Pets - guinea pigs?

[Elfthaygotaway]

We are considering purchasing guinea pigs as family pets.
They would be cared for by dh and I, and involving our ds age 4 (under very close supervision).
I totally understand children quickly get bored of pets so dh and I need to be fully on board with caring for these animals for the next 5-8 years, and we are trying to think things through very carefully before we commit.
As I’ve be never had guinea pigs before I’m just interested in others experience of what they need to be happy. We would probably get 2-3 same sex Guinea pigs as I know they need to live in groups to be happy.

The situation would be, that dh works full time, and I work 30 hours. Most days the guinea pigs would be on their own 9-5. But they will have a large run in the garden, and a large hutch and run in the garage if it was too cold to be out through they day.

Overnight I would probably bring them in to a smaller cage/hutch indoors, particularly in the winter.

We would be able to have them in the house for a couple of hours in the evening to play with/socialise.

I’m not really sure if this is enough for guinea pigs or if really we would need someone at home more.
Some sources I’ve read have said they need as much attention as a dog. But as they will be living in groups I don’t know if they’d be happy through the day with their own company?
Just wanting some insight before we make a decision.
Thank you .

They are totally food motivated, try opening a bag of carrots near them! Hear the noise....

Ours were outside piggies. They had a hutch against a house wall and seemed to thrive on benign neglect. Cleaned out regularly, put out to run on grass, fed and watered, but not fussed over too much - turned out the kids and I were allergic, so all interaction came with pre-dosing on antihistamines!

They do live for bloomin years - 8/9/10.... and from watching ours and 3 sets of friends piggies, all from the same breeder - less fuss = longer life...

Look at Mason's Cavies on Facebook, sophie has a massive herd of sows that live in a purpose built house outside, her boars live inside, there is tons of information & the community on the page are very friendly & helpful. She uses bath mats for bedding & puts hay in hanging baskets, a lot less messy, the mats are easy to take out, shake off the poo & either put back or wash, disinfect the chloroplasts underneath & put fresh ones down.

Lovely little animals and they never bite, unlike rats, hamsters and gerbils. (Ps rats smell AWFUL!)

This is mostly wrong… there are guinea pigs that bite and rats that bite. But unlike hamsters, both are rare. When they do bite, it tends to be in different circumstances, too — a rat is more likely to bite if you poke your finger through the bars, whereas a guinea is more likely to do it cause it doesn't want to be held.

Rats themselves smell okay, but their poo smells quite a lot like humans' (unsurprisingly, since their diet is a lot like ours), so they do need frequent cleaning out. But you should be doing that with any caged animal.

@ LastMichaelmas
Bloody hell and I never noticed

Thanks so helpful.
I don’t know whether to leave it a year or two as ds is still very full on at age 4 and I wouldn’t want the poor things to be terrified!
I will be honest I wouldn’t want them permanently in the house

Posted too soon.

There just isn’t the room in our house.
Like the idea of a converted Wendy house outside however and heaters for them.

Small children should sit on the floor to hold them. Guinea pigs are very much Not Good at falling or landing. Sitting on the floor means less distance to fall, and it minimises the amount of movement the child can do compared to standing up. And obviously learn how to pick them up and put them down, what positions make the guinea pig feel secure, how to be gentle, how to react to sudden movements from the animal, how to move and speak gently themselves. Also bribes. For the guinea pig, that is. I think most kids could manage that, with supervision, at 4?

Hi, we have 3 boys who live in a chicken coop with a run outside. They have always lived outside as I got them in summer so they were babies during the mild weather. They are lovely little characters. They have tunnels and small tables and ledges, rocks and places to hide. They occupy each other. One is very bossy. I have an indoor cage purely if one is Ill, or in very cold weather.
They like being stroked but I don’t pick them up. They love when their coop is fresh and clean and they are amazing at getting rid of vegetable scraps. They are sweet little creatures who don’t require much work. Make sure they have a good diet, company of their own kind, and plenty of enrichment in their environment. They also don’t need any immunisations. Something I’d also do is let your child spend some time stroking one before you get them, I got ours as a long awaited surprise for my daughter and she is allergic to them. She still adores them and cares for them. It’s strange because she is not allergic to her other fury pets. Good luck x

Guinea pigs are friendlier the more they are handled. Mine always come to me when called. Yes they can easily be scared as they are prey animals but spoken to gently they are fantastic pets. They are intelligent and I have seen utube clips where they have been trained to turn around or go through mini assault courses etc. They are classed as exotic animals and because of the prey aspect they hide illnesses so you really have to know your pets character to tell if they aren't well(unlike cats dogs where it's more obvious). They have to build up a layer of thicker fur before going outside so consider buying in spring/summer. Also consider rescues. Mine have never bitten.

