Hopefully Soon To Be Piggie Owner's Questions

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BethG

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Hello, I'm hopefully getting some piggies soon, I've looked after other peoples piggies before but never had one of my own so I wondered if anyone can help me out with a few things?
1) Do you have to worm guinea pigs (like a dog or cat) and/or should I feed them Verm-X?
2) A lot of people seem to be using fleece as bedding but it is ok to use shavings or verdo (a wood based pelleted bedding designed for horses) ?
3) Do they need regular vet checks?
4) I have done a bit of research and it would appear that guinea pig nuggets are best to feed but is there a particular brand which is best?
5) There is one pig hopefully coming from one place as her friend died, will she be ok if I was to keep her with other females?

Sorry for all the questions but I want to get it right, I've done a bit of research but as with everything there are lots of contradictory articles on the net so I thought I might be better off asking actual piggie owners :)
 
1) Do you have to worm guinea pigs? They say you should worm your guinea pigs every 3-6 months so to be frankly yes you do.
2) Bedding? Fleece is a nice bedding to use BUT it comes with so many downfalls, wood shavings are okay and I'd recommend them for short haired only.
3) Do they need vet checks? You should take your piggie to the vet perhaps once in 2 months for a checkup, unless there is something
your concerned about.
4) Food? I feeded my guinea pigs on the Waggs Dried Food from Asda they loved it. I tried them with nuggets they hated them. It ranges from guinea to guinea.
I'd say the most exceeding brand for nuggets would be Harringtons which ranges from £3 - £6 for a 2KG bag :)
5) Bonding? You'd have to bond them, you can't just put a female in with other females. I'd get a experienced bonder who can give you advise I'd recommend
@Rodentopia she has a group of 9 boars living together.

It's fine haha, that's what a forums is for I suppose. Correct me if any information I gave was wrong.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. It is great you are doing research before getting guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs that go outside need worming. I do not have a garden so I have not wormed mine. The vet will need to do it for you.

I do not recommend shavings as they can cause allergies. My favourite bedding is vetbed but fleece is fine too. A wood bedding it not suitable for guinea pigs.

When you first get piggies it is a good idea to get them a check up. Then if anything is wrong they will need to see a vet right away. Guinea pigs are prey animals and hide signs of pain or illness so once they seem off they should see a vet.

Nuggets are the best dried food and people all use different ones. I use burgess excell.
Sows can live with other sows providing their personalities match. The best place to get guinea pigs from is a rescue. With rescue piggies you can be sure they are healthy, correctly sexed, not pregnant and are already bonded.
 
Asking questions is how you learn so don't worry :)

1. Worm guinea pigs no, they aren't prone to worms so its not something you need to overly worry about. If you did notice any symptoms then you would need to see your vet but rare to find a piggy with worms.
2. Its down to individual choice as to bedding type. I use fleece and hay as having long haired piggies shavings would get caught up and cause matts so for longer haired breeds fleece or vet bed is better. Shavings are also thought to dry skin out and cause fungal and uri.
3. Having a guinea pig savvy vet on hand is important. I only see a vet if anything is wrong but if your new to piggies it wouldn't harm for you to get a vet to health check them for you.
4. Nuggets are better as prevent selective feeding. Sadly there is a load of contradicting posts on what food is best. I personally don't feed many pellets and prefer to feed a more hay and veg based diet with a small handful of pellets in the evening. I feed Science Selective at the moment.
5. Females need bonding, if you look up topics on here on bonding or find a local rescue who can bond for you, find her friends she gets on with. At a rescue they can bond her with a neutered male or other females :)
 
Hi and welcome!

1) Unless your piggies are out on the lawn a lot for most of the year, you do not need to worm. It is not a major problem with piggies than it is with cats and dogs. I don;t worm.

2) I use fleece with a towel underlay for my indoors piggies, but there are alternatives like fitch to shavings. Not heard of verdo, so I can't comment on that. Guinea pigs need hay (preferably first cut); it should make up 80% of their daily food intake.

