[Gpdd] CARE: Ari's guinea pigs

Penny Charlesworth piggyfriends48 at gmail.com
Sun Oct 23 11:03:52 EDT 2011


Hi Ari,

Your piggies are beautiful.

Do continue with your efforts to tame them. There will come a time when you
need to pick them up to give them medicine or to shampoo them or clip their
nails and it will be easier for you all if this does not distress them. You
don't want to have to chase them round their home each time.

They have not had the best start in life so they are, understandably,
skittish. Be patient with them and they will come around. The easiest
piggies to tame are little babes, who readily wait to be picked up. Babes
born here have been handled from day one of their lives and remain tame
throughout their years but older piggies, being taken into a good home for
the first time, need patience.

By now, you probably know which are their favourite veggies so you could try
offering a slice of something yummy when they are hungry. Just hold it out
for them and they will learn that you are to be trusted. I always use
cucumber, which most piggies cannot resist. Eventually there comes a day
when they will come and take the slice from you. Then try holding onto it
and pet them at the same time. Little by little, the petting can turn into
picking them up.

My pens are large enough for me to sit inside with the piggies when they
have just been cleaned out and their outdoor summer playpen ( 12 x 12 ) is
even bigger. I climb in with a knife and a cucumber and cut small slices for
each pig that approaches.  Soon they are all climbing on my lap to reach the
next slice.

You could also try stroking them gently when they are in their box and
offering them a yummy slice at the same time. They will come to accept that
being picked up is a good thing if there is always a treat in store.

Regarding the noises that piggies make, I found this website which might be
of interest to you. The recordings are very quiet so you need your speakers
at full volume and one would not load for me but the text gives you an idea
about guinea pig language too.

http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigsounds.html

Don't believe everything you read about piggies food needs! A wise man once
said that you cannot overfeed a guinea pig. If they eat it all, then they
need more. If they leave anything ( which is rare ) then they have either
been given too much or that particular item was not to their liking.. Their
digestive system is such that they need a continual supply of food. In the
wild, they would have nibbled all the time that they were not asleep so the
constant supply of hay is vital. I keep a bowl of the dry food that I use in
the pens at all times. It gives them something to eat between meals. I never
measure anything. They know that something tasty will be forthcoming every
time I walk past their pens so a slice of something is always welcomed.

Mine have assorted veggies first thing in the morning when I fill their dry
food bowls. After veggies comes cleaning out time when they all get a pile
of fresh grass. They often get an afternoon snack when I am not at work,
otherwise they are fed as soon as I come home with more grass and veggies
and anything that I might have foraged for them. More snacks are given out
in the evenings and everyone gets a bedtime slice.

Your cage set up looks good. Don't forget that you can use newspaper instead
of the aspen bedding. Much easier when cleaning out. Mine enjoy pipes to run
through. I have different lengths of drainpipe - some straight ones and some
with a bend or a junction in them. These are easily scrubbed if they get
soiled and offer endless fun for piggies, who do not need the sort of toys
that hamsters might have. A cardboard box is a source of joy. Just take off
any tape and staples and let them customise it to their hearts' content. It
is easily replaced when it gets soggy or they have destroyed it.

You are right about the hay improving their poo. They need it to digest
their food properly. Hay is vital.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.

P.S. The wise man was Peter Gurney, who wrote books on piggy care and
introduced many new ideas about these wonderful creatures.



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