How do guinea pigs compare with hamsters (in terms of workload, costs etc from a uk perspective)?

[onlychildandhamster]

Hi, I am the proud owner of a male syrian hamster who I love very much. I find cleaning after him and taming him fairly manageable. However, I am very intrigued by guinea pigs and I was just wondering- is it that much more difficult than hamster ownership? I understand that the space requirements are much larger- 150 cm by 77 cm as opposed to my current hamster cage which measures 100 cm by 54 cm and you need to get a pair. I also understand that you need to spot clean everyday, change the bedding every week without fail and a lot of people use fleece (extra laundry). And they obviously poop and wee a lot as they are larger animals than hamsters. As I also travel, I know that small pet boarding in my area of London is also more expensive for 2 guinea pigs - the typical charge is £10-15 per night as opposed to £5 per night for my hamster. Also there is the issue of nail trimming which must be done every month for guinea pigs- I just gave my hamster a stone and a lava ledge. Also are vet costs double and charged per animal.

Is there anything I have left out, would appreciate insight from guinea pig/hamster owners. Thank you!

On an additional note, my hamster currently lives in my home office and snoozes throughout all my Zoom work calls. I have seen many clips of guinea pigs wheeking; do they do that very often? If so, I imagine a home office is not the best room to put them in!

 

[Siikibam]

Not all guinea pigs wheek so on that note you can’t be certain. Vet costs can build up and so I’d say they’re not the cheapest pet to keep in those terms. You are charged for visits per pig. So if you take two then you’re charged two consultation fees. We always advise people to have a vet fund they top up every month. There is insurance but it’s fairly steep and has its limitations.

Veg (the staples) and pellets aren’t particularly expensive. A bag of pellets should last a long while as they only need a tablespoon a day each. Hay needs to be fresh and in constant supply. With that comes wastage which can’t be avoided.

When you say you travel, how much exactly?

 

[Swissgreys]

I have a hamster and guinea pigs, and I would say on a weekly basis the work load is a LOT more for guinea pigs.
My hamster is definitely my easiest and lowest maintenance pet - a female winter white in a 100 x 80cm tank with natural set up and extremely deep bedding.

However the work involved with guinea pigs is more about cage cleaning, preparing fresh veg, washing bedding (if you use fleece) etc. so not difficult - it just takes a bit more time. A lot will depend on how and where you plan on keeping the guinea pigs too.
I find indoors in a C&C cage on fleece is a good solution.

I also have outdoor rabbits and although they are technically less work than the piggies - they are litter trained and have 24/7 access to a huge enclosure with tunnels and runs on the grass as well as a hutch, and various houses spread across an enclosed/covered patio area - at this time of year I find the rabbits the most work because they are outside and the weather isn't always conducive to pottering about cleaning's litter trays and restocking hay, etc.
So outdoor piggies would be more work, certainly in Winter, in my opinion.

So guinea pigs are more work, but I would also say they are a more interactive pet, in that they will come to the bars and beg, wander around their cage, etc 24/7 so are always out and about and deeply entertaining little creatures.
My hamster comes out when she hears me around, so not fully nocturnal by any means, but more often during the day she just pops out to beg for food and then disappears again.

With regards to travel what I would say is that once we had more than a couple of pets we actually found it cheaper to pay for a pet sitter to come to our home and deal with all the animals, than taking them to a boarding facility.
This was a huge plus as it makes going away on holiday a lot easier, and means we also have someone keeping an eye on the house, emptying the letter box etc.

 

[Free Ranger]

You gotta really love 'them because the waste they produce is phenomenal. My boar is not the biggest eater but easily produces 80-100 poops in 24 hours and the two girls are catching him up. Healthy poop is dry and doesn't smell (it's mainly hay) but the pee can be quite whiffy and it is important that the piggies don't stand in the wet as they can get 'urine scald' on their feet... hence the constant cage maintenance. One poster mentioned their dad had visited and thought the poop in the cage was from a week but it was only from that day! I think there is a myth of a 'toilet corner' which is basically when they hide in one place all the time so that's where you find all the poop - you can't really train them, they excrete as they walk. Mine don't need nail trims so often but that's a very minor issue. It's mainly the poop!

