# Guinea Pig info please?



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Following on from my earlier thread about suitable pets for young children, my sister is now thinking about getting a pair of guinea pigs as family pets (rather than the hamster that they were previously thinking about).

She is asking me for advice, but I don't know a great deal about piggies, so I in turn am looking to you guys for help 
So please tell me everything there is to know about keeping guinea pigs! 

It's mostly housing that I'm unsure about - she's sent me a couple of links to hutches, though I don't know if she'd be better off having the piggies indoors? These are the links she's sent me:
Bunny Business - Detail
Bunny Business - Detail
Bunny Business - Detail
Are these suitable? 
I think I would worry that being kept outdoors, they wouldn't get as much interaction as they should...

Also, what about bedding material & substrate? I would assume that (as for rats) woodshavings are not a good idea and that some kind of cardboard substrate would be best? Is that correct?

Lastly, what kind of pairing would be best? My instinct would say two females? Sorry for all the questions but I've never had guinea pigs before and I want to make sure I give my sister good information!


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

IVE KEPT PIGGIES FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND HAVE HAD THEM INDOORS AND OUT TO BE HONEST INDOOR PIGS TEND TO GET FRIENDLY AS THEY DO GET MORE ATTENTION ESPECALLY IF WEATHER IS BAD. aLSO FOR EASE OF CLEANING OUT . I FEEL THEY ARE OK IF THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THEM HOUSED TOGETHER AS THEY TEND TO SNUGGLE. BUT IN THE DEPTHS OF OUR WINTER I BROUGHT MINE IN ALSO AROUND BONFIRE NIGHT. YOU HAVE TO THIBK ALSO TO PROTECT THEM FROM FOXES. A OUT HOUSE IS FINE FOR WINTER MONTHS IF ENOUGH BEDDING ETC IS USED AND THERE IS VENTALATION AND LIGHT. PIGGIES NEED DAYLIGHT TO HELP ABSORB VIT C. OF WHICH CAN BE GIVEN IN THERE VEG / FRUIT ALONG WITH A GOOD SUPPLY OF HAY FOR THERE TEETH. IVE KEPT BOTH MALES AND FEMALES AND HAVE FOUND BOTH FRIENDLY BUT ITS DOWN TO THE TIME YOUR WILLING TO SPEND WITH THEM. I FOUND MY BOARS{MALES] MORE FRIENDLY THAN MY FEMALES AND ON A WHOLE IF FROM THE SAME LITTERS AS BABIES THEY GET ON FINE AS LONG AS NO FEMALES ARE IN SMELLING DISTANCE AS CAN CAUSE FRICTION WHEN THERE AT BREEDING AGE. I ALWAYS USED HAY FOR MY PIGGIES AND USE TO PUT A LAYER OF WOOD CHIPPINGS UNDERNEATH TO SOAK UP URINE. GIVE A NICE SELECTION OF CARROTS , GREEN CABBAGE, CELERY, GREEN PEPPER{SOME LIKE THEN] ONE OR TWO GRAPES, NO LETTUCE AS HAS NO VALUE TO THEM AND CAN CAUSE RUNS. BROCCOLI AND CARROT TOPS CAN BE A FAV , THERE LOVELY PETS WITH CHARACTER JUST MAKE SURE WITH HANDLING THE KIDS ARE SITTING AS THEY DO NOT DO WELL BEING DROPPED MANY BREAK BACKS.... A OLD TOWL ONE THERE LAPS CAN HELP SO THEY DONT GET SCRATCHED AT ALL AND A COMFORT FOR THE PIGGIES. HOPE ITS HELPED. AND GOOD LUCK .THERES A FEW PICS ON MY PHOTOS SECTION OF MY LAST 2.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

please dont write in all capitals, its very hard to read

in my personal opinion guinea pigs should be indoor animals, if they are being kept outdoors they should be in a shed, piggies really are not suited to our climate and over heat so quickly in summer, and freeze so easily in winter 

as for pairing, i would recommend a girl girl pair, a neutered boar and a sow pairing, males can fall out quite easily, and unless she is willing to neuter them both and get them a girl friend, they would not be happy 

i would never use shavings on any animal, due to the phenols and the dust, my piggers are on megazorb

they need daily veg, and a fair bit of it, the food bill for a piggy can be very high, but it is essential they get a good selection of fresh veg every single day

living 6 - 8 years, they are quite a big commitment too


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Lovely information, thank you both 

I did think those hutches looked awfully small, so I've googled some garden sheds as an alternative and I'll talk to her about keeping them indoors instead. The only thing is I think they'd struggle to find a space big enough indoors for a cage...


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Actually, could anyone point me in the direction of some suitable guinea pig cages?


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Since I got the two rescue I put my two boys out in the shed for the last couple of weeks so a. they didn't get upset and b. cos there wasn't enough room down here. They have eaten the same etc, but both look like they have lost weight! They are not cuddly piggies  but even from running around they look like they have...tho9ugh I am prone to paranoia with my animals! Anyways I think the stress has got to them.

Moral of my essay...inside is better!!!!! 

If inside with lots of outside running too...I would say the Ferplast 120 (or larger models) is OK or Liberta one (118cms in length with two platforms). But really the bigger the better!


