New Owner! My First Piggies.

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ivyandclover

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Hi,
I've wanted guinea pigs for years and on Sunday I finally got my first pair! They're two seven week old sisters called Clover and Ivy. I wanted to ask a bit of advise as I haven't had guinea pigs before and want to make sure I'm doing everything right!

They're in my bedroom at the moment in a Ferplast 120 cage that I've lined with newspaper and carpeted with woodshavings and meadow hay. They've got two bowls of food (Wagg muesli, but I'll change it over to Harringtons pellets when they're a bit more settled.) They have two bottles of water and two houses as well. I also bought a bag of Excel herbage which they seem to love.

So far they've been extremely nervous, which is understandable. They come out of hiding if I sit by the cage completely still and silent but even a tiny movement and they've gone again! A couple times I've held a celery stick which Ivy will happily sit and eat, but she won't let me get near enough to give her a stroke.

I'm not sure if what I'm doing so far is the right way to go about taming them or if I should be doing more and trying to pick them up now. Sorry about the essay, any advise would be great! Thanks :)
 
you are doing fine, i would ditch the sawdust though as this can irritate their lungs, use carefresh, or I use fleece blankets during the winter, everything else is great, just give them time, i just got 3 boys who are still coming out their shell, celery is great for them, so are peppers, and wagg crunch is a great make of food, just make sure they do not pick out their favourite parts, as mine used to leave the good parts, vitamin C, and eat everything else.
good luck with the little ones, you will love every minute of their fun times, i do i went from having 2 boys, to 21 boys, and a boarding service, madness, i love it.
happy new year.
 
Welcome to the world of guinea pig ownership. I am new to GP ownership too - I have had my 2 boys since May. You may find this link useful.

http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/bringingaguineapighome.html

I think you are doing the right thing by staying in the room with them and remaining quiet as they will get used to having you around and get used to your smell. Your next milestone will be making the decision as to when you can start handling them and hopefully, more experienced piggie owners will help you make this decision.

I hope you are enjoying using this forum. You will notice there are lots of threads which will give you advice about all aspects of GP care - the main subjects I have been looking at recently are to do with diet and what types of bedding are available.

With regards to bedding - I stopped using sawdust a long time ago - mainly as I hate the smell of it! Carefresh is good but is a bit pricey. I am currently trying out Megasorb and Aubiose. I used to use towels but have been advised by other forum members not to as claws can get stuck in the loops. I am considering changing over to fleece. It all boils to choice in the end - what suits you and what suits your piggies.
 
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You're doing fine, but I'd say wood shavings should be ok, but carefresh may be better for you. I have a mixture of woodshavings and fleece bedding.
Maybe you could research fleece bedding, and consider changing- it would be a benefit for the piggies, and they'll love you for it! ;)
 
Hi and welcome!

Have you got boys or girls?

Here are forum tips on how to settle new shy piggies. Please give it time - guinea pigs are prey animals, they are not born as instant pets! Guinea pigs sold for profit have usually not had much in the way of human contact, so you have to build it up and win their trust slowly; but it is worth sticking it out!
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/

If you can, train them to come into some kind of box, tunnel or cosy for pick up; it will take some patience until the y catch on, but you can avoid hunts and sudden jumps. There is more information for new owners at the top of our Daily Care section.

We have ideas on housing and bedding in our housing section.
Tips on a good diet you can find in this thread: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
 
Welcome, I'm sure youll be a pro in no time! please post some photos once they are more settled in the photo section x
 
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