Cheapest place to buy guinea pig accessories

lcc86

Emmia said:

Do provide them with something other than just the nuggets, carrots, broccoli stem etc. (The nuggets would be like you eating dry cornflakes, for every meal for the rest of your life). Also do you have enough garden to move the run on a daily basis (they'll also eat the grass etc.) or are you planning to let them roam in the garden freely? Guinea pigs are wonderful little creatures which will live for many, many years if cared for properly, so I really hope you're not planning on either putting them on concrete or keeping them in a hutch 24/7.

Some guinea pigs also don't get on with water bottles, so a low dish of water may work better for them.

Yes sorry didn't mean to imply only nuggets, they do need fresh veggies daily along with hay and nuggets. There are some excellent websites out there which even lost the calcium content of different veggies so you can work out which ones can be given regularly and which ones are more for treats.

Re the hutch you've bought, I would keep that indoors maybe all the time and then allow access to a separate run at a time when you can supervise them. Neither of the links you have provided would be fox proof so I'd be worried about leaving the hutch out overnight just in case.

muddlingmywaythrough

lcc86 said:

Emmia said:

Do provide them with something other than just the nuggets, carrots, broccoli stem etc. (The nuggets would be like you eating dry cornflakes, for every meal for the rest of your life). Also do you have enough garden to move the run on a daily basis (they'll also eat the grass etc.) or are you planning to let them roam in the garden freely? Guinea pigs are wonderful little creatures which will live for many, many years if cared for properly, so I really hope you're not planning on either putting them on concrete or keeping them in a hutch 24/7.

Some guinea pigs also don't get on with water bottles, so a low dish of water may work better for them.

Yes sorry didn't mean to imply only nuggets, they do need fresh veggies daily along with hay and nuggets. There are some excellent websites out there which even lost the calcium content of different veggies so you can work out which ones can be given regularly and which ones are more for treats.

Re the hutch you've bought, I would keep that indoors maybe all the time and then allow access to a separate run at a time when you can supervise them. Neither of the links you have provided would be fox proof so I'd be worried about leaving the hutch out overnight just in case.

Thank you for the reply. I am planning on keeping the hutch indoors all the time so there won't be any risk of fox attacks. I would pop them in the pen in the garden every day to have a Munch on the grass and also while their hutch is being cleaned out. 

eve824

Unfortunately that hutch isn’t really suitable for guinea pigs. The main issue is that they dislike ramps and so will probably tend to stay upstairs in the smaller part and not venture down into the run. If you’re going to keep that inside, it’s also difficult to clean out. Could you return it? 

Could you look at buying / making a guinea pig table instead? You can buy from places like Manor Pet Housing but I made mine myself - bought  a large used dining table off eBay for £10 (6ft by 3ft). Glued some vinyl on the top, screwed plastic skirting boards and then C&C grids on top. Cost about £30, took a morning to do and it’s huge! What I particularly like is it’s super easy to clean, gives them lots of space and it just the perfect height to interact with them. I’ll try and upload a photo to show you what mine looks like. 

In terms of costs, mine don’t cost that much really. I buy hay from Timothyhay.co.uk - they get two large handfuls a day but a bag still lasts me months. For pellets I buy 10kg bags for I think around £15 - this lasts several months. They get bits of veggies or forage each day. I don’t give them any pet shop treats apart from Fenugreek Crunchies as they are quite natural and they love them. Lots of pet shop treats are processed and filled with nasties and piggies will probably choose some nice fresh veg or herbs over them anyway! 

For hides I have a few pet shop ones but their favourite is a cheap step stool! They love lounging underneath it. They like fleece products and I have several bought from sellers on Etsy / eBay and the like. 

Mine live In my office all year around but in summer go out on the grass. They are not good with cold weather at all. 

Lastly - they are noisy, cheeky, full of character and will have the whole family wrapped around their little paws in a matter of days !!!

eve824

Hope it’s worked! 

Just to add, I’m sorry to say this but IMO neither of those runs are suitable. The metal one isn’t safe - you need a lidded run to stop cats / foxes / birds of prey getting to them. The triangular ones are just too small. I’d get the biggest run you can afford / fit in your garden. I have a traditional wooden and mesh one that is 8ft by 4ft for my two guinea pigs and even then I wish it was bigger as they can do some amazing zoomies around it and it’s fab to watch 😀