My un-named piggies settling in

[kayemerton]

Hi all

Well I have had the two boys for 3 days now and settling in although having to keep the dog and my toddler away is proving to be quite stressful! My toddler can open the latches so need to find a way to keep the hutch doors closed as don't want him to accidentally open it and for them to fly out! The hutch roofs lifts up but I think that would be rather scary for prey like guineapigs!
I still haven't thought of names for them. The red satin is rather small compared to the golden one with a bitten ear, who is proving to be the bolder of the two. Wherever there is food he is there! Any ideas on names?

Surprised by the amount of wee every day as cleaned it out yesterday after only a day as wee leaking out of the door! The smallest one was making a growling sound this morning in the corner when i went to put some food in-take it he was frightened? Annoyed?
Haven't picked them up yet, desperate to though! :o

 

[Wiebke]

Growling means usually "Stay away from me!" "I don't like it!". He obviously felt threatened by you working around them; which is understable with a lively dog and a toddler around! However, they will hopefully get used to where they are. Could you put kind of a pen around the run to keep dog and toddler away? Or a lock on the hutch door might work as well.

If you have a garden, you need to set an area aside where your dog can't go; dog pee is poisonous for piggies.

What is your bedding? Usually, megazorb on a layer of newspaper is quite good in hutches and doesn't need to be cleaned out daily.

What about Rusty and Shimmer? Or Copper and Gold? Fire and Flame?

Best of luck with settling them. There is a collection of tips in our reference section.

 

[kayemerton]

Hi there
Yes I did think he was trying to tell me to bog off! It was actually this morning without toddler or dogs as left them inside when i went to check on them but either way doesn't surprise me! Just found the noise strange as sounded like a cat growling! lol
No i can't fence the hutch off but am looking to sort some locks out somehow! Yes our front garden the dogs don't go on but not putting them out anyway yet as A) don't have a run and B) thought would let them settle first. I have them on newspaper and hay as bedding but may try the megazorb although read bad things about the smell? Not that it would matter that much outside i guess. Didn't think dog wee was poisonous just a bit gross for them to eat wee covered grass!
Thanks for the names i do like rusty actually

 

[biscandmatt]

rusty and dusty!

 

[flips]

Your boys are lovely. x)x)

I use megazorb indoors and don't notice any smell from it at all. I know some people have said it can smell mouldy but have never had this problem- I suspect they had a batch that had got damp somehow. It's brilliant under hay for absorbing wee. I used it in the ferplast cage when the girls were tiny and now in litter trays as they are on fleece in a c & c. It's easy to lift out any really wet spots with a cat litter scoop and then top up; I only changed the whole lot every 6-7 days (I change the litter tray every 3 days now as it's a much smaller/ more concentrated area). I change the hay every day because they pee on it and eat it, and because I think hay smells really quickly when it's wet.

 

[Wiebke]

Rusty and Nugget?

I certainly didn't like megazorb indoors in my living room, but it won't matter outdoors. Personally, I find that newspaper is not very absorbent and that peed on hay turns into a stinky sludge really quickly.

You are right at better letting your boys getting their bearings first before you introduce them to any new surroundings. You also need to have na area fenced off and mowed at least once before you can let your boys out because of the dog pee - fresh one can, and has, killed piggies! When you put them out on the lanw, make sure that their run has a shady roof so they can feel protected from sun as well as predators.

 

[Linny pop]

sometimes my two sisters growl at eachother... it goes on forever sometimes..its like a machine gun After a while they usually sort their differences out tho, its normally when ive just changed they bedding..I think theyre squabbling over the same spot to settle on...I just leave them to get over it!