[Closed] Guinea Pigs what do I need to know

The wife has just said that you should get 2 girls as the boys have a tendency to scrap.

We have two outdoors.
They are simple to look after, they are minimal bother. Our 10 year old is less than bothered by them, they will be free to a good home at this rate after Christmas.

We have two boys, and they have scrapped à bit...

This is timely as i've been promising my kids a couple for a while. We'd keep them outdoors, but can you keep them our all year round? As a kid I had a rabbit and we used to bring the hutch into the garage over winter.

Agree with the 2 girls. 2 sisters works even better. Give them as much space as you can. Going inside to outside and back each day gets wearing for you and isn't always good for the critters with the sudden temp changes. Would be better to pick one and stick with it.

A rabbit would be even better as they are much more interesting although they need more room. If kept as house rabbits they entrain to human rthyms whereas Guinea pigs never seem to.

Roasted, quite tasty 😀

they will be free to a good home at this rate after Christmas

get a hamster instead - they dont live long

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/caring-your-guinea-pig

Avoid those pi** poor hutches that are mass sold (they are worse than pap)

Never house with rabbits

No rabbit food

You can toilet train them

They can chomp through bone very easily

If they don't move around, and have gone rigid, they're dead.

My daughter had a rabbit and a guinea pig as pets. We got a long-haired (male) guinea pig to keep the (male) rabbit company. The (male) rabbit very much appreciated this, and made the (male) guinea pig his biatch. We had to get a length of sewer pipe for the guinea pig to hide in for some respite against either his nether regions or head (the rabbit wasn't fussy) being pounded by the rabbit-jackhammer 24/7.

They seemed to get on OK after that.

Towards The End, we went on holiday and entrusted the care and feeding to one of our friends. She delegated to her husband. He dutifully called at our house morning and evening to dispense the food and top up the water.

After about a week, when he was on his way home one evening, he was struck by the realisation that the guinea pig was in exactly the same place as it had been that morning. He turned around and headed back to our house to double-check. Sure enough, the guinea pig was sat in exactly the same place that he remembered, and wasn't taking any interest in the food. Being unfamiliar with the habits of guinea pigs, he wasn't sure if this was normal or not, so hung around in the garden and watched it for a while.

When it still hadn't moved after about half an hour, he felt that further investigation was necessary. Being (as he was) unfamiliar with the habits of guinea pigs, he didn't know if they would bite (perhaps after feigning a trance-like state to lure in the unwary) so didn't want to put his fingers in the run. A quick search of our back garden yielded a 4 foot long bamboo cane which he threaded through the mesh on the run and gently prodded the guinea pig. No response. A firmer prod. No response. A little bit more gusto on the prodding stick and the guinea pig keeled over onto its side and lay there with its legs sticking out.

Confident (as he now was) that it had shuffled off this mortal coil, he went home and broke the news to his wife... Only to be accused of being a guinea pig murderer and being despatched back to our house with a shoe box to collect the corpse.

We were still a week from coming home at this point, and rather risk spoiling our holiday, they chose not to tell us. When we did get home, they broke the news tactfully to us first, and then to our daughter (about 10 years old at the time) and invited us around to see the body.

In their garage, they had set up a plank on trestles, and perched on top was a tissue-lined shoe box containing what looked like a big, ginger toupe.

It was the guinea pig lying in state.

There were a few tears, some digging in the garden and a brief committal.

RIP Mopsy, and thank you Brian!

Had Guinea Pigs for the last 11 years. Only had boys.

I wouldn't keep a single one. They like the company of others. The two current ones do have a bit of a bicker from time to time but nothing serious and still like each other's company.

I think they are great little pets. Much more personality than other rodents. They will sit on your lap and enjoy a tickle like a cat. They like and appreciate human attention once used to it.

Mine live outside in the summer but are currenly living it up in the conservatory. Buy the biggest cage you can afford/fit in your room/garden. The more light and space the better. Don't get a cheap dark wooden hutch.

