First time owner deciding on cage

Lisha

Lisha

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi,

I'm new to this community and have found it really helpful to prep for our new piggy.

I'm looking into cages and there's 1 in particular that seems to have a lot of room and would fit perfectly without being too in the way of our room but I'm not sure if it would be suitable for a guinea pig. It does state it would be suitable for one but looking for more expert advise from people who actually have one. - thinking we'd get them a companion a couple months after.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yaheetech-...ocphy=9045882&hvtargid=pla-718690542650&psc=1

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance :luv:
 

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The cage is a definite no!
First, I’ll link in the Cage size guide as it details everything you need to know about cage sizes.
Guinea pigs aren’t climbers, they’re roamers and so upper levels aren’t ideal and they don’t count towards cage size. The minimum cage size is 120x60cm, again this doesn’t include an upper level. This needs to be on the ground level. The cage you’ve shown is no where near close to how big the cage should be, it’s just tall, which isn’t ideal.
I’d recommend a 2x4 c&c cage, 2x5 if you can manage it.
Here’s an example of mine:
EE8C3E63-1C51-4F91-A63E-3EB9EFA2B8A7.webp

Second, guinea pigs need companionship as a necessity. It isn’t optional. If you’re planning on getting a second pig after a few months, why wait? By singling our your pig, you’re subjecting it to loneliness and even depression. I’ll link in the thread on Companionship for you to read.

I’m sure you’re also aware of how expensive guinea pigs are as pets, too? Be prepared to spend hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of vet fees. Personally I spent a couple of thousand pounds in the last few years alone on vet care.
It’s generally though that small animals don’t need veterinary care, but from my experience they need it far more frequently than cats/dogs. Guinea pigs go downhill very fast when they’re ill, making seeing an exotic vet a requirement, vet care isn’t optional. I’m sure this is something you have thought about, but just a heads up if you haven’t yet!
I hope this helps in some way! :)
 
Thanks so much that's really helpful thank you for all your advice will definitely take this on board, I honestly wasn't sure about getting insurance but it'd probably be for the best
 
As the others have said, the cage is completely inappropriate for guinea pigs. Guinea pigs need a large single level area. An area measuring a minimum of 120cm x 60, but bigger is always better. If the two piggies were to be Male, then the recommended cage size is At least 150cm x 60cm.

Cage Size Guide

I note you say you would get one, and then get another a few months later.
I would strongly advise against doing that. You would be much better off to adopt an already bonded pair from a rescue centre. If you buy one from a pet shop and then go to get another a few months later, there is a high chance of running into problems. A successful bond between guinea pigs is solely down to mutual liking and character compatibility - if you just buy a new piggy friend for a piggy you already have, then you have absolutely no idea whether they will like each other and bond. If it doesn’t work, then you will still end up with two single piggies who refuse to live together, two separate cages etc.
 
Lisha said:
Thank you so much, I've never had a Guinea Pig before and am so excited so am trying to do as much research before I introduce one to our home.
Click to expand...
If you introduce just one to your home, sadlly it will likely get depressed.
 
Can we complain to trading standards about this type of ad. I clicked on the link thinking it would just be a small pet cage but it's just incredible this would be sold for a non climbing animal. This and the guinea pig lead ads are so wrong.
 
I strongly second piggies&buns here.
Adopting a bonded pair would be the absolute best thing you can do. Pet shops pigs are often sick with diseases/infections like Uri which can be passed onto your pig. Also pet shops easily mix up genders too and may sell you a girl claiming it to be a boy, and vice versa. Also bonding guinea pigs isn’t as easy as just putting two together and hoping for the best. Believe it or not, Guinea pigs can be just as complex as people in that sense. We don’t like everyone we meet and neither do they! Guinea pigs have a hierarchy, a dominant pig and a pig willing to be submissive. If you have two pigs that won’t back down when it comes to being top pig then it’ll end up in fights where blood is drawn.
I’d definitely look for local rescues in your area and seek out a bonded pair, it’d be the best thing you could do and since you’re a first time owner, it will provide you with the best experience possible
 
It’s fantastic that you are doing your research first so you can avoid costly mistakes before you start.

Look at this I found on YouTube
. Demonstrates why they need the space!

I too strongly recommend adopting a pair of bonded pigs from a rescue. Apart from all the doing good, from a more selfish point of view, you’ll get a better piggy experience . They’ll be the sex you expect, they won’t arrive pregnant and they’ll be fully health checked.
 
