Guinea Pigs

[DisneyQueen10]

Anyone here have guinea pigs? Do you reccomend them to an responsible 12 year old girl she has had fish before. It is her birthday soon and I want to give her something special. She knows all about them and loves them. Thanks in advance.

 

[Arsenal1982]

Anyone here have guinea pigs? Do you reccomend them to an responsible 12 year old girl she has had fish before. It isher birthday soon and I want to give her something special. She knows all about them and loves them. Thanks in advance.

Yea they're good pets for a 12 year old. I would shop around though and hold a couple different ones. Guinea pigs have different temperaments. My brother and I both had one.. mine was the sweetest thing who loved to be petted and held and fed. My brother's, on the other hand, was awful. Didn't like to be touched, no play, not much fun.

 

[jevierling]

Lots of cleaning and the squeak

 

[DisneyQueen10]

Yea they're good pets for a 12 year old. I would shop around though and hold a couple different ones. Guinea pigs have different temperaments. My brother and I both had one.. mine was the sweetest thing who loved to be petted and held and fed. My brother's, on the other hand, was awful. Didn't like to be touched, no play, not much fun.

Ok thanks so much. Anything she has to know?

 

[rszdtrvl]

All I remember was the stink! We had them for a year or so, and it seemed like no matter how much I cleaned their cage, it always had that ammonia smell from potty!

 

[Arsenal1982]

Ok thanks so much. Anything she has to know?

As already mentioned, the cleaning can become tiresome but they're certainly less work than taking care of a dog. I changed the bedding every 5-6 days if I recall (this was years ago).

FYI, there are different types of cages. This is a good one: http://www.wag.com/smallanimal/p/midwest-expandable-guinea-habitat-430651?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_W&utm_term=FPS-16151&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1418922251&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=FPS-16151&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}

You'll notice the bottom is completely flat solid surface. Make sure to put enough bedding so that its nice and fluffy and comfy for the GP.

Also, the stores are going to try and sell you pellets for the food. That's fine but after a few months, I realized my GP didn't care much for the pellets. Instead, every day, I gave my guinea pig a whole big carrot in the morning and some apple slices in the evening. He ended up living 11 years which is insane.

Also, make sure your daughter's fingers don't smell like food when she pets the GP. The GP may try to nibble...

 

[JillyBean1899]

Definitely take your daughter with you to purchase the piggie. They have different personalities, and you'll want to make sure she gets one that she's comfortable with. And this may sound weird, but see if there are any breeders in your area, rather than going to a pet store. The breeders will generally be more knowledgeable about GP care, because that's all they do, rather than caring short term for all the small mammals like a pet store does.

This site has a lot of good information about general care and husbandry. It's run by a vet clinic in Wisconsin, so you know the info is good. This page has info on both chinchillas and guinea pigs, so make sure the link you click on is for piggies. PetEducation. Petco has a good Should I get a Guinea Pig? article that will help, too.

The one question you *MUST* ask yourself before you agree to get a guinea pig for her is this: Will I be willing to care for this animal if she loses interest in it? If you're fine with that (even if you *KNOW* she will be responsible). That being said, I got my niece a hamster for Christmas the year she was 7, and she took care of that thing like it was her baby. Her "nana" (grandmother ... but don't call her that to her face ) knew she'd be doing a lot of care with the hamster simply because K was too young to do a lot of it, but K helped out as much as she could, and even insisted that Nana send her pictures of Tammy *EVERY DAY* if she wasn't over at Nana's house, just to make sure Tammy was OK. Tammy lived 3 years, and the now 14 year old K has a bunny rabbit that she cares for the same way.

 

[bittybabygrower]

Our piggy died a few months back, the last of many we have had! They are sweeties and love to just sit with you! Keep up on cage cleaning, most, especially girls, will pick one area to pee and poop in and we would put more bedding there.

The love fresh veggies and dried fruits and veggies. Ours would go nuts for raisins, but be careful with fruit...get the piggy poops! The also love alfalfa hay.

They are a great per for kids! Ours would whistle when we came in with grocery bags lol

 

[threecrazykids]

My daughter got a guinea pig for her 12th birthday as well! She had begged us for her 11th and we told her that if she still wanted one a year from then she could get one. (Her friend had just got one so I thought maybe it was just a hyped up wish).

She talked about it for that whole year so we knew she was serious.

She did go and hold several and picked out her favorite - his name is Charlie. We all LOVE him! They are so funny to watch.

We don't do bedding - we do the felt blanket over a towel method and it saves on bedding. Basically you put a towel down on the bottom of the cage and then put a blanket of felt over it...it wicks down into the towel and you just wash both. I do one load a week of just Charlie's bedding.

Just make sure it's a solid surface bottom on the cage otherwise it's horrible on their paws.

We do give pellets but the majority of his diet is fresh veggies and hay - mostly dark greens (kale, spinach, etc.) They can NOT have onions - they are deadly to guinea's. I believe cabbage is a no no due to gas issues. Also only dark greens...no iceberg lettuce, it can give them diarrhea. He wheeks when we open the fridge - he knows it's dinner time. He eats just about any veggies we have - colored peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, carrots (his FAVE),grapes are another favorite. He also likes pieces of fruit on occasion (apples, bananas, etc.)