You also need to get their nails trimmed regularly by a vet unless you are able to do this yourself. I'd recommend not getting one with black nails if possible because the 'quick' (where the nail meets the nerve endings) are less visible and its harder to avoid nicking them a little so they might bleed a little(even vets/veterinary nurses do sometimes can't be helped).

Adult DD has 2 male GPs. Unfortunately when they reached puberty they both wanted to be top dog (or pig!). She tried everything but they wouldn't stop fighting. She had to buy a cage with an upstairs and downstairs, and remove/block the staircase!

They can tolerate each other when she gets them out for a run, as long as they are separated by a wire mesh (the run is actually several sections of interlocking wire mesh.

This is apparently uncommon, and certainly something we didn't experience as GP owners when she was a child.

They are cute though!

Hi Elfthaygotaway
I had guinea pigs for almost 20 years, at the moment have 5, 2 boys and 3 girls (obviously in separate cages). You are right , guinea pigs make lovely pets but if you dont mind, I would give you a bit information before you make a decision.
First of all hutch is not big enough for them and they should not be kept outside neither (optimum temp is between 18-23C degrees and letting them run outside you would need to make sure to keep them safe from any predators (cats, birds, foxes etc.). Not nice to keep them moving all the time neither, they get used to their home.
If you leave guinea pigs in a garage, shed etc. they will not have a much interaction with human and they will not make a good family pet so I would suggest to decide if you want them enough to provide them with a suitable big size c&c cage at home otherwise you will never even notice if they are unwell. Guinea pigs are extreamly sickly animals and if you dont act straight away, they have no chance. I would read about them on Cambridge Cavy Trust webside which is run by Vedra Spatcher, best UK guinea pig specialist and trains all rodentologists. If you would like a tame animal from the beginning, I would suggest to adopt, there is many rescues in UK, they will also teach you a lot about those lovely creatures. I hope I didnt put you off, I only would like you to know that they are very demanding and not low maintanace animals if you want them to be healthy and happy. If you need any more info, please ask

Horsepants, guinea pigs dont have fur, like rabbits, they have hair and thats one of the reasons they can not be kept outside

Elf , my DD and I kept guinea-pigs for the last eight years (and I had them as a child from 9-22yo)

We had 8 over this time . Started with two adult brothers then went through a series of new add-ons as they inevitably die .
At one point we had 5 ( neutered boar+ 2 sows and another group of 2 sows who wouldn't join the group)

Yes you need 2+
If you haven't kept them before don't get 3 boars . Boar trios are tricky .
Best grouping is a neutered boar + sows . Boars are lovely . If you keep them as a male pair you don't need to neuter but many Rescues do anyway (to make match-up easier if you want sows )
Only one boar in a group.

We kept ours in a playhouse that DH customised . They need protected from damp, draught , heat and cold . Predators . Escape (they don't dig but something could dig in )

They came indoors for winter nights ( small cool bedroom) and the pighouse was heated in winter .

You need to check on them several times a day they can get ill very quickly . They are experts at hiding illness .

You need to make sure you give unlimited hay 24/7 . There are foods they cannot eat and they cannot be sick.

My DD and shared the feeding and cleaning . We cut their claws but you can get the vets to show you . (or do it for you)

There will be times that your DC is ill or away or busy ( I did it because half the pigs were mine so why wouldn't I ? But DD did the next shift ) .
DH stepped in if we couldn't .

One of mine was a bit gnaw-ey but a child would say it's a bite (it wasn't) . Mine were all Rescues .
If they wanted to bite , they certainly can, they're rodents !

They need a lot of space , flat is preferable . Lots of boxes to explore . They are quite inquistive and noisy ( or "chatty" )

And yes , it is cold in Peru . But my pigs came from no further than Kent . So they don't live outside in a hutch in winter .
They love routine , the company of other piggies and their humans .

They pooh at will but most will let you know they want to pee . Read the signs and pop them in a box with a newspaper , they'll pee on that .
(They stamp about or become unsettled . You get to read their signs)

Baby guinea-pigs are the cutest . Our GP3 was 6 weeks when we got him to bond with our bereaved boar .
And DD was allergic to him (GP3) after being fine with the first 2 .
She was very allergic to GP6 but wouldn't give him to me (I said I'd swap one of mine )

Six years ago there were loads of ginger piggies and white piggies in Rescue or Gumtree because "Anna and Elsa" got cast off by their bored owners . There will be another wave of them after Christmas

I am not sure where they can't live outside comes from? Ours did, on advice from our breeder - they were from a breeder who bred for shows (please don't buy from Pets at home etc - they have dragged the average life-span for piggies down!) all his piggies lived outdoors, our 3 were happy and lived til 8/9/10. Plenty of room, plenty of hay, plenty of veggies, loads of fresh water and a dried food with Vit c in it, an insulated rain cover for winter, clean out regularly, let them run on grass etc. A pet dremel is good for claws - ours used to hold their little paws out to be done - I think they liked the vibrating sensation.

they are VERY noisy - and even now, despite our last girl dying last year, the garden birds still sound off in the morning just like guinea pigs. wheep, wheep, wheep...

