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Can Guinea Pigs Cause Health Issues

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carla-1990

carla-1990

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hello everyone... I'm currently having arguments with my mother in law due to having guinea pigs in my daughters room... the cage is cleaned out regularly food bowl and water bottles are clean.. there's no bugs or anything in there.. my mother in law is basically trying to get me to rehome them.. sending me screenshots that guinea pigs can cause salmonella and asthma and they're not good for my daughter.. and can make her ill through their poo and wee and fur.. we always wash our hands after we've had the guinea pigs out or cleaned them out... is this all as bad as my mother in law is saying? Really don't want to rehome them.. and my daughter hasn't been ill since they've been in her room x
 
As far as I am aware unless you have a specific allergy to them I have never heard of a guinea pig making anyone get ill. I have owned guinea pigs for over 10 years and have never had any issues at all with them. Even if they happen to get mites these cannot be passed onto humans. I have only heard of one person getting salmonella from her pig but her guinea pig contracted it first and was being treated at the vet for it as it is contagious you could catch it, but it is such a rare thing that guinea pigs would even contract it I would say it would never happen.
As long as you follow good hygiene I cannot see why they cannot stay in your daughters room.
 
I guess your M-I-L at the heart of this is concerned for the welfare of your daughter, but my first thought was for you, it must be a headache when people well-meaningly interfere into the care of your child!

Does M-I-L live with you? If not, I'd gently and politely be inclined to tell her to butt out! I'd be quite wary on trying to counter her every argument, as I'm sure Google will throw up loads of horror stories if you're actively looking for them.

How old is your daughter? Can she explain to grandma how much she enjoys having the piggies and the responsibilities of looking after them? Perhaps get them out for grandma to see? I suspect your M-I-L might be of the old fashioned view that guinea pigs are dirty rodenty vermin :(
 
Guinea Pigs can't give you germs any more than another human can.

If you daughter had an allergy they could flare it up, but you'd know about that by now anyway. Some people are allergic to pets fur others aren't. Some people can be allergic to hay
 
it is only a problem if it has been identified that your daughter or anyone else in the house has a known allergy to guinea pigs,hay etc.you sound like you are keeping your cavies to a very high standard.the positives to having cavies are,it can teach younger members how to take responsibility for pets,as long as there is an adult taking over all responsibilites.Research has shown it can help all ages with there on emotions,gives a companion and helps to gain trust.it is particularly relevant in Autistic children,and elderly,it promotes well being.Maybe you could have a discussion with your relative about how you feel it is a positive experience !it is a difficult situation/call.Best of luck !:)
 
Ugh, mothers-in-law, right? Mine is a total nightmare, but that's another story! The only health issue I can think of from guinea pigs is a potential allergy to the guinea pig itself or the hay or bedding. Hand-washing after handling makes sense for any pet and might need to be something to remind a small child about. Some skin illnesses, like ringworm, can be transmitted because humans and pets (and also between humans and humans, it's certainly not a pet specific issue, and only an issue at all if the problem exists in the first place.) Otherwise,I think your mother-in-law is overreacting. Maybe you could e-mail her back an article stating that pet ownership helps to build empathy and responsibility and time with a pet can lower blood pressure. I have seen studies to that effect as well.

For what it's worth, I have three kids. We have had hedgehogs, guinea pigs, fish, and a hamster during the time I have also had children. None of us have ever had a pet-related illness. Ever. Hopefully your mother-in-law will learn to back off!
 
As everyone else has said unless you have alergies you are not likely to catch anything from the guinea pigs. Practise good hygene and stand firm, don't let her bully you and spoil your/your daughters enjoyment of her piggies. I know how difficult self opionated MILs can be, I had one! Mine ruined a lot of my children's childhood for me, I wish I'd been stronger right from the very beginning. I'd like to think these days I'd manage to take a deep breath and thank her for her concern, say I've taken expert advice and there is very unlikely to be a problem - so the piggies stay.
 
