Hi everyone, looking for some info regarding caring for guinea pigs.
Just purchsed 2 female pigs, very large cage, all the other bits and pieces needed hay, pellets, etc etc....
Done some research on the net regarding food & care but different sites seem to conflict each other about how often & what to feed, how you should make contact with them.........you get the jist!
At present we let them out the cage about 3 times per day for roughly an hour to let them run around and get some decent excercise. They are fed fresh veg (carrot, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomato) roughly about half a mug twice a day and they seem to really enjoy their food but i'm unsure if i'm feeding them too much or should only give this amount once per day?
When handling them are you better to handle them more to begin with so they get used to you, your smell, touch etc.... or should you be slowly introducing them by petting in the cage or trying to get them to take food from your hand?
One of the pigs seems to be the more dominant and i've read this is normal but she almost head butts the other to the rear or side of the body and has on a few occassions chattered her teeth and almost like a cat hunched her back up while digging her claws into the ground. Is this also normal? The more dominant one seems to be the more nervous and timid so unsure if this is just a nervous way of acting or she is stressed.
All info would be greatly appreciated as we would hate to hurt or cause unnecessary stress to them and want to care for them properly.
This is our 1st proper pet, we felt a dog was too much of a commitment due to kids, work etc... but the pigs seem to fit in perfectly with our shift patterns and you don't need to walk them for hours in the rain!
Just purchsed 2 female pigs, very large cage, all the other bits and pieces needed hay, pellets, etc etc....
Done some research on the net regarding food & care but different sites seem to conflict each other about how often & what to feed, how you should make contact with them.........you get the jist!
At present we let them out the cage about 3 times per day for roughly an hour to let them run around and get some decent excercise. They are fed fresh veg (carrot, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomato) roughly about half a mug twice a day and they seem to really enjoy their food but i'm unsure if i'm feeding them too much or should only give this amount once per day?
When handling them are you better to handle them more to begin with so they get used to you, your smell, touch etc.... or should you be slowly introducing them by petting in the cage or trying to get them to take food from your hand?
One of the pigs seems to be the more dominant and i've read this is normal but she almost head butts the other to the rear or side of the body and has on a few occassions chattered her teeth and almost like a cat hunched her back up while digging her claws into the ground. Is this also normal? The more dominant one seems to be the more nervous and timid so unsure if this is just a nervous way of acting or she is stressed.
All info would be greatly appreciated as we would hate to hurt or cause unnecessary stress to them and want to care for them properly.
This is our 1st proper pet, we felt a dog was too much of a commitment due to kids, work etc... but the pigs seem to fit in perfectly with our shift patterns and you don't need to walk them for hours in the rain!
