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I wanted to get a furry buddy for a while. My living arrangements do not work for a dog or cat. After reading a lot of the rat faq I considered getting a pair of rats but decided against it because their life spans are fairly short. I read this thread and thought about a guinea pig or a gerbil, I think I am leaning towards a pig, I read the OP. I have a few questions: 1. Just how much do you think you spend taking care of your guinea pig in a month? 2. How long do most to guinea pigs live for? 3. Just how social to people are they? I've read a lot of conflicting information in the thread and general googling. Will they really require company or can they be happy alone? 4. How loud can they be? 5. Will they be disturbed by a television in the next room at moderate volume? 6. I work from home a lot. Would being in the same room as them for an extended period of time freak them out? 7. Discourage me. Tell me anything you think that is very important and undesirable about getting a guinea pig as a pet.
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Oct 26, 2010 17:47
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I just adopted a single guinea pig from a local animal shelter. They had maybe 15 juveniles in a cage which would be a little small for one, one bowl of food and one water bottle. They were not full grown, but close to it. I know that I need to get more than one as they are social animals but I wanted to make sure I could handle taking care of one first before I get a second, if all goes well, i'll get another one so she has some company in two months. I picked her because she seemed like one of the most calm of the bunch. I have a nice large enclosure set up for her with several places for her to hide. When I put her in, she explored a little bit then sat down in a corner and has not moved since. She is under the water bottle though she has not drunk anything, the bedding is a bit higher because it is a corner. Now I ask the question every new pet owner asks: Should I be worried? I know initially all I should do is give her her space and someplace calm and quiet. She has partial cover due to the water bottle and the slightly raised bedding in the corner but I am worried that the corner she is not hiding in any of the hides I had for her and after going once around the enclosure when I first put her in, she has not moved since. She seemed to be breathing rapidly at first but is not now. It has been about an hour.
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Oct 29, 2010 02:55
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Sirotan posted:If you only had her for an hour as of the writing of this post, no I wouldn't worry. She is just freaked out that she is in a new, unfamiliar place all alone. Just give her some time and probably a friend, and she will perk up. Its been 16 hours now. She repositioned herself to face the other way but has not moved otherwise. I do not think she has slept at all, she has not eaten or drunk anything either. She is not in one of the hides, but the way she is facing now she is in a corner, under a water bottle and behind a hide, so she is mostly covered on all sides. Her eyes do not seem to track me when I moved past her but her breathing did accelerate rapidly briefly, though it calmed when I left. I came in at eye level and dropped a small baby carrot slice near her. From what little I can tell, she seems really terrified. I understand that I need to wait but I am worried, is there anything else at all I can do to help ease her in? Based on the setup at the shelter I am guessing she spent her entire life in that overcrowded cage.
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Oct 29, 2010 17:21
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I am understandably afraid to touch her at all, I worry it may freak her out more. As far as I can tell, she may have spent her whole live in that cage. I watched her run around so she did not have any apparent problems with her limbs, no cuts or scratches I saw when I looked her over, despite the cramped conditions all of them seemed fairly health. I picked her because she was the one who struggled the least when I picked her up. The top of the cage has a screen to keep it secure but I am pretty sure that she could not make it out of the top, should I remove it? I do not have a digital camera or I would take a picture. I am hesitant to get another guinea pig, fearing I might make a bigger mess of things, not a mess in my home, but take care of them improperly. The pigs in the cage came in 3 series of colors, so I am guessing 3 liters. Should I go back for one of her siblings? Edit: She just turned around to face the other way for the first time in at least 8 hours, still not touched any food though. Diogines fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Oct 29, 2010 |
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Oct 29, 2010 17:39
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I am not at all "anxious" to force myself on her, I just don't want her to be unhappy and freaked out. Just tried what you suggested. She ran and initially struggled when I picked her up, but not as much as the other ones I held in the shelter. I think that is a good sign she has no serious injuries? When I picked her up and held in a towel in my lap she did not seem interested in the carrot or even struggle, though when I shifted she moved a bit, she did not try to make a break for it. Her breathing was not particularly fast when I did that. I placed her back in her habitat, this time right at the entrance of one of the hides, she went right inside and is now in the corner, watching the way out. I put a small apple slice and a sliced baby carrot at the entrance. I am hoping she might feel a little calmer now since she has cover on all sides. I think I will go and grab another one from her liter tonight. The setup I have is a good size for one but I worry it is too small for two full grown adults. It should be big enough for two adolescents though, temporarily. I'll pick up another from her liter and increase the size of the habitat some time in the next month. Edit: She dragged the apple slice inside! Took a small bite of it. Never though I would be so happy to see a little fuzzy thing eat.
