Forthcoming piggie owner...

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parahandy

parahandy

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Hi all, glad I found this forum. Seems to be lots of useful information on here which will come in very useful very shortly!

My daughter has persuaded us to allow her to have a pet, so given we can't realistically have a dog :)) we've settled on a Guinea Pig.

My primary concern at the moment is housing. We plan to purchase a cage for now and once the worst of the winter is over, seek a hutch for outside.

What we intend to do is place the hutch on our decking area, so I'm assuming we would need to put a run on our lawn as well. So a couple of questions for all you experts out there - and please don't shout, I'm still learning!

Is it okay to do what I've suggested? Keep it indoors just now until warmer (we got a really harsh winter last year - I'm in Central Scotland).

What about outdoor time (i.e. in a run) just now, with it being so cold, is it okay to leave that for now?

We do have a shed, but I'm not sure how cold it might get during the winter, plus our garden can become rather inaccessible if really deep snow like last year.

Does anyone have experience of these places that look after piggies for holidays? We will be going to Canada in July, so need to have a solution for this.

Lastly, re the piggie itself, think we may look at Rescue Centres, as this may be more rewarding for us and it rather than from P@H. But is this wise for first time? Or maybe it's better for first time?

Any other suggestions, please do go ahead.

Thanks all.

Allan
 
Hi and welcome! I'm a new owner too we've had our girls for just under a month. Def get them from a rescue, I got my two girls from Suzy on here in Wales. It's so rewarding to give them a home and you have the rescues help if you need advise etc. You will be so attached to them in no time!
If you get from a pet shop they can be pregnant etc. I've got mine indoors in a R5A small animal cage which is 122cm long. I wouldn't keep them out over winter but plenty of people do. I have hutch for the summer thats got a run attached so they can get outside time and shelter.
At the moment there not going outside as the swap in temperatures is bad for them , so they are running round the kitchen or in a run in the lounge so they get floor time.

Hope that helps a bit Sarah x
 
Also alot of people have c and c cages which are fab but it wasnt practical for us as we have 2 cats and I didn't want to take any chances.

Not sure on any boardings around but some are available.
 
parahandy said:
Hi all, glad I found this forum. Seems to be lots of useful information on here which will come in very useful very shortly!

My daughter has persuaded us to allow her to have a pet, so given we can't realistically have a dog :)) we've settled on a Guinea Pig.

My primary concern at the moment is housing. We plan to purchase a cage for now and once the worst of the winter is over, seek a hutch for outside.

What we intend to do is place the hutch on our decking area, so I'm assuming we would need to put a run on our lawn as well. So a couple of questions for all you experts out there - and please don't shout, I'm still learning!

Is it okay to do what I've suggested? Keep it indoors just now until warmer (we got a really harsh winter last year - I'm in Central Scotland).

What about outdoor time (i.e. in a run) just now, with it being so cold, is it okay to leave that for now?

We do have a shed, but I'm not sure how cold it might get during the winter, plus our garden can become rather inaccessible if really deep snow like last year.

Does anyone have experience of these places that look after piggies for holidays? We will be going to Canada in July, so need to have a solution for this.

Lastly, re the piggie itself, think we may look at Rescue Centres, as this may be more rewarding for us and it rather than from P@H. But is this wise for first time? Or maybe it's better for first time?

Any other suggestions, please do go ahead.

Thanks all.

Allan
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Hi Allan, Welcome to the forum. Hopefully we can answer your questions! :)

Keeping your piggies in doors over winter is a good idea, especially in your climate up there. :) It is possible to keep them outside, however it requires lots of insulating and dedication to keep going out in the snow all the time. :))
Lots of people keep their piggies inside all year round, and you may find that come spring you dont want to part with them. :)

Its best to get guinea pigs in pairs, as like humans they are very social and can become depressed on their own. You can have a male female pair (where either the male or female, or both, is neutered - otherwise youll have millions of babies pretty fast) or 2 females, or 2 males. :) A pair of guinea pigs need 4ft by 2ft of space, more if you have it, but this is sufficient. Plus half the fun of having piggies is watching them interact with eachother and make their little noises

Getting your piggies from a reputable rescue is a great idea. :) The rescue will ensure your piggies are not sick, or pregnant, and the piggies will have rescue back up for life (meaning if your circumstances changed and you were sadly unable to keep the piggy, they would take it back in) The rescues are also always open to helping/advising new owners as much as they need. :)

There are lots of rescues on this website over flowing with piggies due to the time of year, perhaps your family would like to have a look in out rescue and rehoming section

Hope this has helped.
 
Hello! :) And I promise not to shout but rather say welcome and brill idea to ask your questions at this stage! I think Connie has given some v good answers and hope you can enjoy the experience of planning and finding a pair of piggies.

Just to add about you query on runs - if they are indoors over winter (probably good idea especially in snowy scotland) then they should really have a run indoors - an extreme change in temperature is not great for gps. I have moved my gps into the utility for winter and they have a play pen run for the afternoons (from Early Learning Centre!). I meant to have just a one pair of piggies and now have 3 pairs of boys:x

I hope you find a rescue near by where you can look at some guineas - I would also add that slightly older piggies (ie over 6 months) might be calmer to handle than very young ones for first timers but best to go with an open mind. Goodluck!:)
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum. Looks like you've already got some great answers already and are doing your homework before getting the piggies.

Have a good look round the site and you can get lots of ideas on indoor cages - bought or home made / C&C.

As already mentioned rescuing piggies is a good idea as a lot of pet shop piggies have problems / pregnancies / diseases and rescues generally quarantine pigs and check them before rehoming. And again as mentioned they need a friend :)

Hope you enjoy the forum. I am not far from you in Glasgow :)

x
 
Connie said:
Lots of people keep their piggies inside all year round, and you may find that come spring you dont want to part with them. :)
Click to expand...

This made me laugh - we moved one of our cages into the living room for two days, that was nearly a year ago and its still in the living room!
 
parahandy said:
Do you know if there are any Rescue places round here anywhere - I have found SSPCA so far?
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I think there might be one in the Falkirk area - anyone got any details on this one ?

Alternatively some rescues further away arrange 'piggy trains' where groups of people help get pigs around the country....

x
 
Welcome and nothing to add as you already have some great answers...but just want to say its great that you are doing your research BEFORE you get them, which is fantastic.

The forum is a brilliant place to be and you will make lots of likeminded guinea friends. Good luck and enjoy ....you won't look back :))
 
If you are going to keep your piggies indooors during winter then instead of buying a shop cage which are really too small you could build a c&c cage. If you don't know what a c&c cage is then go on you tube and type in piggiepigpigs (yes my username but not me, I named my gpf account after her) and watch a few of her videos as she has amazing c&c cages.:) hope this helped,
Molly, angel, rose and Jenny x
 
welcome to the forum, i have nothing to add to all the great advice you have been given, just enjoy the forum !
 
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