Guinea pig tips

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Squishy is a fascinating creature. My best times with him include:

  • Putting him on the bed under the fleece blanket and he tunnels and uses his head to make tents.

  • Shaking plastic bags or jiggling bags of gummi bears to make him squeak and sing

  • Putting new food in his dish and watching him spin in circles and squeek.

  • Listening to him sneeze.

Still, Squishy is very skittish and if I move in my chair too quickly, he will dart into his wood hidey-house in an explosion of biodegradable wood pulp. He's good about not pooping and peeing out of his cage, which is good. But will a guinea pig ever become acclimated enough to a particular person that they won't be so terrified? I feel like a Hawk probing with my talons the way he cowers when I reach into his cage. Once he's out and I've scratched his back enough he warms up and will chirp and wiggle and do these little breakdances. Will he gradually lose his defensiveness? Will another guinea pig help? Is there a definitive book on guinea pigs? Does anyone have any good guinea pig stories?

He's so cute. I want to make a little tophat for him.

In terms of the girlfriend, she's got 10 months on her lease and we're not in a rush. She spends most nights here and we crash up there when we want to eat in the city. It made sense to keep the rodent here since we're usually here. She was driving 30 minutes from work just to feed him before driving 40 minutes to my house in the sticks.

 

thecrecarc

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2004
3,364
3
0
Fantastic. She is letting you know what it is like to be in control, right before you become her guinea pig. Genius.
 

TecHNooB

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
7,458
1
76
Originally posted by: nerp
  • Putting him on the bed under the fleece blanket and he tunnels and uses his head to make tents.

I want pics of this.. nao!
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Okey, I'll get some pics and a vid together.

And yes, I'm still working on a pic of my GF's wonderful buttocks in her boyshorts. I have not forgotten. We've just been so busy. (I promised to furnish this in a thread from long ago.)

I have a lot of lettuce greens in my garden. I might just have to give him a small tasting menu and see what he likes.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
21,473
5,947
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Don't give him lettuce except for small amounts as a treat. The same goes for carrots and cucumber. Pigs need vitamin C, so give him parsley, bell pepper and broccoli. Oxbow makes the best pellets, and timothy hay is good for them as well.
Some pigs never get used to being picked up, some do. My wife's pig would come when you called him and rumble like a diesel truck when we petted him. Also, think about getting a second pig they are social creatures and do better as a pair. Get a BIG cage as well, ours is 4' x 4', plenty of room for the little guys to run laps.

PM me if you have any questions, my wife could write her thesis on Guinea pig care.
 

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
60,801
10
0
Originally posted by: nerp
Okey, I'll get some pics and a vid together.

And yes, I'm still working on a pic of my GF's wonderful buttocks in her boyshorts. I have not forgotten. We've just been so busy. (I promised to furnish this in a thread from long ago.)

I have a lot of lettuce greens in my garden. I might just have to give him a small tasting menu and see what he likes.

:thumbsup:
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy guinea pig well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
 

bobsmith1492

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2004
3,875
3
81
My math teacher and soccer coach in high school is from Brazil and tells me guinea pigs are quite tasty.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,404
30,490
146
Originally posted by: thecrecarc
Fantastic. She is letting you know what it is like to be in control, right before you become her guinea pig. Genius.

:laugh: most likely. we need pics of pig + top hat.