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Oct 29, 2010 17:56
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Came back a few hours later. The entire apple slice is gone and she moved a bit in the back of the hide, I think she may have eaten the whole thing, though it could just be hidden. She had a water bottle at the shelter, but she is hiding away from it, not that I think she would possibly be willing to be "exposed" to get to it. I am worried if she does not drink, should I put a tiny saucer of water in there temporarily?
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Oct 29, 2010 22:12
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Right now I worry handling her to weigh her will freak her the hell out. I brought her another pig from what I think was the same liter, the coloring was very similar. The new one jumped around a bit and then went into one of the hides. As I repositioned the other hide to make getting in easier, the one i've had for a day freaked the hell out and ran at full speed so hard she tore away all of the bedding under her in an attempt to squeeze behind it. Now she is out of a hide and just sort of hiding in a corner. On the bright side, the little carrot slices I left in the enclosure was gone and there was a fair amount of poop spread around, so she did eat.
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Oct 30, 2010 01:32
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Handling them won't scare the crap out of them and make it take even longer till they are not afraid of seeing me? My though was that I should avoid touching as much as possible till they are more used to their new digs.
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Oct 30, 2010 01:43
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Pet Island has never steered me wrong in the past, so I shall defer to your advice and start doing that tomorrow evening. Would handling them both at the same time, assuming I can prevent them from running away be a good idea or a bad one?
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Oct 30, 2010 02:02
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I've been using http://www.guinealynx.info/ as my main source of information. My home now has more plants than ever heh, but any any particular tips on a "favorite treat" for my pigs when I handle them?
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Oct 30, 2010 02:06
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I saw a sexting guide online and examined them when I got them. I examined a few, some of the ones I examined I pushed gently on their stomach and their penis emerged. I am pretty sure that they are both female.
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Oct 30, 2010 03:47
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I don't have a camera or I would give you pictures. They are both moving around and eating and drinking. The new one is well, bullying the old one, running after her sometimes. I am not worried, what I read said that that sort of asserting dominance happens and it will stop eventually. They are only chasing, no more than that. I do not see any apparent pattern to her doing so. Some times one will run out of their hide, chase the other for a moment, then return to her own hide. Other times they both stand next to each other in the same hide, so I guess the hostility cannot be that strong. I could not get either to eat anything when I had them in a towel in my lap today, nor yesterday, keep trying once a day? When I leave the same food in their enclosure they eat it eventually. They seem to love apples best.
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Oct 31, 2010 01:40
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I could not imagined something so small could make so much poop heh. Will they get used to being handled and calm down a bit, to the point that they'll eat the treat I try to give them, or is handling them for naught if they don't get food and thus associate it with a positive experience? Put their daily fresh fruits and veggies in the enclosure right after?
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Oct 31, 2010 02:18
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I fear I just made a huge mistake. Since I got a second one, I built a new, larger enclosure for them and transferred them over. They are both in the same hide now but are scared shitless. Neither of them really cried when I first put them into their old one, though they were clearly scared, now they are constantly crying. Any ideas? I fear all I can do is be quiet and wait, does it matter if I leave a light on or off for them? Edit: Non issue. By morning they had calmed down and also eaten the vegies in the cage. Diogines fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Oct 31, 2010 |
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Oct 31, 2010 03:32
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Any idea how long to expect till they do not run for cover at the mere sight of me? The first thing they seem to have learned is that my desk chair squeaking means that I am going to get up and likely pass by their enclosure on my way someplace else in my home. The moment they hear the squeak, they dive for cover. If I ever pass by their spot they dive for cover the instant they see me. They do not cry out, but they run for cover and watch me with their heads poked out a little bit.
