To ask about guinea pigs...

[MushySeas]

I adore animals and really want a pet, but can't get a dog or cat at the moment.

I'm just thinking about guinea pigs. Are they high maintenance? Would I need to buy 2 or 3? Are they boring? Smelly? How big a hutch/run would they need? Cuddly? Expensive?

Please share your advice and photos

Guinea-pigs are awesome but please thoroughly research the most current and up to date best practices for their care and get from a rescue. My nearest for example is avalon Guinea pig rescue they are almost like any good rescue bursting at the seams with gorgeous piggies need new homes. Bonded groups of boys are almost always the most in need of a new home, personally I have only ever had boars together, never had a female. They make wonderful lovely family pets if kept in the right conditions :)

If you have a small garden you won't need to mow it much.
Keep them indoors at night and in really cold weather, they're much more fun inside. They'll soon recognise the sound of a fridge opening and bags of salad being rustled.

Guineas are easy to keep, get ill a lot less than rabbits i breed them

Mine live out all year round, they do nof need to be brought indoors in cold weather,plenty of bedding and a cover for front of hutch is fine

*not

Sorry to be a detractor but we had two boys for 6 years and although they were lovely animals, the whole thing was awful. All they did was eat, poo and wee. They looked terrified when I cuddled them. Needed general cleaning every day and "THE BIG CLEAN" every 6 days or so. The kids were not interested. I looked after them very well, really cared for them BUT it was such a lot of work and literally nothing back. I would never ever get a caged animal again and neither would my dcs. I really wouldn't. Sorry.

Re: the inside/outside debate. I think the key is, in fact, not alternating. They get used to being outside, and will adapt to their environment. If they are used to being outside all year, they grow thicker coats, and get acclimatised. Like Clare, we just used to put an extra fleece and tarp covering around the cage when the weather got very wet and cold. They were out there under 12 inches of snow with no issues, you just have to make sure the water doesn't freeze and put lots more bedding in for warmth.

They are fabulous pets! I’ve had around 40 over the years. I’ve been involved in rescue, fostered babies etc.

Definitely look at rescues and shelters for piggies. Piggy rescues in particular will be helpful and will have a better understanding of the needs of the specific pigs you’ looking at.

I’ve had males and females. In terms of friendliness and sociability I’ve never found one sex to be preferable to the other. Boys are perhaps marginally more smelly but it is minimal.

Keep them indoors, don’t use newspaper. You can bed them on fleece which I find more cost effective in the long run and not stinky. The bigger the cage, the more interactive they’ll be. They are have their own personalities, some love cuddles, others don’t. They will become experts at hearing you open the fridge door!

The Cavy Savvy Guinea Pig Community on Facebook is a good starting point. Also look up guinea pig rescues as they usually have some great info. Plus they often post photos of baby piggies for you to coo over! I don’t support active breeding when so many end up in rescue or shelters, but baby piggies are possibly the cutest animals in the world!

The guinea pig cages store and guinea pig fleece store on the web are American, but will give you some ideas about cages and bedding.

If you decide they’re for you, you will have your heart stolen very quickly! I love all animals and am involved in shelter work, mostly with dogs, but piggies will always have a special place in my heart.

They should be inside in winter, it's air temperature that's the problem. Can cause respiratory problems

Guinea pics male great small pets! They’re much nicer than mice/gerbils/hamsters as they’re friendly and like to be cuddled - go for it!

Couple of comments:
Females can be in groups bigger than two. Boys are pairs unless have huge run.

They do die suddenly as they are prey animals. They don't show illness until it's too late. But, it does mean vets bills are quite rare/low!

They are very sociable so the more you interact the more you get back. Leave them alone and they will be scared, quiet and shake when you pick them up. So if you make them part of your family, you'll get lots back from it.

They mainly have a diet of hay and pellets (for vit C mainly). So cheap to feed. They love veg but research which are ok as calcium build up is one of two main health issues they will ever get (other is heart).

Ruffling a guinea pigs fur behind their ear is one of life's great pleasures lol.

