Guinea pig advice needed

[Bugsy73]

Hi,
We are thinking of getting guinea pigs for our girls, 14yr and 10yr. Just needed some general advice! Is it better to have males or females? Obviously we would need a suitable cage (how big?) and a run. Would they need to be shut in on an evening? What do they need with regards to bedding? Would it be newspaper and hay? Can they stay outside all year round? We do have a small shed that we could move them to in very inclement weather but would only be able to have a small cage in there.
Final question, we have two cats, one is a bit of a hunter (mice and small birds!), does this rule us out as good guinea pig owners?
Thanks

Hi Bugsy - I'll try and give you some answers

We are thinking of getting guinea pigs for our girls, 14yr and 10yr First off (lets just get this on the table straight off) You aren't gettng them for your DDs . They will be Legally, Morally and Practically Yours . If you don't want to be responsible for their care , then don't get them. Sounds harsh ? Yes. My DD got her first guineas at 9yo, I kept guineas from 9-22yo ( so she was always going to have guinea-pigs rather than hamsters or rabbits) . My DD was Brilliant but there were times she was away, ill, busy with homework or knackered. And it was "Mum can you feed/clean the pigs"?
Half the pigs were mine so yes, we shared but sometimes, I did a lot more .
. Just needed some general advice! Is it better to have males or females? Personal choice . Boars are soppier but you need to give them what they need . A two male pairing is not what they would choose to live in ( in their natural state you'd have a boar and a group of sows). If you give them space , don't let any sows near a boar pair and watch for any signs of teenage temper , they are gorgeous.
Our pigs (we had four boars and four sows over the years.All rescues. The sows were the feisty ones )

Obviously we would need a suitable cage (how big?) and a run Guidelines say 4'x2' minimum for 2 adults but that is a pitiful existence . I gave my guineas a wooden playhouse (DH customised it) the floorspace was 6'6" x6'6" . They had on -the-floor hutches with cut out doors so they could sleep in the hutch and walk about , boxes, food bowls , waterbottles .
Indoors we had C&C (grids) and a 4'2' (which they pretended to be judgey at ) only to sleep in at winter nights .
When our last 3 were oldies we kept them inside all the time in their last winter .They had the small bedroom which has no door . Piggies are noisy ar 3am
Ours had rabbit runs but we put them in. They cannot tolerate damp, cold,heat,wind so I wouldn't trust them to choose . They are not the brightest animals. They don't need 24/7 access to grass.

. Would they need to be shut in on an evening? Yes 100% . They are vunerable creatures . Cold, damp, predators . (Foxes, badgers, )

What do they need with regards to bedding? Would it be newspaper and hay? There's no holy grail. Mine liked hay . I used (outside) thick rubber mats + cardboard . Then lots of newspaper on the floor .
In their hutches cardboard, puppy pads , newspaper + hay .
Indoors (especially on the C&C grids) thick card board , puppy pads , newspaper , hay .
We cleaned the bedding area every day . Floor space maybe weekly .
In Summer you need to stop them over heating . We switched to shredded card (either equine bedding or shredded looroll tubes)
Covered up the rubbermats and puppy pads , luckily mine weren't chewers .
Make sure there's no staples or selloptape .

Can they stay outside all year round? It's do-able but not much fun for them. They are sociable little animals . In winter ours went out to their Pighouse by day , in at night . You need to make sure the temperature is constant . Hot-to-cold or cold-to-hot can kill them.
And your DD won't go ou in Winter to clean or tend to them, no matter what they promise

We do have a small shed that we could move them to in very inclement weather but would only be able to have a small cage in there How small a cage?
.
Final question, we have two cats, one is a bit of a hunter (mice and small birds!), does this rule us out as good guinea pig owners?
After 8 years of guinea-pigs ( we had eight of them over this time , at one point we had 5) with all the hay getting everywhere , the buying and storing of bedding (huge bags of hay) dirty bedding bins, buying the veg. Cuddling an assortment of of piggies .
When they go on holiday you need to arrange something.
When they are ill they get ill very quickly . They hide it well, sometime too late .
My DH wanted cats . I wouldn't while we had the piggies . So after our last old girl died , we looked for cats .
Our cats are fairly predatory so I wouldn't have wanted them near my guineas .
Guinea-pigs are prey animals and spend their whole lives assuming they will be eaten.
I know lots of people keep guineas and dogs or cats .
But I wouldn't personally . I don't think it would be fair on the cats "Mum there's something there can I kill it? Can I?"

