Are Guinea Pigs Right for You?

Guinea pigs make wonderful pets, both indoor and out, but they are longer lived than most people realise and having any animal is a real commitment, so think carefully before you choose to adopt guinea pigs. Make an informed choice Read the information here, talk to us, come and see us and think carefully before you decide.

Are guinea pigs for me?

Guinea pigs were my first pets after I left home to start out on my own, and started a long lived love affair with these lovely creatures. Equally at home indoor or out they are such good fun to watch. They have a complex body language and are very vocal, talking to one another with a fascinating vocabulary of pips, purrs and squeaks that you can actually learn to understand over time. We think piggies are perfect!

My Children want guinea pigs, are they good pets for children?

Well, it depends very much on the child. Guinea pigs are naturally pray animals and can be easily scared by loud noises and sudden movements. Having said that, sensible children who are eager to learn and appreciate the guinea pigs needs and are old enough to understand the responsibility do make good owners for guinea pigs. What you must understand as a parent though is that guinea pigs can live for up to 8 years. Will you be prepared to take on the responsibility for the care of the guinea pigs care if your child loses interest?

Guinea pigs are much easier to handle for children than rabbits, and in our experience seem to find being lifted up and cuddled much less stressful than rabbits do. They make an easy to carry arm-full for a child and don’t tend to kick or bite unless severely stressed or in pain. Infact they are generally speaking quite chilled out little creatures really. Most guinea pigs, once settled into their new home, will enjoy some lap time for stroking and cuddling and will respond by relaxing down into the childs lap and make contented cooing noises which is very rewarding for the child and helps build rapport and posative reinforcement of handling for both child and guinea pig alike.

However, education is very very important, and we are about to undertake a programme in some local schools. If your childs school would like to be involved, please contact us.

I only want one guinea pig, or maybe a rabbit and a guinea pig together. Is this ok?

Guinea pigs are very sociable, vocal little animals who need the company of their own kind. They form very strong among the members of their “herd” and it is essential for their psychological well being that they have another guinea pig to “talk” to. Two females (sows) works best, although a neutered male (boar) and sow can work equally well. Two boars will have a tendancy to fight if they are introduced as mature males, but a boar will sometimes accept a baby boy. Litter mate boars who grow up together also work although it does occasionally happen that they start to fight as they mature. Neutering is an option and although some guinea pig experts believe it is of limited use and not worth the risk of anaesthetic, we have, so far, always had very posative experiences of the procedure and its effects on behaviour. Females need not be spayed as they do not suffer from false pregnancies or uterine cancer like rabbits do. Occasionally, elderly sows develop ovarian cysts, which can either be surgically removed or left alone if they are not causing the piggy any pain. Neutering a boar will cost around £40

Whatever you may have heard, seen, or been told never, never, never keep a rabbit and guinea pig together. It will lead to misery for both, and possible injury or death for the guinea pig. There are so many reasons we could list for not keeping these animals together and we are happy to talk to you about this if you have concerns. In line with RSPCA guidelines, we will not rehome a rabbit and a guinea pig together.

How much space do my guinea pigs need?

The simple answer is, the more the better! This table from www.cavycages.com shows what is ideal space wise. Visit the site for how to build your own indoor cage out of grids available from hardware stores. Cleaned out regularly, indoor piggies do not smell.

Cage Size Standards
No. of Pigs Minimum PREFERRED in inches in grids
 7.5 sq ft more is better 30" x 36" 2x3 grids
 7.5 sq ft 10.5 sq feet   30" x 50" 2x4 grids
10.5 sq ft   13 sq feet 30" x 62" 2x5 grids
  13 sq ft more is better 30" x 76" 2x6 grids

If you are going to keep your guinea pigs outside you will need to consider how you will protect their hutch from extremes of temperature. Guinea pigs native climate are warm & dry grasslands. Here in the UK where the climate is cold & wet means several problems for guinea pigs. They are not set up for regulation of their own body temperature and therefore tend not to seek shelter until they are already in a bad way. In the summer, they are prone to heat stroke, and in the winter many will sadly simply freeze to death in their hutches. In addition the UK climate makes them more prone to skin problems (Tam please link to health section) which we will discuss later. Please see the shopping list section for information about hutches and runs.

So my guinea pigs just need a cage or a hutch and run?

No! Guinea pigs just love to be busy!! They will be very bored if you put them in a blank hutch. They just to love to wonder around, going in an out of tubes and boxes, exploring their environment. Even just moving their “furniture” around gives them a new excuse to go off and look around excitedly as if they have never seen it before!

Guinea pigs have an acute sense of hearing and will quickly learn to associate certain noises, such as the russle of shopping bags, vegetables being chopped or the opening of a door to mean “FOOOOOD!” and they will start to demand it loudly by squeaking at the top of their voices until you give in and feed them! Don’t under estimate how much interaction your guinea pigs will need from you to keep them stimulated. Although they are less emotionally complex than some rabbits, they still need a stable environment and to feel the security that brings. It might take a while for your guinea pig to settle down and some guinea pigs never over come the instinct to scuttle away when you approach them. It goes without saying that piggies kept indoors get used to the presence of people much more quickly and are generally more sociable and vocal.

