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Original poster

Dd2 wants some guinea pigs - good idea / any advice?

413 replies

ElectraInExcelsis · 23/12/2008 23:10

The only thing I know about them is that you should get two because they otherwise get very lonely...

Anyone have them? I had hamsters as a child but don't know about humane ways to keep guinea pigs, etc which is important to me. Dd2 is 5. I don't mind cleaning them out for her etc.

Any advice? TIA...

OP posts:
smurfgirl · 14/01/2009 15:48

Humour me, Milo keeps lying down in his cage (although he is porking himself on hay right now) is this ok? He is lying down much more than the other two.

Am paranoid.

whispywhisp · 14/01/2009 17:05

My boys do that too smurf....don't worry. It's called laziness! I certainly wouldn't worry if he's busy munching on hay.

Two boys eh sphil?......do they want to come and live with Aunty Whispy?

sphil · 14/01/2009 18:59

Well quite possibly. I'll check with our hairdresser and if she's changed her mind then I'll let you know. Would you really come all the way from Hants?

It would probably be the white one with the grey nose and the black Aby. Or maybe the brown Aby - I prefer his markings but he's more nervous than the black one.

Unfortunately ebay have just removed all the hutches I was bidding for. Think the shop must have gone bust - they were certainly selling them very cheaply .

whispywhisp · 14/01/2009 20:19

sphil...yes I would. You're not that far....

What were the hutches like on eBay? Can you do a link?

sphil · 14/01/2009 21:19

No - they've been completely removed and all reference to the ebay shop wiped too (I think they were called Cumfy Pets?) I got an email from ebay advising me not to proceed with the purchase - but I'd been outbid anyway, so no need to worry.

I need a double decker hutch at least 5 x 3 (each section) preferably with a lockable ramp between the two - have googled for ages but there's very little over 4ft. I'm going to our local pet shop tomorrow - it's more like a mini smallholding with peacocks, macaws and fish you can feed. The man who owns it makes his own hutches and although they're not cheap, they're cheaper than the pet stores and far more roomy. And he'll make to order if you give him enough time.

wohmum · 14/01/2009 21:24

Hi spil - why don't you look at the cavy cages ones and make your own? its dead cheap and easy to do. I used cubes from B and Q and old cart/cardboard as a base. it cost me less than £30 and is massive!

look further back up the thread for yurtgirls link .

sphil · 14/01/2009 21:54

Our hutches need to be weatherproof - although they're only just outside iyswim! I'd love to have them indoors permanently but we haven't really got the space - well not the right kind of space anyway!

wohmum · 14/01/2009 21:57

ah - not so good then!

Jux · 15/01/2009 21:20

Hi again. The gps 'week' at us when we come in - is this fear or a greeting? They still run and hide when we get close....

Is this run big enough for two? here

Or possibly even this one

I was also thinking about putting this in it

What do you think?

smurfgirl · 15/01/2009 21:33

Wheeking is a guinea pig hello!

The second one is big enough for them, its similar to the one we have. The hidey thing looks nice

christywhisty · 15/01/2009 21:44

We have something similar to the second one with a log cabin for in the day.

PurpleOne · 15/01/2009 22:23

Wooo - I just got my guineas a lovely 2nd hand hutch off Freecycle! Now they don't need to be full time indoorsy GP's. But they will be coming in at night, due to the cat (who sleeps all day) and the foxes.
After a brush out and a wash with disinfectant, it came up a treat, but I don't think it's weather proof, so will buy some felt from B+Q when they start using it.

Would it be ok to varnish just the outside to spruce it up a bit?
DD1 wants to put a door number on the bedroom part of the hutch LOL

Jux · 16/01/2009 11:15

Christywhisty, that looks nice, could two squeeze in there? I'd only want it for when they're out of the hutch.

PurpleOne, I'm looking at freecycle for my area now - do you have to have a Yahoo ID?

Jux · 16/01/2009 11:19

Smurfgirl - so our guineas are saying hello! I thought they were saying "oh no here comes the giant, hide hide hide!" Der. I'm really dumb.

SpongeBrainedHalfWit · 16/01/2009 11:20

Jux, I think that 1st one is a it small as I think they've mislabled it. I've only ever seen those for hamsters and the one pictured has hamster/mouse/gerbil toys in it (like the freestanding wheel).

I have something similar to your second link. I got it from PAH. It was £35. Again, that one I've only ever seen for dogs, you'd need to make sure that the gaps were small enough to stop your piggies squeezing through and making a break for freedom

I have 2 log cabins for my 2 girls. The manufacturers make 3 sizes - 1 for smaller animals like hamsters/gerbils/mice etc, a med sized for a piggy and a larger one for a rabbit which would be perfect for a pair of piggies to share

SpongeBrainedHalfWit · 16/01/2009 11:36

I had a dream that my 2 had babies last night . They were sold to me as girls so hopefully that dream won't be coming true anytime soon !

thumbwitch · 16/01/2009 12:10

Jux, I am glad to see that you are getting along better with your g'pigs - who knows, you might become a serious convert!!

Jux · 16/01/2009 13:41

Yes, I'm getting quite keen now. DD's not very well atm so I'm still not spending as much time as I could with them. Things will improve. Makes a huge difference knowing that they're saying hello, though It's so sweeeeeeet!

thumbwitch · 16/01/2009 13:51

mine used to do it every time I came downstairs/ home/ went into the kitchen - it is a lovely friendly little noise!

SpongeBrainedHalfWit · 16/01/2009 14:08

Getting a bit fed up of all the hay on DD's bedroom floor now. Even though I've got a solid hay rack there's still a lot of mess. I've bought a hanging hay ball off ebay for them. Hopefully that will minimise mess.

tootiredtothink · 16/01/2009 18:11

I'm fed up of cleaning them out already....and it's only been 4 days . I'm sure I will soon speed up.

They are still nervous when I get them out of the cage but are happy to sit on laps. But not sure how many times a day I should be getting them out. I don't want to scare them too much but also worried they're not being handled enough?

smurfgirl · 16/01/2009 18:26

I have heard that two times a day is enough. They do get grumpy if you pick them up too much.

Jux · 16/01/2009 21:12

I get fed up with the hay everywhere as well, and have no solution so far. There is not one room in our house which isn't wall to wall carpet - very nice when we moved in, but not practical really. I'd love one room at least to have just lino!

tootiredtothink · 16/01/2009 22:54

Thanks smurfgirl. Have been taking them out of the cage twice a day. Once when I'm on my own with them and then for the kids. Around 15 mins to half hour each time.

Millie even had a little lick of dd's finger today so starting to get a little more relaxed I hope.

PurpleOne · 17/01/2009 03:43

Jux, you do need to have a Yahoo ID, as Freecycle is part of the Yahoo groups. It's well worth signing up though. I kept looking at hutches on eBay but really couldn't afford the money they were asking. All it cost was £12 taxi fare.
DD1 has her job to do tomorrow. To give the new hutch a really good clean out and wash it over with disinfectant, and to brush off all the webs and dirt.

I'm also fed up with the hay in DD1's room. Then DD1 just hoovers it all up and blocks the hoover, instead of sweeping the carpet. So the outside hutch will be a blessing. They wont be sleeping outside at night though.