Adopting a new baby

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Genee M.

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So any advice anyone can give on owning a skinny pig? We going to be taking in a lil boy who needs a home and it's a dream to own a skinny pig..... I'd just like advice like on care or are they pretty much the same as regular Guinea pigs. Like skin care is what I'm asking he'll be here in 2 weeks
 
Not sure of the breed but they are fuzzy n my tri-color shes a mix of the breed that starts with A sorry I adopted from a shelter in December
 
Are they sows or boars? And are you planning to bond the skinny with them? If the former then he needs to be neutered and have a six week wait. If boars then you cant put them all together - boar trios rarely work out.
 
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He's neutered. And he has vet paperwork stating so.
 
So what genders exactly are you putting together?

Boys should only ever live in pairs.
Girls can live with any other number of girls and one boy only.
Two boys and one girl does not work.
Three boys don’t work.
This is all down to dominance behaviour that guinea pigs have that humans don’t really understand, but it’s so so important
 
@Piggylove82 it will be four.

Is he from a rescue or an individual?
You’ll have to get him a cage to live beside the girls to begin with (minimum 120x60cm). Then for all four would need to be a minimum of about 215x60cm and four of everything.

Good luck with the bonding, hope your sows accept him.

PS please can you add your location to tour profile.
 
Lol yea he's going to start out next to them at first and hopefully they will bond and he's neutered
 
Genee M. said:
Lol yea he's going to start out next to them at first and hopefully they will bond and he's neutered
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When was he neutered?
The experienced skinny owners will be on in the morning for more advise on care. But I think it’s quite an undertaking so be prepared.
 
The main thing for skinny pigs is to make sure they are warm enough, I have mine indoors and at a consistent temperature. Make sure you have lots of soft fleece things that he can burrow in to keep warm. Make sure there are no rough or sharp edges that could scratch his skin in the cage. Be really careful when putting him with your other piggies, small scuffles that furry pigs have as they are bonding can cause major scratches on a skinny who has no fur to protect them. Just be ready with a towel or fleece to throw over them and break it up if you need to. Hopefully bonding will go smoothly and you won’t need any of that advice but it is a little more complicated when a hairless piggie is in the mix. As far as skin care goes I think as long as their diet is good they don’t really need lotions or oils. I have never had to put anything like that on mine and her skin is soft and healthy. That may vary from pig to pig not sure. Another thing is if you plan to give him time outside make sure his pen is all shaded from the sun as they can get sunburnt easily and make sure is is warm enough outside. Here are some pictures of my girl Jasmine.91204281-9FD8-44E2-8861-953FB7AFDA44.webp11466C5B-FC4D-4C7F-9248-1EFEBCD7C88E.webp05787DF0-2354-4D6C-9967-C0F50AB95C80.webp
 

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HeatherRose said:
The main thing for skinny pigs is to make sure they are warm enough, I have mine indoors and at a consistent temperature. Make sure you have lots of soft fleece things that he can burrow in to keep warm. Make sure there are no rough or sharp edges that could scratch his skin in the cage. Be really careful when putting him with your other piggies, small scuffles that furry pigs have as they are bonding can cause major scratches on a skinny who has no fur to protect them. Just be ready with a towel or fleece to throw over them and break it up if you need to. Hopefully bonding will go smoothly and you won’t need any of that advice but it is a little more complicated when a hairless piggie is in the mix. As far as skin care goes I think as long as their diet is good they don’t really need lotions or oils. I have never had to put anything like that on mine and her skin is soft and healthy. That may vary from pig to pig not sure. Another thing is if you plan to give him time outside make sure his pen is all shaded from the sun as they can get sunburnt easily and make sure is is warm enough outside. Here are some pictures of my girl Jasmine.View attachment 140877View attachment 140878View attachment 140882
Click to expand...
Not sure how those extra pictures got on there lol
 
Yes the main thing with skinny pigs is to keep them warm, the room temp should always be above 18 C and they need lots of fleecy houses and tunnels to sleep in.
Also they eat, poop and pee much more than furry piggies and tend to be a bit hyperactive, and noisy! No need for any skin care though usually :)
 
I wouldn't worry about skin unless there is a problem with it. Their skin is very much self caring and doesn't need dousing in oils or creams to keep it healthy. As long as their kept warm enough and you follow the rules of hairy pigs you can't go far wrong. As others have mentioned they eat more than hair pigs as their metabolism is faster, because they burn more calories to keep warm, so hence poop a lot more too.
 
HeatherRose said:
The main thing for skinny pigs is to make sure they are warm enough, I have mine indoors and at a consistent temperature. Make sure you have lots of soft fleece things that he can burrow in to keep warm. Make sure there are no rough or sharp edges that could scratch his skin in the cage. Be really careful when putting him with your other piggies, small scuffles that furry pigs have as they are bonding can cause major scratches on a skinny who has no fur to protect them. Just be ready with a towel or fleece to throw over them and break it up if you need to. Hopefully bonding will go smoothly and you won’t need any of that advice but it is a little more complicated when a hairless piggie is in the mix. As far as skin care goes I think as long as their diet is good they don’t really need lotions or oils. I have never had to put anything like that on mine and her skin is soft and healthy. That may vary from pig to pig not sure. Another thing is if you plan to give him time outside make sure his pen is all shaded from the sun as they can get sunburnt easily and make sure is is warm enough outside. Here are some pictures of my girl Jasmine.View attachment 140877View attachment 140878View attachment 140882
Click to expand...
Jasmine is beautiful 💕. I was never quite sure if I liked skinny pigs, then when I went to adopt my girls a few months ago, there were a couple of skinny pigs there and I got to hold one. I loved it! I don't think I'd have one myself (my pigs are currently outdoor pigs) but I'd definitely cuddle Jasmine or any other skinny pig 😍😍
 
Piggylove82 said:
Jasmine is beautiful 💕. I was never quite sure if I liked skinny pigs, then when I went to adopt my girls a few months ago, there were a couple of skinny pigs there and I got to hold one. I loved it! I don't think I'd have one myself (my pigs are currently outdoor pigs) but I'd definitely cuddle Jasmine or any other skinny pig 😍😍
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I was really freaked out by skinny pigs at first too, now Jasmine is one of my favorites (don’t tell the others!)
 
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