They really should come indoors if it gets much below 10 degrees or so. Certainly if it gets near frost. They will probably cope but...

(FYI Basil is guinea pig Crack)

I find that Sheltie's are the most friendly but their long hair needs a trim every few months. Texals are nutters but fun.

Guineas make great pets but they deserve to be well treated and have a lot of space.

I'd suggest rescue guineas but some can have behavioural problems from being mistreated or dumped in a hutch at the bottom of the garden and not being handled enough. Worth looking around though to see if you can get a young pair. We had several and they were great, the first pair were very jumpy as they were an unwanted present to children and had led a lonely life, they were almost impossible to handle and very nervy.

Then we had two brothers who were still young when we got them, they were fantastic and became lap guineas, they'd curl up inside your jumper and snooze. One of them had to be put to sleep after a few years due to ingrowing teeth and we got another rescue boy, he had been mistreated, possibly kept with a rabbit (big no no) as he had damaged ears, and when he was x-rayed for a bladder stone it showed his spine had been broken in the past, from being dropped or stood on or something. He was good fun though and eventually became less nervy.

Males do fight a bit especially around puberty. Our first two males had some dramatic fights but settled it out, the second rescue we took because he got on fine with our remaining male. They do tend to get a bit randy sometimes and hump each other but it passes!

They're best to keep in pairs usually, though some males just fight and can be better off alone.

You'll need a big cage, the biggest you can fit, and you'll need to clean out regularly or they'll smell.

You'll need to have someone capable looking after them and feeding them when you go on holiday.

They can also be remarkably expensive when things go wrong. I think even getting one examined then put to sleep cost a few hundred quid once.

You'll need to trim their toe nails, cut their hair if they are long haired ones, and when they get old you might need to do unpleasant things like clean poo out of their anal sacs.

We had an extra run permanently set up beside the cage too, and regularly set up a simple enclosure on the carpet with some cardboard 'walls' for them to charge around in. They love running around flat out and popcorning when they are younger.

There's tons of info out there though.

Rats are also brilliant pets. Surprisingly affectionate although that makes it sadder when they die as they don't last long. Ours were great fun. They didn't take any shite from the cats either!

I'd suggest getting 3. Not a lot more work than 2 and you have a spare in case 1 shuffles off its mortal coil early. Helps avoid upset girl who has lost her GP.

The links to Blue Cross and BWA above are good. Make sure you get a decent sized hutch. Ours live outside all year in a sheltered bit of the garden in a decent sized hutch under a roof to protect it from rain and wind. Insulated cover and lots of bedding and access to a larger run keeps them reasonably active all year.

I think they make much better children's pets than Rabbits, less flighty and scratchy, ours quite like having a cuddle and stroke and they talk away to you when you are in the garden, especially around feed time.

Friend did keep hers indoors in a run in her bedroom which had a bedroom bit under her bed then a large run around the rest of the bedroom, she was a bit mad though.

Get rats instead. Far superior pets. More interesting, amusing, sociable and friendly, plus they die in 18 months rather then dragging on for years after the kids get bored.

They like company. Girls easier than boys. Handle them a lot when they are small if the kids want to do that.

Ours live outside most the year, go in the shed when the clocks change till April time when main frost risk has gone. Have survived -15 like that.

They live about 7 years. Think who will look after them when you go on holiday.

Remember, the kids will ignore them after the first week. The next 6 years and 51 weeks they will be your problem.

Get rats instead. Far superior pets. More interesting, amusing, sociable and friendly, plus they die in 18 months rather then dragging on for years after the kids get bored.

+loads.

Guinea pigs are crap.

we've got two brothers and they don't fight

"Guinea pigs are [i]non stop[/i] crap[i]pers[/i]" fixed that

Have a read of "The Hungry Cyclist" Guinea Pigs are delicious.

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I had guinea pigs for over a decade. The last one died a year ago and I still miss them.

Definitely keep them indoors, in with the family. Let them out to charge around the floor as often as is possible. I used to use a few draught excluders to stop them from getting in places under furniture which would otherwise involve a broom handle to get them out.

