Piggy Palace (Guinea Pig content) Pic!

[Relle]

Trace

You'd have to put flags on a pole on their backs to see them in the grass lol.
We have had a small break through with Possum and Oscar, I left them in the cage locked up together this morning and no biteys, they were together until 3pm when I put them on the grass. So heres hoping. I'll try again tommorrow. Yayyy
I need them to get on cause when we go on hols in May or June my friend minds them, so can't have two cages happening.

Relle.

 

[Traceyann]

perservere relle, if they are not fighting, dont remove them leave them together....even if there is teeth chattering going on, as long as there is no blood...leave them to sort it out....if you seperate them it will only start the pecking order all over again ........but have a towel ready incase they do attack.....and NEVER EVER put your hand in to seperate them ....throw the towel in......believe me I have seen a womans hand really badly torn up by two GPS fighting........

 

[Relle]

I know all about the hand in the fighting bit. I have a few scars on my hands.
My bun went to my friends place last year while we were on hols, she was dropped off on Sat night and let out the back Sunday morning when a fight broke out with her bun, she put her hand in to pick one up and got mangled. A trip to the doctor,tetanis and a huge hole in her hand that took months to heal and this was the first day. My bun had been there before, but not with her new female rabbit there. Think it was mine that started it with a grunt.
I'll keep an eye on the pigs,it gets expensive at thevet these days.
Been there, done that. Operations from fights to stitch them up.

Relle.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Lovely photo Tracey and great set up for the piggies. :wink: I put four boars together after they hit the 4 year mark, with no problems at all. Tested them in grass runs first. My first guinea pig Fluffy :roll: could never live with any other boy, even when he was 7 years old, he was just too aggressive but was a real sweetie with me.

I've had problems with aggressive females from time to time but found that the bigger the group, the better behaved they were.

 

[Traceyann]

Thanks Jenny, and yes some piggies can be soooo frustrating lol just lioke some humans I know.....luckily ours have all bonded now.....I gave nutsy a cuddle this afternoon and he snuggles right up under your chin....if im on the laptop he sits beside me and I swear he is reading as I type lol

 

[Relle]

I just love all piggies, so cute. I suppose its just like humans - you can stand some, but not others.

Ours are just tolerating each other at the moment in the same cage, I wonder what they're saying about each other. I don't think they have a smile on their faces.

 

[Relle]

Trace how are those pigs of your going in the heat ?

Mine just lay around in the dirt, they can't seem to get cool. Yesterday it was 41, so I put them in the shower recess, it was the coolest place in the house. Think they can have a bath today - then they'll smell good and it will cool them down. Poor Oscar, was so hot I put him in a tub of water at 8.30 at night and he loved it.

Relle.

 

[Traceyann]

Relle keep a really close eye on them the heat will kill them really quick...

I use 2 or 3 ltr milk cartons and freeze water in them ....the pigs love them and lay beside the milk container to cool down....

Also get plastic cups and put some watermelon, honeydew or rockmelon in top it up with water and freeze .....they will love this and keep hydrated.....

Another thing to try is a stryrafoam box upturned with a milk container will act like a fridge , but just tape up the opening so the lil bits of the box dont break off...

Mine are actually inside with me in the Air Con lol girls r in the main bathroom and the boys in my ensuite ....

Dunno if I have mentioned it b4 but there is a great website www.australiancavysanctuary.com.au , heaps of info on the on heat and all sorts of this medical, general......I am a member on here...Nuts & Bolts lol ( my first two pigs ) ....

 

[Relle]

Thanks for the piggy web site. All I need is to spend more time on the computer (NOT).

It's funny I have one pig that likes drinking water and I rarely see Possum the pig have a drink. Ellie the rabbit doesn't seem to drink much either. Years ago I bought a pig and we had a 3 hr drive ahead of us - he was heat stressed so had to race and put him in a tub of water to get his body temp down - so I know about the heat and to keep them cool.

Glad your furries have air con, mine don't have that luxury. 8) Me either for that matter.

Relle.

 

[Relle]

Trace I clicked on your cavy link and it said it didn't exist.

Relle.

 

[purelight]

Hi, the piggies are beautiful, can I ask for some advice?

My brother has two piggies, but has recently got a kitten. She was great at first but now is behaving more roughly around them and he's worried.
Any tips for helping them to be friends?

 

[Traceyann]

Unfortunately kittens are boistrous.....I would definately let the kitten be near them but maybe put the piggies in a run with a top so the kitty cant get to them but can see them......just becareful that it doesnt terrorise them too much or they will never trust the cat......My cat plays with 2 of my boys but doesnt bother with the rest .....

 

[Traceyann]

sorry Relle, its www.australiancavysanctuary.com

 

[ChrissyB]

Well I'll admit, I'm in love.
DH bought DD a guinea pig last week, the cutest thing ever, don't know why we've never had one. On doing research I learned that they like to have a friend, so we got another one last night, and an extra large home for them. Wow. They are so cute. The kids absolutely love them and they are so fun to watch.
Any tips or hints that you guys can give me as a beginner, I think I've got the basics covered: big home, hay, salt lick, food, water, fresh veges, hiding spots, they're inside in the air con cos it's pretty warm here...

