New Guinea Pig
We just bought a new guinea pig and named her Snuffles. What else does she need other than a cage, house, food, water, vitamins, treats and wooden chews?? She is just a baby right now and less than 8 inches long.
Answers:She will need exercise outside the cage, lots of love, and fresh foods to eat. Mine liked parsley, celery, carrots, some lettuce, and uncooked oatmeal with just enough milk to make it pasty. they liked going out in the backyard to eat grass. They loved alfalfa as an ocasional treat and hay as a usual thing. they like fresh cold water best so change the water in the bottle at least once a day if not twice. Clean her cage at least once a week if not more. A dirty cage can lead to pneumonia and that can lead to death. Make sure also to hold her lots, its a good bonding thing. And contrary to what everybody else on here will tell you, they can live fine alone as long as you give them lots and lots of attention every day. I only ever had one piggy at a time and they were never lonely.
Good luck and say "hi" to Snuffles for me and pet her for me I love piggies!
love
Fresh food such as lettuce, carrots etc. are important.
Also a space to run around in the garden.
Guinea-pigs love dandelion leaves but make sure they are washed.
A same sexed friend- guinea pigs are social creatures, and getting her a piggie friend will not detract from her bond with you, but will give her a happier life in general. Be VERY careful the one you get to join her is the same sex as well!
She needs playtime as she gets older. I know of several people who sit with there guinea pigs and watch tv, similar to cats. They also need lots of fresh veggies. If you have a store-bought cage the you need to keep in mind that it won't be big enough once she starts to get bigger, guinea pigs need LOTS of floor space, and buying a tall cage with ramps and such isn't really the same. They also tend to do better in pairs because they are herd animals. A really good website with great instructions on how to make an afforable cage that will keep your guinea pig happy and healthy as well as lots of info on their diet and how to take care of them is www.cavypop.com and http://www.cavycages.com/ has loads of info on cages, as well as many examples and pictures. Good luck and enjoy your new cavy!
The best site to check out for guinea pig information is Guinea Lynx (I'll post the link below). It sounds like you've already got all the basics! I'd make sure she has plenty of hay (preferably alfalfa hay), pellets, and water, and to feed her fresh produce once, maybe twice, a day. You may want to consider taking her to a vet just to get her checked out - upper respiratory infections run rampant in guinea pigs (especially ones that come from pet stores), and early signs are hard to detect. If you do take her for a check up, make sure you find a vet who has exotics expertise.