New Owner, Getting Pig Soon.

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Kassidy

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I have absolutely no experience with Guinea Pigs. I know nothing about them. My cousin who is 12 got a guinea pig for her birthday (which I knew was going to be a disaster from the start, since she really doesn't like animals very much), she thought he was great for about a month, but now she's sick of him, and doesn't like how much time she has to devote to taking care of him. She wants to get rid of him. I told her I would take him, as I love animals of all shapes and sizes, and the majority of my day is spent taking care of my animals anyway. My dad (AGE REMOVED BY ADMIN) doesn't want a guinea pig, but since my cousin lives right across the street (I can walk there in 30 seconds) I'm just going to keep the guinea pig at her house, but I will be the one who takes care of him, plays with him, trains him, etc. I know absolutely nothing about guinea pigs (and neither does my cousin, so his living arrangement right now might be unacceptable), so I need you guys to tell me everything I need to know! :) I do know that you aren't supposed to keep guinea pigs alone, but getting another one is not an option since he's not going to be at my house and the family whose house he will be staying at does not want another guinea pig. Anyway, any advice is welcome! Thanks!

EDITED BY SPORT_BILLY: Age removed to protect younger members of forum, any queries pm me
 
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Do you think that in the best interests of the guinea pig he would be better surrendered to a guinea pig rescue, so that he could find a companion and live out his or her days with one of their own kind. I know you are trying to do the right thing by having the guinea pig, but the situation is not the best for the little guy.
Would the little guy be living outside? It is going to get colder now as the winter is closing in, do you really want to be stood outside cleaning a cage when there is snow on the ground, you have to think of all these things before taking on a pet.
I don't want to sound negative, but please consider your own situation and that of the guinea pig living by himself.
 
Hi, welcome to the forum. It is very kind of you to take care of this poor piggy and you are very sensible to ask for advice.

First I would think of his diet. He needs unlimited access to hay at all times. Hay should make up 80% of his diet. He should have access to fresh water changed daily. Twice a day he needs a handful of vegetables or herbs. This link will show you suitable ones.
http://www.squidoo.com/guinea-pig-care-4

What size cage is he in? With ready bought cages he will need two hours of floor time a day. It is going to be difficult for you with him living elsewhere.

What bedding is he on? I recommend towels with vet bed or fleece. This needs to be washed every three days so I am not sure your parents will allow you to do that.

I do not want to overload you but if you wish to know anything then please ask. It would be nice to know his name too.
 
Hi! Which country are you from?

It is great that you want to help your cousin's guinea pig and make sure that he has the best life possible under the circumstances. Hopefully, your dad will relent once you have proven that you can stick it out and be responsible.

A single guinea pig should have at least a 50x100cm cage. If he is on his own, please get him a safe, guinea pig sized cuddly toy to snuggle up to. Wipe the toy with a cloth that you have wiped your boy with so it smells "right". He could do with a hidey, even a cardboard box will do!

As to food:
- unlimited hay (should make up to 80% of the daily food intake). it is essential to keep the all important guts going well and the crucial back teeth ground down.
- pellets: unlimited until his weekly growth rate is slowing down; then very, very gradually reduced to the handful or half that an adult over 12-15 months old needs.
- vegetables: about 50g/1 cupful. Please feed a mix and add one high vitamin C veg like a slice of pepper or a bit of broccoli every day; fresh herbs are also good. You may even be able to grow some on your windowsill like cilantro/coriander, parsley or mint. here is a list of what veg they can eat:
- water: no additives, but changed daily.

You may also find informative threads on a range of subjects in our Daily Care section.

One thing that you really need to consider is vet care; your guinea pig may need to see a vet at some point in his life, and it won't be cheap, especially not when you are in the US. You will have to put by some of your pocket money each week so you can cover an emergency trip. Here in the UK your parents can be held responsible for any minor's pets in their household under the animal welfare act.

If you find that it is too difficult for you, you may want to consider looking for a good rescue for your boy.
 
