Couldn't stomach neglect, so many questions...

[jthom26]

Hello... I am a new guinea pig owner. I have adopted two little puppies (6 years ago now!) and I've got a fair amount of experience with taking care of animals.


Buuuuut.... I have hardly ever even seen a guinea pig. That didn't really matter though because when I was asked to watch a guinea pig this weekend, it took about 5 minutes to realize the GP was being mistreated. The cage was a mess and there was hardly anything in it, and no food and etc.


I talked to the owner, and they were going to surrender it anyways. I got it on Friday and started googling pretty much immediately. The information from the last owner was that it's a female, they adopted it from the Humane Society about 2.5 years ago, and it was a couple years old when they adopted it.


So, she's probably in the 4-6 year old range. I got her an appointment with the vet yesterday and bought her a new, working water bottle, CareFresh bedding, Timothy Hay, and some romaine lettuce. I cleaned her disgusting cage.


On to the questions:


1. I know that they do better with other GP's... but she's never (to anyone's knowledge) lived with another GP, and she's on the older side. Would it still make sense to get another GP? Don't get me wrong, I love all animals, but I don't have a particular desire to own guinea pigs. I just want to love it and give it a good home because it deserves that... so I'd be willing to adopt another if it would really make sense given the circumstances.


2. I know they can't tolerate too much temperature fluctuation.... so I just want to make sure that my usual habits are safe. Generally, I set my temperature at 75 when I'm not home, 69-71 when I am home, and 63-65 at night.


3. I'm buying a bigger cage, for sure (just need to figure out if it's going to accommodate 1, or more :-) ) The current cage is 2.75 square feet, so would this be an immediate concern? Or will a couple of weeks not make a huge difference?


Lastly,


4. My veterinarian I saw gave me a care sheet, and like all sources I've found, it says to feed fresh greens (not iceberg or bibb, etc.). However, her care sheet recommends free choice on fresh greens, which I have not seen anywhere else. She said that she's a little underweight, and she said that GP usually won't overeat. She said if she started getting too heavy I would have to change things, but she generally suggests fresh greens and pellets be free choice. Again, I have not seen these recommendations anywhere else.... is she wrong!??!


Thank you so much!

[melgo]

Hi!! Welcome to the wonderful world of owning a guinea. So happy to hear you were able to rescue a little one; god bless you! I found an article from a site I follow (here: smallpetselect.com/blog/guinea-pig-food-antics-habitat) that answers almost all of your questions in here besides the food (which you can find lots of info on through the happycavy.com site).

Cheers!

[cavylady]

 Guinea pigs need ALOT of attention and for their best interest they need at least one friend and daily human interaction and guinea pigs need at least a 2ft by 4ft cage and a larger cage should be ASAP and the vet is incorrect everyday you should feed 1/8 cup of pellets 1 cup of veggies and hay available 24/7 ive read that you can get a baby with and adult that way the dominace is already stated but you can read into it more i have 2 pigs around the same age that rumble strut for dominace but as long as no blood is drawn or injuries than the pair is fine.

[3piggles]

Hello and welcome This is a wonderful resource for many of your questions: www.guinealynx.info/diet.html Check the fruit and veg charts for the nutrient breakdown per fruit/veg. Avoid high sugar fruits, and veggies with large amounts of calcium or vitamin A.

First, pigs should have unlimited hay. They need lots of hay to keep the food moving through their digestive tracts, because their muscles aren't strong enough to move the food. If you invest in any food, invest in the best hay you can afford, and lots of it. Oxbow Western Timothy is the best that's available in stores. Avoid Kaytee products, as they are pretty much the bottom of the barrel. Smallpetselect.com and KMshayloft.com sell great hay online, and probably better than the Oxbow found in the chain pet stores. It is more expensive. Oxbow western timothy hay is also available at Blue Seal Feeds. They sell it by the bag, or the 50 lb box. Cheaper than the pet stores, and I think they bag it themselves as needed.

Second, pigs should have unlimited water with nothing added. Some vets push vitamin C drops. Don't bother. Many pigs won't even touch the water with the drops in it, and as soon as the drops are added to the water, they start losing their effectiveness. Mostly, they just change the taste of the water so the pigs don't like it.