There is VERY little that can pass between humans and guinea pigs, much less than say between a human and a cat or dog!

The most frequent is ringworm (fungal), but that is transmitted between all mammals, including dogs, cats, horses and humans. If your guinea pigs have not come with it, they won't get it now as it is most common in already infected shop and breeder piggies.
The only case of salmonella infection we have ever dealt with on here in 10 years of existence was transmitted from the owner (who was initially misdiagnosed) to the guinea pigs and not vice versa. Both parties were properly treated and all was fine in the end. In that time we have literally seen hundreds if not thousands of guinea pigs pass through our forum.

With good basic hygiene like hand washing before and after handling any pet you can avoid pretty all problems anyway. ;)

If your daughter has not yet reacted with an allergy to the guinea pigs or their bedding, she is not likely to.

Concerned mums and mother-in-laws without their own pet experience can be a real nightmare! Stand firm and continue. Pets are an enriching experience as long as your attitude and care is the example that you are setting for your daughter to internalise.
 
Tell her to mind her own business!

Sorry not helpful but you are the parent and she should not be questioning your judgement.

As others said above, Guineas are no worse than cats and dogs and your daughter is far more likely to catch something from another child at school than the Guinea pigs!
 
I have allergies to some (not all of my GPs) - sneezing, itchy eyes, think hay fever. I live with that and don't spend too long with ones that are reaallly bad for me. But I think other non piggy people think poo etc is unhygienic. Most of that is pure prejudice borne of ignorance.

As I said in another post a short while ago, follow @Wiebke 's advice and you can't go far wrong - and fight the prejudice!
 
The problem with the Internet is that if I want to find horror stories that match my own personal agenda then I can.
You could also find an equal number of stories that support your own agenda (searching why animals and pets are healthy for kids both mentally and physically).

The whole point is that the Internet will tell you what you want to hear.
I would calmly but firmly inform your MIL that you have done plenty of research online too (she doesn't own Google), and your research shows the total opposite and until your real life experience shows otherwise, then the piggies stay exactly where they are.
 
Thank you all for your replies... me and my partner just wanted some guinea pig owners opinions rather than just google! As someone said it's full of horror stories lol x
 
p.s. my experience and that of many other members, especially those with children, is that it enriches the well being of people, both those particularly in need and the rest who just need a special cuddle from a loving piggie. Piggie cuddles (from suitably housed and looked after piggie princes and princesses) would save the NHS loads. There are therapy piggies for hospitals; more are required...............
 
I've had guinea pigs living in my room since I was 15, and I'm now 35.

I don't really have any health concerns other than being a bit on the chubby side but I don't think the pigs did that, unless they're secretly feeding me chocolate when I sleep.

People think I'm weird for having them in my room but I feel I interact with them more there, and I'm better prepared if any of them have any health concerns. One has breathing issues and he wakes me in the night if he's struggling.

People seem to think it's okay to have cats and dogs in your bed but not guinea pigs in your room. Go figure.
 
Hello, I realise this post was from quite a while ago! However I may probably have FMIL issues... My piggies were outdoors until about a year ago, and then I brought them in. I live with my partner and his parents rarely visit due to being a four hour drive away. I have taken the pigs to their house before while we visit (and i also lived there for two months with the pigs while I worked in the area) and they stay in a shed which is fine. The family seem to love them. But I know that the mother has issues with them being indoors. She has previously told me I am NOT to put them back indoors when I moved back in with my partner, "they are outdoor animals". Anyway, they were in the porch when I moved back in, but I have just become the proud owner of a c and c cage and they are now in the living room! So happy with the set up, it's brilliant. However, partners sister is visiting this weekend, she is lovely but will probably mention this to MIL when she goes back. Not sure what I should expect. I am happy to stand my ground. Just wanted a rant really! They had a cat indoors, why can't I have my pigs indoors! There is also a vibe that she thinks it's cruel to keep them indoors, she thinks they should all be outside running around. I really hate that, I look after them well. Aaah
 