Piggies are active in the daytime - and mainly morning/evening feeding times - compared with the more nocturnal hamsters. They are full of charm and get ridiculously excited when they think someone is going to give them a bit of veg or a hand full of grass. Watching them interact is a joy - unless they start to fight and you have to split them into separate cages, then you start worrying about them getting lonely... then you're thinking about getting more guinea pigs etc. They can be tame, but are naturally fearful so handling them can take time. Someone here once said that the best you can hope for is that they associate you with the food they love and the line begins to blur! But blur it does, because my pigs can tell us apart and know what it means when different people approach. If I go away the pigs stay in their familiar home and I get someone in to see to them. You don't need to bath them or groom the shorthaired ones. They live longer than Hamsters - you'd hope for 5 years but it can sometimes be longer. It'll be more expensive at the vet but you can't really dodge it because they are so brave and so sad when they get poorly - they try to hide their illness because it makes them more vulnerable. When they finally come out of their hidey piggies wear their heart on their sleeve

 

[KHBz]

I don't think vet costs are necessarily double, though. Our general vet just charges the one consultation fee (£35 or £38) when it comes to a pair of guinea-pigs. I haven't ever paid double to have health checks, parasite treatment and nail cuts for both of them. Even when I have gone in specifically about one, taking both with me to reduce their stress, the vet has also given the other a quick check-over. The exotics vet cost more, but she also spent much longer than the allotted 15 minutes with us.

Am I just lucky not to be charged double?

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Not all guinea pigs wheek so on that note you can’t be certain. Vet costs can build up and so I’d say they’re not the cheapest pet to keep in those terms. You are charged for visits per pig. So if you take two then you’re charged two consultation fees. We always advise people to have a vet fund they top up every month. There is insurance but it’s fairly steep and has its limitations.

Veg (the staples) and pellets aren’t particularly expensive. A bag of pellets should last a long while as they only need a tablespoon a day each. Hay needs to be fresh and in constant supply. With that comes wastage which can’t be avoided.

When you say you travel, how much exactly?

I travel 2 weeks a year. It's my wedding in June so if lockdown restrictions lift, my hamster is booked in for 2 weeks at a hamster hotel- which is £80 and I am ok with that. Of course if it had been 2 guinea pigs, it would be double that.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

You gotta really love 'them because the waste they produce is phenomenal. My boar is not the biggest eater but easily produces 80-100 poops in 24 hours and the two girls are catching him up. Healthy poop is dry and doesn't smell (it's mainly hay) but the pee can be quite whiffy and it is important that the piggies don't stand in the wet as they can get 'urine scald' on their feet... hence the constant cage maintenance. One poster mentioned their dad had visited and thought the poop in the cage was from a week but it was only from that day! I think there is a myth of a 'toilet corner' which is basically when they hide in one place all the time so that's where you find all the poop - you can't really train them, they excrete as they walk. Mine don't need nail trims so often but that's a very minor issue. It's mainly the poop!

Piggies are active in the daytime - and mainly morning/evening feeding times - compared with the more nocturnal hamsters. They are full of charm and get ridiculously excited when they think someone is going to give them a bit of veg or a hand full of grass. Watching them interact is a joy - unless they start to fight and you have to split them into separate cages, then you start worrying about them getting lonely... then you're thinking about getting more guinea pigs etc. They can be tame, but are naturally fearful so handling them can take time. Someone here once said that the best you can hope for is that they associate you with the food they love and the line begins to blur! But blur it does, because my pigs can tell us apart and know what it means when different people approach. If I go away the pigs stay in their familiar home and I get someone in to see to them. You don't need to bath them or groom the shorthaired ones. They live longer than Hamsters - you'd hope for 5 years but it can sometimes be longer. It'll be more expensive at the vet but you can't really dodge it because they are so brave and so sad when they get poorly - they try to hide their illness because it makes them more vulnerable. When they finally come out of their hidey piggies wear their heart on their sleeve

Wow 100 poops. My Hamster's poops are tiny and sink to bottom of bedding. They are smaller than finger nails and not that many.