That was an essay

If you go ahead , make sure no-one in the house is allergic to their hay or fur . My DD was ok with 1&2 . Allergic to 3 . Very allergic to 6 .
She wouldn't give GP6 to me , so she had red rashes whenever she touched him.
Thanks

I have two male guinea pigs which we adopted from PAH. They were incredibly scared when they came to us but we keep them in a cage inside and they have wood shavings in their cage along with hay and pellets. We give them fresh veg and herbs. They particularly love parsley, coriander and basil.

They've made great pets for us as they're easy going. We did consider getting a run for them but they don't like steps or slides and we bought them a tunnel and they just hid in it. 🙈

The cats might want to pounce on them which might scare them but it could be avoided by putting them away in a room with the door closed so the cats can't get to them. Hope this helps.

And bear in mind how long they live! They’re very sweet pets though. I still feel wistful when I have strawberry tops and no little excited squeaky pigs to enjoy them.

See if you can find a local breeder. A decent one, not one just churning out babies. There are actually shows you can go to and buy from sometimes, but due to corona they are all cancelled at the moment.
Maybe join a fb page and see if anyone can recommend a breeder near you.

For pets - boys are more chilled and friendly. But you do risk them getting to adolescent age and fighting. Longhaired ones will need grooming, short haired won’t. Boys can get impacted - google that lol. They can live outside but would need to go into a shed in winter really. But in winter don’t bring them in the house then chuck them outside during the day. They won’t cope with the change in temperature. In or out - and if out then put them in the shed in winter.
Their diet is 80% hay so lots of meadow hay daily, a little nugget food so they don’t get picky with their dry food. And veg, limited fruits.

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice!! I absolutely know that the guinea pigs will be my responsibility and I am prepared for that. I'm quite excited. Have been in touch with a few breeders, as well as a few rescue centres. Females seem to be thin on the ground but a bit nervous of the boys and their extra needs

There is an absolutely brilliant Facebook group called Guinea Pigs UK that has so much advice and inspiration..Really helped me out when I first got started and I had pigs when I was younger...highly recommend!

If you get boars from a Rescue , you could get a couple that are bonded (usually brothers or sometimes Dad/Son) that have been together long term.
If they're past the awkward 5-6 months age then even better.

Boars do need a load of space and their own area to retreat to. Make sure you have 2 escape doors in a sleeping box . 2 bowls, 2 bottles also makes sense .

My first two ( DD wanted boars) were a year old when we got them. DH sorted the playhouse for them. We put in a big haybox (made from the carcass of an old cupboard it was 3'x3' with a lift up lid) .
Our boars slept in the same haybox but different corners.

When GP2 died and we got GP3 (tiny piglet so we did have the Teenage Years) , we gave GP1 a house of his own that the piglet didn't go in.
They shared floor space , food , the run when we let them out . But they needed their own little peaceful area.
GP1 and GP2 were a bit narky indoors (the cage was a 4'x2' which was barely big enough IMO but the sites will tell you it is) They were much happier in a big run.

Conversely when we had GP3 (later neutered) and 2 sows , they all crammed themselves into a tiny box !

Many rescues will neuter the boars before rehoming. It doesn't change how they act but it does make things easier if you decide to get a sow/sows for a boy left bereaved.

The sows I had were (by choice) the feisty ones. Two ex breeders then later two that needed rehomed due to changes in their living arrangements.

If you want boars , think b-i-g with everything .
Enjoy them. they are lovely .

Have a look at April Lodge Guinea Pig rescue

We have a boar (neutered) and two sows. The boar is friendlier )'(but also my favourite ). They live outside all year and have a big two storey hutch with a cover and stuffed with hay.

We clean them out once a week and in the summer they live on the lawn. We also have a mouser cat and she barely pays them attention. If they are on our laps she won't jump up to grab them and in the garden she almost seems to guard them. They are unbothered if she walks past and they have places in the outdoor run they could dive into if they were that bothered.

Personally I think they make lovely pets - great fun, super personalities, love food and are chilled out creatures despite being prey animals

Have been looking at hutches. Do they manage with ramps? Or is single storey easier for them?

