Help - Going To Be A New Guinea Pig Owner!

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Maddykins

Maddykins

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Me and my partner are planning to get one or two guinea pigs in the New Year. I know you're supposed to keep them in at least groups of two but the RSPCA shelter near us has a group of male guinea pigs who they want to be housed alone...I'm going to get in touch with them soon about that.

Could anyone tell me the minimum and preferred cage sizes for one and two guinea pigs? I don't want them not to have enough space but we don't have much money and as I spend a lot of time at home I am thinking I can let them exercise in my bedroom so they won't spend too much time in the cage apart from while I'm asleep.

Also I've heard C+C cages are better, but do they work out more expensive? If not how much are the materials and where can I buy them from?

I've never had guinea pigs before so feeling a bit lost! Want to get as clued up as possible before I get any :)

Thanks!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. I think it is best to go with another rescue if they only want the boars alone and will not even attempt to bond them. There is a rescue locator on here you can use to see which are nearest.

Guinea pigs do need to be kept in same sex pairs so I would not get just one.

C and c cages are the best kind of cage as they can be made big enough unlike the ready made cages. I bought my grids from eBay but you can find them in other places like b and q. You also need cable ties. Coroplast will make it tougher. I have mine on the floor so did not use any but that is unusual. Most people do. You can find it in places that make signs.

Guinea pigs are expensive animals. You need constant hay,vegetables twice a day. They are also prone to illness so expect vet visits. I just want to warn you as people often think they are cheap pets.

The best bedding for me is vet bed. This is not cheap but lasts a few years. You can also use fleece which is far cheaper. Have a layer of towels and two of fleece. This can be bought in primary and other supermarkets. People do use shavings but they cause allergies so I would never use them.
 
C &c cages are cheaper than store bought for more than equivalent size.There is a thread on here about them.For two piggies you need at least 120 cm.There are other rescues that will home together, there's a Rescue locator on here as well.Good luck
 
Hi, thanks for your advice :) So what would the dimensions be for two piggies? Yes have been talking to OH and we are planning to get two together of the same sex - do two males fight sometimes? I want to make sure we're as prepared as possible so doing a lot of research and want to make things as easy as possible for us and the guinea pigs but we won't be getting them until January at least as we're not prepared yet! We are going to our local Pets at Home in the coming week to have a look at their guinea pigs and the stuff they stock for them to get some advise and get an idea of how much all the equipment will cost.

I thought that shavings would be better than fleece so they can burrow in it and you can hide food in it and stuff? But I know most experienced guinea pig owners seem to use fleece instead! Is it just because it's more cost effective and keeps them nice and warm?

My problem with the C + C cages is I can't find suppliers of the stuff to build them :S I had a look on the B + Q website and couldn't see anything but maybe I'm not searching with the right terms.

Sorry for being so clueless I just want to assure everyone I am going to do all my research properly before getting any because it wouldn't be fair on the poor things I want them to be looked after properly!

Is pet insurance cost-effective for guinea pigs? The only money thing I'm concerned about is vet bills but there's no way I would let any guinea pigs suffer, at the same time though I need to think about managing the costs too of course.
 
Hi! The RSPCA minimum cage space recommendation for two guinea pigs is 2x4 ft (60x 120cm), but for boars we recommend a minimum of 2x5 ft or 150x60cm.

Sadly, RSPCA branches are run indepently and the quality and knowledge especially about guinea pigs and other small animals can vary a lot. It is usually only branches that are haven't got much of an idea that will rehome boars into single situations - against RSPCA advice! It is great that you are thinking rescue anyway!

If you use our recommended rescues locator (which includes piggy savvy RSCPA branches), it really won't matter whether you go for boars, sows or mixed pairs, as these are all places who know their stuff and have a high standard of care at all times. They only rehome carefully bonded and stable pairs and they will also support you after the adoption. They will also not rehome a pair of unsuitable, nervous piggies to first time owners.

Guinea pigs don't burrow or climb, unlike hamsters or rats; they use already existing burrows and nooks to sleep in. What they like are hideys to feel safe!
You can find out more about guinea pigs as a species in this thread here: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/biological-facts-and-guinea-pig-society.109062/

You may want to look at exotics insurance for guinea pigs (that is what they are classed at) or start a "piggy bank" account to which you add a certain amount of money each week in order to not run into trouble over vet cost.

PS: If you could please add your county or general area to your details, we could give you personal recommendations as to rescues and where to best get stuff from. With members from all over the world, it will make it much easier for us to give you the appropriate advice straight away. You can do so by clicking on your name on the dark green bar at the top, then go to personal details/location.
 
Thank you for your help. There are a few rescues that I'm aware of in my area, the RSPCA and a local one, and I think there's another chain one somewhere not to far away as well. We don't drive so the closer the better! There are also two Pets At Home near us but I would rather get them from a rescue.

Thanks I looked at the insurance and it was like £20 a month-ish which seems pricey! Is that generally cost-effective or do most piggy vet bills cos less than that?

Also do guinea pigs need any vaccinations or anything like that? Would shelters have all that stuff done already?

Thanks for the tip too, have updated my area info on my profile.
 