 

[Sweet Potato]

Although vet Bill's may not cost much more per visit I would expect them to cost more over their lifetime for a few reasons.
A. They live longer so have more time for accidents.
B. They are larger so there is more vets can do in terms of surgery, removing tumors etc.
C. They will need more of any medication given because they're bigger.

 

[Pigwhisperer]

I think vets bills will be way more than double. I've paid £60- £80 for surgery on a hamster to remove a tumour. I've never had a piggy have surgery but an x-ray with a very brief general anaesthetic was £180, so I'd imagine surgery to be a lot more?

 

[onlychildandhamster]

I think vets bills will be way more than double. I've paid £60- £80 for surgery on a hamster to remove a tumour. I've never had a piggy have surgery but an x-ray with a very brief general anaesthetic was £180, so I'd imagine surgery to be a lot more?

It makes sense. I have seen people talk of thousands on guinea pig forums but rarely seen people spend more than £500 on hamster forums.

 

[Pigwhisperer]

It makes sense. I have seen people talk of thousands on guinea pig forums but rarely seen people spend more than £500 on hamster forums.

Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks hamsters' lives are worth spending that sort of money! They are such characters and my kids were so attached I couldn't help it.

 

[Little Ones]

Piggies are very expensive pets in my opinion. Last year cost me about £1500 in vet fees, with other years coming in under that but still high. The standard flat vet rate might not be all that much different but piggies are diagnosed and treated a lot more frequently than a hamster. An appointment and one bottle of medication will be between £70-90. Anything with anaesthetic - which is how most xrays are performed and how blood tests are performed - will be around £180. That’s just for a standard procedure to determine a problem and doesn’t include treating that problem. I find that guinea pigs get sick quite often, too. Some don’t, but I had one who had constant issues. He had a lifelong respiratory problem which required frequent treatment, a dry skin condition, always got hay pokes, and ended up with liver disease which took many tests to determine and rule out other things. Another piggy of mine was a fairly healthy boy but had dental issues, one episode of bloat (so needed to get bloating meds) and ended up having interstitial cystitis so was on long term pain relief. I’ve had another who had rarely ever been ill in his life but had to have two dental root abscesses removed which has now resulted in a dental procedure every 3 weeks for the rest of his life.
Chances are somewhere along the line, you’ll have a piggy that costs a lot of money. Not only that, but guinea pigs go downhill fast. That means you have to see a vet within a day or two of noticing a problem. Sometimes it ends up being nothing, but you’ve still paid a consultation fee. This can happen maybe once every two months.
They’re very expensive pets. In the last 5 years I’ve spent over £4000 on vet bills. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, who knows. 5 years ago I was only 15, I’ve consistently spend everything I’ve ever had on my piggies, so be prepared for them to take a big chunk out of your pocket! Treatment for piggies can’t be optional, their personalities are big but the bodies they inhabit are frail in comparison.

