Newbie - food and housing questions

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Elis.jane

New Born Pup
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Hi! There are so many information here but many are different from what I was told so I have few (many) questions. We will have 3 female guinea pigs babies in three weeks and I am preparing and studying..

Housing - I decided to buy cage 100 cm long since it is the only size that fits in the car for possible “babysitting” 😅 and I plan to remove longer side and connect to a “fence”. I found songmics 30x30 tiles and trixie 35x35 cm. Which are better? I want to combine wires at front and plastic in the back. Are they ok to be taken on holidays ? I mean can I built, disconnect and build again or it will break because it is meant to be build one time only?

Floor - I understand there is modern way to have “carpets” and cloths of the floor. But it doesn’t seem natural for them. Or is it? Like with dogs they just like the fabric? Or is it healthier because they do not pee on it?

Hay - so so so many options. And it is mostly what they eat. Which brand do you recommend? I can order on german amazon if it is not available here. I just dont know which one. The guide here is great.. but honestly too much information for now 🫣

Vegetable - what I read here they need much more then I was told! And not carrot! That is new and confusing information for me since I feel to start over again 😏 is there a chart a can print on the fridge? Like 6 categories, each day give them anything from all 6 together 50 g per guinea pig?

Grass - is there some plant poisonous for them? Or can I just take my grass in the garden where dogs cannot access?

Pellets - language barrier. I was told they need pellets to pee on them. So this is obviously not it. Is that dry food? Like for dogs?

I felt prepared before I found this blog. Now I feel lost again 🥹 my daughter wants quinea pig since she was two. Now she is seven and she still wants them. So it is time but it terrifies me because I dont like having pets in cage to look at them when I feel like it. I really want them to feel good and well taken for. ❤️ Thanks for your help.
 
Re pellets - you can get certain bedding that is pellet-like, which is probably where the confusion is. Actual food pellets are something like Science Selective guinea pig food, or Versele Laga Cavia Complete. I don't know what brands you have available to you but whatever you use you need something formulated specifically for guinea pigs. They need things like vitamin C in their food that's not in something like rabbit food. They don't need many pellets, a tablespoon each once a day.

Amy grass untouched by pesticides and cat/dog/fox etc urine is fine.

Either of those grids would work. I attached a sheet of tarp to mine to give it a "floor" that doesn't directly affect the flooring in the room, and then I add my bedding on top of that.

Finally, I'm linking our food guide, which should help with finding a diet that works for you and your future guinea pigs. The only other thing I'll say is I know your daughter wants the guinea pigs but the responsibility will ultimately be yours, not hers. Cleaning out, vet bills, all sorts, and children can get bored of small pets quickly no matter how much they wanted them. Just be aware of that before it happens.

Wiebke

Thread 'Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets'

1 The recommended ratio of food groups
2 Hay and fresh grass
3 Vegetables, fresh herbs and fruit with an illustrated balanced sample diet
4 Special dietary needs
- Urinary tract infections, bladder stones and sterile IC (non-bacterial interstitial cystitis)
- Diabetes and long term digestive problems
- Impaction in boars
- Pregnancy and nursing dietary tweaks (only visible to registered members who have accepted our no intentional breeding policy)...
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Welcome to the forum

Three sows need a cage of 180x60cm.
The grids safety depend on how many holes there are - you need grids which have 9 holes but I’m sure either one of those are fine.
Grids with 7 or 8 holes will mean each hole is too big and can pose a danger to the pigs of getting their heads stuck or even escaping.
To be honest, I wouldn’t bother with a 100cm cage at all. Piggies aren’t safe to travel in a cage like that - we recommend they are in cat carriers - and a 100cm cage isn’t big enough to be used standalone.
You would save money by just buying the grids and making their permanent cage with them. A cage made of 35cm grids needs to be 5 grids by 2 grids.
You would need it to be 6 grids by 2 grids if you went for the 30cm grids though as you need the cage to measure 180x60cm once it is finished

Grids can be taken apart as and when you need to. The connectors may lose their strength over time if removed too often though. We recommend cable ties are also used to secure the cage so you would have to make sure you had reusable ones so they can be removed (unless you don’t mind having to cut and discard them every time you wanted to take the cage apart).

Bedding - depends very much on what you prefer. Fleece (with an absorbent layer underneath) absolutely can be used.
Personally I don’t like the mounds of washing it produces but also as mine live in my shed anyway, I use wood shavings and hay as bedding everywhere in the cage.

Hay - any grass hay is fine. Meadow hay or Timothy hay are most commonly used for feeding.
If you don’t want to use fleece bedding, then you would be best to use meadow hay as bedding because Timothy hay can be too sharp to use as bedding hay.

