Having Trouble Convincing My Parents to Get a Second Piggy

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Newtothis123

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Okay so after months and months of hardcore convincing, my parents finally allowed me to get a guinea pig. Shes pretty shy and hasn't yet eaten out of my hand, but when I sit and talk to her she comes out of her hidey and eats a ton of food and water out of the bowls. I even caught her popcorning which I understand is a good sign. I don't see any signs of stress besides the usual "new pet jitters" and tendency to scare easily, but I'm really worried. She is a lone guinea pig and being a student, I am away from 7 am - 3:30 pm every day, which leaves her alone in my room for the majority of the day. We have mirrors set up in her cage, but I don't think she falls for the illusion of her reflection being other guinea pigs as she just ignores them. Her cage is a 37 in x 33 in square type of shape. Would this be large enough for two piggies even if I did convince my parents to let me get a second piggie? (I promise they will not allow me to get another larger cage so tragically I know that won't work) If it is big enough, any advice on convincing them? I'm really starting to worry about her. Thx.
 
Hi there,

Welcome. Guinea Pigs are herd animals and live that way in the wild. They are very sociable animals and vocal to boot! So in all honesty, yes your guinea pig does need a friend. They need the interaction, I find human interaction can help but as you say you are out from 7am to 3.30pm, and to be honest with the length of their lifetime to be alone is like putting a human in solitary confinement - after all they don't do that in prisons or have done so and in war for no reason. Sorry that may sound harsh, but it really is true.

Additionally, yes your cage is small. If you check out the measurements in the housing section, it will give you the full dimensions of what is considered adequate, but the bigger the better, and then floor time or good running around time as possible.

If you perhaps explain to your parents they are in fact herd animals. Good luck.
 
Yeah its made of melamine wood (so the piggy can't chew through it), so perhaps I can build an additional room.
Appreciate the advice.
 
Your welcome. If it's wood, you might want to line it, believe me, if piggies get bored or are quite active, they will chew anything!
I have a little rascal called Admiral Jellicoe and he's a right little dynamite and has his teeth in everything and doesn't give up until it's completely destroyed.
I guess he's got a good name after all....
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like your current set up is meeting the current minimum cage size guidelines. You would definitely need to create more space to take on a second piggy. Cage Size Guide
 
I learned to go through ideas of cavy cages. It's very inexpensive for the storage units and can be a fun project while making your guinea pigs very happy. I'm in the US so not sure how to direct you if you aren't here but I do know there are the same resources there to help with projects to make the proper cage. I have learned that I knew nothing before getting these babies; there just isn't enough commonly known info from sellers or non-guinea pig owners before owning one but they can be fun. The section here on cages, etc has many ideas and pics as there are many different fun and informative ways to make them comfortable and happy.

Backing others on giving her a friend. Over time, you can see a difference and it's much kinder to not test it. I started with one baby as well and we gave her a lot of one on one time. Even with that, she did eventually show signs of depression so we read about it and got her a friend pronto. We have 3 together now and they give hours of joy in their interaction and happiness.

You are doing a great job looking into this and caring enough for your baby.
 
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