guineapig05 wrote:

have always said piggy are like potato chips you can't have just one.

So true! I started with one and ended up with 3 within 2 years! Lol

Sooo cute!!!! I always forget how tiny they are when they're babies!

You two are so lucky you could do the fleece cages! I thought about doing that, but Orion had a tendency to eat everything. (Hmm... do I have a theme with my pets??) I worked so hard making him one of those fuzzy pockets (Cavy Cozies, aren't they called?) one night, and as soon as I put it in his cage he started devouring it. XD It just seemed safer to stick with wood chips.

Lol that's is really funny! Sounds like my bells. My bf actually thought that was bells for a minute

Sooo, I finally broke down and got myself a little piggie! Here is a picture.



I'm so excited! I will explain all about him tomorrow. ^____^

Aww, congrats! He's so cute and little! More pics are a necessity!

Looks like a small pet store cage, how big is it? If it is one of those little pet store cages, he'll outgrow it quickly so you might want to start thinking about larger accommodations like a custom built C&C cage.

It's just a temporary cage, think it's 47" long. I'm ordering a C&C cage but I needed something to house him in until it arrives. It was pretty much the biggest cage available.

He is very little! Any idea on a general age? He's very sweet and doesn't mind being held, though I assume he's just too scared to do much but sit there for now. He has long fur and is VERY soft. I want to get him a friend as well. I know they do best in pairs or groups.

I'm slowly transitioning him over to Oxbox Essentials; I read really good reviews on that food. He was eating garbage before so I'm hoping he takes to the new stuff. I know guinea pigs can be stubborn when it comes to changing food, but I've been seeing the old pellets scattered on the bottom of the cage and the new ones seem to be disappearing. I think he might be picking out the bad stuff!

As far as hay is concerned, alfalfa because of his age? I know too much can be linked to kidney stones and such (usually in adults) so I wasn't sure if I should just do timothy.

I will post more pics soon!

Awwww he's so cute!!! My hubby was looking at them at Petsmart the other day and I was like OMG I want one! He considered it for a few seconds and then said no way because the dogs would try eat him/her. They might go a little crazy at first, but I think they'd get over it. Oh well, no piggie for me

Kim, I couldn't tell you on age but our sow, Jasmine, was real small like that when we got her at about 3 months old I think. He'll probably be happy to have a companion, boars might be harder to match up than sows but I'm sure you can find a pair that work. Or if you get him neutered you could pair him with a female. We had two intact sows and decided when we rescued a boar to have him neutered so he could live with his lady friends without making little piggies.

That's great you're getting a C&C cage, he'll really be able to thrive that way. My piggies all eat Oxbow pellets. I've raised all my pigs on Oxbow Timothy pellets (Cavy Cuisine I think it's called) and Oxbow Timothy Hay. I know you're supposed to use Alfalfa based pellets and hay on pups but I never did. And all my pigs came to me on crap food, I tried mixing their old and new pellets together and ALL 3 of them picked out the Oxbow pellets and left the crap pellets and none of them had any trouble with the transition whatsoever.

Can't wait to see more pics!

Melissa, I think your hubby is probably right on that decision for now. If your sibes had a better track record for listening I would say you might be able to try but knowing how they are in a lot of other situations you've described/shown us I wouldn't feel safe bringing at guinea pig into the household. With our sibe he is superb about listening to us and was easily trained to avoid the guinea pigs from day one. And believe me, he was totally mad over ours when we first got one.

And if you (or anyone else) does decide to get a guinea pig, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT purchase one from a big chain pet store like PetsMart or Petco. Those poor creatures come from terrible facilities and are often not very healthy. If you want to think of it in terms of a dog equivalent, guinea pigs from a big box pet store are like pet store puppies from a puppy mill. They look so cute in the store but there is a dark story behind how they got there...it really is terrible and disgusting and downright despicable to know the truth behind where a lot of pet store guinea pigs come from. I've seen some horrible undercover footage of some of the facilities they come from and it's enough to bring you to tears. Whatever you do, please don't support that.

If you want a guinea pig pup, search out a reputable breeder or if you are willing to take on an adult then rescue one from a shelter or guinea pig rescue. There really are so many guinea pigs in need of homes. My aunt volunteers with a guinea pig rescue in New Jersey and there are rescues all across the country. You can even search on PetFinder for guinea pigs needing homes in your area. Hubby and I donate guinea pig food to shelters since they are often left out as most people contribute mainly dog and cat food. Of our 3 piggies, one is from a breeder, one was from PetsMart BEFORE I knew about where their small pets come from otherwise I would never have supported that (live and learn, please don't make the same mistake I did), and one is a rescue. Consequently, the one we purchased from PetsMart had the most health problems and died at a very young age.