Veg is one cup per pig per day. You cannot go by weight as each veg has a different density - eg 50g of lettuce is loads but 50g of cucumber is hardly anything.
The four veg they can have safely everyday is lettuce (not iceberg), bell pepper, cucumber and cilantro/coriander.
Everything else is in moderation and rotation. High calcium veg such as kale, parsley or spinach is no more than once a week.
Sugary items such Carrot and fruit shouldn’t be in the diet regularly. A small amount as an occasional treat is ok though.

Grass - some weeds are poisonous such as moss or buttercup. You would have to be able to identify any weeds in your lawn to know if it is safe for them to have access.
You cannot just let them have unfettered access to grass though as too much in unprepared tummies can cause bloat (which can be fatal).
You have to build access to grass up slowly - I start by handpicking grass and giving them in their cage. Once all frost have passed and it is warm enough, they have 10 minutes a day on the lawn. I then build their time up by 15-30 minutes a week over many weeks until they can be out all day (supervised). I start handpicking around February/March and feeding in their cage. I then start them going outside for short periods around April so they are out in the lawn all day from around June.
They also cannot be outside until it is warm enough for them - it has to be dry and at least 15 degrees before they can go out. The guide is that you have to be able to stand on the grass with bare feet without feeling cold or damp.

I’ve added lots of guides below detailing everything I’ve mentioned here.
Lorcan has already added the diet guide so I won’t add that one again

Wiebke

Thread 'New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection'

Contents Overview
1 What This Collection Is About
2 Guinea Pigs as Pets
- Family and Classroom Pets
- Sourcing Your Guinea Pigs, Common Pitfalls and Your Customer Rights
- Human Pet Anxiety: Practical Tips for Sufferers and Supporters
- Naming and Finding Out the Breed
- Guinea Pig Facts: An Overview
3 Living Environment
- Housing (with sourcing tips)
- Bedding (with...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Cage Size Guide'

Remember - guinea pigs are ground roaming group animals and they need as much space as you can spare! More space to run and popcorn in means healthier and happier piggies and in turn more joy for you!

Here is a visual guide to show you the sizes of the currently commercially available cages in comparison to each other:
IMG_2522_edited-2.jpg

This is a 120x60 cm / 2x4 ft cage in comparison with a 100x50 cm cage, which is sadly still very much pushed by pet shops and commercial online sellers; you can see what a difference it makes!
IMG_3833_edited-1.jpg


C&c grids are a size of 35.5cm to meet the size...
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sport_billy

Thread 'Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview'

- Fleece
- Vetbed
- Aubiose
- Oil Seed Rape Straw Bedding
- Fitch Bedding
- Recycled Paper Bedding
- Wood Shavings
- Snowflake
- Supreme Science Cosy N D

This is a broad overview of various types of bedding used to give owners an idea of what is 'out there' and the pro's and con's of each Guinea Pig bedding.

Fleece
Fleece is one of the materials you can use as bedding for guinea pigs. You can either use it in conjunction with an absorbent layer such as towels, puppy pads or Fleece buy cage liners already made with an absorbent layer...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time'

- How to provide the run
- How to prepare guinea pigs for the lawn season
- Beware!

Warmer spring weather is on the way - and that means the start of the lawn season!

How to provide the run
- Provide a shelter against wind and weather, as temperatures can drop quickly as soon as the sun has gone or a sudden shower crops up. Make sure that your piggies have access to hay to help balance the digestion and ideally a place slightly above the ground that is dry and warm, so...
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Thanks for your reply. I have ready this article About food and many information are there. But I hoped someone on this forum took it and created a cheatsheet for the fridge 😅 but never mind, I will print and highlight before I can remember :)

I dont have much expectations from my daugther, she is still to young for such responsibility. I will be happy if the feeds them but of course at the beggining I expect her to sleep in the cage to be near them 😅🫣
 
There is no cheat sheet as such - As I say though , lettuce, cucumber, pepper and cilantro are the four veg which can be fed every day.
Everything is in moderation and rotation

squeakypigs

Thread 'Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading'

1 Recommended Food Proportions
2 General Diet Advice
3 List of Edible Veg, Herbs and Fruit
- High vitamin C foods
- Low vitamin C foods
4 Edible Wild Forage
5 Not Recommended and Dangerous Foods
- Unsuitable for a diet
- Questionable foods (lack of information)
6 Exotic Fruit and Vegetables
- Asian fruit and vegetables
- Other fruit and vegetables
7 References


1 Recommended Food...
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Hello and welcome to the forum. Can’t wait to meet your new arrivals. 😁
 
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