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

That's great, thanks niki 

It sounds like she's definitely going for an indoor cage now, so I sent her some links to a few Liberta cages and she seems quite keen on this one: Liberta Retreat Large Indoor Rabbit / Guinea Pig Cage on PetVillas.co.uk

It looks pretty huge, so I assume it will be a good home for a pair of pigs?


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## Maria_1986 (May 15, 2011)

Hi

2ft x 4ft is the recommended minimum for 2 guineas. For the price of that cage there are cheaper options out there - building your own cage out of grids and correx (called C&C cages) is normally cheaper.

The grids can be brought from places like screwfix, B&Q and ebay- the are normally used to make shelving units but work well as cages. Correx can normally be sourced from local sign makers.

They can be built up to give storage underneath as well if your sister is short of space - if you google C&C cages you can see lots of examples.

The following site has good basic info your sister might like to look at too Guinea Pig Welfare » Guinea Pig Care


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Wow! Just googled c&c cages - some of them are amazing! :thumbup:

Thanks very much for the info Maria, I'll definitely let her know about these types of cage and see what she thinks. They look ideal to me - she can build it as big as she wants, which is great


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## tiggerthumper (Apr 22, 2011)

This is my C & C cage...








As you can see it's easy to get carried away lol I have two boars, which are coming on 6 months and they adore each other, however I have the teenagery years to get through yet!
Guinea Pigs are amazing pets, I have recently got a puppy, and my piggies help keep me sane lol they are just such chilled out wee creatures and you could watch them for hours!
I have a preference for them to be in the house, purely because they will get more attention from the whole family there. Do read up on the health problems that can arise in piggies, there's an excellent site called guinealynx (not sure if I can put link in, so google that word) that is really comprehensive and if you can try and get a pair from a rescue 
Good luck xox


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Very nice, tiggerthumper! 

Can I ask, where did you get your building materials from. My sister and I are having a hard time finding anywhere that sells the wire cubes...


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

screwfix sell them, you can often get them cheaper on ebay tho x


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## SophieCyde (Oct 24, 2010)

Hi ,

I think your sister has made a great choice with guinea pigs (although I am biased of course  )

They make great pets and I think they are great for children because they are bigger than hamsters ect. so easier to hold , on little people's knees 

I do think that they are better inside but due to no space mine live outside in a part of my converted garage , if your sister has a garage she doesn't use its very easy to section a bit off with chicken wire & wooden frames 








that is my setup but obviously this isn't practical for everyone 

When my 2 were indoors I think they were in this 
Rabbit Cage | Guinea Pig Cage | Indoor Animal Cage

they seemed alright in it but they do need plenty of floor time to explore and they can become really tame and vocal , great for kids 

I found this website very helpful when I was researching guinea pigs ...
Guinea Pig Information, Care Tips, Links, Pigtures and Plenty of Cucumber!!

Sorry for waffling on , I can get carried away talking aobut guinea pigs


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## northnsouth (Nov 17, 2009)

Always had GP's when my kids were growing up. They have such lovely characters. They could be quiet all day, the minute the kids came home from school the GP's would start their chatter and trilling.


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

Lil Miss said:


> please dont write in all capitals, its very hard to read
> 
> in my personal opinion guinea pigs should be indoor animals, if they are being kept outdoors they should be in a shed, piggies really are not suited to our climate and over heat so quickly in summer, and freeze so easily in winter
> 
> ...


Never gave capitals a thought . thanks. x


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## Maria_1986 (May 15, 2011)

tiggerthumper said:


> As you can see it's easy to get carried away


So true! Guineas are also a little addictive - just one more is a well used phrase in my house!

But carried away and more guineas don't always need more space as you can stack cages - this is my old cage - I had 4 pigs living in the bottom apartment and 3 in the top one. The front of the top one opened so I could reach in to pick up the pigs and clean (I'm a bit short to reach over the top although my partner was able to)


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## tiggerthumper (Apr 22, 2011)

magpie said:


> Very nice, tiggerthumper!
> 
> Can I ask, where did you get your building materials from. My sister and I are having a hard time finding anywhere that sells the wire cubes...


God, it's so hard now to find the cubes and when you do they are so expensive!!!
I got cubes from Wickes which were only about 15 quid which was brilliant, but I never see them in stock any more, I got a second set of cubes from amazon, but they were very dear around 45 pounds due to delivery to NI :cryin:
I have heard on the piggy grapevine that if you go to B+Q and ask them to order these into store they can do that http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10687690&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372014}/categories%3C{9372040}/categories%3C{9392024}/specificationsProductType=boxes___baskets/specificationsSpecificProductType=boxes
It's just that when you do store checker they don't appear to be in stock in many stores!
The correx I just got from a local sign company, it's really easy to get hold of xox


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## Avalon (Jun 11, 2011)

The best advice I can give you is to look for a vet that specializes in small animals. Most vets say they have experience in treating small animals, but I have already lost two guinea pigs because of this. With my last guinea pig, Borat, I had to go to three vets before they finally found what was wrong with him, but unfortunately he died a few hours later.

Also, never wait to take a guinea pig (or another animal for that matter) to the vet and ask the advice of several vets if you have the chance. It costs a lot but it's really worth it.


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