Guinea Pigs - are they difficult to care for and can you keep them as indoor pets?

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Dd's would love Guinea Pigs, but unfortunately I don't know a great deal about them.

Are they difficult to look after?

Can you keep them indoors as I don't fancy the idea of them being out in the cold?

Do they smell?

I have been told that they make fantastic pets for children - is this true?

We have a GR dog, who although is a great big softie, would be very interested in them I'm sure. Problem?

Sorry for daft questions - TIA

I used to keep guinea pigs when I was a child, so it's been a while but I'll try and answer some of tour questions...

Yes they are easy to look after but as you know all pets are a responsibility.

Mine used to have a hutch we kept in an outbuilding in the winter and outside with a run so they could have free access to the grass in the summer. They were plenty warm enough in the winter - just give them lots of bedding (we used to use hay and sometimes shredded paper). I think it would be ok to keep them indoors in the winter but you should let them have access to an outside run every day in the summer.

They only smell if you don't clean out their hutch regularly enough.

Yes I think they make great pets for children. They don't bite, they are friendly and responsive to humans when handled correctly, and they teach children responsibility without being very hard to look after. They make great hutch companions with rabbits too.

I don't think I'd risk having dogs and guinea pigs loose in the same room. The dog might think it's a new toy. GR's aren't known for their intelligence!

Good luck

We keep our guinea pigs indoors. They need a large living area . Its a recommended 7.5 sq feet minimum for two pigs . They need hay and pellets and fresh veg daily, They are nice pets to have though , we are enjoying them more than the hamsters, mice and gerbils we've had previously. They sleep at night which is good, and have gentle temperaments. The guinea pig forum "Rodents With Attitude" has loads of useful info.

We have guinea pigs and they are lovely pets (if not a bit dim - but this adds to their charm I think!).

We kept them indoors for a while, but I was needing to clean them out everyday to stop them from smelling. I found this too much and they moved outside. I now only need to clean them twice a week. I also found they were throwing hay all over the place indoors. That said many people very happily live with their piggies indoors - I just prefer them outside!

They are lovely little things, great for children, as they are just the right size to handle and pretty robust.

They need a big hutch - thay are ok in a smaller one ONLY if they are going to go in their run most days.

They do eat rather alot - in fact I can't believe something so small can consume so much!!!! You also need to keep them in pairs and they are very social animals.

I have had pigs for years. I currently have 5 and they all live indoors - in the large Nero cages. They are lovely pets - extremely easy to keep and relatively cheap to look after. They don't smell but their bedding does if not cleaned out on a regular basis. I clean mine out every other day. I put hay in a metal hay ball holder which hangs from inside their cage to prevent them from throwing their hay around, soiling it etc. They have Pets at Home nuggets (stops selective eating), and regular supplies of fruit and veg. They are lovely little creatures - a real joy to have and extremely good pets for children to handle. Definitely recommend them. Oh and we have a JRT. She's not interested in them at all...she prefers to pester the life out of the cat instead!

In my life ive had hamsters, fish and rabbits - rabbits are evil - we have 2 guineas and have had them for 2 yr now possibly 3 i lose count - anyway they are fab - even our 3 yr old handles them well. Only nip i have ever had is when one was over keen in the dark to get a carrot out my hand. They are lovely and they squeak and talk away to you - we keep ours outdoors and as soon as we open the patio to go in garden they squeal and squeal and if i whistle they squeal back at me. I love piggies. In the summer ours are quite free range apart from at night so being hardly in the hutch they can go easy 10 days in between cleaning and in winter when in alot more they need doing once a week. They eat for england.

I had guinea pigs as a kid and as an adult.

They make fantastic pets. Very sweet little things. Best kept in a pair or more as they are very sociable. Handling makes them very tame, but you have to handle them regularly and gently.

They smell if you don't keep them clean, but I found that the paper-based cat litter (Bio cat o let) kept smells away. You can use wood shavings or just newspapers too.

They eat seed mix, lots of hay and vegetables/fruit. They LOVE grass in the summer and a wee outdoor run is useful and healthy for them.

Dog will be interested, but not a prohibitive factor - so long as they are not eft alone together it will be okay. Though dogs do love to eat guinea pig poo - yuk!

They don't climb like other rodents. They have no real defences and have to be watched out in their runs - when they get tame, they can be a bit too trusting of local cats, etc!

You could ask at your local animal shelter if they a have any that need rehoming, or go to a decent pet shop.

Enjoy them - they are super pets.

Oh, I kept mine indoors, in various accomodation over the years, the latest being a big plastic cage thing that lived on the floor and was easy to clean.

I have 2 female pigs who live indoors in DD's (7) bedroom. They are cleaned out at least twice a week - generally Sunday morning & Weds evening. Ours are very snuggly, very calm and do not bite. Mine also live in the largest Nero cage.

In the summer they spend a lot of time in a run in the garden, they love it out there but I wouldn't personally keep them outdoors all year round, in our household they'd be more likely to be forgotten about in the bad weather and just fed/watered but they'd miss out on the human interaction.

They have lovely natures, they get excited to see you and ours wheek and squeal and run to the corner of their cage for a nosey when you open DD's bedroom door!

We do have 2 cats, the older one is not interested but the younger one would give his eye teeth to get his gnashers on them so we have to be extra careful with the keeping the door closed etc when he is around.

I would say they are the best of the cage rodents. I've had hamsters and rats too. I love rats but I accept that they do take training and they need a lot of attention, they can smell and are not great for little children. Whereas pigs are quite robust, chunky little things, easy to handle and cuddle and they are known for not biting and they have a nice long lifespan (between 5 and 9 years).

We have two guinea pigs indoors. We clean them out twice a week and they don't smell. They are in the box room though and they do tend to get hay everywhere! They are very friendly. My DS is only 2 and he loves them, easy to feed, nice to stroke and squeak a lot. You just need to buy hay, shavings, guinea pig food and give them some fresh greens every day. Definitely worth keeping, more so than hamsters I think.

Thanks all, just need to persuade dh now

My favourite Guinea pig website
cavy cages

I have a cage as shown on that site - 2 by 4 grids - much much cheaper than a comercial cage

And bigger which is nicer for the piggies
They dont smell
We have fleece blankets, with towels underneath which is easy to sort out - and means daily cleaning isnt necessary
I use a dust pan and brush to sweep out the poo and used hay every day - fresh hay, broccoli/carrots and gp museli everyday

Total clean of cage and washing of fleece/towels twice a week

My main problem is that mine dont appreciate having their nails cut which needs doing!

Mine live outside in the better weather & come in in the Winter.
They love to be out in a run when it´s warm enough.
I´ve heard less than 10 degrees isn´t good for them to be out.

They are lovely and cuddly & placid.

It´s minus 9 here today which imo is too cold!
If I´m cold cleaning the hutch I figure that they are cold out in it all day!