Bringing Home Babies

I couldn't find much information about bringing baby guinea pigs home in the books I had or on the internet.  A search in the Guinea Lynx forums first turned up no searches (how could that be?), but I did eventually find some threads on baby guinea pigs.  The majority seemed to have to do with a surprise pregnancy or taking care of just-born guinea pigs.  I did find a couple of panicked questions about a baby who wouldn't eat or who had just come home and wasn't behaving normally, and the few people who commented seemed to agree that baby guinea pigs may be quite shy and scared for a few days and may not eat or drink in front of their humans, so it was best to leave them alone for a couple of days and then gradually start handling them for a few minutes at a time.

Before I left to pick up my two baby guinea pigs from the breeder, I made sure their cage was ready.  It will eventually have multiple levels, but I figured they would be more than happy with a 2 x 4 C&C cage until they felt more comfortable.  The coroplast tray was cut so that the back part is a full 12" high because the grids have holes that baby guinea pigs could theoretically get stuck in (and I did see one post on the Guinea Lynx forum where it apparently happened).  I also bought some acrylic panels that I attached to the grids on the front and sides of the cage, so that there was no chance the babies could get their heads stuck in the grids.  I'm not sure exactly how long I'll leave the "baby-proofing" in place, but probably at least until the guinea pigs are six months, or until they look big enough to not have any problems with getting stuck in the grids.

I also made sure that there were plenty of places to hide and eat and drink in the cage.  There is a fleece forest, a log tunnel, a cozy sack, bamboo hay feeders in two corners, food dishes with hay in a third corner (Living World Ergonomic Dish and All Living Things Dish) and two water bottles (Living World Glass Water Bottle and Super Pet Glass Water Bottle).  I made the fleece forest and the cozy sack using these two fleece fabrics:  Poinsettia and Forest Green.  I also used fleece bedding with two layers of a U-Haul furniture pad underneath.  I just cut the U-Haul pad to fit the cage (27.25" x 56.25") and then cut a piece of fleece (38' x 64") to go over the U-Haul pads.  I folded the fleece under the U-Haul pads to keep everything sort of neat.  I'm sure I'll need a more secure system once the guinea pigs get older and more active, but I think this will work for now.  Here is a picture of the cage set-up, followed by some close-ups.

The whole cage - a 2 x 4 C&C.

Fleece Forest

Log Tunnel

Cozy Sack

Bamboo Hay Feeders

Bowls with Hay

Then I headed out to pick up the guinea pigs.  They are a month old, which is the earliest age the breeder would release them if they would be in pairs or larger groups; otherwise, she didn't want them to go until they were 6-7 weeks.  They seemed in good health, they were in an environment with kids and dogs, and they were handled frequently.  The breeder said both were good eaters and that they were used to getting Blue Seal pellets, alfalfa hay, green peppers, cucumbers, and cabbage leaves.  She also recommended parsley when it was available.  I don't have Blue Seal pellets in stores near me, only the Oxbow pellets for young guinea pigs, so the breeder sent me home with a sandwich size baggie of their pellets so I could gradually transition them to different pellets.

For the car trip home, I put them in a dog crate (about 19 inches by 30 inches) with a fleece/U-haul pad liner and a willow tunnel, a cozy sack, and some alfalfa hay.  They both headed straight for the cozy sack (which was more than big enough for the two of them) and that's where they stayed for the whole 3-hour trip home.  One (or maybe both) gave the occasional distress call, but that wasn't surprising, given that both were probably with their mothers until quite recently, and I'm sure the new environment was pretty scary.  I drove carefully, but also as fast as I felt I could go safely because I wanted to get them in their new home as quickly as possible.

When we got home, I just carried the two of them in their cozy sack and put them in their cage.  I put the cozy near the water, put a food dish with alfalfa hay in it at the opening of the sack, and tried not to compulsively check on them.  And I miserably failed.  They were so still, I kept thinking they were dying.  Finally, I forced myself to go to bed, so they could hopefully feel safer and eat a little bit.