New Piggie Owner To Be....

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pipsquak1981

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Have been thinking / planning this for a few months now, and we are nearly at the time I had decided to get the piggies - so time to start purchasing all the kit we need! Can someone have a read through and advise / comment / point out anything glaringly obvious I have missed

- Hutch - 4'x2' single level
- Run - 4' square ? How do you provide sunshade in them as most don't seem to have built in
- Snugglesafe heat pads (mostly outdoor piggies - will be inside in the coldest months
- Water bottle / food bowls - do I need 2 each of these for 2 piggies or will they share?
- Tunnels / hidey holes - at least 1 each
- Hay - any preferred types / suppliers?
- Food - same?
- nail clippers / hair brush

Is that it? Any recommendations on any of the above would be greatly appreciated! I am finding hutches a bit of a minefield as it is!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. Did you know that guinea pigs can live indoors? I personally would advise this as they will be safer and part of your family. You will have more interaction and bond with them. It is much easier to keep them warm inside too.
 
I do and much as I would love to have them indoors year round, I don't really have the space so will be outside (for now at least). I have number of options come winter of using garage (car doesn't go in there) / shed / bring them in
 
You will need a heated shed to house the hutch in as a hutch cannot just be left outside. Do you have a heated shed?
 
not as yet - hence thinking through my options for winter - if I need to bring them in then I can - I have a space I am keeping in mind and a large indoor cage ready if needed
 
5 pellets a day?! Wow- I thought it would be more than that! Would you put those out together in one go - so 10 pellets once a day for 2 piggies?

Any thoughts on my other questions? (thanks in advance!)
 
Hi and welcome!

Are you planning to get boars or sows? Boars profit from a larger hutch, as they need as much space as they can get.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/getting-a-guinea-pig-items-youll-need-to-buy.112288/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cage-size-guide.120795/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...-preparing-your-piggies-for-lawn-time.111794/

I would also strongly recommend to wait until new/young piggies are safe to live outside; you need to treat them like tender plants when it comes to acclimatising. Especially young piggies don't yet have the body mass to cope and are much more likely to fall ill. I would also recommend not to place your hutch in a heat trap for the summer, but to move the hutch to the shadiest spot you have or to contruct a little sunroof over the hutch that prevents the sun rays falling fully on the hutch and heating it up.

I would strongly recommend to get your guinea pigs from one of our recommended rescues; it is well worth travelling a bit further in order to avoid all the usual pitfalls that await the unwary new owner, like illness, unplanned pregnancies, boar fall-outs and skittish piggies that are not used to human interaction and may tweak/bite. You will also have the rescue to fall back on in case you run into problems along the way. Our recommended rescues will match their piggies carefully to your family situation and knowledge.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-sows-or-mixed-pairs-babies-or-adults.108944/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...stincts-and-speak-piggy-body-language.117031/
 
thanks for the hay tips piggiefan

and wiebke - yes have thought through those things, I was thinking:

Get piggies from local rescue - its a well recommended one not far from me and even showed up on your locator! Have already sent them an email and planning on popping down to talk to the lady on Saturday.

Hutch has a few options in the garden, I am thinking most likely is the back wall (backs against the garage) there is a nice walled corner there which should protect from wind / rain etc - and an overhanging tree which should give shade in the summer, will talk during homecheck with the rescue lady but if she feels its better it could also go on the patio outside the lounge where it would be always in the shade.

I can't really decide between boars / sows - no matter how much I read! Best idea seems to be neutered boar + sow but no idea if there will be many neutered males already at the rescue, we'll see - probably wouldn't go for two males as seems a bit tricky!
 
Maybe it is better just to see which piggies are at the rescue before deciding? It is great you have a rescue close by. I had to travel three hours to mine!
 
ok - new question....

IF I was considering having them indoors (*whistles innocently*) I'd probably go for a c&c cage... looked at this website and seems good : http://www.candcguineapigcages.co.uk

But - what do you do about a snuggly place to sleep with a c&c ? Do you just provide tunnels etc and lots of hay in the open area or do you build some kind of snuggly / dark area?
 
You can get wooden or plastic hideys or log tunnels. Always have at least as many hideys as you have got piggies, as even the snuggliest ones like to spend some time apart. Fleece cosies (caves, cubes etc.) are also a great favourite, espcially with my older citizens.

That website is a good place to get a readymade cage from! I helped build a demo cage from them for a sanctuary/rescue fundraiser last November, and it went pretty quickly!

