With buying guinea pig food, hay, bedding, etc., my family and I are always looking for ways to save money. I discovered the use of fleece for bedding while browsing on YouTube. It saves you money, plus you can get really cute fleece that will look great in your cage.
Here's how to use it.
Source: YouTube
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This is LuLu, in her cylinder. I recycled an oatmeal canister for my guinea pig because they like to go into and hide in little hidey holes. I have seen them at pet stores and they are just cardboard cylinders. I go through four or five of these every week.
I have found a great use for my shredder. My 8 year old daughter has a hamster and a guinea pig. It was getting expensive to buy various items to use as cage litter.
Like ferrets, guinea pigs are happier in groups. But choose your guinea pigs carefully! More than two males together may result in some fighting.
If you feed your guinea pig beets you don't want to give it a lot because then their pee will turn red. Beets are sweet, so they really like them and can eat too many; mine did. So, do give them beets in moderation as well as the beet tops.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a guinea pig in a wired, open cage. My guinea pig frequently chews the metal bars and it is rather a nuisance. I was wondering if it was safe for him to chew on that and if it is detrimental if I spray his nose with a spray bottle when he does it to get him to stop.
I'm sure it's annoying to listen to that all day long, but as opposed to spraying him to stop the behavior, I'd look at what's causing the behavior to begin with. Does he have sufficent play toys, tubes and wheels to run in, and possibly a mate to to keep him entertained? Solitary pets in confinement are often lonely and bored and develop nervous ticks and habits as a way of expressing it. (Bears have been known to swim continuously till exhaustion without proper stimulation when in captivity.) Perhaps a more central location or extra human attention would help also.
Just a suggestion! I know from experience that if an animal's bad habit is caused by the above problems, "punishment" makes it worse, and while they may stop THAT habit, they will quickly develop another...
Good luck!
A guinea pig chews cause it needs to. Their teeth are always growing and they need to chew hard things to wear them down. One of my old pigs teeth started to grow in a circle almost back to the roof of its mouth befor I noticed it. His mouth wouldnt close right, they had to be filed at the vets. He was in a wood sided cage and had no place to chew. Maybe if you put in a large piece of branch or make him a wood house that he can nibble on and hide in too. I know that annoying sound you mean, my guinea now tattles her tip of the water bottle and it goes thump against the cage. Good luck.
I have raised guinea pigs for many years. We even had a mother /daughter set that lived to be 10 and 9 1/2 yrs old.what mant people do not realize is that guinea pigs have two sets of teeth both which grow constantly, they need to chew all the time so that the teeth do not grow into each other causing the pigs to not be able to eat. They are not chewing to be annoying, they need to hone their teeth down. giving them chunks of wood to chew on..placing a brick in their cages,and giving them hard foods like carrots all help somewhat..Always make sure they have something hard to chew on, and do not feed them things like iceberg lettuce which is nothing more than feeding them water...it has no nutritive value.Also adding liquid vitamin C to their drinking water helps keep them healthy.
Your guinea pig needs a nice chunk or branch of
fruit wood (never wood which has been treated) so
that he can keep his teeth worn down enough to
continue eating. The teeth never stop growing, and
if they are not worn down, they will actually cause
your pet to starve to death.
If you find this is not the case, then he just needs
more attention, something or someone to play with and maybe a wheel for exercising as well as some
nice interesting toys. They have feelings too.
Good luck.
Julia in Orlando, FL
My two guinea pigs chew on their cage alot. Should I do something about this?
Hi people, i have had my guinea pig for 2 years and although he plays with my little dog, he still seems very lonely. Do any of you know what i could put in his cage to cheer him up, because sometimes he looks so fed up and i feel pity for him. i do let him out, but he makes so much mess, as you can imaging. I dont know if he will go in a wheel, to be honest he probably wouldent know what to do with it.
Any suggestions???
im planning on getting a guinea pig can anyone help me!
