New Guinea Pig Advice

[Vicky2021]

Hi there,

I bought 2 guinea pigs a week and a half ago! They’re 8&9 weeks old.

I left them in their hutch to adjust for 4-5 days, they started hand feeding on the 4th day (just through the hutch wire) and for the last couple of days I open the doors and they take food straight from my hand and step up onto my hand if I lay it flat to eat the food from it. I speak to them a lot during the day then sit in front of the cage for 15-45 mins broken up during the daytime.

Ive taken them out of their cage 2 days in a row, first day just for 10 mins on the sofa, in which they just hid in the corner after exploring, so put them back via their blanket. Today they were eating from my hand for 5-10 mins, they put their paws up on me to look then nudged my arm and hid under it after 10 mins, so I put them back in their cage after a few strokes.

Does this mean they’re starting to trust me? I don’t want to rush anything, just felt they were getting more comfortable.

also any advice on the recommended amount the feed them with veggies etc? Every time a bag rattled they set off squeaking!

 

[Featheryfriend]

Sounds like you're doing great to me!

Some things to check: flip your piggies over and make sure they are the same sex or you will soon have exponential piggies on your hands. Often pet stores do not sex them correctly.

Make sure their hutch is an adequate size. Often hutches and cages marketed for guinea pigs are not large enough for their welfare. Males need more space than females. I believe it is 10.5 square feet minimum for 2 females and 13 square feet for 2 males. Measure the inside dimensions, not the outside.

There are some great diet guides on this forum. They should have unlimited hay at all times. Veggies and pellets make up a small portion of their diets. About 50 grams / 1 cup of veggies is plenty. And 1 tablespoon of pellets formulated for young guinea pigs. See the diet guides as to the best types of veggies to feed and which to avoid.

They will always squeak like they are starving when they hear a bag rustle!

 

[Piggies&buns]

For two sows the hutch needs to be a minimum of 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended.
For two boars the hutch needs to be a minimum of 150x60cm but 180x60cm is recommended

You dont need to use young piggy pellets but you can if you wish. If, however, you do decide to use young piggy pellets ensure keep them strictly limited to one tablespoon and then switch them off of them by 4 months of age. Young piggy pellets contain alfalfa which isnt recommended to be in the piggy diet. You can just feed them one tablespoon of normal adult pellets.

 

[Featheryfriend]

For two sows the hutch needs to be a minimum of 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended.
For two boars the hutch needs to be a minimum of 150x60cm but 180x60cm is recommended

You dont need to use young piggy pellets but you can if you wish. If, however, you do decide to use young piggy pellets ensure keep them strictly limited to one tablespoon and then switch them off of them by 4 months of age. Young piggy pellets contain alfalfa which isnt recommended to be in the piggy diet. You can just feed them one tablespoon of normal adult pellets.

That's good to know, I read elsewhere that the alfalfa pellets were reccomended for young guinea pigs in order to promote proper skeletal development, but now that I think about it, I imagine they could easily get enough calcium through a regular healthy diet.

I might end up with excess baby pellets then, I thought I needed to keep it up until 6 months so I bought a large bag...

 

[Vicky2021]

Sounds like you're doing great to me!

Some things to check: flip your piggies over and make sure they are the same sex or you will soon have exponential piggies on your hands. Often pet stores do not sex them correctly.

Make sure their hutch is an adequate size. Often hutches and cages marketed for guinea pigs are not large enough for their welfare. Males need more space than females. I believe it is 10.5 square feet minimum for 2 females and 13 square feet for 2 males. Measure the inside dimensions, not the outside.

There are some great diet guides on this forum. They should have unlimited hay at all times. Veggies and pellets make up a small portion of their diets. About 50 grams / 1 cup of veggies is plenty. And 1 tablespoon of pellets formulated for young guinea pigs. See the diet guides as to the best types of veggies to feed and which to avoid.

They will always squeak like they are starving when they hear a bag rustle!