Fresh veg daily - no iceberg lettuce, it gives them kidney problems
Clean them out every few days or spot clean and you can make it last a week. They are quite tidy and will tend to use one end of the cage
Definitely get two. Two girls or a neutered male and a girl. Unless they are already adult and have been paired for a while, two boys may not make it past puberty without falling out.
You then find yourself six years down the line where one dies and the other gets lonely. You need to think about this. The guilt of having one lone guinea pig is oddly hard to live with. You could end up having them until you're 70 what with getting a new friend for the other every time one is left alone
Take a look at rescue guinea pigs. It's not like dogs, behaviour problems are very rare, and guinea pigs unused to being handled can be perfectly great companions in a matter of weeks.

They love grass and cucumber more than anything in the world.

2 guinea pigs since May 2014. Rescue chaps (neutered). All the wheeking and squeaking is the best part!

Ours live outside all year - they get a heatpad every night in the winter to stop them freezing. Look after them (fresh stuff every day) and they rarely become unwell (never for us). Rabbits comparatively are terrible for sickness - that's from a lady who owns lots of rabbits and guinea pigs.

Think about who will care for them when you are away. The rescue centre we used (Bobtails) had a great checklist of things to consider.

TM

They are greedy. Really greedy.
They only stop eating to take a nap, then they are back on it.
Ours now associate the sound of the fridge opening with feeding time, que weeking and squeaking until they get something.
Pretty easy to look after, keep them clean and keep them fed and watered and they pretty much entertain themselves (when they aren't eating or sleeping).
We have 2 boys (neutered) - however this wasn't by choice.
I posted a thread earlier this year when we 'acquired' them. They had been abandoned in a park so I took it upon myself to save them. One of them (Steve) was quite difficult to catch, but the fact they are greedy buggers meant I got him in the end.
We like them now we have them.

we had finlay (a groovy wee guinea pig) stayed with us for a few weeks earlier this year. was a bit nervy around our house rabbits but great fun. loved getting out in our 'small animal proofed' garden, munching on grass and we found out he adored broccoli. made great little almost electronic noises when he was excited as well - gutted when he went back home...

like all pets, just make sure they get attention, care and love. read up on them and you'll enjoy having them around.

tillydog - Member

It was the guinea pig lying in state.

There were a few tears, some digging in the garden and a brief committal.

RIP Mopsy, and thank you Brian!

Is somebody cutting onions in here?

The only thing that I can add is that they love running through tunnels, get them a length of drainpipe or a large diameter cardboard tube. 😀

We'd keep them outdoors, but can you keep them our all year round?

Yes, had many over the years and they are quite happy outside even in 4ft of snow! Just make sure they have non-frozen water and plenty of food and bedding.

Our GP's stay outdoors, but you must make sure they have dry bedding, and a decent cage. No single pringles - in fact, I think its illegal in some countries to have only one!

I'm not a hamster fan, they bite, and only active at night. If (when) they escape - well, I have cut up the floorboards on more than one occasion. +1 for rats - great pets, but need attention, so a level of commitment from kids is required.

Bottom line - any pets you get for the kids will become your responsibility. The novelty wears off.

The only thing that I can add is that they love running through tunnels, get them a length of drainpipe or a large diameter cardboard tube

They do indeed, they love running through them rumbling loudly, and sleeping in them. The boys like nothing more than sleeping in their own poo though so had to clean it out a lot!

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That's one long Guinea Pig.

Guinea Pigs what do I need to know

Make sure the pan is really hot and use loads of butter.

That's one long Guinea Pig.

I measured him up when I needed a sporran.

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oh and ours are the most placid and tolerant creatures (almost too tolerant!). great pets for kids to handle. Need regular handling as they naturally jumpy. They will (eventually) give you a nip if they really upset but you do get warning noises before that point.

TM

I measured him up when I needed a sporran.

3" 😯

It's cold up here