Got My Guinea Pigs

Hi All

I got my 2 guiniea pigs on Monday, the are two boys one is black and white and the other is brown and white they are 8 weeks old and i have called them Lucas (after Leeds United Mascot) and Oliver (ollie).

They are very scared still, i have been talking to them and feeding them dry food and vegatables, given them carrot which they nibbling at and today i bought some Kale i put it in a dish and it was gone in a few minutes maybe they like that. I have got some corn on cob and beetroot for them to try as well. They wont let me pick them up yet or i cant catch them, will keep trying. I will post some pics when they let me pick them up.

Aww! looking forward to the pics. What breed are they?

I would bite the bullet and go ahead and handle them. Most baby guineas will be skittish and run from you at first. They usually calm down when you catch and stroke them. Just make the capture quick and you will see big improvements in a few weeks time!

Lovely, can't wait for the pics.

Where did you get them from? If its a petshop I would double check that they are definitly both males. With males you will need a good sized cage especially since you have young pigs who have yet to go through their teenage phrase lol. Although it can and has been done many times, its harder to bond males that females.

The vege you mention is okay...but you need to form a basic veg dinner which should really include a type of lettuce (again not iceburg), green pepper, baby seedless tomatoe and corriander. Then adding in peices such as (baby) carrot, celery (chopped) and cucumber etc

Kale should be kept to once a week really or you will have stones on your hands as its pretty high in calcium. Beetgreens once a month (although I wouldnt personally feed it). The husk of a corn on cob can be fed daily but again the actual corn should be fed once a week.

Hope this helps and can't wait to see pictures!

I not too sure on the breed will have to have a look in by book, they not the long haired ones, i have tried to catch them but they run in there house its impossible and i dont want to stress them out, managed to catch one once and picked him up for a few seconds.

Thanks, I got them from a pet shop called Paws for thought, i made them check they were defo males dont want no surprises.

As soon as they let me pick them up i will get pics and post. They chase each other around the hutch and through the tunnels i got them, its funny to watch, luckily i am off work for 2 weeks so i keep going outside to talk to them and try and encourage them out there hutch, although not having much luck at them moment but its only been 2 days i got them on MOnday.

Petstores often get it wrong so might be worth checking.

If it seems like dominance chansing then I would keep an eye on them.

If they are outside in a hutch it will take a long time for them to become tame compared to indoors.

I think they are just playing chase, i been outside for 2 hours this afternoon talking to them and trying to catch them, no luck its so frustrating, i will have another go tomorrow.

With regards to their vegetables, they gobbled up the celary i only gave them half of a stick and the kale they eaten up, the carrots one is still there, tried beeroot its been there since this morning, shall i remove it as i dont think they want it. Tried corn on cob and they left that as well, am i doing this right guniea pig queen, you seem to be an expert on these little piggies.

Hello,
sorry for the late reply!
I hope they are doing well.
I have found the best way to tame guinea pigs is to spend many hours with them, just putting your hand in their cage and always being calm and slow-moving with them - no sudden movements etc. I tamed my lot through sitting with them talking and with my hand in their cage feeding them the odd veg.

Regarding the food make sure the celery is cut up in aprox cm width chunks because the string like stuff in them can choke piggies.

I wouldnt personally feed beetroot, its not very healthy. Have you looked at the link I posted with the diet charts? They provide great reference to how often something should be fed - although regarding fruit I would say ALL fruit should be kept to once per week.

If you would like I could tell you what my piggies eat daily?

Per pig they get..

2 Leaves of Round Lettuce
30 corriander peices (the whole stork & leaves)
1/4 of a green pepper (make sure all seeds are removed)
1 seedless baby tomatoe
then I alternate 1/2 a stick of celery, 1 baby carrot and 1 inch of cucumber - they have just one each day of these.
Then now and then they get some parsley, dill or kale. Kale less often as it has high calcium.

They eat Supa Guinea and fresh hay 24/7.

Hope this helps!

Thankyou, it helps alot, since i last posted i have been picking them up most days one is more forthcoming than the other he still a bit frightened but i getting there, each night when i get home from work and in the morning i talk to them and try and pick them up, they have cauliflower baby stick, carrot , watercress and little celary in the morning then dry food in the evening, i give them fresh hay every couple of days.

I have kept all your threads so i can keep refering back if i need to know anything, i will post some pics when they sit still for long enough.