I actually let my guinea pig chew on doggie treats and he loves them that's how he wares down his teeth. I also use hard toys that he chews on.
i have six guinaepigs i love them well we starded with one and she was nice but i felt that she was lonely so we fond some guinaeapigs for sale and they said it was a girl so we got it and put it with the other guineapig and about three weeks later we sow that she was very big and about two mounths she had three babys and so we was not hopeing for some guineapigs and we don't know that a hour she could try to have anther liter so before that we don't put them in different cages so we gave two a way and keped one and she had some more about two mounth later and she had six babys and one was dead at borth and two died some days later but we love the ones we got we love them so much thay are part of the family
When you have a male and female guinea pig and she is going to have babies, do you have to remove the male from the cage? Or will he not eat his young?
You will definitely want to take the male out. This isn't so much for the safety of the babies as for their welfare. The male and female may be agressive to one another with baby pigs around and it will just add a lot of stress and danger to their environment.
YES! and do not touch the babies for 2 weeks. remove from mom at 1 month or you will get more babies. also if you put the male back just know that the female can get pregnant at just 1 hour after giving birth. and the babies can start to get pregnant after 2 months. i use to breed them so if you need to know anything more write me at tlcdsfit AT yahoo.com i am a bird, rodent and reptile expert and i run a rescue for them too. darcey
I have one male guinea pig, and i am planning on getting another male one. I am woried if i put the other male one in the cage they will fight. What do u think I should do?
My family has 3 guinea pigs, well, that was until one of them had three babies. I know which one had the babies, but now another guinea pig had two babies and I don't know which ones the mother. I separated the babies from the two but I don't know if the babies will die without their mother. How can I find out which one is the mother and how do I save the two babies?
I need help with my 2 adopted guinea pigs. First of all, I know nothing about them.
They are both very shy, will this get better? Also, I put their cages in my daughters room, and they were just cleaned, but they smell. It's not an offensive smell, but not very good either. Would Marshall's By-Odor be good to take care of this? Is it safe for the pigs? I want to litter train them, any tips ? Lastly, when I bring them out of their cage to roam around, they never move from the spot that I put them in.
I have some links I hope are helpful to you. I too have a new guinea pig. I've had her about 2 weeks now. I have found out everything I know from these sites..
www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/
www.exoticpetvet.com/
I am not a Guinea pig owner so this is just from knowing a few. Guinea pigs I've known like to have a place to hide. It is normal for them to look for a place to burrow, especially if they are feeling insecure. A friend of mine had one that liked to hide in the wood pile. That's just how they are. Anytime they are out in the open, they will not feel safe so it might be a natural thing for them to freeze. Try to find places where they can feel protected.
Susan from ThriftyFun
I had six guinea pigs. They were fun wonderful pets. First you should know that they tend to be cautious by nature. You cannot litter train a guinea pig. They will go wherever they are whenever they have to go, and that includes in their food dish (I know, yuck.)
Using cedar chips will help with the odor, but they have to be changed no less than once a week.
They need lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (they are vegetarians) and something to chew on all of the time, or they will chew on your wires, your shoes, your furniture, etc. Fruit tree branches are excellent if you have any available. And don't forget to check the water bottle every time you refill it to be sure those little balls in the sipper tube are working properly. They can get stuck and your little ones won't be able to get any water.
The rest is a lot of common sense and figuring out as you go what they like and don't like. Have fun! If you want more information, just let me know.
Since you got your Guinea pigs from Petco I would go there and ask questions,lots of them. Since they have guinea pigs they must understand what they need to be healthy.
OK first, NO CEDAR chips. The resins from cedar is toxic to ALL animals. Use pine shavings or the newer paper based littler. Orange juice in water bottle once a week. G Pigs need the vitamin C. Veggies along with pellets and hay. Do not let them jump off of any height. Keep nails trimmed, feet clean. NO BATHS ever, no drafts. They are prone to respritory problems. They squeak and 'purr', squeal too. Nice little pets. Average life expectancy, 5 years. Be gentle and loving and they will love you back. Males can be neutered. Check the sexes, make sure you have the same sex of both or seperate them. Unless you want babies. Val
I have read my guinea pig handbook a few times and I now have two sweet female guinea pigs (or cavy sows). Mine were shy as well for a bit but I discovered that if you spend a lot of time with your Cavy, even just sitting on the couch watching TV with them resting on your chest petting them and speaking gently, they develop trust in you.
