Hi
I am planning to adopt some guinea pigs for my daughter and would like some advice.
Where from?
It seems the advice is to go to a reputable rescue centre. There are 3 near me (south London) on your map but I also came across animal-lifeline.co.uk that has a centre in Surrey. Are people aware of this one? Does anyone have experience/recommendations of the centres near south London? Is it usually possible to go and meet all the guinea pigs so my daughter can choose which ones we would like to adopt? How does the home visit process usually work ie how far will they travel, how flexible do they tend to be on timing?
Housing arrangements?
We have a well protected and sheltered gated courtyard and a not so protected back garden. Would we need to move them from a hutch in the yard to another hutch with a run on the lawn every morning or could they stay in the garden either all the time or just when it is not too cold? We do not really have space inside for a hutch although there is an outdoor utility room where a hutch could be moved to if necessary.
I have seen a hutch with a downstairs enclosed area the same size as the hutch allowing the guinea pigs to get onto the grass. Is this OK for some days or would they need daily access to a larger area of grass? Again in winter is it more important to keep them snug or still have space ?
Daily routine?
I saw one post mentioning that they need 2 hours of attention a day. This seems like a lot for every day. Is it realistic if they have access to a large area? Can you give me your views on what the daily and weekly routine is for keeping guinea pigs?
Looking forward to hearing your views.
Kind regards,
Mark
I am planning to adopt some guinea pigs for my daughter and would like some advice.
Where from?
It seems the advice is to go to a reputable rescue centre. There are 3 near me (south London) on your map but I also came across animal-lifeline.co.uk that has a centre in Surrey. Are people aware of this one? Does anyone have experience/recommendations of the centres near south London? Is it usually possible to go and meet all the guinea pigs so my daughter can choose which ones we would like to adopt? How does the home visit process usually work ie how far will they travel, how flexible do they tend to be on timing?
Housing arrangements?
We have a well protected and sheltered gated courtyard and a not so protected back garden. Would we need to move them from a hutch in the yard to another hutch with a run on the lawn every morning or could they stay in the garden either all the time or just when it is not too cold? We do not really have space inside for a hutch although there is an outdoor utility room where a hutch could be moved to if necessary.
I have seen a hutch with a downstairs enclosed area the same size as the hutch allowing the guinea pigs to get onto the grass. Is this OK for some days or would they need daily access to a larger area of grass? Again in winter is it more important to keep them snug or still have space ?
Daily routine?
I saw one post mentioning that they need 2 hours of attention a day. This seems like a lot for every day. Is it realistic if they have access to a large area? Can you give me your views on what the daily and weekly routine is for keeping guinea pigs?
Looking forward to hearing your views.
Kind regards,
Mark