I love him to bits and his name is Mack.
We brought him with a bunny called Barely, they were both aggressive towards other animals but liked each other hence us buying them together, I felt bad that Mack would be left on his own. We kept them in a hutch outside since buying them, that actually might have been over a month ago now! Doesn't feel like it.
Anyway over the weekend I started to worry about Mack so ran out and brought a new cage, lemon scented wood shavings and hay for his bedding. I cleaned the cage when I got it home put down a layer of newspaper, the wood shavings and the hay in the bed side of the cage and put Mack in his new home.
That was Saturday, it is now Friday (only just) and we've had no problems. I cleaned him on Wednesday and will do it every Wednesday, I kind of "clean" the corner where his water bottle leaks every day and put down a bit more of the wood shavings so he doesn't have a damp cage.
He has a mineral block in there, a hay rack filled with blueberry hay, a little dish and a bigger dish both with a mixture of muesli and hay (trying to introduce him to muesli as he'd only ever been eating hay), a pile of sticks as well as a climbing toy that he nibbles on.
I had help from the guys at Pets at Home picking up the stuff I needed, checked the labels on all the treats for the foods that I know he can't have (I'd been reading a blog for a while which told me that even though it might say its for Guinea Pigs it might have things that are bad for them in it) and thought the rest would be easy enough!
I know pets get ill, I've had hamsters, dogs, mice and all sorts before but tonight instead of celebrating with other Whovians world wide I've been reading blogs that seem to fill me with dread!
All I want is simple advice.
1/ Should I be using scented wood shavings?
Everywhere I go I see the answer is no, why the heck would Pets at Home be selling something and telling you to buy it if its bad for them? So far Mack hasn't had any problems that I've noticed but I'm worried he'll suddenly die from all sorts now. If I shouldn't be using scented wood shavings should I be using it at all? Is it better to use a fleece? What is the best thing for him?
2/Do Guinea Pigs ears change a little whilst growing?
This sounds a little weird so I'll explain.
I got him at 6 months, he's probably about 7 or 8 months now (give or take of course as he might not have been completely 6 months when I got him) I'm sure when I got him and till today his ears have been bright pink. You'll sit there saying "what do you mean you're sure his ears were pink?"
Here is the best photo I have of his ears prior to today...
At this present moment I can't get a photo of him for two reasons. One he keeps running away whenever my iPhone gets near his cage and two he's in his bed anyway.
I'm sure his ears were like that but after reading some of these horror stories on fungus infections and mites I've noticed his ears are a little black around the outside. I wanted to know if colouring does ever change? He was only a baby when I got him so he might just be "growing" into his adult colouring?
It sounds stupid I know! It is one of those things, I saw terrible things on the internet then went out of my way to stare at his ears (I took him out of his cage purely to check them!) and suddenly after nothing ever being wrong there is something wrong (in my eyes.)
If I can get a photo I'll edit it in here, but that won't be till tomorrow now I fear as I'm off to bed (to stop myself spending money I don't have) after writing this up.
3/How easy are they to look after?
After a nights worth of strolling through forums and websites I can see about 200 things that can go wrong with my little man. And you know what? It has had me in tears thinking I could accidentally inflict so much pain on him.
For a start I pick up colds pretty easy and it says that I can pass it on to him and he could die from it. How likely is that?
Is it really always you'll find out there is something wrong with them the moment before it could be too late?
Is it really that easy for them to get fungal infections and the like?
I know looking after anything is a labour of love, you do your best but they are still living animals and will always have problems whether you look after them really well or not. I didn't realize that so much COULD go wrong though and am worried (this is my first Guinea Pig) that I'm now going to look at him every day and see 100 things wrong. This kind of ties in with point two and my sudden decision that his ears have changed, I've also only just noticed the area where I guess his penis and anus are, he hasn't really left the bottom of his cage and I've only really noticed it when he's been jumping onto the stage part of the cage to eat his hay today and also when he's slowly shuffled back into his bed area.
I'm a hypochondriac myself and I fear I'll have the same fears over my Mack, since Saturday I've fallen head over heels for the little guy, I loved him before but nothing compared to sharing my room with him. Now I'm panic'd about everything.
My room feels cold to me, will it be cold for him? I have poor hearing so when someone says they "cough", "sneeze" or breath funny will I be able to hear it or is it something you have to get close to them to hear (he doesn't like being handled yet so I can't physically get near to him all the time!)
I haven't even got anywhere close to grooming him yet! As I said he doesn't like to be handled so I don't really want to start doing things that might scare him off being held.
He doesn't make much noise, he runs at the smallest sound or the smallest movement.
I love him to pieces and want to do whats best for him but I get conflicting information all over the place! The pet stores said keep them with the rabbits he'll love it, but the internet says no. The pet shop people SHOWED me what to buy but the internet says its bad for him. The internet has also made me panic about every little thing, it seems that everywhere I've clicked on tonight makes looking after Guinea Pigs the most hard and painful (for him and me) job in the world.
I just want some advice and reassurance from any Guinea Pig lovers and experts out there.
What should I be doing? What should I be looking out for? Is it a nightmare looking after them? I want to make sure Mack has a long and happy life so any advice is appreciated!
These are the two best photos I can find of today and I think yesterday or the day before on my twitter stream. You also get a look into his cage (which he routinely makes a mess of with his hay!)
On the right one you can kind of see what I mean about his ears, they are pink and then brown in places, they actually look a little black around the outside at times (which you can possibly see) unfortunately when I try to get close to get a ear shot he runs away so that will be the best I can get I think. Does he look healthy? Does the cage look alright or should I be changing something?!
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