Anyone own guinea pigs?

[Rei]

I am considering getting a guinea pig. However, I know absolutely nothing about them. I am a responsible bunny slave so I want to do all my research on guinea pigs before even considering getting one. Does anyone have any tips/advice on them? Or even a good website that I can refer to and educate myself on? How big of a pen do they need? What do they need to eat? Do they need to run around like bunnies do? How long do they live? Etc. etc. etc…any advice would be appreciated. I’m not 100% sure about it right now, but I just wanna learn

[Stickerbunny]

They eat a pellet mix, hay, veggies, fruits, they need vitamin C in their diet as they don’t make it themselves. Their dietary needs are different from buns, so it is usually recommended to keep buns out of their cages (so they don’t eat the piggie pellets). A NIC pen is good for them, like this one: http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm … they don’t need as big an area as bunnies and can be a bit stubborn in litter training sometimes, so an x-pen setup might be a good idea for exercise time if you mind piggie accidents. They are most active at dawn/dusk, just like buns. Pet store cages are as with rabbits, way too small usually.

Rabbits can also carry Pasteurella (doesn’t hurt them a lot of the time, can be dangerous to piggies), so you want to keep bunnies and piggies separate.

If you have a rescue or shelter around that keeps them, I would suggest volunteering at one and getting to know them before deciding. They are fun and can be social if properly handled. They are cute little things and good pets, once you learn to know them. I used to have one when I was a kid, but not had one since. Warning though: long haired ones take a lot of grooming! lol

[Rei]

lol well Molly has long hair so I am used to grooming her I didn’t know they had to be separate. I suppose I would have to wait a while to get one anyway until I move out and can keep them separate. I didn’t know they could be littertrained too! Thats cool! I don’t think shelters around her have guinea pigs, but I will check into it. Thanks!!

[longhairmike]

i love the south park episode “pandemic” where they outlaw pan-flute music, and then the entire town gets invaded by huge guinea pics in cute costumes

[Rei]

Not a fan of South Park so I can’t follow you on that one lol

[bunnyfriend]

 I used to have piggies when I was younger They make good pets! They’re pretty sturdy and resilient. 

 

My sister has one right now that I mostly take care of because she can’t be bothered to . I think he’s about 6 or 7 years old now. Guinea pigs love going outside and eating grass, of course you have to keep them in a something like an xpen and watch them the entire time. I’d say they’re pretty easy to take care of. Vitamin C is the major thing in their diet that you have to watch, you can give them something like Oxbow tablets or drops in their water. Hay and veggies are also big dietary needs. You need to clip thier nails once a month or so. I’ve had one female guinea pig that self litter trained.

[FrankieFlash]

Mike, I LOVE that episode!

I enjoyed having guinea pigs when I was a kid. When they went outside they barely moved until they ate all the grass in front of them then they’d move an inch. But we had them in petstore cages so we just put the top over top of them and sat out with them. Ours lived quite a while though even though we did some things wrong out of ignorance. I think our oldest was 9 or so. But they’re fun pets. I love the squeaking!

[Rei]

They are just so cute and seem like such interesting little things! I love the noises they make too!! I didn’t know you had to trim their nails too. That seems like it would difficult, then agian, bunnies are no walk in the park lol

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Rei on 03/16/2012 11:38 AM

I am considering getting a guinea pig. However, I know absolutely nothing about them. I am a responsible bunny slave so I want to do all my research on guinea pigs before even considering getting one. Does anyone have any tips/advice on them? Or even a good website that I can refer to and educate myself on? guinealynx.info and guineapigcages.com

How big of a pen do they need? At least approx 7.5 sq ft per piggie. 

What do they need to eat? Similar diet to a bunny.  Timothy hay or a grass hay all the time, timothy based pellets about 1/8 cup daily, except for young piggies who get ad lib pellets until 6 mos.  Greens daily, approx 1 cup.  The big difference between piggies and buns is that piggies can’t manufacture their own vit C like bunnies can, so need it supplemented.  Either by foods high in vit C, or offering chewable vit C tablets.

