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Captain Invictus posted:They are smart, but not THAT smart. One day its attention will be diverted elsewhere when you're not around and it'll get lost inside a wall. Best if you secure that top before you lose it forever. One of my hamsters got lost under the floorboards. After three days of privation I was able to rescue her, thankfully. She escaped again on several occasions, but she never went under the floor again because she wasn't stupid.
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Dec 5, 2015 01:36
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| # ? May 21, 2024 22:41 |
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My pig doesn't really seem to like me very much. Petting him involves blocking him from trying to run away while he vocally expresses his unhappiness. He's so high-maintenance and I don't mind but I was hoping to at least get to cuddle him or something. My boyfriend doesn't like the pig and wants to get rid of him and get a friendly bunny or a nice fluffy hamster instead, and I don't believe in getting rid of pets but it does start to sound appealing when I remember how unfriendly and not fun this guinea pig is. I've only had him for a week at this point, will he become friendlier and even affectionate with time or is that just his personality?
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Dec 5, 2015 02:57
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republicant posted:My pig doesn't really seem to like me very much. Petting him involves blocking him from trying to run away while he vocally expresses his unhappiness. He's so high-maintenance and I don't mind but I was hoping to at least get to cuddle him or something. My boyfriend doesn't like the pig and wants to get rid of him and get a friendly bunny or a nice fluffy hamster instead, and I don't believe in getting rid of pets but it does start to sound appealing when I remember how unfriendly and not fun this guinea pig is. I've only had him for a week at this point, will he become friendlier and even affectionate with time or is that just his personality? He's still adapting. Try spending some time just sitting on the floor while he runs about the room and let him get used to you just being nearby. Offering treats goes a long way too.
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Dec 5, 2015 03:09
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teenytinymouse posted:Carefresh is definitely not cheap, you're right. I'm not a Piggie person but aren't fleece liners a popular choice? Since I can't use those I do know of alternatives to carefresh! You can look into bulk paper bedding like megazorb or boxo or a shredded hemp like I'm using, I got 100lt of it for £20 but not sure if zooplus ships to america? Aubiose or siccoflor are branded hemp beddings if you see if you can get those. Equine bedding suppliers are usually much cheaper than the pet store if you can find one locally and have somewhere to store a bag, you can save yourself a good bit of cash. I tried the fleece thing with my chinchillas who pee WAAAAAY less than pigs and it still got gross pretty quick even with weekly washings so I switched back to Carefresh. I can't imagine the stank with pig pee. Oxbow's paper bedding is pretty good but it's also pretty expensive. I would caution against horse bedding, it's super dusty and could cause respiratory issues for guinea pigs.
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Dec 5, 2015 03:42
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My favorite part of guinea pigs is seeing them interact with each other and run around doing their little pig things. They do so much chatting with each other and running laps and generally being adorable  I actually don't pick them up and cuddle them that often, I just like hanging around and watching parsley disappear into their mouths like a chipper shredder. They're such simple creatures, I find it really relaxing.I expanded my big pig cage recently.  Then I decided they needed a barn to match my big barn.  Now I'm planning out a new, even bigger cage because it's not going to be big enough when the babby piggins are old enough to live with the big boys.  Edit: re:fleece My pigs have fleece bedding that's fleece on both sides with two layers of uhaul moving blanket inbetween. I have a guinea pig specific dust buster and vacuum the poops daily and then change the whole thing out twice a week. It generally doesn't stink very much at all until it needs to be swapped out for washing. I have enough fleeces that I just do pig laundry once a week when I do person laundry. It was a lot more hassle when I had loose towels with a layer of fleece on top, I like my sewn fleece liners much better. The new hotness in the guinea pig community is to put down a layer of wood pellets (like for horse stalls) and put fleece on top of that but I really don't want to deal with 50 lbs of wood pellets even if they only have to be changed out every couple of months. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Dec 5, 2015 |
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Dec 5, 2015 03:43
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I've been picking out each individual poop with a pair of large plastic tweezers specifically dedicated to that purpose, but a vacuum sounds MUCH easier. I wonder if there are any little cordless handheld ones that are any good. Those baby piggies are gorgeous by the way! That's the kind of setup I look at and aspire to have one day. I had to pause while typing this post on my phone to take a picture of this budding friendship:  The cat seems to be nervous about the pig and the pig isn't scared of the cat, just curious. I'm a little worried about the possibility of her slapping him through the bars but she hasn't tried to. The cat's posture and body language look like "curiosity" and "interest" rather than anything fearful or aggressive. Also I love introducing new veggies to the pig. We've already given him carrot, celery, and apple, and tonight we gave him cucumber and green bell pepper for the first time. I can't wait to try lettuce and tomato, which you'd think would be the first things we'd try but we actually haven't yet. republicant fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Dec 5, 2015 |
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Dec 5, 2015 04:17
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Now I'm planning out a new, even bigger cage because it's not going to be big enough when the babby piggins are old enough to live with the big boys. How exactly did you manage to get a sheep and a guineapig to cross-breed?