Hannah Boyd said:
Hello, I realise this post was from quite a while ago! However I may probably have FMIL issues... My piggies were outdoors until about a year ago, and then I brought them in. I live with my partner and his parents rarely visit due to being a four hour drive away. I have taken the pigs to their house before while we visit (and i also lived there for two months with the pigs while I worked in the area) and they stay in a shed which is fine. The family seem to love them. But I know that the mother has issues with them being indoors. She has previously told me I am NOT to put them back indoors when I moved back in with my partner, "they are outdoor animals". Anyway, they were in the porch when I moved back in, but I have just become the proud owner of a c and c cage and they are now in the living room! So happy with the set up, it's brilliant. However, partners sister is visiting this weekend, she is lovely but will probably mention this to MIL when she goes back. Not sure what I should expect. I am happy to stand my ground. Just wanted a rant really! They had a cat indoors, why can't I have my pigs indoors! There is also a vibe that she thinks it's cruel to keep them indoors, she thinks they should all be outside running around. I really hate that, I look after them well. Aaah
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You can tell your MIL that welfare recommendations and attitudes on how to keep guinea pigs have changed a lot since her days. Guinea pigs are strongly recommended to live indoors and or in an insulated and specifically adapted shed or outbuilding, especially in winter; they also need special protection during heat waves. They are not as hardy as rabbits (whose welfare requirements have also massively changed). Most good rescues will not rehome guinea pigs into outdoors situations without winter protection anymore; including the RSPCA.

Stand your ground; they are YOUR pets and you are keeping them to a good standard of animal welfare. Guinea pigs are also wonderfully interactive, which gets lost if they live forgotten in a hutch. Who in their right mind wants to play with them and get the best out of them if they have trudge out in the dark, frost, storm or rain to feed, play with and clean them?
Here are the current RSPCA recommendations on housing: Environment - Guinea Pigs - Our pets

I fully understand you; neither my elderly MIL nor my own mum are/were happy about my piggies! I have politely listened to the two ladies and then continued to do what makes me happy, i.e. going over the course of several years gradually from a pair to currently 26 adopted rescue piggies in a dedicated half of our living room. :yikes:

As long as my husband is OK with it (grudgingly, but I am not complaining about his model railway sets taking up the whole office and half the attic in turn!), it is MY life and not theirs. I am not telling them how to live their own life, so I appreciate the same respect from them!
It is probably a bit easier for me since I have married fairly late, so I have enough self-confidence to know my mind and to hold against them. It also helps that my mum is not in this country and that she is not so stupid as to realise that she has been fighting a losing battle... :tu:
 
Thanks @Wiebke, that is so kind and helpful. I love having the piggies indoors, it is the best thing ever; they are so much more friendly now and this has been my aim/dream every since joining this forum and reading about how lots of other people keep them. I also have a huge 6ft outdoor hutch with an attached run for summer playtime but that isn't out yet. I think MIL has quite an old fashioned view of keeping animals. I also have a pony who nearly moved with me to live near the in laws house and she was all like 'oooh i can groom her for you and look after her when you're away' - not a chance, she is a very strong Highland pony and also has not been groomed since September. :lol!: Also they had a single guinea pig when my OH and his siblings were children, it was outdoors, escaped and then eaten by something. I am completely perplexed as to how she thinks that is better than the safe and cosy existence mine live!

My OH is fairly relaxed about the piggies as he sees that it makes me happy. I also had to compromise on not having a cat as it had to be indoors as well and scratched the furniture which he did not like, so after our last foster he said no more. :no: (then I said well piggies indoors then). I also catch him speaking to them every time he comes into the living room! He loves them almost as much as me but sometimes doesn't remember the benefits of pets!

