Guinea pig

[Mizzoufan]

If you have one can you tell me about them? Are they good pets for kids? I know they are pretty social pets. I'm doing some research to see if they would be a good fit for our family.

 

[Christine]

If you have one can you tell me about them? Are they good pets for kids? I know they are pretty social pets. I'm doing some research to see if they would be a good fit for our family.

Oh, do I have a guinea pig!!

My daughter, in college at the time, got one last year. She is now back home after graduation and, of course, we have our little man now. I was very reluctant to have him, but he has really won my heart over. He's a real sweetheart.

It took him a very long time to trust us and he was always freaking out when I tried to pick him up. He was never very relaxed while we held him. But over time, he has matured and gotten used to us and he's absolutely fine now and I think he really enjoys being out and sitting with us.

Now, the facts:

They eat a lot. I have pellets and hay out all the time. Two times a day, we make him a small salad (usually just used bagged Spring Mix or Baby Lettuces). We try to add in high Vitamin C foods like red peppers and kiwi so he gets that.

He poops a lot. Ours never learned to poop in one area. We scoop out at least twice a day. Bedding is completely changed once a week. The stuff we get isn't all that cheap but not horribly expensive.

Guineas need large cages. Mine is probably not large enough.

Guineas are very social creatures and get lonely. It is best to get two at the same time. Not always easy to introduce a second one later.

Guinea pigs cannot manufacture Vitamin C so you must always be mindful of that and feed a lot of foods that are high in Vitamin C as well as supplement with it.

 

[Mizzoufan]

Oh, do I have a guinea pig!!

My daughter, in college at the time, got one last year. She is now back home after graduation and, of course, we have our little man now. I was very reluctant to have him, but he has really won my heart over. He's a real sweetheart.

It took him a very long time to trust us and he was always freaking out when I tried to pick him up. He was never very relaxed while we held him. But over time, he has matured and gotten used to us and he's absolutely fine now and I think he really enjoys being out and sitting with us.

Now, the facts:

They eat a lot. I have pellets and hay out all the time. Two times a day, we make him a small salad (usually just used bagged Spring Mix or Baby Lettuces). We try to add in high Vitamin C foods like red peppers and kiwi so he gets that.

He poops a lot. Ours never learned to poop in one area. We scoop out at least twice a day. Bedding is completely changed once a week. The stuff we get isn't all that cheap but not horribly expensive.

Guineas need large cages. Mine is probably not large enough.

Guineas are very social creatures and get lonely. It is best to get two at the same time. Not always easy to introduce a second one later.

Guinea pigs cannot manufacture Vitamin C so you must always be mindful of that and feed a lot of foods that are high in Vitamin C as well as supplement with it.

Thanks Do you let yours out and about? Or leave it in it's cage? Also are they bitters?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

The least likely to bite "pocket pets" are rats, so if you're open to it look into getting a couple of those guys. They're some of the best pets I've ever had (and I've had a LOT of different types of pets). They're very sweet, intelligent, and crave human interaction. Very much like little Labrador Retrievers. The only drawback is their short lifespan.

 

[wvjules]

I have a rat. He currently has an eye infection and I have to hold him down to put ointment in his eye. He has not even attempted to bite. He is the gentlest, friendliest little guy. He is very social, active, and super friendly. I recommend a pet rat
Highly. However they are so social it is best to get two unless you are going to interact hours a
Day with them. We had 2 but one died last year. We had him fixed so we could get him a female companion. If you have any rat questions let me know.

 

[Christine]

Thanks Do you let yours out and about? Or leave it in it's cage? Also are they bitters?

Mine does not bite, but some guinea pigs do. I have had mine nibble on me if he smells food on my hand, but that's it.

I had a woman at the pet store tell me that she has a few guinea pigs and one of them is very cage territorial. When she puts her hands in there, the guinea will bite her but then stops once he's out.

I let mine out occasionally. He is hard to catch, but we have a play area set up for him that we put a tube in so he can go inside.

