Guinea Pig Checklist?

[<3candiceclews]

Hi I'm looking at getting 2 guinea pigs in a few months time. I'm starting to get everything in preparation. So when we come back from holiday in August i can get them straight away.
So far I have:
---- Money put aside for the guinea pigs
---- Hutch money put aside for the bluebell pets at home hutch.
---- A pets at home big metal run
---- 2 food bowls (1 for vegetables)
---- 2 water bottles
---- 1 bendy bridge
---- 1 plastic hideaway for the run
---- 2 cardboard tunnels
---- 1 carrot toy
---- 1 wooden ball toy
---- 1 pack of fruit wooden chews
---- 1 pack of nature's salad
---- 1 cat sized tunnel
---- 1 bag of guinea pig food

Apart from hay and woodshavings, is there anything else i need?


I saw the hay rollers but someone told me they can be dangerous true?

I also heard they like a tennis ball to roll around? Safe?

Also do you litter train guinea pigs?

Thank you!

Ps sorry for all the questions!

 

[rome_italy]

I tell you my opinion, totally different from the ones you will get later (for sure!)
What you need is READING and studying a lot on good websites (for example Guinea Linxs). Nothing more. Being informed will suggest you what your piggies really need and how to save money.
This is what I have spent: 20-30€ for a handmade cage (coroplast, a mesh, other stuff), two fences for garden for delimiting their space at home for their safe floor time (6€ each). Some old baskets and recycled boxes for building some hidings, two cutlery drainers (1€ each) cut and transformed in hay racks, and so on.
Two pieces of fleece (6-8€) for the bedding and (free) flyers/newspapers put underneath (and the cleaning lady of my building is glad that I am taking all those useless flyers delivered every day nobody is interested of!).
About the food, I don't use pellets, but I bought one little bag as well. Don't feed your piggies with pellets with flours and cereals. Read the labels always.
Hay: start now looking for hay online... there are different brands, I buy different types and the price is 2€/kg. If you know a farmer you will pay less. Of course learn also about the best composition of hay.
Guinea pigs don't play... I mean, they can enjoy jumping in and out of a pile of hay; they can do something else, but you can build simple toys using toilet papers rolls... again, search online about some good idea!
I bought also a brush (1€), I collected some old towels (they wee on your lap sometimes), I bought a good natural soap for washing their butt... and a lovely plastic bag for collecting the grass I daily cut for them, as fresh grass is their main food. Piggies now recognise that bag!
Of course it is like newborns: when they are here you realise what you need... I often visit those shops which sell cheap objects for home... sometimes I have some brilliant idea for building tunnels and houses.
And the most important thing: decide the name of the vet you are going to visit (a guinea pig savvy vet) and write his number on your agenda.
Anyway, in the last months I made some changes into their cage... it depends on your piggies, you will realise what is better for them.
I agree with my vet: considering that pets don't speak and don't even complain, a serious knowledge is the only thing a owner should spend time for... in order to avoid committing silly and dangerous mistakes...

 

[BlueBird]

Hi I'm looking at getting 2 guinea pigs in a few months time. I'm starting to get everything in preparation. So when we come back from holiday in August i can get them straight away.
So far I have:
---- Money put aside for the guinea pigs
---- Hutch money put aside for the bluebell pets at home hutch.
---- A pets at home big metal run
---- 2 food bowls (1 for vegetables)
---- 2 water bottles
---- 1 bendy bridge
---- 1 plastic hideaway for the run
---- 2 cardboard tunnels
---- 1 carrot toy
---- 1 wooden ball toy
---- 1 pack of fruit wooden chews
---- 1 pack of nature's salad
---- 1 cat sized tunnel
---- 1 bag of guinea pig food

Apart from hay and woodshavings, is there anything else i need?


I saw the hay rollers but someone told me they can be dangerous true?

I also heard they like a tennis ball to roll around? Safe?

Also do you litter train guinea pigs?

Thank you!

Ps sorry for all the questions!

Get lots of chews of different sizes and shapes. My Guineas don't like the balls but the sticks they love but one will quite happily chew her wooden house instead. The favourite pass times of all Guineas are eating and hiding and chewing if you don't count that in the eating bracket. Get lots of wooden houses rather than plastic ones (personally having all that plastic disappearing inside my Guineas insides doesn't sit well with me). If your outside your local supermarket at around 8-9am they are usually getting the new delivery in and chucking out all the packaging. If you ask nicely they'll give you a couple and those are hides for free!

Personally I think you've got the basics sorted. Others you may want to invest in is Guinea only tea towels for lap time/wrapping frozen water bottles in when it's cold etc. A hand dust pan and brush for clean out time just for the pigs.

Other advice is, try not to buy too many processed treat for your Guineas. It's like kababs or that greasy takeaway for your pigs. They love them but it's sure as hell not good for them in the long run.

My gold star tip is if you have a garage you can store it in. Buy hay off eBay. British farmers often sell big farm bails of hay for as little as £20 that's so fresh it still smells like grass! My bail was such good quality and after 3 months I'm still only a quarter of the way through and I haven't exactly been conservative with it. sadly not dust extracted so I wouldn't use it for bedding or creating borrow boxes. One of my pigs has a bit of a wheeze anyway so I don't want to make her ill.

 

[Skittypigs]

I tell you my opinion, totally different from the ones you will get later (for sure!)
What you need is READING and studying a lot on good websites (for example Guinea Linxs). Nothing more. Being informed will suggest you what your piggies really need and how to save money.
This is what I have spent: 20-30€ for a handmade cage (coroplast, a mesh, other stuff), two fences for garden for delimiting their space at home for their safe floor time (6€ each). Some old baskets and recycled boxes for building some hidings, two cutlery drainers (1€ each) cut and transformed in hay racks, and so on.
Two pieces of fleece (6-8€) for the bedding and (free) flyers/newspapers put underneath (and the cleaning lady of my building is glad that I am taking all those useless flyers delivered every day nobody is interested of!).
About the food, I don't use pellets, but I bought one little bag as well. Don't feed your piggies with pellets with flours and cereals. Read the labels always.
Hay: start now looking for hay online... there are different brands, I buy different types and the price is 2€/kg. If you know a farmer you will pay less. Of course learn also about the best composition of hay.
Guinea pigs don't play... I mean, they can enjoy jumping in and out of a pile of hay; they can do something else, but you can build simple toys using toilet papers rolls... again, search online about some good idea!
I bought also a brush (1€), I collected some old towels (they wee on your lap sometimes), I bought a good natural soap for washing their butt... and a lovely plastic bag for collecting the grass I daily cut for them, as fresh grass is their main food. Piggies now recognise that bag!
Of course it is like newborns: when they are here you realise what you need... I often visit those shops which sell cheap objects for home... sometimes I have some brilliant idea for building tunnels and houses.
And the most important thing: decide the name of the vet you are going to visit (a guinea pig savvy vet) and write his number on your agenda.
Anyway, in the last months I made some changes into their cage... it depends on your piggies, you will realise what is better for them.
I agree with my vet: considering that pets don't speak and don't even complain, a serious knowledge is the only thing a owner should spend time for... in order to avoid committing silly and dangerous mistakes...

I agree here, really gen up on everything, I do it every time I get a new pet, it can only help. Good luck, it's so much fun.

 

[<3candiceclews]

Thank you all