A few questions about my guinea pig...?

Question

I'll make a list lol.

-How much Timothy Hay should I be giving her? Should there always be some in her cage? Or do I give like a handful a day to her?

-How much fruits/veggies does she need? I've been putting a few things in there once a day. Is that right?

-Can a guinea pig get too much Vitamin C? We have Vitamin C drops in her water, and in her fruits and vegetables (duh). Can she get TOO MUCH Vitamin C?

-About how long do you think it'll take her to adapt to me and her new surroundings? I bought her August 6th.

Thank you! And please have some experience with piggies. List your sources please.

Answer 1

Feed a variety of vegetables and fruits.
Feed 2 servings of leafy greens daily. I cup per pig.
Feed 1 serving of veggies daily (non-leafy green vegetables).
Feed 1/2 serving of fruit daily (don't go overboard with fruits as they are high in sugars).
Feed forages daily when available.
Feed unlimited hay. Hay helps assist with digestion and is essential to wearing down molars.
Feed a good quality plain pellet with stabilized Vitamin C.
Provide vegetables/fruits low in calcium (calcium can cause bladder sludge/ stones).
Provide vegetables/fruits low in oxalic acid (can bind with calcium and form oxalate stones).
Supplement cavies with Vitamin C if they will not eat good quality vegetables/fruits or if they are ill. Use a plain Vitamin C tablet with very little to no sugar added. Give approximately 25-50mg per day. You also may use a liquid Vitamin C that you can dose using a syringe.
Two meals, morning and evening, are superior to one large meal a day. Cavies are foragers and prefer to eat throughout the day (and evening to an extent).

To Avoid the Vet--DON'T
Do NOT feed large portions of vegetables or fruits high in sugars and starches.
Do NOT feed pet store "treats" such as yoghurt drops, seed sticks, etc.
Do NOT feed meat or dairy products as cavies are strict herbivores
Do NOT feed bread or cereal or other grains. Cavies should not have any processed 'human' food. Grains are not well digested by cavies. Grain hays can be used as occasional treats but not for everyday use.
Do NOT use Vitamin C drops or multi-vitamin drops that you put in water. Vitamin C degrades quickly in water and light and may distort the taste of the water making your cavy drink less. Do not ever put Tang in your guinea pig's water.
Do NOT limit the hay to one small hay rack. Provide your cavy with a lot of appropriate hay in multiple locations in the cage. A good quality hay is important.
Do NOT allow your cavy to graze on a lawn outdoors unless you are 100% certain that it has NOT been treated with fertilizers or pesticides.
Do NOT feed pellet mixes with seeds, nuts, dried vegetables or other bits mixed in. These types of feeds can cause your cavy to choke and can cause your cavy to become overweight.
Do NOT feed avocados, coconut (both too high in fats), iceburg lettuce (low nutrition, high in nitrites, high water), tomato stems or leaves, potatoes, rhubarb, taro, mushrooms, peanut butter, hot peppers, hot herbs and spices, dry beans and peas, nuts, jams, jellies, fruit preserves, sweetened fruit juices, pickled vegetables, coffee, cola, milk or dairy products to include yogurt, cake, cookies, baked goods, fried, frozen or cooked foods.
Poisonous Plants list:
- Aconite
- Amaryllis
- American Holly
- American Nightshade
- Anemone
- Angel's Trumpet
- Antirrhinums
- Azalea
- Bird of Paradise
- Birdseye Primrose
- Bittersweet
- Blue Cardinal (Lobelia)
- Bluebells
- Bryony
- Bulbs-(any plants grown from bulbs)
- Buttercup (Ranunculus)
- Caladium
- Cherry leaves (contain cyanide and are most potent when they are wilting)
and leaves of other stone fruits (fruits with pits)
- Chrysanthemum
- Clematis
- Columbine
- Corn cockle (type of grassy plant with a rather large lacey grain head)
- Crocus
- Cyclamen
- Daffodil
- Dahlias
- Daily
- Dog mercury
- Evergreen trees
- Fig
- Figwort
- Fools parsley
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- Hellebore
- Hemlock
- Holly
- Hyacinth
- Hydrangea
- Iris
- Ivy
- Jerusalem cherry
- Juniper
- Kingcup
- Laburnum
- Leyland cypress
- Lily (All species)
- Lords and Ladies
- Lupine
- Lupins
- Marsh marigold
- Meadow saffron
- Mistletoe
- Monkshood
- Morning glory
- Nightshade (deadly and woody)
- Oleander
- Philodendron
- Pigweed (amaranth - certain North American varieties may be toxic)
- Poinsetta
- Poppies
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted)
- Privet
- Ragwort
- Red maple leaves
- Rhododendron
- Rhubarb
- Spurges
- St Johns wort
- Tulip
- Tomatillo leaves & stalks
- Tomato leaves & stalks
- Vetch
- Walnut or Black Walnut
- Wisteria
- Wolfsbane
- Yew