I got plastic coated grids from eBay and they work fine.Have ground sheet then puppy pads then fleece.Have litter trays with shavings and hay at one end then at the other hideys with towel and fleece underneath that gets changed daily along with litter trays.Will they be on the floor.I cover where I want them to Pee and they do most Wee in the litter trays but poo everywhere. My C&c cages worked out really cheap as got ground sheets from the pound shop, fleece from b&m and use cat litter trays.Picked up my towels from charity shops.Great that you are doing all your research beforehand, wish more people would
 
Thanks everyone! Me and OH went to a local Pets at Home today...partly to figure out how much the guinea pig stuff is going to cost...and partly just because I go mushy over all the animals! They had some gorgeous little guinea pigs, but none in the adoption section and OH now agrees that if we can find suitable ones from a rescue we'll do that over buying any from PAH. So hopefully we can give two piggies their forever home in Jan!

We bought some fleece today from Poundland too after your advice just in case they didn't have it in another time as they were all little fleece pet blankets for £1 each! Bargain, we bought a bunch. Also located grids for a C+C cage on the Wayfair website for £30 which as everyone says is much cheaper than buying a comparably sized cage from a petshop. Yes we are planning for them to be on the floor, is that ok? We are thinking of buying correx to be the floor of the cage then with fleece on top and sawdust/bedding in certain areas of the cage? Poundland had puppy pads too, is that to help absorb their wee?
 
heya welcome to the forum I'm so excited for you getting some piggies! i started off a total skeptic when i first got mine (i wasnt the main driving force in wanting them initially) but i have grown totally addicted to them and want 4 more!

so i started with a huge store bought cage from jollies in north london but eventually changed to C&C essentially C&C is easy to get from ebay or you can get similar type products from amazon, i ahve seen some people use these and i am considering them for myself as backup for any future expansions http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designer-Habitat-Interlocking-Shelves-Organise/dp/B009M6CIXU/ref=pd_sim_kh_5

the correx i get from tea crate packing i think its called and only comes in black but comes in nice big sizes for a good low price.

i used to use fleece but couldn't get along with it so switched to newspaper and cheap large bags of hay for carpet which works out really well for me and not too costly! also on that note i can seriously recommend smaller independent pet stores rather than pets at home pets at home is sooooooo expensive compared to all the small pet shops in my area! and the independent ones have large bags of cheap hay sourced locally if you want it where as pets at home don't really offer that at all.

i do however love fleece beds and make my own and sell them too (shameless self promotion see what i did there) lol but my piggies love the fleece beds too. I think your gona love being piggy owners as much as i do!
 
I was thinking of this for the grids as it seems best price: http://www.wayfair.co.uk/Safco-Wire...edir=interlocking+shelves&rtype=8&dept=0&ust=

And I think you can buy correx of ebay? My OH will be creating the cage as he likes building and creating stuff so I will get him to have a look for some too. He was a bit unconvinced at my first suggestion of getting guinea pigs but since we went to see them in P@H today he has gone all mushy and is looking forward to it too!

Yes some of the stuff is pricey at P@H so I am keeping an eye on ebay too as well as poundland and supermarkets for small things. However we haven't been living here for that long and I don't know where any local pet shops are! I noticed especially as you said their hay is very pricey.
 
You can get large fleeced dirt cheap in matalan, b&m.I use litter trays rather than having sawdust on fleece with shavings and hay in
 
For litter trays there are a few options. Some people just use hay and newspaper that can also work well for your cage if you don't get on with fleece. I just picked up a bale the other day for about £8 so I am using puppy pads at bottom then newspaper then hay. In my litter trays I have carefresh. I have another cage with my boy whos recovering from an op so can't have dust so he's on puppy pads then fleece this does need changing more often. You can have fun with fleece though by introducing tunnels cosy beds etc which they love to snuggle into
 
What kind of litter tray is appropriate? Also I didn't know that you could really litter train them, or can you? Thanks for all the suggestions and stuff it's really helpful!
 
Mine are litter trained.they still pop on the fleece but majority of it and just about all wees done in litter trays.I line mine with newspaper then dust extracted shavings then hay.two of everything stops squabbles.I started with kitten litter trays but now use a couple of hamster bottoms as had old cages that I wasn't using.To encourage them to use litter trays peg covers on cage over them as they are more likely to use them if they are covered
 
most guineas cannot be fully "litter trained". they can however be controlled slightly to wee in areas you prefer. You may still get a few wees elsewhere and most of them will continue to poo everywhere.

To try and make them wee in a specific spot place a litter tray in a corner, preferably add a cover above (like some material hanging down) and place their food bowl in the tray and the hay rack above. They do most of their wees whilst eating so that is how it works. you may also want to put something extra under the water bottle as they drip and make the fleece very wet. I use microfiber super absorbent pet towels under the water bottle under fleece and change these every 2 days
 
Interesting! Also how many layers of stuff do people usually put underneath the fleece? My partner is worried it would be easier/cheaper to just use shavings now but we've already bought some fleece and ordered a huge pack of puppy pads. Do I need another layer in between too?
 
Its personal choice I use puppy pads then towel then fleece and it lasts 2-3 days but it depends on the area size and how many pigs and also how much they poo and wee. I only use 1 thickness of towel but I fold over fleece so it is doubled up
 
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