I did look at insurance when DD got her boys years ago .but the price seemed ridiculous.
Some of them will go their whole lives never seeing a vet , others can have problem after problem.
They don’t need vaccines or neutered unless you want a male to put with females. So in that way they’re less ££ than rabbits.
I bought xeno 450 online ( drops) . to protect from mites and this also contains a de wormer . Most guineas carry a mite burden -and it is often picked up in hay . It’s if a piggie is under the weather that the mites can thrive and be a problem.
theres shampoo you can use but don’t overload them
If you cut their claws that will save you vet trips,
their teeth are more difficult, you can see the front ones but the back teeth need a retractor and a good vet to see them. They’re the ones that can break or get a spur or overgrow.
Get to know them and you’ll spot when they’re ill. They hide illness well . One of mine was sitting away from her cage mates. They weren’t bullying her but she didn’t sit with them . She was at the vet the next day and on meds .
one of our boars was castrated , cost about £60 at the time .
our last girl had an eye ulcer , three vet trips , gel and liquid . Her eye recovered but she died 3 days after getting the all clear. She was an old lady I think it was just her time . I wouldn’t have put her through surgery though , if her eye had to come out I’d have had her euthanised for her benefit. IIRC her treatment was £80ish .
We’d always managed eye injuries ourselves , salted water to remove any foreign bodies and the cage mate would clean the eye. The restoration of guinea pig spit. The last sow didn’t have the cage mate
When they get ill they go downhill quickly . They stop eating and you need to find out why . If it’s a tooth they need a vet . If you have a non eating pig you need to syringe feed otherwise they get gut failure.
Very like your rabbits , guinea pigs eat constantly . It keeps their teeth down and their guts working. They also eat the first passing of Pooh which is full of natural probiotic ( hence the healing spit). Syringe feed like Critical Care contains fibre and some probiotic. If they have antibiotics they need probiotic. And added vit c .
Usually they’ll get vit c in pellets and veg
Find out from your vet if they have guinea pig specialist there. Guinea pigs are “Exotics “ .
i drove an hour each way to take mine to an excellent guinea pig vet . He never ever treated them like they were annoying bits of fur , he was amazing but sadly by the time your guinea pigs lets you know its ill you’re too late.
I did lose my pieces with another vet who commented that guinea pigs were nasty and stink when he’d had to inject them ( I was there with my cats, post guinea pig) . I said if they stink that’s the fault of the owner , they don’t like injections and there is no animal that is less nasty than a piggie.
Don’t want to put you off them , they are amazing but quite complex. I think everyone should know the bad side before they get the,.
Make sure your accommodation is big enough , much bigger than people think.
I do prefer the standard smooth, they fancy breeds can have more health issues.
Enjoy them. There’s loads of threads on here , dip in .
They need protection against everything . Heat cold,draughty, damp , things that are poisonous, predators. They cannot dig, don’t tend to leave the ground though I’ve had a piggie that could run upstairs, one downstairs and one of our boars could jump from his carry box. They will jump off your shoulder as they aren’t very clever but that’s their charm.
they very rarely bite but if they wanted too they could
they want routine , careful handling , the right food and love.