Guinea Pigs???

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Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 26, 2010
1,111
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NJ, USA
Anybody here keep Guinea Pigs? My daughter really wants one, so we're thinking of getting her a pair of the same sex. I've never had them, but have had rats and hamsters before...

anything specific to be aware of, good/bad, let's hear your stories!
 
Smell is very strong and will only get worse as they grow. females have less odor males mark they're territory peeing and expect the bedding they sleep eat and poo on to be all over the room they are in and not just the area around the enclosure


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I've never personally kept guineas but I've had friends who have. All I really know is they love to squeak and their bedding needs to be kept up with, otherwise it is horrendous. Only piece of good info I can give you is not to get cedar bedding, get recycled paper bedding. The cedar causes an assortment of health problems.


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I've had Guinea Pigs for years & years. I have 3 females & 3 males at the moment (seperate housing)!;)

About the only thing that you really need to know...is Guinea Pigs need vitamin C. This is why you definitely feed Guinea Pig pellets (not rabbit pellets).
 
I have 2 males housed together. Definitely need to keep up on the bedding. One of ours was allergic to cedar chips. He would scratch himself bloody constantly (think soaked in blood). The old owners couldn't figure this out, and decided that a bloody pig wasn't the best thing for their young daughter deal with. They brought him into my wife's work (vet) to be euthanized. She took him home instead, and we put him on a litter that is made from shredded paper. He has been 100% fine since. They love Timothy hay and lots of veggies with pellets as a staple. I'm amazed at how much those little guys can eat. We put a multi vitamin in their water. That's about all there is to keeping these guys. The only down side to pigs is that they don't live very long, so be prepared to have that "death talk" with the kid(s) in a couple years.


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I used to have 2 males and 2 females in seperate housing, they got along fine with the same sex and even all together. Of course they had babies every now and then but its not hard to get rid of cute little baby guinea pigs. In Europe they are kept out doors in enclosures made of wood. so the smell isn't a problem. they make very nice pets
 
I have had my 2 adopted females for about 5 tears now they were 2 when we got them... My biggest tip is get 2 females as they will enjoy company... (DO NOT GET MALES) and DO NOT get a store bought cage they need BIG CAGES!!! THAT IS THE #1 THING! For a single pig it is 2feet by 3 feet for 2 pigs it is 2 feet by 4 feet. There is a simple way that MANY guinea pig owners use to build homeade cages... They are called c&c cages... LOOK THEM UP THERE ARE MANY TUTORIOLS ABOUT THEM ONLINE! Basically it is a base(bottom of cage) made out of coroplast a material that is used to make signs... And the cage part is made of shelving cubes... All easy to find stuff... You need fresh veggies (washed baby carrots, romaine lettuce, briccoli, parsley, occasional spinich) NO ICEBURG LETTUCE! Also a staple diet of guinea pig formula pellets a CONSTANT SUPPLY of timothy hey without timothy hey they can not digest food properly so it is a MUST! Also, do not put cage near open windows or drafts They also need wood chew toys NOT CEDAR OR PINE to gnaw in as they're teeth are always growing and i would also reccomend a salt lick to help them drink... They also do not drink from bowls they need a small animal water bottle. The BEST type of bedding that you could get them is CAREFRESH BRAND! Carefresh tends to not smell vad as quickly as other beddings... Also guinea pigs CAN NOT HAVE WHEELS!!! THEY DO NOT RUN ON WHEELS LIKE HAMSTERS!!! Also, PLEASE ADOPT! Do not support a greedy pet store, save an animals life! Hope i helped! :D


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That's all great info, thanks!

We've already ordered the cage but I'll recheck the dimensions. We got an x large one online, bigger than the pet stores have.

We've lost some fish so she understands about that to the extent a 5 year old can...

And having a monster tank, daily/weekly maintenance is nothing new around here. Will do whatever it takes to keep the smell down.


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