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Dec 5, 2015 06:41
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:I would caution against horse bedding, it's super dusty and could cause respiratory issues for guinea pigs. I just meant source paper based bedding from a horse bedding supplier rather than a pet shop, not to use sawdust or something. republicant posted:My pig doesn't really seem to like me very much. Petting him involves blocking him from trying to run away while he vocally expresses his unhappiness. He's so high-maintenance and I don't mind but I was hoping to at least get to cuddle him or something. My boyfriend doesn't like the pig and wants to get rid of him and get a friendly bunny or a nice fluffy hamster instead, and I don't believe in getting rid of pets but it does start to sound appealing when I remember how unfriendly and not fun this guinea pig is. I've only had him for a week at this point, will he become friendlier and even affectionate with time or is that just his personality? Bunnies and hamsters don't start off friendly either, getting a little prey animal to trust you're not going to eat him takes time, especially if he wasn't interacted with much when he was very young. Please tell your bf to piss off, if he was the size of a little pig and a tiger wanted to pet him he would be scared too. Instant Jellyfish posted:My favorite part of guinea pigs is seeing them interact with each other and run around doing their little pig things. They do so much chatting with each other and running laps and generally being adorable 
teenytinymouse fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Dec 5, 2015 |
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Dec 5, 2015 14:07
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Neddy Seagoon posted:How exactly did you manage to get a sheep and a guineapig to cross-breed? I got my Teddies from a local rabbit rescue and started looking at all the different guinea pig breeds after that, having only seen Americans and Abyssinians before. I saw texels and just fell in love. They're like angora goats crossed with guinea pigs! People (well, one person) even makes yarn with them! So I got my little dudes as culls from a local breeder because their color isn't right for showing. I felt kind of bad because I like to support rescues and they're all very strongly opposed to breeders but the local rescues rarely get guinea pigs and they're adopted almost immediately so I don't feel that bad. Plus they grow up to look like ridiculous curly wigs. 
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Dec 5, 2015 20:42
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Just recaptured Squiggle after she escaped from her hut last night. I don't know how she opened the bulldog clip on the door - maybe it didn't quite catch properly - but she came back without much of a struggle. I'd had to leave her alone for a whole night while I was out of town, so maybe this was her way of saying "now you know what it's like to feel abandoned!"
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Dec 5, 2015 22:59
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I've been leaving the door to the cage open and my pig has been sticking his face out to see what's up and sometimes even walking out of the cage. Yesterday he walked out and I let him walk around the room, following him around to make sure he didn't get into any trouble, and when he'd had enough he walked back to the cage door and hopped back in. Today he walked out and I picked him up and held him for a bit. It was much easier than trying to take him out of the cage. He's been getting much less shy about approaching me when I'm inside his cage cleaning it too. Still hauls rear end if I try to touch him but it seems like a good start. 
republicant fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Dec 6, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 00:02
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Jesus loving Christ, man, TIMG that!
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Dec 6, 2015 01:49
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Please timg your pimg  .
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Dec 6, 2015 01:52
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Oh god, posted from my phone. Sorry for the attack of the 40-foot pig.
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Dec 6, 2015 02:03
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That's a good pig tho. That'll do pig
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Dec 6, 2015 03:16
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So far the towels as substrate seems to be working out very well. I lined the bottom of the cage with four towels folded into thick squares, and then covered those with layers of hand towels and washcloths. If one washcloth gets especially dirty I can pull it out and replace it without having to change the deeper towels until they need to be changed. The entire room smelled like "guinea pig" after 3 days with Carefresh and cleaning poop several times a day, hopefully this will last longer but if it doesn't then no big deal, it's just a load of laundry. Plus no more bits of paper in the food bowl, and it just seems nicer and neater in general. My pig and I have this fun game we play where I tidy up his cage multiple times a day and he has tons of fun knocking things over, pooping everywhere, and pulling as much hay out of the hay holder as he possibly can... Honestly it's cute to see him do it, and I've accepted the fact that this is going to be a very high-maintenance animal so I just like seeing him happy. He especially likes trying to eat the bag I put his poop into while I'm cleaning his poop. I wish I could ask him if he likes it here better than his old owners, but I think this looks like a happy pig. 