Do they need to run around like bunnies do? Suggested out of cage time is about an hour a day, but personally I don’t feel that it is as important as buns, because if they have a large enough cage they can really run about freely in the cage.

How long do they live? 5-7 years is the average, I believe.

Etc. etc. etc…any advice would be appreciated. I’m not 100% sure about it right now, but I just wanna learn

They’re fun pets, I just got another piggie after years without one.  I forgot how much fun they are!  They’re very happy little creatures, not quite as smart as buns but make lots of funny little noises and have quite the personalities.

 

[Jenner]

I love guinea pigs! I had my guinea pig for 7 years and she was so great! I called her name and she would come running to her cage door making sounds like “wheeeek” and they do “popcorning” when they are happy, sorta like a binky with bunnies.
I thought a rabbit would be a similar pet, but they are quite different with personalities.

I have this book and found it to be very helpful while I had my guinea pig, because it has a lot of care information but also information and symptoms of illnesses.
http://www.amazon.com/Guinea-Pig-Owners-Guide-Healthy/dp/0876055277/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332195133&sr=1-8

[KytKattin]

They are a lot more vocal than bunnies. That is one of my main reasons for not having one right now. Since I typically have to share a (small) room with whatever animal I own 24/7, I like the quietness of a bunny. Not that I don’t love piggies, I really do! I think they are a lot safer than rabbits. They still have teeth, but they don’t have those powerful hind legs that make holding a rabbit risky business.

They don’t potty train as reliably as rabbits, right? I remember from my youth that while in a cage they were pretty good, but out all bets are off!

What is the general consensus on getting them spayed/neutered? I know that when I was younger it was generally not done. I got my boy neutered so he could live with his mom and sister, but it was really hard to find a vet that would do it.

Edit: Just to clarify, as I am not sure where piggy breeding falls in the rule about talking about rabbit breeding, but I am going to assume that it is the same. The momma piggy came to me that way by a bad petstore that bred their pigs before they sold them so “they would always have pigs available”. I did not intentionally breed my pig, and didn’t know she was pregnant until after I bought her.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I had piggies in high school. I loved them and they were adorable but I find they have less personality than bunnies. When I got bunnies, I was very surprised by their vivid personalities. One thing about my piggies, was that I always wanted to spend time with them outside their cage but they would not be potty trained and pood and peed all over my floor. The only time I could really enjoy them was outside in the grass. Also, they don’t groom themselves like bunnies. Gibson was a long-haired Peruvian and I needed to give him haircuts every other week because he would get shavings and mats in his long bum fur.

I found them much more hardy and low-maintenance than bunnies. I had Gibson for about 3 years and Benny for about 5 years and the only time I had to see the vet was when Gibson started getting old. I thought he was sick, but the vet figured it was just normal old age. Never had to deal with any tummy upsets or anything like with the buns.

When I had my Gpigs, over 10 years ago, it wasn’t common to spay or neuter them. It was very hard finding a vet who knew anything about them at all. My current vet speuters piggies, although it’s not common, and most people don’t unless they plan to keep a male and female together.

Their little noises were so adorable. I kept them in my room and many a night, I was woken up by loud “Boui Boui Boui” and I would have to get them a treat or they wouldn’t stop. I think I was Gpig Whipped.

[Sarita]

I used to help at a guinea pig rescue and in my opinion, they are a ton of work. They need ample space and cleaning a guinea pig cage is not fun. They also do best in pairs.

They are prone to bladder and kidney stones which can be so painful. It’s difficult to find a vet who really knows alot about piggies. The rescue only neutered male piggies – the vet would only spay if there was a medical reason.

They are messy little creatures too. Yes, they are fun and vocal and some are shy and timid…just depends on the piggy.

Me, personally I would never get one.

[Rei]

Wow I”m learning a lot just from you guys talking about having owned them! Thanks for all the links and websites btw, I plan on reading through this stuff. I didn’t think they would have to get neutered/spayed, unless of course its a boy and girl together, but I would just get 2 of the same gender then, since they do better in pairs. I’m shocked they live so long! I mean I was shocked when I first read about how long bunnies can live, but a guinea pig!? WOW! lol

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