Our New Little Guinea Pig..

[plysha]

Hello Everyone,
Well its been awhile since I've been on here.
My mother is going with this really nice guy and he asked if she wants his guinea pig.
She said Yeah !!! lol Well She's 2 year old and very FAT!!!!! How can I get her to lose some of that fat all she does is lay around lol, We gave her a bath lol I think she needs another one!!!! Can anyone help me out I've only had one guinea Pig before but I was only 15 and didn't take care of it to much my mom did..

Do we need to cut her Nails ?
How much to feed her?
and how to get her to lose some lbs..

I need to know a little bit of everything!!!!!
Here are some Pics (We named her Kiwi ) He never named her.....he's had her since she was a baby..

Thank you all for any help
Erin

 

[Lynz781]

Guinea pigs are supposed to be fat. I used to use dog clippers to cut my guinea pigs nails but I would go to a vet so they can show you. Feed and water twice a day. Plenty greens fruit and pellets. (I didn't bother with the mixed dried stuff as it is not very nutritional at all for rabbits and guineapigs they tend to eat the bits they like and leave the pellets which are the good bits for them.)
I didn't have to bathe my guinea pigs at all either. I reckon you only have to do that if they have skin problems or are really dirty i suppose.
And exercise. I used to let my pigs out all day on the grass in the summer. Make sure the grass is not wet or they will get sore tummys. They need places to hide in their hutch and when they go outside and make sure her ears don't burn in the sun. They will eat the grass all day!

It would be worth purchasing a good guniea pig book too.

 

[steppy104]

bathe him maybe once a week or less often...(IMO)

i bathe mine about every couple of weeks or every 3 weeks....only cuz i hardly ever washed my old guinea pigs, and their belly hair was nasty lookin....yellowish.

they have shampoo for rabbits and guinea pigs. the kind i have has a picture of a rabbit on the front, but when ya read the info on it it says "how to bathe your rabbit or guinea pig".

as for how much to feed him, i feed mine whenever he runs out of food....he runs out of food pretty fast...and if i don't give him more almost immediatly, he'll cuss me out in guinea language till i do!

oh ya, and as for that playpen you have him in, don't leave him there alone....my guinea pig is smaller than average, and he can hop the thing without even hitting it....i found him wandering when i came back to check up on him one day luckily he was just on the fireplace area, and didn't feel like jumping off of it. lol.

if it's warm out, and you don't put chemicals in your grass, and you got a nice green spot going, feed him some of that....out of all 3 pigs i've had, they've all loved grass the most.

and be careful about scratching him around his side near his backlegs....alot of rodents are sensitive there....i think it's a ticklish spot....i'm not sure....but they don't like it. or maybe all 3 of my piggys just coisidently all had that spot...dunno.

i'm no proffensional....they'll be on later probably. lol...sorrel for one

HTH

 

[black angel]

ive had pigs for the past 6 years and yours doesnt look overweight at all.
when feeding, give plenty of hay if they cant get fresh grass every day. plenty of green veg too (mine get about 6 green beans and a cabbage leaf, and ocassionlly a tomato and some grapes. lettuce should be fed only as a treat as it has little nutrition. carrots should be given too to trim the teeth) and give around a handfull of grain each day too. they must get the feed that has vitamin c added too. as for the nails i wouldnt attempt to cut them unless they are white and you can see the vein, take her to the vet instead. it might be nice to get her a friend as they do like the company of others. as for going outside make sure you have a cat proof run.
i only bath mine one or twice a year, but its up to you as the baths can stess them out and i have heard that some have had heart attacks.

lovely pig though

 

[plysha]

Hello
Everything Thank you for the info....
I know a little bit about Guinea pigs I had one for a Year She was 9 months old when I got her and she was pregnant she had 4 babies, 1 boy and 3 girls I sold all of them to different people for $20.00 each a soon to be Vet took my Fav... A little boy took the mother and the other two went to friends.......

I bathed them once a week they all had the run of the living room.....
But the Guinea pig we have now is my mothers and I can't let her run the house because We have two Min Pin dogs and they are Rat Hunters I have to lock the dogs out of a room to let her in the playpen, Mike the guy who gave her to us always left her in the playpen for 24 house with food and water and she did fine I've left her in the playpen when we leave and she hasn't got out yet..... other then that she's in her 15G Tank .....

I will tell my mom about taking her to the vet to get her nails done but thats up to her and her boyfriend what they want to do ......
Thank you

Erin

 

[steppy104]

so she hasn't jumped out......careful just in case....cuz they have full ability to do it....that fence is hardly stopping them

 

[Auratus]

Guinea pigs are supposed to be fat

No...no they aren't....

Pellets should not be the main source of food because most pellets are alfalfa based. Alfalfa is very high in calcium and phosphorus and guinea pigs can't break that down. Try to get a pellet that is timothy based if you can and very high in fiber. At least 18% crude fiber. Don't get any pellet/seed mix! The majority of their diet should consist of Timothy hay (free feed that in unlimited amounts) and lots of dark leafy greens. Collards, spinach greens, carrot tops, kale etc. Do not feed light colored lettuce such as iceberg because that doesn't provide any nutritional value. Fruit isn't very good for them and should only be fed as an occasional treat because it's high in sugar (they can't break that down either) and carbs, plus all the vitamins they provide, they don't need high amounts of.