republicant fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Dec 6, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 05:40
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republicant posted:My pig and I have this fun game we play where I tidy up his cage multiple times a day and he has tons of fun knocking things over, pooping everywhere, and pulling as much hay out of the hay holder as he possibly can... Honestly it's cute to see him do it, and I've accepted the fact that this is going to be a very high-maintenance animal so I just like seeing him happy. He especially likes trying to eat the bag I put his poop into while I'm cleaning his poop. If he's feeling bold enough to interfere with whatever THE HANDS are doing, he's feeling pretty happy.
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Dec 6, 2015 08:22
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republicant posted:I've been picking out each individual poop with a pair of large plastic tweezers specifically dedicated to that purpose, but a vacuum sounds MUCH easier. I wonder if there are any little cordless handheld ones that are any good. Try cilantro, our pigs go nuts for it
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Dec 7, 2015 05:00
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crazycarl posted:Try cilantro, our pigs go nuts for it Will do! My pig is scratching too much for it to be normal. Fleas would stand out on his white fur and I haven't seen any so I'm going to treat him for mites, time to try to find some topical ivermectin.
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Dec 8, 2015 00:04
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Hey, does anyone in here have any experience with metal flying saucer type wheels? One of my degus loves that style of wheel, but the plastic ones quality are kinda crap so I was thinking about something a bit more sturdy. The plastic ones cost $25+ at the stores near me and I'm on my second one which is disintegrating where the wheel meets the stand. I'm looking at two kinds, one which attaches to the cage (http://www.chinchilla.ca/detail.php?ProductID=FTC0300&item=Flying_Saucer_Steel_Exercise_Wheel_-_Small) and one that is free standing (http://www.exoticnutrition.com/trwh11in.html). I'm in Canada so either are going to be about $100 with shipping, so I want to see if anyone had opinions on which is better before I drop the cash. Reviews for both are good, I just wonder if one is more gooder.
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Dec 8, 2015 21:48
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Clone Farmer posted:Hey, does anyone in here have any experience with metal flying saucer type wheels? One of my degus loves that style of wheel, but the plastic ones quality are kinda crap so I was thinking about something a bit more sturdy. The plastic ones cost $25+ at the stores near me and I'm on my second one which is disintegrating where the wheel meets the stand. I'm looking at two kinds, one which attaches to the cage (http://www.chinchilla.ca/detail.php?ProductID=FTC0300&item=Flying_Saucer_Steel_Exercise_Wheel_-_Small) and one that is free standing (http://www.exoticnutrition.com/trwh11in.html). I'm in Canada so either are going to be about $100 with shipping, so I want to see if anyone had opinions on which is better before I drop the cash. Reviews for both are good, I just wonder if one is more gooder. The attached ones require very sturdy bars and are more likely to make noise when the bar on the bottom periodically hits the ground. We got one of the free standing ones for chinchillas and they really loved it, but eventually an important part on it failed, and then after 2 makeshift fixes later, broke completely, but I haven't really heard of other people having that problem so ymmv.
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Dec 8, 2015 21:57
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I noticed those flying saucer wheels say "guinea pig" in the list of animals they're advertised for, can guinea pigs use those or are they forbidden like the other types are? I was looking at one of those in the pet store and wondering if it would be okay because it doesn't seem to make the animal get flipped upside down like the other types of wheels/balls do. Although reading about it seems to say the problem is that a lot of guinea pigs are too lazy to want to run anyway.
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Dec 8, 2015 23:50
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I'm not an expert but I've always been told to stay far far away from anything like that, Guineas apparently have bad backs and things like that can break them easily.
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Dec 9, 2015 02:27
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Disappointing Pie posted:I'm not an expert but I've always been told to stay far far away from anything like that, Guineas apparently have bad backs and things like that can break them easily. I don't know if a horizontal design is better but I have never got the impression that pigs were eager to run unless it was directly to get to food or away from THE HAND
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Dec 9, 2015 03:01
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Yeah, I think as long as your cage is big enough to do some laps and they get floor time guinea pigs at best don't need a wheel and at worst risk getting hurt from them.
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Dec 9, 2015 04:55
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Stick a large PVC corner-pipe at the end of the cage opposite his house if you want your pig to run. He'll figure out pretty fast that he can do sweet piggy racetrack loops back-and-forth between it and his hut.