As I mentioned before, It is quite important to keep an eye on them in case they get unwell, which is not uncommon, otherwise people just find them dead in a hutch and wonder what happened.....and yes, please see size chart, they need a big space, I think recomended was 2 by 5 grids for 2 females which is about 70 by 170. If there is no space at home for guinea pigs maybe rats like someone suggested would be better or ferret, chinchila or other kind of rotent. Guinea pigs get teeth problems and if missed, they overgrow and bridge the tounge so animal dies of starvation. I know I sound very pesimistic but I watch them being rescued by my friend for years and I have seen a lot

Mine stripped the carpet back to the canvas!

They poo loads. They eat loads. There is mess everywhere. The cage is gigantic. They are shy but good natured. Squeak for food. The kids love them. Apparently they don't like big change in temperature so don't bring in and out daily. Ours summer out and winter inside

Lovely little animals and they never bite, unlike rats, hamsters and gerbils. (Ps rats smell AWFUL!)

I have been bitten by a guinea pig. My precious rat boys have never bitten me, and are about 10 times as intelligent as the Guinea pigs my boyfriend bought for his daughters. They do smell a bit though

One thing I will say about small pets is that as long as you’ve got more than one of them I am of the opinion that they couldn’t care less how much you, as a human, play with them. They need space to exercise yes, but they are more than happy with their own kind. If you only have one (which is not recommended at all) then that’s different as you are providing their social interaction. So I wouldn’t worry too much about how much time you’re able to spend actively ‘playing’ with them.

They dont need attention like dogs or cats but guinea pigs need to be in pairs or groups, they are not solitary animals.
We bought 2 Male Guinea pigs for xmas 2 years ago. Most children wont get involved unless you push them, which then becomes a chore.
Male guinea pigs will fight for domination in a pair or group, which is what ours did and we ended up having to separate them as they attacked each other. If you have a mixed pair, male and female then you will need to spay or neuter one, which is costly and carries a risk that they might not live through the operation, it's about them being a small animal and vets use anesthetic in the same volume as a small dog.
We cleaned them out once a week, with daily poop pickings up, and daily water change. Dry food should be a small amount as this causes them to put on weight quickly, leafy veg is best, we went from twice a day to once a day in the end, but they eat their fill and stop, unlike dogs. Restrice any fruit with vitamin c to a once a week treat, as their bodies cannot break down vit c quickly and it can be very dangerous. Read up on what veg they can and cannot eat, veg like green beans can be dangerous as it contains potassium which can be deadly in large amounts. Plenty of dust free straw and chewing blocks/toys are needed as they need to keep their teeth down as they continuously grow like their claws. Claws can be cut, vet bills can be high if they cut them for you, we paid £25 for 2 piggies to have claws cut and teeth checked. If their back molar teeth start to grow at a slant then their will be costly at the vets as they need to be given a general anaesthetic, cost was £130.
We loved our 2 piggies, one recently got sick and was misdiagnosed by the vets, his medicine was given too late and he passed away. Viruses need to be treated quickly or they can succombe to infection quickly due to their size.
Hope this helps. But experience is always personal and it's a journey when it comes to pets

Our two lady pigs in a 2 by 5 c&c cage.

Bloody hell, I wouldn't dare keep guinea pigs in one of those. I had a pig who could jump out of one of those traditional outdoor lift-the-roof-off rabbit hutches — I'd guess at least 18" deep, probably more. I mean, to be fair, she did have to use another guinea pig as a launching platform, but still.

It is possible for a gpig to climb but generally they don't!

Yes, they're normally very much "I'm staying down here, thanks" little creatures This guinea pig was… special. But having seen, from her example, what they are physically capable of if they put their guinea-piggy little minds to it, with that setup I'd always be uncomfortably aware that the only reason they're still in there is that they're choosing not to jump out, not that they can't!

They have such different personalities too. My two won't even ascend the ramp to the loft area which is why we went with a 2 by 5 minimum for the ground floor.

Loft is just cover for them or where they might go when I'm doing a full clean.

That set up obviously couldn't happen if there were dogs and cats around.