Should I Get Another Piggie?

[protazy]

Hello!
My name is Piotr and I would like to get some guidance on having a second pig.

So here is my story from the beginning: My friends asked me if I, together with my partner, would like to become owners of a guinea pig. Of course we got all excited and happy because we love animals. Soon they arrived with guinea pig at my place, together with cage, food and all that. Piggy is a US Teddy male, his name is Blaise and he's about 2,5 months old now. He lives with us for 1 week now and everything is going smooth, he is a little bit shy, but has an appetite and likes to be pet. There is just one problem - I think he is lonely! We try to spend as much time as needed with him, but still we are at work everyday from 9 to 5 and he's at home all by himself Today I was watching some videos of guinea pigs and they were quite noisy - almost immediately Blaise started to talk back to them! I did some reading on this forum and it seems like everybody keeps repeating that piggies must have a companion to be really happy. Should we get another one? But I am worried that they will fight.. what if they won't like each other? Is having two piggies much harder than having one?

I read that new pigs must be quarantined - but I do not have enough space to keep second piggie in another cage. If I would get another pig from the same source, do they need quarantine anyways? What if they were siblings?

I guess the cage is big enough for two - 120x60 cm.

Side questions:
1. Today I found something like a scar on my piggie and got worried a lot, but learned that it is a grease gland and I should keep it clean. Ok, but what is it actually? Why do guinea pigs have them?
2. Blaise is a real pooping machine! I was petting him for like an hour and he made 18 (!) poops. Whaaat? 10 of them he did in a row - is this normal?

So many questions!

Thanks for your help,
Piotr

 

[sport_billy]

Hi Piotr, Welcome to the forum. Lovely to have you join us. Sounds like Blaise has a great home with you both.

In answer to your questions
For two piggies you'd be looking at a cage size of 120cm x 60cm meets the minimum recommendation

Blaise's pooing is normal, guinea pigs are poo machines! So totally normal - They need to have their guts constantly moving, this is why it is so important a guinea pig has access to unlimited hay 24 hours a day.

Bonding 2 piggies can be a little tense sometimes, I will tag @Wiebke into this thread as she is an expert on it. If you do get Blaise a friend you would need in the cage two houses so piggies have their own space to get away from each other. It would also have to be a boy, unless Blaise is neutered. Do you have Guinea Pig rescues in Poland? We do in the UK and some offer piggy dating services to help you find piggies friends.

We have some information on bondings here

Bonding http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
Boars companionship http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-a-guide-to-successful-companionship.76162/

I am going to link to some threads that hopefully you will find helpful
Settling in piggies http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
Food balanced diet http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
Food list http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
Things piggies need http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/getting-a-guinea-pig-items-youll-need-to-buy.112288/


Your English is fantastic by the way Hope you enjoy your time here with us

Lee

 

[piggyfan]

Hello Piotr. Welcome to the forum.

Guinea pigs do have grease glands and sometimes they need to be cleaned. This link will explain more,
http://www.guinealynx.info/grooming.html

Your cage is big enough for two guinea pigs. I can understand your concerns about guinea pigs fighting as this can happen. If you are lucky enough to have a rescue near by then you could take your piggy to let him choose his own friend but I know some places do not have rescues. The difficulty with buying another pig is that they do not get on and you will have to have them living in separate cages. Could you have two cages side by side? Often guinea pigs feel much happier with a piggy neighbour to interact through the bars with.

Guinea pigs need to constantly eat hay to keep their gut moving. They poop all the time to keep their gut healthy. This is a very good sign as a piggy who does not poop is unwell. Be happy with the poops!

The reason quarantine is important is it takes two weeks for illness or mites to show. If you were to buy an ill piggy he could transfer something to yours and put him at risk. Quarantine is essential even if you get litter mates. Just so you know litter mates do not always get on. It depends on the personality.

I hope you feel free to ask any more questions you have.

 

[Julie M]

Can't add to the advice but just wanted to say . And congratulations on your new addition.

 

[protazy]

Thank you all for warm welcome I did not expect answers so quickly!

It's great to hear Blaise's pooing is normal - I feel relieved.

