Guinea Pigs as pets...

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I ended up getting two on Monday.
Their names are Wells & Verne and I absolutely think I made the right choice in a pet. They are so cute. I LOVE their squeaks.

I wanted to adopt, but I fell in love with a little face at Petco on my way home from work, where I was going "just to look" and he is now my all black guinea pig, Verne. I had seen a good starter cage set at Petsmart over the weekend, so Verne & I went up there and I picked that up, along with some other goodies...and a cagemate, Wells.

Verne is very shy but also very cuddly once you pick him up. He is all black and very unique looking. He is generally pretty quiet. Unless Wells steps on him.

Wells is all tan, with one big round patch of fur that is a butterscotch color. He is very talkative. He is also very mellow and lets you pick him up without a struggle.

They are both about 3 months, and seem to like each other. I have been feeding them packaged guinea pig food, Vitamin C supplement, fresh hay, fresh parsley, fresh carrots, fresh cucumbers and fresh peppers.They go crazy for the parsley.

Last night, my BF & I watched a movie while sitting on my bed. He held Verne and I held Wells and both piggies were cuddly little angels through the movie. Wells did squeak quite a bit. He squeaks when you pet him. Then when you stop petting him, he looks puzzled.


I will likely clean the cage twice a week. As they get a bit bigger, I will likely get them a larger cage. Right now, they're both palm size.

 

[FINFAN]

congrats on your new piggies! Sounds like it is going to be great for you. Good variety of fresh produce for them...here's to MANY hours/years of cuddle time w/them

 

[Creativebeth]

Wow, I am really surprised at some responses! Any guinea pig would be stinky if only changed bedding 2X a month! That's insane! Guinea pigs are not stinky if maintained properly. I have three, in a custom made two-level, and I clean them 1x a week and they never smell.

They are awsome pets......we love ours. They are all different in temperment, but all love to be held and cuddled. They get 'floor time' once a day for about 30-45 minutes and they chase each other, and play 'tag'. They love each other most of the time, but do often steal each others toys and food (I think just for the fun of it).

They need unlimited Timothy hay, pellets with Vit C, and mine get 1 or 2 treats a day with fruits and veggies.

I have to admit, mine are quite spoiled, but they are terrific pets. I had a pig live to be over 8 years old when I was little, but that is pretty old for a pig. They live 4-7 years mostly.

Beth

 

[robinb]

Oh they sound so cute!

 

[Philadisney]

Do you have one?

Do they make good apartment pets for a single adult?

I find that holding small animals tends to calm me after a day at my rather stressful job...do they like to be held? I held one this weekend and it was very cuddly.

I would have to keep the pen in my bedroom, due to lack of space elsewhere. Are they noisy at night, like hamsters?

Some websites I have seen say it's cruel to only have one? I work during the day but I know I would be holding it every night. I lost my pet rat recently and he was out with me every evening.

Some websites say that a single level "store bought" cage is also cruel? That would be my biggest concern. Until I move into my own place in 10 months, they'd have to be in a single level starter home in my room.

How difficult would it be to find an apartment with a guinea pig? Anyone have any experience with that? I've seen tons of apartments that allow dogs and cats but none mention other pets.

Thoughts?

I haven't read the other reponses so I'm sorry if I'm being redundant, but as someone who owned a guinea pig for 4 years, I would say they're not a good pet for apartment dwellers. I had to clean the cage out every week which was a big process that involved taking it down to the garage and hosing it out with soap and water and rinsing it....there's really no place to do that in an apartment building. My guinea pig also loved to whistle all night long (she was in my bedroom) and it would wake me up.

While living in an apartment I had a lizard for a short amount of time which I loved to hold, but they are very hard to keep healthy and alive. My friend who lives in an apartment has a bunny which she adores, the bunny's cage is easy to clean and it is litter trained. It hops around her apartment and is just the cutest, sweetest thing. I do hear horror stories about bunnies though so if you get one make sure you do a little research on the breeds first.