I have C&C pens myself, but with nearly two dozen piggies living in five groups, my set-up is not quite traditional. However, C&C allows you to be much more creative and flexible,
 
The hutch man has hutches to sell and will post a link to a 2 storey 120cm long hutch on eBay for around £80.You can also buy a hutch cover or run with it. : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4FT-LARGE...pplies_Small_Animals&var=&hash=item3ccb796026:)
Run covers can be made by placing a picnic blanket, sheet ... on top:)
Snuggle safe heat pads £22 from pets@home or cheaper on vetuk or Ebay.:)
Water bottles they can share but beware some piggies prefer water bowls and they actually drink more from them.:)
Food bowls they usually share but I would get a second in case it breaks:oops: or the piggies fall out with each other ...:)
The best hay is Natures best meadow hay - it is green and soft. You can get 5 2kg packs here at : http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Products/HB5121/natures-best-devon-meadow-hay
For feeding hay I use Burgess excel dandelion and marigold forage herbage : http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Products/CN33002/burgess-excel-dandelion-andamp-marigold-herbage with a tiny bit of readigrass as a treat - my piggies go nuts for this! : http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Products/CN64001/friendly-readigrass
For food I recommend pets@home guinea pig nuggets and selective guinea pig nuggets. The pets@hoke nuggets give them a shiny coat and the selective nuggets - well they prefer and I like to give them a choice!:)
Nail clippers you can buy from boots the weeny kids one are brilliant and far less expensive than proper animal ones! Brushes are only for long haired as when I brush my short haired guinea pigs it does nothing. If you really want to then use a tooth brush.:)
I hope this helps!
 
I have two 4 x 2 size C&C pens, lined with paper then fleece. In each pen I have two fostered pigs, and each pen has two pigloo hidies, one at each end and filled with shredded paper, set on extra fleece pads. Lots of tunnels, two food bowls, two water bottles, plenty of hay! I currently have two pairs of boars, all great characters and active, chatty, amusing lads. I have had foster sows in the past and really can't have a favourite sex, in my eyes they are all fabulous! Tonight will be bath night as my current gang will shortly be returning to my local rspca centre for (hopefully!) rehoming.
 
Oops! Should add that my lot are indoor piggies. I have a wooden run in the back garden so that in warmer weather they get outdoor with grass time too.
 
Hi, I have had two rescue boars for nearly a year now, so I'm not an expert at all, but I would say that I haven't found having two boars to be particularly difficult. If you get them from a good rescue they will make sure they are well bonded and in unlikely event that they do fall out the rescue can support you and could always take one back/talk through all your options. So please try not to write off any boar pairs that might need new homes just on that basis because the rescue people are professionals and will be very helpful :) My two had some little tiffs whilst going through adolescence but nothing major and now that they are both adults they have calmed down.

Like everyone else said, if you can have them indoor all year round I would reccommend that, purely because it's better for bonding with them. They get more attention and are more stimulated from having people around them more often etc. One spring I stayed at my parents' and my dad insisted my pigs had to stay in the shed in the garden, it felt really weird not having them around as often as of course you tend to only go out a couple of times a day to see them that way, it was really sad!

Oh and my boys shared one food bowl when they had a bowl (I just scatter food now so they have to work for it!), and they have always shared one water bottle. I was going to buy two of each but their fosterer told me they shared fine and they always have done. But if unsure definitely buy two of each just in case.
 
HI! I am in Hampshire also and I think the rescue you are referring to is Wheek and Squeak? If so, Anna is wonderful and will be able to talk you through options, how to set their hutch up etc. With regards to boy and girls etc. She always has a lot of bonded pairs, some boys, some sows and some mixes. I suspect they will 'find you' when you get there and you will be drawn to the ones which will suit you based on personality as much as anything. Anna is also very good at helping new owners with the right mixes for them.

Mine live in a heated shed (electric oil heater) in the garden and are snug and warm in there. In the evening they have an indoor cage which they come into and get to spend the evening watching telly and just chilling out with lots of cuddles thrown in ;-) This works for us as we dont have the room to house them indoors permanently and they (and me) can be as messy as we want in the shed....they have piles and piles of hay to burrow in and make a mess galore!

Let me know if you need other recommendations for local (ish) vets, and anything else. Happy to help.
 
Hello and welcome :)

I have two boars and they are lovely together, I have a 2x5 c&c cage. I use fleece cage liners, and they're fab!

With current UK weather I even find indoors can be too cold, so I would really consider keeping them indoors, unless you can pack out a shed and have it heated :)!

I currently use the cheap big bale of hay from p@h to use in their hay tray and have ordered some lovely Timothy hay from timothyhay .co .uk and the oat hay piggyfan sent you above.

Hope this helps in some way :)
 
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