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Dec 9, 2015 08:32
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I love hamsters, they can be so ridiculous. I had Tony out last night, and I laid down, so he fell asleep cradled against my chest. He eventually woke up and went to nest himself in my hair on my shoulder to groom, and to chitter at my roommate's typing across the room. It's like he talks to her, I love it. Then he seemed to legit wake up all of a sudden and realize where he was, ON A HUMAN, so he went into panic mode and needed to leave immediately. I have no idea what goes on in those tiny hammy heads most of the time. 
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Dec 9, 2015 13:48
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I wouldn't choose a saucer over a regular wheel. Unless your critter alternates which way he runs on it or you get a comically large one in relation to their size the saucer can make their muscles pretty unbalanced since their body has to curve to one side to stay on it.
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Dec 10, 2015 00:47
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Is PVC piping safe for hamsters?
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Dec 10, 2015 03:45
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 I haven't really been able to give my guinea pig a respectable variety of veggies and I've noticed he's been eating a lot of pellet food (with hay available 24/7). And I bought him a high quality fortified pellet food but I want him to get vitamins from natural foods too, so I went produce shopping today. Kale, cilantro, romaine lettuce hearts, Fuji apples, broccoli/carrot/cabbage slaw, green beans, snow peas, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, and celery. All cross-referenced with the Guinealynx safe foods list. I can't wait to get home with all this stuff and see how excited he'll be.
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Dec 13, 2015 01:20
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Fair warning, your pig is gonna start wheeking his fuzzy little brains out any time you open the fridge or rustle a plastic bag once he figures out they bring Treats.
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Dec 13, 2015 01:26
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Fair warning, your pig is gonna start wheeking his fuzzy little brains out any time you open the fridge or rustle a plastic bag once he figures out they bring Treats. I've been keeping some veggies in a Ziploc bag and he's already learned that hearing The Bag is a signal to come running to the cage door. It's adorable. He does not like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, oranges, or anything sugary (except apples) so I hope his picky butt will eat all of these things, although bitter green vegetables seem to be his thing.
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Dec 13, 2015 02:54
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republicant posted:I've been keeping some veggies in a Ziploc bag and he's already learned that hearing The Bag is a signal to come running to the cage door. It's adorable. He does not like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, oranges, or anything sugary (except apples) so I hope his picky butt will eat all of these things, although bitter green vegetables seem to be his thing. Oranges, Tomatos and Sweet potatoes aren't good for them except in very small amounts. Pigs do indeed like bitter greens much more, and you should try giving him celery leaves.
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Dec 13, 2015 02:58
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Dec 13, 2015 03:01
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Oranges, Tomatos and Sweet potatoes aren't good for them except in very small amounts. Pigs do indeed like bitter greens much more, and you should try giving him celery leaves. I thought potatoes were a never food Tomatoes are just a bit acidic and oranges are just a bit too much sugar for often foods right?
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Dec 13, 2015 22:26
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Adult Sword Owner posted:I thought potatoes were a never food Regular potatoes are outright poisonous to them, but sweet potatoes are okay in rare tiny amounts apparently. There's still much better things to feed to a pig anyway.
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Dec 13, 2015 22:28
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Oh my god
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Dec 14, 2015 00:37
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This might sound weird, but how safe would socks be for a hamster? I found a box of a half dozen old socks that I had made into bandages(cut the toe part off) when I got some serious injuries on my arm, and was going to throw them out since they're not really useful anymore and I've got better ones to replace them with if the time comes. Would they be safe to give to hamsters to use in their nests, or is there something dangerous in them? I don't think so but it's always good to ask.
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Dec 14, 2015 00:49
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Xoidanor posted:Oh my god I'm more impressed that so many stood still long enough for a picture
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Dec 14, 2015 00:51
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| # ? May 21, 2024 22:41 |
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Captain Invictus posted:This might sound weird, but how safe would socks be for a hamster? I found a box of a half dozen old socks that I had made into bandages(cut the toe part off) when I got some serious injuries on my arm, and was going to throw them out since they're not really useful anymore and I've got better ones to replace them with if the time comes. Would they be safe to give to hamsters to use in their nests, or is there something dangerous in them? I don't think so but it's always good to ask. Since you're not supposed to give cotton or fleece in case fibres get accidentally swallowed and tangled in tiny intestines the same might go for socks. But I know a lot of people use little snuggle pouches for out of cage time where they can be supervised or give them to hams they know don't particularly chew fabrics, like with hammocks.
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Dec 14, 2015 01:03
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