Guinea pigs - how much of a commitment?

[WellErrr]

DD is 2 soon and is obsessed with Guinea pigs (childminder has them). Obsessed. I'm pro pet and thinking of getting some for her birthday. Here's my idea of Guinea pig care -

Hutch at night, run in the day. Feed and water once a day, clean out once a week. Is that all?

Can they live in pairs? I wouldn't want to keep one on its own. Do they like living with rabbits? Are they a massive tie or if we go away can someone else just chuck food at them for a few days?

Will I forever be trying to stop dogs from eating them? Do they need any regular vet care?

Thank you!

70 had to smile at your spiral of adding a pig or 5. That is us

Is sawdust not a good idea then? I have our boys on newspaper, then a layer of sawdust, then a floor of hay, (and a big wodge of hay to eat / organise.)

You will have your pigs for years and then you have The Ongoing Spiral of adding a pig (or 5)

Yes!!! We should start a support thread for people that can't say no o more guinea pigs.

My girlies came from a sad situation where they were going to be taken to a shelter. The lady giving them away said I could have as many as I wanted. I couldn't leave any-we took all three to keep our lonely boar happy. He is now very hen pecked by his three wives.

There's a difference between sawdust and wood shavings sharing - sawdust is that horrible dusty stuff you get in horrible pet shops - it's really bad for little animals with little lungs! I use wood shavings and it's always been absolutely fine - it's quite absorbent and the boys only pee in a couple of places, so I can scoop out the worst bits so I don't have to do a full clean-out quite as often.

I've used Megazorb in the past but it is ££ for a bag and I didn't find it much better than newspaper.

I'm using Ecobale (chopped card) on the floor to give a nice soft layer. Mine don't chew things , so they have puppypads but they can even give them a run for their money.
Waitrose free papers might be good for foodies but useless for absorbancy .

I shred looroll tubes , thin card, and paperbags as bedding, lovely and soft but it takes a while to make enough.

Some bedding is dusty or strong smelling, not good for piggies eyes,respiration, feet or fur.

We won't be adding any more to our herd (DH would rupture something) having 5 isn't any more work than 3 but of course they eat loads more.
And more pig-plates to wash .....

They need attention! Lots of fussing and strokes and talking.. And they can completely blossom - we had a very timid pig who just kind of sat for two years and then suddenly transformed into the most cuddly, characterful, assertive guin! Just a totally different animal!
They're not at all dull, they just need investing in - some guins will be floppy and affectionate and do the croissant straight away, others need lots of quiet lap time before they get more gregarious and adventurous.

Male ones do have an aroma which they feel quite free about liberating once they get comfortable on your lap or shoulder! We had mostly males but one of my favourites was a very glossy, territorial, selective female (yeah ok I may have been flattered cos she only liked me and bit everyone else inc. her own daughter!). They really do all have their little quirks and personalities, you just need to get to know them and be patient and learn their language and so on.

Nothing as cute as a little guinea pig nose stuck in the air like a question mark, with a fat little GP body following behind. In fact, nothing as cute as a GP nose, full stop. Or a huge GP yawn with the little tongue stuck out.

Hi, can I join in to ask if you can keep them in a hutch and run in a small garden with no grass, in a hutch in the shed at night?

Thanks for all the replies.

Went to visit the breeder who lives near us yesterday. To say he loves GPs would be an understatement....! I had the life histories and pedigrees of various pigs, we saw some teeny tiny babies, and admired all the various trophies and rosettes they had won. I had no idea how into it they were!

He said we could either have babies, 2-3 year olds, or retired breeders. He recommended 2-3 year olds as they were well handled and calm and friendly. He liked to keep the retired breeders in large runs of 5-6 pigs and seemed quite sentimental about them so probably wouldn't go for that option as they all looked pretty happy, wouldn't want to rock their little boats!

So some well handled but not good enough to show 2-3 year olds.....what do people think? Or would babies be better? The babies were just so fast and wiggly, that's all that put me off.

After seeing them all today I'm 80% decided.....need to think about making a hutch and run!

I haven't read all the replies (I'm about to shut the iPad down, I have really sore eyes after some tests today), but I'm wondering if you have either 😁

GP's are lovely pets, but although you can do very little for them/with them, if you do that, they'll be unhappy. They really do need cleaning out daily - they pee & poo like no other beast on this planet!

They don't make good pets for small children because the can easily kill them by hugging them too hard, they're fidgety, they have scratchy nails and small children can't do much with them.

I'm sure the DC are fascinated by them and love them now, but it soon wears off once they're home.

If I were you'd I'd just let them enjoy the CM's and visits to petting places etc and get some when the kids are older and can really enjoy them and you're not jaded by years of cleaning them out already.

ffon yes that's fine.

WellErrr I'd def go for the babies but that's just my preference. I got 3 babies, they were lovely to handle, when they were about 18 mo I got a similar aged piggy to add to the herd so done both. Neither an issue. But you have to think about how long they will live for and whether you want to commit to longer or shorter I guess.

Latte I have to say I disagree about the kids bit. My DC was besotted with them the moment we got them and it still besotted several years later. She idealises them. She's always handled them carefully and often sits on the lawn/in the shed by their cage and just chats to them. She's never got bored.

I realise you've now been to see a breeder WellErrr but just a quick note about the RSPCA; the individual local branches carry the RSPCA name but they're entirely self funding and get no money from the main charity. Any money that goes to these individual branches goes towards running that branch, not into the coffers of the main charity. They do seem to vary hugely (and some are downright awful) but in case you do decide to check out rescues as well you wouldn't be funding swanky headquarters or hugely expensive court cases over wills.