Wannabe New Piggy Owner

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Deeprose

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Hello
Thought I would pop head on here as looking to get two piggies in the near future and of course doing my research first. Been reading all the helpful linkies but find good to chat on others experiences!

The cage thinking of getting something like this:
$_12.JPG

Measures 122cm x 62cm x 91cm. Believe this is right size for two pigs and the stand hopefully keep out of any lower drafts but also curious indoor cats (don't worry their ideal room will keep the cats away when we are not there).

Sourced most things like toys, housing, hay, food etc only thing that makes my eyes boggle is picking the bedding. Read the linkie and just so unsure! Would like to know out of interest how much does a 25kg of Auboise last for 2 piggies in one hutch and also puppy pads I might have missed the detail there but Amazon do 100 for £22.99 - how often do you change these out? Best to have fleece liners on top?

I'm afraid we REALLY like abyssinians and really hoping for a pair of those (so might restrict rescue option though unsure of any in area need to research), again though where we have looked there appears to be abundance of boars over sows. Reading the versus, appears boar+sow best option (neutered/spayed), then sows, then boar pairs only simply due to marking? If you really want non-breeding sow+boar pair how best to go about since understand they can get pregnant as early as 3-4 weeks?

Thank you in advance to any tips :)
 
Firstly, welcome to the forum :) you will get lots of advice here.

Here is the cage size guide
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cage-size-guide.120795/

Unfortunately I haven't used auboise so I cannot answer your question, but we use fleece and find it to be excellent. If you would like more information on fleece please let me know.

As we are a pro rescue forum we will only try to recommend rescuing but if you choose to buy from a breeder/pet shop I won't bite your head off for it :)) Abys are certainly very characteristic as are other breeds too, if you want two boars it is best to get them from a rescue as they may do 'boar dating' and usually a boar and sow are a good pair but you must check they are neutered or you will have more than two piggies on your hands! And it's not often a pair of girls wont get on.

Here is our rescue locator,
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/

Looking forward to seeing you about the forum!
 
Thank you for the linkies and warm welcome :)

Always love to know more on fleece, I had to look after a hedgehog a while ago and we used fleece liners then but didn't have anything under the liners - where is best to get them made up to cage size? (Sadly my machine is broken)

The rescue locator has nowhere near me sadly (we don't drive and would feel bad to ask someone to travel us miles). May keep eye on Gumtree nearer time as there always seem established pairs needing a good home, may have also randomly located a guinea specific rescue via google that is local and never knew was there. I might email to see if we can visit and see if option to go through them.
 
:)


The fleece you would be looking for is called anti pill fleece, or invest in a slightly more expensive anti pill micro fleece. These can be found in stores like Primark, eBay, the range, asda and other supermarkets.

Fleece needs to be changed every three to four days, without a fabric softener, but with non bio detergent and white vinegar(optional) at 60 degrees. Before first use you have to wash the fleece without any detergent at least three times to allow it to remove the water barrier. You can check this has been done successfully if a drop of water on the fleece sinks through, not stays on the top. If it stays, you need to wash it again.

Fleece also needs an absorbent layer underneath to hold the urine. This can be towels, which I find great. Or puppy pads. You can also buy cage liners which are fleece, but built in absorbent layer. You can buy these from:
http://ziggyspiggies.webs.com

Fleece needs to be spot cleaned (remove poop) at least once a day.

To avoid clogging up washing machine you will need to brush down the fleece and shake it to remove loose hay and hairs. And optional would be to have a horse wash bag, found on amazon/ebay which allows fleece to be washed well, but all hay and hairs keep contained in the bag.
 
Kerrie74 said:
Oh and have a look at @HansPiggies videos, they might be of some help :)

The thread is here

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/my-youtube-channel.129170/page-4#post-1775197
Click to expand...
Thanks Kerrie :)
Ooo hopefully there is a rescue by you, they are the best and good to get paired up piggies from. The problem with pet shops and breeders if you usually end up with 2 piggies the same age then when they reach teenage age they may not get on if they both want to be dominant. Usually an older pig with a baby one works or from a rescue 2 who's personalities have been matched ie 1 dominant and 1 submissive. I'd go for a c&c cage where you can make whatever size and shape to fit you space and also soo much cheaper than a store bought cage. With 2 males you'll probably find you need bigger than 120cm. More like 140 cm as they like their space :) I have 2 pairs of males, one in a c&c and one in a DIY cage...feel free to take a look :)
 
Thank you for the welcome :D

Well some good news, contacted the Guinea Rescue lady who is lovely and she has invited us to go visit. Made her aware we are in no way ready yet but we can have a chat and see if she finds us suitable etc which is great. She has made me aware of new babies born - one being an Abby so VERY interested to have a see!

Thank you for being super lovely with all info and linkies. On the C&C cages my only issue is the cats, I would rather have something more robust - even though we will control when they are about I just don't want any mishaps. I do know the style we have gone for comes in a 150cm length so can always pay extra (we don't mind investing in the right setup from the outset), the enclosed lids just make me feel reassured if that makes sense?
 