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Nov 1, 2010 05:15
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Ah, that is not bad. I feared it might be much longer. They do not seem to have any issue looking at me at all as long as they are in their cover, they often watch me from it.
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Nov 1, 2010 17:30
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I was worried that since I could not get the pigs to eat when I took them out, i'd never be able to get them to calm down. Without food as an incentive, it would be a lot more difficult. My pigs still run for cover when they see me or hear me moving, but I just got both of them to eat out of my hand  I've been taking them out on a towel daily and placed them on a towel between my legs 1 at a time. They like parsley but before I could not get them to eat any or even move a bit when I took them out.I waited longer than previous days and tried offering them very small pieces. When I offered tiny bites, they ate! One did not move around all that much but ate all I offered. The other one took longer to eat but once he did, he was running all over the place trying to get some of it. Diogines fucked around with this message at 12:23 on Nov 3, 2010 |
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Nov 3, 2010 00:53
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Anyone help explain guinea pig psychology to me? The alpha and beta pig are apparent. One has a few bites on it's ear and is clearly the beta, though it had them before I got it, poor thing. My 2 pigs refuse to be separated. If I take the beta away from the alpha the beta freaks the hell out and really cries though it calms down as soon as I reunite them, so I have no choice but to handle them both at the same time. Whenever I pass by their enclosure they dive for cover, but when they are finally out, the alpha is pretty calm and not afraid of me at all. Why is running around on a towel in between my legs as I tower over it somehow less frightening then walking by it in it's cage, crouched at eye level?
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Nov 4, 2010 01:23
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Do guinea pigs ever chase each other in play, or only to assert dominance?
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Nov 5, 2010 03:07
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I've expanded my area for my guinea pigs. Originally I had a piece of plywood as the base and a 2 by 2 cube grid. I had a strong piece of plastic which ran underneath the cube and around it, to catch any liquid or anything stray thrown out. The ventilation was still good, the inside smelled fine. I just expanded it to a 2 by 3 and made the chloroplast and cube which everyone uses, though I made mine a fair bit bigger than the cube itself, to help catch stuff thrown out. I had extra chloroplast and so I put up little walls around the edges on the sides to help catch anything thrown up, but as a side effect the vision of the little piggies is obstructed from my desk, where I spend most of my time in my house. Is this good? They seem to move around quite a bit more now. Is it bad? Will them not always having a line of sight on me make it harder to help familiarize them with me? Should I remove the extra walls so they can see me, or perhaps on two sides so they still have security in hiding behind the other 2 walls? Diogines fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Nov 6, 2010 |
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Nov 6, 2010 00:54
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"Get the giant food monster to bring me treats? There is an app for that!" Things continue to go well with my 2 new piggies. They still run like hell when they see me, but the "alpha" of the pair is pretty calm when I pick her up and both are fairly calm when I take them out, she also seems content to sit in my lap for an extended period of time.
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Nov 9, 2010 00:04
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Help! One of my pigs is starting to chew on the edges of the plastic containers I put in their enclosure for hides. I do not know if they are eating it or not. They have plenty of food and have a good appetite. What should I do? Keep them in there? Remove them? Panic? I cannot tell if they are trying to widen the opening, gnawing on the plastic for their teeth or actually eating it. The pigs have plenty of timothy hay and seem to like it.
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Nov 9, 2010 03:20
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Done. They really loved the plastic hides I put in there and preferred them over the cardboard ones. Oh well. I removed them. I'll make some wooden ones tomorrow. Any particular dangers I am not thinking of to put together a few pieces of wood to make some wooden piggy houses? Screws on top and put in deep, so they could not gnaw on them. Edit: It did not take 3 minutes after I put in a new cardboard box cut down to be a good hide and the same guinea pig is chewing on it. Is this something to worry about? Diogines fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Nov 9, 2010 |
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Nov 9, 2010 04:19
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I had some small, I don't know what you call them, paint buckets? I had 2 of them in in the enclosure as hides, a pigloo and a strangely shaped piece of cardboard which they liked, but they loved the upturned bucket shaped things best though they used them all. The plastic in them is a lot softer than the pigloo, which she does not chew on. Would they chew on a PVC pipe? Where do you buy the cardboard tubes? Should I put in pieces of cardboard just for them to chew on? Diogines fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Nov 9, 2010 |
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Nov 9, 2010 04:28
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I put in a cloth bag and tied up one of the handles to the side of the cage so it has a clear opening. They seem to really like it.