I have a dog so that does limit his floor time.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

Oh, do I have a guinea pig!!

My daughter, in college at the time, got one last year. She is now back home after graduation and, of course, we have our little man now. I was very reluctant to have him, but he has really won my heart over. He's a real sweetheart.

It took him a very long time to trust us and he was always freaking out when I tried to pick him up. He was never very relaxed while we held him. But over time, he has matured and gotten used to us and he's absolutely fine now and I think he really enjoys being out and sitting with us.

Now, the facts:

They eat a lot. I have pellets and hay out all the time. Two times a day, we make him a small salad (usually just used bagged Spring Mix or Baby Lettuces). We try to add in high Vitamin C foods like red peppers and kiwi so he gets that.

He poops a lot. Ours never learned to poop in one area. We scoop out at least twice a day. Bedding is completely changed once a week. The stuff we get isn't all that cheap but not horribly expensive.

Guineas need large cages. Mine is probably not large enough.

Guineas are very social creatures and get lonely. It is best to get two at the same time. Not always easy to introduce a second one later.

Guinea pigs cannot manufacture Vitamin C so you must always be mindful of that and feed a lot of foods that are high in Vitamin C as well as supplement with it.

Great job explaining guinea pig needs. We have had 5 guinea pigs over a 4 year period and they were all surrendered and we adopted.
Yes they need larger cages and it is important to give them daily time to run around. BUT they love to chew wires. You have to be very careful because they love to go behind the furniture and one almost chewed through a lamp cord.

Also some are better than others about going back to the cage to pee or poop but if they can hide behind furniture and sleep they will do their business there too.

Yes they do poop a LOT! And even if you get one that likes being held, for the most part anything more than a few minutes you will get wet. I had one that as soon as I picked her up she would pee. I think she learned that would get her put down. Another one would try to warn me with a nibble but for the most part they are not like a puppy that might squirm to be put down.

They do need vitamin C and you really really don't want to forget that. We would do the high vitamin C veggies but also there was a melt in your mouth baby vitamin C that we gave them. BUT keep in mind too much can also give them stones.

Hay is extremely important to help them keep their teeth filed down.

AND Vet bills are extremely costly. You are suppose to bring them to a vet trained in exotic pets.

The one male we got had atrophy in his back legs because the owners never let him out of the cage other than to occasionally hold him. It was very sad to see him try to walk but as we worked with him and let him move around it was super sweet to watch him run to the cage where the females were and pur at them. He eventually was able to walk again. But his muscles in the back area never came back fully and we had to constantly clean him because he would get impacted and peeeew.

I don't regret having any of these rescues. They live between 5-10 years. The last one we had from birth at a shelter just died last month at 7 years old. She was quite the personality. We called her brat. She did not like any other guinea pig in her cage. She was with other females but if they were sick she would pick on them because they couldn't fight back. Once she was our last survivor a friend took her because they had other guinea pigs, and she would not share a cage nicely. So she won her own cage. She also would squeak and make loud noises with her water bottle at 5am to get us (and them) out of bed to give her attention and feed her.

They are very smart and with a lot of attention can be trained. We had Rosie ring a bell to get a treat. But removed the bell when she started ringing it in the wee hours of the morning.

You can not leave a bunch of food in the cage and take off for a couple days. As the previous poster said they need to eat veggies a couple times a day to keep the digestion going. One would argue they have hay, but there is not the adequate vitamins in the hay.

Thanks Do you let yours out and about? Or leave it in it's cage? Also are they bitters?

Some do bite. I never got bit hard to draw blood but as I said I had one more than the other nip to get me to put her down. It does take them time to get used to you and allow you to pick them up. The only one that willingly let me pick him up with out much of a chase was the male.

Their personalities can be very sweet. But again they require attention my family was not able to give any longer. I don't regret it but it's nice to not be running for hay or to the vet because one stopped eating and was losing weight. When they are sick they lose weight fast. Yes I would weigh them in grams at least once a week. They are prey animals so they try to hide they are sick and weighing them is the easiest way to catch it before they get too sick.

