Guinea pigs - What do I need to know first?

[greathat]

Thinking of getting guinea pigs. What do I need to know? Was thinking of an indoor cage and outdoor run/hutch while we're all at work. What do you use on the floor of the hutch, I remember as a kid using newspaper but we don't read em. I'm not in a hurry to get them so want to do lots of research first :)

[maxelly]

Good call, guinea pigs are great! They can live indoors or outdoors (if outdoors must be well insulated and dry in winter). I prefer to keep mine indoors as they interact with the household more!

The main thing is to make sure they have enough space, nearly all the cages/runs sold in Pets at Home are too small for a pair of piggies, they need 60cms x 120cms as a minimum and ideally more. Make sure too that your run is well-proofed against foxes...

For bedding you have a number of options. You can use torn up newspaper but it gets smelly very quickly. Shavings are an option but not great for them due to the dust and also sharp bits can hurt their claws. The options usually recommended by guinea lovers are either a paper based bedding like Equizorb (a horse bedding you buy in bulk) or I use something called 'Back to Nature' which is paper pellets and comes in more manageable sacks, OR you can use an old fleece blanket, which you then shake out daily to remove poos and change regularly once it gets damp.

Feeding wise they eat pretty much any raw veg (there are a few exceptions which you can google) and this means you can reduce household veg waste to almost nothing as they'll happily polish off things like salad which is past it's best or veg tops or peelings. They should also be given a balanced/fortified pellet feed daily (not a muesli feed as they'll pick out the bits they like and leave the rest) and plenty of hay.

Care wise they are easy to look after aside from cleaning out the cage regularly, you should handle them daily to keep them tame, some long hair breeds may need light grooming to prevent tangles and also you may need to trim their nails occasionally (or get a vet to do so!).

Pictures please when you get your piggies!

[Wayoutinthewater]

I use fleece and puppy pads on a c and c cage, they popcorn when I change it which is very adorable. I put them in boarding and they really didn’t like the sawdust.

They are messy little buggers, they will pee everywhere, including on you. You can litter train them to an extent but for me that only works for poo.

You will fall in love with them. They are the most adorable little things but they’ll drive you up the wall!

[EastMidsGPs]

what do I need to know?

.... that you will never be able to wear black again even if you have pigs that do not to have one white hair on their body, they will shed white hairs all over you

[greathat]

It is a long term plan so I've got plenty of time to do some research:)

[himalayansalt]

Guinea pigs are classed as an exotic pet and many standard vet practices don't know how to treat them if they get ill. So make sure you have the name and number of a local guinea pig specialist in your phone before you actually need it.