any guinea pig money saving tips?

sarymclary

I got my 2 youngest sons a GP and a rabbit last year as a reward for getting fab school reports. Speedy and Gonzales thrive outside, have a good sized hutch, which sits on top of a pen (ladder down from hutch). The GP has an igloo that she likes to hide in, and we regularly put thick cardboard tubes in the pen.
During the very cold spell last winter, and because they were still only a few months old, I moved the hutch/pen into our summerhouse, the only downside to this was that they pee'd on the summerhouse wooden floor, which smelled a bit after they were back outside, but it's fine now.

GP's seem to poo/wee everywhere. Unlike the rabbit, she doesn't have a particular corner that she uses as the toilet, and she is incredibly clumsy! They walk all over the food bowls, skitter everywhere, but they are very cute, very snuggly, and have so much character. I'd agree that they definitely like company, and I'm keen to get another GP to help with that.

On the whole I'd say they are very easy to care for.

LizD_2

midlandsfairy wrote: »

Thanks everyone who replied....

got in touch with a guinea pig rescue but they emailed through their list of requirements and sadly we don't meet them so they won't work with us :-( We have a spacious hutch and an open top (with optional cover) run that is 6ft by 3 1/2ft but is not perm attached to the hutch... our garden is currently paved and so didn't feel it was appropriate right now. plus we use it indoors as well for floor time/accomodation when the weather is horrible. (the thread was to see if we could find a slightly smaller grid/run for use now we only have rocky).

We're both really upset obv as we were only looking for a companion as we want rocky to be happy, because we are loving pet owners. So feeling like we've been told that we arn't good enough is pretty upsetting. Rocky doesn't seem his normal wheeking self so think he is lonely. but with the rescue unwilling to help, I don't know what to do. The vet is due to call me back, hoping he might know someone in the area??

Just thought i'd update everyone. Thanks again for all your responses

That annoys me about rescues - they go on about how many animals they've got, but so many have strict rules about re-homing it's no wonder they can't home them (although I understand why they have rules). It's like the one that only re-homes them indoors, when they can live perfectly happily outdoors in summer. I wonder if it's different if you already have pets so you can demonstrate you can care for them properly.

nodwah

Just do what I did and lie! I told tham that yes I'd keep them inside and I guessed that they wouldn't do home visits for small animals and we got our piggies!

icklejulez

Hi there I hope there is someone out there that can help give me some advice on buyying two guinea pigs for my children. After years of thought by my husband and i over getting a pet we have agreed on 2 guinea pigs for our children. It is my sons birthday in 2 weeks so we will be buying the guinea pigs then but in the meantime we would like to know if anyone knows anywhere we can get an indoor hutch from cheap. The one we were reccomended in pets at home was £39.99 for the Nero 3 althought they had none in stock on that day. Now i know most the time the store is expensive but we havent been able to find online a cheaper alternative and the cage looks quite good for cleaning purchases. This is a link to the smaller version: http://www.petsathome.com/invt/11929. There is also a guinea pig starter kit with this item too.

Also is it advisable to get 2 female guinea pigs if possible?

Tomthumb

Hi, I don't know anything about guinea pigs but I got 2 rats a couple of weeks ago - male as they are slower I bought them from my local independent pet shop as the advice and service is always good. I picked up a cage for them in my local freeads for £15 with all accessories so it might be worth looking there - or ask on freecycle, you never know, someone may have one.

Spudnik_2

Hi,

I run a small animal rescue and recently rehomed 6 guinea pigs that came to me last October - it took me almost a year! I'd urge you to visit local shelters rather than support your local pet store - especially a large chain store such as Pets at Home that will certainly use large animal mills.

With regards to the cage, I wouldn't recommend the Nero 3. The MINIMUM cage size recommended for 2 female guinea pigs is 7.5sqft. For a pair of males, it's 10.5sqft. Contrary to popular belief, there is little problem with keeping two males as long as they have enough space (hence a larger recommended minimum) and are properly introduced (preferabley when young). As such, I don't feel that it would be economical (or even possible!) to aquire an appropriately sized cage from a pet store.

I recommend that you visit www.guineapigcages.com, where you will find information about easily building a cage to your own specifications from wire cube shelving. You can buy this in B&Q or from Screwfix Direct for £10-20 per box. For the sized cage that you need, you'd only want one box and could also build a lid if you require. The only other material that you need is cable ties (poundland!) and something for the floor - linoleum, coroplast, even pond liner can be used. It should take about 30 minutes to construct a single storey cage.

I understand that creating a cage like this certainly goes against the grain, but for the most part, the advice given by pet store employees is far outdated. Certainly, I'm over the moon to hear that you wish to keep the guinea pigs indoors. In the Nero 3 you will likely find that the guinea pigs become lethargic, and eventually aggressive towards one another, due to the lack of space and exercise. In a larger, cheaper cage you will be able to see your new pets happily 'popcorning' around the cage and they will become much easier to handle. Cleaning will also become much easier as the mess will be less of an issue over a wider space. Overall, it would give you happier pets and the whole experience should be more enjoyable for both yourself and your children.

For other information about guinea pig care, try www.guinealynx.info. It's a wonderful resource for health, nutrition and any other care information that you may require before aquiring your new pets.

Good luck!

bunnymad

Please try a rescue first and then if no joy a registered breeder. They will be able to guarentee the sex of the GPs for you, where as petshops cannot - I think Pets at Home has on the reciept something about they do not guarentee the sex so your 2 piggies could become a few more, something which can be very dangerous for sow if she is over a certain age
I also would not recommend the Nero 3 for GPs some of the larger cages here are better than P@H s stock http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/guinea_pig_cages

icklejulez

Thanks for our budget the cages spudnik reccomended seem like a really good idea. And i am definatly looking in to purchasing some if i can find it. That way i can buy more toys and bits for the guinea pigs than anything else and have a much larger cage. If anyone has any ideas of where they have seem the cubes i would be gratefull. Screwfix do have them but i would like to see if i can get them cheaper.

Thankyou.

Spudnik_2

Cubes have been spotted in:
B&Q
Home Bargains
Instore/£-Stretcher
Screwfix (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A333043&ts=88149&id=43900 - more meshy than grids. Good for young pigs)
Ebay

As far as I'm aware, Screwfix is your best bet as they have them in their regular stock, whilst the others are hit-and-miss.

This is the UK board for guinea pig cages:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/uk/

Any cubes found will be posted on there.

If you struggle to find the cubes anywhere other than Screwfix, you could buy a puppy pen. I have used a 16sqft puppy pen that I bought for about £30 including delivery (ebay), and I've seen them offered fairly frequently on freecycle. You don't necessarily need one that large, either - you could always get a smaller one for a lower price. Just remember the minimum square footage required and you should be fine.

There's also a good list of toys for your pig too - it might save you spending money on expensive commerical toys that they won't necessarily be interested in!
http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm

Spudnik_2

As a side note, if you need help finding rescue guinea pigs in need of a new home in your area, I'd be happy to give you a hand.