My new guinea pigs are afraid.

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ytinoooon

New Born Pup
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Romania,Cluj-Napoca
Hey, so I bought 2 guinea pigs yesterday and they are just 1-2 weeks old. They just eat when I'm not inside and when I am than they hide inside their shelter. When I get them out of their cage they just sit on my table I put some food their and they started eating it. I never had guinea pigs before please tell me what I need to do so they feel great in my home.
 
Please give them a week to settle in. The only thing you need to do is to spot clean and put in their veg, hay and pellets. You can also cover the cage with a blanket to make them feel more secure. No handling at all.

In a weeks’ time you can get them out to weigh them - this should be done weekly at the same time. Then you can start trying to hand feed them. If they take it then they’re starting to trust you. But it can take months.

Are you sure they’re 1-2 weeks old? They’re weaned at 3 weeks. Please double check the sex because you either got them from a breeder or pet shop.
 
I really hope they’re not that age because they should still be with mum then. Please check the sex of both your guinea pigs. If they separate them from mum at that age then I highly doubt they can sex them properly. Have a read of the guide below.
Illustrated Sexing Guide
 
Siikibam said:
Please give them a week to settle in. The only thing you need to do is to spot clean and put in their veg, hay and pellets. You can also cover the cage with a blanket to make them feel more secure. No handling at all.

In a weeks’ time you can get them out to weigh them - this should be done weekly at the same time. Then you can start trying to hand feed them. If they take it then they’re starting to trust you. But it can take months.

Are you sure they’re 1-2 weeks old? They’re weaned at 3 weeks. Please double check the sex because you either got them from a breeder or pet shop.
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they are both girls
 
Siikibam said:
I really hope they’re not that age because they should still be with mum then. Please check the sex of both your guinea pigs. If they separate them from mum at that age then I highly doubt they can sex them properly. Have a read of the guide below.
Illustrated Sexing Guide
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ok i hope so as well but if you think i could make a picture of them and you could see them.
 
You need to check the sexes. A shop that will let you take them at 1-2 weeks isn’t to be trusted. Have a read through the guides that were linked above. And make sure they have the space they need.
 
You would have been better off buying them the cage they need now. Then you don’t spend twice. It needs to be minimum 120x60cm. They should have two hides, two bottles, two hay areas and two bowls. If you don’t have a big enough cage then the space will quickly be taken up when you put those things in.
 
ytinoooon said:
not very big but they told me in the shop that if they grow i can buy them a bigger one
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They have given you such bad advice I’m afraid.
Two sows need to be in a cage measuring 120 cm x 60cm at an absolute minimum. If their cage isn’t that size, then it doesn’t meet welfare requirements. A cage of 150 x 60cm is recommended.
 
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If they end up not being sows, and are in fact two boars, then their cage requirements are even bigger. If they are incorrectly sexed and one is male and one is female, they will need to be separated from each other soon and live in two separate cages both measuring 120x60cm so being certain of what sex they are is vital

As they are so young, and too young to be away from mum, I’m going to tag in our pregnancy advisors to give advice on how to care for babies who should still be drinking their mothers milk @VickiA

In the meantime, be aware that as prey animals, their default mode is terrified. They are going to be even more scared to not be with their mother and not have her guidance. Settling them in and getting them used to you can take weeks, months and in some cases years.

These guides are for new owners
New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information
 
Please put the picture directly onto here, by clicking the attach files box underneath where you type a message.
 
Post the photo here as we need to sign in to see it in the link.

below where you type there is a button for ‘Attach files’ with a paper clip sign. You can choose photos from your phone.
 
How much do they weigh? While it isn’t a way to gauge their age, it might help us narrow it down.
You need to weigh guinea pigs every week as part of routine care anyway As it is the only way know they are eating enough hay and growing well.
 
In that case they are very young, should still be with their mother and should never have been available for you to buy
 
Did you weigh them yourself? Have a read of the guide that was linked earlier about orphan piggies. At this stage they should still be having mum’s milk. They’re not old enough to be on solids only yet.

Would it be possible to go back and get the mum as well? If she was there. Or were they there alone?

I’ll tag @Wiebke
 
Wait for our pregnancy advisors to tell you more about what to do. Ive never had to care for such young piggies before so wouldn’t want to give you incorrect advice - the advisors will be able to give you further information on whether they need any kind of supplementary feeding etc. They are may need alfalfa hay etc.

Your location is very vague so it’s difficult for us to give you detailed advice, but perhaps you have a trading standards service available to you and can report the pet shop, their advice and selling piggies at that age is awful

you need check their sexes yourself immediately. You cannot risk having a mixed sex pair together. Boars are fertile from three weeks of age and sows can get pregnant from four weeks of age so you need to be sure of what you are dealing with as the last thing you want is for one of them to end up pregnant.

you also need to get a bigger cage as soon as you can.
 
Siikibam said:
Did you weigh them yourself? Have a read of the guide that was linked earlier about orphan piggies. At this stage they should still be having mum’s milk. They’re not old enough to be on solids only yet.

Would it be possible to go back and get the mum as well? If she was there. Or were they there alone?

I’ll tag @Wiebke
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they chew the grass we gave them
 
ytinoooon said:
they chew the grass we gave them
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Yes they do eat hay/grass but they’re not old enough to be eating just that. They should also still be having milk from mum. This generally tapers off towards the 3 week old stage.
 
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