New members of the family!

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J-Mc-

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Hey all!

My name's John, I'm 21 and I'm from Liverpool, but that's enough of the dating website bio!

2 days ago, I had the wonderful pleasure of being able to welcome into my house my very own pet Guinea Pig and his sister.

Max and Millie are 8 week old Peruvian Guinea Pigs and both were welcomed with open arms into the family!

Max (the boy) has short hair whereas his sister has longish hair, however both are from the same litter (if that's the word!?)

These 2 are the first pets I've ever owned and already I'm being extremely cautious, not trying to rush them into settling down into their new home however also not talking my eye off them in order to make sure they're growing in confidence enough to feel comfortable.

My Mum yesterday put quite a lot of lettuce in the cage without my consent so I've warned her about overfeeding...needless to say that the both of them have devoured about 4-5 leaves each overnight and still have half a bowl of normal food left, although it won't last long in Max's case, he's the greedy one (Must be the reason he's mine!) whereas Millie is the lazy one who will just sit and enjoy being gently stroked (hence her being my younger brothers, easier to handle and I won't let him handle her without me being there.)

Max also loves a cardboard tube I've put in his cage, he's constantly stuffing food and hay into it and just relaxing nibbling for hours, however I do have a slight concern as he keeps tipping the water bowl and nibbling on it. It's plastic and I know they do nibble, however is this normal behaviour or should I remove the bowl? He has a water bottle which I've seen him drink from so the drinking isn't a problem.

I'm really pleased to have my own pets however I'm more pleased with the fact that Max is so lively and seems to be very brave when it comes to leaving his hiding spot (a hutch that came with the cage) and he seems to not mind me moving about a bit now either, after only 2 days, he isn't just shooting off into the hutch when I turn over in bed of a night.

I love them equally and look forward to spending more and more time with them in the coming years and also look forward to becoming a member of this forum!

Hope you're all well and I would appreciate any advice for a first time Guinea Pig owner!

Will post pictures when I figure out how to do so on the ipad!
 
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You aren't keeping them together are you?

Guinea pigs can breed from as young as 3 weeks.
Please seperate them to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

PS. welcome to the forum x
 
Skelly said:
You aren't keeping them together are you?

Guinea pigs can breed from as young as 3 weeks.
Please seperate them to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

PS. welcome to the forum x
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No, they're in seperate cages, already warned about that when I first bought them!
 
aww that's brilliant! :)) We usually have LOADS of people coming on here who keep them together!
Are you planning on neutering your male when he is old enough so he can live with the female? its just guinea pigs LOVE company.

Any chance of some pictures of your lovely pair of piggies? :(|) x
 
Hello and welcome! The forum is a wealth of knowledge, and i wouldnt be without it, but sometimes it can be abit dauting all the questions we ask when were trying to get to know you.

Please understand its not us assuming your being silly, just that often pet shops and breeders give out wrong advice, like piggies cant make babies till they are 10 weeks old.. which ofcourse is wrong, but yano...

Anywho, enough of me waffling. :)
 
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Aww! He is very lovely looking. :) Looking forward to seeing his sister.

Sorry about the more questions....
But, will he be being neutered? :)
 
Connie said:
Aww! He is very lovely looking. :) Looking forward to seeing his sister.

Sorry about the more questions....
But, will he be being neutered? :)
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Yeah, however we are considering breeding them but we're not sure as of yet.

Out of curiosity, how old must a pig be before he's able to be neutered?
 
J-Mc- said:
Yeah, however we are considering breeding them but we're not sure as of yet.

Out of curiosity, how old must a pig be before he's able to be neutered?
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Just to point out that as a rescue friendly forum, we can't discuss breeding on here. You wouldn't breed the brother and sister together would you?
 
Claire W said:
Just to point out that as a rescue friendly forum, we can't discuss breeding on here. You wouldn't breed the brother and sister together would you?
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Been advised not to, was planning on getting him professinally breeded however, as stated, we're unsure at the minute.


Claire W said:
Sorry, not me :)
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Apologies, there's a member whose got the exact same username as yourself on there! :D
 
They are adorable. Please consider not breeding from them, there are hundreds of unwanted guinea pigs out there in the world.

You can neuter from around 4/5 months, but find a good experienced vets.

x.
 
Abi_nurse said:
They are adorable. Please consider not breeding from them, there are hundreds of unwanted guinea pigs out there in the world.

You can neuter from around 4/5 months, but find a good experienced vets.

x.
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Shall definately take into account the concerns of pig rescues and pig lovers before making a decision, don't worry :)

Also, thanks for the information! :)
 
I'm sure if you have a look around the forum at the rescue and rehoming and pregnancy and labour sections you will find all the reasons why not. :)

However, back to your gorgeous piggies! I would definatly recomend neutering him, piggies are much MUCH happier in pairs or more. I always compare it to having to us having to live in a tiny room, with only guinea pigs for company.... We would want a human friend too, even if the piggies were LOVELY. :D
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Your brother and sister are beautiful although they don't look like perus to me; they look like shelties. I have three peruvians myself and have grown up with a succession of them.

