So You Wanna Be A Guinea-owner

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GuineaNoob

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Hey forum people, my name's Liam and I'm 15. I really want to own guiena pigs and I've spent countless hours researching as to not own wrong, but there's just one problem...
I am broke. My dad won't loan me for it and I have no way to earn money where I live. I like the idea of c and c cages but they're very costly to built and that doesn't even include the food, water, etc and the actual 20-40 dollars for each piggie
So here's the case. I want a big C and C cage with lots of room and a loft, and I want 3 or 4 male guinea pigs. What's the best way to go about this? Should I just save up and make my own c and c cage with stuff off of amazon? Or is there a cheaper site/store? Should I buy one off the guineapigcages.com store? Will 3 males fight?
Thanks,
Liam W
 
GuineaNoob said:
Hey forum people, my name's Liam and I'm 15. I really want to own guiena pigs and I've spent countless hours researching as to not own wrong, but there's just one problem...
I am broke. My dad won't loan me for it and I have no way to earn money where I live. I like the idea of c and c cages but they're very costly to built and that doesn't even include the food, water, etc and the actual 20-40 dollars for each piggie
So here's the case. I want a big C and C cage with lots of room and a loft, and I want 3 or 4 male guinea pigs. What's the best way to go about this? Should I just save up and make my own c and c cage with stuff off of amazon? Or is there a cheaper site/store? Should I buy one off the guineapigcages.com store? Will 3 males fight?
Thanks,
Liam
P.S, I'm bad at building things and have little patience with cutting things but I really want some way to customize my piggy's cage
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GuineaNoob said:
Hey forum people, my name's Liam and I'm 15. I really want to own guiena pigs and I've spent countless hours researching as to not own wrong, but there's just one problem...
I am broke. My dad won't loan me for it and I have no way to earn money where I live. I like the idea of c and c cages but they're very costly to built and that doesn't even include the food, water, etc and the actual 20-40 dollars for each piggie
So here's the case. I want a big C and C cage with lots of room and a loft, and I want 3 or 4 male guinea pigs. What's the best way to go about this? Should I just save up and make my own c and c cage with stuff off of amazon? Or is there a cheaper site/store? Should I buy one off the guineapigcages.com store? Will 3 males fight?
Thanks,
Liam W
Click to expand...
Hey Liam
Firstly and not to be rude but if you can't afford basic setup costs you can't afford a vet. At which point what are you going to do when they get I'll.
Boars are best in pairs.
However you could prob find stuff online second hand cheap enough.
But I would suggest maybe volunteering somewhere near you hopefully. So you can help piggies out and not put them in harm's way by not being able to afford a vet.
Joe
 
Please would you add your location to your profile?
C & c cages are very versatile & practical. Also easy to build. Even if you buy it all from a site you will have to assemble it yourself
More than 2 boars together is unlikely to work. Also apart from the cost of the pigs & the cage you need to factor in veterinary costs which can be very costly.
I'd plan for 2 piggies. Save up and ensure you can afford everything including vets bills.
 
I agree with what is said above. I have a maximum limit of 4 piggies and there is a huge difference in cost from having two to four. Not just vets bills but pellets, hay and veggies too. Focus on a pair as a starting point though if you do want to grow into a herd in future I would recommend sows or a netuered boar/sow pairing.

Is there really no way to earn money where you live. When I was 14 I had a paper round though I had to give it up for health reasons and took on the family ironing for £5 per week. At 15 I spent a few weeks doing the lunch time shift in the local chippy. Could you do odd jobs for family and neighbours, cutting the grass, ironing, cleaning, dog walking etc to earn the money. As mentioned if a guinea pig gets ill it can soon rack up a big bill especially if your local vets isn't competent and you have to seek out a specialist.
 
Hi Liam,
piggies have a low cost when they are healthy, but unfortunately they fall ill just like us and no teenager can afford the bills. here in forum there are a lot of threads regarding this problem, that is a ill piggie, a teenager in tears and a parent who puts stupid excuses for not running to the vet and not paying.
Your parents would be responsible of your pets, considering that a piggie might need a vet also in the night and you would need a car and someone who can drive.
Of course 4 pets mean the (huge) bill x4. I say huge because exotic vets are expensive.
You can read on this old link of another forum the cost in dollars of a simple check up: the thread is old... therefore now the cost is even higher:
Vet Costs What does your average vet visit cost you?
Consider that the most terrible pain for a good owner is seeing your beloved piggie in need of a vet and nobody of the family caring of the matter or just saying "I don't want to spend 1000$ for a guinea pig who costs 20$". You will love your piggie and you will then cry here asking for help which nobody here can give you (because there are no vets online which can help us).
My advice is: waiting for some year... or at least be sure that your parents will pay all the bills.
 
I really feel for you. I wanted a pet when I was young, and my mum wouldn't let me have one. I have to agree with others - if you can't afford the vets bills, then you would just be setting yourself up for heartbreak.
I volunteer in an animal sanctuary, and as part of that I used to foster some of the guinea pigs to get them used to being handled. All the good bits, none of the cost. The only problem with that was that I had to give them back. Have a look around and see if there is anywhere near you to help out (I didn't know the sanctuary existed, I only found it when I started looking). Good luck!
 
It costs me £150 per piggy per year. So actually for me it's £1300 per year. :yikes:

Tthat's just the bedding, hay and various veggies and nuggets & pellets, let alone maintenance, new purchases and vet bills.
The other week I had an unexpected vet bill because it was a Saturday afternoon I needed an emergency vet (yes I could have left it to the Monday, but why would I?) My bill - £79 later because the fee for the emergency vet is higher than normal and the actual cost of the treatment was not cheap either.:eek:

So not to put you off, and like others have said, you need to be prepared financially and of course have the time. How about getting a weekend job and start saving?
 
Thanks for all the help everyone. I didn't mean it to look like I was poor, my parents are taking care of vet bills.. I was only meaning to ask about general costs and recommended cages... but that's all wrapped up now. Thanks everyone :)
 
GuineaNoob said:
Thanks for all the help everyone. I didn't mean it to look like I was poor, my parents are taking care of vet bills.. I was only meaning to ask about general costs and recommended cages... but that's all wrapped up now. Thanks everyone :)
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of course nobody thinks you are poor :Dand in my opinion if you own a mobile and a pc for surfing the net you can also affort a lot of things. But let's be honest: you cannot afford a sudden bill of 500 dollars and more and you cannot run to the vet in the night. Although you were rich you couldn't be independent in these decisions. Therefore, have a serious talk with your parents because "your" piggies will be part of the family and will become "theirs" especially when you will be on holidays with your friends or far from home for other good reasons (studying). If the problem is only the cage, well, don't worry! you can start with a cage built by yourself using cheap materials; I did the same... then at Christmas you will manage to give your piggies a great gift:san:
 
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