First Time Guinea Pig Owner

mshappy

Hi

Looking to get 2 guinea pigs in a couple of weeks. Going to keep them indoors and planning on getting the fereplast 120.

Read up on them a fair bit but does anyone have any additional hints, tips and advice?

Many thanks

debtfreenewbie

Ive never had guineas indoors but can say:They are very social creatures and love being around people.They need to be handled from day one. Be aware of where you put them indoors as they WILL make a mess.
Stock up on carrots,cucumber and hay.
Are you going to keep them indoors constantly,if not you will need a run of some sort,they can not have too much grass to start with.
Have fun with them.....

mshappy

Going to get a run for the garden

pug_in_a_bed

How many are you getting? if more than one then I would say that cage is a bit too small. I kept a baby in one of those but only until he was 5 months old.

Have you thought about building your own 'c and c' cage? This is what I did as mine live in doors but have a run in the garden during the day, really cheap aswell.

They need some run around time every day as well, my front room is pig proof so around they go every evening if they havent been in the garden

Google guinea lynx as its a great little forum for hints and tips.

The other thing I'd say is get two girls or a neutured boy and a girl; boys often fight and even when I had mine done they still nearly killed one another as it doesn't change their behaviour.

mshappy

A few pets shops have advised that even the fereplast 100 would be large enough for 2? :S

pug_in_a_bed

i am biased i admit because my pigs have a huge c and c cage,:o but my advice would be get the biggest you can afford from the start. Ferplast cages are good though.

They're brilliant pets and i positively love them; I've just got a new sow after one of mine died and shes just settling in. They can be very shy at first but with regular handling will become a good little lap critter! Mine love a cuddle on a cushion on the sofa and a brush with a parsley snack lol

The last big thing i can think of is that i use megazorb bedding as its really absorbent and keeps any smells down, comes in massive bags but lasts ages, total bargain!

Buffythedebtslayer

I love this forum

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php

I have two girls who go through grumpy phases but I love them, find them hiliarious to watch!

I have 100cm cage which is generally considered too small, but I had a 140 which I just couldn't move to clean properly, they have a floor time each day and I have just ordered some C and C grids to make run attachment to the cage.......just got to work out how!

xx

autumngirl

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

I love this forum
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php

I agree that the above forum is absolutely excellent and the best place to start - very supportive and friendly and there are plenty of people who really know their stuff, including many rescue owners, as it's a rescue-friendly forum.

Guinealynx is great too, and undoubtedly the best place for health information, but it can be very technical with lots of medical jargon and, as it's an American forum, they use a lot of American terms which can be a bit confusing, especially when they talk about medications/treatments which aren't available here.

As a new owner, I'd try out the UK-based guinea pig forum which Buffythedebtslayer mentioned first. I certainly found it absolutely invaluable when I was new to guinea pigs and would advise it to everyone, new and experienced owners alike! It's also a brilliant resource for finding recommended guinea pig savvy Vets & Rodentologists as, even though guinea pigs are very common pets in the UK, our Vets generally receive no specialist guinea pig training as their training focuses on dogs/cats and guinea pigs are actually classed as "exotic" pets!!!

I'd agree that you should get the biggest cage you possibly can, especially if you're getting boars, as it's advisable to give them a bit more space than females. I have a Ferplast 120 and this is generally seen as the minimum sized cage you should have for 2 guineas (although many pet shops would suggest otherwise!) As a guide, most rescues won't rehome 2 pigs to anything smaller than a 120 cage. I'm currently planning to build a C&C cage which will be bigger and can be designed to make best use of the space I have.

With regard to bedding, I'd look at the guineapigforum for advice. From a moneysaving aspect, there are great alternatives to disposable paper/wood-based bedding, like fleece throws (lots of people use cheap Primark ones!) with old towels or washable incontinence pads underneath! Fleece wicks away the wee very well, so the surface stays dry and the towels absorb it all underneath. After the initial outlay you don't need to keep buying bedding and it won't need replacing for ages. Definitely worth looking at bedding options.