Please reconsider breeding! Because of the long pregnancy and the advanced development of the pups, problems at birth that end in dead/non viable pups or even mums dying are much more frequent than in other rodents - about every fifth pregnancy goes wrong and it is quite a heartbreak each time. You are also considering in-breeding, which won't help the issue!

Please be aware that this is a rescue friendly forum and that talk about intentional breeding and showing is not allowed according to the rules.

Boars can be neutered between 4-6 months old, depending on physical development, weight and general health and the decision of the vet. It really pays to find an experienced, piggy savvy vet in order to minimise post op complications. The boys face another 4-6 weeks wait after the operation. If you want to be 100% safe, you have to wait the full 6 weeks (the little newborn surprise in my avatar is the "present" of a boar of over 5 weeks post op).
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Your brother and sister are beautiful although they don't look like perus to me; they look like shelties. I have three peruvians myself and have grown up with a succession of them.

Please reconsider breeding! Because of the long pregnancy and the advanced development of the pups, problems at birth that end in dead/non viable pups or even mums dying are much more frequent than in other rodents - about every fifth pregnancy goes wrong and it is quite a heartbreak each time. You are also considering in-breeding, which won't help the issue!

Please be aware that this is a rescue friendly forum and that talk about intentional breeding and showing is not allowed according to the rules.

Boars can be neutered between 4-6 months old, depending on physical development, weight and general health and the decision of the vet. It really pays to find an experienced, piggy savvy vet in order to minimise post op complications. The boys face another 4-6 weeks wait after the operation. If you want to be 100% safe, you have to wait the full 6 weeks (the little newborn surprise in my avatar is the "present" of a boar of over 5 weeks post op).
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It's only a thought at the minute however in the near future, breeding probably won't be happening anyway (lack of space if more cages were needed), epecially not in-breeding.

Will also not talk about it due to the rules aswell so appreciate the heads up! :)

Thanks for the detailed response RE: neutering aswell. He's only 8 weeks old so will look into getting him neutered when he's around 7 months old (just to be on the safe side with the timeframe) :)
 
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Please feel free to ask for more information anytime; there is lots of experience and we can also help you to links to high quality websites for further information.

6 months old is a safe age to neuter. Because piggies are still growing quite quickly, healing is so much easier than when boars are adults.

Have a look around the forum and don't hesitate to ask any questions re. diet, behaviour, housing, toys, care etc. After all, the important thing is to enjoy your piggies!
 
Wiebke said:
Please feel free to ask for more information anytime; there is lots of experience and we can also help you to links to high quality websites for further information.

6 months old is a safe age to neuter. Because piggies are still growing quite quickly, healing is so much easier than when boars are adults.
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Cheers! :)

Quick question which I touched upon in the opening post.

Is Max' nibbling of the plastic pot normal? Or should I remove it from the cage?
 
Its normal, its probably not THAT good for him, but sometimes you get piggies who wont stop nibbling, and just eat the corex of the cage. *shrugs* however, if he is drinking from the waterbottle, i woullld remove it, as its just making the bedding wet. :)
 
Max is exploring his world. Guinea pigs don't have a puke reflex, so they need to carefully investigate their world before they swallow anything. However, some piggies can get hooked on soft plastic.

Not all young piggies have yet learned to drink from their bottle. If necessary, put a little dish underneath. Refill it daily with fresh water. You need to fill the bottle right to the rim and work out as many air bubbles as possible to create a vacuum and prevent major dripping.
 
aww they are gorgeous

Sometimes guinea pigs tend to chew their cage if they get a little bored or have lack of space, what size cages have you got for each pig?, and maybe you could put some home made boredem breakers in there, maybe a box with some of their hay in it, or a toilet roll tube filled with hay :)
 
jammybaby said:
aww they are gorgeous

Sometimes guinea pigs tend to chew their cage if they get a little bored or have lack of space, what size cages have you got for each pig?, and maybe you could put some home made boredem breakers in there, maybe a box with some of their hay in it, or a toilet roll tube filled with hay :)
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The cages are quite big, roughly about 3 foot long and 2 foot wide, they both have plenty of room to run around in.

Already have tubes in their cages and lots of hay, will look into getting a newspaper and make some newspaper huts and balls for both of them :)
 
i try to think of new things to keep them buzy while i am at work, but tend to run out of ideas, but they do like their tubes and paper bags with hay :)
I sometimes hide little piece of parsley around their cage also,so they can hunt them out whlle i am gone :)
 
You'll all be very happy to know that we've decided to NOT breed from either Guinea pig and we've also had a think and may possibly bring Max and Millies other brother and sister into the family, but nothing is definate as of yet!

Max was out and about last night, enjoying his nibbles and started wheeking for his greens which I'd placed in the indented bowl on top of the little hutch, woke up in the morning to find out that he'd got me to get them down for him but had then climbed up and ate the rest himself! Mischievious little thing! :)
 
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