 

[piggieminder]

Vet bills for guinea pigs can be very expensive, more than for a cat or dog. One surgery we had for a bladder stone was £5,000, last year a second stone operation was £2,000. I've never been charged for 1 if I've taken 2 for a consultation. Guinea pigs need big cages so cleaning out is quite labour intensive.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Piggies are very expensive pets in my opinion. Last year cost me about £1500 in vet fees, with other years coming in under that but still high. The standard flat vet rate might not be all that much different but piggies are diagnosed and treated a lot more frequently than a hamster. An appointment and one bottle of medication will be between £70-90. Anything with anaesthetic - which is how most xrays are performed and how blood tests are performed - will be around £180. That’s just for a standard procedure to determine a problem and doesn’t include treating that problem. I find that guinea pigs get sick quite often, too. Some don’t, but I had one who had constant issues. He had a lifelong respiratory problem which required frequent treatment, a dry skin condition, always got hay pokes, and ended up with liver disease which took many tests to determine and rule out other things. Another piggy of mine was a fairly healthy boy but had dental issues, one episode of bloat (so needed to get bloating meds) and ended up having interstitial cystitis so was on long term pain relief. I’ve had another who had rarely ever been ill in his life but had to have two dental root abscesses removed which has now resulted in a dental procedure every 3 weeks for the rest of his life.
Chances are somewhere along the line, you’ll have a piggy that costs a lot of money. Not only that, but guinea pigs go downhill fast. That means you have to see a vet within a day or two of noticing a problem. Sometimes it ends up being nothing, but you’ve still paid a consultation fee. This can happen maybe once every two months.
They’re very expensive pets. In the last 5 years I’ve spent over £4000 on vet bills. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, who knows. 5 years ago I was only 15, I’ve consistently spend everything I’ve ever had on my piggies, so be prepared for them to take a big chunk out of your pocket! Treatment for piggies can’t be optional, their personalities are big but the bodies they inhabit are frail in comparison.

Thanks for this. This is my first hamster so I don't have any experience with vets yet. I am registered at a vet and the cost is £38 for a consultation. I do have savings (1 year of mortgage payments and basic bills) but i would rather a pet with fewer vet costs. I know that there isn't really such a thing with animals but from my research, people tend to spend more on vet fees for rabbits, cats and dogs than on hamsters. For a start, those animals tend to have vaccinations which hamsters don't need.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Vet bills for guinea pigs can be very expensive, more than for a cat or dog. One surgery we had for a bladder stone was £5,000, last year a second stone operation was £2,000. I've never been charged for 1 if I've taken 2 for a consultation. Guinea pigs need big cages so cleaning out is quite labour intensive.

Thanks for this. I don't know if you have seen this calculator but I used it to decide whether I was ok with the cost of a hamster The Real Cost of Pets.

Guineas seem much lower than cats and dogs; does the calculator not take into account very sick piggies then?

 

[Little Ones]

Thanks for this. This is my first hamster so I don't have any experience with vets yet. I am registered at a vet and the cost is £38 for a consultation. I do have savings (1 year of mortgage payments and basic bills) but i would rather a pet with fewer vet costs. I know that there isn't really such a thing with animals but from my research, people tend to spend more on vet fees for rabbits, cats and dogs than on hamsters. For a start, those animals tend to have vaccinations which hamsters don't need.

Hamsters are the way to go then.
Guinea pigs cost a lot more than a dog or cat from my experience. They’re more susceptible to illnesses, even stress can bring on illnesses. And like I said above, you can’t just wait and see what happens with piggies. They have to see a vet promptly regardless. This means it can get expensive on consultation fees alone. You also have to make sure you have a good exotic vet for piggies, believe it or not these are hard to find!
I have spent more on my guinea pigs in 5 years than on our family cat in almost 12 years. I’d say it’s been over double the amount. People mistake guinea pigs as cheap pets as they’re advertised as being a child’s pet and because they’re small. This is far from the case. I love my piggies to death, but had I known the true cost of them I might have chosen a different pet.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks hamsters' lives are worth spending that sort of money! They are such characters and my kids were so attached I couldn't help it.