It could take less than a week to several for your pigs to get use to you. It helps to hand feed them their veggies twice daily. The best way to a pigs heart is though its stomach. Some may run and hide from you forever, but that does not mean that it doesnt like you, they are prey animals in the wild and it is their instinct to try to run and hide. Something else you might not know is that guinea pigs are herd animals and you should have more than one preferbly the same sex to keep it happier. If you have a store bought cage you made a common mistake as they actually are two small, get a C&C cage, or make your own.

Answer 2

- Timothy hay: There should always be hay available to her at all times. Hay not only files the teeth but it also helps the digestive system. How old is she? If she is under 6 months then she needs to be fed alfalfa hay or at least some sort of alfalfa supplement. This is because alfalfa hay is high in calcium.

- Fresh produce: No that is not right. Guinea pigs need about 1 cup (more if you have more guinea pigs), this should mainly be made up of leafy greens with things like bell peppers/capsicum, cucumber, celery, tomato, baby carrot (1 per guinea pig) as side plates. Fresh produce needs to be fed twice a day.

- Vitamin C: No you can not give her too much vitamin c, any excess vitamin c leaves the body through the urine. Stop using the vitamin c drops in the water, not only does it change the flavour of the water but the vitamin c also weakens when it is in the water, therefore you do not know how much she is getting. If you are feeding her high vitamin c vegetables (bell peppers/capsicum, parsley, kale) then she should not need the drops. If you want to give her something more you can get chewable (kids) tablets.

- How long to adapt to her surroundings: You brought her the day after my birthday!! Building a relationship with a guinea pig takes time and alot of patience. If you hold her every day plus take her out for floor time she should start to adjust pretty quick. Guinea pigs are herd animals by nature thus why they are better and often more active in pairs. Please consider getting a same sex cage mate.

Good Luck!!

Answer 3

Timothy Hay is esstential for your piggie. So, there should ALWAYS be planty of good hay in there cage. Remove wet hay daily as it can mold.

You should be given at least a cup of veggies per day. Romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, parsley, cilantro, bell peppers are all great choices.

Vitamin C should not be put int the water. The vitamin weakens rapidly in the water and it changes the taste where many pigs won't drink. You also can't monitor the amount he is getting. If you want to supplement (if you aren't giving plenty of veggies), use chewable vitamin C tablets. My boys love them.
They can get too much vitamin C, but it would really have to be an extremely large amount. Usually, any unecessary vitamin C will be expelled in the urine.

Pigs can vary when it comes to their comfort with humans. Give her plenty of cuddle and lap time. That may help.

Answer 4

-She should ALWAYS have a supply of Timothy Hay in her cage. It's important because guinea pigs have very fast metabolisms, so they should be eating every hour or so. Hay works well for this

-You should be putting a mix of vegetables in every day. Try a mix of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, ect.

-Vitamin C drops are completely un-nessecary. If you're feeding her vegetables every day, which you should be, then there is simply no need. They disflavor the water, and some pigs refuse to drink it. This leads to dehydration, death, ect. She can't get too much Vitamin C. But those drops won't help her if she doesn't drink it. You don't need them.

