Advice on rodent care (as in a pet)

[Aerozord]

So looking after a guinea pig, she is still rather young and I want to remove her fear of being pet and/or held. It was suggested to me to forcibly grab and hold her, then feed her to show you aren't a threat. Wanted to know if there was any other advice on how to make this easier

[rpgdemon]

Giving her food and talking to her at the same time will make her at least familiar with your presence/come running when you talk to her/come by. And start squeaking adorably and being all, "FOOOOOOOOOD!"

But yeah, Guinea Pigs don't like to be picked up, but once you sit down and start holding her, she ought to calm down. When you pick her up, make sure to support her hind half, letting her rear rest on your hand/arm.

[Aerozord]

Giving her food and talking to her at the same time will make her at least familiar with your presence/come running when you talk to her/come by. And start squeaking adorably and being all, "FOOOOOOOOOD!"


wait, that squeaking is a good sound? I thought it was a sound of distress

[rpgdemon]

Happy squeaking sounds sort of burbling, and if she jumps in the air excitedly, that's a good thing too.

A bad sound is chattering teeth (Not biting anything), which means she's angry/upset.

Bad squeaking is like a sharp single squeak, but if she continues it, like, "Squeaaaaak! Squeak squeaaaak!", that's more excited.

[Magus]

Rat poison.

[Krylo]

Cats.

[Menarker]

Mind you, rodents and animals like rabbits do not generally like to be picked up due to a instinct which ranks high on the "HO'SHIT" meter.

Because the only time those animals are normally airborne is when they have been captured by a bird of prey. >_>

So yeah, you'll want it to warm up to you before attempting to pick it up.

I used to have a rabbit, but not a guinea pig, so take my word with a bit of salt, if you will.

[CABAL49]

First off, guinea pigs are the best of rodent pets.

And mine didn't like being picked up at first either. Once they get used to you it won't be to much of a problem. Remember the difference in size between you. You are the most terrifying thing this little rodent has ever seen.

Food and petting are the best way to get them used to you. Show them that your hand is not a threat.

[Osterbaum]

Don't leave them out at night. The cold might kill them.

[Aerozord]

lately she's started hiding in her little house. Should I wait for her to start coming out again or remove it?
Don't leave them out at night. The cold might kill them.

how cold are we talking, right now I'm more worried about heat, but it can get cold in the winter even inside, I'd say 60s

[Meister]

So yeah, you'll want it to warm up to you before attempting to pick it up.
This is also good advice for initiating a relationship!

[Magus]

Just put some extra hay or newspaper or whatever in the cage (whatever it is you're using), that is the kind of stuff they like to burrow into to keep warm.

I doubt temperature in the 60s would hurt them. Osterbaum is probably more referring to people's tendencies to leave rabbits outside in rabbit hutches/pens which when it becomes very cold is often not good enough to keep them from freezing to death because they are so small. Rodents in nature burrow underground to survive freezing temperatures, which isn't possible in many enclosements that people create for them. You have to provide insulation and so on instead.

[Aerozord]

This is also good advice for initiating a relationship!

well abit late for that though, already picked her up multiple times. Now it seems like things took a step back cause she is hiding in her little house all the time now

[Magus]

well abit late for that though, already picked her up multiple times. Now it seems like things took a step back cause she is hiding in her little house all the time now

If she's anything like a dog she'll come out when she's hungry.

[McTahr]

Timothy Hay is the stuff for most rodents if I remember right. Give it a long time before picking up if you can help it. If you need to get her out of the cage, what I did for my rats was set up a ramp to the cage exit onto a table that was too tall for them to climb off of, and set up some diversions for them to run around on while I cleaned the cage/whatever.

Eventually you can con rodents into climbing around on you, it just takes time and familiarity.

[rpgdemon]

Let her stay in her house, since it's probably where she feels safest right now.

Guinea Pigs love timothy hay, and the two we have get crazy excited when we give them some. Food is also a thing they come running out for.

[Aerozord]

what exactly is timothy hay? More importantly where could I get some?

Now she doesn't seem to be eating the pelets in her food dish, and starting to worry me abit. Will she eventually eat them when she gets hungry enough or is she being starved?

[rpgdemon]

Timothy Hay is hay from Timothy grass, which you can pick up at most pet supply places, I believe. It's really important that you give your guinea pig hay to eat/sit in.

As for not eating, that could be a problem, it might be that she's picky and doesn't like it, in which case if you mix in something she does like, in smaller and smaller amounts, she'll start to get used to the other pellets, and get used to them.

[Aerozord]

Timothy Hay is hay from Timothy grass, which you can pick up at most pet supply places, I believe. It's really important that you give your guinea pig hay to eat/sit in.

is that the default hay? I was given hay from her but I know no details about it, so not sure what kind it is. I do know, she doesn't seem too interested in it.

As for not eating, that could be a problem, it might be that she's picky and doesn't like it, in which case if you mix in something she does like, in smaller and smaller amounts, she'll start to get used to the other pellets, and get used to them.

thats the thing, the food she got does have other things mixed in with the pellets, she just eats only those things and pushes the pellets out of the way.

[rpgdemon]

Make sure that it's timothy hay, and not alfalfa, since alfalfa hay is bad for them to have too much of. They can't have an unlimited supply of alfalfa, since it can cause kidney stones and they'll get fat, but timothy hay should always be in the cage, in constant supply.

If she's not eating the pellets, just give her a lot of vegetables with vitamin C and hay, since the pellets aren't necessary for guinea pigs, they're just helpful. They need a vitamin C source every day, since they can't make their own vitamin C.

Good sources of vitamin C are belle and red peppers, tomatoes, dandelion greens, and parsley. Make sure that there are no seeds in the peppers, just the flesh of it, since they can't eat the seeds. Strawberries are also good.

Edit: Also, don't give iceburg lettuce ever, if you didn't know that, but romaine lettuce is fine.

[Aerozord]

does shaking (like what a dog does when it gets wet) mean anything? Last few days she's been doing that. Also I find her running around the cage for no apparent reason.

[rpgdemon]

If it's jumping, it might be popcorning, which is a sign that a guinea pig is really happy. If not, it's probably scared.

How large is the cage?

[Aerozord]

I'd say about 30x15 inches

[rpgdemon]

You might want to get a larger cage, and you should let her run around more, so that she can get exercise and stuff.

[Aerozord]

You might want to get a larger cage, and you should let her run around more, so that she can get exercise and stuff.

I'd love to but she is terrified of me and would rather not make that worse by grabbing her again. And we cant get a larger cage, even if money wasn't an issue its about as large as you can get around here and not really enough room to house it. already trying to make space for the current one, right now its just sitting on the floor

[Darth SS]

does shaking (like what a dog does when it gets wet) mean anything? Last few days she's been doing that. Also I find her running around the cage for no apparent reason.

When our guinea pigs (we had 4) did that, we said that they "Had the rips." Literally, she's just bored and is running around for fun.

Also, what we did to make sure that ours got all the vitamin c they needed was we ground up vitamin c tablets and tossed them in their water. After it sat for a while we poured it through a coffee filter into their water bottles. Between that, romaine lettuce, timothy hay and a random daily fruit bowl, our guinea pigs were incredibly content for the duration of their lives. Don't worry too much about her not eating something, unless she stops eating everything.

[Magus]

Do guinea pigs like hamster wheels?

[rpgdemon]

No. Do not under any circumstances get them a hamster wheel.

[Magus]

Yeah, apparently they get spinal problems from those. Plus they have stubby little legs. I guess you'll just have to figure out how to "guinea pig-proof" a room and let them run around in it.