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My 10 year old son wants a guinea pig. I have no experience or pets other than dogs and we don’t know anyone who has a guinea pig.
I need to find out what we’ll need, how we look after them and where to get them from
Is there a guinea pig track world?? Tell me what your know
Get 2...they don't work so well on their own. If you get 2 make sure they are same sex.
Daughter has 2...and I'm about to clean them out as she isn't here. They are quite easy to look after, feed twice a day and quick clean up of hutch and a proper clear out twice a week. The hutch clean up takes a half hour, the daily feed/sweep is a 10-minute job.
Don't invite any Peruvians to dinner.
Dandelion leaves are your friend.
Very tasty apparently
Wooooot wooot woot.
RIP mario
They stink if you miss a clean by a day and aren't very sociable unless you have food or hear they rustling of a plastic bag, this may have been our fault though as i think they need lots of handling when young to get used to the idea
They are quite cute but I dont think we'll have any more
As said get 2. Girls are less smelly apparently. They eat lots of fresh veg, guinea pig nuggets from pets at home as a supplement and hay, lots of hay.
Ours lived inside, they become so friendly the more human contact they get. You can cuddle them and they purr like kittens. Inside you can use a plastic cage which is easy to clean. Layer newspaper on bottom of cage then a couple of inches of wood shavings. When you come to clean it out you can roll the shavings up in the newspaper like a Swiss roll and place in a bin bag, or compost.
Great pets, very easy to keep.
Savage if not fed regularly.
Why don't you try getting one first, then tell us all what it's like?
Need to clip their claws (that contain a vein) occasionally.
Good if you can make a run and let them enjoy the outdoors and grass in the summer.
Cucumber - especially the skins. They like gnawing.
kayak23
Subscriber
Why don’t you try getting one first, then tell us all what it’s like?
Oh that’s good!!
Get from a breeder if you can, or a good pet shop. If you do buy females make sure you agree with the seller that if they have babies a few weeks after you take them home, they will have them back - unless you want to keep them - we bought two and now have four.
Baby pigs are just like a big hamster, they aren't furless or blind, we thought someone was playing a trick on us when we lifted the house and there were more than there was earlier in the day!
Look for bright eyes and check behind their ears for soreness as they can get ring worm.
Veg is about 20% of their diet, rest is hay and nuggets - get the all in one as there's less waste than the seed/flake mix. When we go out for walks we always pick them some fresh grass - they love it. We also give our the occasional blueberry - they're climbing our their cage for those! Mini sweetcorn, beans, pepper, kale, chard etc.
Latest thing this week we found they love is water melon.
We have four pigs, a Shetie, Abasynian and 2 hybrids - we were lucky as the pure breeds were what was at the breeder at that time. Shorter haired ones are easy to look after, longer haired ones will need to be cleaned regularly - clinkers aren't nice!
They will get very comfortable when they're being held, make sure you have a towel on your lap as they will piddle on you.
If you're keeping them inside you will need to get their claws clipped, easy enough to do yourself.
Google Guinea Pig memes, they will explain a lot... 🙂
they need lots of handling when young to get used to the idea
this and will squeak for food - need 2 as they are social and get bored on their own
my food top trump is celery tops
Get at least two if buying females, they form a social hierarchy, we had four girls at one point.
You will get far more reward be keeping them indoors with your family.
After removing any nasty plants, you can move a secure run around grass patches during the dry weather periods, to save you having to mow the lawn and they will love eating the fresh grass.
Make a run for them that is at least approx 4'x4', they are energetic, especially when under ~3 years old. Not very keen on multi-storey cages as they get older, our 5/8 year old pair barely ever used the 1st and 2nd floor for the last couple of years.
They love tunnels.
Fresh fruit/veg twice a day... They will quickly get into a routine of claiming starvation around breakfast and dinner time, making plenty of noise!
Hay, uniform nutritional biscuits (as some pigs will start selectively choosing specific bits in the bowl) and water always available.
They go mental for banana skins!
Clean run at least twice a week, otherwise they can get very smelly.
+1 for celery. Basil, mint, strawberry tops...
They will eat most things.
Don't bother with expensive gnawing toys, get a wooden log arch, they will keep them happy.
To be honest I was meh about them when we bought them for our 7yo birthday. I think I interact with them more than anyone now.
Make sure that they get lots of Vitamin C in their diet as they, like humans, can’t manufacture it in their bodies.
Do not feed them lettuce. Ever.
Don’t get them wet.
Don’t expose them to bright light.
Never, ever feed them after midnight.
So for woodchip and hay, is there anywhere other than pets at home?
Do not feed them lettuce. Ever.
Iceberg is a no no other lettuce types ok I believe
we have some flat rocks that make steps into hutch keeps nails down - routine is check if need cutting when do full clean out
We have a farm shop near us. Huge bales of hay and shavings are about £7 each and last ages.
2 pigs will need cleaning twice a week. Not fun on a rainy winters day. Our pigs lived for 6.5 years so that's over 600 clean outs. Guess who did them in our house! Not my daughter that's for sure. Got it down to 10 minutes a clean.
So for woodchip and hay, is there anywhere other than pets at home?
not in UK but assume Wilkinson's still around ? at least in the north - used to be good and a lot cheaper than pet warehouse style places
Based on personal experience of kids pets over the years, Rabbits are much more preferable. If your lad is set on Guinea Pigs it's going to be a hard sell though.
Where do live? We are in Brighouse, you can have ours with eveerything they need. I think they should be chain guineau pigs like chain letters, enjoy them for a month then pass em on...
They also like willow leaves, strangely. Quite tolerant to cold but don't like damp.
Much better with at least two fo them together, we are down to one solitary one now, she seems to have adjusted quite well.
Get two or three.They don't thrive solo. Keep them indoors so they are part of the family - large plastic cage is more accessible than a hutch and easier to clean. Mine had a run outside so they could mow the lawn for me. They don't seem bothered by cats and cats not by them but I'd never leave them unsupervised if it's an open run.
Keep them on newspaper and hay and clean out every couple of days. They don't climb so you can let them run around your downstairs while you clean the cage but you have to guinea pig proof it so they can't gnaw wires (or maps in my experience).
They need fresh fruit and veg. Apples, grapes, cucumber, strawberries, dark green greens (kale, spring greens), parsley (like crack for guinea pigs), dandelion leaves, romain lettuce (never iceberg), carrots, and of course guinea pig food. I used to get the hay along with my food shop. Dried food they are better on simple pellets than the weird coloured mixes.
They don't really do toys. Mine squeaked when they heard the key in the lock or the fridge door in the morning and ran towards me. They'd happily sit on my knee (on a thick towel) while I watched TV and make contented noises. If they are long haired you'll need a comb / brush thing and might need to cut off tangled bits. You need to cut their toe nails regularly too. Don't keep them in a draught, watch out for eyes seeping or discolouring.
Had guinea pigs for years, and really miss their happy chewing noises and squeaking since the last one died.