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Nov 10, 2010 01:20
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They get plenty of hay and eat it up, they were going for the plastic even when the hay was in there though.
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Nov 10, 2010 13:22
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I hand feed my piggies their daily vegetables during lap time, is there any issue with that or any reason I should not do that? They get unlimited pellets/timothy hay in their enclosure.
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Nov 11, 2010 02:20
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Question in guinea pig psychology. My two pigs seem pretty well adjusted to their new home. They still run like hell when they see me, but if I carefully try to pick them up from inside of their hides they don't struggle. Both of them will eat out of my hands at this point, though not reliably if they are still in the enclosure. One of them puurs when I take them out and feed them their veggies but they begin to wheek when I run out and continue until I put them back. They do not seem agitated, but they just do not stop. Is that their way of telling me they want more food, or are they upset?
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Nov 15, 2010 03:12
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What are thoughts on carefresh(other shavings etc) v towels v fleece? I had been using care fresh in the cafe for my piggies but its getting to be expensive, I read on other forums of people using fleece and towels and them lasting a 5 days without issue between washings.
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Nov 19, 2010 18:50
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Sirotan posted:I use a combination of carefresh and fleece/towels. I have fleece/towels down over everything and then a 'hay box' that I fill with carefresh that I put their hay in. They tend to do most of their peeing/pooping where they stand and eat so this way most of their business is done in the box, and I empty the box 2x a week. Keeps the smell down and then I only have to clean the fleece/towels once a week. I would be very interested to see how you set this up, care to post a picture?
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Nov 20, 2010 00:28
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Good idea, working on something like that now. I tried placing in a ceramic cooking bowl with similar dimensions. I can hear one of them nibbling on it a bit, is there any danger to them from it? I do not think they could really bite into it, but they might be able to scratch it a bit.
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Nov 20, 2010 22:17
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Sirotan, if you told me just how much my pigs would love the hay box I would not have believed you. I have never been so happy to wake up in the morning and see a big pile of poo poo, almost all of their droppings are in the little pot with the rest in the corner right outside of it and a few pieces around the rest of the cage. You just saved me countless hours of scooping up poo poo with a plastic spoon, thank you!
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Nov 21, 2010 16:02
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I'd like to ask for some tips with my 2 new guinea pigs, which I have had for 4 weeks. Summary: I got them as a pair, maybe from the same liter, from a shelter, which had way, way too many young piggies in a small cage. Both are female, I do not know how old they are, I'd estimate they are roughly half the total size of what I have seen as full grown guinea pigs. I have a 3 by 2 grid enclosure. Each piggie has their own pigloo, I have some other hiding places for them and an area for hay which is partially covered, thankfully they do most of their making GBS threads in there. I use a fleece and towels setup which I spot clean daily and replace once a week. They are in the main room of my home, where I spend most of my time. The coroplast walls prevent them from seeing me unless I pass by. They eat plenty of pellets and hay. I feed them veggies by hand once or more times a day. When I do this, I sit down next to the enclosure and hold small pieces of the veggies out so they have to come and they pluck each out of my hand and then run back to cover to each it, then come back for the next piece. I also sometimes hold one large piece, so they go to it out of cover and eat it, they eat the whole thing out of my hand. Whenever they see me, they run for cover. They do not cry when they see me, but they haul rear end. I do not think they are actually afraid of me, but I cannot tell. When I go to the fridge, they cry out for treats. I usually feed them their veggies first thing when I get up, so they squeak out when they first hear me moving around in my bed in the morning. I cannot take one out alone anymore, when I try to do so, the more "dominant" of the two will cry out, the other one will cry out in response and they will keep crying till I reunite them. I sometimes take a large towel and place it on the floor next to the cage or on my bed and feed them veggies, they are fine and happy as long as I do so-one of them will even purr if I pet it while feeding it, but the second I run out they freak out and try to hide under the towel. There was a brief period of time where each was happy to sit on my lap alone even after I finished feeding them but now they always cry out for each other. Any general tips on what to do to help them get used to me? I know the biggest things are time, but surely there are things I can do to help them get used to me.
