Transporting your new guinea pig
The best way to transport a guinea pig is to use a plastic cat carrier with a metal door, stuff the back of it with hay so the guinea pig can hide on the journey to cut down on stress. Alternatively a strong cardboard box, well lined with newspaper and hay, with air holes.
Settling in
Once your guinea pig is home it is tempting to fuss over them a lot. Ideally leave the guinea pig in their new home for a few days, not in a quiet room but in an area where they will feel secure but also be able to hear and see the goings on. This will give them time to get used to their new place. Cleaning them out daily will also give them a chance to get used to the routine.
For nervous pigs
Even the most relaxed guinea pig will be nervous in their new home, to make them feel more secure wrap them gently in a towel and sit them on your lap, do this for a few minutes at a time at first and build it up gradually, also getting the guinea pig used to being handled and examined checking ears/eyes/nails/skin etc. A couple of drops of Bach Rescue Remedy in their water can help them relax when traveling.
Introducing new foods, food is the way to a guinea pigs heart!
Although we try to feed a variety of veggies to our pigs, there are many more types of tasty treats and veggies out there for your new pigs to try. So introduce each new food in small amounts.
We use Burgess Supa guinea pig mix and the most common and favourite veggies our pigs get are carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber. Even the most shy guinea pigs will usually venture out of their hiding place if they smell something tasty on offer.