Good luck making your decision.

Oh one last thing, be very careful. If you have a female, if they don't have their first baby before 9 months old they can die if they get pregnant. Their pelvis fuses or something like that. There are so many that are abandoned and in shelters, consider adopting. The shelter I used rescued 150 out of a shed one November. An elder man had been trying to care for them but it got out of control, obviously.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

My 2 DD's had a succession of guinea pigs when they were young--probably 5 or 6 of them. They were very sweet and cuddly, but we did have one biter! DD#2 still has a scar on her collarbone where a GP chomped her when she was cuddling him!

 

[jme829]

Guineapigpages.com or guinealynx.com are two great sites for info. We just adopted our second piggy last weekend. ..so far he is doing fine with our other male piggy.

We have a large cage...most store cages aren't big enough..those two websites have great info on how to build your own.

My one pig is a major snuggle butt...I can hold him most of the evening before he needs to go back in the cage gor a potty break but then he wants right back out.

Our new boy also tends to be a snuggler but he is much younger and still a little fidgety (7months old...our other is 4 years old).

I wouldn't recommend them for young children...maybe 9 and older, as they are fragile and can get injured easily of dropped. The rescue we got our new piggy from just took in one that was dropped last week and is now paralyzed.

I dont know how to add a pic from my phone. If someone knows how, i can share a pic of our cage. (Samsung Galaxy 4)

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

Guineapigpages.com or guinealynx.com are two great sites for info. We just adopted our second piggy last weekend. ..so far he is doing fine with our other male piggy.

We have a large cage...most store cages aren't big enough..those two websites have great info on how to build your own.

My one pig is a major snuggle butt...I can hold him most of the evening before he needs to go back in the cage gor a potty break but then he wants right back out.

Our new boy also tends to be a snuggler but he is much younger and still a little fidgety (7months old...our other is 4 years old).

I wouldn't recommend them for young children...maybe 9 and older, as they are fragile and can get injured easily of dropped. The rescue we got our new piggy from just took in one that was dropped last week and is now paralyzed.

I dont know how to add a pic from my phone. If someone knows how, i can share a pic of our cage. (Samsung Galaxy 4)

Those are great sites.
We had used coraplast and also used those wire cube things you can buy at Target and linked them together with zipties. They took up half a room. It was a lot of work as we kept trying to make the cage nicer and more roomie, especially as we rescued more and connected the cages.

Good point on the dropping. It was awful too that people didn't understand that and they would come over with their little kids and want to pick them up and hold them. As cute as it was that they wanted to hold them, I just kept seeing $$ for the vet bill if they got hurt.

OH another point, if you have any pet allergies (like cats) know that you could be allergic to guinea pigs. I'm not 100% sure but while I had them I battled the worse skin rash allergies. I tried to wear long sleeves when I held them. It was another reason I couldn't take on more.
If I got to the shelter the guinea pigs are usually in the same room (seperate cages) with the rabbits and I'm definitely allergic to rabbits.

 

[jme829]

Those are great sites.
We had used coraplast and also used those wire cube things you can buy at Target and linked them together with zipties. They took up half a room. It was a lot of work as we kept trying to make the cage nicer and more roomie, especially as we rescued more and connected the cages.

Good point on the dropping. It was awful too that people didn't understand that and they would come over with their little kids and want to pick them up and hold them. As cute as it was that they wanted to hold them, I just kept seeing $$ for the vet bill if they got hurt.

OH another point, if you have any pet allergies (like cats) know that you could be allergic to guinea pigs. I'm not 100% sure but while I had them I battled the worse skin rash allergies. I tried to wear long sleeves when I held them. It was another reason I couldn't take on more.
If I got to the shelter the guinea pigs are usually in the same room (seperate cages) with the rabbits and I'm definitely allergic to rabbits.

