Guinea Pig Owners???

[Savanah'sMom]

Hi all!! I'm looking at getting a Guinea Pig next weekend, well it's technically my DD (yeah right, I want a pet)

I'm looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Any advice????

 

[Creativebeth]

Never just get one. They need to have a friend! Guinea pigs are communial animals, and they don't do well by themselves.

Never use the store bought pens. They are not big enough for even one pig. They need room to 'roomp'.

We build our cage really cheap by making the base out of sign board (from a sign/copy place). Cutting the edges to make a box (fold up edges leaving a decent size lip around the cage to keep the chips in). We actually have 3 pigs, and build a second story onto the pen. The cage part we made with crate plates (from target for $14)....the stuff used to make your own crates, usually for college dorms and stuff. Check out the web site caviecages.com

The cages you can buy are small, and costs a fortune!

We hold our pigs alot, and they are not afraid of anyone. We can pet them, and they never run away. They love their igloos, but they don't hide in them....just sleep!

Always have timothy hay available to them.....good for their digestion, and they love it!

Our pigs are treasured.....just like some feel about their dogs! They have different 'personalities' and loved to be loved!

Good luck!

 

[Creativebeth]

If you clean them once a week, they don't 'smell'. Alot of people assume that they stink, but mine never do and I have 3. Cleaning their pen once a week, and wiping down the pen with 1/2 vinegar/water, keeps everything smelling nice!

 

[mrsltg]

I agree with the pp. We have two guinea pigs and I love them! We got "the girls" in April and they are the sweetest little things! One is particularly cuddly and will eat out of my hand. They were timid at first but now just go with the flow in a house with three kids, two cats, and one dog! We clean their cage once per week and feed them twice a day in addition to their late-night treat (strawberries) when DH gets home from work. They make great pets!

 

[Kim&Chris]

I love guinea pigs! I had them when I was much younger.

They are pooping machines, though!!! Definitely make sure you clean the cage frequently.

And yes, get two of them!

 

[MrsPete]

I've had lots of guinea pigs, and I'd suggest a hamster instead. Being smaller, they don't poop as much . . . which means significantly less cage cleaning and less bedding to buy. I had two guinea pigs, and their cage needed cleaning twice a week (the other poster who mentioned that guinea pigs like friends was right). On the other hand, a hamster only needs its cage cleaned every two weeks. The cage takes up more space in the house. Also -- in my experience -- hamsters wet less while being held.

Either makes a great pet, but I think the hamster is much less work.

If you get a Syrian hamster (it'll be a "bear" -- teddy bear, panda bear, black bear, honey bear, etc.), it'll want to live alone, and it'll enjoy interaction with people. They're also the larger, slower-moving hamsters. If you get a dwarf hamster, it'll never be the cuddly thing that a Syrian will be, but it'll want a ham-friend with which to live.

 

[Hannathy]

They are very social beings so don't get one if you are going to just plop it in the kids bedroom and walk away. they need more interaction than that to be happy. We kept ours in the eat in area of our kitchen so he was with people and lights almost all the time. The kids do their homework at the table and you could see the family room from his cage.

He was so funny he and my DH became good buddies and since my Dh was the first one down in the morning he would yell at my DH and say good morning and my DH would give him baby carrots (which they love).

Ours also would play with the cats tail when the cat would jump on his cage and sit looking out the winds(we had it in front of the window so he got light.


they do need a lot of timothy hay and fresh veggies, but get a list because there are a few that are toxic to them and you have to be careful

 

[mamacatnv]

We have 2 girls - due to also having cats, one of whom is still after 2 years totally fascinated by them we built them a cage. It is 3' x 6'. We used the wire grids that are 12x12 that you can buy to build shleves and cubby type shelves.

The only thing I dislike is having to trim their nails, makes me a nervous wreck.

The other issue we never considered when we got them is that when we go away, unlike our cats, we cannot just leave them. We have to hire a neighbor kid to come in and feed them daily. They are like dogs and require daily care. I can't leave them a big bowl of food and be done for the weekend, they don't self regulate.

