I'm so excited about our new family member, Abbey. She is an adorable multicolored 6week old Guinea Pig. Hubby and I have owned one before, but now I hear that litter training is possible. We never knew that was an option before. Does anyone know of a good site for info, or know how to train the litttle ones?
I know nothing about guinea pigs...Abbey is a real cutie though My mom conditioned her rat to come to the sound of a bell...It was handy when she "escaped"... All she did was ring a little bell whenever she was feeding..the rat learned to associate the two and would come looking for a snack when she heard the bell...Might be possible with GPS...They are "genius pigs" after all
Guinea Pigs are pretty smart little animals so it's possible to litter train them though I haven't heard of it before. I used to own a Hamster and he knew how to undo the locks on his cage and get out. I ended up having to weigh down the cage lid to prevent that.
I used to care for guinea pigs until I moved and could no longer have pets other than fish. In that time I belonged to several guinea pig forums. While I don't remember all of them, I do remember one and it was at Cavy Cages . Check them out and see what you think.
Thanks MQP, she is the cutest(I'm not biased, I promise ). Conbrio I really like the site you mentioned. I had been planning to build her a new cage too, and the dimensions listed are much nicer on that site. We have her in a rabbit cage with newspaper covering the floor of it right now. That's how we always kept our piggie before, but the cage is kinda old and beat up from moving, and being kept outside for years. I want a cleaner better home for my new baby. I think Santa really brought her for me instead of the kids :Angel: . Hubby surprised us with Abbey when we came home from a Christmas Eve party. I had been begging for about a year. We came in and she was there in her cage with a note from Santa saying He had to drop her off so she didn't get cold in the sleigh. Hubby is soooo good. Oh, and Rava, I tried that site and couldn't get it to come up.
I can't really help you on how, but thought it was relevant to mention I was reading a magazine we get from our vet (VMA) last night and in it was a blurb on guinea pigs, mentioning how they can be litterbox trained. 'Course, the hard part is finding out how
I do miss my GP's... I lost my last one last November. We had as many as 5 at one point. As for caging, we kept ours in a sheep watering trough that we got from a farm supply store for about $40. It's a thick, hard plastic oval tub with smooth walls about a foot high. It worked PERFECTLY! Sat on the floor in the living room so my kids could always pet them and help feed them, and it was REALLY easy to clean too. We'd just take it into the backyard and hose it down. (After the pigs were out of it, of course!)
I've had lots of GP's in my day, but I've never heard of litter training the buggers. I did once have a rabbit that was litter box trained... I suppose it's possible!
What I miss most is how my pigs listened for me to open the fridge door and start rummaging around in the plastic veggie bags.... they'd whistle and whistle and whistle! Sometimes I think I can still hear them when I open the veggie drawer!
Thanks Aknife. My kids would love to have a dog like yours, but I'm allergic. I'll have to see if I can find a farming supply store to check out options. I could easily find one if I still lived in Texas, but this area in Florida is extremely urban. I'll probably end up with "storage cubes" and a plastic storage box. I know what you mean about the "wheeking" piggies memory. There's nothing quite as cute. I'd love to have 1 or 2 more piggies to keep Abbey company, but I really pushed for her, so more would probably push hubby over the edge. Although even he can see what a good pet she is, and it helps that he doesn't have to clean or feed her, so maybe in the next few years . . .
My best friend Amy got a guinea pig for christmas, too. I haven't seen her yet, but I can't wait! Amy told me that her name is holly, and she is black, brown, white, orange and grey.
If I ever got another pet (besides a horse) I would want to get a guinea pig. I love the feel of their fur! The only things I don't like is their POOP and their CLAWS !
My mom conditioned her rat to come to the sound of a bell...It was handy when she "escaped"... All she did was ring a little bell whenever she was feeding..the rat learned to associate the two and would come looking for a snack when she heard the bell...Might be possible with GPS...They are "genius pigs" after all 
Although even he can see what a good pet she is, and it helps that he doesn't have to clean or feed her, so maybe in the next few years . . . 
