I'm thinking of getting guinea pigs. Please educate me!

[Smudggle]

As title said, something I'd like to do. I've never had any pets before so I'm treading carefully here. I have multiple DC (who are all sensible and caring) aged between 8yrs to teenager.

I literally know nothing. Can someone enlighten me on living arrangements, potential vet bills, seasons (indoor or outdoor), vaccinations, food, costs etc.

I won't be buying any for another 6 months or so. I want to feel confident first!

We are a very loving family and any we get will be utterly worshipped, that I can guarantee

Damn it, this should have been in Chat!

You need at least 2, they are highly social and need a friend. If you have boys, you need as many bowls, hideys, water bottles as you have guineas to avoid arguments.

They can be indoors or outdoors (but you need to be able to keep them snug in winter- ours have heat pads and thermal hutch covers). They need access to space to run, munch and laze. They are quite loud when they feel you should be feeding them!

Like humans, they don’t produce their own vitamin c do need fresh fruit and veg daily. Also use GP food as it contains extra vit c. We cut they claws regularly (about once a month as needed) and give lots of cuddles.

First off, they are sociable animals so you need at least a pair. They can be difficult to sex to try and get them from somewhere reputable that can sex them. You're better off with 2 females.

They thrive if they have access to outdoors. We had a mobile run, with a lid to protect them from predators. Basically, chicken wire and sticks, with clasps to hold the lid on.

If you want them to be sociable, you need to handle them frequently and gently.

The cage needs to be cleaned out pretty regularly and they need a lot more space than the pet shop will suggest.

When we had them, we kept them in a bathroom but put them outside whenever the weather was dry. They particularly loved being in a spot with dandelions.

Our two lasted over 5 years, so we obviously did something right ;-)

Just an excuse to show off my guinea. Sadly his pal died recently, he has a soft toy in his hutch for company- he likes it and moves it around from space to space!

we have a C&C cage which is open top. This is inside and then outside we have a wooden run with a small wooden house to put them out on nice days. We also have a metal play pen that can be used inside or outside, it can also be used to section off part of the room so they can run around but to get to any wires etc as they will chew anything!

Food- we feed them fresh veg twice a day and keep their dry food and hay topped up.

Vets - we've only had to take one once for a cyst on its back that needed draining. Think it cost £18. We check nails and teeth each week and bath them about once a month.

Monthly costs - lots of veg! then probably a pack of bedding, pack of meadow hay for bedding and a couple of packs of timothy hay for eating, shampoo, vit C powder and puppy pads for lining the bottom of the cage. Plis we get a carrot cottage once in a while which they love to sleep in and then munch. Probabaly spend about £40-50 a month. they are spoilt though

With any small pet, if you have the space I would recommend getting 3 instead of 2. Small rodents can have health problems that are often hard to diagnose and treat, especially since most vets don't have enough experience with them. Even though they can live twice as long, alot of guinea pigs only live 3-5 years. With 3, if one dies the other one isn't alone (as it can be hard to introduce another new adult into the cage), and it's not that much extra care/space/money up from 2.

They are the loveliest pets. We had a pair and when they both died, we had another pair, so covered a time span of about 14 years in all.

We kept ours indoors in the family room in a cage that was described as suitable for GPs or small rabbits. It was probably 1.5m x 75cm. We used to make them 'houses' out of cardboard boxes, which they would usually end up slowly eating! They like somewhere to hide, as I think in the wild they are tunnel dwellers. We usually filled the 'house' with clean hay and they'd burrow into it and eat it too. They were chatty and sweet and having them inside was a good reminder to keep them nice and clean and not let their bedding get wet.

They are eating, pooing and weeing machines, so do need a fair bit of mucking out. After trying various options, I went with wood shavings and this worked really well for us. The wet bits could be removed daily and clean stuff popped in and then every weekend, I'd do a proper clear out.

The only vet bills was having the male neutered, when we had a male and female together. I got good at toenail trimming, which they weren't huge fans of but again you get better with practice.

In the summer, we had an outdoor pen that they went in, which they absolutely loved. The used to "popcorn" around (a term for GP hopping or jumping) in excitement and they were great little lawn mowers.

They were great for cuddles and would snuggle into a towel on the DC's lap and happily be stroked.

Mine ate Tesco own brand GP mix, hay and fresh salad stuff. In the summer, we would pick fresh grass and dandelion leaves which were their favourite - and completely free!

Our last one lived until it was 8, which is good going for a guinea pig and only died last year. They were all much loved by my DC (and me!).

We have 2 boys that live in a big cage indoors. They were skittish and shy when we first got them, they are now very friendly always wheeking, coming up to the cage whenever anyone passes for a nose tickle.

They are very greedy, they always seem to be eating or asking for food, a rustle of a bag and they're there!

Guinea pigs are lovely! Sociable, mine have never bitten and they are so sweet.

Vet bills- We've spent insane amounts over the years. The grey one had a lump on her side, we needed to find out if it was a cyst or something worse. That was £350 for an op and standard appointments and meds.
The black one has had a middle ear infection and two eye scratches that have cost us at least £500 in total and it's been 3 months of meds and appointments that we are STILL paying for. So they're not cheap and insurance doesn't exist for guinea pigs that's not insanely expensive so we self-insure and it was definitely necessary.

Behaviour wise- they are lovely. They love to socialise, follow each other like a little train and fight a bit over food. They will settle themselves which one is dominant but if the dominant pig becomes ill or fragile they may fight for dominance. This can become serious so separate them for an hour or so if it gets bad to let them cool off.

