Kassie the Guinea Pig, What Would You Do?

marley334

Hi! I have a bichon poodle mix (Marley), and a short-haired guinea pig (Kassie with a K). I just got Kassie about a month ago, and she's very cute and I'm probably going to get some pics in soon. She's redish brown and white. She is very friendly.


I feed her a handful of fruits or vegetables everyday, for vegetables, usually parsley and lettuce. For fruits, usually apples and bananas. She loves people and her best guinea friend was Mintie, her albino cage-mate back at the store. She has a big cage and hay is everywhere.

What would you feed Kassie? Would her cage be big? Who would be her best friend? What would you name her?


If Kassie was yours, what would you do?

I just want to see what people think about Kassie and what they would do if they had Kassie.
Bye!

Meghan&Pedro

I have four guinea pigs, so if you're just looking to make sure that you're taking good care of her, here's a little of what I do for my pigs.

They all live together in a 4' X 8' open style cage (no lid, as I don't have any other pets like cats that can get into the cage). They have lots of toys in the cage to keep them busy (like tunnels and piggy-safe plastic cat toys), lots of chew toys to help keep their teeth down.

They eat a high quality pelleted food called Timothy Complete. They get some GP seed mixes in their food for some variety.

They get fresh fruits and veggies, as well as orchard grass hay every day.

Every time we change the litter in the cage we move all the toys and tunnels around, to keep things interesting. They come out for lots of handling, and are very well socialized. They love living together in a large cage in a group, as this isn't too far of a stretch from how they'd live in the wild.

Keep your guinea pigs in an area of the house that is frequently used by the people. This helps desensatized to all the sounds and noises that we make, and helps to keep them well socialized even when we can't get a chance to take them out of the cage.

If your cage is less than 4' by 2', then your guinea pigs will need to do floor time every day, for a minimum of forty-five minutes. If your guinea pigs aren't too great at being picked up (if they're not socialized to the point of letting you grab them when they're in their cage or on the ground without running away) then teach them to come to treats, so that they're easy to put back in their cage at the end of the floortime.

www.cavycages.com is a great site - it has lots of info on piggies, and answers a lot of your questions

If you have any questions re: piggies, just PM me

Meghan

Dogged

Bravo Meghan! Lots of great information there. I'm a piggy freak too.

Yes that site will give you all the info you need to make a great cage for your piggies which will give them ample toom to run around and be cheaper than any average pet store cage. You can make them with lids too. They are made out of storage grids that you might find at Target ot Kmart.

Guinea pigs are very social animals, so should be kept at least in pairs. BE SURE to have someone knowledgeable check the sex of the two pigs (not pet store employees) before putting them together. Also please consider adopting a pig from a rescue or animal shelter instead of supporting evil petstores.

Timothy Complete by Kaytee is not the worst food out there, but ideally the best pelleted foods are KM or Oxbow. They can both be ordered online at www.kmshayloft.com and www.owbowhay.com the Oxbow can sometimes be gotten at feed and petstores.

TONS of great info about piggies can be obtained from a fantastic website for called www.guinealynx.com Lots of great info, and very knowledgeable piggy lovin' people there that can give great advice.

Please check that site out for info on diet, because Parsley should only be given sparingly due to high calcium content, and fruit should only be about 10-20 % of their diet. They mostly should get red leaf, green leaf, limited Romaine, Escarole, and Endive lettuces. Guinealynx can tell you exactly what to do.

Good luck to you and your new little piggy friend. They are so enjoyable and steal your heart quick.

Jessica&Crew

Punk Pig has a lot of great info as well:

http://www.freewebs.com/punkpig/

britishbandit

I used to have 2 guinea pigs (Moose and Trixie), and kept them in a fairly large cage, (was about the size of a baby crib). It's true what they say, they are very social animals, and don't seem to live as long without a "buddy".

I fed mine pellets (specifically for guinea pigs), fruit and veggies, and also added a bit of Alfalfa Hay of Timothy Hay once a day (helps with digestion).

When it comes to finding out what sex they are, it can be quite difficult. It's hard to explain how to, but if you push with two fingers either side of their "privates" (has to be just right, maybe ask your vet how to), if it's a male, he will "expose" himself. It's a lot easier than distinguishing male and female chinchillas though, those are real toughies! Took me a while to figure that one out, even with help...haha.

As for the name, well, you've already picked that.

Caring for a guinea pig, well they can be quite "dirty" animals, especially confined in a cage, so be sure to keep the cage clean daily. You don't want bacteria causing infections. And just like a cat or a dog, they need check-ups as well, to make sure they are healthy, and to see the vet if you notice something a bit "off".

Puppy & Dog Forums

 

marley334

thanks for all the help and ideas. What I ment by "What Would You Do?" was like if you do/did have a guinea pig, can I have some advice ? Yes, Kassie should have a friend. But if I get another, will they fight? I've heard of guinealynx, but those other sites sound great . Thanks again!

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