Guinea Pigs

[Trish]

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hi where aquiring a guinea pig today as the people that have it havent been looking after it properly,poor thing didnt even have water yesterday when my daughter went to the house :rant: :rant: :rant: . its disgusting how some people treat animals,wish i could string them all up :rant: :rant: :rant:

could someone give me some info on what they eat and best bedding etc as ive never had a guinea before :wacko: ive only ever had rabbits,rats,mice and hamsters,so any advise would be great :thumbsup:

think i will need to buy a bigger cage as my daughter says two steps and its at the other side of the cage so sounds tiny .

will put some pics on as soon as we get it here(dont know if its male or female yet either)

 

[AnnSa]

Oh guinea pigs are cute, love the little noises they make

Is THIS any use or HERE

 

[Trish]

thanks ann theres plenty of info there :thumbsup:

 

[jezza]

I have 2 little piggies Trish, they are so cute you will love him/her :wub:

I bed mine on newspaper, straw and shredded paper, best not to use wood shavings as it can affect their breathing. Before I knew about this I used to bed them on this and they were forever coughing, stopped using the shavings and they stopped coughing I use chooped straw though as they can get their legs tangled in the normal stuff.

Are you going to keep them indoors? Mine are, the dogs are very 'interested' in them so they don't get to play with them :lol: I just let run about in the bathroom as our garden is paved.

I feed mine on Gert Guinea pig and they seem to like that. Plus lots of fresh veg (especialli like herbs) and loads of Timothy hay and they are laughing (or squeaking to be precise!!!).

I go on a forum called the guine pig forum, don't post much but they have absolutely loads of info on there, lots of reviews for all types of bedding and foods. They also might have a few rescue piggies on if you fancy getting yours a friend

 

[Trish]

I have 2 little piggies Trish, they are so cute you will love him/her  :wub:  
I bed mine on newspaper, straw and shredded paper, best not to use wood shavings as it can affect their breathing. Before I knew about this I used to bed them on this and they were forever coughing, stopped using the shavings and they stopped coughing    I use chooped straw though as they can get their legs tangled in the normal stuff.

Are you going to keep them indoors? Mine are, the dogs are very 'interested' in them so they don't get to play with them  :lol:   I just let run about in the bathroom as our garden is paved.

I feed mine on Gert Guinea pig and they seem to like that. Plus lots of fresh veg (especialli like herbs) and loads of Timothy hay and they are laughing (or squeaking to be precise!!!).

I go on a forum called the guine pig forum, don't post much but they have absolutely loads of info on there, lots of reviews for all types of bedding and foods. They also might have a few rescue piggies on if you fancy getting yours a friend 

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hi lucy,thanks for your info :thumbsup: it will be kept indoors too,thought about keeping it in the conservatory but its very cold in there now,so not too sure yet of a alternative :wacko: .

its our lisa that will be looking after it the most with my careful eye making sure she looks after it well and when she and her fiancee get their own place she will take the guinea with her,so as for a friend we will see :lol:

 

[jezza]

That was supposed to say Gerty guinea pig food mine have the carrot and cranberry one but I've only seen it in one shop (and thats right over my way, quite a long way from yours!).

Is the piggie kept outdoors at the moment? If so you could get away with keeping it in the conservatory but if its kept indoors now it will be best not to transfer it into the cold at this time of year. Mine are a bit wimpy now as they have always been kept inside so they sometimes have a cover over the cage to keep them extra warm :huggles:

 

[Trish]

its indoors now,so dont want to put it out as it wont be use to the cold so might put it in the little bedroom with the main computer and it will be away from 5 crazed whippets

be told that our lisa isnt finishin work till 8pm so dont know if we will get it today now :wacko:

 

[jezza]

Best inddors anyway because it will need to be played with quite often so you don't want to have to be sat out in the cold!!!!!

I hope Lisa likes him/her. I think they are lovely animals, a bit nervous but you can get them really tame, they rarely bite - I got bitten by one once but that was when I was really young so I probably really upset it

 

[Janimal]

Good luck with the guinea pigs Trish. Ive had them since my teens....this is the only spell now where I havnt got any only the 5 bunnies. Mine are kept in an outside building.

Ive always used good quality shavings..large bales suitable for horses...its usually dust free, the better the quality the better for the guineas.

They need good quality hay, dried guinea pig food, and lots of veggies for Vitamin C....carrots, brocolli etc.

I just love their squeaks especially when you feed them or brush them.....I really miss the noises...

Strangely enough we were looking at one yesterday that needed adopting in pets at home and a lovely dutch rabbit, had to walk away. But I guess there will probably be a time when more guineas arrive.