Thats what I use also. I use wood pellets and fleece to line the cage.

 

[sukhakuli]

We had some, and they're really cute, but I became allergic to them after about a year having them. Every time I touched one of them or anything they touched I broke out in hives. The allergies are pretty common from what I understand. The hay wasn't doing anything for my seasonal allergies, either.

I love the whistling and little moink moink moink noises they make. But unfortunately they had to go. My rashes were getting pretty serious as time went on. They are the only pet I have ever given up, and it was really hard.

 

[Mizzoufan]

thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!!!


Would a hard plastic storage container from Walmart be okay for their cage? I know they are long enough but not sure if they could chew it?

 

[Christine]

thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!!!


Would a hard plastic storage container from Walmart be okay for their cage? I know they are long enough but not sure if they could chew it?

I don't think so. I think they need a plastic bottom and an open top (cage wires) to look out of. A plastic sided cage would probably not be good for them as they are very social and need to see things. Of course, I may be misunderstanding what you are talking about.

My current cage is about 4 feet long and 3 feet high. It has a shelf in the middle so he can jump up and sit on it, which he loves to do.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I don't think so. I think they need a plastic bottom and an open top (cage wires) to look out of. A plastic sided cage would probably not be good for them as they are very social and need to see things. Of course, I may be misunderstanding what you are talking about.

My current cage is about 4 feet long and 3 feet high. It has a shelf in the middle so he can jump up and sit on it, which he loves to do.

something likes this but clear and minus the lid of course
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermai...ghneck-Storage-Box-18-gal-Steel-Gray/41670361

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

Thats what I use also. I use wood pellets and fleece to line the cage.

Never thought of wood pellets. As long as they aren't treated with anything (don't know much about pellets) then I guess that would be absorbent and work. I know I was strongly advised not to use wood shavings because of the smell. Guinea pigs have sensitive respiratory systems and I was told they are prone to illness. I don't know about any of you that have them but the times I had to force them to take any medication was not fun. My heart would break.

I made all kinds of things with polar fleece and baby blankets and mattress pads. Oh ya and towels. The laundry did get crazy when I was busy and couldn't keep up with it. But I always felt proud when they would leap around int he cage happy it was clean. Loved the popcorning.

We had some, and they're really cute, but I became allergic to them after about a year having them. Every time I touched one of them or anything they touched I broke out in hives. The allergies are pretty common from what I understand. The hay wasn't doing anything for my seasonal allergies, either.

I love the whistling and little moink moink moink noises they make. But unfortunately they had to go. My rashes were getting pretty serious as time went on. They are the only pet I have ever given up, and it was really hard.

To this day washing lettuce I still hear their Wheeks and whistles. I do miss that. I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one that got increasingly worse with the hives. i had them up one side of my face. The vet kept warning me that one of these days i was going to have a life threatening reaction. She had that happen to her with rats. She can't service them at her clinic anymore.

thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!!!


Would a hard plastic storage container from Walmart be okay for their cage? I know they are long enough but not sure if they could chew it?

I would imagine this would be a respiratory issue as is fish tanks. No they can't chew through the container but I would not advise this. I imagine this might make them even more skittish since they can't really see you moving around the house too and being prey animals having you peeking over the top. I don't recommend.

I don't think so. I think they need a plastic bottom and an open top (cage wires) to look out of. A plastic sided cage would probably not be good for them as they are very social and need to see things. Of course, I may be misunderstanding what you are talking about.

My current cage is about 4 feet long and 3 feet high. It has a shelf in the middle so he can jump up and sit on it, which he loves to do.

I think if you do a search for Cavy Cages you will see some cool ideas.
Oh the other type of cage which is a no no is those wire cages with the wire bottom so you can slide the drawer out to clean. Their feet get an infection from the cuts the wire makes on their feet. I can't remember the name of it. It's painful to them. Oh and you do have to trim their toe nails regularly because they grow curly. The vets will do it for you for around $15 and I can't remember buy I think it was like once a month I had to make sure they were done if I couldn't do it. And the black toes are so hard to see the vein.

