Preparing Cage For A Baby

JaseChase

JaseChase

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Tofu (my 4yo boar) is going rescue dating at the weekend and will hopefully come home with a 3 week old baby boar as a new companion

I’ve never had a piggie so young before and I’m wondering if I need to prepare the cage any differently. The rescue suggested I reduce to a 4x2 C&C for the first few weeks as the baby will be very small, but I know boars are supposed to have 5x2 minimum, would reducing be a bad idea? The cage is a 6x2 L-shape usually

Otherwise will things like water bottles need to be lower down? Is diet for a baby the same as for an adult? I’ve checked that the grids are baby safe, which they are. Will have all neutral clean fleece in there ready for when they come home
 
How lovely?

I personally would not decrease cage size. Doing so would mean you would need to increase it again later which would constitute new territory and then set into a new round of two weeks of dominance.

The baby diet is the same as the adult diet.
But you would need to ensure you are adding in any new veggies carefully and slowly so as to not upset his digestion.
 
I agree don't change the cage size. Give your cage a thorough deep clean and then rub something that smells of both of them all over the cage when they come home. This will mean they are going into "their territory" and will help to settle them in especially the baby who will be feeling very lost and unsure of himself. Cover half the cage with a blanket to give the baby a sense of being safe. Hope Tofu and the baby will be very happy together and that Tofu is a good Uncle pig.
 
Piggies&buns said:
How lovely?

I personally would not decrease cage size. Doing so would mean you would need to increase it again later which would constitute new territory and then set into a new round of two weeks of dominance.

The baby diet is the same as the adult diet.
But you would need to ensure you are adding in any new veggies carefully and slowly so as to not upset his digestion.
Click to expand...

Betsy said:
I agree don't change the cage size. Give your cage a thorough deep clean and then rub something that smells of both of them all over the cage when they come home. This will mean they are going into "their territory" and will help to settle them in especially the baby who will be feeling very lost and unsure of himself. Cover half the cage with a blanket to give the baby a sense of being safe. Hope Tofu and the baby will be very happy together and that Tofu is a good Uncle pig.
Click to expand...

My instinct after reading the guides was not to decrease the cage size, I’m glad you both agree! Good thoughts with the scents as well. The cage is in the living room so I’ll definitely have a blanket covering at least some of it for the first bit while baby settles in and adjusts

Ramia said:
What color is the baby?
Click to expand...

Not sure yet! The rescue had a group including lots of pregnant females recently and there are a few baby boars coming up to the age they’ll need separating. The plan is to see which one seems to get along with Tofu the best - but hopefully the bonding will be smooth with the babies being so young

I confess I’m quite excited ☺️ and pleased Tofu won’t be on his own much longer. Losing his friend Patches was unexpected and rough on all of us so this is a much needed bright spot
 
Ah that’s lovely news for dear Tofu ❤️
I’m sure everything will go well for baby and Tofu
You’ve been given lots of great advice and knowing what caring owners/ devoted slaves you and your oh are ….that baby will be very happy 🥰
 
If it's a C&C cage with the square holes you will need to cover the holes or double the grids (lapped over) to make the holes smaller so baby can't walk through them.

You can cover the grids with cardboard or spare bits of corex, it will only be for a short time until baby grows.
 
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Good advice about the cage.
It’s very exciting and I look forward to photos.
Tofu is such a handsome boar, it will be lovely for him to have companionship again.
 
Thank you all 😊 I’ve double checked the cage grids are baby safe, but I do have cardboard on standby just in case I need to cover them

Tofu’s got a little bag packed for his stay with his pellets and medication. It’ll be the first time I’m leaving him somewhere overnight - harder for me than for him I think! It should only be a couple of days if everything goes smoothly

I will report back with news about the new little guy. We’re very excited to meet him 🥰
 
Ah I hope it goes well for Tofu
When Geoff went away to bond with Freddy I worried all the time 😂
Looking forward to hearing the news
 
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