Guinea pig questions

[DoinItForTheKids]

Hi! I used to have a GP when I was about 10 (looooovvved her). I'm looking to get a pair of rescue (females probably) that are already bonded and they would reside indoors. I just want to ask some questions as I want to be sure I can provide the right conditions:

1. I've still yet to access DDs room without her being in there (I'm hoping to do it as a surprise) but I think a 4ft to 5ft hutch would fit in the available space. It's a single level hutch I was thinking of to give the most space for movement and not being sure just how much they would go up and downstairs with the remaining 3rd being the sleep area. Does that sound ok? The weekday scenario would be that after being checked and fed first thing they would be in their hutch until 3.30pm when she would return home and take them out, play with them, feed them, cuddle them, all of that stuff. Firstly, is this an ok scenario if there are two piggies? Some days I also work from home but I'd like to go with the 'worst case scenario' if you like.
2. I was thinking that a wooden hutch might be better than any kind of wire cage as it would help regulate temperature a bit - the hutch will be down low below a window and will not actually get lots of or much direct sunlight on it but I thought a non-open wire living arrangement might be better?
3. Grass. When I had my GP as a child I don't think we were that knowledgeable although we did definitely provide the appropriate hard food, veggies etc, kept her clean, cuddled her lots etc, and I was forever going out picking dandelions, but the GP never had access to grass. My garden doesn't have grass! Is there a way I can get grass into the diet - not sure how!

Thank you!

All sounds fine... as long as they are fed a proper GP mix (as they need Vit C) and hay, they won’t need grass. I grow herbs for mine in the summer. But mine are kept outside all year round (in the green house in the winter with loads of hay and they’re cosy enough). Mine love carrots, celery, broccoli leaves and cucumber. Oh, and raspberries too. Because we have ponies, I buy large bale shavings (much cheaper) and they have a layer of wood pellets underneath (Aquamax bedding for horses but can be used for small furries too - it’s brilliant as it stops any urine smell. They are skipped out daily though).

Couple of things I'd advice to start-

I wouldn't put them in your DD room . The piggies are messy little tykes (my 2 sow/ 1 boar groups are in our little bedroom and their hay travels like it has legs [sigh] ). There's no door on the bedroom which means more interaction but doesn't curb their mess.

And they are noisy. I thought hamsters were the nocturnal furries but guineas are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) so anytime for them is make a din, chew cardboard and rumble about time. 3am works for mine

My boar is in a 4x2 plastic based cage , my sows have a C&C set up ( 56" x 28" ) which has the advantage that I can change the shape.

They are in for winter but have a Pighouse (old wooden playhouse) . I usually put them out in the day with heat but its been colder this year. my piggies are a 3.5yo and last year I had 5. The two older girls died earlier this year.

I love the pigs , they belong to DD and I, we share the feeding and cleaning and all the gubbins that goes with. (Though only one is mine )

They don't like direct sun, extremes of heat or cold, changes to temperature (so when ours do go out I need to make sure their Pighouse is a good temperature for them).

Are you set on sows? There's more boars in Rescue , lots of Rescues neuter the boars now to make sow/boar pairing easier.
It doesn't change them temper wise but you don't get the risk of impaction.
Boars are lovely snuggly pigs, really don't smell (its the hay that smells) but need loads of room.

My sows pee loads and are messy. I cage clean every day (fresh lining and hay in the sleeping areas at least)

Good Luck, we loves our guineas

In winter mine have RediGrass , (different to hay) just a handful to supplement . They'd wrestle their own gran for fresh cut grass though.

Useful info on your bedding choices there draughty. Yes I refreshed my reading on GPs the other day and took note of the need for lots of Vit C. They'll have to fight DD for it though cos she's veggie mad herself! (Guinea pigs will win anyway..!).

When you talk about the mess of having them in DDs room 70 are you talking about when they're brought out of their hutch and bedding/hay gets strewn around? Or do you just mean the detritus that will be ejected from their hutch whilst they are simply inside it? I would be making sure she made sure that the room was prepared safely for each them they came out and cleaned after - I can put a little vac in her room so she can keep it tidy.

