Another Guinea pig thread, URGENT

[Sookeh]

A friend of mine on a whim bought 2 boy guinea pigs who she has now decided she no longer wants. They have not been together long as she has only had them a couple of weeks and has said that she'd be fine seperating them. If they don't get picked up today she will take them to a rescue.

I would quite like to adopt them but am generally clueless. Should I split them up? The cage was bought at pets at home and looks only big enough for 1 but friend said all pets at home guinea cages are suitable for 2 as they usually are bought as a pair?

DP has said he'd prefer to only get 1 to keep costs down, is it really that much more to have a pair?

They are both males, could this cause problems?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as DD and I have sort of fallen in love and need to know what to do ASAP!

The diddy cages have their uses for segregating sick pigs, taking one to the vet, or keeping an eye on a pregnant sow. They also tend to have narrower bars, so less chance of a baby absconding not that one of mine squeezed through the bars and streaked off down the garden, ooooh no. That's about it.

you have to be very patient with them. By nature they are skittish and their instinct is to wriggle about when you pick them up (I suppose to make a bird drop them) and to flee for cover when a shadow moves over them. If they are scared, they might well wee on you.

They will settle though in time and get used to you.

I do cardboard to insulate the outdoor cage. And heavy rubber car mats under that. (I get cardboard boxes from work)

The cage has a dish that is attached to the bars on the outside so they can pull the hay through. Would that do initially?

Do I need to wash their food and water bottles every day and replace uneaten food with fresh food?

I do really love them and have even named them in my head already

Wash veggies. Change water daily. Fresh pellets everyday.
Hay racks are fine, but they will love a bit to burrow in and play 'ghost'

Awww, get them, it sound like you would look after them!

Be warned though...you will fall in love and end up treating them like children

I foresee a giant guinea pig mansion taking over half your living room like we would have if DH hadn't inconveniently insisted on having hifi and tv in there instead

I love that you give them a hot water bottle in their cage 70

I think I'm going to get them. Feel as excited as I did when my mum bought me my first hamster when I was 7!

If they do come home with me today, what should I do with them initially regarding handling? Should I leave them alone in a quiet room overnight and give them their first cuddle tomorrow? Do I need to look out for any particular warning signs WRT their behavior?

I'm thinking of using a nice fluffy fleece with newspaper underneath?

Thanks so much for all of your help everyone, I'd of been lost without it.

I can see that happening too Lance

DP is a moody bugger so doubtless will tell me they aren't allowed to be kept in the living room even though there's a perfect spot for them in there. Not sure where their cage will go otherwise. Hmm.

Leave them alone for today. Let them settle, but you can sit and talk to them so they get to know your voice. (You feel stupid to start with, then before you know it your singing )

Warning signs about behavior have a look round the site to, there is some brilliant advice and very friendly :)

And we will need pictures

lance My pigs some how have gradually worked their way out. They have now accomplished a third of the living room and dh didn't notice

I give my little sons 2 boars dog bowls (I couldn't get the water bottles to not leak)
Fresh water at night, fresh pellets- they lose their VitC content- every night.
You'll find out how much they eat. You don't want waste but you don't want fights either. Little GPs sometimes sit in the foodbowl (and pooh )

I gave mine a cardboard box with the hay in to avoid to much hay on fleece, but they tend to carry it all over with them.
Mine are too flipping lazy busy and important to walk all that way to a hayrack.
I'd put nice eating hay like Herbage stuff in the hayrack and standard bedding hay (which is perfectly ok to eat) in their bed.

I missed the piglet stage- mine were one year olds but gorgeous.

Mine love to burrow in their hay and sit in the middle making happy noises or climb on top of a big pile like they are scaling a mountain !
Never had a hayrack -they wee/poo at the other end !
They also have a garden run but be careful to ensure it is secure and that they also have a nice shaded area if it is hot.

they are greedy little things and appreciative of food so you can talk to them and bring goodies along - simple things like dandelion leaves go down very well.

QueenBonkey good page about the GP body language.
And I love Barmy4Boars too. lots of ,well, Boar advice.

I've just seen that you can get them little piggy hammocks.

I think I might die

Can someone tell me exactly what a C&C cage is? I've had a look at some pictures and the open top ones look great and they'd probably be cheaper than a bought cage?

Sookeh rats will go in hammocks, GP are too lazy to climb in.
Give them cardboard boxes (cut two doors so that one can't trap the other) Big paper bags (Primark bags with the handles cut off in our house)
One of your GP will be dominant, the other will place 2nd fiddle, they might squabble a bit, but they'll establish their pecking order.
My boys have a wide carpeted ramp to climb on top of their haybox (it's got a hinged wooden lid, carpet covered. DH made it from an old bookcase carcass). They scurry down the ramp to get their supper.

Large plastic pipes are good toys (big drainpipes are good).

Most of the cagestuff was things that we had. I bought the cage from The Range (plastic and bars) IIRC £40.
And our rabbit run from Amazon ~£40 ish.

Well it's official. My 2 new fur babies will be here in the next few hours. Haven't told DD who will be ecstatic when she sees them

Woohoo! Congrats on your impending arrivals

I'm sure they will be very happy piggies with you.

Yay!!
Welcome to the mad world of pigs! :)

Welcome to Guinea-Pig World.
They will be very skitty when you get them, let them settle but let them get used to everyday noise in your house.

We gave our pigs a few hours to explore on their first day, an evening cuddle then settled with supper.
They very quickly realise who feeds them (they are the most bribeable creatures ever )
If you keep them indoors they will wheek at the sound of the fridge, a bag rustling or chopping , because obviously it's all for them.

I had GPs as a child and missed the noise for years. It's lovely when I open the Pighouse door to see them standing there and hear them wheeking (this is at 6.45 am BTW, I don't starve them )
Less lovely when they are grassing me up on a winters night for eating a sly bag of crisps. (Parsley is my friend in these situations)

Well, Tyrion and Ned are here!

They are the sweetest little things ever. Ned even let me have a quick cuddle before he went into his cage. Tyrion is a bit more skittish but just lovely. DD is enamored.

There's no way I could have seperated them. They are currently snuggled up together having a snooze. They have pooped everywhere!

I had no idea they would be so docile and sweet.

I'm officially in love! DP is not impressed...

Aw Sookeh, that is great news. GPs are the loveliest pets. We adore ours.

DP will come round (eventually)

My DH spent his birthday renovating the playhouse to the pighouse.
Stopped him getting maudlin about his Old Age ...

Yeah, my dh really isn't an animal person at all, but he loves our buns. Insisted on buying them a new hutch right away cos theirs was too small. Always worrying about their food.