When they make a low purring noise and vibrate a little don't be afraid! This is a good thing. Stop petting after a few and let the roam at arms length (just in case they try to jump!) They should sniff the air and hopefully make little chutting noises. If the get scared they usually run back to you and cuddle up.
Some Cavys will never litter box train but you can try! Get a special Cavy litter box and fill it with bedding (NOT KITTY LITTER!) put some of their waste in and hopefully they get the hint. PLEASE don't punish them in any way if they are unable to train! Again, some never will. Don't freak if you see them tasting their poo, its normal and necessary for nutrition and health. Strange but true!
As for the smell, well thats their urine! They have the ability to concentrate it into a thick and creamy substance thats 2xs the smell! Try putting newspaper under the bedding to avoid crusty urine deposits on the pan. Don't forget to clean their cage AT LEAST once a week! Also the sipper tubes should be cleaned and refilled everyday, not just when empty. Bacteria can grow and cause illness otherwise. Check to see if the ball is working (with a clean finger) often.
I know that's a lot of stuff to remember but soon it will be routine. Buy a copy of The Guinea Pig Handbook by Sharon L. Vanderlip, D.V.M from your local pet store =] Hope this helped!
I have got my piggie in a large cage. When I try to touch him he hides in one corner and makes noises; is that normal? Also he makes noise when I touch his rump should I be concern about that?
By Danielis
My guinea pig bites me. Any ideas why?
Victoria from Wales
I bought two Guinea pigs and they are "so" scared of me. They hide whenever they hear footsteps and they barely eat. How can I get them to warm up to me? Help.
By hannah from Duncansville, PA
Is it possible to train Guinea Pigs to poop in one part of cage?
How long is the Guinea pig supposed to be fed and how much? Does a Guinea pig need a shower before and after it awakes. Does it need a bath in the night?
By Valentina
My guinea pig keeps biting my shirt and doesn't let go when I go to put him in his cage. He has a brother that fights with him sometimes and they're the same age as each other.
Why would he do that?I have a bin cage which is connected to my old hamster cage. I wanted to ask if during the day can I keep the cage door open so he can get out of it and roam in my room and at night close the door of the cage so he can sleep.
Please get back to me as soon as you can.I just recently have become the mini guinea rescue in my town. I somehow became the lucky owner of 7 piggies, 4 males and 3 females. I'm trying to figure out the best way to house them using the grid cages. I am not sure of their ages and really would like to let them all "see" each other, but would prefer to separate the girls and boys that people have already had paired. I am trying to avoid fighting and babies and cages taking up too much room. Please help.
By Kelly
I just got a Guinea pig, my first one ever. I have noticed that he likes to stay in one corner of his cage, he also uses the bathroom in this same corner, is this normal? I'm worried he's going to get sick from being in his own waste? I clean that area more than once a day, but why is he sitting in his own pee like nothing's wrong?
By Ashley
About a week ago we got two Abyssinian guinea pigs, who are about 3yrs old. I would like to know what kind of fruits and veggies can I give them?
By luciere100
I just got two guinea pigs yesterday and I want to know how long I should wait before holding them.
By Lulu
About a week ago we got two Abyssinian guinea pigs, who are 3yrs old, and I would like to know if giving your Guinea pig a bath is optional (since I don't want to traumatize the poor things!).
By luciere100
I just got a pet baby guinea pig, Bitsy, and she has been nibbling on everything! Do guinea pigs need to be in groups? My dad said that they are better in groups. Is this true?
By Chloe S.
Small bugs, like gnats, can be an irritation to you and your pets. This is a page about dealing with gnats around guinea pigs.
The guinea pig is believed to have been domesticated around 5000 BC. These cute, social rodents make good pets. This page contains guinea pig photos.
Just like people animals often mourn the death of a companion both human and animal. This is a page about guinea pig not well after casemate died.
