Advice for a new cavy owner?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:59 pm


One thing you should be doing is weighing them weekly. It will help you know if they are eating enough and alert you if they are ill. Get a notebook and a digital scale.

Unless you are seeing problems with their getting enough food (watch them and weigh them weekly), you probably don't have to worry about changing the bowls.

Luv4animals139

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:07 am


How should I weigh them without stressing them out more? Right now I put a hay loft above their heads with the same material I used to make the walls of the cage, do you think they consider this a hideout? It's enclosed on all sides but 1?

Luv4animals139

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:07 am


How should I weigh them without stressing them out more? Right now I put a hay loft above their heads with the same material I used to make the walls of the cage, do you think they consider this a hideout? It's enclosed on all sides but 1.

rjespicer

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:11 am


We have 3 identical bowls but one always seems to empty faster than teh other two. They all have teh same pellets though.

The place I ordered our C&C cage from has ramp coverings available

We use a digital Kitchen scale with a box on it and use the tricks I mentioned above to catch them and pop them in. If you give them a treat after they get more used to it. Make sure the scale is on a flat solid surface and always supervise them while they are on it.

Luv4animals139

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:28 am


I didn't order my cage through a C&C site, I ordered them separate on Amazon. So I wasn't sent ramp coverings. So I just want to make sure that they don't slip at all on the ramp. I would hate for them to get injured just because I'm trying to give them more room.

rjespicer

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:10 am


The place I ordered mine from has these
https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/cag ... ent-carpet

Or their sister site has these
https://www.guineapigmarket.com/ramp-cover

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:29 am


When you weigh them, put the scale on the floor so there is no way they could fall from the counter. Use a small room like a bathroom (with a clean floor) in case you are worried about their running away.

Luv4animals139

Post   » Sun Aug 12, 2018 11:55 am


Thank you for the links to ramp covers, as well as the advice about weighing them.

samim21

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:18 am


It sounds like you are doing a great job so far! Something I learned relatively recently was that I was not getting enough vitamin C to my piggies on a similar diet to what you are feeding yours. I've been told by a ton of helpful people on this site (thanks again!!!) that red and green bell pepper are something you should give your piggies everyday to get them the vitamin C they need. (1/8th of a red or 1/4th of a green bell pepper per day). Green leaf lettuce, carrots and cucumber are great for piggies, but don't have much vitamin C in them, I've been told.

I think most piggies LOVE bell peppers, so I'd definitely recommend adding them to the diet to avoid scurvy. If you have trouble getting them to eat them though (One of my pigs refuses to eat them for example) the oxbow vitamin C treats are great!

Also, a lot of people have trouble with romaine lettuce (i believe causing bladder stones?), so I would recommend switching to red or green lettuce!

^ This is all stuff I've learned in the last couple months lol, so if I'm wrong about anything someone please correct me :)

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:45 am


If you don’t have a second level in your cage, a quick solution is to make a platform they can hop on. I use the covers from cases of copier paper boxes. They’re about 12” x 17”. Then I take paper towel rolls and cut four of them to about 5” lengths. These are legs and I glue one in each corner with nontoxic glue. Then cut arches in the sides of the platform. On top I use a piece of shelf grip or carpet grip covered with a towel or fabric. These are tall enough to hide under, short enough to hop on, and add a little something to explore. Make sure your cage has a cover - so there’s no peaking over the edge.

Luv4animals139

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:30 am


Right now I don't have a cover, would it be ok if I made one of those platforms in the middle of the cage, away from any walls. Two of my three hideouts are short enough to hop on.

Luv4animals139

Post   » Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:32 am


I thought iceberg was the one that was bad for them? Should I switch from giving them romaine?

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