 

[hely]

aaww i will need to see pic's trish...........and i think you should name it after me :- "

 

[pepa]

we have just got some at school for the sen's and the kids love them

hope every thing gose well with your new addition(s) get some picks on

sue

 

[Nicola]

I've got two guinea pigs, Charlotte and Enid. I did have a Daphne but she died last year. I'm going through the alphabet with names, and naming them after my favourite female authors

I keep mine outside but they are covered up in the winter as they don't tolerate drafts or damp too well. The key is to ensure they have plenty of fresh greens, carrots etc so they can obtain sufficient Vitamin C as they can't make their own. They love fresh parsley, which is rich in vitamen C. I once put fresh coriander in the cage, thinking it was flat leaf parsley (I did have a cold at the time so couldn't smell the difference, and they loved this too :lol: ). They need good quality hay to chomp on and I use this as bedding too, as it's nice and soft. Loads of newspaper on the bottom of the cage (and i use fine woodshavings too, non treated) to soak up urine, as they can be prone to dicky chests if they breath in ammonia fumes.

In the summer they love going in the run and cutting our front lawn (the main reason I got them ). They love some dandelion leaves too...but everything in moderation.

Their waste goes into the compost, shredding the paper a little to aid the composting process.

Quite useful little critters when all is said and done :thumbsup: . They eat some scrap veg peelings (not potatoes though), they top up the compost, and cut our grass in the summer. Not a bad deal really.

 

[Trish]

I've got two guinea pigs, Charlotte and Enid. I did have a Daphne but she died last year. I'm going through the alphabet with names, and naming them after my favourite female authors
I keep mine outside but they are covered up in the winter as they don't tolerate drafts or damp too well. The key is to ensure they have plenty of fresh greens, carrots etc so they can obtain sufficient Vitamin C as they can't make their own. They love fresh parsley, which is rich in vitamen C. I once put fresh coriander in the cage, thinking it was flat leaf parsley (I did have a cold at the time so couldn't smell the difference, and they loved this too :lol: ). They need good quality hay to chomp on and I use this as bedding too, as it's nice and soft. Loads of newspaper on the bottom of the cage (and i use fine woodshavings too, non treated) to soak up urine, as they can be prone to dicky chests if they breath in ammonia fumes.

In the summer they love going in the run and cutting our front lawn (the main reason I got them ). They love some dandelion leaves too...but everything in moderation.

Their waste goes into the compost, shredding the paper a little to aid the composting process.

Quite useful little critters when all is said and done :thumbsup: . They eat some scrap veg peelings (not potatoes though), they top up the compost, and cut our grass in the summer. Not a bad deal really.

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thanks for all the info everyone,shame we dont have any lawn for them,but the dogs killed the small bit we did have :b

will put some pics on as soon as we get him/her

 

[marion]

I have wanted a piggie for a long time but I have an open plan house and I am afraid a dog will appear from some where and eat it!!

Sigh!

I am very jealous. I wonder what colour it will be??

And what was it's name and will you change it??

 

[Trish]

I have wanted a piggie for a long time but I have an open plan house and I am afraid a dog will appear from some where and eat it!!
Sigh!

I am very jealous. I wonder what colour it will be??

And what was it's name and will you change it??

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my daughter said it is blue and dont know what they call or if it as a name as they dont bother with it and its been like this for awhile as they keep asking my daughter when she was going to take it off there hands,she as only just

told me about this last night and think it was because it hadnt got any water when they was there,which is more than worrying to me if someone carnt even be bothered to give their pets water,glad to say she filled its bottle with water before she left.

 

[~Sally~]

we bed ours on newspaper with straw/hay on top

ours our fed rabbit royale from dodson n horrells as we were advised this had enough vit c etc for them and ours are perfectly healthy, we give them fresh veg every day and if the weather is ok they spend all day in their run

good luck with your new addition

 

[Janimal]

we bed ours on newspaper with straw/hay on top
ours our fed rabbit royale from dodson n horrells as we were advised this had enough vit c etc for them and ours are perfectly healthy, we give them fresh veg every day and if the weather is ok they spend all day in their run

good luck with your new addition

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This is what I feed too Eve, its brilliant.. :thumbsup: lovely dried flower heads in it and things they love..

 

[~Sally~]

we bed ours on newspaper with straw/hay on top
ours our fed rabbit royale from dodson n horrells as we were advised this had enough vit c etc for them and ours are perfectly healthy, we give them fresh veg every day and if the weather is ok they spend all day in their run

good luck with your new addition

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This is what I feed too Eve, its brilliant.. :thumbsup: lovely dried flower heads in it and things they love..

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all ours love it even our fussy rabbit :lol:

 

[jue332]

We used to have 4 guinea pigs and they were lovely, full of character. I still miss their liitle squeek when I'm chopping veg.

You have got some great advice on here Trish not much more that I can add, only its a good idea to have something hard in the cage, like a stone or some wood that it can gnaw on to keep the teeth down.

If you pm me your address I'll send you a guinea pig book :thumbsup:

 

[summer b]

we've had and bred guineas for years they're lovely :wub: ! We put shavings on top of newspaper in their cage with hay on newspaper in the bedding bit (they eat the hay). Straw isn't such a good idea as it is sharp so can cause eye injuries. Ours love dandelion leaves, grass and most fruit & veg. As said above a sticks a good idea particularly one from a fruit tree as its definately ok for them to eat!

Good luck with your guinea pig :luck: