Advice please

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Maxine

Hi, I am new here, my very first post and I was looking for information on getting a guinea pig as a pet, can anyone please tell me where I can find the information, just the basics to start with like do they live on their own, do you get them neutered, do they live indoors or outdoors, do they live in a hutch etc etc, can anyone help me please?
 
Welcome!

I'd start by looking through some of the 'Sticky' threads in each of the bits on the forum - housing, health etc - this will give you lots of good basic info. If there's anything in particular you want to know about then try the 'search' as a lot of questions have probably been answered on here before.

Otherwise - ask away! Lots of good advice on here for first time owners.

Sophie
x
 
Thank you very much, will go and have a read, but are they easy to keep as pets?
 
They make great pets, yes - they are relatively easy to keep, they are friendly sociable creatures and they make lots of little noises when they want feeding or cuddles... they're a joy to have around!

But then, we would say that - we're all guinea pig mad on here!

Sophie
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Hi Maxine

Yes, guinea pigs make lovely pets. You need to spend quite a bit of time keeping their hutches or cages clean, but they're well worth the effort. Apart from this site, why not try the RSPCA's site? They have lots of basic information on pet care. Go to www.rspca.org.uk, click on Animal Care, then Pet Care, then Small Furries.
 
Yes I would say they are very easy to keep. :) You need to decide whether you are going to have them as inside piggies or outside piggies. If they are outside you will need a good strong hutch which is big enough for two guinea pigs - you are better getting two at the same time so they have company because in my experience it can be harder to bond them at a later date although not impossible.:) If you decide to have inside piggies something like the Nero 4 from Pets at Home is a good strong cage suitable for two guinea pigs.:) You are probably better off starting with the short haired guinea pigs if you haven't had them before because the long haired do need grooming every day.

Good Luck.:)
 
Thank you everyone for your help, I was a bit confused by the RSPCA website, it says to feed them "green stuff":{, what does that mean, grass?, lettuce?, cabbage?, apples?, leeks?, kale?, parsley?, broccoli?,the list is endless! so does that mean everything? or at least I am assuming they mean vegetables?

I will have them as outdoor piggies, do they need heating in the winter?
 
Hi Maxine, good for you considering guinea pigs as pets. Green stuff does not include anything oniony, so no leeks definately. All the other stuff looks good. But there are lots of other colours too! Red & yellow peppers, tomato in moderation, melon you're right the list is endless and they love variety. In the 'housing' thread there is lots of info about keeping piggies over winter. They definitely don't like the cold so it would take some thought and planning. Don't be tempted to bring them into a warm house to play, they return to cold hutch or anything like that. Info about housing over winter also on the gorgeous guineas website that you will see mentioned here quite a bit. Good luck, keep us all informed. x
 
To be honest, piggies do better living at a similar temperature to us humans. If you do plan to keep them outdoors, you will need a strongly built hutch which is fox proof and on legs. You will need to get a hutch cover and a water bottle cover and ideally the hutch should be in a shed or at least in a very sheltered position.

A 5 foot hutch (best for 2 piggies) will be around £100 fo a decent one and the cover about £50-obviously you can shop around.

They will need warm bedding and lots of hay to snuggle in and a snugglesafe heatpad for winter to keep them warm. You will need a run as well although this wont get used much in the colder months.

There is a list of suitable fresh veg that piggies can have at the top of the food section. They adore grass and this is very good for them but do not use weedkillers etc on your lawn. They can eat dandelions (leaves, stalks and flowers) but not daisys or buttercups. I recommend buying a book first as well, Peter Gurney has written some excellent ones. We recommend pellet food here as opposed to gerty guinea which supermarkets sell.

Anything you need to know. ask! Also, think about rescuing 2 piggies from a rescue or the RSPCA in your area as there are many beautiful ones needing homes. They will also help and advise you as a first time piggy owner!
 
Thank you for all the info, why do I need a 5 foot hutch, they are only small animals, can they have a two storey hutch? say a 3 foot one?

I am reading so much information about them that I am becoming rather blinded by it all, not all information says the same thing

Do they need vaccinations?
 
Guinea pigs like to run around (although some are quite lazy like mine)... I rescued mine with a view to find them a home but they are a massive part of my home life now and love them to death...
And they are much more entertaining than my gruesome twosome bunnies :)) (love them really)...
 
with piggies more room the better, they may be small but they love to explore and have room to scamper about, if they are inside they need to have alot of excercise in a safe place ie no acess to chewable leads and electrics, if they are outside a attached run to their home.
With their diet as the others have said avoid onion /leeks and also iceberg lettuce is no good, romaine lettuce and other types are ok.
Also alot of us with out door pigs will move them either in the house or into a shed over winter.

They are easy once you know what to do but not as "easy" as say a hamster... to me they are easy... i work blimmin hard with all my piggaroos! AND LOVE IT !:))
 
Buying a Guinea Pig book is always a good source of information as you can keep it close to you and refer back to it when you desperatly need to.
I have had tomz nearly a year and still flick through the book from time to time.... xoxo
 
Hi Maxine and welcome to the forum.
There is lots of information and help available on here ... we all love our piggies.

Apart from reading the threads on here, there are plenty of good books on guinea pigs. Here of a few of my favourites -
The Official RSPCA Pet Guide ... Care for Your Guinea Pig.
Guinea Pigs ... Family Pet Series by Katrin Behrend.
A Complete Guide to Guinea Pig Care ... Guinea Pig Iopaedia by Margaret Elward and Mette Euelokke.
Collins Family Pet Guides ... Guinea Pig by Peter Gurney.
The Really Useful Guinea Pig Guide by Myra Mahoney.

My tip for you would be to get short haired guinea pigs as first pets as the long-haired varieties do take extra care, i.e. extra brushing, trimming of coat and bathing more often.

Check out a good vet who knows about guinea pigs and get an idea of costs should the need arise.

I am sure that you will get addicted to guinea pigs very soon! :))
 
Leeks

Interested in your various views on leeks, I harvested some from my plot yesterday, cut off all the tops and fed them to the pigs who ate them all. They appear to be okay today and appeared to love them.
Chris
 
Well, I have accomodation and I have a brilliant vet, if I get any guinea pigs then they would be kept outside, but are you saying they can't stay out in the winter?, I think I am understanding about the food they eat, pellets and a variety od vegetables and of course fresh water twice a day, do they drink from a bottle or a bowl?, they need to be rescue guinea pigs
 
Hi, just to let you know that I won't be getting any guinea pigs, had too much trouble trying to find out about them, it's a shame because I have loads of space and thought I could some a home.

Thank you to those people who did offer me advice,
 
That is such as shame i think gps are relativly easy to look after once you get your head round what they can and cant eat and such wonderful pets
 
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