So this will be the last day of my "Babywatch" posts. I just wanted to document how their first week went for future reference. Going forward, I'll be working on posts related to things like nutrition, bedding, and behavior.
The babies seem to have settled into their new home pretty well. They are still skittish, but typically easier to catch than they were at first, and I usually handle them 2-3 times a day for just a couple of minutes each time. I plan to continue to work with them and I'm hopeful that over time, they will become more comfortable with their humans.
They seem to be eating quite well. Wheatgrass is hands down their favorite food, although they enjoy green peppers, carrots, bananas, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and lettuce too. Raspberries and celery are on the borderline list, so I'll probably continue to feed them occasionally to see if the babies change their minds later, and I will continue to introduce new foods periodically. They seem to like both the botanical hay (which is mostly timothy) and alfalfa, so I give both free choice. I also have been feeding 2 tablespoons a day of Blue Seal pellets. They definitely love the pellets, but I remain unconvinced that feeding pellets in large amounts or even at all is a good idea, so that will definitely be a topic I want to research further.
The fleece cage accessories are working well, and using fleece and vet bedding for the cage liner, along with U-haul furniture pads underneath has worked great for the past week. I still would like to experiment a little, though, to find the option that works for the guinea pigs and is easiest for me.
I'm also still working on the cage set-up. I have a 2x4 C&C cage that I'm using now, and I'd like to add a partial second level. I'm still debating on how to set it up so I can remove the second level easily to clean the main level or catch guinea pigs, but still have the second level secure. So more on that in a future post.
In all, I find these two additions to my life to be quite adorable and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and learning more about guinea pigs.
Showing posts with label fleece. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fleece. Show all posts
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Babywatch - Day 6
In the morning, I introduced celery in a small amount (about 12 quarter inch square pieces). They did eventually eat it, but I could tell celery is not currently a favorite. I continued with green peppers and wheatgrass in the morning and lettuce and wheatgrass in the evening. I also added about a tablespoon's worth of small pieces of cantaloupe at night as a treat. They definitely liked it!
In the afternoon, I reworked their cage to get ready for the addition of a partial second level. I still haven't quite figured out how I want to set it up, but I needed to make some adjustments to the acrylic sheets that I had on the sides of the cage as babyproofing and I needed to add some second-level grids. I also changed their bedding, although it still looked like it was in pretty good shape and I didn't notice any odor. However, I was ready to swap out the fleece for the vetbedding I had gotten from Lakeside Products.
So I cut the bedding to the size of the cage (about 27.25" x 56.25") and I also cut two pieces out of a U-Haul furniture pad to go underneath. I've actually read some good things about using wood pellets underneath the vetbedding too, so I will probably try that in the future just to test it out. Anyway, I put the new bedding in the cage, and reconfigured the accessories a little too. I had to wash all the fleece stuff, so I swapped out the fleece tunnel for a willow tunnel and moved things around a little. The guinea pigs loved that and they were excited to chew on the willow tunnel, so that worked out pretty well. In fact, they are now making their first photo appearance.
In the afternoon, I reworked their cage to get ready for the addition of a partial second level. I still haven't quite figured out how I want to set it up, but I needed to make some adjustments to the acrylic sheets that I had on the sides of the cage as babyproofing and I needed to add some second-level grids. I also changed their bedding, although it still looked like it was in pretty good shape and I didn't notice any odor. However, I was ready to swap out the fleece for the vetbedding I had gotten from Lakeside Products.
So I cut the bedding to the size of the cage (about 27.25" x 56.25") and I also cut two pieces out of a U-Haul furniture pad to go underneath. I've actually read some good things about using wood pellets underneath the vetbedding too, so I will probably try that in the future just to test it out. Anyway, I put the new bedding in the cage, and reconfigured the accessories a little too. I had to wash all the fleece stuff, so I swapped out the fleece tunnel for a willow tunnel and moved things around a little. The guinea pigs loved that and they were excited to chew on the willow tunnel, so that worked out pretty well. In fact, they are now making their first photo appearance.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
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.
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.
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 |
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.
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