What advice would you give new guinea pig owners?

lilyandluna

lilyandluna

Junior Guinea Pig
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This would have been helpful before I got my guineas so i wanted to create this xx
(Idk if this has been created before but I didn't see it anywhere)

My advice is to be prepared to scoop a lot of poop and that even though they are a lot of work when they give you a little squeak its all worth it xx
 
- Read our Wannabe and New Owners guide collections (via the guides shortcut on the top bar) to get a realistic idea of what issues you are likely going to face and generally do your research before you go and buy any pets! Our forum is a good place to ask any questions you may have before you go and get guinea pigs.
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - A Guide
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

- Respect your guinea pigs' needs!
- Guinea pigs are prey animals. They NOT natural born living cuddly toys there for you whenever you need them.
- Guinea pigs are not wired to be kept alone; they are group animals. They are group animals with rather complex social interaction and a need for constant company and stimulation. As a human you just can't replace that need.
Companionship
- Guinea pigs are ground roaming animals that need a lot more space to really run around than you think! Groups can easily cover a mile between their feeding grounds and their safe sleeping area twice daily to browse at dawn and dusk.
Cage Size Guide

- Healthy guinea pigs live 5-7 on average with good care. Before you get them, think carefully whether you as the parent or owner can really make the commitment in time (cleaning), money (especially vet expenses) and space for the full duration of their lives and long past the time your children will have lost interest.
There are no children's pets - there are only ever family pets if you do not want to fail your children with unrealistic expectations.
Children And Guinea Pigs - A Guide For Parents

- The best and safest place to get any pets from is a reputable rescue. There is no regulation or control in English speaking countries, so anybody can call themselves a breeder or a rescue, and the results can be accordingly.
In the case of guinea pigs, a good standard rescue provides:
- a mandatory quarantine and any necessary vet care. Any guinea pigs are only put up for adoption when they are fully healthy.
If you spot bald patches on guinea pigs that are just explained with dry skin etc., you know that you are in a bad place without any medical care because bald skin patches mean mites and/or ringworm!
- A good guinea pig rescue provides a pregnancy watch for any incoming sows that could have been in contact with boars, so you do not have to worry about brining home a pregnant piggy. Any boar babies are separated at 3 weeks old.
- their guinea pigs are properly sexed and carefully personality matched for a stable bond.
- No decent rescue will ever rehome a guinea pig as a single into homes where there are no other guinea pigs for stimulation.
- A good guinea pig rescue provides support during the settling in period and for the duration of the lives of their adopted piggies. You cannot just hand on an adopted piggy to a third party. This is there to make sure that any adoptee is safe for the rest of their lives. If you really cannot keep an adopted piggy any longer or if there are problems, the rescue will work with you on a solution and if necessary take the piggies back.
That is a LOT of service and peace of mind for only a little extra effort!
UK: Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Some other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations

- Always double check the gender of any new piggies. Mis-sexing is sadly very common. Don't just trust the word of shop staff or a general vet or people playing guessing games on social media whose qualifications and knowledge you cannot judge!
Sexing Guide
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

- ANY pet is expensive. Vet cost can quickly run into the hundred or even over a thousand pounds or dollars. Before you get any pet, you need to make sure that you can afford vet care and that you are able to save up on a weekly/monthly basis as an integral part of their regular living expenses.
If you are a minor, you will need your parents'/egal guardian's full support and also ensure their willingness to take you to a vet whenever you need to. This is a VERY important point. We sadly see far too many younger members who and whose piggies are failed by lack in family support on this forum.
 
Before you get your piggies buy a large bag of hay and a bag of chocolate raisins.
Run through your house flinging hay everywhere.
Put chocolate raisins in the most unlikely places (a shoe, your hand bag, your jacket pocket).
This will be your new reality for the next 8+ years.

NB: Once you get actual real piggies don't eat any surprise 'chocolate raisins' that you find. :))
 
Love that, our carpets always have the odd Chocolate Raisin. How they get down the sofa I’ve no idea? As for hay you’d think we lived in a stable 😝
 
You will have hay everywhere like @Swissgreys has mentioned. Mine are outside piggies and I still have hay all around the house! If the only place for piggies is outside (like mine) buy a good quality hutch mine is the Chartwell 6' double from Scratch and Newton and get the thermal cover and the insulated cover too. Don't get your piggies until the spring time and until it is at least 15 degrees at night as they need to acclimatise to cold weather. Save up for a vet fund. Put money aside each month into a separate bank account and only use it for vets fees and nothing else. A simple hay poke (hay in the eye) can easily cost £100 once the vet consultation fee and any meds are taken into consideration. Find a vet that specialises in guinea pigs (cavies) by looking on the vet locator at the top of the page. Most vets will say they treat guinea pigs but will have no clue when it comes to complicated stuff. (There is a vet up the road from me who says they treat guinea pigs but they are completely useless even with something as simple as hay poke!) so don't believe what they say. Be prepared for a long term commitment and remember they are not cuddly toys (as @Wiebke has said). They will be very skittish and frightened when they come home with you but with a lot of commitment and love and generally taking things at their pace they will become very lovely pets.
 
Be ready to take care of your pigs the same way you would a dog or a cat- for their whole life, with vet care when needed. They're not a 'practice pet' to be given away when you 'upgrade' to a dog (I know several people who did this with their guinea pigs. Kept them for a year or so, decided the kids were responsible enough for a dog, and sold or gave away the pigs because they didn't want them once the dog came home.)

My pigs have tips for new humans: "Lots of hay, keep us with a friend or several, and give us treats whenever we wheek because we are desperately hungry at all times!"
 
Swissgreys said:
Before you get your piggies buy a large bag of hay and a bag of chocolate raisins.
Run through your house flinging hay everywhere.
Put chocolate raisins in the most unlikely places (a shoe, your hand bag, your jacket pocket).
This will be your new reality for the next 8+ years.

NB: Once you get actual real piggies don't eat any surprise 'chocolate raisins' that you find. :))
Click to expand...
I just saw this! I'm dying xd
 
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