Hiding and scared guinea pig? HELP!

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Zaphy

Post   » Tue Apr 03, 2018 1:01 am


I use fleece all over the cage. I have two litter areas that I put their hay into (they tend to concentrate their bathroom business where they eat) that I use Carefresh in and change out a couple times a week- this helps keep the odor under control. I've seen people use pee pads rather than (or in addition to) litterboxes for that purpose as well, so that's something else to consider. I sweep up all the extra hay and poops from the non-litterbox areas of the cage daily, and change out the fleece weekly.

Fleece is much more economical as well as easier (depending on your setup) than Carefresh, but odor control can be more difficult- when spot cleaning Carefresh, you're getting rid of the urine and poop, but when spot cleaning fleece you're only getting rid of the poop. So it can be tough to get yourself enough of an absorbent layer to compensate, I think.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:27 am


I’ll most likely switch to fleece. I cleaned her cage last night and had to take most of the bedding out because she pooped so much and he was hard to get all of it. With my busy schedule it’s hard to take an hour out of my day to clean her cage and get to bed at a decent time. I only have time to clean at night when I get home from
everything.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:22 pm


I have a quick question. Is there any other signs earlier on in a pregnancy besides feeling the pups at about 5 weeks?

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Zaphy

Post   » Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:43 pm


Nope, but it shouldn't matter whether she is or not for now. Out of curiosity, did you ever find out a more accurate weight for her? Assuming that she is young, you should be feeding her alfalfa-based pellets regardless. I hope everything's still going well!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:54 pm


Earlier in this thread, I gave you a link with all the signs of pregnancy and when you could expect to see them. Please read it.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:33 pm


I wasn’t ever able to get a kitchen scale but she eats pellets from All Living Things. their guinea pig daily diet.

I’ll reread it! Thanks.

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Zaphy

Post   » Wed Apr 04, 2018 8:05 pm


I believe Petsmart carries Oxbow pellets- it's up to you what you choose to feed her, but for what it's worth those would be healthier for her than the All Living Things ones with all the mix-ins.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:03 pm


Ok I’ll look tomorrow. So you said you use all fleece but how do you place it because Bebe keeps finding a way to get her feet under it.

Also do you clip their nails yourself or do you take them to the vet? I don’t really have the money to take them to the vet.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:29 pm



User avatar
Zaphy

Post   » Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:31 am


So you said you use all fleece but how do you place it because Bebe keeps finding a way to get her feet under it.
I use a larger piece of fleece than bottom padding, and drape it over the sides of the coroplast walls. Then to prevent my pigs from tugging the fleece down and climbing under it and then not being able to get back out and starving to death, I clip the fleece to the walls using a BUTT-TON of binder clips and those report folder spine cover thingys. Here's a photo of my old setup from a year or two ago- it's had a few modifications since then (e.g. way more spines and clips now) but the idea is the same. I also have a few pieces of decoy fleece here and there clipped to the cage that they can burrow in to their little hearts' content.

Disclaimer: I had a pig who was neurotic and industrious enough that she'd still tug the fleece down from the report spines and binder clips. I eventually had to resort to using a vise grip. She even succeeded in tugging that one down, too. It was only one time and she hasn't tried to get under the fleece since, but I'm convinced that it's because she now knows that that was my ace up my sleeve and I have nothing more to challenge her with. She's beaten me, and she knows it. Anyway, point is, sometimes binder clips and report cover spines don't work. Here's a thread from when I was in the middle of battling with her- there were several great suggestions given to me in that thread that I never got around to trying, but they might work for you!

Re: nail clipping- Bpatter's link has everything you'll need to know about doing it yourself(I use Heather's hold for mine), though if you're still afraid you could take her to the vet for a nail clipping just once and ask the vet to show you how to do it/how much force to use when restraining her. That way you don't have to keep paying for trims.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:54 pm


I’ll probably try a few of those ideas! I have some extra fleece. I tried the last “hold” at the end of the link for nail clipping and I didn’t even have a nail clipper in hand or nearby. She didn’t even let me hold her foot for more than like 4 seconds without freaking out.

bebe_thepiggy

Post   » Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:30 am


Bebe has definitely warmed up to me! She has all of a sudden “gained” weight. She weighs about the same but has just gotten bigger/wider around her stomach area.

She chews on her plastic ramp and igloo I don’t know why. I also usually put her in a basket with a towel and some hay and an empty toilet paper roll. Which she also chews on the basket. She has figured out how to climb out of it though. Any suggestions on somewhere else to put her?

Somehow she also kicks (I’m not exactly sure how she does it) her poop into her food pellets bowl?

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