Natural routine/settling in? Bit long sorry!

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happycath

happycath

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Hi all,
I'm Catherine and I'm new to the forum (proper introduction coming soon!). I'm a first-time guinea pig owner. Yesterday I got two gorgeous baby boars who are about 8 weeks old - yet to be named! They are indoor piggies in a 4x2 C&C cage with a 2x1 upper level - the hayloft.
Anyway as I'm new to this I just wondered if anyone could give me some advice about their natural routine as I really want to get it right for them.
As they're still new to their home they're very frightened and jumpy - although we're making slow progress :)
I've got some questions though! The answers are probably obvious but as I'm new to this I just need them pointing out to me :) I did as much research as I could and I'm fairly confident the cage environment, food etc is fine, but there are a couple of things I'm unsure about.
I'm not sure about their natural routine and what I can do to support it? Do they sleep through the night? Or nap in the day? Or both?! They were asleep until quite late this morning - 9am, and I think they're napping now (almost 1pm).
Also (and this will most likely sound very silly) I'm not sure what to do about light - can they see in the dark at all? Yesterday evening as it got dusky outside I put a small lamp on in their room as they seemed to have just become brave enough to cautiously explore the cage and I didn't want to spoil their fun. I turned the lamp off when we went to bed at about 11pm and I heard them drinking & scampering about after that.
So my question is whether I should keep their room lit until we go to bed or whether I should let it get dark with the light outdoors?! Or perhaps somewhere in between.
Any advice appreciated! Apologies for the 'new-owner jitters'!
Photos promised soon (when they are brave enough to leave their hidey corner!)
Catherine x
 
heh welcome to TGPF:)p

most piggies tend to nap when the feel like it,i hear mine rustling around at all hours of the night and day.
piggies love darkness it makes them feel safe:)
i have the blinds open during the day, but if they are having floor and run time it doesn't matter to much when my piggies first arrived i gave them lots of darkness and they loved it:) xxxxx
oh and the only thing i have a rough routine for is feeding times, be sure to give them at least 24hours to settle before you handle them to much,
another thing to get into the habit of is everytime you do get them out of the cage do a body check for any health issues or sores, check the mouth,ears,feet ect
 
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Thanks thats great! Ok I think tonight I will let their room get dark naturally and let them explore :))
Their room also doubles as my home office (not getting much work done...:) ) so we've made some progress today, they aren't quite as jumpy but still fairly frightened, I feel bad when I accidently make them scamper off!
I'm not planning on handling them just yet, don't want to overload them with too many terrifying things! They're definately still adjusting to the cage so cuddles can wait for now.
I am feeding them on a routine as my days are fairly rountine anyway and feeding them can fit into it nicely :) Dry food, water change and some veggies including green stuff at about 7.30am, then something tasty like corn on the cob or carrots at about 6.30pm. Well thats the plan, if they eat everything up earlier I'll make sure they've got enough.
Thanks for your help :)
C x
 
hi sounds like your doing great just make sure when you give them corn on the cob to watch them, bits of the cob can become lodged in there throat i just cut the kernals off just to be safe;)don't worry to much about them running off just go about your normal routine its the same principle as a baby if you don't fuss over being quiet they are more resistent to noice but if you fuss they will jump at every noise and no matter what you do they will always scamper off because they are prey animals its there natural instinct to do so;)xxxxxxxx
 
iv'e been working on a list of foods for piggies not finished yet but i have gotten my research from everywhere so it all should be fairly spot on here it is hope it helps
cherry tomatos-small amounts no stalks

radishes-mild in small amounts

redigrass and sweet corn for weight gain

grass-small amount each day

Banana-very rarely

Parsely-sometimes

Herbs Corriander,Basil,Mint,Dill,Thyme,Chives-sometimes

Cabbage_sometimes in small amounts

Sweet potato peeled-sometimes

Watercress,spinach and rocket-sometimes in small amounts

Timothy hay,Meadow hay,Alfalfa hay-most popular hays-unlimited amounts

Cauliflour-moderate amounts

Apples-small amounts sometimes

Strawberrys-1 strawberry per pig at most per day

Orange-small amounts-rarely

Celery leaves-not stalks-leaves few times per week

Carrots-everyday

Green & Yellow & red capsicum-everyday

Cucumber-small amounts daily are fine

Broccoli-moderation

Brussel Sprouts-2-4 times per week

Baby corn-sometimes

Green beans-everyday

Bok Choy-daily

Peaches,Pears,Nectarines-occasionally

Plums-very occasionally

Pumpkin-no seeds or skin occasionally

Snow peas-everyday

Kiwifruit-occasionally

Baby corn-daily

cos lettuce-small amounts daily

NO iceberg lettuce-no nutrients

Berries-small amounts occasionally

lots of pellets-seed mixes are no good and usually contain things piggys can't have
 
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Hi Cath

What routine you get them on is up to you, as long as it is a regular routine! Be careful with fresh food on the first day. Some piggies who have never had any, or what you are giving them, may get diarroea.