People think I am crazy to even bring the hamster to the vet, but i tell them its a legal requirement in the UK to bring your pets to the vet, NOT just dogs and cats.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Hamsters are the way to go then.
Guinea pigs cost a lot more than a dog or cat from my experience. They’re more susceptible to illnesses, even stress can bring on illnesses. And like I said above, you can’t just wait and see what happens with piggies. They have to see a vet promptly regardless. This means it can get expensive on consultation fees alone. You also have to make sure you have a good exotic vet for piggies, believe it or not these are hard to find!
I have spent more on my guinea pigs in 5 years than on our family cat in almost 12 years. I’d say it’s been over double the amount. People mistake guinea pigs as cheap pets as they’re advertised as being a child’s pet and because they’re small. This is far from the case. I love my piggies to death, but had I known the true cost of them I might have chosen a different pet.

Wow, why is it on forums like mumsnet, they don't tell you this. I got that idea from there actually; as they said how amazing guinea pigs are, and I liked watching videos from little adventures (to be fair, she did say her guineas' vet fees are very high but she does have a herd). If I was a parent buying a pet for a child, I don't think I would like thousands in vet fees to be in the bargain. Hundreds maybe but thousands?

 

[piggieminder]

Probably not. Cats and dogs can be treated by general vets who tend to be cheaper than exotics. Guinea pigs can be treated by general vets with some piggy knowledge but most will refer you to an exotic vet for complicated stuff like surgery. The vets I go to are expensive, a consult fee is £66, I lost a guinea pig when I went to general vets (5 different ones!) who didn't know what they were doing, in the end I lost my boar and paid out more as I had to keep going back. It looks like the calculator is also using insurance payments to work out costs, only one company insure guinea pigs and the exclusions make it a waste of money in the long run. For example they won't pay out more than £2,000 in a year, so the surgery my piggy had last January would have wiped that out straight away. It wouldn't have paid out for his follow ups or another problem he had in September.

 

[Little Ones]

Wow, why is it on forums like mumsnet, they don't tell you this. I got that idea from there actually; as they said how amazing guinea pigs are, and I liked watching videos from little adventures (to be fair, she did say her guineas' vet fees are very high but she does have a herd). If I was a parent buying a pet for a child, I don't think I would like thousands in vet fees to be in the bargain. Hundreds maybe but thousands?

A lot of people don’t fully understand vet costs of guinea pigs. That’s why you’ll often see piggies dying fairly young on other sites, for example age 3 being considered as old when really that’s only adulthood. Many people out there don’t think piggies need to see a vet, the same way they think a hamster doesn’t need to either. As they’re considered starter pets, parents buy them to keep the kids entertained and animal welfare doesn’t really come into it much. Hence why you see them in commercial cages rather than proper sized cages, or see single piggies being sold. There’s not a real drive to learn about the animals they own as they’re posed as being straightforward and easy pets when you get them from the store. It’s sad really.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

Probably not. Cats and dogs can be treated by general vets who tend to be cheaper than exotics. Guinea pigs can be treated by general vets with some piggy knowledge but most will refer you to an exotic vet for complicated stuff like surgery. The vets I go to are expensive, a consult fee is £66, I lost a guinea pig when I went to general vets (5 different ones!) who didn't know what they were doing, in the end I lost my boar and paid out more as I had to keep going back. It looks like the calculator is also using insurance payments to work out costs, only one company insure guinea pigs and the exclusions make it a waste of money in the long run. For example they won't pay out more than £2,000 in a year, so the surgery my piggy had last January would have wiped that out straight away. It wouldn't have paid out for his follow ups or another problem he had in September.

Thanks for this. i notice from your signature, you have quite a herd so naturally your vet costs would be higher... would this apply for someone with just a pair? i mean, thats the part i find confusing. Most people on guineapigforums seem to have many guinea pigs so I can't tell if the high costs is due to the number of guinea pigs or it would be similar with 2 (incremental cost of each piggie isn't that much?).

 

[Little Ones]

Thanks for this. i notice from your signature, you have quite a herd so naturally your vet costs would be higher... would this apply for someone with just a pair? i mean, thats the part i find confusing. Most people on guineapigforums seem to have many guinea pigs so I can't tell if the high costs is due to the number of guinea pigs or it would be similar with 2 (incremental cost of each piggie isn't that much?).

I know it’s not directed at me, but I wanted to add that I’ve only ever had a pair up until a month ago. So everything I’ve said about costs is about just two piggies

 

[onlychildandhamster]

A lot of people don’t fully understand vet costs of guinea pigs. That’s why you’ll often see piggies dying fairly young on other sites, for example age 3 being considered as old when really that’s only adulthood. Many people out there don’t think piggies need to see a vet, the same way they think a hamster doesn’t need to either. As they’re considered starter pets, parents buy them to keep the kids entertained and animal welfare doesn’t really come into it much. Hence why you see them in commercial cages rather than proper sized cages, or see single piggies being sold. There’s not a real drive to learn about the animals they own as they’re posed as being straightforward and easy pets when you get them from the store. It’s sad really.

Ultimately though its about the overall cost. My hamster Cuddles might eventually have to see an exotics vet and that could very well cost more than for a dog. However, Cuddles has never cost me the £70 a month that a dog costs, so I can use those 'savings' to fund the vet fees. But if the vet fees are in the thousands, thats a different story.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

I know it’s not directed at me, but I wanted to add that I’ve only ever had a pair up until a month ago. So everything I’ve said about costs is about just two piggies

Thanks for this I really appreciate it.

 

[Siikibam]

The issue is that when they're really ill the bills can build up. You may take them for something simple and they find something else that involves medicines and syringe feeding round the clock etc. I'm not saying that is the norm. But when it's bad it can be bad.

In terms of feeding (hay, veg) the cost doesn't escalate much for additional piggies. The important two things to think about are space and vet fees. I recently took one of my boys to the vet for a check as he had been limping. He was absolutely fine after all that, but it cost me £40. I don't begrudge it because I was worried. When I took them both to another vet previously, I paid around £50 for both of them. I know that my limit is four - both financially and the amount of work it takes to keep them in the fashion they're used to With that I mean cleaning them out, weighing etc.

 

[piggieminder]

The example I gave you was just one piggy as an example of what can happen. I've just done a quick count up round the six I have now -
approx. life time bills so far, bound to forget some smaller ones !
Peanut age 6 abscess removal, check ups, urine infection x 2, hay poke, nose bleed, parasite treatment, £700
Rusty age 3 stone surgery, check ups, parasite treatment £2,500
Brillo age 2 1 check up, parasite treatment £80
Red age 3 check up, parasite treatment, urine infection £200
Caspy age 3 check up, parasite treatment, £80 - cost a lot before he came to me, he had a stubborn URI for 4 months.
Nugget age 1 so far so good, not been to a vet, he didn't get his initial check up because we went into lockdown.

This is just vet bills, when they are ill there's extra expense like recovery food and extra tempting veg to get them to eat.

My most expensive piggy died age 2 he had kidney stones 4 months after having £5,000 treatment for bladder stones. He also had a few cheaper trips to the vet as well, the final bill was £81 for PTS .
You can see how piggy's differ, you can be very unlucky. I've had piggies in the past who only went to the vet for annual health checks, never needed treatment and died of old age in their beds.

 

[onlychildandhamster]

The example I gave you was just one piggy as an example of what can happen. I've just done a quick count up round the six I have now -
approx. life time bills so far, bound to forget some smaller ones !
Peanut age 6 abscess removal, check ups, urine infection x 2, hay poke, nose bleed, parasite treatment, £700
Rusty age 3 stone surgery, check ups, parasite treatment £2,500
Brillo age 2 1 check up, parasite treatment £80
Red age 3 check up, parasite treatment, urine infection £200
Caspy age 3 check up, parasite treatment, £80 - cost a lot before he came to me, he had a stubborn URI for 4 months.
Nugget age 1 so far so good, not been to a vet, he didn't get his initial check up because we went into lockdown.

This is just vet bills, when they are ill there's extra expense like recovery food and extra tempting veg to get them to eat.

