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General care and nurturing

21 14:47:42

Question
I 'inherited' my little 'Piglet' (her name) last June when grandchildren had to travel for medical care, and guess what?  Piglet became a permanent resident with me, along with their pet rat, Lucy.
We are all getting along very well, but I know nothing about the gp...just feed her and clean her cage, and pick her up and play with her and give her a lot of affection. She seems to be thriving, but I wonder if there is more I should do?  Thank you for anything you can add to this.

Answer
Hello Rosabel.  

I'm sorry i haven't answered sooner, i have been very sick and until today just wasn't able to attend my questions. Hope you can forgive me! :)

I love the name piglet. Very cute. Sounds like you have a pretty good feel for what a guinea pig needs. The most important thing in interaction. The best toy for a guinea pig really is another pig. They strive on company and in the wild, are used to traveling in packs of 10-15 pigs. They can get lonely and bored. If this is absolutely NOT an option that you can do, then you would have to make sure to really give her loads of attention. (It's hard when we work 8 hours a day to do that, and that's why i recommend strongly another pig for company). I would make sure to hold her everyday, and give her some exercise time outside of the cage (let her run around an area on the floor where she can explore. Guinea pigs are very curious animals. I try to change up my cage when i clean it out every 5 days. Just something a little different. My pigs get excited by the change and really nose around. But honestly my pigs have never been happier having other pigs living with them.

YOu could liven up the cage by placing some new things in there. I use the cat balls (plastic with the bell inside), bricks layed side by side (to climb, or lay down on) Some tunnels (PVC pipe, which can be bought at any hardware store, or empty oatmeal containers), a hideaway home (a place to hide, sleep, explore) Some wood to chew on (important for teeth). YOu can put in a cardboard box (cut some holes into it to make a few entrances,exits.

Make sure to always have HAY available. This is needed fiber to help the digestive track run smoothly, keeps them busy, entertained, and they just flat out love hay!

Here's a couple websites that i find very helpful. You should check them out. :)

www.guinealynx.com
www.cavycages.com

Hope this helps!
Christy :)