 

[Traceyann]

Chrissy u got done on the salt lick...they dont and wont use it ....never mind I bought one too when I forst got piggies.....they LOVE toilet rolls to chew, and pvc pipe ( kinda like the down pipes on your house but round and plastic ) .....dont feed iceberg lettuce, potato ( sweet potato is ok ) onion as it will kill them.....

Go to www.australiancavysanctuary.com there is heaps and heaps of info on here.....I hope u have the same sex so u wont have the problems of babies.....air con is great they will love u

If u buy the GP mix from the pet shops it will need some more oaten or wheaten chaff added to it......I would add the size of the bag u bought ...as the pet shop mixes have too much grain and lucern in them....


ENJOY your piggies , they are so cute to watch and cuddle.....the more u cuddle the more they will trust u .....

 

[donniej]

Chrissy,
They need something with vitamin C in it regularly. We feed ours carrots (which has vit. c) as well as romaine lettuce and green beans every day. They *love* apple, which also has vitamin C and fiber. They also need pellet food and LOTS of timothy hay. I've read not to give them alfalfa too often because it contains too much calcium and can give them stones. I've read spinach is another one to avoid for this reason.

They don't handle heat well and their cages should be cleaned every week. Don't forget their nails either, they need to be cut every month or two. You don't need any special cutters either, regular nail clippers work great. And be sure to give them plenty of love.

For treats, ours love pumpkin seeds, dried coconut, dried carrot, dried orange and some of them (not all) like yogurt treats.

 

[ChrissyB]

Thanks TraceyAnn and Donnie.
Oh well about the salt lick...it was only about $10 so if that's all I get ripped off I'm doing pretty well.
When I got them the big cage I got them some fresh lucerne hay, they cage (I hate that word) has a grate at the end to put hay in and they can help themselves whenever they want. I did buy them a bag of food from the pet store they came from but it had weevils so I threw it out and got some pellets. In addition to this they are going through most of a carrot a day, love green beans, cherry tomatoes, strawberries...We are big vege eaters so there is always lots of stuff for them. I knew about the potatoes and onions, but didn't know sweet potato was different, good to know!
Well between all of us they are both getting lots of cuddles...they make the cutest little noises, I never knew that they chatter so much. If you want to hear what's on tv you can't hold Sprout cos he makes so much noise you can't hear a thing!! Spike is a little quieter. He has got really long hair...even hairy ears. He looks like a mop with eyes. I got them a water bottle too...got sick of cleaning out the water bowl.
I've told the kids that because they are the ones that wanted to keep them then they have to look after them , so there is a box of tissues on top of their home (in our living room), they just pick up any droppings when they see them in there.
And they are both boys! At first I just took the pet shops word for it, but after reading online I have learnt how to check and they are both definitely boys! So no little surprises! Oh, and according to the pet store these little guys are 4-5 weeks old, so just little babies!!
Thanks guys, I can see we are in for some funny times with these little cuties!

 

[Relle]

Chrissy,

I haven't been able to get timothy hay here without paying an arm and a leg for it, so ours just get straw in the cage for bedding if they want to eat that they can. I give our long eared guinea pig (rabbit) oaten hay. I think timothy hay is more accessible overseas.
Pigs are so cute aren't they and love how they whistle. Our boys are - Possum and Oscar.We lost Jasper about 1 yr ago, wish they lived longer, he was a good age - 6 1/2 yrs.Ours haven't read the guinea pig book and don't always eat what the book says.
Caught ours in the veg patch today picking their own food.
Hope you get a lot of fun out of them.

Relle.

 

[Traceyann]

Piggies also love chickory, parsley, milk thistles, dandelions ( go easy on the dandelion as it is a diruretic) , if the pigs are less than 6 mths old lucern is ok , but dont give it after 6 mths as it is too high in calcium.....Capsicum is fantastic for vit c , go easy on the sugary fruits as it can and will give them probs like obesity and diabetics ( dont laff ) ....cucumber is fantastic especially in hot weather , green beans, corn, husks and strings ( they love the lot ) ....grass lots of grass as it is their natural food

I feed mine grass one night & vege the next.....

They need to be wormed as well every change of season....u can buy the "kitten revolution" ( pink one only ) and put 1 drop on the spot behind their ears....this also treats for mites...

Make sure there is no wire on the bottom on their home as it will cause probs with their feet....does their home have wire like bird wire on it or are they like black bars ??? if they are the black bars then it isnt snake proof.....


UMMMM wot else is there lol.....if u join the ACS...( Austrailan cavy web site ) I am on there as Nuts & Bolts ( my first piggies )

 

[Traceyann]

I forgot Alfalfa is another word for Lucern hay.....if u are getting hay which they do need constantly as it provides fibre as well as keeps their teeth short...just get a grassy hay, rhodes is ok ( dont get barley as they will get eye spikes from the barley heads )

sorry to bombard u with all this info, but I hope it helps