Considering getting a guinea pig for the first time...

[sheabird]

Hi, guys!

So I'm a college student, about to move out of the dorms and into a small apartment. I'll be living alone, however I'd hate to come home to an empty apartment every night. So I've been considering getting a pet. Here has been my train of thought...

Dog: No yard, and I'll either be working or at school most of the day so not an option.

Cat: I COULD but again, it's a fairly small place and I can't let it out and I won't be home a whole lot. An option, though.

Rabbit: A friend of mine is about to have baby bunnies. However, I've been researching the topic and it seems that rabbits aren't reported to be especially fond of being held or cuddled, and I want something that is going to be affectionate back.

Hamsters: I've had hamsters before, one never did get very tame and the other one never quit biting lol. I think I just had bad luck, but long story short, I've done the hamster thing.

Guinea pigs: From what I've heard and read, guinea pigs have the love and affection of a dog in a cute and cuddly, much cheaper size! Of course they require the proper amount of maintenance, but it seems to be less so than a dog would be.

So here is my situation: I want something that will be affectionate and sweet, something I can spend time with each evening, but that isn't going to cost me a fortune or stink up my apartment. I would just really like you'll's input, and also- how do you'll feel about getting guinea pigs from PetSmart? I know breeders are always better, but there aren't any close and they also are more expensive. While you'll are at it, could you point me towards some good cage options? Thanks a ton!

 

[Glynis]

Hi and welcome to the forum
If you go to our housing section you'll find heaps of info
Also do some browsing thru the food section too, you'll get all the info you need on what is best to feed.
Guinea pigs are usually quite shy and scared when they come home, but with lots of patience you'll be rewarded with lots of WHEEEEKS and their antics! Two is better than one as they do like a friend and seeing them interact with each other is just great x)

I'll also pop a link re cage sizes per piggie for you.
One thing whee like on here is pigtures.......so when you come home with your little furry friends whee'd love to see some pigtures, you can pop those in the stories/photo's section.
You might also like to think rescue as there is so many waiting for a lovely forever home If you put your approx. location i'm sure someone will advise on a reputable one for you.

Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x


http://www.guineapigcages.com/

 

[sheabird]

Thanks for your reply!

I did some browsing around the forum after this post and found a lot of really helpful information! I already did a lot of searching online and I can't find any sort of guinea pig rescue that is within 3 hours of me and I can't afford to drive that far in my gas-guzzler :/ (I'm in Texas, USA by the way) Other wise that would definitely be my first choice! I also checked regular shelters near me and none have guinea pigs or rabbits or any such thing. Sad day!

Could you perhaps offer me a general cost estimate per month? I'm sure it varies but I know the only costs are bedding and food but I wasn't sure exactly how much it would run. I used to have a hamster that I used CareFresh for but it certainly was rather expensive and I know guinea pigs would require much more!

 

[flintstones]

Hi and Welcome to the forum, Guinea pigs are certainly not easy pets. It's helpful if they are ill but they frequently can have illnesses.

Worse case scenario, I have 6 guinea pigs - 1 of which cost me recently $624 for an operation, that's not counting his weekly/monthly vet visits.

Guinea pigs are very timid/scared animals, they can take months to come round two of my guinea pig's who have daily human activity 3 times a day for 2 years are still flighty they will greet you at the bars but run away if you try to touch them, this is there personality and how they are. They are not cuddly pigs.

I would never get a guinea pig from a Pet Shop, they are almost always ill/mis-sexed or pregnant.

Guinea pig food = $8
Hay (2weeks - 1month) = $25
Vegetables = $16

Basic maintenance, that's without counting VetBills, which you will have at one point in time.

 

[twiams]

I'd say a guinea pig is a good pet but they aren't as easy as they sound, i recently helped an elderly gentleman get everything together to adopt some, as people have previously said as a pro rescue forum, we recommend adopting instead of pet shop pigs, they require alot more money than you think but if you have that extra money available then it's great, and the gentleman i know that adopted them became alot less lonely because guinea pigs are just such great little characters !
So lets start with a list of what you need !

A Cage, Guinea pigs also need alot of space, a cage must be the minimum of a 120 cage for 2 guinea pigs, and obviously guinea pigs are social creatures so boys should be kept in pairs (groups bigger with boys rarely work) and girls can be kept in anything more that 2 ! This website should help you, it recommends a C&C cage, it will explain it on the website there lovely and alot more versatile than a shop bought cage.

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

A Run, Referring back to needing alot of space, guinea pigs need alot of exercise ! And as exercise balls and wheels are out of the question due to there delicate backs, you need a run, a run should be bigger than the piggies actual living space so there cage basically, this run can be for indoor and outdoor or you can have one for each !

Food, the most important thing to a piggy ! Nuggets are the base of a piggies diet, there is alot of mixed feed's that we don't recommend due to promoting selective feeding but if you want to know more about that you can search it, we promote nuggets that usually look like guinea pig poo basically, there are several brands that people use and personally i use Burgess (: On top of nuggets, they need hay available at all times, this should be in a hay rack and also can be used in the cage for extra warm bedding ! Hay is for keeping the teeth in good order too ! Also piggies need daily fresh veggies, theres a list of veggies you can feed them here

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

Of course this requires a water bottle (not a bowl) a veg bowl and a nugget bowl, some people recommend if you have boars that you buy two of everything so they have there own things.

Bedding, there is so much bedding to choose from, Sawdust is great but often the dust in it can be dangerous for there breathing, and sometimes it can get in the piggies eye causing damage, i've experienced both of these things. Carefresh is a safer paper based bedding which alot of people love, although expensive cheaper brands can be bought, Vet bed, this is a bedding that requires alot more work, and need's to be changed and washed and poop scooped regularly, along with fleece as a bedding, fleece requires daily poop scooping and washing around every 3 days but looks great and piggies find it super comfey !

Vet Bills, guinea pigs do need fairly regular nail clipping and untill you feel safe yourself doing this you may want it done by a vet costing between £4-£10 a time, on the other hand if you adopt the rescue may provide this service free of charge ! As i mentioned in bedding piggies do sometimes just end up hurting themselves with different things and this can total up a bit, a check up for my piggies to just see a vet before any medication is about £18 ! then obviously you need to buy anything he prescribes after that, Luckily i haven't had to make to many trips to the vets so far in my piggy owning life !

Toys, Piggies need something to keep them active, tunnels, willow balls, and natural treats are great, as well as the essential hidey places like igloos ! But not all toys need to be bought, piggies can find fun in simple things like paper bags and toilet rolls, once you start searching you can find some really great and cheap ideas !

Time, Piggies require alot of time ! they like to be loved and played with, they require there run around time for about an hour and more if you can daily, the also need you to take the time to chop up there veggies every day (i do mine at night but you can do it whenever really) so if you don't have the time to do all these things including the piggie shopping they may not be for you !

The cost of this all adds up and with 3 of my pigs (they live on sawdust my other two are on fleece) I'm spending nearly every 3-4 weeks around £20 on them, just for the basics, this is about $31, obviously things are priced differently over there but I'm sure it would be roughly the same.

Obviously the starting up cost is alot more ! a cage can be normally $70 for a good size one, and then you need the odd little bits like hairbrushes and things, if you go into your local pet shop they can help you price things up (:
They may recommend things like water drops for vitamins and these just aren't necessary and can sometimes put piggies off there water,

Another cost is if you become an addict like me and many others i started of with just 2 and within 4 months i had 5 and i still want more haha!

Good luck with your pottential piggie future !