Hi i have 2 girls and i have a bigger indoor cage and a pen for when i clean them out. I try clean them out twice aweek. They are great pets for family. So best to have pairs if you get them. Look on guniea pig rescue pages . Loads need good homes.

Definitely get one (or two, I should say...) because they make the best pets ever. If you can handle having a slight smell in the room they stay in, they're perfect.

I am biased though, I have 4 (two boys and two girls) and everyone in the family absolutely love them. I do tend to get left to clean them, though! They need cleaning about once a week which is at least an hour each time.

Think about whether you're equipped to get guinea pigs, but they're definitely the ideal small pets if you don't want a cat or dog.

Hi, we have had two girls for a year now and they are very sweet and I love em to bits but they are bit delicate and not good with excessive cold, heat or breezes. One got ill and was very expensive at vets due to needing to go to the specialist exotic vet.

My daughter kept asking for a Guinea pig but I was never a lover of them so we bowered a freinds for weekend for a trial run and fell in love instantly we now have 4 lol there in a custom built shed which is cleaned every day because they poo ALOT and eat ALOT my weekly shop looks so healthy.i also grow my own veg which as got my girl gardening they are amazing pets.if ur in uk pets at home often have some for adoption.

You should keep them indoors really, I've heard various people coming out to stiff piggies during winter :/ plus you don't really see them or interact if they're outside (anything like you do when they're inside), so seems a touch pointless having them. They need a much bigger cage than you think, most of the ones in sale at pet places are too small.

Get rescues, as they'll be bonded and have gone through their "hormonal" phase if they're a bit older. Ours are rescues but are young and are a bit of a nightmare fighting, territory etc at the moment. We're wondering if we might need to separate them if it doesn't improve and try and find each another pal :/

They are a big commitment, take up a lot of space in the house, and should live for around 8 years. Vet bills can be expensive (about £200 for one of ours recently for an infection). You need to keep a close eye on any changes in them as others have said they can get ill and go downhill quickly.

They are cute and all, but as a pp has said - a lot of work - we wouldn't get rid of ours but wouldn't get them again!

My 10 year old twins were pestering for rabbits but we saw someone on a local Facebook page advetrise two male guinea pigs that a teenager had grown bored with.

Looking back we went into it blindly. I knew nothing about guinea pigs. I had to do a lot of research. They are quite complex little animals. But two years later, we have the most gorgeous, funny and sweet little boys.

We live in Northern Sweden so the piglets live inside, we had a big cage shipped over form the UK and its on a table in the study. The children given them cuddle and snack every morning before school. They build them tunnels from boxes. They boys love chewing on sticks. When dry, we put them outside in the summer (day time only) and they are ferocious lawn mowers. We love them but I.am lucky that the children haven't lost interest and neither have I.

Horrible pets in my experience. Beautiful animals, awful pets. They STINK, no matter how diligent you are in keeping their cage clean. Hard pass.

We have two brothers that we adopted from pah they are indoors only and the cage doesn't smell as the hay us changed frequently

They are easy imo to look after and they are very squeaky especially when they hear theu4 food bags rustling!

No, no, no! They are mega cute, but not suited to life in a cage. Few animals are. Get a cat. Or a snake. Not a mammal in a cage.

I have 2 indoor pigs. They're very sweet, i love the little noises that they make.
I clean and disinfect thoroughly but their cage still a smells.
Mine aren't overly friendly. They don't mind the odd stroke but prefer to be left alone!

Sorry to be a detractor but we had two boys for 6 years and although they were lovely animals, the whole thing was awful. All they did was eat, poo and wee. They looked terrified when I cuddled them. Needed general cleaning every day and "THE BIG CLEAN" every 6 days or so. The kids were not interested. I looked after them very well, really cared for them BUT it was such a lot of work and literally nothing back. I would never ever get a caged animal again and neither would my dcs. I really wouldn't. Sorry.

This is spot on.

We have 2 and their hutch STINKS!!

I clean it every 2 days ... they literally wee everywhere, even in their bed/house area.

However, they are VERY cute and I LOVE their squeaks. They’re in the garden and as soon as I cut veg in the kitchen for dinner they start squeaking like made out there! It’s funny how they know the cutting = veggies for them