Their hutches are huge! We keep ours indoors but they go out in a run during the day when it's warm enough (so not recently).
They love veg, especially leafy greens. Kale and spinach are firm favourites with ours, but don't feed them iceberg lettuce! The amount of hay you go through is nuts. For the hutch: it's expensive initially but we use a custom made fleece liner for our hutch. Wood shavings we're getting so expensive when they get cleaned out every two days! So we bought fleece (from Etsy) and it cost a lot initially but now we hoover all the hay/poop up and stick it in the wash and it's so much less faff then scoping shavings out. They are really absorbing, very comfy for the pigs and less irritating to their eyes/skin than shavings. Use a pet safe disinfectant when doing clean outs. Also - if you have a wooden hutch it will get ruined with pee. To stop this a thing called Plastikote is a spray paint kind of thing that coats things in plastic. Use it inside your hutch (before you put the pigs in it), you may need a few cans, and the pee won't be absorbed as the plastic layer stops it.

Good luck and it sounds like piggies will be happy with you!

They are lovely pets. I would avoid long hair pigs if I were to start again as it gets everywhere.

They will eat constantly and will be terrified of everything unless there is food involved!

Mine are on fleece which I prefer to care fresh etc.

Mine get eye infections fairly often - last time it cost me £90 between the vet and the medication.

I'd avoid getting long haired ones. The look nice but need brushing every day. I didn't do it right n found a massive matted section that had to be cut off by the vet

We had 2, then 3,then 2 then just the one. Best time was when we had 3. You really see the different personalities when they interact with each other. We had a general well insulated outside pen that had an inner bedroom which we put fresh hay in every day. We also had an indoor hutch for November till March and a grass run. We spot cleaned ours every day and you need to give them daily hay and veg. Gorgeous little animals. Really miss the sounds and smell of them! The last one lived till she was 7. The last few months of her life she was indoors permanently for company.

We love guineas here! Kept them for years but I'm still learning stuff too. Get the biggest cage you can manage. Get 2 girls if possible as boys can fight nasty (I've learned through experience!) They dont need vaccinations and I've rarely had to go to the vet but when I did it was about £30 with meds on top. Food pellets are cheap from the supermarket (£2/£3) and last about a month. Lots and lots of good quality hay is important as they munch it constantly & it keeps their teeth down. I get a big bag for about £4 from The Range and it lasts about 3 weeks. Try to avoid saw dust as it's bad for them. I get Catsan paper cat litter which is the most expensive of their upkeep at £11 for a big bag but if you use sparingly and change the wet bits daily a bag will last about a month. Oh and they need fresh veg daily carrots/sprouts/whatever you're having for tea. If you do go ahead have a little ask around for a hobby breeder in your area (you could ask at small pet shops). They most loving pigs I've ever had have come from caring hobby breeders I currently have 2 from pets at home and they are the must skittish I've ever had even after 2 years of gentle handling. Good luck!

Thank you everyone!

We will certainly get two to start with. We don't have any space indoors (house) but we do have a shed with windows which is relatively weatherproof and snug although obviously not heated. Will this be sufficient over the Winter months?

We have a big lawn so plenty of room for a nice big run for some fresh air.

Thanks for sharing photos too - adorable!

Hi @Smudggle you can microwavable heat pads - Snuggle Pads which can go in their hutch, they stay warm for hours

Get as big a hutch as you can afford, there is nothing cuter than watching a popcorning guinea pig!

If possible see if there are any guinea pig rescues near to you, as these (should have) been correctly sexed etc...

Their main diet is hay and pellets, plus dark leafy greens.

As mentioned by others, you need at least two, and a bigger cage than the pet shop will recommend. We have ours in an IKEA unit that DH adapted, so they have lots of space and two of everything spaced out (food bowls, hay lofts, water bottles, hides on different floors so one pig can't block another from all of them). They're also kept in the living room and are at about eye level, we learned our last pigs were happier when you weren't looming over them all the time. They are very sociable and enjoy being petted, don't mind being picked up, and are very chatty. I've only had one guinea that was nippy, and it was mostly just when she was fed up and wanted to go back in her cage.

I had girls for about 12 years, I now have boys and I'd recommend girls over boys. We're lucky one of ours is really chilled as the other one is dominant. My friend has two boys and they fell out - after several vets trips, they now have a cage each and don't get to socialise together unsupervised. Boys are also smellier than girls from scenting at each other! I suspect we'll move back to girls when we don't have the boys ant more.

I also use towels and fleece bedding as it's better for the pigs, cheaper and easier to clean than sawdust. Our pig who is about 18 months still popcorns with excitement when the new bedding gets put down! It originally sounded like a lot of effort but it's actually not bad.

I used to feed mine Science Selective pellets - they loved them, a bit more expensive but the ingredients are pretty good.
One of mine was 7 when she went to Rainbow Bridge, so well cared for they can live quite a few years, obviously if there are no other underlying problems.

we got ours from a guinea pig rescue place. they were about 2 years old and had been in a nursery who no longer wanted them. they were used to the noise of kids and being handled so quite good for our kids (although ours are older primary age)

mudggle - We don't have any space indoors (house) but we do have a shed with windows which is relatively weatherproof and snug although obviously not heated.

I wouldn't recommend a shed. Not because of heat etc, but because they won't get enough socialisation or interaction with people.

Ours are big hutches in the shed OP and are happy little souls. Just give them lots of hay to snuggle in and we have the large Fiddle Stick hides with fleece blankets over to keep them snug at night. You'll need a nice big run for the summer too. They'll love being on the grass in the sunshine.

Please keep them warm if they sleep outside because they are prone to chest problems otherwise.

We use one of these.

Ours are in their seventh year 🥰

Ours come indoors over the winter in this cage.

The love thistles.

If you live in Kent google April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue for tips on how to care for piggies & rehoming possibilities.