guenia pig questions! noob here!?

Question

Mk heres the deal my sister bought to guenia pigs gave me one(very cute! all white with gray ears and red eyes!) i know basic stuff but i do have a few questions
1 the lady who owned them before has them on like poparia, im not sure if thats how it spelt but its smelly stuff in colorful shavings...i REALLY dont think this is healthy but i could be wrong. since they are rodents are there noses as sensitive as rats? if so then i know this crap is bad.
2 the cages are very basic. one hide, a water bottom, food dish thats it. what are some tips we can do to spice up the cages. they are not housed together there both males and on occasion will fight i was told so were gonna work on getting them buddy buddy since they are herd aniamls
3 what are good fruits and veggies for them? how often? food? there being fed pellet stuff with little bits of other stuff that are colorful. the piggys are big(and fat) so im wondering if this is the junk food stuff im reading about.
4vitamin c? is taht what it is? i read you should drip drops into there water? true?
5there rodents so they need to chew right? so can we just give them the stick things that we give our gerbils? and the chew hides? should we provide cardboard boxs like we do the gerbils?
6 tips on getting the fat boogers into shape? were planning on taking it slow till there used to us then we wanna bring them out and such, good idea?

sorry if this seems like noob questions but i am a noob to these guys^^; i know plenty on rabbits and rats and TONS on reptiles(i do have 13 of them) so forgive me know~

Answer 1

1. You mean, potpourri? Yes, you are right, that is not healthy. With all the oils and scents in it, plus the possibility they could eat it, that isn't good. I would suggest a kiln dried bedding, if you use wood shavings kiln dried is best, aspen is a good wood for guinea pigs, but avoid un-kiln dried pine and don't use cedar. Carefresh is good too.



2. They need a hay rack too, and a big one. Guinea pigs eat A LOT of timothy/grass hay, and it is essential to their digestive track. It also keeps the teeth filed down, so please feed a lot of hay 24/7. Feed it in unlimited quantities. You can put toys in it, just look at this site for ideas:

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



3. They should have a least one cup of veggies per day, but fruit should be thought of as a treat, since it is high in sugar and can cause diabetes and obesity.

Good Vegetables: romaine lettuce, kale, endive, mustard greens, carrot tops, carrots, red bell peppers, Swiss chard, parsley, and tomatoes. There are so many more options, just look at this site:

http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/fruitandveg.html

As for fruit, which is a treat, you can feed: watermelon, strawberries, orange (watch the citrus, too much causes sores on the mouth because of high acidity), melon, grapes. They can have more just take a look at the site link for the veggies that I gave you.



4. NEVER use those vitamin C drops in the water, they are bad for your guinea pig and actually discourage it from drinking the water. They can get plenty of Vitamin C from bell peppers and other veggies high in vitamin C. But, vitamin C is very important for them, because unlike your rat and other rodents, guinea pigs do not produce their own vitamin C and will depend on veggies to get it.



5. What "stick things" are you talking about? They love to chew on safe, unpainted, untreated apple wood, that is there favorite. If they have timothy hay that should keep their teeth trimmed down, but a tunnel made of timothy hay and wood is a great chew toy. Here are some more options:

http://www.petco.com/product/104964/Apple-Orchard-Sticks-Small-Animal-Chews.aspx?CoreCat=GuineaPigHPTreats

http://www.petco.com/product/14913/Super-Pet-Big-Nut-Knot-Nibbler.aspx?CoreCat=GuineaPigHPTreats



6. Just give them at least an hour on the floor indoors or outside (but ALWAYS supervise them, never let them leave your sight and block off any possible dangers, like electric cords and such. Yes, I would wait till they get used to you a bit. Also, NEVER EVER use those wheels or balls for your guinea pigs, as they can cause severe back injuries because guinea pigs back do not bend that way.

Answer 2

1. Not sure what kind of bedding that is..if its woodshaving like, i wouldnt recommend it, it can give them bad respotory infections! I recommend carefresh, even the colorful carefresh is okay. It has no harsh dyes or chemicals.



2. Get things they can cuddle with, they love to relax and chill around :). You can also get crinkle toys, and the colorful bird toys that can hang on their cages.



