New member...Help please!

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mum2jack07

mum2jack07

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all.I am a new member and have joined here hoping I can get some more info on Guinea pigs! I have recently bought(or should I say rescued) a male guinea pig.I seen him advertised and bought him for my son.The house was extremely dirty,and the guinea pig was in a small cage with nothing other than a tiny bit hay and some wood shavings!I handled the guinea pig,and noticed his nails were extremely long(can I register him with PDSA for them to check him over and cut his nails?),he is a very friendly guinea pig,we have named him George.I bought a rabbit hutch for him on the day I bought him as his own cage was not suitable.He is currently in my conservatory,but I am very worried its too cold for him in there?I have lined his hutch with paper,and covered the floor area in wood shavings and have put a bundle of hay in one corner.I worry this is not enough?Any advice would be very much apreciated!I have ordered one of those pocket style snuggly pouches,are these any good?I handle him twice a day also,he seems happy but I am yet to find out what each of his sounds mean! I have never owned a guinea pig before and have very little knowledge on them so if anyone can help?I would be very gratefull.
many thanks
very worried first time guinea pig owner (Bev)
 
welcome and well done for rescuing him. i would say it would be fine in your conservatory, watch it in the summer though as they can get hot, and guinea s do not tolerate extremes of hot or cold. the cosy will be lovely for him. make sure you feed him guinea pig pellets/food, not rabbit food, as this wont be good for him.they also need fresh food every day, green food, carrot small amount of friut, you *** find a thread on here telling you what you can feed them.
last but not least- and i wont be the only one to tell you this, guinea pigs need the company of other guineas, even if he was on his own when you got him, some rescues do a boar dating servie, where they pair up your piggy with a friend.x
 
hello and welcome...
so sorry for the poor state your little pig was kept in...!

right... start with the basics...
guinea pigs need access to hay and water at all times of the day...
and a small amount of dryed food a day... also a selection of fresh food daily aswell... roughly a handful a day... some veggies that are good to feed them are bell peppers, romaine lettuce, cabbage, spring greens and kale. for a more indepth list please visit the food section.
PDSA do treat guinea pigs but unfortunatly due to the nature of them they are more experienced in dogs and cats... might be a better idea to get him checked over at a experienced vet... if you say where your from some one will be able to point you in the direction of a brill vet...
as long as hes out of any drafts and has some hay to snuggle in I'm sure he will be warm enough...
the snuggly pouches are brill... i love them and have quite a few ordered to keep all my rescue piggies snuggly in the cold...
they make some funny noises dont they...!
wheeking tends to mean they want something e.g. food/water/attention.
but not always the reason... :))
but they rumble... puuur... and chirp aswell...!... :))
dont worrie....!... youve done the best and hardest thing by getting him safe... now its just going to be a learning curve... :))
good luck...
and if you want to chat your more then welcome to phone me...
07773940460
clare
x
 
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Welcome :)
I'm sure pdsa would do a check give them a call. I know pets at home (the ones with there own vets attached) have free nurse appointments where they do nail clipping and weight checks etc for free.
HTH .
If you feel its too cold maybe but something like some blankets over the top of the hutch to retian heat and add extra hay. A snuggle sack will keep him very cosy too :)
I'm sure if you have any other questions someone on here will help.
 
i think PDSA only see people claiming benefits of some kind, sorry not sure which one nowadays though x
 
oh is it? i worked for them when i was younger, in the days when you did nt have to claim anything you just had to say that you could nt afford a private vet- and that was it! the system was so abused.
 
Hi!

Great that you have rescued a piggy! Depending on how cold your conservatory gets, you may want a bit more insulation on very cold nights and days. Lots of hay to snuggle into is a great insulator as well as a food source - up tp 80% of the daily food intake should be hay! You can make a hut from a cardboard box and stuff it (not too tightly) with hay for him sleep in. A soft cuddly toy can help with makin him happy.

Good quality pellets rather than muesli You can find info on different products in our food section).
Be careful when introducing veg, especially if your boy hasn't had any yet. Only introduce one variety at a time to not upset the tummy. Here is a thread that lists how much food and what veg piggies can eat: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

Here is a guide for cutting nails: http://www.guinealynx.info/nails.html
You may also want to have your boy health checked by a piggy savvy vet; skin complaints are very common in neglected piggies.
 
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Hi Bev and Jack welcome to the forum :)
I see our wonderful members have given you some fab advice....
how's things going? please if you have any more questions please ask in the right section.....this then means you'll get more answers :)
Being a first time piggie owner is very scary.......... i know what whee went thru!
If you do a little bit of research here on the forum up the top of each section you'll find some really helpful hints!
Also look forward to seeing pigtures of the gorgeous Jack,

Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x
 
Thank you all so much for your help.I realy appreciate it.Little piggy is definately a male,so that's one usefull thing I have found out lol.I am unsure of his age,was told by previous owner he was about 6 months,don't know if that's true!After looking online for hours the other night,I chave changed the way in which I had his hutch set out,one one side,the sleeping section I have laid a soft baby blanket,a large guinea tunnel/chewable tube and some guinea toys,he loves being in that side of the hutch as he can't be seen!The other side is the mesh fronted section,this is lined with paper and covered in soft wood shavings and a pile of hay in one corner.He absolutely loves his apple and carrot,he has started to make the most wonderful sounds too!Think he is getting used to us and feeling happy :) when I get him out for cuddles(twice a day)he is very hard to catch as he runs from me,but once I have him in my arms he seems fine.He tends to snuggle up and shove his nose into me somewhere where he thinks I can't see him!lol.If I stroke him he makes soft squeeking sounds,is this contentment?I noticed yesterday morning,he was "wheeking" not heard him do this before and assumed he was telling me"dinner please mum"? I hope I am getting this right!hehe.I find that when I lift him I need to be wearing a dressing gon,as if my skin is bare he tries to nibble me and I don't fancy a bite from him!Any more help greatly apprciated please and thanks again x
Also,I would love to pair him,I do worry he gets a little lonely,I dont even know if he is neutered?How do I find out?Is it best to pair him with another male?what if they fight? Help please x
 
Hi.Sorry my guinea pig is not named Jack...Jack is my son...sorry for the confusion lol.I became a mum in 2007 so thought my profile name sounds fitting :)
my piggy is named George(my son named him after george pig)
 
Hi there! Although i havnt posted on this thread yet, I think i can give some advise now. :) You can tell if hes neutered, because if he is he wont have any testicles. If he isnt, they will be fairly obvious as guinea pigs have large ones compared to there body size! :)

If you want to get him a friend, the best way is to take him to a reputable rescue and he can go "boar dating" (this is where he gets to choose his own new male friend :) )

I think youve done a great thing taking him on, so please dont take this next bit as critizism, just as something to think about.

:) Firstly, your new set up sounds nice and cosey, but please make sure he also has unlimited hay as this needs to take up lots of his diet. :) (he may already have this, just checking)

Also, sawdust isnt recomended for piggies as it can cause respatory infections. Some people use it without problems, however lots of people opt for alternative beddings such as fleece, vetbed, megazorb or carefresh.
 
It sounds like your boy is settling in well. Picking up is something that most piggies don't like - it cuts too close to their prey animal instincts. You could try to to train him to come into a cuddle cup, a padded shoe box with one end cut off or even a folded towel. Use a bit of his favourite veg to lure him in and always give lots of praise, like you would a little doggie!

Here is a link to what foods they need in which quantities (lots of hay being the most important) and what/how much veg they can eat. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

It is most probable that your boy won't be neutered, as generally boars need only to be neutered when they are to live with sows. Unlike with rabbits, it won't change their behaviour.

The best rescue near you that allows you to bring your boar for "piggy dating" is RGNP Welfare in Rugby, which I can recommend warmly as I have repeatedly "piggy dated" at Tracy's myself. You boy is in the middle of his big hormones, so it may take more than one try to find him the right partner. the best way to get hold of Tracy is by ringing up in the evenings.
http://www.rngp.org/

Alternatively, there is Honeybunnies near the junction M1/M69 by Leicester or Cheylesmore Guinea Pig Shelter Cv3 in Coventry off the M45/not too far from the station.
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/rescue.asp?Rescue=461

As you are in Northampton, you are lucky to have one of the best piggy vets in the counrty on your doorstep: Simon Maddock.
http://www.inorthamptonshire.co.uk/profile/457491/Northampton/Cat-and-Rabbit-Care-Clinic/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheylesmore-Guinea-Pig-Shelter-Cv3/116272791800109?sk=info
 
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Hi there
I see you are in Northampton? I live 4 miles outside Northampton, I could come over and help you if you want? I could come over and check him over and give you some advice on his welfare etc....no lectures just some help :)

i can also recommend a fab vet in Northampton called Simon. Might be worth taking George in there for a check up.

If you want to take up my offer let me know on here and I will email you direct
x
 
I, too, came here not knowing a thing about GPs, and the wonderful people here have helped me to help my Redemption to thrive and to turn into Pigzilla, he is now so big. You are in the right place.
mum2jack07 said:
If I stroke him he makes soft squeeking sounds,is this contentment?
Click to expand...
Red does the same thing; I call it sounding like a guinea pig balloon. To me it sounds all the world like a balloon being rubbed. He squeaks while I stroke him, and when I stop, he stops.

Connie said:
Also, sawdust isnt recomended for piggies as it can cause respatory infections. Some people use it without problems, however lots of people opt for alternative beddings such as fleece, vetbed, megazorb or carefresh.
Click to expand...
I've been told that shavings of the pine family have volatile oils in them that irritate the lungs, and since their little noses are right there in the bedding to stay away from cedar shavings or pine shavings. What I've been using is newspaper topped with grass from outdoors, but now since the grass has nearly died off for the season, I'm going to try straw or hay on top, and I've also bought some absorbent paper bedding to try. Can't do that often as it is very expensive, but I thought I would try it. Also, just lining the enclosure with sheets of newspaper was doing just fine, it just required changing often, maybe 2-3 times a day as I wanted to keep his feet and tummy clean and dry to avoid any sores or irritated spots.
 
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