DD sleeps like a log so I'm not worried about the noise so much - however - DS goes to Uni next Sept so if all else fails, they could go in his room (if they can stand the smell, frankly, they'll freshen up his room aromas rather than add negatively to them!!).

No I'm not hellbent on sows, I don't really mind, I think more important would just be that the two piggies get on well and are possibly more suitable for a first time owner and she can get them used to her handling them. I envisage lots of cuddling and playing going on (a fair bit of this will be me - I really love GPs!).

You said about the risk of impaction, did you mean with teeth?

Oh no impaction isn't teeth , 'tis the other end .
One of my boars (GP2 , un-neutered) used to do the odd pooh the size of a Ferrerro Rocher I kid you not . Even our Guinea-Pig Vet was surprised.
He wasn't impacted though, he could get them out himself.
Impaction is where saggy arsed boars (often elderly/overweight or just unfit) cannot pass their pooh and you, dear reader, have to 'help'

I wondered 70!!! Christ, that's impressive work there! I've helped an impacted child before so this will be nothing new - probably slightly more pleasant even!

There should be no allergy issues - DD's spent lots of time around dogs, cats, horses, hay, straw and never got any allergic reactions or had hay fever.

I guess I was most worried that the scenario of them being in the cage during the day wouldn't be ok, but if it is, then it looks like it's a go. I've measured and can easily fit a 5ft wide hutch - I just want the piggies to be happy!

OP - do what works for you. It sounds like you’ve done all your research and I think any GP’s will be very lucky to belong to your family! Wish there were more like you!! Happy New Year!

I think that a wooden hutch is more likely to small tbh!
Ours are in for the winter in the conservatory. I've found the least messy and least smelly bedding is washable fleece cage liners with hay cookies instead of loose hay. Pretty much no smell or mess, though cleaned daily.

Smell not small.

My DH grows grass in seed trays for our two over the winter ... but then he is rather strange !

Nessa the baby stands on her hind legs and shoves her face into the grass

Sadie cannot be arsed with that much effort, she climbs onto the tray settles down in the middle and then eats all grass within easy reach (she doesn't do stretching)

Thanks guys. Phew - thought you were saying it's not enough room. You see, I'd actually thought about growing some grass myself!

You can just pick grass if you find longer bits in the park too.

Our girls live in DSs bedroom in winter and the mess drives me crazy! There is no alternative though so we just deal with it. The main issue is that DS will pick them up and the hay that is stuck to them gets pulled out and left on the floor to be walked all over, or when he tops their hay up he doesn't do it right over the cage. So really it's our fault the mess is so bad not the girls!

We use a big waterproof sheet on the floor with C&C grids. I find my girls wee mostly where their hay is so I use 2 big cat litter trays with a puppy pad and hay in and they spend a lot of their time sat munching and weeing. I change these litter trays every other day, and the waterproof sheet about every 4-5 days. There's still poo everywhere but it doesn't smell at least.

Enjoy your new piggies, how very exciting x

Oh God (don't hate me) but I'm having a wobble!

I was literally all set to print out the small animal adoption form and go to my RSPCA rescue centre and I passed DDs room and Jesus, it was a tip. She favours the 'floordrobe' method of room tidiness management and I just thought holy hell, how on earth is she going to let two guinea pigs out over a sea of tops and leggings and jeans and jumpers and shoes.... I want a. them to be ABLE to get out every single evening so that they can be handled and run about and explore and b. to be safe whilst they're doing it.

I'm just slightly cautious that I'd be hoping she'd keep it tidy for the sake of the piggies - but a bit worried that she wouldn't. And that would not be ok with me as they MUST be able to come out every day and have lots of running around time....

Didn't go in the end and haven't ordered the hutch.... kind of gone into inertia mode right at the moment.

I know in any case there'll be days where I'll have to sort them out in an evening (she's gone to see a production at school this evening so it would probably have been me that gave them a runabout) and I'm totally accepting of that, but in between times she'd need to keep that room at 100% tidiness so it was safe for them to come out.