I did some searching and found polish web pages with information on adoption and pigs looking for home - if we will decide to get another piggie, we will surely use those sites.

@piggyfan - having two cages side by side would be somewhat troublesome, but not impossible. So I guess if the piggies would not like each other, we could keep them separately (I'd prefer only one cage though).

Is my understanding correct that it would be better to get an older piggie (i.e. older than 14 months) so there won't be a double teenage drama?

@sport_billy - thanks for all the links! Food diet especially got my attention. I think we must change the way we are feeding Blaise. Here's what he gets for now:
- unlimited hay
- muesli type food for kids: http://www.vitakraft.de/de/produkte...lansicht/backid/689/page/1/product/11274.html And yes, I already learned that it is not good for piggie, I noticed selective feeding - Blaise does not like every bit.
- pellets - These were brought by my friends from a breeder, and she said to mix it with the muesli food. Blaise is not really interested in nuggets and leaves them in his bowl, eats only what comes from muesli package. I will enclose a picture of pellets, I do not know their brand (I got them in a bag)
- Fresh veggies, we tried so far:
- carrots, apples, cucumber - likes them very much
- pepper - tried one bite but did not like it and left untouched
- dill - likes it
- iceberg lettuce - likes it, but I have already learned that it is not good for a piggie and I will not give him that any more

I think we were giving too much veg and should concentrate on hay and pellets, also drop the muesli incrementally. Blaise does know how to drink from a bottle, but does not drink a lot.

For now we want to just gather more information about guinea pigs, and not jump to getting a second pig too quickly. First we need to get some more experience with one piggy, get to know its habits, behaviour, and then we will decide, does that sound reasonable?

Here are the pellets we have:


And last but not least, introductions! Here's Blaise:

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

It is great that you want to give Blaise as happy a life as possible and that you are doing your research.

Blaise is a gorgeous boy! I have some teddy girls and love them dearly. They can be a bit grumpy and are often not the most relaxed piggies, though.

As Blaise is still too young gor his puberty hormones, he is still somewhat easier to bond. However, the time between 4-14 months of age can be quite tricky as boars suffer from hormonal spikes and develop their adult boar identity. Finding a character compatible boar and providing as much space as you can is vital to help your boys through that difficult period, as it helps to minimise the risk of fights breaking out. If you can let Blaise choose who he wants to live with, then that can help to minimise the risk of a fall-out. it may also help to fin a boar that is either older or younger than Blaise so the hormones don't hit both boars at the same time.

If you have's got space for another cage, you may have to brace yourself for having to treat both boars for any health problem like mites, ringworm or respiratory infections, which are the most common issues.

You may also find these links here helpful to give you an idea what you are facing re. boar bonding and behaviour:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boar-dating-service-wales.59233/
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cage-size-guide.120795/ (PS: I am aware that it is very difficult in Poland to get hold of any larger cages than a 50x100cm)

 

[jenny57]

Hi Piotr and welcome to the forum. Blaise is beautiful and a very lucky boy to have you looking after him. Hope yo hear lots more from you n the future.

 

[sport_billy]

Piotr, you are doing a great job, if only all new owners of piggies did their research like you the world would be a better place for Guinea's.

Can't tell what those pellets are unfortunately, what brands do you have in Poland. Veggies are very important as piggie don't make their own Vit C, to give you an idea on the amount of veggies, it should be around 1 cup full per day per piggie spilt into Breakfast and tea. An example of what we feed is

Breakfast
Cucumber
Celery
Pepper (Either red, yellow or green) De-seeded. Piggies tend to like different colours so if one doesn't work try another

Tea
Coriander (twice a week) or Little Gem Lettuce (three times a week) or Cabbage/kale (once a week) or Celery leaves (once a week) Occasionally Parsley, Dill, spinach, spring greens
Cucumber
Green beans or carrot

Blaise is gorgeous by the way.

 

[protazy]

Thanks for the example I think Blaise was just not hungry when I gave him pepper - but I did not remove it from his cage and guess what? Pepper is all gone now

 

[Popcornpiggy]

Welcome to the forum ! Blaise is gorgeous It is lovely that you are trying to find out as much info as possible, he definately has found a lovely home with you