We let him out on the kitchen tile to run around and he loves it! She has to watch him though because he likes to snack on my wood trim and chair legs.

Charlie is like a real life doll to my daughter - she dresses him up, bathes him, cleans his cage every other day like clockwork and is 100% responsible for his care. We do "pig sit" but he's a piece of cake compared to any other pet.

I think guinea's are a great pet for a 12 year old...they are work, but all manageable tasks at that age.

 

[Christine]

I have been "watching" my daughter's guinea pig for a few months. He's a sweet guy but he is a LOT of work. I disagree with the one poster who said they aren't as much work as a dog. Maybe not a puppy but caring for my adult dog is a breeze compared to this guinea pig.

1. Buy the largest guinea pig cage and accessories that you can. The guinea pig will quickly outgrow a cage and house that seems fine when he's a baby. We spent a lot of money increasing house sizes.

2. Be prepared to change the bedding in the cage every 5 days. I buy Carefresh Natural and we get no ammonia smell out all. We do get a "funky" smell by the end of the 5 days though. The bedding can be pricey if you buy it one bag at a time at the local pet store. I ordered it in bulk from Pet360 and got it for around $9 per bag versus $20 at Petsmart.

3. Be prepared to scoop guinea poop 1-2 times a day besides changing the bedding.

4. Our guinea eats two fresh salads a day (organic baby romaine or sweet baby lettuces) mixed with shredded red cabbage, cucumbers, shredded carrot, and/or chopped red pepper. He LOVES curly parsley also so he often gets that once a day.

5. Some guineas like fruit. Mine does not.

6. Timothy hay and pellets. Once a day.

 

[crayon3448]

You should look and see if there are any guinea pigs at a local animal shelter, or call and ask if there is a guinea pig rescue in your area.

My guinea had a C & C cage. Very durable and easy to clean. http://www.guineapigcages.com/howto.htm

 

[crayon3448]

Also you will have to trim their nails.

 

[3smithboys]

We had several piggies, and they love having a friend. It is recommended that they are with one if possible. We also made a C & C cage for our piggies, and they were very happy in it. We ordered out Timothy hay online and had it delivered, but you can get it from a pet store - just make sure it is not too dried out and brown. Just like others have said - they love veggies and fruits - no iceberg - it will make them sick. And, of course, pellets!

We've done both felt and Carefresh bedding...

They are sweet, but need time to get used to being handled. We had a lot of fun with ours!

 

[Christine]

We do give pellets but the majority of his diet is fresh veggies and hay - mostly dark greens (kale, spinach, etc.) They can NOT have onions - they are deadly to guinea's. I believe cabbage is a no no due to gas issues.

I've always read that kale and spinach should be given very moderately due to the high Vitamin A content. Carrots also have to given moderately. But maybe I'm wrong. I rarely give mine kale or spinach. Maybe once a week.

I usually do the baby romaine or sweet baby lettuces because there is no restriction on them.

As for the red cabbage, that's up in the air. If your guinea can tolerate them, they won't have any detrimental effects. Mine suffers no ill effects from it and he LOVES it.

 

[threecrazykids]

I've always read that kale and spinach should be given very moderately due to the high Vitamin A content. Carrots also have to given moderately. But maybe I'm wrong. I rarely give mine kale or spinach. Maybe once a week.

I usually do the baby romaine or sweet baby lettuces because there is no restriction on them.

As for the red cabbage, that's up in the air. If your guinea can tolerate them, they won't have any detrimental effects. Mine suffers no ill effects from it and he LOVES it.

Hmmm...that is strange. They told us dark greens were what we should be feeding him. We do the baby romaine as well in the mix. I thought they said no cabbage, but after you said you fed yours cabbage I looked it up and sure enough you're right, it's a go.

I agree that it's really what they tolerate or will eat. Charlie has prob 2 one inch carrot pieces a day and are by far his favorite snack. He doesn't get fruit often either, but apples and grapes he gobbles down like crazy!

 

[Arsenal1982]

I've always read that kale and spinach should be given very moderately due to the high Vitamin A content. Carrots also have to given moderately. But maybe I'm wrong. I rarely give mine kale or spinach. Maybe once a week.

I usually do the baby romaine or sweet baby lettuces because there is no restriction on them.

As for the red cabbage, that's up in the air. If your guinea can tolerate them, they won't have any detrimental effects. Mine suffers no ill effects from it and he LOVES it.

I gave my guinea a big carrot each morning of his life and he lived 11 years.

 

[Christine]

Here's what I read about spinach:

Spinach is Ok as an occasional treat and in small quantities, but it shouldn't be a big part of a regular diet. It has a very high content of of oxalate acid which can build up in the body and cause illness. It also has a high content of calcium

Kale:
Kale has huge amount of vitamin c which is great news for piggies, but it does contain small amounts of oxelate, phosphorus, and calcium which makes it a food that should not be fed daily.

Once a week should suffice in small amounts.

Its worth feeding however, for the huge vitamin c supplement.

Carrots: Both the root and the green tops are recommended (BUT take note that high sugar and Vitamin A content require moderate consumption)