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Post by rarnold18 on Oct 30, 2010 1:37:26 GMT -5
ok no potatoes no problem! Don't want the piggies to get sick! I picked up some cavy food and timothy hay and holy cow!!! I don't know if they recognized the sound of the bag being opened or if they smelled the hay but all the sudden they started to squeel and run around the cage like maniacs!!! Then when I put the hay in they both jumped on it and chowed down!!! I hadn't seen them that active yet and it was kinda startling, at first I though that there was something wrong with all the commotion they were making! They also got thier daily peppers, some baby carrots, a couple apple slices, and some lettuce. (and the pellets)... this is good?
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Post by littleweasels on Oct 30, 2010 22:20:32 GMT -5
lol. They can get very excited over simple things like hay. My pigs will wheek like crazy around veggie time until they get their veggies. How much veggies are you feeding them? They need at least 1 cup each and it should be mostly dark leafy greens. They of course need the bell pepper every day. Carrots should be limited to 1 baby carrot per pig every day. Fruits should onlt be fed twice a week. Here's a sample menu. www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/24770-sample-veggie-menus.htmlIt sayd monday am and pm. You can just give them the veggies all at once. Its best to feed in 2 separate meals but its not necessary.
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Post by rarnold18 on Oct 31, 2010 17:03:53 GMT -5
I guess it's about a cup or so each...I'm not cutting them up so I really don't have an accurate measure...they are definitely eating well, I don't let their pellet bowl go empty nor do they get low on hay... Thanks for the link, I'll definitely make sure to use it when portioning out their food!
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Post by eschimpf on Nov 6, 2010 21:59:23 GMT -5
I guess it's about a cup or so each...I'm not cutting them up so I really don't have an accurate measure...they are definitely eating well, I don't let their pellet bowl go empty nor do they get low on hay... Thanks for the link, I'll definitely make sure to use it when portioning out their food! How old are they (I didn't see an age). If they are younger than a year you can keep feeding them pellets like you are, if they are over a year you should limit their pellets. I have seven cavies, run my own cavy website and am a member on Guinealynx forum. If you want to check out my website (I hope this is ok to post): www.canadiancavy.webs.com
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Post by rarnold18 on Nov 6, 2010 23:26:30 GMT -5
I really have no idea how old they are, the girl I got them from was keeping them in a closet and was feeding them rabbit pellets...she said that the little blonde and white one whose name is now Tribble was about a year old but had no idea on how old the calico colored one whose name is now Callie...I've briefly gone over some articles on how to age a cavy but haven't really gotten too indepth with it. They are very vocal little critters and now when I open the cage door to give them hay or their veggies Callie will stand in the door way with her front paws on it waiting and if I don't put the veggie's in there fast enough she will pull them out of my hand! They're warming up to us, Callie is really sassy, weeks and complains and as I said if her veggies aren't given to her fast enough she takes them! Tribble only starts weeking when it's food time and gets really excited, runs around and does little hops, really quiet cute! When held she complains in a low tribble like noise...I'll take both of them out a few times a day so they can run and explore...and if things are quiet I'll take one or the other out and sit them on my lap while I'm at the computer... They are definitely intresting little critters and am happy that I could get them out of the situation they were in... I know that comming into having cavys I knew pretty much nothing about them but am doing my best to give them everything they need! I will say, it's definitely intresting having a prey animal here as a pet....the dogs come into the room and they go still and don't even twitch... When Gypsy gets up and starts moving around they run and hide....defintely intresting! (Gypsy, ferret, and Tribble and Callie, were all adopted about two weeks ago so they are still in quarrentine in the back bedroom, and from their cages they can see each other)
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Post by eschimpf on Nov 6, 2010 23:35:57 GMT -5
Its the oposite for me, I've spent years working with guinea pigs and now I having my first ferret, I know nothing about but I am slowly learning.
If you need any tips and tricks just email me I know quite a bit if I may say so.
Oh the biggest thing I can't stress enough to new pig owners is weighing them weekly. Weight says so much about their health. A good kitchen scale works great.
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Post by bluemoose on Nov 6, 2010 23:54:33 GMT -5
I like your site. Very nicely formatted and very informative. I learned some new things about guinea pigs
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Post by eschimpf on Nov 7, 2010 12:12:54 GMT -5
Thank you I've worked very hard on it. I still have a few things to add like aging guinea pigs because I'm just getting there with my oldest gal, shes 5 years old. My youngest ones are 1 year old, they've been here since birth.
