guinea pigs as pets

hampshirebabe · 21 January 2015 at 8:10PM

I'm thinking about getting 2 or 3 guinea pigs, girls sounds like the best option, but theres so much info online i'm getting a bit lost. Has anyone got/had guinea pigs and can help me out?
How can i keep costs down, i've read using fleece for bedding can work, but not sure how it would work, just a fleece blanket, or strips, how often would it need changing washing?
Whats the best to feed them, i ask because it seems most cat food really isn't that good for cats, so is it the same for guinea pigs?
Any other tips?
:-)

CP26 · 21 January 2015 at 9:10PM

Guinea pigs can be great pets

I used to have a couple so here is my advice...

- try to get some from rescue rather than a pet shop. Like cats and dogs there are plenty of guinea pigs looking for a forever home.

- I always used Excel food along with a good helping of fresh stuff.

- fleece is good - it has wicking qualities that draws moisture away from the surface so they stay nice and dry. I used a layer of newspaper, a layer of towel and then a sheet of fleece on top. I cleared out any pellet poops daily (they produce a lot!) and then changed the other bedding every few days to top smells - the newspaper and the towel doesn't dry. You can wash the fleece and towel easily, you'll just need to make sure you have a 'one on, one in the wash' approach to bedding.

- like all animals they need space and shouldn't stay confined to a cage / hutch the whole time. Letting them run around in a safe room (no hanging wires, nothing they can get behind) with a wipeable floor is a good option. You could also look at outdoor runs and maybe even customise an indoor cage - there are loads of tips online.

- take your time, guinepa pigs are prey animals and ground dwellers so not massive fans of being picked up to human heights. Get them used to cuddles slowly.

- I had two boys...they never really fought at all but they did get tetchy with each other now and then. If you go to a rescue they will probably have bonded pairs of either sex that you could choose from.

chocdonuty · 21 January 2015 at 9:10PM

guinea pigs are great pets but yes there's lots of advice out there, a lot of it conflicting!
Essentials are : a large habitat, look at guineapigcages.com for ideas and size guides, they can be indoors (easier to care for and you see them so much more) Or outside, less smelly but they do need keeping warm and safe from predators.
Food:Hay veggies and guinea pig food as they eat so many veg and hay the pellets/muesli part of it isn't so essential as it is with moggys

Bedding: so many options and opinions but go with what suits you best, fleece looks great but is a lot of upkeep, you will need an absorbent pads underneath or ready made online.
HTH Michelle (Owner of 4 guinea pigs and three cats!)

CP26 · 21 January 2015 at 9:11PM

As for rescues, if you're not sure where to start try here: http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk

hampshirebabe · 21 January 2015 at 9:29PM

Thanks, conflicting advice is so true, from what I'd read 2 boys is asking for trouble.
So if I give fresh hay, (any advice where to get it cheap but good quality) and fresh veggies daily, they dont really need the pellets, how can you be sure its the right amount of what?

CP26 · 21 January 2015 at 9:36PM

Best to shop around a bit for hay...I found prices varied quite a bit from the compressed packages you can get from places like Pets at Home to more fresh and loosely bagged stuff you could get from farm shops or independent pet shops.

Markets can be good places to buy cheap veg.

Try having a look at Pet Forums guinea pig sections...ive found loads of great advice there.

sneekymum · 21 January 2015 at 10:21PM

Two boys only works if they are together from a very young age, essentially brothers, and there are no females to fight over.

Guinea pigs live a long time. My eight-year-old piggy died last summer.

They shouldn't be outside in temperatures of less than 10 degrees. Giving them extra bedding when it's freezing out is not enough. Especially as they can't spend their whole time in bed.

The main food for guinea pigs is grass. Heaps of fresh grass every day. And hay too.

Some people don't realise that hay is fresh green grass that has been dried with all its goodness. They should never be given straw as they cannot eat it and they risk eye damage from the sharp ends.

(Edited to add) guinea pigs shouldn't be given tomatoes or citrus fruit as these can cause sores around the mouth.

hampshirebabe · 23 January 2015 at 5:17PM

I'm planning on getting a 2 story cage for inside for the cold weather and hopefuly a 2 story one for outside, where the bottom layer has grass growing through the bottom, but how much grass would they eat, would the cage need to be moved around? We dont have much lawn left, mostly mud patches from the kids running, so i'm planning on getting a couple of rolls of grass to put under the hutch just for them, would that work? If i give lots of hay too?

sneekymum · 23 January 2015 at 6:09PM

Guinea pigs are not climbing animals. They are easily injured by falls. Most of the multistory cages I have seen are dangerous for guinea pigs. The ramps should have side walls and the stair well should have a wall around it too.

Many (most?) guinea pig owners fail to provide any/enough fresh grass. That's why vitamin C drops are recommended. Yes, an outside cage on grass would need to be moved to another spot, perhaps every two days. I would worry about preditors burrowing in where we are. Our neighbours chickens were killed by something small like a stote or a mink. I only put my piggies in a run on the lawn when I'm there to keep an eye on them. I wouldn't go out and leave them.

hampshirebabe · 24 January 2015 at 6:41PM

I dont have a lot of space for a big cage, so thats why i was thinking of a 2 story cage, but thanks for pointing that out, i've never read it anywhere, so i'll be sure to keep that in mind with ramps. So a huch on legs or with a solid bottom is better with either handfuls of grass picked everyday, and/or time in a grazing ark. Should i still give vit c drops, or can too much bd bad?

hampshirebabe · 24 January 2015 at 6:46PM

We have a big grassy area outside our place where dog walkers wander past, my neighbour has a tortoise who my girls pick dandylions for, but she says not from the grass outside in case a dog's weed on it and it makes the tortoise ill. Might ghat be true for guinea pigs?

guinea pigs as pets

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