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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:
NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 20:37

OMG, sphil the babies are ADORABLE. It amazes me that they (baby piggies) are born fully furred.

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 20:39

And with their eyes open! Amazing. How on earth furball could fit four in there is incredible!

sphil · 03/01/2009 20:40

I know! My MIL hates rodents but even she is enchanted by them.
Will try to get piccies up tonight, but don't want to get them out atm as they all look so peaceful together!

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 20:40

and congrats to Sarah too

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 20:52

sphil - have you decided which ones you are going to keep? If so...dare I ask....what names are you going to give them?!!!

Jux · 03/01/2009 20:53

I'm afraid I don't like them. We have two (friend persuaded me I would love them and asked dd if she wanted them before I could stop her grrrrr) and they are the most unrewarding, pointless creatures. How long do they live for? I keep threatening to cook them (their secret names are Lunch and Supper).

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 20:55

Jux - you are joking aren't you?

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 20:56

Anything between 5 and 9 years, Jux

I think you are possibly on the wrong thread........ Surely you meant to post this on a goldfish keepers thread ?

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 20:58

NDP

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 20:58

Jux, when you say 'unrewarding', what exactly are you expecting from your pets and how much time/effort have you put into building a relationship with them ?

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 21:00

Jux - if you want to get rid of yours just bring them up to me and I'd gladly rehome them for you or take them to your nearest rescue society - probably Blue Cross considering where you live cos I find it a shame you have animals that you find 'unrewarding and pointless'.

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 21:04

I am no GP expert (I'm only on day 4 of GP ownership ) but ours are already showing signs of relaxing in our company and starting to interact with DD (handfeeding etc).

Admittedly I'm still probably in the honeymoon period but I have had pets all my life and every single one of them has given me a degree of pleasure and 'reward'. Obviously the tropical fish weren't the most affectionate of creatures but they were very soothing to watch. IMO, you get back what you put in where pets are concerned.

sphil · 03/01/2009 21:39

Whispy - not sure which ones we'll keep yet, but I have my eye on three of Furballs : the little dusty black one (known I'm afraid as 'Runty' at the moment, the fluffy brown one because it is SO attached to Furball (the only one who is) and the brown and white one (but Sarah has two brown/white ones too - they're all very similar, so could be one of those.) It depends on the sexes really, and whether Horris will accept a male companion. Have no idea about names yet, though DS1 wants to call one of them Didi (ie. D.D., short for Doctor Dave ). I expect I'll have to fight off further Dr Who inspired names or they'll end up being called Dalek and Tardis...

DS1's friend is desperate for white gps so those two will probably go to her.

That leaves the all black Abyssinian and two of the brown and white ones.

This will all make more sense when you've got a photo of all of them!

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 21:40

I love the little brindle and white one from Furball's litter.

Jux · 03/01/2009 22:00

Oh dear, I'm sorry everyone.

The problem really is that my friend has always kept gp and rabbits, and we've always had cats. Anyway, friend's gp had lots of babies and she needed homes for them so we had two of them. However, she lives 150miles away and we had to wait quite a long time before we actually got them. They were 6m old by the time we got them and she told she hadn't handled them much. They were in an outside hutch, so got fed and cleaned and occasionally picked up. They were not cute little things which you could easily pick up and they still aren't. DH won't hear of having them in the house so they are out in the garden. DD (whose responsibility they are) won't go out in the cold/rain except to feed/clean them and as she's not allowed (by DH) to have them in house, she has little opportunity to domesticate them/get them used to handling etc.

They hide in their 'bedroom' when we're out in the garden so we don't really see much of them.

They are slightly over two years old now. Our garden is at last in a state where we can be out in it to play etc (when we moved in it was so overgrown that we discovered it was 10ft longer and 6ft wider than we had realised, once we'd cut everything back). My plan this spring/summer is to get them out of their hutch and onto the grass whenever we're out there.

I admit, I was a little OTT when I described them in my earlier post. It is down to us not really having the opportunity to domesticate them. I do hope we can change that in the future, and any suggestions will be gratefully received. I do think it is a shame to have pets which we don't like and my attitude towards them is not really like me at all. They are not neglected in any other way than handling, btw.

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 22:02

TBH, I'm not surprised that they are not cuddly little things if they don't get much human contact beyond basic feeding/cleaning.

Jux · 03/01/2009 22:03

I have to go to bed now and will check back tomorrow. If you slate me, I won't be surprised. And I really could do with some advice about them.

NomDePlume · 03/01/2009 22:09

Well, I don't think you can be too gung-ho with this one. They are most likely, terrifed of people.

Start small. Get your DD to spend a little more time talking to them gently when she pops out to feed/clean them. Build up the time spent with them gradually before you start picking them up and whatnot. Maybe try offering a favourite treat (perhaps their favourite veg) from the hand, but don't be disconcerted if they don't respond immediately.

