I have a lot of questions about guinea pigs!

Question
1. What is the average of spending at a guinea pig check-up?

2. What can I do for mites or lice?(cat flea collar)

3. Is pop corning good or bad?

4. What are games I can play with my guinea pig's?

5. I have two boars and when one touch the other, the one being touch squeaks in a high pitch voice, is that bad?


Answer
Hello Katese,

1. I typically spend about $35 but it varies from vet to vet. Call and ask your vet about cost for a better idea of what yours will charge.

2. No, do not use a flea collar (in fact I don't even
recommend them for cats or dogs because they often have painful or fatal
results for them as well). You should never use any parasite products made
for cats or dogs on Guinea Pigs because the levels of poison are too
high and will kill your pigs. Ivermectin is the typical effective
treatment for lice or mites and you will need to have your piggy seen by the
vet for proper safe dosage for a piggy his size.

3. Popcorning means a pig is very happy. It is the Guinea Pig version
of a happy dance.

4. One of the fun things you can do is teach your piggy tricks. I reccommend starting by teaching them to jump through a hoop. It's very simple and alot of fun to show friends. I'll post instructions for it and a link to a site with another trick you can teach them too.

5. It's probably a cry of alarm. After they adjust to each other, this should stop. If they are hurting each other or one is torturing the other, then they may be best seperated, but they are probably just gettingused to each other right now and will be fine before too long.

Hoop Trick:
What you need: a hoop (an embroidery ring works well), veggie treats, a
piggy
What to do:
1. Hold the hoop, standing on end, flat on the ground with piggy on on
the side of the hoop opposite your free hand and a treat in the hand
not holding the hoop.
2. Hold the food treat just in front of the piggy's nose and lead him
through the hoop with it telling him "Through the hoop" or "Jump" or
whatever command phrase or word you choose.
3. Give him the treat.
4. Repeat process a few times.
5. After a few tries, put the piggy on one side of the hoop and show
him the treat then hold the treat on the opposite side of the hoop
without guiding him through and give the command phrase or word.
6. It may take a few tries. If he still doesn't quite understand, guide
him a few more times and then try again.
7. After he is going through the hoop without any guiding, slowly raise
the hoop a teeny bit each time (it should not be raised more than 2
inches total, that's about as high as you can expect from any piggy, for
some piggies no more than 1 inch is better).
8. Congratulations! Show off your well trained piggy to your family and
friends.
NOTE: Remember to always give your piggy his treat when he completes
the trick. Otherwise, he'll decide he doesn't care to bother anymore.
Also make training sessions no more than 10 minutes. If you start to get
too frustrated, stop the session and try again tomorrow. It will usually
take at least a few sessions for the piggy to successfully complete the
trick. Don't get too discouraged. He will learn with patience, love,
and time.

Pick Up The Basket:
http://vickysclickertraining.com/guinea_pig_training.html

Jordan jumping through her hoop:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kaos_kat/jordan-animate.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/kaos_kat/JordyJumps2.jpg


-kkat
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs