New mum, some advice needed please!

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emmyk89

emmyk89

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Hey alll! Not been on here in quite a while!

A friend of mine has just recently given me her guinea pigs that she can no longer look after for whatever reason.. They are 2 males and about a year old.
Ive called them bertie and benny hehe bless them! Benny is a bit bigger then bertie is.

I made a new floor in their cage today about 4inches off the gound in height, and made a little ramp so they can walk up there, the thing is they dont seem to have even noticed the floors their and they dont walk up the ramp. I put in a little snuggle house thing on the floor and some wood for them to chew. Theyve been in the one floored cage for the whole year so I'm guessing they probably dont know what the floor is?

Abother question I have is when i open the door they seem to hide under the new floor so i cant get to them, so i assume that they havnt really been handled much or something and i was wondering if they will always do this or get to like handling?
When i have handled them however (before i put the new floor in when it was easier to get them) they chirp a bit so i assume thats a good sign? (and bertie weed on me today lol).

What does it mean when they do this noise, it kind of sounds like a helicoptor (lol) like a low pitch series of the same bleat [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1napOrF_7pw[/ame] if you skip to 1.57 its that noise, the girl in the vid says its when they are being cuddled, but bertie makes that noise when hes in his cage...he sometimes also stretches out and walks v slowly whilst doing it...?
Bertie seems to hide and run away as soon as i open the door more then benny does...

I think this is the last question now... i know they need 30-50 grams a day of food but how much is that, is that about a handful/mug full or what? Do they need fresh veg everyday like once a day or more? And they need fresh hay at all times right?

Nope this is the last question... The brown hardish spot on their behind, not underneath, but just above where their underneath is, is their bum right?

Sorry about the questions, I dont really know much about guineas as iv never had them before, but hav done alot of reading - but its a bit different when putting it into practice..!

Thank you for any replies :)

xx
 
Why isnt anybody replying, i need some help, and * must all know the answers to my questions!
 
I depends on when you are posting and whether somebody happens to be around... After all, we are just all members like you on here!

That hard bit above their behind is probably their grease gland that has never been cleaned. It is quite hard work, and you need to gently try and scrape it off, then you can use a bit of fairy liquid to help dissiolving the rest. Rinse off well with handwarm water. By the state of them, you may have to repeat the procedure.

Sorry, I can't use sound from my computer, but here are links to websites that have sound bites that may help you:
What you describe is probably the dominance rumbling.
http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigsounds.html
http://www.mgpr.org/MGPR/Guinea Pig Sounds.htm

here is a link to boar behaviour: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
ohhh right... Is it possible to use petroleum jelly to soften it then use warm water?
 
Sorry, I haven't come across patroleum jelly, but I rather don't think so.

For general information for new owners, we have got some useful threads in the reference section.
 
Hiya

I can't help with many of the questions but when I made an upstairs for my first pair of piggies they took a few days to explore it but they did in the end.

Is the ramp steep and what's it covered with?
 
Hey, it isnt covered with anything apart from bits of shavings and hay, i wouldnt say its steep no :)
 
If it's a bit slippy then they wont use it. If it has grip they probably will.

One one cage I have the ramp covered with roof felt and another vet bed.

It can take time for them to use it though give it a little longer.
 
yeh it is a bit slippy, i need to find something else for a ramp i think, dont know what..?

I was wondering, they have peed on me a few times, so I'm worried about holding them for too long and putting them on my bed/with my cuddly toys etc, will they pee in certain places if on the floor after a while or will they pee on me forever now? lol
 
Ok have you tried putting them on this new floor of their cages, try feeding them up there for a few days, 4" is not very high and my girls would just jump on and off that, i use carpet tile on my ramps as it is easy to cut to size and cheap.

They will get more hand-able with time persistence and patience. Most piggies will tell you when they need to go by gently nibbling you or your clothing, but being wee'd on i think is part of piggy ownership once in a while, one of my piggy does a very insistent wheeking to let you know she is bursting and she hates weeing on anyone. 15 minutes is about the max my girls can hold on for between needing a wee obviously if they have just been eating lettuce and cucumber shorter time.

Vaseline will not work on the grease gland to remove the discharge, i have used swafega jelly or washing up liquid massage it on for a few minutes then use your the back fingernail to gently to push not pick the discharge away.

For the food you ideally want a good mix of veg 5 or 6 types a day see the sticky in the food section

Hope that helps a little
 
It may take them awhile to figure out that they have another level but they should get there in the end. With handling them they should get easier to handle the more you handle them, if you give them treats when your handling them this should make them feel happier about it :) and as for the noise they're making is generally a happy thing but one of mypigs does it when she hears loud noises which i'm not sure how to explain... :))

Good luck with your piggies
 
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