giune pig??

Question
helo we have recently bought a guine pig from a pet shop but they gave no informatin with it or any info on how to feed it, look after it,is it a boy or girl, what age it is, how to clip his nails their very long indeed anything at all i would like to know what to do with it , i feed him the food from the pet shop but i also give him some carrott to nibble on and chop up some pear he really likes it what else can i feed him..he is very afraid of us how long will this take for him to get used to us??? i leave him out all day but bring him in  in the early evening around 5 or 6pm, let him run around for a while ,  then put him out at around 12midnight is this ok?? or should he be kept in more????

Thanks...
Lucy..

Answer
Hi Lucy

I will try and answer all your questions.

You can tell if the pig is a boy or a girl by gently pressing its tummy. If its a boy, a little penis will pop out. Also, take a look at www.guinealynx.info where there are diagrams and the site can give general help also.

You should feed dry food with added vitamins, so you can continue to use the store's food as long as this is the case. Piggies like most fruit and veggies although fruit should be kept to a minimum due to sugar content. You also need to feed a daily supply of hay for both food and bedding.

To cut the nails, you can use normal nail clippers but you need to be sure not to cut too much or the nail may bleed. If you dont feel comfortable in doing this, get a vet to do it,this wont cost much.

Keeping your pig in or out depends mainly on the climate. If its cold its best for your pig to be inside where he will also thrive on human interaction.

A piggy will be scared of his new surroundings for the first few weeks, but with regular handling a love, should become tame quickly.

Finally, the age of a pig is very difficult to ascertain, but a pig will usually be sold in a store at about the age of 6-8 weeks.

I hope that helps

andy