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Original poster

Dd2 wants some guinea pigs - good idea / any advice?

413 replies

ElectraInExcelsis · 23/12/2008 23:10

The only thing I know about them is that you should get two because they otherwise get very lonely...

Anyone have them? I had hamsters as a child but don't know about humane ways to keep guinea pigs, etc which is important to me. Dd2 is 5. I don't mind cleaning them out for her etc.

Any advice? TIA...

OP posts:

sphil · 26/12/2008 14:55

Ah - Horris and Hugo - they make a good pair! Thanks for the offer, but I think if we don't have any luck we'll have him neutered and put him in with our dominant female - they get on very well but we don't want any more babies after this. Will let you know if we have babies that need homes - would much rather give them to someone I 'know'!

Original poster

ElectraInExcelsis · 26/12/2008 22:18

Thanks again. Hi NDP - yes it probably is me! How are you? The link is very good - there are 2 or 3 breeders quite local on that site.

OP posts:

thumbElf · 26/12/2008 23:09

my pigs had regular dried food but also had a daily allowance of fresh veg and fruit, different pigs preferred different foods so they don't all eat the same stuff. Fresh I gave was:
carrot, apple, tomato, cucumber, kale/ cabbage (NOT Spinach - too much oxalate --> kidney stones), occasional grapes, banana, other fruits.

Another important thing to note is that guineapigs DON'T BOUNCE - i.e. if they are dropped from a height, they could damage internal organs. My first one was a mega-athletic pig and could leap from my lap safely to the floor, but none of the others had the leg strength to do it and weren't allowed to (tbh, neither was the first one, he just did it anyway! ). So v. important not to let small children carry them around if any risk of them being dropped.

whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 10:16

My pigs also love celery! They play tug of war with it!

christywhisty · 27/12/2008 11:17

Ours adore a big bunch of parsley or coriander.

sphil · 27/12/2008 11:28

I didn't know about spinach - ours have it quite a lot (it's one of the things they love most of all). I knew about no lettuce, but have never heard that spinach was bad for them. Worried now.

whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 11:59

I've never heard that about spinach either. Must go and take a look....

whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 12:00

You can give spinach to a guinea but only in moderation....2-3 leaves per week...it says on a website I've just looked at that it has been linked to causing bladder problems and stones.

sphil · 27/12/2008 18:07

Well ours have had a lot more than that - probably a handful twice a week on average. Do you know the symptoms of kidney stones and bladder problems Whispy?

whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 19:28

All I can find on the net is that one of the most common symptons with bladder/kidney stones is bleeding from the bottom end! Evidentally one of the best forms of food to give a pig to prevent it from getting bladder problems is cucumber and peppers. Mine eat a lot of cucumber but they don't like peppers. I'm guessing any food source with a good content of vitamin C is important too.

sphil · 27/12/2008 22:20

Well they eat loads of cucumber, so hopefully OK. They haven't got any bleeding.

Am hoping the babies don't come tonight - it's freezing! Have put fleece in the nest boxes and given them plenty of hay, but even so... Last night I dreamt they had 16 between them - and two of them were pink .

smurfgirl · 27/12/2008 22:52

I wanted to come back to this and recommend the breeder we got ours from, she is in N.Yorks and was fab and our boys are incredibly tame (or stupid?). Anyway pampered piggy cavies (on my breeder link) near York is very good if anyone is near there!

Ours love peppers and cucumber but apparently should not get too much cucumber because it gives them runny poos which is v.bad for them.

thumbElf · 27/12/2008 23:00

oops, forgot the celery! Yes, most of mine loved that too.
I did give them an occasional treat of spinach, which they seemed to really enjoy, but kept it to a minimum (ditto lettuce).
Never tried them on peppers, but did give them strawberries to try - about half and half on whether they liked them or not (good for vit C tho).
mine never had runny poo from cucumber but then they only got a 1/2" section max per day.
Sphil, fingers crossed for you that the piglets don't turn up for a couple more days! lol at the pink baby dream

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 11:39

I only give my pigs cucumber peel...my kids eat a lot of cucumber so the pigs end up with the peelings! I didn't know too much gave them runny poo...! I also heard they like to munch on a fresh cob of sweetcorn! I bought some and they turned their noses up at it...it was organic too! It was such a waste...I could've cooked it for DH but was worried the kids might let on that he was having what the pigs didn't want!

sphil · 28/12/2008 14:28

I tried mine with celeriac yesterday - it's still in the cage with a few disdainful nibbles taken out of it! The breeder we got Horris from told me it's important to give lots of hard veg so that their teeth stay short - but mine definitely prefer the soft green stuff!

No babies yet - but I can't believe they can get any fatter!

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 16:13

Quite honestly the best food to give them to keep their teeth down is hay...especially long bits cos the more they chew the more the teeth get ground down. I would say the most favoured veg with my lot is green cabbage and they love the centres (tougher bits) and the hearts of a broccoli piece.

Let's hope you have some babies soon sphil!

NomDePlume · 28/12/2008 17:55

Hi Electra. I'm good thanks . Hope you and the girls are well.

NomDePlume · 28/12/2008 17:59

The spinach thing is due to calcium. Any food high in calcium (such as spinach) is more likely to give your pig stones

I signed p to a brilliant online tips thing. Basically you register and every few days you get a guinea pig care tip in your inbox, for free. I'll try and find the link.

Any babies yet whisp ?

NomDePlume · 28/12/2008 18:00

The website is American and a bit 'homemade'but the woman certainly seems to know her stuff!

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 18:09

Me? Babies?....I think you mean sphil!!!

NomDePlume · 28/12/2008 18:50

LOL sorry !

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 20:15

That's ok! I'd love some baby guineas tho!

sphil · 30/12/2008 20:48

OK - have cracked and brought the hutch inside. It's minus 4 here tonight and I couldn't bear the thought of the babies being born in that temperature. They're now in our dining room - and yes I know I'm potty....

whispywhisp · 30/12/2008 21:14

sphil...I'd have done exactly the same! All mine live indoors. Wouldn't have it any other way.....so no babies yet then I guess?

thumbwitch · 30/12/2008 21:35

sphil, not potty at all, very sensible! A friend of mine lost all her g'pigs to an overnight frost when she was young, so sad.

Keep them in until the risk of freezing passes, or until the piglets are born - I would!

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