My most expensive piggy died age 2 he had kidney stones 4 months after having £5,000 treatment for bladder stones. He also had a few cheaper trips to the vet as well, the final bill was £81 for PTS .
You can see how piggy's differ, you can be very unlucky. I've had piggies in the past who only went to the vet for annual health checks, never needed treatment and died of old age in their beds.

sounds like its luck of the draw. with hammies, i guess there is only 1 so no chance of multiple vet bills. Thanks, this is so informative! I do agree it is more expensive than a dog. As most people have only 1 dog and it would be a very unlucky dog to have the cumulative problems of a succession of piggies.

 

[Swissgreys]

It really is luck of the draw I think.

I have had 2 hammies in the past 2 years.
Neither of them have been to a vet, and Raisin passed at age 21 months.
He was fine one day and gone the next.
Opal is running manically on her wheel as I speak (age 16 months).

I have had 5 guinea pigs in the past 5 years.

Oreo lived to 3.5 years and was diagnosed with lymphoma.
Her diagnosis and subsequent vet bills (minimal becasue not a lot can be done) cost around 250 pounds.

Eddi lived to 4 years. He had mites and a fungal infection early on, and later had a dental abscess and teeth issues.
His total vet bills were around 800 pounds.

Harry lived to 2.5 years.
He never saw a vet, and we lost him to sudden onset diarrhoea which clearly indicated a more serious issue.

Lucy lived to 4.5 years.
She suffered with ongoing bloat episodes and her treatment (often out of hours and always with a specialist) cost around 800 pounds.

Ruby is 5 years old and still with us.
She had one incident of bladder sludge which involved surgery and ongoing care for a month. Her total vet bills were around 1000 pounds.
At this point the vet questioned how long we should persist with treatment, but Ruby survived and is hale and hearty to this day.

 

[Sweet Potato]

I only have 2 piggies and luckily at 2 and a half years old neither has needed extensive vet care besides a couple of hay pokes (£130 each), and a checkup for a chipped tooth (£40) but I keep £2000 in a vet fund at all times and have other savings I could raid if nesssesery. The biggest difference in my opinion is that if a hamster is told halfway through it's life that it needs to be on medication for the rest of it's life that is only 6months to 1year of treatment but a Guinea pig in the same situation would need medication for 2.5 to 3.5 years and often this is not just medication but regular check ups, operations and other procedures.

 

[Free Ranger]

Oh gosh we sound depressing!

In the last 5 years I’ve spent over £4000 on vet bills. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, who knows.

One surgery we had for a bladder stone was £5,000,

I've had a dozen or so pigs in the past 10 years and I've never spent a thousand in one go... the most expensive surgery was for poor Panda's stones and that was £500+ but they actually gave me a significant 'compassionate discount' which brings tears to my eyes to think about it. We must have spent about £800 in total on my Ivy last year without finding out what her problem was but then she seemed so well apart from not being able to eat. And I must add, for honesty's sake, that if at any point it gets too expensive you can tell the vet to pts and they don't argue because they understand cost is an issue for people (although if they don't think your case is hopeless they might suggest surrendering to a rescue).

My vet has been going a few years (I hope she won't mind me saying that!) and she has said that they see guineas more and more as people learn that at 2 or 3 they're not 'reaching the end' they're just poorly and in need of treatment. I get asked whether they are my children's pets sometimes with trainee vets and I always say no, they're mine, indicating that I'm going to spend the money for those meds. Vets don't get much pig experience unless people take their pigs in and luckily for those future pigs, people are taking them in more and more! My vet doesn't routinely anesthetise for x-ray now... they've figured that for most pigs you can wrap them firmly in a towel for long enough to scan. It's little things like that which can make a difference financially. It took me a few years to find a vet I was happy to work with and that's made a lot of difference to my piggy habits.

A wedding though - now that's expensive! But many, many congratulations!