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Nov 26, 2010 21:05
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#2, really. Though I am very happy to hear that their behavior is normal. I'd like to be able to take them out of their enclosure, feed them some veggies and just chill when they are done with their food. Even if I take them out as a pair and give them cover, they are unhappy as soon as I run out of food, they wheek very gently if I try to pet them, though they don't care as long as they have food. I guess that is not realistic.
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Nov 26, 2010 21:39
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alucinor posted:Wheeking gently while being petting is definitely normal. It's not really fear, or even annoyance, more like a status report... HEY YOU'RE TOUCHING ME. For some reason, HEY YOU'RE TOUCHING ME is one of the most basic of pig communications. They do it to each other, too. I thought that their wheeking as I pet them after they ran out of veggies was fear, learning that it was not the case, i'll continue to pet them even if they wheek a bit.
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Nov 27, 2010 05:00
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Likely a very silly question: Neither of my pigs bite me, but sometimes they nab my fingers a bit when I hand feed them. Today, one of them broke the skin, by accident I believe and I was bleeding a bit. I immediately washed the cut out. I am almost certain my piggies have never been to a vet and never vaccinated but they seem perfectly healthy, I don't have any reason to worry do I? Any reason to worry more than any normal cut? Diogines fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Nov 28, 2010 |
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Nov 28, 2010 03:04
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Since i've been hand feeding them veggies they are more willing to come out of hiding and look at me if I stay still, though they still haul rear end if I move. I went to go pick one up and she did run but once I caught her, I sat down next to the cage with her. She purred while I pet her without giving her food I could not be more thrilled. They both got some veggies right after. Diogines fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Nov 29, 2010 |
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Nov 29, 2010 04:04
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Thanks in large part to the wonderful advice from this thread my guinea pigs are healthy and happy, I do have a few new questions though: 1. I feed them plenty of varied veggies daily but they VASTLY prefer the hay I give them to their pellets. They eat the pellets eventually, but not much of it. Nothing to be worried about, is it? 2. Guinea pig psychology question. Why do they freak out if I try to touch them in their enclosure, but are far calmer when I touch them outside of it? They don't freak out when I pick them up outside of it at all. When I take them out of their enclosure and feed them veggies they do not really seem not afraid of me. One to two times a day I take them out and stroke them gently for a moment, feed them a piece of a baby carrot while I hold them alone then put them back. They don't freak out when put back and seem calm. They are perfectly calm once I grab them. I sit down on the floor next to their enclosure and slide a spoon across the floor of their enclosure to pick up feces. They seem calm when I do this, they often come very close to my hand, mostly they just watch. When I finish cleaning I change their hay for the day. Is this the "bird of prey swooping down" on them thing? It seems odd that they see my hand on the floor and come very close it but freak out if I touch them gently, yet do not seem afraid otherwise. Diogines fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Dec 6, 2010 |
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Dec 6, 2010 00:21
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I have them on the floor now. It sounds like getting something to put their enclosure on so they were at chest level make them happier since it'll be easier for me to come in at eye level? Edit: Nevermind, that won't work. I keep corosplast along the edge of the enclosure to keep debris inside, so I can't come in at eye level anyway. Diogines fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Dec 6, 2010 |
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Dec 6, 2010 01:27
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I just clipped my guinea pig's nails for the first time. One of my guinea pigs actually purrs a bit when I pet it and is generally much easier to handle. I got her nails without issue. The second one is much more difficult to handle. She is clearly pretty unhappy and struggled the whole time and both are pretty skittish whenever I move around my home now. I did not hit the quick on either of them, though I left them a little longer than I should have, dealing with a struggling guinea pig while cutting her nails for the first time is hard enough, their owner couldn't handle then bleeding on me too. How good are guinea pig memories? Will they forget the trauma by tomorrow?
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Dec 8, 2010 23:38
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