What should i put in my guinea pig hutch?

Question

I am getting two guinea pigs for my birthday and this is the hutch we are going to buy for them:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4FT-48-DOUBLE-DECKER-RABBIT-GUINEA-HUTCH-WITH-RAMP_W0QQitemZ250489928114QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Small_Animals?hash=item3a525cf9b2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I really want to give them the best life possible - so i was wondering if anyone has got any tips on things i can put in the hutch ideally things i can make at home to make it really fun and interesting for them!

Website links would be great too!!
Thanks
x

Answer 1

That's a luxury home! Get food bowls that can't get tipped over easily, water bottles and Chubes for them to play in. Scrunched up newspaper also makes a good plaything for hiding under and moving about under camouflage.



Check the notes I wrote on guinea pig care here:



http://www.villagevet.co.uk/content/group/pet-info/your-guinea-pig/168



and there are links to others useful sites on that page.

Answer 2

Hi,

awww you're so nice! Trying to give your two guinea pigs the best possible life is so sweet and caring. That hutch looks great for its value and I wish i'd seen it before I brought my hutch 2 months ago.



Go on this website:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm



It's not one of those websites where it advertises stuff to buy but it shows you toys for your guinea pig you can make for example towel tents and tunnels. It's such a good website it tell you how to make C&C cages (which if you didn''t already know are like the best cage ever for guineas) and it shows you how to assesorise them!



I know you don't have a C&C cage but you can use the same principles to your hutch. Also that hutch has a built in run so make sure you move the hutch frequently onto fresh grass (evrey week or so). Also position your hutch against a wall incase anything tries to knock it over.

And when it comes to winter buy a plastic hutch cover and add way more bedding!

I have added a shoe box to their living area which I cut the bottom of and a little doorway. And I put the foodbowl on top of the box so they can climb up so it's like an adventure. They dom climb up because all the food is gone in the morning!

Also add tunnels by buying one from a petshop or getting one of those plumbing tunnels at DIY shops.



Okay hope this helped, try hiding food around the hutch and on top of stuff for extra fun. Good luck with your new piggies but beware if they are female. I got my 2 females from a breeder a month ago and the white one has had 5 babies (one died yesterday snifffffff) and the other one is pregnant! So please make sure if they are females you've got them before they are 5 weeks old.



Good luck!

Answer 3

Beautiful cage, your piggies will be very happy! :) Just make sure you put something over the wire on the bottom so their feet don't get caught. And Happy Birthday!!

Since they have a little hide away built right in you don't really need to buy a house for them, unless they decide they don't want to share. My guinea pig loves oatmeal containers to play with, or any cardboard tube or box. Toilet paper tubes can be a guinea pig favorite. I've also given mine a pine cone which he loves to toss around, you just have to bake it first. cavyspirit.com has a lot of great ideas, you should check it out. They also love cuddle cups & sleeping bags. You can get some made just how you want for about $12 from abyssiniantreasures.com.



And in response to the answer above me, you are actually not supposed to give a guinea pig fruit every day because it is too sugary. Veggies, yes, but fruit only a couple times a week. And if you are unable to give them veggies daily, it does not mean they will die from scurvy.

Also if you're getting baby guinea pigs you want to give them alfalfa hay and alfalfa hay based pellets, then switch to timothy when they get older, say around the year mark.

Answer 4

Guinea pigs don't need heat mats, as long as you give them plenty of food, & hay to snuggle down in they will be fine. Hay is a lot warmer than straw, and they also eat hay which is good for their teeth & it gives them roughage in their diet. Does your guinea pig cage have a bedding area, if it doesn't then put in the cage a cardboard box & seal the top, on the side make a hole in the box enough room for your guinea pig to get in easily, then put in a think layer of newspaper on the floor of the box with shavings on the top and a lot of hay, your guinea pig will be warm and cosy in there even in the coldest weather, remember to check their water bottle in case it freezes, and guinea pigs don't hibernate.