3.Only give them pellets, the colorful stuff has artificial flavoring that has alot of food coloring in it. Just plain pellets,. The most common veggies that pigs love are romaine lettuce, carrots and apples.Give them veggies once or twice a day. There bowl should be filled up about half way.. They will try to over eat to finish it all, and that can make them sick! So if its gone really fast, dont keep putting more in the bowl,until the next day. They should also always have timothy hay in their cage at all times!



4. Dont do the vitamin C drops, they can be dangerous. The pellets and Timothy hay should have enough vitamin C in them, but if your still concerned, you can give them oranges or orange peels.



5. They love cardboard! And everything else you listed seems to be fine for them, they also really like salt licks.



6. Try building them mazes with old boxes or obstacle courses (they love those!) You can also get a blanket and let them run around under it. Since they have many common predators if you are going to let them outside, i recommend getting a playpen for them. And when there outside dont leave them out there alone!



DO NOT!!! Get them a ball to run around them or a wheel...these are reallyy baddd for their back. Eventually their back will break from them.



If you want any other tips on all of these subjects go to: www.guineapigcages.com





Hope this helped!!!

Answer 3

I know tons about Guenia Pigs. I had a about 27 because one was when I was preschool but died three years later. Then I got two for Christmas and they were both pregnant so I ended up with more :D

1- I'm sorry, I have no idea what Poparia is. The person I bought it from did say to buy something like that so they wont stink. And it was a person who bred Guenia Pigs and worked at a Pet Shop.

2- If you want to, At pet stores you can buy another level. I bought a cage with one level. Then you can buy it seperate and it's another level. If you want to, I bought rainbow bedding! It was really cool. Just regular bedding but colorful. If they're males you'll have to let them together and see how they do. I had tons of guenia pigs and they were in two cages. Males were joined together but it just depends on how they are.

3- We usually fed ours carrots, lettuce or apple slices. We usually only gave some every week. Like, Two lettuce on a Monday, A few apple slices on a Wensday and some carrot slices on a Friday. Or whatever date. We just bought regular gunia pig food at the pet store.

4- We didnt drop Vitamin C in water. And ours survived for along time. Although one little gunia pig died on the 3rd month of birth D: He wasnt sick but we know it wasnt because there was no Vitiman C in the water.

5- It depends on what it's made of. You can buy special Gunia Pig chewies at your pet store. Or even the shelter. Some are rainbow that you hang from the ceiling or put to the wall of the cage and they will nibble it.

6- Well, I let them out in my room a lot. I sometimes even put them on the end of the room and then put a little tiny peice of apple, carrot or lettuce on the other side. Just a little tiny peice. Then I make them run after it. I also put them in the shade in our backyard and let them run around. They get to eat the grass and run around. (Put the cage top over top of them as a little fence for them)



I hope I helped!!!

Answer 4

a million.in case you like a small animal yet do no longer basically like the vocalizations, think of a few hamster or a pair of rats. we hit upon our guinea pig's squeaks particularly eye-catching yet no longer all of us would proportion this opinion. 2.i does not save any mammal in a tumbler enclosure, even in spite of the undeniable fact that they do it @ some puppy shops. there is not any longer adequate ventilation & 20 gallons seems small despite if he's out plenty. additionally, that is extra beneficial to your pig to have a pal (our greatest mistake, which we are gonna ascertain as quickly as we hit upon ours a pal) & in case you get 2 20 gallons is *extremely* small. 3. Adoption fees selection. We have been given ours from a rescue & easily paid some $ extra beneficial than puppy save fees yet we constantly attempt to undertake from rescues. 4. you will in all probability discover it extra profitable in case you wait & permit your new pal exhibit his or her call. colour, character and so on. will supply you a great number of strategies ;-)

Answer 5

if they are fat then they sell guinea pig leashes and giant hampster wheels at the pet store and gunea pigs can eat apples carrots letuce celery and coliflower.



dont feed them mixed nuts!!!! the mixed nuts now have preservarives in them and thats bad for them but ocasionally you can feed them raw nuts from the market and make sure they arent salted.



the cardboard box and chew stick thing is good for them



but they will chew the cardboard to shreds

Answer 6

I love guinea pigs!!