introducing a new ginuea pig

Question
We had two 16 week old male GP's. One died yesterday due to the extreme heat we are having in the uk at the moment. We are very sad, and would like to buy a new male GP for a compainion to our other GP. At 16 wks will he except the a new freind into his cage?

Answer
Hi Claire,

I'm sorry you lost one of your boys. I've written up some tips on keeping piggies cool so hopefully you can avoid this occurring again:

Tip 1:
Desktop Fans

Buy one or two desktop fans to keep next to the pigs' cage. Set them around 2 feet from the cage; close enough for a breeze to be felt but not close enough for an icy blast!
If the cage is bigger than a 3x5 (or alternative), then set one fan at each end of the cage.

Fans keep the air circulating - making breathing a little easier - and creates a gentle breeze which can help keep pigs cool.

Tip 2:
Frozen Water Bottles

These are one of the most popular methods for keeping piggies cool. Buy a bottle of water - any size, but aim for 50cl (500ml / 0.5l) or bigger - tip some out so it is about half full and pop it in the freezer overnight.

Once frozen, wrap the frozen bottle in a towel. 2 layers is usually sufficient enough to let some cold out, but not for it to be too cold for the pigs to lay up against.

They usually remain cold for quite a few hours. Once they realise that laying against the bottles keeps them cool, your pigs won't be able to get enough of these!

Tip 3:
Bricks

Pavement slabs, bricks, tiles, and slabs designed especially for keeping small animals cool are all soothing.

Wipe over with a cool damp cloth to cool the bricks, or pop them in the fridge for an hour or two to give the bricks a really thorough chill.

Many garden stores and outdoor/hardware style shops sell bricks and slabs. Pet stores may sell a particular slab of marble (or something very similar) known as Chin-Chillers. This is what I personally use and my lot love them.

Tip 4:
Linoleum Tiles

You can often buy linoleum tiles in a pack of maybe 4 or 6 from hardware stores. You can stick these to any solid surface in the cage - maybe the coroplast/base of the cage or a square of fleece/Vetbed which you don't need to wash. Wipe over them with a cool, damp cloth to cool down. These are popular but can be a little awkward to clean at times (dry poop stuck to the tiles).

Tip 5:
Popsicles / Popsi-Cubes and Ice Lollies!

These may sound like a pretty surreal idea to start with. However, they are great for pigs finding the heat a bit tough to cope with.

Popsicle (& Popsi-Cubes)-
To make a popsicle, find a little plastic dish. Fill it about half-way with water. Chop up a few fruits - strawberries, melon, apple, grape and plum have all been tested by my lot - and pop them in the water-filled dish. Make sure the water covers at least half of the fruit otherwise it won't work properly.
Put this in the freezer overnight.

Also try filling ice cube trays up a little under half way. When that is frozen, pop small pieces of fruit in each cube, add water on top, then freeze. They lick away at the ice cube and find a delicious treat in the middle!

Once frozen, you just need to pour some cold water into the dish. Tip the excess water out after a few seconds, and hold the popsicle in while you bang the bottom of the dish a little. This may not get the popsicle out but it quickens the process. Same with the ice cubes.

After a few minutes, you will be able to get the popsicle out of the bowl. You may want to leave it in the dish and feed to your pigs like that, and this works just fine. Some pigs do like to put their front paws on the popsicle and really get their teeth into the fruit and lick the ice, while some will complacently lick the surface and leave the hard work of getting the fruit free to nature!


Ice Lollies -
Squeeze a fresh orange or apple. You could squeeze the juice from other fruits too and mix them all togbether to create one unique juice. Much like the popsicle, add water to a dish with the juice in to dilute the acid a little. Pop in the freezer overnight, and do as before. Exactly the same method, but with two different tastes and outcomes.


Tip 6:
Damp Towels

Run a cold tap and thoroughly wet a small towel. Wring all the excess water out, drape over a corner of your guinea's cage. This helps keeps the temperature a bit cooler for your pigs.

Another idea is to have a fan blowing 2ft away directed at the damp towel. This cools the air as it blows towards the pigs. By placing the fan closer to the damp towel you cool the temperature even further.

You can also hang the damp towel inside the cage. Clip it to the edge and have it accessible to your guinea pigs, so they can lay up against it to keep cool. They won't get wet since the towel contains not enough water to drip or get anybody wet; just to keep them cool.

You could also just lay a cool damp towel on the floor of the cage; this will get dirty but many pigs find this one of the best methods for cooling down safely.

*Important Note* - Always ensure that your guinea pigs have fresh water available at all times.

~

Have you looked to see if there are any rescues in your area? www.guineapigrehome.org.uk shows where many of the UK GP rescues are. Avoid buying from pet stores where you can since they are notorious for selling pregnant, mis-sexed and ill piggies.

Also you don't want to get a pig the same age as your current piggy - 4 months is around the start of puberty, and two pigs going through it at the same time can cause some big fights. Aim to adopt an older pig - at least 1 year old - for the best chance at them getting along.

Best Wishes,

- Laura

P.S. Send some of that heat over to me in Northern Ireland!! We need it!