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Post by lessthansign3 on Nov 14, 2010 19:19:17 GMT -5
Just a few starter tips, from an experienced piggie mommy with four boys of my own - Always have an unlimited supply of fresh timothy hay available for them to graze on. Oxbow is the best, but if you can't find it, Kaytee is a good alternative. - Our guys LOVE their nightly greens, and they let us know when it's time (or even when it's not time and happen to open the fridge in the evening - lol). They especially enjoy spinach, chard, collards, and parsley, as well as the occasional baby carrot. - A high quality guinea pig pellet is a must. Guinea pigs, like people, don't produce their own vitamin C and will get scurvy (*insert picture of guinea pig with peg leg and eye patch here*) if fed rabbit food. Again, Oxbow Cavy Cuisine is best, but Kaytee Timothy Complete (though none of their other foods - just the Timothy Complete!) is a good alternative if you can't find it. - Piggies prefer friends On the rare occasion that two boars don't get along, like our Hubert and Humphrey, you can keep them separately, and they will get enough social interaction simply by squealing at each other. Humphrey hates Hubert so much that if Hubert has been on my lap, I have to flip the blanket over before so Humphrey doesn't smell "that other guy" and freak out! - They are messy. There is no litter training a guinea pig, but they do tend to poop where they eat, as they spend a lot of time there. We use fleece blankets instead of shavings - it's just a piece of fleece sewn to a towel, really - that we vacuum during the week and wash every five to six days. Otherwise, aspen shavings are a good route. Avoid pine and cedar at all costs! The oils in them are toxic. The only exception would be kiln-dried pine, but eh, just stick with aspen to be safe. Hm, I think just about everything else you need to know can be found elsewhere! For sure check out how to make a C&C cage, although Midwest now makes a C&C-like cage that is fairly affordable if you'd rather not go the DIY route. Guinea pigs are not complicated critters - they are not smart, and all they really want is a clean place to stay and plenty to eat. They can be a LOT of work, as they are very messy, but it's so worth it when you want a sweet lil' critter who will just SIT STILL on your lap! That's what's best about them - they will literally just sit there on your lap forever. Just be sure to have a towel or something under their butts, though - they have no control over their, uh, bowels. lol. Some days I wish they made diapers small enough for them!
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Post by lessthansign3 on Nov 14, 2010 19:32:09 GMT -5
Thank you I've worked very hard on it. I still have a few things to add like aging guinea pigs because I'm just getting there with my oldest gal, shes 5 years old. My youngest ones are 1 year old, they've been here since birth. More about senior pigs would be great! I could help you with stuff about senior boars, as they age slightly differently than sows. I've discovered in the past couple weeks now with Happy and Harry that they uhh... lose some of the muscle tone in their poopers and you have to help them empty it It's a fun thing called "impaction", and I'll post this link for informative purposes, however it's really nasty-gross so for everyone else, don't click if you're squeamish!www.guinealynx.info/impaction.htmlLet's just say... it's the most foul-smelling thing I have ever encountered. Even worse than cleaning rabbit anal scent glands - my previous worst smelling thing ever. It scared me at first, because I thought something was really wrong with Happy. This is just a normal part of the aging process for some manpigs, though, so we just have to "empty" him and keep him clean. His papa Harry gets it, too, but not as frequently as Happy does. Harry is about 5 or 6 and Happy is 4 or 5 (rescues, so we'll never really know), so they are getting up there. Still, I never knew about this, even though I had cavies when I was a kid who lived to be 6 and 7 years old. They were all girls, though. Sooo... Now I know!
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Post by littleweasels on Nov 14, 2010 19:41:35 GMT -5
Kaytee anything shold be avoided. Its all crap. Their hay is first cut which is very stemmy which pigs dont like and it can poke them in the eye. Their pellets are crap too. I would just avoid anything kaytee brand. The best pellets and hay are kleenmamas (only online www.kmshayloft.com/) Oxbow is second best, then sweet meadow then mazuri 5664. Spinach, chard, collard greens and parsely should not be fed often. Parsely is higher in calcium, chard is high in oxalic acid, spinah is high in vitamin a and oxalates and collard greens are high in calcium, oxalates and vitamin a. Veggies that can be fed on a daily basis are romaine, red leaf, green leaf, escarole, chocory, cilantro, bell pepper (any but red. Red bell pepper is higher in sigar) and zucchini.
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