@Bugsy73 apart from trying to eat it, they do fine . They have a fleecy covered bed in the upstairs compartment which they seem to like a lot

Bed is similar to this

Soft Indoor Pet Bed Sofa 2 in 1 Pet Nest Portable Cat Puppy Sleeping Bag Bed Carpets Foldable Pet Cave Half Covered Slipper Shape Bed Cave House Thermal Warmer Winter Cozy Bed Hut https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H7BX41H/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_wsS0EbZX1528Q

Sorry just realised I said they love on the lawn on the summer - they are out in the day and back in their secure hutch at night

They don’t really like steep ramps, the prefer floor space to levels. Don’t need soft beds and fleece etc. They need a thickish layer of newspaper, some shavings and topped with lots of hay. And more hay. They eat it, play in it, sleep in it.

What area are you ? I may be able to put you in touch with a breeder.

Well ours hare up and down their ramp, especially when food arrives. They go up the ramp at night and 2 out of 3 of them (brother and sister) share the fleecy bed which they love.

Some ramps in hutches are very steep and narrow . There's also the 'hole in the floor' which does take up space .
I worry that a piggie who is scared to go up a ramp will limit the amount of the hutch they can use .

We (well DH) made a lovely , wide , carpeted run from the floor level to the lid of the haybox.
Did they use it? No.
Only if they were put on the top and wanted to get down to the floor.
They hid under the ramp though.
Maybe if I gave it sides they would've?

We took it out , they didn't miss it . They were lazy little Paws On Terra Firma types

Summer I know that really you're not meant to have favourites but I think deep down GP6 was DD favourite . He was a big Teddy boar. He was such a soppy old lump of lard.
When we met him and he was handed to me , he did that really cute thing where he dangled both legs straight down. (And won us over)
He also 'planked' his body straight where most pigs curl
And when DD stroked him he launched himself backwards (inside her jumper) like he was trancing .

Good job he was neutered - his gene pool was pretty shallow !

Yes they don’t need things like fleece beds but some like them.

We had two boys (still got one), had them from babies. They are/were inside kept in the kitchen in a cage.

We use sawdust bedding, hay, 1 bowl one one drink bottle. Never had any issues from them. We have always assumed they were brothers as in same litter at pah.

I said no to a cat while we had the boys but three years ago we ended up with a cat. He does make me nervous as he does put his paw in there and when dd doesn't shut the cage properly he has got inside. That said he has never hurt them and he could have done.

One died very suddenly a few months ago. We had, had them 5 years so he was a few months over 5 I would guess. His brother has settled in being alone very well.

This one is mum. She's pretty chilled really and loves parsley

Eastender we are in West Yorkshire.
Summersazz they are so cute!!
Those with outside hutches, do you have any recommendations? There is no way DH (or myself) is capable of building anything!

FeelGoodUK Rabbit Hutch and Cover with Rain Cover https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007B9W4YS/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_fJ60EbRFVS494

Ours have one like this and don't mind the ramp! It has 2 enclosed areas which is good as we have 3 - mum, dad and daughter. DH build a perspex cover to hook on it to cover the front from the weather. They then also have an outdoor run on the grass.

Does the hutch need a cover overnight? Also what type of run do you recommend? There is usually one of us at home, but if we do happen to all be out at the same time do they need to be in their hutch? I think I would do this anyway, only supervised time in the run?

I think the answer is summed up by vulnerability - they don’t do well in cold, damp, wind or heat so the hutch needs to be protected. If there are any animals that could get at them you need to keep them safe, a squirrel used to frighten ours (and I’m pretty sure gave them a big infestation), and the foxes were a threat. They’re ok in a run unsupervised if it’s safe from predators, and it’s got shade, water and somewhere for them to hide in, they like to have that wherever they are.

As I said our hutch has a Perspex front which hangs on from the top so keeps out the worst of any weather. This isn't always on in the summer but they have two sections with solid doors to hide in. Our outside run only has a material roof cover so they are only in it if we're not out and about. If you had a solid garden cage that would be ok to leave unsupervised but they do like to have shelter (ours have a rattan tube, their fluffy bed and an upside down cardboard box) when outside they can retreat to if scared. We then just move the water bottle between the two.

We've ordered the 5ft Chartwell hutch. It looks very spacious and is recommended on some guinea pig websites. Also getting the raincover and insulator to go with it. Still need a run. And of course the guinea pigs