Adopting Guinea Pigs For The First Time

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M.ark

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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
 
Hi,
I would definitely get them from a rescue and make sure that there is more than one and they're both or all boys or girls or neutered; remembering not to have too many either. If the weather's ok they need some fresh air and grass outside in a run/hutch. You could have two hutches or just one, if you get one you would have to be prepared to move it inside and out if you don't have a run for outside. If the weather's anything under 18/20c I would take them inside (although I live in Australia so I don't really know what people do with them in the weather over there). Also 2 hours of attention would be hard if everyone's at school and work, although as much attention as they can get is good (min 30mins); the more attention, the higher health and happiness :)

I have a hutch just like the one you mentioned with the downstairs enclosed area. It's perfect and has the perfect run space although you might have to give them some floor time every few days to get them exercising if they decide to just sit there. If it's ok I would probably put them in your courtyard (does it have grass?) and in winter I would let them have the same space although have a nice snug little room or area with beds where they can keep warm. Make sure they have a little toy to chew on and hay (preffered timothy) to keep their teeth filed down and plenty of hideys; note do not buy them wheels or harnesses, they are dangerous. Keep their vitamin c up with plenty of fruit and veg especially capsicum, celery, apple, broccoli etc. Along with that, they should have special rabbit/guinea pig mix. Most people recommend wood shavings for bedding although you can also use paper shredding, VetBed and hay (along with little beds).

They should have two meals a day, at breakfast and dinner, although they can have some light snacks in between. For breakfast I recommend their mix (about a scoop or two, depending how many) along with fruit and veg and for dinner mainly just fruit and veg. Remember not to overfeed them because they could get too fat to walk, resulting in foot conditions and other medical conditions; and not to underfeed them because they could get too skinny and die. Unfortunately, a lot of people overcrowd cages, so also don't do that, and their cage needs to be cleaned around about every 3 days (depending on how many cavys). For their drink bottle, you should be able to find one in a pet shop (that hangs on the cage with the ball-stopper at the end), I don't recommend having a bowl of water because I have known some to drown.

Wash them with Malaseb, guinea pig shampoo or baby shampoo every month as well as clip their nails and de-flea them. Worm them every 3 months.
Sorry that was so long,
Good luck with your new piggies! :)
 
My Barley came from Animal Lifeline in Sutton after it was recommended by a friend, I was impressed with their set-up etc and he is healthy etc.
 
Wheeeeeeeeeeeek a new piggy lover on the block :D You will probably be most welcome to go and meet the piggies to pick some at any reputable rescue, most have photos online that you could show your daughter before you set off to get her excited too :-) Your utility room sounds like a good idea for the pigs this winter has been particularly mild so far but in winters like the last few years where temperatures have been -10 and lower outdoors is just not suitable for piggies during winter :-) My own guinea pigs do not get 2 hours a day, some days they get a 5 minute cuddle and that is all, other days they get 30 mins to an hour of floor time, it depends on the piggy some like hours of floortime others just find a comfy spot and go to sleep. They should be handled daily and stuff like that to make sure they're healthy with young piggies they will need more out of cage time than oldies too :-)
 
Hi!

Great for doing your research first!

Please be aware that guinea pigs need protection from too much heat as well as cold spells. During a heat wave, a hutch in full sun or on an enclosed patio can become a killer, so you need to take that into account, as London has its own, much warmer microclimate. A hutch with an enclosed run should be OK, as long as you can make sure that foxes, dogs, cat, rats or birds of prey can't get in. Guinea pigs do best in a range of temperatures between 15-25 C; they struggle with big swings of temperature as well as the extremes. We have got tips on the forum on what best to do during cold snaps and heat waves.

It would a good idea to have a chat with the rescue you want to rehome from about housing arrangements before you go and buy anything; specific requirements can vary from rescue to rescue. They will all ask for the minimum RSPCA space requirements and a safe winter space. A home check is mainly to make sure that housing is adequate and safe.

They can also match you to a pair of piggies that are suitable as family pets (i.e. being friendly and used to handling); I would recommend to rather look for these qualities than just looks, gender or age! All of these rescues are safe to go to, so you shouldn't have to worry about infectious health problems, fall-outs or pregnancy. Please be aware that not all rescues will rehome to families with small children after very bad experiences (death/deep trauma of the rescue piggies), so you want to ask about that and if necessary contact another rescue, especially as you are in the lucky position of having several good rescues within your reach!

Most of us don't have time to spend two full hours with the piggies (which includes feeding etc), but we pretty much all enjoy regular indoors or outdoors run/play time with them, as well as a snuggle with those piggies who love being petted. The more regular interaction they have with you, the more pleasure you get out of them; that goes with every pet. They are, after all, living beings and not toys!
 
Thanks for the info. I think between an indoor hutch for periods when it is cold, an outdoor double decker hutch in the shaded courtyard and a hutch/run type thing in the garden we should have all the weather options covered. Will check out the rescue centres as mentioned and be back for more info when we have chosen some no doubt!

Thanks
Mark
 
M.ark said:
Thanks for the info. I think between an indoor hutch for periods when it is cold, an outdoor double decker hutch in the shaded courtyard and a hutch/run type thing in the garden we should have all the weather options covered. Will check out the rescue centres as mentioned and be back for more info when we have chosen some no doubt!

Thanks
Mark
Click to expand...

Excited to see who you come home with :) Here's a ink to some advice about how to settle in your new arrivals once you've found someone who suits you ...
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
 
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