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A couple of questions from a potential pig owner.

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ShawnG

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Hi,
Apologies if this is under the wrong section. It just seemes like the most applicable.

I am considering adopting a Guinea Pig. I'm not really a dog or cat person. I used to keep exotics likes snakes and tarantulas but they're not really the most loveable of animals.

I've always liked Guinea Pigs and I feel it's now time. I work from home as a web/graphic designer and artist. I'm single and a real homebody so I really do need the company. A guinea pig just seems to be the right fit.

I'm the kind of person who likes to do as much research as I can before getting a pet. You can do as much research as you want but sometimes you need personal experience.
I really do want to give it the best life possible. But I'm a starving artist so I have to start off on a budget and then work my way up as I can afford it. So I want to spend the bulk of the initial investment on setting up a good habitat and all that good stuff.

I have read that Guinea Pigs need another pig to be happy. But I am home all day. I would be spending a lot of time with it. As I said it will be my main company so I expect to become 'Crazy Guinea Pig Man'. I must be honest that I would prefer just to have to one.
So will he/she be happy with just my company.

Also, I live in a studio so my TV and music is in the same place. I don't listen to it especially loudly. It is pretty continuous in the say since I don't like silence.
I was wondering how well pigs tolerate that kind of noise.

This is really how things are now but I'm happy to adjust to accommodate a new friend.

And one final question. Is it better the have a male or female?

I really would appreciate any advice you guys could give.
 
Great that you are doing your research before committing to owning. :) However, you will get the same message from everyone here, and that is that guinea pigs need company of their own kind. Regardless of how much time and love you can offer, it will never come close to the piggy interaction that they need.

If you do decide to go ahead, please consider rescue guinea pigs as there are so many waiting for their forever homes. :)
 
Thank you for the quick reply.

I had a hunch that would be the answer. I'm not opposed to having 2. In fact the more I think of it the more it's growing on me.

I'm in South Africa and we have don't have all that many places with rescue pigs. I'd love to rescue a couple but it seems that's not really an option here.

I have decided that instead of buying a cage I will build my own. I have a nice 10 square foot corner of the room that is empty and I'm pretty decent at building things so I just need to look at the best options for setting it up.
 
I have to agree with Flips. You cannot really get one guinea pig. It's great that you're thinking of adopting a guinea pig and I hope you'll consider a rescue.

The reason guinea pigs need the company of their own species is that they are a vocal, communicative animal. They have as many as 12 discernable communicative noises which can only be responded to by another guinea pig. They are also naturally herd animals and can only really be happy in pairs or larger groups. Whilst guinea pigs enjoy the company of their human owner, and we can of course learn to distinguish their sounds, they cannot converse with us, we cannot verbally interact with them. This means you can have a strong bond with your guinea pig but they will only be truly content with at least one other guinea pig around.

Personally, I have two male guinea pigs and, while I love them to pieces, I wish somebody had told me first that it is a whole lot easier to bond two females than it is to bond two males. In terms of their relationship with you, there is no real difference - guinea pigs are not aggressive animals at all. They will never bite except in extreme circumstances to defend themselves.

In terms of their relationship with each other, like a lot of herd animals, the males are territorial and, in many cases, pairs of males will fight for dominance once they reach pubity. In some cases, this can be resolved by the guinea pigs and one will become the dominant male, the other submissive. However, in many cases (like mine) they cannot sort this out and you end up having to separate them :(

With females, there can still be personality clashes (piggies have unique chracters) but there is a greater chance of successful bonding. Some owners here have 3 or 4 or even more females all living happily together.

Another combination would be to have a neutered male with one or more females. This really is the best of all combinations in terms of their happiness level and in fact one member here has I think 10 females and one male (lucky male!).

If you don;t have much room/money, I would suggest two females as they can be housed in the same (large) cage.

Please feel free to post as many questions as you want here - everyone is really friendly and helpful. I think it's great you're doing so much research and want to adopt a guinea pig and I hope we can help you with that too.

:)
 
Thanks mikulinek.

That definitely makes sense. I'm leaning toward 2 females. I will have to look at all the options for sure. But I'm sure that it'll all just fall into place. I'm just a highly analytical person.

I really do appreciate the friendliness and helpfulness. It's very rare in forums.
 
We purchased a female baby thinking she would be okay on her own but learnt from advice on here that its kinder to give them company of another piggie so a week later we got her sister.At 1st I thought it was a mistake because they squabbled terribly-it really did look like they werent going to get on but in time it has eased and I'm glad we made the decision to get the other one.

They really are very vocal towards each other and its so much fun watching them interact and grow together.They still have the odd spat but I guess thats normal, afterall nobody gets on ALL the time

We also have 2 males, one was on his own for 2 years so we have been very lucky that they bonded straightaway.They dont cuddle up but when they have floor time they follow each other everywhere and you can see that they are happier having a friend.
 
One are of research that hasn't been mentioned yet is finding a good vet that you can get to easily. Guinea pigs are classed as "exotics" and most vets tend to specialise in cats and dogs rather than guinea pigs - but there are some excellent cavy-savvy vets out there. I would suggest that you look into this before you make your decision as to whether these are the pets for you as it will make a huge difference if your pigs get ill...

Also, you mention that you don't have much money, so you should also consider pet insurance. General day-to-day costs of guinea pigs isn't too bad (for things like hay, bedding, veg etc), but if something goes wrong the vet bills can be quite scary. Just to give you an extreme example, I have spent close to £1,500 on vet bills for my boy since the end of July!
 
