Tell me everything you know about Guinea pigs.

[CatchingBabies]

Ok so we've made the decision to add a pair of Guinea pigs to our home.

I've got a 4 x 2 foot indoor cage that I believe to big enough for 2 piggies and found a perfect space in our house to put it. I don't really know what else I need though and what I should be looking for in our new piggies and was hoping you could advise.

So males or females? Which are more sociable / friendly?

Babies or adults? (Either way from local rescue)

I plan on keeping them on fleece with puppy training pads underneath. Anyone else use this method? Does it work?

Any particular brands of hay or food recommended?

Other than what I've listed and water bottle / house / toys is there anything else I will need?

Thanks for your help in advance xx

I've PMed you Catching. Hope you find some pigs soon

Hooray a promise of piggy pictures :)

Good luck in your piggy hunt OP :)

Kitten - you seem keen to see some piggies, so here are my boys to keep you going

Thank you so much Fernie! Contacted the rescues you sent me details off and I'm off to visit a pair of piggies that might be suitable shortly!! Fingers crossed xxx

That's great news Catching. Hope it works out.

I am in love!!
Absolutely gorgeous girls I met today, quite timid as they haven't been handled a great deal but they are very curious so I'm sure they will come round in time.

Plan is to go an collect them on Thursday once their quarantine is up.

And as I promised pictures here you go, black girl was hard to photograph because she wouldn't stay still!

Eeekkkkk

Just been to a pub that had piggies have pictures to post once in the laptop x

Thank you for those who posted piggy pictures :)

Bet you loved sharing them as much as I did seeing them x

Your girlies are lovely catching. How are they settling in?

This is one of mine having his daily weigh in...

Apologies, just realised today is Tuesday not Thursday! Hope you get them sokn

OMG purple who is this!!!

Catching - they are gorgeous. Very pretty girls. Hope they settle in well with you. Glad you managed to have some success.

This is the very lovely mr pig. These are three wives. He had a dodgy shaped jaw so one tooth keeps growing spurs (hence the daily weighing) so he's back and forth the vet once a month for filing under anaesthetic but we really like him so it's worth the hassle and the money.

Our local shelter has just had a big delivery of guines pigs-I really wish we had more room at home.

Everyone piggies are so gorgeous I can't wait to get mine home!

Have got their cage set up, how does this look? It seemed huge until I started filling it with toys and things.

The cardboard box isn't staying btw I've ordered a fleece house thing but it hasn't arrived yet.

😍😍😍😍😍 at all the piggies

Really must persuade DH that we need a herd rather than a pair 😃

I am so happy to see all these pictures of piggies :) showing DP, trying to convince we must get them for the children me

You all sound like lovely Guinea pig owners :)

Catching - your cage looks great. They will be very spoilt pigs. I'd actually keep the box but just remove the tape from the outside so they don't eat it. The cardboard will be eaten and enjoyed though.

Great thank you, tape will be removed and I'll let them destroy it until the new one arrives.

Things are certainly moving
Your new Pigs-To-Be look gorgeous Catching

You can make Guinea Villages from different sized boxes for them to play in, hide in, run in and out of. (2 doors, no tape, no staples)

Mr Pig and his Girls are gorgeous (have to love a Himmy, according to my Himmy - she's biased )

Gingerpigs feet are like my GP8, slightly turned outwards. Scruffypig has done a sterling job of doting Uncle raising him from a little scrap of ginger fur to a healthy big boar.

All these lovely piggies

Has anyone kept Guinea pigs and rabbits together before?

Yes we have! They have always got on fine. I don't think you can substitute the company of another pig with the company a rabbit. So two pigs and two rabbits is what we did.

Pigs and rabbits shouldn't be kept together really. They don't talk the same language so aren't companions for each other, rabbits can inadvertently injure or kill pigs with their big back legs and rabbits carry a respiratory disease which, although not particularly harmful to them, can be fatal to pigs. Pigs can be a bit bitey and I have rabbits with nasty bites inflicted upon them by their piggie companions.

I have piggies and a rabbit and they are rarely together and only if I am in constant supervision. Some pet shops still advocate putting a pig and a rabbit together, but they are wrong to do so, and should be avoided.