Ooooh, I don't know what to do! I've not got long, her birthday's on the 14th, and they've got some lovely guinea pig pairs on at the moment, all wanting indoor homing...

I think you're being really sensible in halting. It is a huge commitment and we have soooo many arguments with ds over the state of his room, and the pigs wee and (definitely) poo everywhere so if your dd's clothes are out you'll find poo all over everywhere.

As much as I love our pigs the mess is a big factor, I am much happier during the spring/summer months when the ladies live outside and just come in for play time, but it's all part of committing to having a pet. The best thing for you to do is pause now, and decide it might not be best for you, then to get some pigs and then resent the pigs mess.

I'm SO sorry everyone on here who've given me such good advice and tips . I feel like a fraud. It's not the mess the guinea pigs would create, it's not being able to provide the clear space that they need. And I don't want to be constantly butting heads or finding that the piggies aren't able to come out because I'd be incandescent if they weren't out every single day running around, wheeking and a -carrying on.

Thank you for being so understanding.

Hey Kids It is much better to do the research and decide before you buy them that they aren't the pet for you.
I am 100% besotted with our lardy hogs but I am totally upfront about how untidy they are.

If I didn't have the hogs I'd get rats (though I'm not sure they're tidier , the hay doesn't seem to be an issue)
They do need lots of space but they can go upwards so your cage doesn't need the huge footprint that a guinea-pig does.

Only downside for me with rats is they are clever and they climb

Is your DDs room the only place you’d have them? Ours are indoor and live in the dining room mostly, on top of a large sideboard in an indoor plastic cage thing. They get daily “wander around” time in the conservatory during the winter or our in their run (covered as the cats locally would go for them) on mild days or outwith winter.
They’re very sociable and like a wee chatter when I am around them during the day and as the dining room is a thoroughfare that is nice for them getting attention. If they were in a bedroom I suspect they’d not get as much.
Just some food for thought.

Yeah, really, until my DS goes off to Uni at which point his room would open up for use for this purpose.

I've just got one living room, no other reception rooms and there's no room in there, no conservatory either. The bedrooms, conversely, are decent sizes in comparison (iyswim).

We have guinea pigs but are quite new to to it all. One word of warning: please consider if your DD is not very patient. GPs are very shy to begin with and take a lot of interaction before they are used to you. My DS wanted the GPs so much but, after a few days, he got bored with them because they were scared of him.

However, my DH who is not really an animal lover absolutely loves the GPs. It's taken us all by surprise. Although having said that, their care falls on my shoulders as I guess it often does if you're the mum of the house.

I have a question though, if I may, for seasoned GP parents... how often should you bath them? I bath ours sometimes but noticed one of them had a couple of dreadlocks at the base of his back. I feel terrible. I obviously haven't been grooming them properly. Any advice? Sorry OP to hijack your thread.

No worries Khalli! She would be good and patient with them, it's just the access to running room that concerned me on reflection.

Isn't it funny, the power of the piggie, on people who you wouldn't expect to like them!

My DH surprised me with his love of our guinea pigs. I got my first two during a bout of serious illness in 1999. Just sitting outside watching them run and play helped heal me.
DH was 'ok, but not expect Mr to be involved'
This is now the man who greets Sadie with 'good morning sweetheart how are we today'
Sings to them when he cleans them out and grows grass and parsley in seedtrays in case of emergency !
They live in the utility room in the winter and he consults them over the crossword, when they are outside in their run he reads to them and they all listen to Test Match Special together.
They watch football with him, the list is endless. I know where I stand in the pecking order here 😉
When our dearest Mollie passed in September, this 6' lump cried along with me.

He is really a cat man or so he claims!

Oh bless him Eastmids - he sounds like a love!

Ahh my DH secretly loves our guineas.
If DD and I are away he'll look after them , he worries a bit but he does a sterling job.
He'll ask "Do The Pigs need any veg"? and he'll pop into Asda or Tesco on the way home.
He doesn't like to hold them and does a mock growl at them to see their Judgey Look , but they don't care when they see the shopping bags.

Sounds like they could do with guinea pig therapy in our prisons - might sort some of them out!!