I feel like I'm discouraging you from getting one of these beautiful creatures, but just stating the fact so you can decide if the care is what you want.

Any pet has proper care requirements. A lot of people just don't take all the needs into consideration. Thanks for researching and not just jumping in and getting one. Some have the attitude of "disposable" which that to me is a plant.

At this point in my life, I want to be able to take vacations and not worry about who is going to care for my pet and running to the vet.

 

[jme829]

Never thought of wood pellets. As long as they aren't treated with anything (don't know much about









I feel like I'm discouraging you from getting one of these beautiful creatures, but just stating the fact so you can decide if the care is what you want.

Any pet has proper care requirements. A lot of people just don't take all the needs into consideration. Thanks for researching and not just jumping in and getting one. Some have the attitude of "disposable" which that to me is a plant.

Yeas, you have make sure they are untreated and hardwood. But they work great!

I put them in the bottom and use a fleece blanket on top. I brush or shake out the blanket every day, stir the pellets up and put the blanket back. The pellets last 6-8 weeks and are only 4-5 bucks for 40 lbs. Much cheaper than traditional cage fillers.

I got the idea from the forums on guineapigcages.com You have to wash the fleece a certain way so that the pee soaks down to the pellets. If it's washed right ,the fleece will stay dry...the pellets are very absorbent and great at odor control. Again just make sure they are untreated though.

 

[maleficent32]

Where do you get wood pellets? I love our guinea pig but I am so sick of cleaning out his cage, would love something a little easier to take care of.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

I have to be honest, when guinea pig threads pop up from time to time, I am always shocked by how many people consider them a good pet! We got 2 guinea pigs a couple of years ago for my son. They are cute, sure, but the amount of work and expense involved is honestly more that what our dog requires!

The cage (which is huge, by the way--4 feet by 2 feet) needs to be cleaned a minimum of once a week. They need fresh vegetables daily. They need hay daily. They poop every 15 minutes (literally). They run away when we try to pick them up. I call them the "eat and excrete" pets because that is all they do!

We don't enjoy them at all, OP. With that said, our family considers pets as part of the family, so they are here to stay until they pass away. We care for them very well, but we really get no enjoyment out of them. A dog is a much better pet and in my view, is easier than having guinea pigs. I'd say the costs are comparable, too. (We have a small dog so food costs are quite low). I would never recommend a guinea pig as a pet. However, I believe I am in a small minority amongst guinea pig owners, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

 

[Christine]

I have to be honest, when guinea pig threads pop up from time to time, I am always shocked by how many people consider them a good pet! We got 2 guinea pigs a couple of years ago for my son. They are cute, sure, but the amount of work and expense involved is honestly more that what our dog requires!

The cage (which is huge, by the way--4 feet by 2 feet) needs to be cleaned a minimum of once a week. They need fresh vegetables daily. They need hay daily. They poop every 15 minutes (literally). They run away when we try to pick them up. I call them the "eat and excrete" pets because that is all they do!

We don't enjoy them at all, OP. With that said, our family considers pets as part of the family, so they are here to stay until they pass away. We care for them very well, but we really get no enjoyment out of them. A dog is a much better pet and in my view, is easier than having guinea pigs. I'd say the costs are comparable, too. (We have a small dog so food costs are quite low). I would never recommend a guinea pig as a pet. However, I believe I am in a small minority amongst guinea pig owners, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I totally agree with you. I posted way upthread. I actually do not think they are good pets. But, I had to be honest, I have become very attached to mine. But it is a TON of work and I would never actually ever recommend them unless you are the kind of person that loves to clean all the time.

Like you, while I don't enjoy all the work, I will never give him up because that is just cruel. EDITED TO ADD: I definitely feel differently if allergies are involved. Don't mean to offend.