Guinea pigs are cheap and easy to feed aren’t they? I thought they just ate guinea pig mix?

Guineas need an awful lot more than a bowl of guinea pig mix, and a few vegetables if they are lucky! Guinea pigs are unable to manufacture and store vitamin C in their bodies, and this is essential for their health. So, they must have a diet very rich in vitamin C.

Guinea pigs are grazing animals and their whole digestive systems are set up for this. They need constant access to long fibre such as hay and grass, but this must be apetising. Don’t buy the awful dry stuff in a bag from a pet shop. This is usually old, full of pesticides and fungal spores and is vastly over priced. Fresh hay is also high in essential vitamin c but this deteriorates over time, so the fresher the better. Try and get organic, fresh hay in a bale from a local farm or horse food supplier. Its so much cheaper than the pet shops and much better for your guineas. Also try and get hold of a horse feed product called “readigrass” this is just pure dried grass and is a fantastic source of both fibre and naturally occouring vitamins and minerals for your piggies. Ours go mad for it!

Give your guineas fresh fruit & vegetables (a large handful per guinea is fine) every day. Go for dark green leafy vegetables such as spring greens, kale, cabbages, carrots, herbs, broccoli, pears, bananas, melon, grapes, berries and so on are all fine. See what your guineas like best. Avoid apples and highly acidic citrus fruits. Guineas have a sensitive membrane in the corner of their mouths and can develop mouth sores if their diet is too acidic. Also avoid lettuice. It contains oxalic acid which isn’t good for them long term but is fine as the odd treat. Expect to spend around £5-£10 per week on fruits and vegetables for your guinea pigs. Try not to be tempted to give your guinea pigs commercially available treats. They are simply marketed towards making you feel you are doing something special for your pet by spending money on them. Don’t be taken in! They are full of artificial colourings and flavourings and your piggies don’t need them!! Instead give them currants, seeds, nuts or dried fruits available from health food stores. They will love them much more I promise!

Of course in the wild they would have a huge variety of greenery to choose from, but the diet we offer them is sadly lacking. The best way around this is to offer them a pellet type food to make up for the shortfall in vitamins and minerals. I have investigated virtually every single type of food available and I maintain the very best out there is Burgess Supa Guinea Excel (see shopping list). Its is 100% balanced to their nutritional needs and prevents “selective” feeding. My guinea pigs seem to love the taste of it and will tend to choose it over the commercial “mix” type feeds. Although “mixes” are interesting to the eye and mouth, they tend to just pick out the bits they like from these foods which means they don’t get all the vitamins they need. However, once a week, I offer them a small bowl of this as a treat, just to give them something different to eat. The best one is from the natural pet food company (see links) Be careful though, don’t totally change your guinea pigs diet over night. They will get diarrhoea. Not nice!

Do Guinea pigs suffer any particular health problems I should look out for?

Guinea pigs are often viewed by vets as “giving up too easily”. In our opinion, it’s the vets that give up too easily! That’s why it is worth getting to know where your local rodentologist is. Although not veterinary qualified, rodentologists specialise in the health of guinea pigs and rodents and are often able to provide you with valuable advice that an “all round” or general vet might not even know about. Information is available from the Cambridge Cavy Trust (CCT) on 01480 455346 or 07721 026401. Speak to Vedra. In addtion you need to find a guinea pig savvy vet. Ask us which ones are local to you.

The problems we seem to see most often among guinea pigs are skin problems. These happen for two reasons. Firstly, fungal problems, where fungal spores (usually from poor quality hay) lodge on the skin and start to ferment. Guinea pigs are particularly prone to this as in their native country the warm dry climate would prevent this, so their bodies are not well set up for fighting it. Secondly, skin mites or parasites. If your guinea pigs appear to have dandruff, their fur appears greasy and comes out easily, the pigs scratch constantly without seeming to get any relief, and the surface of the skin is dry and scurfy then your guinea pig needs treatment. See www.gorgeousguineas.co.uk for more information on diagnosis and treatment.

Guinea pigs teeth are always growing, and although not very common, occasionally teeth problems do need treatment. A rodentologist can clip your guinea pigs back teeth without the risk of anaesthetic. Look for loss of appetite, strange chewing action and wetness under the chin.

Because guinea pigs are not very good at regulating their body temperature, you must to everything possible to protect your guinea pigs from heat stroke or hypothermia. Provide shade, a cool and cooling water bowls along with refrigerated vegetables in the summer

This list is NOT exhaustive, or intended to replace the advice of your vet. If you think your guinea pig is ill make sure it receives veterinary attention as soon as possible.