New Guinea pig owners

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

We bought 3 lovely pigs from PAH last weekend. They're very nervous. We were told they're about 16 weeks old.
Dd's have held them once, I've held them every other day since day 2.

How long and what do we have to do to help them be less terrified of us and friendly?

We're giving them fresh fruit and veg twice a day and nuggets once. Is this ok?

[fortifiedwithtea]

In short food😂 is the way to a guinea heart. Offer small treats regularly. Slice of cucumber, stroke of the head and say their name everytime.

Guessing as they are a trio they are girls. Some guineas learn their name and answer to it, most know their name but choose to ignore it and some are just plain thick.

Othef treats suggest dandelion leaf, sprig of parsley half a green grape, tiny bit of apple red skinned preferred. Watch apple as too much can make their mouths sore.

[RavenLG]

I agree food is the way to their teeny little hearts. Also time will help. It's not even been a week, just let them get used to all the household noises, your voices etc first. Remember they are prey animals, so their natural instincts is to run and hide. We have had our boys for 3 years now, and they still run away if we walk into the room too fast, or if we're sat still for too long and they forget we're in the room and freak out. We got them from a family who had had them around 6 months but didn't have time for them anymore. They hadn't been handled much and lived outside. We moved them inside and they sat petrified on our laps for the first couple of weeks. But we persevered and held them for a small amount of time each day. Eventually they stopped quivering with fear, then they would eat from our hands. Now they climb all over us, poop and pee on us and snuggle and sleep. They are silly little creatures but they are adorable and will get into your heart quickly.

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Thank you for replying @fortifiedwithtea. They're way too nervous for us to stroke their heads 😂. If I offer food 2 of them will come and take it off me, one won't but they run away if I make any kind of movement.

They're all boys

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Ok I'm expecting too much then it she's, that's ok, so long as I know it's normal for them to be so nervous initially.

[vickibee]

we also got some about two weeks ago and I have to agree they are just adorable. They squeak excitedly now when they see us but I think they are expecting food!
One question I have is can they be overfed? seem forever hungry. I am giving lots of timothy hay plus dried food plus veggie treats and they scoff the lot and ask for more..

[Cliveybaby]

aw they're young - they'll settle down a bit!
When you say "feeding twice a day" do you mean that's when you're giving them the food? Guinea pigs will basically be munching constantly. Our used to go out in the garden during the day (run on grass) and would have a constant supply of their biscuits and veg at night.
They will quite happily spend a few hours being cuddled. I used to wear my guinea pig tied into my dressing gown or up my sleeve while I did my homework! You'll learn to recognise the signs that they need a wee pretty quickly...

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

cliveybaby I mean that twice a day I hand feed them some veg or similar. They have a constant supply of nuggets and veg in their cage too.

[fortifiedwithtea]

A trio of boars, oh my. Sorry but that rarely works, I won’t say never cos I'm sure there was a regular poster here years ago that had a trio.

At 6 to 8 months they become teenagers, raging hormones and fight for dominance. Btw humping is normal between sow/sow and boar/boar to establish pecking order, they are not gay.

[Snowymint]

I’ve recently moved our 2 piggies into the house because of the weather. They’re in a large cage with cardboard boxes for sleeping/ hiding. I’m using compressed paper and cleaning daily. How can I train them to use a litter tray?

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

fortifiedwithtea oh no, what will happen? Will I have to re-home one? The woman said they'll be fine. 😲

Can I use cat litter in the toilet corner or will the greedy little pigs think it's food?

[RavenLG]

I think a lot of the issue bigger male pairings have is size of space. What is your cage set up? Agreed with Fortified that once they mature a little you could be in with issues.

I can't help with the litter tray issue but there are a lot of knowledgable piggy folk on here that could help I'm sure.

[fortifiedwithtea]

If they have a major fall out you will need to separate, hopefully into a 1 and a 2. You could then bond the single pig with a baby boar who will fingers crossed let the older pig to the Alpha.

You must not bond a singlton boar with a female because the other 2 will smell her and that will set them off fighting.

Tbh I favour boars because they have bigger personalities and i think more affectionate to their humans. However I started with brothers but after one died i got a pair of sows that he could talk to (love from afar) in a separate hutch as he was too old to neuter. And its been a steady stream of females ever since to keep lonely piggie company.

Total score for us 2 boars and 4 sows. Millie being our remaining sow although she was Alpha , she did not want a new friend when she became the last piggie.

[DaffodilPower]

Remember to have unlimited hay in with them.. That makes up 80% of their diet. My boys get a bowl of nuggets every morning for the day, then a bowl of fresh veg every evening (limit the fruit as it's very high in sugar). Romaine lettuce is their favourite, no iceberg as it's too high in water and causes diarrhoea.

Mine are nearly three now, probably a little too chunky, but happy none the less! Hand feeding is great for building trust, but it can take time.

The Guinea Pig Forum is a wonderful website for information!

Don't use cat litter, put some hay in kitten litter tray and they may use that, but piggies will go wherever they fancy I'm afraid!

I agree with PP, sadly boar trips don't have a great success rate. It's not unheard of, but you will usually have to separate one off and find him a new friend to bond with. You'll also need a lot of space, the cages in pets at home and the like are no where near big enough. You've got time though as they're babies to have a look at what's available.. C&C cages are very popular!

[Snowymint]

Cat litter isn’t suitable at all... hurts their feet and yes they might eat it too.

