, later today. Thanks for the links! It will be good reading while I'm on the treafmill...yuck!
Click to expand...

Hi! Great that you want to do your best for little Charlie! Shops usually sell far too small cages for astronomical prices. :(

Cheap children's play pens or paddling pools make good indoors runs. Or if you have some cardboard, block off any area you don't want him to go. Make sure that he has got a wipeable area with hay where he can sit and relieve himself, ideally it has a some kind of cover to make it look invitingly safe and cosy. Fr the long term, looks for something that collapses or folds away

Could you please add your country/state to your details; that will make it much easier for us to give you the appropriate advice straight away as we have members from all round the world.Just click on your name on the top bar, go to personal details/location. In the same section you can also upload your avatar (the picture that always appears with your name in every post).
 
The fleece would need washed three times then dried then any pea would go straight through to the towels.If they are on towels they will need changed more than once a day.I have a ground sheet then puppy pads where they pea then fleece.Have litter trays and extra towel and fleece pieces where they Pea that get changed every day .
 
OK, so I have to wash the fleece 3 times BEFORE I can put it in Charlies cage AND I should put towels/pee pads under it?

What do I wash it with?
Can I just cut it to size, does it need stitched or will it not fray once cut?

I think he is getting a little more settled. :) He's drinking from his water bottle. I offered him a salad mix that had all sorts of leafy greens in it that were on the list and a small piece of carrot and cucumber. He ate all of it but the cucumber. Tomorrow we will try a little bell pepper in his salad.
 
Just wash it with powder, no softener. Yes, towels underneath the fleece, we just used to fold ours to fit.

Great news, sounds like he is getting used to you :)
 
Congratulations on your new piggie. He looks very small so still a baby.... there are lots of cheap way to extend your cage for now till you find a bigger one (maybe secondhand?). Dont panic ;) I'm sure you are both going to be fine since you are so concerned for him :)
 
I'm getting him a new C&C Cage next week, so that fixes that problem. However now I will have this other cage and IDK what I will do with it.

Now I need a little help with food. He LOVES to eat! Pellets and Timothy Hay are free feed items right? Charlie loves fresh greens too. He really likes carrots, but I know he can't have a ton of those. Is 1/2 of a baby carrot everyday too much? He likes oranges too, but I know he can't have them everyday. Yesterday he turned down cucumber, but we are trying again today. I also offered a piece of bell pepper today hopefully he will like it. I want to make sure I get the food thing down.

Thanks so much for helping me take are of Charlie!
 
He should have unlimited hay and pellets and two handfuls of vegetables. He should not eat carrot everyday as he needs a variety. Try celery,broccoli,fennel,romaine lettuce. You can always Google suitable vegetables for a complete list.
 
Hi and :wel: to the forum.

As a general rule of thumb a piggys diet should consist of unlimited hay at least 80%, 15% veggies and around 5% nuggets. Try a variety of veggies and you will soon see what the favourites are.

Lisa & Ali...x
 
Thanks so much for your help. Figuring out what he likes should be good fun! The salad mix I'm using has all sorts of green leafy goodness. :) (green tango lettuce, lolla rosa lettuce, red oak lettuce, green oak lettuce, red romaine lettuce, green romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, baby spinach, tatsoi, mizuna, red and green chard, red and green mustard, frisee, arugula, and radicchio) All organic! Wow what a mix! He seems to like green bell pepper too!
 
Your other cage will be really useful if you are ever travelling with him or need to take him to the vets! So it will be handy :) Glad you are getting on well :)
 
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