Ok, my DD wants a guinea pig. Any advice.

[ebaynut31]

I told her to do a report on guinea pigs. So far she has 5 pages of info on them.

I would like any first hand info if you have any.

I used to work in an animal hospital and I am very familiar with pets. Other than the nail clippings and watching for diarrhea and such, what else should I look for in daily/weekly care?

Do I want to get involved in this now? My dog isn't doing so well and I am afraid his time is short. He is 16.

Oh, and we have a vacation place in NH and would need to take the pig back and forth with us in the spring, summer, and fall.

She likes to hold and play with the pets so hopefully they will let her. I have heard they are good pets for kids.

 

[ennazus]

We have had a guinea pig for about 2+ years. We got it when my DS was 7 y.o.

Every day my DS has to clean out the droppings/wet spots in his cage. Give him new hay/take out the wet hay, give him new pellets and change his water bottle. We also put some vitamin C in his water.
I also give the guinea pig a bowl of fresh veggies each morning.

Once a week we (ok... I do this mainly) change his cage completely and wash it out. Then my DS vaccumes up the area because bedding gets all over!

DS also takes him out during the week to play with him.

We have traveled with our guinea pig & it hasn't been a problem for him.

How old is your DD?

If you have any other questions feel free to send me a PM.

Here's a couple great guinea pig websites:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/

http://www.cavycages.com/

http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/whyguinea.html

 

[Pop Daddy]

tell her no rats in the house

 

[Nutsy]

Just be prepared........................if you get one it's ok........if you get two a male & female then you'll have multiples before you know what hit you.

My niece had that problem.......they had so many babies, they ended up having to give them away, as they could not sell them all..

Also, ended up selling Mum & Dad too

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

They are great pets. We've had ours for almost 3 years - 2 females. Our routine for their care is virtually identical to what ennazus does.

We bought ours very young and they were pretty shy at first. Were hard to catch...but we continued to take them out every evening and just hold them quietly, feed them goodies (ie...fresh vegetables, lettuce, carrots, parsley) and get them used to us. They are very tame now and I have never had them try to bite. (well, except if you put your fingers right in front of their mouth - and even then it's more of a nibble).