Building a cage is a great option. Have a look in the housing section here for inspiration as there are lots of photos of people's set ups. :)
 
Smart to do research beforehand! So many people don't. Guinea pigs really do fare better in pairs- they are social animals. No matter how much time you spend, they do not relate to you in the same way as having another guinea pig who 'speaks the same language.' I can also vouch that a lot of the fun is in observing the relationship between guinea pigs. As an owner, I get a lot of amusement out of the relationship between my two girls, completely apart from the enjoyment I get from my relationship with each of them. Two guinea pigs really do not cost much more than one, do not take up more time than one, are more fun to watch as they play and react to one another, and are happier on top of it all! I don't think that having them in the same room as the tv and radio will bother them, as long as you aren't blasting it. My pigs are in the family room and I have three children under ten, so they are quite accustomed to usual household noises and it really doesn't phase them at all. As for boys or girls, my only experience is with girls, simply because that's how it worked out, so someone might be able to give you more information on the differences.

HTH a bit and good luck with your future pigs!
 
I'm definitely sold on having 2 females. I can't think why I was so set on just one to begin with.

I'm glad I came here because it helps to raise concerns I have first. I've looked and there are very few guinea pig vets here. The nearest is just way too far to be practical.
I have a suspicion that it might be a bad idea to consider it based on that alone. Which is quite sad really. :(
 
If you give your location we may be able to recommend a vet that is known to be cavy savvy in your area.

Likewise we could help find a reputable rescue near you so that the piggies you choose will be healthy, correctly sexed and any females will not be pregnant. Sadly none of these are guaranteed when purchasing through petshops or adverts.

HTH

Suzy x
 
That's great.
From what I can tell a few of the usual animal rescue places sometimes have the odd Guinea Pig.
I think it might help top contact the South African Guinea Pig Association and see what I can find in my area.

By the way I'm in Johannesburg South Africa.

With regards to pet insurance it seems that what we do here pretty much only covers dogs and cats.
 
I know that there is a vet at the veterinary university is excellent with exotics but that's a good 3 or 4 hours away.

It's pretty sad really. I have contacted the Guinea Pig Association to get there take on it.

I'll let you guys know what their response is.

And once again, many thanks.
 
hi there, well done for doing your homework. I really really wish I had done mine better and learnt that Guinea Pigs fall into exotics for Vets before I got my girls. The nearest I have found is around a 10-12 hour drive! :{
 
Thanks. Wow, that's far. I thought 4 hours was far.
It's weird in South Africa. We can get a pretty big assortment of exotics and they're very easy and legal to own. But it's near impossible to find vets that can treat them. I think the result is short lives. Sad really.
I guess that sometimes we all learn the hard way.
 
Hi Shawn, I really hope that you manage to sort something out so that you can get some guinea pigs, you sound like you'll be a very good piggy slave :(|) good luck!
 
Could you try to find a local vet who is willing to learn more about guinea pigs and would contact a guinea pig specialist if needed?

The alternative to insurance is to open your own "piggy fund" into which you pay in a small sum weekly. Even here in Britain, exotics insurance is very limited.
 
Thank you. I like to think I would. I'm not giving up at all. I'm keeping my investigations going. I'm sure somewhere along the line I'll find a solution.
The problem is that there's a general lack of online information here. So I have a hunch that there is a vet nearer who actually does treat Cavvys but it's just not out there.

I hadn't really thought of asking vets about that. I'll definitely call around and see what they say.
 
Thank you. I like to think I would. I'm not giving up at all. I'm keeping my investigations going. I'm sure somewhere along the line I'll find a solution.
The problem is that there's a general lack of online information here. So I have a hunch that there is a vet nearer who actually does treat Cavvys but it's just not out there.

I hadn't really thought of asking vets about that. I'll definitely call around and see what they say.
 
Just a quick update. I did a quick google search using a slightly different approach and found an exotic pet shop near me that sells guinea pigs. I thought they may know of a closer vet that does treat guinea pigs. And they did.
So I contacted them and they actually have 2 there. The place is only 20 minutes away.

But it's not all good news. Turns out that they're very pricey to treat. So I contacted the 2 pet insurance companies we have here and one only insures dogs/cats. The other insures dogs, cats and horses. No chance of exotic pet insurance any time soon.

So it looks like I may just have to abandon the whole idea. Very sad :(

But thank you to everyone for the great advice. I'll definitely update if anything changes.
 
My only advice is, since you live in South Africa , I'm guessing you have hot summers and very cold winters? My Botswana friend mentioned thats how Africa is? Anyhow, I'd make sure it's draft proof but you have the means to cool them down, perhaps not getting 'full haired pigs' like the silkies. I have 4 male pigs (smelly!) and I live in a flat, they have large cages, housed 2 with 2.

Kenya is spikey haired which is kinda think, Callis and Zambia are short haired smooth, and Zuki is like a sheep. I use a fan to cool down the hot hot days and cover the cages with fleese and carpet in the winter months (nights only)

:)

Oh I noticed the vet thing. Perhaps you can ask your local vet to get more into guinea pig health care before getting any? :)
 
Oh, thats sad. I've got to say, my pigs haven't really cost me that much, have you thought about looking for a rodentologist? Mine does it for free but they are cheaper than vets but won't be able to do operations.

Guinea pigs are sick alot tbh, I've just about gone 3-4 months without anything other than a fungal bug. I lost 3 within a 6 month period from December to July this year. The most expencive thing for me is the emergency care. over £100 a time usually :S
 
hiya hun. it's lovely to see someone researching their pets, guinea pigs can be really neglected by some due to lack of education :( my piggys don't mind noise, as long as it's not blaring loud, when you first get them they might be abit shy, but they'll soon come round and get used to some noise, my 2 wheek really loudly at certain noises on the telly and stuff ;) hope you can find a good insurance company x
 
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