HTH

 

[plysha]

Thank you for the helpful info ........ I didn't buy the food for her this time her other owner got us food and beding and everything else for her I will rmember when that food is out not to give her that kind again... its Hartz nutrition, bonanza, guinea pig gourmet diet. vitamin rich fruits, vegetables & nuts (and sunflower, stafflower,& pumpkin seeds) also alfalfa let me know if this is good or bad ...
Thanks
Erin

I don't leave the piggy in the playpen alone,... I leave her in there for 4 hours or more with me in the room I need to get her up and about more she has two fat rolls under her chin ....... My other Guinea pig I had was not fat at all. this little girl can't move to much without having to lay down... lol.....

 

[steppy104]

oooh...she's that fat...lol. most piggies just seem chubby...i thought thats what you were referring to....but ya...rolls? lol...thats fat....

i have no clue how to excersize pigs, but it sounds like she might need it.

 

[Lynz781]

Oh well don't mind me........

 

[Auratus]

vitamin rich fruits, vegetables & nuts (and sunflower, stafflower,& pumpkin seeds) also alfalfa let me know if this is good or bad ...

Bad Bad Bad

Avoid the seeds all together, all they are is fat and try to get a pellet that isn't alfalfa based next time you go to the store. Look on the back of the bag and the first ingredient should say something about "Timothy hay/meal" not "alfalfa hay/meal".

 

[Angel Lady]

POTM for the little pig too it is so cute I just love Guniea pigs and ferrets they win my heart over.

 

[plysha]

Ok everyone ..lol... This may sound a little funny lol but I just found out yesterday
that the Fat little Piggy is only 9 months old not 2 years I was talking with my moms boyfriend and he said when he got her and told me how old she was ........
So now I have a Fat 9month old piggy lol She's a cutting and the dogs are getting use to her now I don't need someone to hold the dog in another room now......

I haven't been giving her much food from the bag I've been giving her vegetables ..lol I'm going to the store tomorrow with my mom so I will look for something else I will also get you some pics of her Fat lol I know the little piggys are suppose to be chubby looking lol cause My 9month girl piggy I had awhile ago I thought was Fat lol just turned out to be 4 babies ..lol..... I wish I would have kept her

Any idea how to get her to stop eating cardboard and any ideas on some toys to get her she just lets everyone know she's ready to get out of that cage......she needs something to get her moving shes so lazy....


Thank you guys for the help and I didn't think you would understand what I said about her being fat lol till I said it or showed it lol but when I seen it I was like Oh my she's fat thing......



Erin

 

[SailfinGirl]

Lets see....she should only need bathing a few times a year unless she gets really stinky or mucky. I haven't ever bathed my current guinea pigs.

Any types of lettuce and spinach are both big no nos, as they have no nutritional valu for the animal at all, and lettuce can turn them out.

She looks a good healthy size, not too fat, not too thin. When you feed her the mixed diet (ie, not pellets) or if you do, don't pick out the bits you think she will like and leave the bits she doesn't appear to eat. Guinea pigs actually eat all of it, just more of some things than others. She knows what she needs and she will eat it.

Give her a good, unsprayed with pesticides apple branch to chew instead of cardboard. If you can't find one or can't guarentee it is healthy, you can buy little flavoured chew blocks from your local pet store. She may also need a mineral wheel if you don't have one for her. Giving her lots of hay will also help keep her teeth in check.

Make sure it is absolutely warm before you put her outside on the grass, as one of our guinea pigs died of pneumonia, because we thought it was a warm enough day to put him out, and it turns out it wasn't.

Do you put vitamin C supplement in her water? Guinea pigs, as I'm sure you know, can't make their own so you need to add this to her water.

One more thing, has she had any contact with male piggies before you get her? You might want to check with Mike that she's not pregnant, or that there is no way she could be.

I talk too much.

 

[plysha]

I talk too much.

No you don't talk to much lol

Thank you very much for the info though..... I have been giving her lettuce lately
lol thats along with her food she loves it ....... she's had no contact with males at all
she came from a friend of his and he got her I think at 4 weeks old he had her 8 months before he gave her to us... neral wheel where would I get one ...lol..

Sorry I haven't been on..... We have all been at the hospital with My soon to be Step Dad!!!
For the last month Mike has been getting sick and sweat and have chest pain.
Mike was let off work because he could not stop getting sick so he went to the hospital that night (4 days ago) they did some test and the next day and found out he needed a quadruple bypass operation..... its the day after his bypass operation and he's doing alright he still not setting up yet or walking like they wanted him to be..
theres no one to take care of him when he leaves the hospital but my mom and all of us so he's coming here to live for 2 months .....

Thanks everyone for the info and I will keep everyone updated and wil get those pics up soon....

Erin