Answer 5

Believe it or not guinea pigs stay near their cage or hutch. I had two. During the summer they stayed outside. For fun i set up a child's floorless tent outside. I would let them stay outside all day like this. I have a fenced yard. They would stay in the tent and occasionally run out and always run back in together and they would chatter away. When inside I kept them in a really big plastic tray. They could of easily left if they wanted to but never did. The dog would go up and sniff them and they would run over and chew her hair. One really liked to be petted and the other just liked the other guinea pig. I always kept a shoe box with a door and this is basically where they stayed all day. I kept fresh rags on top of their hay in the shoe box and changed it daily. They never ate the rags or the shoebox. My daughter use to make mazes with those large cardboard blocks for some stimulation. I think it stimulated my daughter more though. They never seemed to mind a bath either in warm water and then I drid them up with towels. They seem to like the coziness of being wrapped in a towel. They seem to like being around the hub of the family as opposed to being in a room by themselves. Other than that they never play with anything.

My guinea pigs never bit but my nieces would quickly nip with no warning. Try to get a short haired type as the long haired can be alot of work. Their poop and littter gets notted in their fur. They poop alot so I use to watch tv with them in a baseball cap. Get a couple so you have a fresh one at all times. Wash them at the same time you clean their cage which will be frequently if you want them to have a clean cage. They poop about 30 little pellets per day plus peeing.

We named one guinea pig Inca because they were one of the main sources of meat for the Inca's. Look up their history and find some unique names for your guinea pig it is alot of fun and interesting. We have a papillon dog named Tucker because Tucker was a famous papillon painter years ago. We name our chickens after first ladies.

Answer 6

The great thing is that you already have a hidey house!

I would use plenty of straw as bedding because if they are outside, it might get chilly so keep them cozy with little towels & blankets. They like tunnels to snoop around in & chewy toys. Even though they might chew on the hutch itself, its nice to have extra stuff in there to chew on.



For homemade toys here are some suggestions:

-Get a toilet roll tube & stuff timothy hay inside it

-Big paper bags are fun to snuggle & hide in

-Get 2 pieces of fleece & sew them together except 1 side so they can hide in it

-I've heard they like mirrors(make sure they cant get to it, Use a hanging mirror)

-Soft toys but make sure that you sew up if they bite through it & make a big hole in it



Good luck!

Answer 7

NECESSITIES for guinea pigs or...

1)one very large pigloo or something for them to be able to hide it (it has to be large so they both can fit in it, or if you think they will fight about it get too smaller ones

2) TWO food dishes for pellets and if you don't want to put fresh food on the floor, two more food dishes for veggies

3)Water bottle

4)something to chew on

All thoes are nececities but any other accessories will be loved by your piggies! Also in my experience the favorite toy of a guinea pig's is a tunnel of any sort

They also love toilet paper tubes to chew on and Kleenex boxes

Answer 8

I hope you are going to get same sex guinea pigs because otherwise you run the risk of breeding. Getting two is a great idea because they have each other for company and this alone is better than toys.

They will need plenty of hay, not straw.

They will need bedding which can be hay, towels, pine/aspen shavings, shredded newspaper etc.

They will need about a cup of fruit and vegetables every day to ensure they get enough Vitamin C otherwise they will die of scurvy.

They will need fresh water daily.



Links

Care guide - http://www.guinealynx.info/



Toys - http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm



Behaviour - http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigbehaviour.html



Sounds - http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigsounds.html

Answer 9

Guinea pigs are easily stressed, so they require careful handling. To pick up a guinea pig, slowly place one hand under his chest just behind the front legs and gently cup your other hand under his hindquarters. Once you have a firm but gentle grip on the animal, lift him. Then immediately pull him close to your chest or lap so he feels safe and doesn't thrash around.



they dont paticulary need anything special in their cage just main things like food and water and enough ample space, because they can get stressed very easily.



hope i helped.

Answer 10

you can put a little plastic shelter in there,

well heres a link it should give you some ideas.

http://www.petsathome.com/products/6-small-pets

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Answer 11

decarations timothy hay. toys