Otherwise, let them settle. Talk to them gently, but often, and if you want to take them out, do it for not too long amounts of time and give a little treat.

I use tiny bits of cucumber as a treat to make them do or go where I want them... Most piggies are greedy guts, so it usually works. Even with shy ones!
 
Haha I'll have to remember that! Depending on how jumpy and scared they are perhaps I'll just sit with them tonight and try to get them to take a treat from my hand. The thing I'm most worried about is taking them out of the cage to handle them - I think I'll be more scared than them! I'm not actually frightened of them of course, but my natural instincts yell ' sharp teeth!' at me as soon as they wriggle! Lol, I'll let you know how it goes!
I'll make sure I'm careful with the fresh food, they seem to be eating more nuggets at the moment anyway as they're used to them.
Thanks :)
 
happycath said:
Haha I'll have to remember that! Depending on how jumpy and scared they are perhaps I'll just sit with them tonight and try to get them to take a treat from my hand. The thing I'm most worried about is taking them out of the cage to handle them - I think I'll be more scared than them! I'm not actually frightened of them of course, but my natural instincts yell ' sharp teeth!' at me as soon as they wriggle! Lol, I'll let you know how it goes!
I'll make sure I'm careful with the fresh food, they seem to be eating more nuggets at the moment anyway as they're used to them.
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I was the same exact way a month ago....it should subside after you handle them the first few times :)
 
they'll adapt to your routine as much as you do to theirs. Mine go mad in the morning. George sits on top of his house shouting at me for his veggies whilst tiger runs round shouting in the bottom cage. Same when I come home from work they see me walk in and go crazy so they know when it's food time!

They used to be frightened of the front door which bangs loudly when I first got both of them I would peer through the front window before coming in the house and they would be lazing about and then I would walk in and they would run and hide in their houses.

Your's will get less shy with time. Just make sure after your initial settling in period you get them out for laptime each day even if they don't like it as they get better over time!
 
This is funny I just remembered!

When george was on his own and we had him about a week me and my boyfriend paul would sit on the couch and whisper and sit like statues when george was out of his house. We darn't move to take a drink or anything. If the TV was muted at the time it would stay like that and we would talk out of the corner of our mouths trying not to laugh!

It seems silly now as we just walk past them and if they run away they do but they do get used to it! Even now I can walk past the cages and sometimes george runs into his house and sometimes he chases after me! :))
 
If you are afraid of handling them, there are a few thing that you can do:

Guinea pigs usually only bite when they feel threatened or frightened or the first time the mistake your finger for some tasty morsel of food.

Shoo one gently into a corner (best head first, so they can't escape) and then pick it up. When pigs move in the wild, they run in a line, so butting on the behind is the like piggy message for "move on!"

Or - if you have pigs that are very skittish like the ones I have just adopted - lure them into an upturned pigloo with some hay and cucumber and put the pigloo on your lap and take it from there...

Put them back when they get wiggly. Better do shorter, but more frequent sessions than too long ones at first. A guinea pig WILL tell you what it likes and dislikes!
 
I too was worried at first when I first got my Boys, I thought that perhaps if one did nip I would end up making him jump even more with my crying out or shock! I would often move my fingers away from mouths at all times incase of a little nip.. but now they are used to me and I to there little ways and they will take even the smallest morsel of food from my fingers so gently, one of my boys, he wakes up has a little lick of my hand and back to sleep.. its so cute.. so well behaved. never bitten me once.. nipped my friends daughter enough to draw the tinyest aount of blood but then I think she was brushing him a bit harder than he liked.. still wasn't enough to make her cry or put her off ! so I know he didn't ean too much by it!
 
Ahhh what lovely stories!
Things are going fairly well with the boys, they are much more relaxed but still dashing for cover if we startle them, bless :o)
Unfortunately Rufus has got to be taken to the vet this morning (see health & illness thread) but hopefully it is nothing to worry about - he is still running about, throwing himself at things and eating like a greedy pig so they're all good signs!
The handling has been ok so far - if we can catch them! They're pretty lively. Rufus is very calm once on your lap but Rocky has yet to relax, he's still quite frightened I think.
Thanks x
 
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