-Definently start picking her up and holding her now. The sooner she gets used to you, the better. Start by talking to her calmly, then feed her by hand. Pick her up by supporting her bum and underside.

Answer 5

Hay should be pretty much unlimited--pigs and rabbits can never have too much of it =)
Fruits/veggies aren't of extreme importance (she will need some though), so you should be doing fine just putting in a few different things every day. You can increase the amount slowly day-by-day, if you think she could use more, though.
I don't think vitamins in water is a good idea, I've heard negative things about it. I'll look it up and edit this if I find anything.
--Update: It's iffy--some say it's good and some say it's unnecessary. The general consensus seems to be that if you feed your pig fruit/veggies, you don't really need vitamins in the water.
It might take up to a week/two weeks, for her to get used to you--just keep gaining her trust slowly with treats and petting/sniffing. It's different for individuals, though, some take longer while others get used to everything within a couple of days (this is more unusual, but it happens).

Answer 6

Vitamin C--absolutely necessary to add to the diet every day! Most guinea pig health problems are related to a lack of vitamin C in the diet. They can get it from fresh fruits and vegies, but only from those that are high in vitamin C, and only if you are feeding a sufficient amount. It is recommended you give your g.p. approx. 25mg of vitamin C a day. Chewable tablets, orange flavored, are fine if he will eat them. The liquid pediatric syrup made for children is ideal and can be fed from a dropper or syringe (they soon learn to love the taste and will try to grab the syringe from you). It is difficult to overdose on C, as it is a water soluable vitamin and excess will be excreted by the body.

Answer 7

-I would get a hay rack and just refill it daily. She should always have hay available along with a salt lick.
-just a few pieces of fruits and veggies a day is fine
-it is possible to get too much vitamin c but it would take a lot to do that. Instead of adding it to her water, I'd suggest getting the chewable kind. The vitamin drops in the water make your bottles dirty faster and give the water a funny taste so she may not drink as much.
-it could take up to a month, sometimes even longer depending on where she came from. my guinea pig settled in after about two weeks.

Answer 8

You can give her Timothy Hay maybe once a day. For fruit and veggies you should give her a few veggies and fruit pieces in her cage. I think guinea pigs can get to much Vitamin C. Your guinea pig will take a few weeks to a month to adapt to you and her new surroundings.Give her regular guinea pig food too.Good Luck! I hope you and your pig become friends.

Answer 9

ok well
- Guinea pigs like to sleep in a bundle of hay so there should really always be some in her cage/hutch. About twice the size of the guinea pig itself. If you just put the bundle in she should move it around untill it she likes it.

- Maybe about half an apple a day if you are giving her dry food aswell which you should be. Or you could give her a handfull a week of lettuce, carrot, apple etc.

- Vitamin C in her water isnt nesisarry if you are giving her fruit. Its really only for guineas who are lacking it and the vets have suggested it. There is not harm in it though..just a bit pointless.

- It shouldnt take her long. Just dont move the things around in her cage / hutch untill she has because this will make her feel less adadpted.

Hope ive helpped! And good luck with your knew guinea!

Answer 10

#1 guinea pigs should have unlimited timtothy hay 24/7

#2 she should have about a half cup veggies in the morning, a half at night. fruits should be given rarely, if at all.

#3 dont put the drops in the water. vit. c disinagrates in water, you wont know how much vit. c your piggie is getting because all piggies drink diff. amounts of water, and it changes the flavor of the water so the pig might drink less wich is not good. a pig needs at least 10mg of vit. c every day.

a few more days and shell be used to you! good luck!

Answer 11

UNLIMITED hay... (trust me i have 8 guinea pigs) a couple veggies a day (cut celery into small pieces they can choke on the strings) Just put the recommended amount into there bottles every time you refill his/her bottle if you are nice to him he should get use to you right away. :)