Anybody knowledgeable with guinea pigs??

crimson

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Oct 8, 2012
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ok, I went to the 'guinea pig forum' and got frustrated on how to post a new thread, so I came back home....(here)lol.
we just got a new female guinea pig yesterday, she's very sweet and calm, and real snuggle bug of sorts, young too, maybe 2-3 months old.
my daughter noticed a skin irritation on the top part of her paw, near her shoulder, which we didn't notice in the store.
it doesn't cause her any pain, but we are not sure what it is. we are currently putting on a topical cream on it, which is actually for my birds, but figured it wouldn't hurt her, it's made by Harrisons called Heal X.
It has reduced the dryness and redness. we just don't know enough about guinea pigs to know what this is.I've looked on line and didn't really find anything that was useful info.

the area is not as red today, and we gave her Ivermectin last night,in case it's due to mites and of course is being quarantined.

we have a 2 week period in order to return her if she doesn't work out.
I don't mean to sound heartless, but if we noticed the spot on her paw, we would not have bought her. she was the last one we chose to pick up and the sweetest by far out of them all. But we have to be sensible as well.

in the first link it looks like a bump but it is not a bump, it's just the way it looks.

IMG_1996_zpsee2607a8.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket

>>Upside down shot<<:
IMG_2000_zpscd22460b.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket

IMG_1999_zpsaa9e773e.jpg Photo by bmckellar735 | Photobucket
 
I wish I could help but I have zero knowledge with guinea pigs as I've never had one before....but hope someone knows something...good luck!
 
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....well, we went back to the 'store' to return 'smoothie' .:(

my daughter was very sad, she cried most of the morning.

what really gets me angry are two things::mad::mad:
1) lack of quality in their pets and neglect on their part
2) the bonding that develops with a child and the animal, only to return it and have their heart broken, never mind the stress the animal is under

I laid it on pretty thick this morning, which I thought they deserved.

I spoke with the manager and they explained that they would have their vet come in and treat her, once she is good to go, we could get her back. that seemed to please my daughter.

I wanted to make sure they understood that selling a sick animal, is not really about the animals, it's about breaking a childs heart having to give it up, after developing a bond with it.....stupid idiots.
then they tried to re-assure me with the vet-assured programme.
Because we thought Smoothie had mange mites, I told her not only do you have to treat smoothie, you have to treat ALL of your guinea pigs...her response was" oh for sure we will check them all"

.....don't try that with me lady....my response was "just because you check them and they don't have any visible signs of mange mites, doesn't mean they don't have them, if you don't treat ALL the pigs, you will be knowingly be selling an infected animal to your future customers, is this really what you practice??....you should have seen the look on her face!....it was priceless.

so now we wait for smoothie to come home again, cause she sure does miss her.
 
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I'm glad the vet is going to treat your guinea big :)

My sister recently got 2 guinea pigs and so I messaged my friend on face book. He LOVES them and is very knowledgeable.

First my message



My sister got two young female guinea pigs from petsmart. They are so cute, she got the starter kit not realizing they are are only half grown. Will definitely need a larger set up as they grow. My sister got them for herself, but made her nieces think they are theirs. They aren't old enough for pets LOL. White one is named Sparkle and the brown one is named Chocolate haha.
I know that you have guineas, have any basic care tips? I looked online and Oxbow is said to be the best pellet so Sarah bought that, they always have Timothy hay, and wood to chew, bedding is changed every 3 days, Sarah is giving them fresh food every day but kind of sucks at it. She thinks a piece of apple = fresh food. What fresh foods do you feed yours daily?

and his response


Well so far it sounds like she's doing all the right things. I only change my piglet's bedding once a week, but that's because she's by herself in her cage. As for "fresh food," I don't recommend feeding them fruits and veggies everyday. Once or twice a week is better, or else you may end up with runny stool, meaning messier cages and more frequent cleaning.


I feed my piglet a handful of timothy hay a day and refill her food dish with pellet every time it's empty. When I clean her cage, I give her fresh food and timothy hay. She'll also want to bathe her piglets every now and then to keep them healthy and keep the allergens down. I give mine a bath at least once a month in the kitchen sink with lukewarm water and non-flea dog shampoo (there's and Oatmeal shampoo I prefer and recommend). After bathing them, dry them off with a towel as best you can. Usually you won't be able to get them fully dry, so I recommend tearing up clean, old socks and tossing them in the cage for the piglets to lay on (and keep them out of the breeze, of course).



And for what kinds of "fresh food" to feed them as a treat, mine loves apple, grapes, and baby spinach. I don't recommend ice lettuce or any lettuce, as it's not good for their digestion. And for chewables, I can't attest to wooden stuff as my piglet never cared for wood, but there are these brown wood-looking logs you can get that they would probably like. They come in bowl shapes and tree-like tunnels. I have one of the tree tunnels for line, and she's been chewing on it since I got her.



And, most importantly, she needs to handle them as often and long as possible, if not every day for the first few months. They will always protest when she tries to remove them from their cage, and she will find out when they're serious about not coming out after a while; but once they're out, they'll soon find that being out is not so bad if you let them run about, hold them, and hand-feed them fresh treats. But again, they will most likely always protest when trying to get them out. Just find a way to get them out fast and in a relatively stress-less manner.
 
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good info....they need foods that have plenty of vit.C, their bodies cannot produce nor store that particular vitamin, and they don't suggest giving liquid vit.C either.
 
Hi, I have some piggers and I find this site to be the best

Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig

The skin issue might be from another pig pulling out her hair in a sqwabble, so hopefully if they do vet check her for you she will come back okay. They can get fussy in the small aquariums that they are kept in at the shop. Mange looks a lot different from that, I think there are some excellent photos on the website to help you in the future if you guinea pigs ever get ill. Also, if you are getting another female, I do recommend getting 2 so they can keep each-other company while you are at work/school/etc since they are very social creatures. Make sure they are females too, sometimes they are mis-sexed and then they can even already be pregnant in the store. I hope this helped, please keep me posted and shoot me any questions! It is possible to keep 2 males together, but I have heard mixed things. I have never had problems when keeping multiple males together.

Also, what cage did you buy? Have you heard of the C&C cages that you can make yourself? You can make them multiple levels, fit into any area. And you can even like the cage with fleece, which wicks the pee and just leaves poop to sweep up. It's more cost effective than buying carefresh, but you shouldn't go through too much bedding with 1-2 piggers.

Here is a website that shows you the cages
Guinea Pig Cages Store

You can buy the grids and bed/bath&beyond or target. Just be mindful of the different size square grids they put in the boxes now, you will want the grids that are 9 squares across to not get heads caught.

The coroplast is like plastic carboard. Its corogated so you can slit one side and bend the other. It's GREAT stuff! I buy mine at a shop called Tap Plastics.
The kits this store is selling are expensive, but if you live somewhere where you can't pick up the stuff yourself, it's worth it. Oh and also, if you do decide to make one of these cages, use the black connectors that come with the cage and buy a lot of zip ties!!!!
 

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