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Officially introducing our two new guinea pigs...

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sharonk

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Not sure if the photos will work but here goes....!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81246651@N08/7439473194

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81246651@N08/7439479400

We collected two boys from milhaven on Saturday. They have been rechristened Toffee and Ginger. They are 18mth old brothers who seem to have settled in very well. They are very easy when it comes to sitting with the children.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed as these are our first ever pets! Bit of a learning curve! The children are in seventh heaven though!
Hope the pics work, let me know!
 
You have stolen my Toffeewoffee and made her into 2 piggies! :))

I am so jealous, i love gingers, they are gorgeous, by all accounts pink eyed goldens are calm cuddly piggies and it has certianly been proved with my tofs. You are very lucky! xx
 
Aww thanks :) is that what they are pink eyed goldens? They are ruby eyed and they go pinker in light. One of them, Ginger, is purely ginger but Toffee has some pale brown running through his coat too so that's how we tell them apart!
Any tips for a first time owner?!? Is it normal to feel a bit overwhelmed?!
 
You will never stop feeling overwhelmed and parnoid, but that is because your a good pet owner and love and care for your animals. I have had pigies 4 years and haven't changed a bit :))

I was told my toffee is a PEG so i assume your's would be, but not 100% if i am wrong i am sure someone will correct me. My girls eyes are really quite pink.

You've been on a while now and read up and done your research so iwon't bomabard you with tips you probably already know, but the most important things are to get registered with a Cavy Savvy vet ASAP, this will save ay messing around if and when you need one (hopefuly you won't) and alot can be told from a guinea pig's weight so weigh weekly and record their weight, if you have any concerns then just pop a question on here.

If there is anything in particular you'd like to know let me know.

But you sure do have 2 gorgeous piggies who i am sure will be very well looked after. xx
 
They look like big lumps like my toffee :)) I'm not saying that is a bad thing, i was always told a fat piggy is a happy piggy.
 
They are quite big boys really! Much bigger than the petite girls I thought we were getting! They are 1.3kg each, is that overweight? They don't seem to run around a lot even when given the chance in the run! I'm still getting used to the fact that we've got boys and hoping they aren't any more trouble with all their boy bits and so on, because I had originally wanted girls!
 
How old are they? I'm guessing over a year with their weight.... Then they should have been past the hormonal stage and you should be fine if they are well bonded.

1.3kg is a good weight. xx
 
Yes they are 18mths old so full grown. Is it normal for them to hide given the chance?! Without a in the run they mooch about, eat, drink, go through tubes etc and squeak a bit but put the hidey in and they both amble back and disappear inside! Are they just being lazy cos they have the chance of somewhere warm and dark to snuggle up together?
 
Yes its normal at this stage, they are in a new environment with strange smells, noises and sights etc so this is perfectly normal, they will soon settle and become familiar with everything and be more comfortable, it just take time. If you can resisit the urge to cuddle them then i would suggest trying to leave actual handling for a week or so and just sit by the cage, offer treats, talk to them quietly, stroke them etc, when you do start handling try and usher them into a cosey or something and have them both out together as compnay until they are used to be handled. Also when they are out sit n the floor with them and offer treats, this will help with bonding and them associating floor time with treats and get excited about it. xx
 
They have already been handled a bit and seem quite good with it really. Very placid and have been doing the squeaky purring noises but in the run they are just not very active, just expected them to be a bit more lively! Maybe it will come in time. Guess they are still getting used to the routine. Am putting them in an indoor pen in daytime and back in cage around teatime. They are eating drinking and pooing fine that's for sure!
 
Floor time is wasted on my lot aswell, if there is a house out they'll hide in it, otherwise they'll take refuge under the coffee table and climb up the cage wanting back in!

Think they're just being lazy, you could try taking hidey's out and just have a tube/tunnel and spreading treats about for them to get them to move :))
 
Yes I did take the hidey out for a bit and it did make them more active but didn't want to 'stress' them for too long if they really wanted/needed it back Wo have put it back in for now. I think we perhaps might have given them too much to deal with in a short space of time really. Perhaps I should have held off floor time for a few days but I thought with being big boys they would need some time out of their cage and a change of scenery. Trying too hard as new owners I think eek! :(
 
Congrats, they are gorgoeus x) Toffeewoffee has gave you lots of sound advice and it sounds like they have fallen on all 4 paws with you as there slave. Lokking forward to hearing and seeing a lot more about these two.
 
Ooh just got back from school run and they were still hiding in hut so kids had collected dandelion leaves on the way home so I removed hidey, washed leaves and they've wolfed them and started mooching about, eating nuggets and so on and I think we've had some popcorns from Ginger :) more of a walk and a popcorn rather than a run and a popcorn but at least its activity (seems like they have to be encoraged to be active!) so am hoping that means they are happy?!?
 
Yes it definitely does, dandelions and grass are the best way to a piggies heart :))

Great news xx
 
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