Hairless guinea pig, have some questions

[2manypets]

I was looking on craigslist for an FN when I came across this little girl. Her owners worked all day and could not spend much time with her. They were nice enough to drive her 1 1/2 hours and bring her here. She is around 3 months old. Her cage was pretty dirty and all she had was a flannel blanket full of poo/pee/food. I will be ordering some cubes and coroplast to make a big cage for her. I tried to get some pictures but I didn't want to scare her so I just took these two and left her alone.

How long should I wait to give her a bath and clip her nails? She has some poo/food on her from laying in the blanket and her nails are getting long.

Will she be ok until morning without pellets? The store here only has dog and cat food and the next closest store is in the next town. I can't get any until tomorrow. I gave her a hand full of hay and some chopped up carrots.

Can't decide on a name for her. My mom wants to name her Petunia but im still undecided.

 

[Gabby88]

I know a TON about guinea pig care if you want to PM me any time.

She should be ok without pellets until tomorrow as long as she has some hay and veggies. How friendly is she? If she seems really shy and scared, I'd wait to give her a bath. If she seems curious and friendly enough, I don't see why you couldn't give her a quick bath today.

I see you're using fleece bedding, which is awesome for guineas. What do you have under the fleece to absorb the urine? Guinea pig pee smells MUCH worse than chinchilla pee and without something super absorbent underneath (like towels, puppy pads, etc) it'll smell really fast. I use puppy pads under my fleece which works wonders, but you have to secure the fleece to the cage so they can't get under it and chew the pads.

Also, she'll need more produce than just carrots. A few carrots a week is ok, but they shouldn't be given too often since they contain too much sugar and vitamin A. They'll need veggies high in vitamin c like green, red, and yellow peppers. The pellets also will have some vitamin c in them, but not nearly enough. They also love parsley, cilantro, spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, and a lot of other safe veggies.

 

[2manypets]

She is pretty scared. I had to pick her up to clean the cage and she was freaking out and trying to jump out of my hands. I will wait a few days and let her settle in.

It is just a fleece tie blanket folded 4 times until I get fleece liners. I have some extra puppy pads from my dogs so I will put one under the blanket.

What brand of food would you recommend? I just gave her carrots because im not sure what she has had for fruits/veggies so I don't want to give her too many different kinds at once.

 

[Gabby88]

I give them Oxbow. It's probably the best guinea pig food. If she's skittish, I would wait before clipping her nails and bathing her so she doesn't get too stressed.

If you do use the puppy pads, remember to secure the fleece to the cage somehow. I use binder clips to keep it in place. If you use only fleece, the urine will have nothing to absorb into and could stay wet and be uncomfortable, especially since she's hairless.

I wouldn't worry about introducing too many veggies as they need them every day, especially a good variety. Here's a great list of what to feed them daily:

http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/fruitandveg.html

 

[2manypets]

I will pick up some Oxbow tomorrow. Thanks for the link! I put some tomato and banana in there to see if she would try those.

Also, would she be ok as a single guinea pig or should I get another female? I know they are social critters so if she would do better with a friend I would get another.

 

[Gabby88]

How old is she? She'd probably do fine on her own, but if you do plan on getting her a friend, I'd get a young female. She might be more receptive to a baby. But, like with chinnies, be prepared for them not to get along.

 

[2manypets]

They said she is around 3 months old.

 

[Gabby88]

She should be receptive to having a friend then! Just do a check yourself to make sure she's actually a female (of course). So many rehomed animals are sexed wrong.

 

[menagerie]

The best source of reliable guinea pig information is http://www.guinealynx.info/.

Hairless guinea pigs do have special needs. She may need to have supplemented heat by way of a ceramic heat emitter and extra snuggly beds and houses.

 

[Gabby88]

I agree. Guinealynx is probably the best source for information.

Skinny pigs should be kept at 70-75 degrees. A heater is a good idea if your home gets colder than that. Having a bed for her to crawl into to get warm is also a good idea. The plastic igloos are ok, but they won't keep her too warm. There are some fleece cuddle houses that she would probably love. My guineas also really love sleeping on their hammocks, so that might help her keep cuddly and warm, too.

She's adorable, btw!!!

 

[addictedtochins]

She is adorable! Congratulations. They are so vocal and very funny. My kitten is named Petunia and she likes her name

 

[Hammie]

I think you should name her "Lauren's New Guinea Pig" I WANT HER!!!! lol

 

[menagerie]

My guineas also really love sleeping on their hammocks, so that might help her keep cuddly and warm, too.

Guinea pigs should not have hammocks. Thier beds should be flat on the floor. Guinea pigs are not designed to climb in and out of things and a fall can break their backs.

 

[Gabby88]

Guinea pigs should not have hammocks. Thier beds should be flat on the floor. Guinea pigs are not designed to climb in and out of things and a fall can break their backs.

My hammock is like an inch off the ground. It's a corner hammock, and Kara the guinea pig is on it most of the day. She adores it! Even if she fell off of it and landed on her head, I think she'd be ok.

 

[2manypets]

I think you should name her "Lauren's New Guinea Pig" I WANT HER!!!! lol

I don't think so! She is mine!

My hammock is like an inch off the ground. It's a corner hammock, and Kara the guinea pig is on it most of the day. She adores it! Even if she fell off of it and landed on her head, I think she'd be ok.

Your piggy is so cute in her hammock! I think I will just stick to a bed on the floor just in case.

 

[Hammie]

My hammock is like an inch off the ground. It's a corner hammock, and Kara the guinea pig is on it most of the day. She adores it! Even if she fell off of it and landed on her head, I think she'd be ok.

She looks so snuggly! Makes me want a hammock instead of a bed at night. Of course, my puppy would make that an interesting sleeping situation. I'd probably suffocate

 

[Gabby88]

The reason I like the hammock (which is perfectly safe if you hang them right and keep them very low off the ground) is because they have other beds and houses, but they sleep in them all day and poop and pee in the same spots and then sit on the poop/pee spots and it gets disgusting very fast. Gross, I know, but they create a pee/poop mash and it's pretty bad. I vacuum their fabric houses twice a day, but it still needs to be washed multiple times per week.

The hammock is comfy and they don't pee on it. Hahaha! (Plus they look adorable sleeping in it)