Your advice is very helpful, I will remember the quote 'I am not telling them how to live their life so I would appreciate the same respect from them'. That is polite yet firm. 26 piggies - wow! I am happy with just 4 at the moment! My parents are completely happy for me to do whatever I want, they don't impose rules like this even though they never really saw keeping pigs indoors as an option (although their last remaining piggie would have been on her own outdoors since her sister died, so she has moved indoors!), so I don't see why OH parents feel like they should put rules on us! Sorry, long posts, it annoys me a lot! More than when she buys us different washing powder when she visits. :doh:
 
My mother suggested that I get a couple of guinea pigs when I moved in with her (I already have, two dogs, four rabbits and five hamsters). The compromise is that they are in the dining room (not living room) but the difference is that it is her house so naturally she has some say.

Mother in laws can say what they would do if they had guinea pigs but to try to tell you what you should do in your own home is just ! incredible !
 
That's just it though, the old fashioned views on how things should be done. Perhaps it would be useful to mention that we have a better understanding of animals these days and we should adjust our animal husbandry accordingly. It was also okay for children to walk several miles to school on their own with dangerous people around once, now we know better.
 
You can't please everyone, so nod and smile and keep on doing what works for you. I can't stop my ILs from having opinions, but given that we are very different people and disagree on a lot of issues, I am certainly not going to change my life to accommodate what they think I should be doing... not with my pigs, my kids, or anything else! ;) Good fences make good neighbours, it's never a bad thing to set healthy boundaries with the ILs and you can do it without being mean, just be firm that you hear their concerns, but that you prefer to do it your way.
 
Hannah Boyd said:
Thanks @Wiebke, that is so kind and helpful. I love having the piggies indoors, it is the best thing ever; they are so much more friendly now and this has been my aim/dream every since joining this forum and reading about how lots of other people keep them. I also have a huge 6ft outdoor hutch with an attached run for summer playtime but that isn't out yet. I think MIL has quite an old fashioned view of keeping animals. I also have a pony who nearly moved with me to live near the in laws house and she was all like 'oooh i can groom her for you and look after her when you're away' - not a chance, she is a very strong Highland pony and also has not been groomed since September. :lol!: Also they had a single guinea pig when my OH and his siblings were children, it was outdoors, escaped and then eaten by something. I am completely perplexed as to how she thinks that is better than the safe and cosy existence mine live!

My OH is fairly relaxed about the piggies as he sees that it makes me happy. I also had to compromise on not having a cat as it had to be indoors as well and scratched the furniture which he did not like, so after our last foster he said no more. :no: (then I said well piggies indoors then). I also catch him speaking to them every time he comes into the living room! He loves them almost as much as me but sometimes doesn't remember the benefits of pets!

Your advice is very helpful, I will remember the quote 'I am not telling them how to live their life so I would appreciate the same respect from them'. That is polite yet firm. 26 piggies - wow! I am happy with just 4 at the moment! My parents are completely happy for me to do whatever I want, they don't impose rules like this even though they never really saw keeping pigs indoors as an option (although their last remaining piggie would have been on her own outdoors since her sister died, so she has moved indoors!), so I don't see why OH parents feel like they should put rules on us! Sorry, long posts, it annoys me a lot! More than when she buys us different washing powder when she visits. :doh:
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My hub is the same yours - he speaks to the piggies when I'm not around and gives them their pellets first thing in the morning. He's even been remarking how quiet the house is in their absence...

Some mums can never get themsleves to acknowledge that their children have grown up and live with people that have different concepts to what they have brought up their own children with - and that said children are perfectly OK with those other ideas.

Be polite and unoffensive, but make it clear that the issue is non-negotiable and that you have your partner's express consent/active encouragement on having indoors pets that do not damage your living space.

We always knew that MIL had really no other problems on her plate whenever she started complaining to my hub about my guinea pigs and the mess they were making; they were the moaning staple of last resort. What she never realised what that this behaviour was rather setting up his hackles instead of making him receptive to her ideas! :hb:
 
Wiebke said:
My hub is the same yours - he speaks to the piggies when I'm not around and gives them their pellets first thing in the morning. He's even been remarking how quiet the house is in their absence...

