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New To Guinea Pigs, Need Advice

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SpennyD

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 11, 2015
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Location
County Durham, UK
Hi Guys, I've never owned a Guinea Pig before. After about a year of thinking about it and making sure it wasn't an impulse decision and doing relevant research and go plenty of times to pet shops to look at the guinea pigs and get my daughter ready and not to mention finally buy my own house I'm ready to go ahead with buying 2 Guinea pigs for me and my daughter to look after.

I was just wondering if anyone could offer some advice. I've only ever had dogs as pets but have decided to get guinea pigs as I feel they would be great around my daughter and it's something we coudl love and look after together, me obviously taking the responsibility of it all. Ive looked at various cages at well know pet shops and looked online to. After initially considering one from the pet shop I have recently changed my mind to have a open top c and c cage with an upper deck as I feel it would offer the guineas more room and be better for them. The manufacturer has recommend we use corex as the base for the floor but I was wondering what should I put on top of this? Would a towel with a fleece blanket on top be good for them?

Also what about hay should I dot this about the cage for them to borrow / eat ? Do Guinea pigs smell a lot as I was considering keeping the cage in the living room as opposed to the spare room so they are in a much more social environment with us and get use to us being around them more to make them part of our family.

Any other advice you could offer would be greatly received thank you :)
 
I used to have mine outdoors in a hutch then found this site and ordered a c&c cage, I use fleece on the bottom and they hay for them to eat I have in a hay rack that I bought from PAH. We had a new kitchen lino fitted and I was lucky enough to have some left over so on top of the coroplast I put the lino then fleece on top the lino, they are very happy!
 
:D Hi and :wel: to the forum! It is great that you did your research first before getting your piggies. They will be very happy in a C and C cage, you will be able to see all their natural behaviour and hear the noises they make. Towels under fleece will be fine on the floor. a lot of folks on here (including myself) use towels and fleece. You will find that only two piggies will hardly make any smell at all. Hay; you can ether put in a hay rack or find a low-sided container and fill that with hay for them to sit/sleep on. I have hay racks and open cardboard boxes with entrances cut into either end as hay trays. (High sides minimise the amount of hay that falls out.) If you were thinking about insurance Exotics Direct is the only place that does guinea pigs.
 
Thank you for the replies it is very helpful, I have just realised I have carpet left over from my carpet fitting could I put this down then put fleece over it for them or is this a no no? Just trying to get a nice comfy hone for them before they co e to help them with the change. I will get a hay rack and a few places dotted around for them to have hay in to. Am I right in thinking a low sided end litter tray would be good to?
 
:D Piggies will be fine on carpet. I had mine on carpet tiles for a couple of years. You don't have to put fleece on top unless you want something that's easy to clean. A low-sided litter tray will be fine for hay. I am sure you have water bottles and food bowls ready? What about hides and shelters? When searching on-line, go for rabbit-sized hides as some guinea pig sized items can be too small. And remember that your piggies will GROW!
 
I haven't bought anything yet, have just settled on the c and c cage I was getting. I am ordering it to goth and will be looking for shelters and hides etc for them tonight to, I was going to get afew different ones to give them options, thank you for the advice about getting bigger ones, I knew they'd grow but didn't think too much about it so will make sure I get big enough ones.

Can I ask for the c and c cage I've been advised to use correx, is this right ? If so is 2mm ok or would you recommend 4mm or something different?
 
Correx makes a good base. I prefer the 4mm thickness - but it is all down to personal preference .
 
:wel: to the forum . Where are you based? We have members all around the world so it is useful to know whether you are form the UK/Us or elsewhere.

I would also recommend you consider getting your guinea pigs from a reputable rescue . I have many reasons for this - but the 2 most important reasons are a rescue can ensure you get a bonded pair that they have been properly sexed .
 
Thank you for the reply, I'm from County Durham, will add my Info to my profile. Thank you for the info it helps I have been looking at rescue pigs, I have to admit I went to PAH and asked a member of staff fir info and they just gave me a leaflet didn't really spend time to talk to me about it etc, I'm Guessing just cos its a big company etc.
 
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