Topic: Guinea Pigs

[derbex]

My daughter wants 1 (or 2) for her birthday in a month or 2. Is there anything I should know (ok there is lots I should know).Top tips, where to buy, what I need &c.

Jeremy

[teresa]

Ah bless
Go to a pet shop and buy a book on looking after guinea pigs and both of you read it before getting one.

[Doris_Pinks]

We have 2 girls, we call them the lap pigs cos they are treated by royalty by our daughters, spoilt rotten our pigs are! (we were told they like company so get 2 together or buy a rabbit to keep it company)
They will need an outdoor run and obviously hutch, kept close to the house if poss so that the "carer" doesn't have to go too far to feed, clean out etc. other wise the initial enthusiam wanes a bit!
Ours actually come inside in the winter (spoilt brats! ;D ) So we have an indoor hutch for them.
Do as Teresa says and get a good book on the subject, they are great fun and if handled since small very cuddly :D  DP

[Ceratonia]

We have two brothers,  'Joe' and 'Bill'. They're on a diet at the moment - too many carrots and apples combined with being indoors for the winter has seen them get a bit chubby. Fun seeing what they like from the garden - ours love carrot tops, rosemary and parsley, but won't eat lettuce.

They don't actually do very much, although it's quite fun to see them burying themselves in the hay, or running through the plastic drainpipes in their outdoor run. As DP said, they do like company (although some rabbits will bully guinea pigs, apparently) and respond well to lots of picking up.

[dandelion]

Definitely get two! They're social creatures. We have two girls: Fudge and Louise.
Here's a pic of when they were little. They are much fatter now!
http://www.vrombaut.co.uk/allaboutan6.html
Their hutch is outside. We don't have space to bring them inside in winter, though it's recommended (even if just in a shed). I put a wooden box in their sleeping quarters to improve insulation in winter (and it creates a mezzanine floor which they really like!). On cold nights I cover the whole hutch with a blanket and plastic sheet.
Their favourite foods are cucumber, dandelions and chickweed. Apparently they need vitamin C so give them a dry mix formulated especially for guinea pigs (not for rabbits).

I wouldn't recommend buying from a pet shop.  Buy from a breeder or ask around at your children's school to see if  anyone's expecting baby pigs. Buy young ones: they will be easier to tame.

I think guina pigs make ideal children's pets. And think if all the hay, wood shavings and guinea pig poo you'll be able to add to your compost heap ;)!

[pansy]

We've had quite a few guinea pigs and have found them to be brilliant pets for children, very friendly, will be handled and are very 'chatty'! We ended up with 12 at one point - we were told they were both ladies, they weren't! Our first one we kept with a rabbit, wondered why she was unhappy, turned out her back was covered in bites and scratches, vets and the RSPCA recommend you don't keep them together. They are very social as has been said, just make sure they're the same sex unless you have lots of friends who are looking for pets  ;D

[joji]

Deffo get 2 but make sure they are both of the same sex. Don't want tonns of babies do you ?

Don't put them with a rabbit because there diet is different. :)

www.Guineapigsecrets.com


Good luck and enjoy. :)

[Aeeeek]

Guinea Pigs are the best pets !! ... had two as house Guinea Pigs in my student days!
Get two same sex and they'll chat loads, but don't put with Rabbit!! as one vet guy at college explained it ..Guinea Pigs like to talk about their problems/issues Rabbits just fight!!..
Used to work with someone who had a whole herd in her orchard.... if you get some... post pictures, waiting till our number of cats dwindles then I'll be getting some for my kids...

[derbex]

Thanks everyone -my daughter is pretty committed to the idea (and anything that staves off the inevitable games console is OK with me ;D).

Jeremy

[flowerofshona]

Hi,
 I used to show GP's :) nice pets but can be nervy to start with till they get used to you.
 Try to find a breeder and i would always go for 2 sisters if you can or 2 females of the same age/size, boys are not a good idea as there is always the chance they will fall out when they reach sexual maturity.
 Diet is very important as GP's do not make or store vit C in there bodys so they need it in their diet every day to keep them healthy !! please buy GP food NOT rabbit as this does not have the same vitamins in it, hay every day with fresh water, if you find they are getting to heavy cut down on their hard food not the veggies, in the summer they can be in a run all day on the grass as long as they have some shelter and water.
 They must not be in a draught in the winter so bringing their cage into a shed would be best :)
 Health wise the only thing they are prone to is lice that come in on the hay but can be easily treated with ivermec, if they start to scratch they have lice !
 Other than that they will need their claws checking and their teeth once a month.
 If you need and help just shout

[fozzylozzy]

We've got two girlie pigs, they are sisters called 'Daisy and Scruff'.

Originally pets for my DD's, except I have fallen in love with them and are now 'my' pets... ;)

Very chatty, very friendly and they love broccoli  ;D

Louisa xx

[Doris_Pinks]

Daughter number 1 found this site whilst looking for what our pigs could eat. very helpful, as we learnt some new treats to give them!

http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

How many of you can remember "old money", when a Guinea was £1 1/- (One pound one shilling) equivalent to £1 5p in "new money".   "A bob" was a slang name for a shilling, remember?

Well here's a little song about the Guinea Pig that my Mummy taught me 60 years ago!

How can a Guinea Pig shows he's pleased,
When he hasn't got a tail to wag.
All the other animals you will find,
Have got a little tail stuck on behind.
If they'd only stuck a tail on a Guinea Pig,
To finish off a decent job,
The the price of a Guinea Pig would go right up,
From a Guinea up to Thirty Bob.