Other than that, we do enjoy them. We have their cage set up with a litter area and a non litter area. We use a shop vac and Vacuum the non litter area every other day and then change out the litter every 3 days. We only feed them Oxbow brand pellets, Timothy hay that we buy from a local feed store, they won't even eat the stuff from Petco and we give them fresh veggies daily. We also give them apple tree branches to gnaw on, they love those!

 

[eeyorefan74]

We had two guinea pig brothers and had one of the coroplast/storage cube cages that CreativeBeth mentioned. My DD loved them, and they were sweet pets, but ended up being more work and expense than I had thought. We had them in a guest bedroom for a while, and the cage had to be cleaned out at least twice a week to keep it from smelling. That meant the expense of lots of aspen bedding, plus their pellets, timothy hay, and lots of fresh veggies. Ours especially liked kale, cilantro, and parsley. There were times I had to go by the grocery store just for the guinea pigs. We have a hamster now, and so far she's much easier!

 

[Savanah'sMom]

Thanks for all the great info. Right now we do have a large cage from Petco. (I know, I know not the best) but we'll make it work for a while. I would love to make one larger with the storage cube things. It's going to be baby steps for a bit. How is the best way to handle the timothy hay? I know I need to have it available daily for him/her, but what do I place it in?

 

[Hannathy]

Thanks for all the great info. Right now we do have a large cage from Petco. (I know, I know not the best) but we'll make it work for a while. I would love to make one larger with the storage cube things. It's going to be baby steps for a bit. How is the best way to handle the timothy hay? I know I need to have it available daily for him/her, but what do I place it in?

You can buy a dispenser that hangs on the side of the cage so it keeps it up out of the bedding.

We only ever had one of the big like 3ft by 2ft cages from the pet store and Ours did fine in it. I don't remember exactly how many years he lived but it was towards the upper end of the life expectancy chart.

 

[Savanah'sMom]

Just giving myself a bump up, any other advice?

 

[mtemm]

we got ours back in february and he is great! we did just get one, because we got a boy (the kids chose) and we were told that 2 males will not get along, and that male/female will, well, produce more guinea pigs, so one is it. he's awesome! he was a bit nippy when he was younger and still is at times, but generally he's just a good little pet for our family. he is VERY LOUD when dh gets up in the morning. that pig WANTS HIS CARROT and he wants it RIGHT THEN. lol.

we don't have a problem with smells at all, but are good about keeping the cage clean so that helps. I try to scoop poop a few times a week and do a full cleaning once a week, so am sure that helps.

we also have a cage from the pet store and it seems to be fine for him. maybe because he's a single? we have him in our great room, so lots of people around. we have his hay in a thing that hangs on the side of his cage and it works well.

good luck!

 

[mamacatnv]

Make sure your cage is not wire bottom like a rabbit cage - those are a no-no for the pigs tender foot pads. They must be on a solid or soft surface

I personally do not like using shavings in their cage, I prefer Care-Fresh

Don't feed them the pet store treats or food - find OxBow, it is the best. http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/Pigs do not store vitamin C and thus require a daily does. Also, despite what you might find online do not use the vitamin C drops in the water. It loses its potency quickly and just makes a mess of the water. Stick with a good hay, a good pellet and fresh veggies for long term health.

Oh and be careful, they are prolific breeders. One of our girls had a baby one night about a month after we brought the girls home from the pet store. We do know for sure our 2 are girls one of the girls was pregnant when we got her and no one knew it. The baby stayed with Mama until weaned and since it was a boy, off he went back to the pet store. That was a bit sad, "puffy" was soooo cute and of course we had him from birth to 12 weeks.

here is a good informational website: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/

 

[etoiles]

We just got one from a coworker a few months ago and he is adorable! We want to get him a friend but don't see how it will work out since they say two males do not get along well and we do not want babies!

