Need some help - new to GP's

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liney and jessie

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I got my 5 year old daughter 2 guinea pigs on friday, they are both babies, I believe about 8 weeks old. I bought all the stuff the woman told me to get, but I have a few quesions if you dont mind helping me out.

How often should they be handled? My daughter is constantly holding them, she is very gentle but I am worried they are being over handled.

One of the GP's is happily chewing on cucumber and carrot, but the other one wont eat anything, just sits moping in the cage, but I have noticed a little bit of blood on her mouth coming from a sore just at the top of her mouth, could this be causing her pain hence the not eating?

Is there anything I really should know straight away?

thanks very much
 
If its a sore then it could be the reason shes not eating. Has the other maybe bitten her? Do you know if she was getting the correct amount of their daily vit C where you got them from? Maybe you could check her teeth and make sure they are not too long or broken or anything? the golden rule is: If in doubt go to the vets :)

In regards to handling, as long as your being gentle, then you cant really over handle a piggie. Its a good basis for a lasting bond. If the pig chatters her teeth, lets out a large squeal when you pick her up or keeps running away just leave her...basically go with what shes telling you.

xx
 
to be honest I'd take the pig that's not eating to the vets asap. Pigs rapidly go downhill without constant eating. Does he or she eat their hay and dry food? Handling wise as long as you give them tasty treats when being handled they'll become tame very quickly x
 
i would try the vet too its the best way to be sure and rule everything out.

Congrats on your two piggies, hope they are ok and you are all happy with them, i wish i could handle my two piggies more often,if i had my own daft way id stay home every day and night with them!
 
Congratulations on your daughter's piggies. Gentle handling is OK - you either get into a routine from day one or leave the handling untile the piggies have settled. Either way works. Make sure that your daughter doesn't handle her piggy unsupervised, though!

The bleeding bit at the mouth: Does it look like a scratch or a bite wound? Guinea pigs are often a bit freaked out at first, and scuffles can ensue when a piggy panics. You can gently dab it with some saline solution. Boil a pint of water, stir in 1 tsp of salt and let cool. If it turns out to be a growing bald spot, you need to have it seen by a vet; that could be ringworm (fungal).

Is the piggy eating hay and pellets or nothing at all? Some piggies take time to settle in their surroundings and will only come out to eat when nobody is there at first; perhaps the second piggy is a bit stressed out by your daughter's attentions. However, if the piggy is not eating anything AT ALL, it needs to be seen asap! Small animals can go downhill very quickly. Put some hay and pellets close to its hiding place and leave it in peace and see whether it'll come out to eat eventually.

Please weigh your piggies once weekly on your kitchen scales, daily if you are worried. A slight fluctuation in weight is normal, but a downhill trend needs to be seen by a vet asap.

Here is a collection of tips to settle in piggies.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239
Signs of illness:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36332
Tips for weighing:
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
 
thanks for the tips, to be honest I dont know if it is eating the food left in the cage, it could be eating when no one is watching. The happier GP is eating carrot sticks etc out of our hands, the quieter one is not even showing signs of interest.
My daughter has been really good with them, she handles them really carefully and considering 2 days ago when we got them they ran away from her, now they sit still and let her pick them up and the happier one comes to her immediately and snuggles into her lap. My issue is my 3 year old son, but I have made rules now that they are not allowed to get them out of the cage without help and he has to handle them while they sit in an old lunchbox container rather than cuddling them.
thanks for the tip on weighing them, I will do that tomorrow and see how we go.
 
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