Yes, Vitamin C is important in their diet, so it's important to buy a good pellet. Oxbow Cavy Cuisine is the best in the US, though I've never found ZooPreme where I could try a small bag. Again, avoid Kaytee. Their pellets break down into dust very easily, so you get very few good pellets for the price.

Third, pigs need room to play/run/get a change of scenery. They are as aware of their surroundings as we are, so think about being in a small cage with life going on around you, or in a big room with lots of things to do to keep you entertained. This is a good place to research C&C cages(cubes and coroplast) www.guineapigcagesstore.com/ I'm not suggesting you buy a cage from them, as their set ups, while wonderful, are expensive. The grids are sold at Bed,Bath and Beyond/Walmart. The coroplast in white is sold at Home Depot and Lowe's. If you're not in the US, other members might know where to get it in your area.

The bigger the cage, and the more options the pigs have, the more they do, and the more interesting they are to watch. Guinea pigs are very active, vibrant creatures with an extensive language of vocalizations and body movements. The more you watch them, the more you understand what they are saying. Given the space, pigs rearrange the furniture in their cages, play games, run laps as fast as they can(zoomies), and interact with each other in a lot of ways.

That leads to 4, getting another pig. Just keeping a pig in a cage is boring for the poor pig, and while human interaction is great, you can't be with the pig all the time. Two pigs have each other to interact with, and three pigs makes a herd. It can be hard to find the right two or three pigs, so let your pig meet any perspective roommates. Put them together in a neutral space, with a pile of hay in the middle if possible, and if they pretty much eat the hay, kind of next to each other, maybe follow each other around a bit, have some episodes of raising their chins at each other, do what's called rumble strutting, which is a dance with a loud, low purring sound. That's normal. They may also mount each other, which is normal and not sexual. As long as they do it all without a lot of aggression, they're doing pretty well.

Since she's an older pig, I suggest looking at young pigs, as they can use a nanny, and their antics often reinvigorate the older pigs.

You may not really want a guinea pig, but once you get to know her, you may find yourself hooked, just like the rest of us

[Bean]

Welcome to Wheekers and thank you so much for rescuing this little pig - her life has just improved immeasurably!

Do you have a local rescue centre/ shelter near you? Some run dating services where they can try your pig with a couple of potentially suitable companions to see if they get along, and perhaps they'd have some older females or neutered males to try so you don't have to take on another long term commitment. I totally understand that having not planned on having any guinea pigs, you are reluctant to add more though. It's a big commitment and you're right to think it through carefully, as I have done a couple of times where I've been left with one solo guinea pig surviving from a pair/ group and haven't intended to have any more for a while (I've just played it by ear - some have seemed okay with loads of extra interaction, other have seemed depressed so I've found an older companion from a rescue). In the meantime, the changes you're making with her environment, care and diet will be massively improving her life so she's already heaps happier!

[jolovespiggies]

Welcome to Wheekers love

Hugs
Jo xx

[Whimsy]

Good for you that you saved her and is doing so much to give her a great life. Poor little guinea. It breaks my heart when I hear those stories of people having pets and then they don't take proper care of them....at the same time it makes me happy to hear about people like you who are willing to take in a new animal that they know nothing about, just so that animal has a chance of a happy life. Awesome!!!

[christine]

It is wonderful that you have taken on this girl, and as everyone else has said - welcome to the wonderful world of being a Guinea Pig caregiver!! I'm sorry for the part of her life that she spent with unsuitable people but I'm very glad she has found you.

You've had excellent advice here already, so I can't add anything more..

I got my first piggy from a rescue several months ago now. I saw his face on a website and immediately knew that I had to have him. Except, at that point he had been mis-sexed so I initially thought he was a girl. I figured that out as soon as the little guy had enough space to roam and run around. He had been a lone piggy, so I got him neutered and then got a sweet little girl. Except, she came pregnant, so now I have a herd of 4. I'm so grateful for them. They bring joy to my life every day.

As my boy had been a lone piggy, I was really relying on the books and websites that said that piggies were happier with a companion. He seemed happy. He would do zoomies around his pen at night, come to me to be hand-fed treats and he popcorned a lot. But he was SO MUCH HAPPIER once he had a friend. Get the biggest cage or pen you can accommodate, and if at all possible get her a companion.

Thank you for adopting this little sweetheart. She needed you, and her life will be so much better for having you in it.