Does anyone own guinea pigs?

[SheWolf]

I just bought my ds two guinea pigs on Saturday. One is very curious, likes to explore and "chatters" up a storm. While the other one is content to just sit there and has not made any noise at all. I also notice that she seems to be shedding a bit more than the other guineas that were at the store. Now the shedding is not excessive, no bald spots, just more. Is this just a difference in personality or could there be something wrong?

Thanks,
Linda

 

[delfin]

We have two... and we love them! First of all, my suggestion would be to take them to a vet (one who sees all kinds of animals, not just dogs) and get them sexed and given a thorough check up. Here's why: We adopted our first cavy (guinea pig), and we were told it was a female. So of course, we got another female, so they could be friends, but not mate. Well, hello, our first "female" starting doing the "rumble strut" a kind of cavy romantic mating ritual... we had a male! We proceeded to have him fixed (yes, it was expensive), but too late! Our female was already pregnant, and we had two more cavies. Pet store employees are notorious for not having a clue what sex the cavies are. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

As far as the shedding, your cavy could simply be stressed OR he/she could have a skin ailment picked up wherever you bought them. Since you have two, I would also suggest making your own cage, at least 2' X 4'. They do need room to run around... they'll be happier and healthier. For tips and great info, go to cavycages.com. I asked my heating co to make a 2X4 pan for me, with 3" sides, and I simply got that closetmaid shelving material cut the same, and made sides for it. Anyway, as you can tell, we really love our cavies! Good luck with them.

 

[randidiane]

I have two, Pookie and Dookie,they are both female. Pookie is 7 1/2 and dookie is 1. They are so cute and fun to watch, I love them! It is sad seeing Pookie aging her eyes water and she is kind of gettin cateracs and she weezes sometimes They are spoiled rotten they have a huge cage with a hutch attached and I let them run around daily to get their exercise. I also have guinea pig shampoo when they get dirty I also have a chocolate Lab and they love each other It's so cute to watch them snuggle up against my Lab
Randi
Randi

 

[Faithnveggies]

guinealynx.com is a really good source for cavy health care. Ditto on the cage size and making one ala cavycages.com. My two females came home from the pet store pregnant. We ended up w/ 3 extra piggies. 4 years later, the cavy madness has died down and while I still think they are cute and funny, I do consider them to be pretty useless since they pee (on you, floor, couch, whatever) after being out for just a short time. So they take up space and demand veggies and will probably live for another 6 years. I will continue to serve them. ;-) my pigs and home are shown
here---> http://pets.webshots.com/album/66181445RrUHwk

 

[jharris35]

My stepdaughter has about 5 of them. She keeps them at her grandpa's. She is a little business woman. She sells them for(or he sells them for her) she makes about $5.00 off of each one. And is allowed to keep one male and one female. I don't know much about them and can't answer your question but we have them.

 

[delfin]

That's a beautiful cage you built for them. Have you checked out "Bing?" http://members.aol.com/bingtheguineapig/

 

[Faithnveggies]

Ha ha to Bing. Someone has waaay too much time on her hands.
I have removed the top part of the cage. They weren't going up there too often unless I had food stashed up there and it was getting annoying to clean. I should put it back up, I bet they'd like the change. Or get Poppy fixed and put him in w/ the ladies. That would shake things up, too.