First time owner advice

[Animal.Lover]

Hello,
I'am new to the site and we are looking to get a pair of guinea pigs in the coming weeks after lots of research.

Apologies before hand for long post!

I have been having a look though the forum and picked up loads of good advice so thank you all

I was just wondering if you could recommend if either male or females are easier to keep/ friendlier? is it best to keep them in pairs or more?

Also I have been looking into diff types of bedding materials, what do you recommend is best, I have seen lots of site selling fleece dog/ cat bed type beds, or large hollow wooden ones with shredded paper?

I was in a pet shop today and they sold a type of litter tray pellet for guineas, has any one ever used these are they a good product or is it best just to use sawdust?

Can anyone recommend a good quality food in the shop there was a huge amount of choice, the one that stood out to me was *Supreme science selective food* does any one feed this brand? also good quality treats? and which fruit and veggies are best, i've heard carrots should be fed but in small amounts?

Can anyone recommend some good toys?

We are getting a double story house for the garden with a run attached to it and also a small hutch to bring indoors for the colder months, is it recommended to have a hutch weather protector on in bad weather and at night in the warmer days and nights?

I have heard of neutering . . . what are the circumstances where you would neuter other than housing 2 opposite sex? is it something don't in general to prevent cancers like in dogs.
?/
Again sorry its so long and sorry if some of my questions sound silly.

Thanks in advance.
Kelly x

 

[piggyfan]

Hi Kelly I applaud you for taking time out to research before getting guinea pigs. So many people just get them with no thought so well done to you. The best place to get them is from a shelter. There are so many guinea pigs in there who are in urgent need of a good home. You can be sure of finding a bonding pair too as often they are already bonded. Guinea pigs must be in groups of two or more. It depends how many you want to have. If you have boys they can only live with one other boy unless they are nutered and then they can live with one or more females. They are just as easy to keep as each other but with boys you must make sure their private area is clean. This is quick and simple to do though.

My personal favourite bedding is fleece. I used to used shavings and found it so messy and it can make guinea pigs sneeze. I put a layer of towels down and then two layers of fleece. I change it every three days but twice a day remove the poops. One thing you will learn about piggies is they poop so much! I get my fleece from Primark as it is only £2.50 there.

You should buy your guinea pigs a complete food rather then a mix as they will only pick the bits out they like. I have heard good things about select science and Burgess excell nuggets.

Guinea pigs should not have treats. They need an unlimited supply of hay. My personal favourite is Timothy hay. They need an unlimited supply of fresh water. Twice a day I feed mine fresh vegetables. Mine like cucumber,romaine lettuce,parsley,bell peppers,corn on the cob,carrot. There are so many vegetables you can feed them. Fruit can be fed twice a week if liked but it is not important. Here is a link of suitable vegetables and fruits:
http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/fruitandveg.html

Cardboard rolls stuffed with hay,paper bags stuffed with hay and cardboard boxes with a hole cut so a guinea pig can go in and out are all nice toys for them to play with. You may also like them to have a bed each as they love to be cosy. They also like to go in and out of tunnels. Mine even sleep in them! They need a place to hide away such as a wooden cabin. The wood is also usefull as they can gnaw on for their teeth.

If you wanted a boy to live with girls then you would get him neutered but apart from that I do not think it is important.

Could you have them living indoors? Guinea pigs indoors become tamer as they are more used to you. You will get to know them and interact with them so much more. Mine used to live in a cage before I found out about c and c grids. They are amazing grids you connect to make a house any shape and size you like and you can even have a second floor. Here is an example of the grids:
[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/GU52792-Safco-Storage-System-5279BL/dp/B000789RSQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1314482811&sr=8-7[/ame]

I hope I have been of some help.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

It would be great if you considered rehoming from a reputable rescue; that way you can actually avoid most of the problems you can end up with shop piggies of either sex (scared, unhandled piggies, health problems, unplanned pregnancies and fall outs in not well bonded boys). You will also get advice and support from the rescue during the settling in period and throughout the piggies' lives.

Please rehome two guinea pigs. Guinea pigs live in groups and are not really wired to be on their own. If you are careful about getting a well bonded pair, it doesn't matter whether they are two boars, two sows or a neutered boar/sow pair; it might be adviseable to leave the final choice for when you meet them in pigson! Some piggies have huge personalities which don;t always come over on a website.
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp#Wiltshire
http://www.yatesmallanimalfosterandrehome.webs.com/

What and how much you can feed is in the link provided. Ideally you feed everything in moderation and in a mix. Vary what you offer - most veg have one or the other problem if fed exclusively; by switching around, you can avoid most problems. Ideally you want to include daily one high vitamin C veg like a slice of pepper of any colour, a bit of broccoli, fresh coriander, parsley, dill or basil : http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

Toy ideas (the best ones are usually the simplest and cheapest):
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43520

As to housing; two guinea pigs need a minimum of 2-4 ft, ideally more. As for bedding etc. you best wait for people having hutches themselves. I am an indoor mummy - it's more fun for me, as I work from home and have thus company.

PS: All my guinea pigs are rehomed from various rescues after I ended up with surprise babies from my first shop bought sows (who were neatly separated and properly sexed in the shop, but NOT during the transport from the rodent farm). I wouldn't consider getting them otherwise now!

PS2: Neutering is only necessary if boars live with sows; it does NOT change boar behaviour!

 

[Animal.Lover]

Thanks very much for your replies, i have advertised on a few internet boards to see if anyone knows of any rescues in the area, i see our local pets at home has a rescue section attached and they had a few guinea's who had recovered from illnesses (they still didnt look very healthy to me though) and i was not overly kean on them being that they were origionally from the shop (who dont have a brill reputation for selling healthy livestock). . . . i will give the numbers on the website a call thanks very much for them, i know john from the swindon sanctuary but didnt know he took in guineas, hopefully he has some in.

I am going to research into the fleece, sound much better than shavings, when you wash it do you use just normal detergant?

Kind regards
Kelly x

 

[piggyfan]

Best thing is to wash the fleece first before you use it and only use soap powder with no conditioner to help it be water proof.

 

[missy]

I am going to research into the fleece, sound much better than shavings, when you wash it do you use just normal detergant?

I also use fleece and just machine wash it with a little of my normal detergent. It washes really well and dries super fast. As piggyfan mentioned, it's very important to not use any fabric softener/conditioner as this stops the fleece from wicking away the urine effectively, so it's definitely worth washing brand new fleeces 2 or 3 times before you first use them, to be sure that they're free of softener.

Piggy noses are very sensitive so it's also best to stay away from anything very strongly perfumed too. Lots of people add a little white vinegar when they wash their piggy fleeces, to help neutralise any odours - I find this works very well and shouldn't leave any lingering smell.

It'll also need an absorbent layer underneath, to keep the fleece surface dry. Some people use old towels or incontinence pads like this:
[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000MES1W8/ref=s9_simh_gw_p79_d0_g79_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0CSF3Q96QFYZBGNAE0TG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294[/ame]

Bedding choice is down to personal preference, each with their pros and cons, but I've tried lots of things and much prefer fleece. After the initial outlay it works out very cheap and you don't have to keep buying it regularly, the pigs love it, it's soft, hygienic and non-allergenic, doesn't get stuck to their bums and I like the fact that there are loads of lovely designs to keep the cages bright and cheery (although that's more for my sake than theirs!)

Good luck with it all. Good for you, doing your research!