I'd definitely go for 2 piggies. They are very sociable creatures - very animated and chatty - and need the company of their own kind (as well as lots of attention from humans!) so it's really not advisable to have only one.

Are you thinking of getting males, females or one of each (with a neutered male)? And what kind of age? If you're going for very young piggies I'd say the easiest combination is 2 female littermates. It's true that males can fall out and have dominance issues but, to be honest, so can females (although it's less likely).

Males do have their complications but I've always had boars and have a real soft spot for them. If you are getting males, it's worth bearing in mind that it is generally a lot harder to introduce a new male to a lone male (for example, when one dies and you need to find a new cagemate) whereas females usually accept a new cagemate much more easily. I know that you haven't even got your pigs yet, so that seems a bit premature, but I wish I'd realised that when I got my first pair of boars, as I've had problems trying to pair mine up and currently have 2 boars that used to be fine but won't live together any more. Having a pair of females or a female and a neutered male definitely gives you more options when it comes to future introductions.

There are thousands of guinea pigs in rescues up and down the country, waiting to be rehomed, so please consider adopting instead of buying from a shop/breeder. There are all different kinds of breeds and ages available, from babies up to OAPs. If I were you I'd go for a pair of females who are already well bonded. Reputable rescues can also give invaluable advice. Theguineapigforum has a rehoming section, listing guinea pigs awaiting adoption, and this directory is also very useful as you can search for your nearest rescues:
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/

Just one other thing. Even if your indoor pigs have a spacious cage, it is also advisable to give them daily indoor "floortime" in addition to time spent outdoors in their run - just a change of scene and chance to play outside of their usual environment. My home is not piggyproof (way too many wires/nooks/crannies) so I have a smaller indoor pen which I use inside, on days when the weather is too bad to put them in the garden run.

Hope I haven't bamboozled you! You're absolutely doing the right thing in doing the research before you get the pigs and there is lots of help and advice out there. I think a lot of people underestimate the needs of guinea pigs, because of their relatively small size, but they are incredibly rewarding creatures to keep, well worth the time and effort, and I've been absolutely smitten with them ever since I got my first pair! Good luck!

autumngirl

Just one other thing!...

If you don't have particular pigs in mind yet, it's worth considering that long-haired guinea pigs generally require more grooming than those with short hair and some long-haired breeds are more high maintenance than others! It's lovely to sit and brush their hair and it's great for bonding with your pigs, so not really a hardship, but bear in mind that long-haired pigs will also need regular hair trims. Again, it shouldn't be too tricky or take too much time, after a little practice, but if you think you might not have the time then it's probably best to choose smooth-coated short-haired pigs

lizzie157

Hi,
I agree go for the biggest cage you can afford/ have room for. When we first had 2 GP's the cage we were sold was much too small and although our GP's were handled /allowed free run often I would now never put more than 1 in my old cage. I have had some good advice from a site called Gorgeous Guineas concerning good treatments for mites etc which they sometimes pick up from the hay- I'd recommend them. We had 2 males( brothers who fought at times), when 1 died we did manage to introduce another ok, but when the older 1 died we got another male and unfortunately despite repeated attempts they were never able to live in the same cage.They did however talk to one another. Ours have always lived in the kitchen and I'd never keep them outside myself, although they did go out in the summer. Unfortunately we now only have 1 as we lost the other a few months back - we've decided to wait and get 2 together -rather than go through trying to introduce another to the 1 we have. I've never had females but the males we've had hace been lovely pets . Enjoy them

autumngirl

lizzie157 wrote: »

I have had some good advice from a site called Gorgeous Guineas concerning good treatments for mites etc which they sometimes pick up from the hay- I'd recommend them.

I second that recommendation!

http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/ is a fab site with great advice and great products is very well respected in guinea pig circles