Some mums can never get themsleves to acknowledge that their children have grown up and live with people that have different concepts to what they have brought up their own children with - and that said children are perfectly OK with those other ideas.

Be polite and unoffensive, but make it clear that the issue is non-negotiable and that you have your partner's express consent/active encouragement on having indoors pets that do not damage your living space.

We always knew that MIL had really no other problems on her plate whenever she started complaining to my hub about my guinea pigs and the mess they were making; they were the moaning staple of last resort. What she never realised what that this behaviour was rather setting up his hackles instead of making him receptive to her ideas! :hb:
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Thanks for your advice, much appreciated. They don't often visit but I imagine there will be discussions next week after his sister visits this weekend! This MIL doesn't seem to have any actual reasons, the only things I have heard so far is 'they are outdoor animals'. I think she has been telling OH that they cause damp (as if) and may make it more difficult to sell the house (like most other people in Britain don't have pets). Nevermind, I will stand my ground in a polite manner.
 
Hannah Boyd said:
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated. They don't often visit but I imagine there will be discussions next week after his sister visits this weekend! This MIL doesn't seem to have any actual reasons, the only things I have heard so far is 'they are outdoor animals'. I think she has been telling OH that they cause damp (as if) and may make it more difficult to sell the house (like most other people in Britain don't have pets). Nevermind, I will stand my ground in a polite manner.
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Just point out calmly that as guinea pigs are caged, they are doing no damage to a house, unlike dogs or cats and that in fact they make perfect indoors pets... ;)
 
Hannah Boyd said:
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated. They don't often visit but I imagine there will be discussions next week after his sister visits this weekend! This MIL doesn't seem to have any actual reasons, the only things I have heard so far is 'they are outdoor animals'. I think she has been telling OH that they cause damp (as if) and may make it more difficult to sell the house (like most other people in Britain don't have pets). Nevermind, I will stand my ground in a polite manner.
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They...cause damp? Is it bad that I almost want to know how she explains that one? Because I could probably use the laugh, haha.

Besides, your house your rules. My mother had to learn that one too. You're all far nicer than I was about it, though. Tact is no bad thing.

But really...damp?!
 
Hannah Boyd said:
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated. They don't often visit but I imagine there will be discussions next week after his sister visits this weekend! This MIL doesn't seem to have any actual reasons, the only things I have heard so far is 'they are outdoor animals'. I think she has been telling OH that they cause damp (as if) and may make it more difficult to sell the house (like most other people in Britain don't have pets). Nevermind, I will stand my ground in a polite manner.
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Be polite with your SIL, but let her see how much fun your piggies are. Point out how well your piggies are kept in accordance with current welfare recommendations without going overboard (just say that you have done some careful research into all the new stuff that is now around), what the new bedding does and how more interactive an indoors cage is. Hopefully, she is more clued up on rising standards in animal welfare! ;)
 
Lorcan said:
They...cause damp? Is it bad that I almost want to know how she explains that one? Because I could probably use the laugh, haha.

Besides, your house your rules. My mother had to learn that one too. You're all far nicer than I was about it, though. Tact is no bad thing.

But really...damp?!
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I have no idea. I think its because its a soft spot for my OH, the house is ever so slightly damp and I think she thought if she used that then it would make more of an impact on him. I am making her sound like a terrible person haha! She is generally nice (and they had me stay at their house rent free for 3 months while I had a job which didn't work out) but she is really quite opinionated about certain things. I have been told by her that I am NOT to dry the washing indoors (we had no tumble drier last winter). I just don't like being told what to do in my home! I just think leave us to it please. I mostly ignore these sort of things but the piggies is one thing I will not ignore, I can ignore her comments but they will not be going outside.
 
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