 

[Philadisney]

Whoops, I just read some more and realized you already bought some guinea pigs So I guess you can ignore my previous post. I think it's great that you got two so they can keep each other company. My DBF's little sister has four and they are always snuggling together. Do you have pics of them?

 

[torinsmom]

Wow, I am really surprised at some responses! Any guinea pig would be stinky if only changed bedding 2X a month! That's insane! Guinea pigs are not stinky if maintained properly. I have three, in a custom made two-level, and I clean them 1x a week and they never smell.


Beth

Well, if you had read all the posts, you would have seen that I cleaned them twice a WEEK(I corrected myself when someone else responded); I don't know why I typed twice a month in my first post, unless its because that is how often I clean my lone hamster's cage. Even with cleaning 2x a week, ours still stank pretty bad, at least compared to a hamster. I guess it depends on the animal. Ours was not very good with all the activity around the classroom and is much happier in the other teacher's home with her teenage daughter. She says it now comes out and is very sociable.

Marsha

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I notice the smell of the hay more than the smell of the piggies.

I think the hay smells nice though. And mine seem to be really good at sleeping through the night!

 

[mamacatnv]

I have a question for all you piggy/rat experts.

BTW Congrats OP on your new friends.

My DD has had rats for about 3 years (she wanted a hamster and I who thinks hamsters stink and are anti social talker her into rats) They were purchased at Petco. We have always had 2 at a time. The last one died a couple of weeks ago. The last 2 had developed tumors and once that happened DD didn't want to hold or play with them anymore and she does not want another rat.

Now she wants a Guinea pig. I have been doing some reading and I think they would be fun.

The question:

Can I use the rat cage - it is 2' x 3'? (solid bottom-no wires)
Will Piggys use the large exercise balls like the hamsters?

I see that piggy cages commonly have open tops and shorter sides, we have 3 cats who would be alone with the piggys for extended hours every day and while Simon the Fat Cat may not show much interest, Deck'ster the feral youngin most likely would so an open cage is not an option. It is burrr cold here in the winter so outdoors is also not an option. They would reside in our living room where our rats have lived the past few years.

TIA

 

[torinsmom]

I notice the smell of the hay more than the smell of the piggies.

I think the hay smells nice though. And mine seem to be really good at sleeping through the night!

Maybe ours stank because we used the shreddings made of paper? I have always used fine pine shavings for my hamsters, but was told that guinea pigs couldn't use those. I love the smell of the pine.....

Marsha

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I have a question for all you piggy/rat experts.

BTW Congrats OP on your new friends.

My DD has had rats for about 3 years (she wanted a hamster and I who thinks hamsters stink and are anti social talker her into rats) They were purchased at Petco. We have always had 2 at a time. The last one died a couple of weeks ago. The last 2 had developed tumors and once that happened DD didn't want to hold or play with them anymore and she does not want another rat.

Now she wants a Guinea pig. I have been doing some reading and I think they would be fun.

The question:

Can I use the rat cage - it is 2' x 3'? (solid bottom-no wires)
Will Piggys use the large exercise balls like the hamsters?

I see that piggy cages commonly have open tops and shorter sides, we have 3 cats who would be alone with the piggys for extended hours every day and while Simon the Fat Cat may not show much interest, Deck'ster the feral youngin most likely would so an open cage is not an option. It is burrr cold here in the winter so outdoors is also not an option. They would reside in our living room where our rats have lived the past few years.

TIA

Thanks.

I kept rats for a long time. I wanted something that would hopefully live a bit longer now.

"Can I use the rat cage - it is 2' x 3'? (solid bottom-no wires) "

I'd say no. That's too small for a guinea pig. They need to be able to run around their cage a bit. And they also do better in pairs.

"Will Piggys use the large exercise balls like the hamsters? "

I've read that those will injure and frighten them. Best not.

They do seem to love running through paper bags and cardboard boxes and tubes though. No need to buy them expensive toys.