New and Questions about Guinea Pigs

[SergeantZoo]

Hi, I’m new to the forum as well as guinea pigs in general. I’m not planning to get Guinea Pigs because I live in a small apartment and there’s just isn’t enough space for them. I have owned a hamster in the past and I know a lot about them though. Anyway, I have some questions and it would be great if I could get some answers.

1. What is the minimum and recommended size cage for a pair of Guinea Pigs?
2. How many Guinea Pigs are recommended to keep together and can you have an odd number? (Other than 1 of course)
3. Are there different breeds or species of guinea Pigs? I know there are different species of hamster but are there with GPs?
4. Is it easy to tell a male and a female apart?
5. Why do GP owners use fleece instead of bedding?
6. What is the best food for them?
7. How much hay should they be fed a day?
8. What is the best kind of hay?
9. What do you do if you have a pair of GPs and one dies?
10. How long does it take to tame them?

 

[Pearl and Zip]

1: Minimum: 7.5 square feet. Ideal: 10.5 square feet. More is better. Guinea pigs need more room than hamsters as they don’t use running wheels. A general rule could be 4 square feet per piggy. (But 7.5 square feet for one pig, if you are only keeping one, which is not recommended as guinea pigs are social animals.) This will give you the minimum.


2: I don’t know a recommended amount. For boars, I think it’s pairs. For sows, I think it could be any number.

3: Yes. But I don’t think people should choose piggies by breeds. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Also, when choosing guinea pigs, please adopt and don’t shop.

4: No, not really. But most rescues and shelters will tell you. Petstores will not and they often mix males and females there. When buying from pet stores, you are likely to end up with a pregnant or unhealthy piggy.

5: We can use either. Fleece is just less expensive because a pair of fleeces should last you forever.

6: Pellets: Oxbow 1/8 cup daily per pig
Hay: Timothy, Alfalfa for pregnant
sows.
Veggies: Nutrition READ ME- Cavy Nutrition Charts & Poisonous Plants List
Guinea pigs should also have a
vitamin c supplement.

7: They should be fed an unlimited amount.

8: I use smallpetselect.com but I hear Timothy hay is good too.

9: I adopted another from a rescue.

10: Depends. Some: never.

 

[SergeantZoo]

1: Minimum: 7.5 square feet. Ideal: 10.5 square feet. More is better. Guinea pigs need more room than hamsters as they don’t use running wheels. A general rule could be 4 square feet per piggy. (But 7.5 square feet for one pig, if you are only keeping one, which is not recommended as guinea pigs are social animals.) This will give you the minimum.


2: I don’t know a recommended amount. For boars, I think it’s pairs. For sows, I think it could be any number.

3: Yes. But I don’t think people should choose piggies by breeds. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. Also, when choosing guinea pigs, please adopt and don’t shop.

4: No, not really. But most rescues and shelters will tell you. Petstores will not and they often mix males and females there. When buying from pet stores, you are likely to end up with a pregnant or unhealthy piggy.

5: We can use either. Fleece is just less expensive because a pair of fleeces should last you forever.

6: Pellets: Oxbow 1/8 cup daily per pig
Hay: Timothy, Alfalfa for pregnant
sows.
Veggies: Nutrition READ ME- Cavy Nutrition Charts & Poisonous Plants List
Guinea pigs should also have a
vitamin c supplement.

7: They should be fed an unlimited amount.

8: I use smallpetselect.com but I hear Timothy hay is good too.

9: I adopted another from a rescue.

10: Depends. Some: never.

Thanks for replying. I have a question, what are boars and sows? Also what are the different breeds of guinea pigs? Do guinea pigs not get stressed when a cagemate dies? They’re okay if you just get another guinea pig?

 

[Betsy]

Boars are boys and sows are girls. There are many breeds of guinea pigs. If one piggy dies the other one will be lonely. They live between 5 and 7 years on average although some live longer and some die younger. You need to make sure that any cagemate is personality matched with your piggy.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I’m new to the forum as well as guinea pigs in general. I’m not planning to get Guinea Pigs because I live in a small apartment and there’s just isn’t enough space for them. I have owned a hamster in the past and I know a lot about them though. Anyway, I have some questions and it would be great if I could get some answers.

1. What is the minimum and recommended size cage for a pair of Guinea Pigs?
2. How many Guinea Pigs are recommended to keep together and can you have an odd number? (Other than 1 of course)
3. Are there different breeds or species of guinea Pigs? I know there are different species of hamster but are there with GPs?
4. Is it easy to tell a male and a female apart?
5. Why do GP owners use fleece instead of bedding?
6. What is the best food for them?
7. How much hay should they be fed a day?
8. What is the best kind of hay?
9. What do you do if you have a pair of GPs and one dies?
10. How long does it take to tame them?

Hi!

You will find most of the answers, and a lot more interesting and helpful information as well, in our wannabe owners guide collection: Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners
Includes a discussion of all possible guinea pig combinations and where to best get guinea pigs used to handling from, comprehensive and detailed diet advice, cage size and bedding overviews, sexing, basic facts (general and history, reproduction and biological quirks, life cycle and span as well as society) etc.

Additionally you may find these guides here helpful:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
For settling in and making friends with there is a whole section dedicated to it ou new owners' guide collection: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Why fleece? It produces a lot less waste (you still need a hay corner or tray as hay makes over 80% of the guinea pig diet and piggies very much enjoy romping and burrowing in soft meadow or orchard hay), but fleece is cheap, pretty easy to clean/wash and lasts a long time - and the piggies love it! While fleece has become very popular for indoors cages, not every owner loves it, though; but there is now a much wider range of bedding options available.

For more research on a wide range of issues you will find our guide collection helpful. It can be accessed via the shortcut on the top bar.

 

[Pearl and Zip]

Thanks for replying. I have a question, what are boars and sows? Also what are the different breeds of guinea pigs? Do guinea pigs not get stressed when a cagemate dies? They’re okay if you just get another guinea pig?

Like @Betsy said, boars are male, sows are female.

Here are some guinea pig breeds https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ig-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/

When Pearl’s (one of my piggies) cage mate Jenna died, Pearl did seem miserable. She no longer wheeked for her veggies and spent most of the day lying down looking bored. She immediately perked up when we adopted Zip.

Keep in mind when choosing a pig, you’ll need to get two submissives or one dominant one submissive. I don’t exactly know how to tell if a pig is dominant or submissive, but I heard usually younger ones are submissive. (This is not always the case. Pearl was dominant over Jenna although Pearl was younger.) Two dominants usually won’t work out. I got lucky and although I adopted two dominants (Pearl and Zip), they got along with no fighting and no blood. They just mount each other occasionally.