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New to GPs

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Manse

Hello everyone!

I brought home two lovelies two days ago, one Abyssinian (4mths) and one short-haired (1year). I think they're beginning to get used to their surroundings even though the little one is still pretty shy around people. I'm completely new to the practical aspect of Guinea Pig care so I've got a couple of questions I hope you guys could help me with.

First, is scratching normal? I used to have hamsters and they scratched all the time, but I'm not sure if GP-scratching indicates fungal growth/lice/mites. If a little scratching is normal, how much scratching is too much? I live in a horribly humid place (Singapore - 1 degree North of the Equator) so I'm worried about my GPs getting skin infections.

Second, I'm not sure how much food I'm supposed to be feeding them. I've been replenishing the food bowl and the hay as and when they finish (that's like, three times a day!), but I'm not sure if doing so makes them overeat? How many times do you guys feed your GPs each day?
 
I think the humidity is a problem because they love being dry, you could try finding a low noise dehumidifier to get rid of the moisture.

They should always have hay to wear down their teeth. I used to give them food 3 times a day, but now I fill it to the top because there's always half of it left at the end of the day anyway so it's easier.

You can check around the eyes of the short haired piggy because you're more likely to see any mites/lice crawling around there if they have any

xx
have fun with year new piggies
 
Hello, welcome to the forum! It could be the humidity that is making them scratch. Mine scratch occasionally, not all the time. They could get a fungal infection if you are not careful. A dehumidifier as Amzie suggested is a good idea. They do need to be dry. Lice you will see if you look carefully. Keep a close eye that they are not pulling their fur out, if that starts happening you will need to pop down to your vets. It is worthwhile sourcing a vet that specializes in piggies now, before they need one, as many do not and don`t know what they are doing :o
Food wise: Guinea pigs like us, cannot make their own vitamin C, so need fresh veggies daily. Mine get a selection twice a day, a bowl between 2 piggies. Look under the `food` section on here. There is a guinea pig shopping list of all the veg and fruit they can eat. They also need a dried food. Mine have supa guinea excel pellets which I replenish when their bowl is empty. It is best to avoid the coloured mixes as they are high is colourings etc and they feed selectively, thus not getting all the vitamins etc they need. They have to have unlimited hay as this is the most important part of their diet.
Any other questions, we are all happy to help! Would love to see some pics of your piggies O0
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum :)

There's a great list of foods they can and can't eat in our food section :)
Hope to see some pictures of your piggies soon :smitten: :smitten:
 
Hi everyone!

They're not too good with veggies at the moment (diarrhoea! :embarassed:) so I'm not giving them much. Thanks for the suggestions and advice! This is what they look like:

This is DandyLion, she's 4 months old:
IMG_0593.jpg


And this is Beaver (aka Bea), she's a year old:
IMG_0596.jpg


:smitten:

They're starting to purr and wheet now so I take it that they're really settling in :)

Thanks everyone!
 
Hi :)
How long have they had diarrhoea? Aww poor little ones :(
Awwwwwwwwwwwwww they're very very cute DandyLion's hairdo is gorgeous :smitten: :smitten: and Bea has such a cute little face :smitten: :smitten:
 
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