Sadly it doesn't work out that much cheaper for us...the example I have shown above with the moveable stand is £80. A 4 x 2 C&C cage with stand and roof and no platforms works out about £76.95 (we have no furniture at present to place a cage on so it would be added expense for us). A 5x2 is £91.95 and both of those are without the base to keep the bedding in. It is something I can look into more but think the wheel based stand is going to suit our needs better - the much larger size will suit the theirs so hopefully a win win.
 
To be honest, that cage your talking about (the 150 cm one) is really good, I had it for my guinea's, it's a bit bulky though but it's easy to clean and deep enough for them not to get a draft. I ended up throwing mine because when we got it, it was faulty, in the end the runs where the tray sits was faulty but was ok at first but started to come away so it was awkward to clean them. So if you order one, please check all the parts before putting it together, don't want to to end up throwing it because of something faulty.
 
Deeprose said:
Thank you for the linkies and warm welcome :)

Always love to know more on fleece, I had to look after a hedgehog a while ago and we used fleece liners then but didn't have anything under the liners - where is best to get them made up to cage size? (Sadly my machine is broken)

The rescue locator has nowhere near me sadly (we don't drive and would feel bad to ask someone to travel us miles). May keep eye on Gumtree nearer time as there always seem established pairs needing a good home, may have also randomly located a guinea specific rescue via google that is local and never knew was there. I might email to see if we can visit and see if option to go through them.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Please be aware that if you rescue from free-ads or not recommended rescues that all the risks are on your side. Anybody can call themselves "rescue" without a licence and the results can be dire indeed. there is a VERY good reason why we have got a list of recommended good standard rescues on the top bar; these are the ones that we can guarantee for are safe to use and don't come without any nasty surprises.

Make sure that any not listed rescue has got:
- a mandatory quarantine for incoming guinea pigs as well as mandatory 10 week pregnancy watch for incoming sows.
- is treating mange mites with high dosed ivermectin like xeno and doesn't explain it away as "dry skin" or "seasonal hair loss" or treat with a cheap shop product or home cures. Any itchy guinea pigs with bald patches should trigger alarm bells. Also be wary of any scurvy, whitish patches in the face area; these are most likely ringworm.
- the cages/pens should be clean with plenty of hay and clean, full water bottles. males and females need to be separated. Do not adopt from somebody who is not allowing you a look at how they keep guinea pigs.
- any good rescue will conduct a home check to make sure that your guinea pigs are kept safely and in housing that complies with the minimal RSPCA recommendations. if that is not the case, you can be assured that this is not a proper rescue, but just a breeder's sideline to get rid of their own unwanted breeding "stock". It can be a a very expensive and steep learning curve for any beginner, as a number of forum members have found out the hard way!
- you should also sign a contract that stipulates that any adopted guinea pig reverts to the rescue if there is a problem during its lifetime.

Here is our bedding guide: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/bedding-for-guinea-pigs-overview.114219/
Also be aware that owners on gumtree can be more than economical with the truth in order to get rid of no longer wanted pets, and that these can come in any state. We have dealt with a number of apparent "virgin births" and boars that in fact had fallen out and did not get on over the years.
 
Understood on the risks (sadly with your locator, nearest is over an hour away and again we just couldn't hock a drive for that - especially as it would require more than one visit since we would not go buying blindly and would want to vet the situation).

For where I am the options are this lady (depending on her setup - the first visit is for impressions only and no obligations. I will go prepared with many questions as I would with any on the locator on here if they were an option), gumtree (yep horror stories) or Pets at Home (the one local we find really quite good compared to horror stories on here) again understand there are risks whenever you get an animal from anywhere, some are just higher we might just be quite limited on this. All I can do is to try and find some healthy animals (probably have a look before going to check the sex of the animals myself) and hope for the best.

P.s. Virgin births? WHAT!
 
Just ventured to some other areas of forum and seen threads on boars and cleaning their bits :blink: Best get reading up on that then!
 
Could I request where best to source guinea pig houses with two entrances? If going down the boar route it suggests entrance and exit so no cornering - if have two houses as well will this limit this? Many thanks in advance.

P.s With cage liners - if you get the guinea pig made ones that have the absorbent layer within them - do these still require further absorbent layer underneath? (Apologies for all questions)
 
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Hi and :wel:!
For me a bale of aubiose lasts about 2 weeks minimum.
My piggies are outside but if they were inside I would keep them in the 150 ( R6 ) cage you have posted. If you have cats the cage you have posted is safer than c and c.
Pets at home sell wooden log bridges and tubes if you are looking for ones with two holes so pop into your nearest pets at home and have a look.

I hope this helps!:)
 
Deeprose said:
Could I request where best to source guinea pig houses with two entrances? If going down the boar route it suggests entrance and exit so no cornering - if have two houses as well will this limit this? Many thanks in advance.

P.s With cage liners - if you get the guinea pig made ones that have the absorbent layer within them - do these still require further absorbent layer underneath? (Apologies for all questions)
Click to expand...
Nope no absorbant layers are needed. Personally I find c and e cosies @CandECosies sell the best cage liners with zorb in between the fleece.
 
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