3) I would recommend a half yearly or yearly vet check. It is advisable to do a weekly health check and weigh-in yourself. We have got a thread about piggy body quirks at the top of our Daily Care section which will help you to determine what is normal and what is not. In the same section you can also find a thread about early signs of illness. The sooner you see a vet about a health problem, the better the chances of recovery. A piggy that is not eating quite right or losing more than 50g in a short period should ring your alarm bells.
Wea slo have a recommended piggy savvy vet locator on the top bar for our UK members.

4) I am mainly feeding Burgess Excel pellets; they are not the top brand, but are a reasonable balance between quality and price - and with two dozen piggies, I go through quite a bit! They are also widely available. We are currently in process of updating our pellet brand information and there should be a new overview thread at the top of our food section soon.

5) Guinea pigs are group animals; they are not wired to live on their own. if you are in Britain, you can make use of our recommended rescues locator on the top bar. All these rescues operate to a high standard and you can be sure that any piggy is healthy and guaranteed not pregnant; they are by far the safest place to get piggies from and not have an unpleasant surprise.
They also offer bonding with a rescue piggy under expert supervision, so you don't have to worry about coming home with a piggy that doesn't work out. While your friend's girl is undergoing a 2 week quarantine at your place (please have her vet checked and also sexed - you'd be amazed at how often the gender is not what it should have been!), you can organise a date and adoption with a rescue. You can look at both a neutered boar (which many rescues now have) or a suitable sow; a cross gender bond is the most stable of them all and can be very loving. The key to a happy piggy bond is character compatibility. Letting your piggy choose who they want to get on with will ensure that!
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-companionship.37654/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/importance-of-quarantine.108034/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator (These are the rescues we can guarantee; any others, you are on your own!)

6) Cage/hutch size: Two guinea pigs (the same as one) should have a minimum of 2x4 ft ground space on one floor as per RSPCA minimum recommendation, ideally more. if you are looking at a hutch, you need to have winter protection (either in a protected space or with plenty of insulation) and also be able to give suitable cover from the worst heat/direct sun during heat waves, as piggies can die from heat stroke.

We have got lots of information at the top of each of our Care sections; have a browse and don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have.

Ps: with members from all over the world, we are grateful if you added your country, state or (for the UK) your county/general area, so we can always give you the appropriate advice and recommendations straight away. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details/location.
 
ahh ok, thanks for the help so far! am I right in thinking that they aren't meant to have straw as bedding? and re. the worming thing do you think feeding Verm-X will do the trick? I'm a horsey person really and apparently the horse version works so I was wondering about the using the rabbit and guinea pig one for the piggies? Also on the bonding front, I'm guessing thats sort of similar to horses? introducing them gradually starting with them separated but able to see each other then so they can interact with just a fence (or in this case some sort of wire mesh divider xD) between them before putting them together? And yes I was trying to find some rescue ones but wasn't having much luck finding any on my own so I shall check out that link right away! Also the location thing is something else I shall do now, I'm in Lincolnshire in the Skegness area, I'll go add it to my profile :)
 
I wouldn't use wormer unless needed, mine go out all summer long on grass and in 20 plus years never had a piggy with worms. So I wouldn't overly worry yourself about them. Piggies work a little differently once the new piggies are settled you are better off putting them together in a neutral area and only splitting if there is any friction. In cases where there is sometimes using the divider trick works as over time they can begin to bond :)
 
i use finicard but am going to give ecobale a try. Shavings were making my nose itch when i was doing the litter trays and seemed to be quite wet when i changed them. The finicard seems to stay dry on top as the wee seems to drain thrrough. There is a thread about bedding. I have large c&c cages with puppy pads and fleece and litter trays. Most wees done in litter trays. The fleece is quite time consuming but i find it works well for me. I feed burgess exel nuggets but my adults dont get many.They get at least three type of veggies a day and unlimited hay.A lot of people use fitch and the reviews on it seem quite good and it isnt too expensive.If you can go rescue some offer a bonding service. I have a group of 4 girls and a group of 6 girls and they work brilliantly. Would love to have them all together so they could have run of the room but have a dominant sow in each group that will only accept babies and absolutely hate each other.You could put a neutered boar in with the girl . Male/female pairs are supposed to be the most stable parings or you could have a neutered male with more than one female.The male would keep the girls in line .A good rescue will match the personalities of the piggies whatever combination you decide on.
 
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