Thanks for your reply and advice. Much appreciated.
I will check the sex
I’ve just checked the hutch size. I’ve realised its slightly too small. Didn’t know! Will make a run coming off of it so they have more room, thanks for letting me know.

 

[Vicky2021]

For two sows the hutch needs to be a minimum of 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended.
For two boars the hutch needs to be a minimum of 150x60cm but 180x60cm is recommended

You dont need to use young piggy pellets but you can if you wish. If, however, you do decide to use young piggy pellets ensure keep them strictly limited to one tablespoon and then switch them off of them by 4 months of age. Young piggy pellets contain alfalfa which isnt recommended to be in the piggy diet. You can just feed them one tablespoon of normal adult pellets.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, very helpful
I’ve measured and the hutch is slightly too small so I’m going to build a run off of it to make some more room.
I’ve been reading a lot today about diet/veggies etc so will continue to offer that alongside unlimited hay (obvs veggies within reason)!

 

[Featheryfriend]

Thanks for your reply and advice. Much appreciated.
I will check the sex
I’ve just checked the hutch size. I’ve realised its slightly too small. Didn’t know! Will make a run coming off of it so they have more room, thanks for letting me know.

That's great! I really hope you have two of the same sex! If they are opposite though, make sure to seperate them immediately with some kind of divider. So they can still see/interact with each other but not make babies. You can then get the male neutered and return them to a shared space after 6 weeks.

Yeah it's criminal that they sell hutches and cages as "for guinea pigs" when they are too small. I'm glad you're able to expand it.

In fact a lot of things are marketed for guinea pigs that are not actually safe or suitable. Exercise wheels and balls are not appropriate for them due to their delicate spines. A lot of commercial toys are actually little death traps - it's generally safer to give them simple "homemade" toys like paper bags, cardboard tubes, boxes, etc.

Sorry went on a bit of a tangent/rant there, lol.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, very helpful
I’ve measured and the hutch is slightly too small so I’m going to build a run off of it to make some more room.
I’ve been reading a lot today about diet/veggies etc so will continue to offer that alongside unlimited hay (obvs veggies within reason)!

What are the hutch measurements? The outside measurements are the measurements which are quoted. It’s just accepted that inside is always slightly smaller.
What are the piggies sexes? (Not sure I've seen it mentioned elsewhere on the thread)

The problem with adding a run to make more space is that they all require 24/7 permanent access to the run area. If they have to be locked into the hutch at any time, then the run simply doesnt count if the hutch is too small. If the hutch is outside, then that isnt possible for them to have 24/7 access for safety.
You may unfortunately need to buy a bigger hutch.
If they are boys, then any space they are locked into needs to be big enough as lack of space between teen boars can cause them relationship problems.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That's good to know, I read elsewhere that the alfalfa pellets were reccomended for young guinea pigs in order to promote proper skeletal development, but now that I think about it, I imagine they could easily get enough calcium through a regular healthy diet.

I might end up with excess baby pellets then, I thought I needed to keep it up until 6 months so I bought a large bag...

Yes absolutely - they get all they need from a normal 'adult' diet, youngsters dont need to be fed really any differently to adults . Alfalfa can be given as a a very tiny supplement to pregnant sows and baby piggies until they are weaned at 3 weeks of age (its more for the benefit of the sows to help with their nutrient levels when feeding babies). After that alfalfa isnt "needed" at all. I use the inverted commas because it isnt really needed for pregnant sows either. So the bringing in of young piggy, alfalfa containing pellets, isnt really a good thing - they dont need any alfalfa, beyond 3 weeks of age. They can have a little more adult piggy pellets instead to ensure they get a little extra nutrients until around four months of age (when pellets do need to be kept limited to one tablespoon per pig per day).

Alfalfa isnt a grass hay so doesnt form part of their diet. It's higher in protein, calories and calcium and is meant for animals which need to be fed up quickly - not something you want for piggies. Of course, calcium in excess levels isnt good for them as it can cause bladder issues.