Thank you very much for all the advice! We have considered surrendering him to a rescue, but I think we are going to see how things work out with me taking care of him, and if it's not working out well then surrendering him is not out of the question. I'm hoping that if the family whose house he is living at sees how responsible I am with him and they see that they aren't really having to do any work, hopefully they will let me get another pig so he will have a companion. I'm almost sure my parents or my cousins parents would pay for any vet bills that came up. If they didn't, I have almost two thousand dollars I have saved up in the bank. I live in the US. I will let you know about the questions you asked such as what bedding he has, what size cage he has, etc. I don't know the answers to all of these since I've only met him like once. I'll try to give him as much floor time as possible, I'm glad you guys told me how much floor time he needs, I'm pretty sure that he's getting no floor time at all right now with my cousin (she doesn't know any better). That will change with me, and I will be working his little mind! I'm very passionate about teaching animals tricks, I teach all my animals tricks, my dog knows over 40 tricks, and even my fish knows tricks! :) Which way is more cost efficient and time efficient as far as bedding goes, the traditional bedding or the fleece? Also, could I have more information on the fleece bedding method? The guinea pig's name is Cruz, and he's a little cutie! :) I tried to post a picture of him, but it says it's too big...
 
Oh, and how much veggies should he be eating everyday? Someone said two handfuls, someone said a cupful... Is there a specific ammount you should give?
 
Oh, and to answer someone else's question, he will be living inside. And I have another question, how much pellets should he be getting? He's probably about 10 months old by now...
 
A cup of pellets and two cups of vegetables a day is fine. I personally do not worry so much about precise measures.

With fleece you have to wash and dry it without fabric conditioner to make it wick away water. Have one layer of towels and two of fleece. It is washed in a washing machine but no fabric conditioner should be used.
 
piggyfan said:
A cup of pellets and two cups of vegetables a day is fine. I personally do not worry so much about precise measures.

With fleece you have to wash and dry it without fabric conditioner to make it wick away water. Have one layer of towels and two of fleece. It is washed in a washing machine but no fabric conditioner should be used.
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Thank you! What type of bedding is more cost effecient and time effecient in you opinion?

When you guys say 2 hours of floor time, does that mean 2 hours in his exersize pen? When I get him (my cousin won't be moving in across the street for a couple weeks so I won't be able to take care of him until then) his floor time would also consist of learning tricks, but until I get him, would it be good enough if she just put him in his exercise pen for 2 hours? I told how much he should be eating to my cousin and she said she has only been feeding him 1/8 cup pellets, and basically no vegetables (poor little guy!) and unlimited hay. Should we work him up slowly to the amount that you said, or would he be okay if we just switched to thatamount immediately?
 
sport_billy said:
Start building his Veggies up, has he ever ate them? They are an extremely important part of his diet. Here is a sticky http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/vegetables-shopping-list.42/ that will help show you what food they can eat.
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He has eaten veggies before, but only carrots, and only given once in a great while. My cousin thought they were treats, and didn't want to make him be any fatter than he is so she didn't give him basically any! I will tell her to start building up the amount of veggies she gives him. Thank you for the link about the foods he can eat! Oh, and should we slowly build up the pellets he is getting also?
 
Give pellets morning and night especially as he is only living on them and hay and up the amount a little too. Give him some celery as another veg, good ideas for veg is some herbs like parsley or coriander, a little cabbage that sort of thing :) Please start feeding him more veg straight away they need the Vit C from it.
 
Poor little man not having vegetables. He could be lacking in vitamin c. I think fleece is the best option for you. I use vet bed but I do not think you have it over there.
 
I have written an article about generalities here: guinea pig care

However, everyone has a different idea about what works for guinea pigs. If you read the comments in here and also under my article, you can see that there are a lot of opinions on how to house and feed a guinea pig. At the end of the day, as long as the guinea pig thrives, seems happy and has a healthy body, you will be doing well!
 
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Well it certainly sounds as if you are doing alot of research on how best to care for this little fella, I think you will grow to love him lots when you get to know his little character.
I think he will love the all the different veggies you are planning to give him.
Has he got a name yet?
 
sharonS said:
Well it certainly sounds as if you are doing alot of research on how best to care for this little fella, I think you will grow to love him lots when you get to know his little character.
I think he will love the all the different veggies you are planning to give him.
Has he got a name yet?
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His name is Cruz! :)
 
Good on you for taking such great care of a piggie, even going to a neighbours to look after him. You are a wonderful person. :)

I think once your father sees how well you are looking after the piggie and how dedicated you are to it, he may eventually let you have the little guy at your house, even if its just in your room. This will help you bond with Cruz even more.

As the little piggie is alone, I suggest giving him a toy to snuggle with. I gave my youngest piggie a little guinea pig plushie and he always slept with it despite having a live guinea pig in the same hutch as him. He was inseparable from his toy.

I'm sure he will bond with you very well once he realizes how much you take care of him and all the proper food he gets. He will be wheeking at the bars soon for veggies and taking them from your hand if he doesn't already. :)
 
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