I would say that if they do not seem to like veggies, do not give up! Ours turned his nose up at fresh veggies for a long time but we kept up and now he loves leafy greens, carrots, and celery among others!

 

[Kath2003]

we got ours back in february and he is great! we did just get one, because we got a boy (the kids chose) and we were told that 2 males will not get along, and that male/female will, well, produce more guinea pigs, so one is it. he's awesome! he was a bit nippy when he was younger and still is at times, but generally he's just a good little pet for our family. he is VERY LOUD when dh gets up in the morning. that pig WANTS HIS CARROT and he wants it RIGHT THEN. lol.

mtemm - I'm sure your piggy is happy/well loved but for those who are considering puchasing...

ALL guinea pigs should be living in a minimum of PAIRS. They are social creatures. A good seller/breeder/shelter will not allow guinea pigs to be homed individually regardless of gender. The only exception to this is older guinea pigs who have been living alone for some time, who can struggle to adjust to living in groups.

Never get just one guinea pig. They are no more work if you have two as they can live in the same hutch, but it is MUCH better for them to live in pairs, threes, fours or however many you can realistically and safely home.

Besides this, my advice is to keep them outdoors if you can. Get a safe hutch and a safe run - they will mow the lawn for you. Feed them your vegetable leftovers - apple cores, raw brocolli stalks etc.

 

[etoiles]

mtemm - I'm sure your piggy is happy/well loved but for those who are considering puchasing...

ALL guinea pigs should be living in a minimum of PAIRS. They are social creatures. A good seller/breeder/shelter will not allow guinea pigs to be homed individually regardless of gender. The only exception to this is older guinea pigs who have been living alone for some time, who can struggle to adjust to living in groups.

So what would you suggest for those who by fate have one male guinea pig currently?? Another male guinea pig? How do I know two males would get along?

 

[Kath2003]

So what would you suggest for those who by fate have one male guinea pig currently?? Another male guinea pig? How do I know two males would get along?

Unless you can "test" them out on another guinea pig, you can't tell so it'll be a risk. How long as he been living alone? Has he lived with another guinea pig before? If he's used to company, he should be fine. Males are just as sociable as females, company is important to them (they're not hamsters!). But yes, it would need to be another male unless you plan on having a LOT of guinea pigs Personally if I planned on owning guinea pigs for a while longer, I'd get another male but from a breeder who would agree to take the newer pig back should it not "work out" between them.

We had guinea pigs for almost 15 years when I was growing up. It's naturally inevitable that in the end, you wind up with one. In our case, once we realised we were done owning guinea pigs and we were down to our last one, we rehomed her to live with others. I was gutted but it was the right thing to do.

 

[Creativebeth]

I have 3 boy pigs. They get along great (most of the time). They all have different personalities, which actually helps. One of them is the more dominant one, who tends to take over at times. The other two do stand up to him at times though, that's when there is some conflict. But, I usually see at least 2 cuddling together all the time! The third one (Punky) is the 'favorite' of the family, and spends very little time in the cage!

2 of mine are rescues from the SPCA, the other was a little fellow all alone in a small aquarium tank at a local pet store. He looked so sad, and by himself that I purchased him (even though pet store guinea pigs can have an issue!) He is the BEST! We love him dearly.

Before buying a guinea pig, always check their teeth. Malocculsion of the teeth can be a big issue with eating! It is commonly found in pet stores that have alot of 'in-breeding'.

We do give piggies 'floor time' when they run around the living room.....it's funny....some days they play 'follow the leader' every where they go, but other times they play tag!

Piggies need a big area to play. If you have a small pen, it tends to make pigs inactive and reclusive. The definitely need a friend. When they are alone, they get very sad and inactive too.

Beth

 

[Savanah'sMom]

Thanks for all of the wonderful information. It has given me a lot to think about.

Another question, I've noticed that there are a lot of different types of food for them. Which of them do y'all find it the best for them. (pellets? mix?)