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Oh yes they have tons of hay.

I have them in the largest PAH cage at the moment but we're looking at the C&C cages as they've probably got a lot of growing to do yet.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

First - welcome to Small Pets and Welcome to your new piggies.

You were given quite frankly shit advice by the Pet Store , though I have had online conversations with guinea-pig breeders who advice trio boars . I bet thet don't offer the advice or pick up the aftermath.

Your boars at 16 weeks are not 'baby' babies . Were they in the "Adoption" bit? Most of their pigs in the main tanks are 8 weeks maximum. (Then they get the next wave of tiny babies that have the upper edge on cute sellability)



You might need to re-jig your boars later (they hit The Terrible Teens aka The Kevin Years) about 6 months or so.

Space , Space and More Space .
C&C are brilliant . You can model and remodel some lovely cage space . I would say two boars need at least 5'x2' so for three boars you'd need more like 6'x2' .
You can do upper levels (though none of my lardy pigs would entertain a ramp)

My original boars were 1yo brothers when they came to us . We found out how boars 'tick'.
They like their own space if they want it.
They need safe houses - which means one cannot trap the other. So if you give them a cardboard box , cut two doors . Have enough space that he can escape through.
Have one house per pig plus a spare .

A couple of food bowls . A couple of water bottles .
Piles of food (veg)

I like to shift things about a bit to keep them guessing (once they're established ) They might move things back if they don't like it.

Your C&C needs lined , guineas cannot walk on grids. I used cardboard , couple of layers.

You can use litter that is suitable for rodents (I use one from The Range , yellow bag. Its wooden pellets . Says on the bag is it suitable for rabbits and rodents)
Guinea-pigs don't tend to be litter trainable but boars (IMO) are tidier.

Our neutered boar spent 18 months beside our sow pair after his two wives died . We couldn't bond them as a Five and not even him plus the younger girls .
Once it was him GP6 and our sow GP7 , we did manage .

He had company though through the bars . Not ideal , he was used to being in a group. But 100x better than GP8 (my guinea) attacking him.

Don't be convinced that neutering stops aggression or mucky habits. It doesn't . (It does reduce the risk of impaction)

But you only neuter to bond with sows . Some Rescues neyter their boars so if they need to bond with sows they don't have to wait . Even if its two boars rehomed , eventually one will be alone , so easier to plan.
Neutering has a risk (low risk but its there) and costs £50-£60 .



Your boars will establish themselves , there will be an Alpha Boar . You will need to watch them , try to pre-empt any situations .

I would recommend the C&C , look online for cage idea.

Stock up on newspaper (they pee a lot)
No shavings or sawdust , it isn't good for them.

Rough fleeces are good with absorbant paper or puppy pads . (Bland detergent)
Get some Gorgeous Guinea shampoo (nice ones are Lemongrass or Just for Boars , Posh'n'Go for conditioning) a bath is a good temper diffuser .

And check the hay carefully . It can be hit and miss. A lot of sticks in ours at the moment .


And we'll need Pigtures

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Ok first pic is Falafel, I'm pretty sure he's quite young. Inquisitive, nervous.

Next is Nutmeg, the one with a skunk stripe, he's the greediest so is happiest to come to me if I offer food. Looks right in your eyes when you hold him

Ginger is much bigger than the others and takes food away from them if he fancies it so I suspect dominant. He's massively nervous though, easily the most scared and reluctant to come out of hiding.

These weren't in adoption so maybe younger than 16 weeks then. Should I take them to a vet for a once over maybe?

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Sorry pics didn't post in order. Ginger one is called Piggy. Dark pig is Falafel. Beautiful colour

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ahh they are gorgeous

It is certainly worth finding a good piggie savvy vet , you might never need a vet but you need to know where one is.
They are quite hard to 'age' , the pigs we've had in the last few years have been adults (1-2 years old ) except piglet GP3 who was 6 weeks and teeny .

Ginger might not be Alpha , he might just be a greedy toad !

Sometimes it's the little ones that feel they have the most to prove and get ideas above their stations .

I would move the sticks /twigs , if they are flighty they might make a mad dash and get poked in the eye .


Boars are lovely . So many animals have males with unpleasant habits but male guinea-pigs are delightful love sponges . (Our sows have always been more independant and can be snippy in season)


You'll need the Food List Threads and the First Aid Box Threads too

Might go off and start a new one ......

[brizzledrizzle]

We have had all boars for the last few years, they have a large cage with an upstairs and downstairs and plenty of hiding places and they get on fine.

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

Please could I see your pigs and housing set ups. Ours is very basic as yet. They currently live in a hallway on the first floor. It's quite a busy area but they are tucked under the stairway. I don't know if they'll stay here as their cage gets bigger.

[AtSea1979]

OP it looks like a standard 1 metre cage? That’s way too small for 3 piggies. It’s too small for 1! You will need to attach a big pen to it. Mine were free reign in the garden from March to October but lock in two storey hutch when dark. I had similar cage set up in winter with a hexagon type pen attached. They need lots of room to popcorn freely especially at dawn and dusk.

[AtSea1979]

Kale is the way to their hearts!

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

How on Earth do you all have the room for all of these set ups? I thought pigs didn't like going upstairs?

I don't think I'd feel safe putting them outside, we live in the middle of a field and when we had chickens we ended up with a rat and fox problem.

Oh I'm worried now. Will they be ok for a week or so?

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

What does popcorn mean?