TBH, it's just like getting a new cat. You tame them in similar way. It takes time and patience.

If you like cats, as you say you do, then I really think you'd love GP if you gave them a chance. They are as rewarding and affectionate as cats (I have 2 cats and 2 GP).

sphil · 03/01/2009 22:22

Jux - I have to admit that Horris (our male gp) is a bit like this. We got him when he was 6 months old and he hadn't been handled very much. He behaves in a very similar way to your gps - very skittish and hides when he sees us. However, we are gradually making a difference by handling him - we put him on a big pillow and feed him bits of cucumber (which he loves). So although he's just as shy when he's in the hutch, he's much calmer when he's out, iyswim.

Sarah and Furball are so different, because we've had them since they were babies. I really think it's much harder when you get them older - and some gps just are more nervous than others anyway. It's hard in the winter too - we tamed S and F in the summer because they were always in their garden run and just got used to us walking around.

thumbwitch · 03/01/2009 22:32

tbh, Jux, my experience of g'pigs as a child was similar to yours as all my friends who had them kept them in cages outdoors or in the garage, so whenever they had them out they just used to sit like lumps of fur, occasionally chewing something.

I never meant to buy a g'pig - I had gone to the garden centre for a water butt and we needed fish food so went through the pet part - and there was this lost-looking little piglet that I just couldn't leave behind. So I bought it and took it home with me - and because I lived mostly by myself (BF visited at wkends only), this piglet got a lot of attention every evening. It started off very statue-like but after a few days started to warm up to me and THEN! Wow, the difference. This was the best pig EVER - knew its name, would come running from wherever it was (had the run of the ground floor of the house) when it was called etc.

So rewarding when you put the time in with them; when my 1st died (I am carefully not referring to gender as I thought it was a he until it died when I was told it was a she - just too confusing!) I got 2 very scared rescue pigs and they never really got "humanised" properly - too traumatised, I expect. Plus I had 5 by then so they formed their own piggy colony and didn't need me!!

But I admit, that is why I always suggest having an indoor cage/area for them, so that they can interact on a daily basis with their human family, not just be brought out occasionally into a very foreign environment.

As NDP says - start small. An indoor cage/ play area for them will help as well, then you'll also be able to observe and hear more of their general behaviour as well.

Good luck - they ARE worth it, honest!

whispywhisp · 03/01/2009 22:55

Jux...I'm sorry if I sounded a bit harsh with my posts in reply to yours but having had pigs for so many years - well, for the last 18yrs - I find them the most endearing creatures and such great fun to keep. I found your comments quite sad actually but now that you have explained your situation I do think you need to really spend more time with them - I know thats easier said than done but these little animals need your time and attention. They are little characters - yes, they can be skittish, especially when young, but this is also down to sheer lack of handling. They are not creatures to be ignored or left in a hutch all day without any human contact - they can be so easily become quite tame and very interesting pets.

Having worked for years for the RSPCA we saw many cases of hutched animals being left outside with no contact from their owners other than for feeding and cleaning out. In some cases this wasn't done either and we were met with corpses. I am not saying you are not feeding/cleaning but pets such as gpigs/rabbits need more than that - they need to be handled, stroked and even fed by hand is another way of getting them used to you. I have taken on young guineas in the past that have been older than your two - very skittish, not at all handleable and yet with my time and devotion they have become great lap-pigs and come to me when I put their food to them.

TBH there is no point in you keeping them if all you do is feed/clean out. They need more than that. Maybe I'm a bit of an OTT guinea pig owner - I have 5 and absolutely love having them. It's actually a pleasure to clean them out, feed them, talk to them and watch them play.

Have you ever had them out in a run? I'm guessing you haven't because you plan to do this during this Summer. They must have plenty of room to exercise and a run/large hutch with a run is a must. Grass is great for them too - it contains plenty of goodness and they love to munch.

I hope you're not offended by my posts but to come on a thread which talks about our joys of having pigs to tell us you find them pointless and unrewarding was bound to attract some rather questionable replies!

sphil · 03/01/2009 23:06

[[www.flickr.com/photos/sphilphotos/ more pics as promised. There are 8 in the photo of all of them, but one has it's head down. I tried to get them all to line up but they weren't cooperating

sphil · 03/01/2009 23:08

Poo. Try again www.flickr.com/photos/sphilphotos//

And I mean 'its', not 'it's' .

thumbwitch · 03/01/2009 23:33

Awwww, sphil, your little Dutch baby is making me all nostalgic for my first fab g'pig...
they are lovely, all of them.

whispywhisp · 04/01/2009 10:05

Beautiful photos sphil. Having never seen a new born I think its simply incredible they can be born as mini-pigs....well done to Furball and Sarah!

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