The grids for this are fine. Do be aware though that it is about single level space. Lofts are fine but piggies are ground roaming a you need to always ensure that the single level is large enough as lofts do not count when it comes to cage size. The ledges in the one in the picture will require sides on to stop piggy falling off, the ramp will also require a solid floor on it.
C&c are entirely customisable though so it doesn’t have to be built up exactly as in the picture
 
Have a think about the size of cage you want in terms of levels. I only have one level which takes 12 grids. If you are going to use all of those grids it’s good value but there are 36 grids there, you might be able to spend much less for a really good space. Some people here have had luck in finding some wire modular storage units that are the same type of thing.

You’ll also need a water proof base, something like correx is what most of us here use xx
 
I can't believe that was advertised as a guinea pig cage it's suitable for degus and possibly chinchillas but definitely not guinea pigs. I do think C&C cages are best so good choice although the one you've selected looks rather complicated and if you are having a second layer you want to make sure there is no edge around the ramp where the guinea pig can fall from the top layer to the bottom layer as they can be rather clumsy and are not great with heights.

well done for doing your research first! My poor piggies had to suffer a couple of inappropriate cages until they got their first C&C cage for their first birthday.
 
Just as an aside I've taken everyone's advice on getting 2 as i agree it wouldn't be fair especially since they are quite social animals so thanks for everyone's help with that. I'm thinking of getting 2 sows as I've read a lot about boars getting aggressive towards one another and being a first time owner i don't feel it'll be responsible to put either of us in that position. Does anyone disagree, or have any advice on 2 sows together please?
 
Dominance behaviour is dominance behaviour and it happens in both boats and sows. It honestly depends on the bond the two pigs have, all pigs have the occasional squabble even if they’re bonded however guinea pigs that haven’t been bonded correctly and don’t get along will be aggressive no questions asked and it doesn’t matter the gender of the pigs when this happens. I’ve only ever owned boys and whilst they squabble at times, they’ve never been aggressive towards each other, but I have seen people on the forum experience their boys being aggressive and I’ve seen girls be aggressive and mount each other too. It just depends on if they’ve been bonded, boars and sows can be just as aggressive or placid as each other.
 
I also intended to get sows after hearing about boars. But they chose me and I ended up with boars. I absolutely love them, and believe the reputation they have isn't correct. The important thing is character compatibility, not the sex. If you get your pair from a rescue then they will have already been bonded, health checked and properly sexed.

I ordered from Songmics but had to return the grids as they were too small to use with those I had. I think I ordered these if I remember correctly.
 
:agr: The reputation of boars being hormonal and difficult is not correct. Teen boars are hormone driven and can be tricky but if they are correctly matched, then it won’t be a long term problem. It’s also about how you deal with boars - large cage, handling the dominant first, two of everything etc. My boars were 4 months old when I got them, just at the start of their teens. They bickered when hormones kicked in but nothing dramatic at all and now at almost two years old, they are the best of friends and very mellow gentlemen!

Whatever sex you get, you are going to see dominance behaviours though. It’ll be temporary while they are re-establishing their relationship which will happen when they move in with you and have to set up new territories etc within their new cage. But, some sows can get a bit grumpy when in season and boars still love a good rumble and chase even once they are in established relationships. As @Siikibam said, it is about having a compatible match between them and not about their sex. Incorrectly matched and you will see problems regardless of whether they are boars or sows.
 
20200113_194518.webp
Is that little bit of missing for normal for an abyssinian? I'm planning on buying it from a breeder who says they've just noticed on one of them that she's missing a bit of fur only in this area (lower back). Thanks for all your support
 
I can’t quite see from the picture. There can be many reasons from it being simply where the hair is parted forming the rosette of an aby, or a scuffle with another piggy to medical issues such as mites or ringworm. You would want to get to the bottom of it though.
 
If there’s dandruff too then I’d say it’s not normal. But I’ve never owned pigs with really long hair. Again, I’d advise going to a rescue as it is guaranteed your pigs won’t have medical issues such as ringworm, uri or mites. As a forum, we also don’t allow breeders on here as we would recommend people adopt rather than support the cruel system of impregnating animals simply for profit rather than keeping guinea pigs to love them. It’s also likely that you may not get a bonded pair, whereas this will be guaranteed at a rescue. She also looks fully grown from the picture, how old is she?
 
They said she's 5 months old I've not gone to get her as I'm not able to until Saturday. That's a close up. I understand where you're coming from sorry I dont mean to come across as irresponsible for buying from a breeder. Thank you for all help. 20200113_213509.webp
 
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