Offer For Two More Guinea Pigs

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kufhorn

kufhorn

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How many guinea pigs is too many? I live in Kansas. We already have two guinea pigs of our own and have two more that will be going back to my daughter's school in about three weeks. I look on local craigslist (not sure if they have that in the UK or Europe) for extra pet items, toys etc. A women is giving away two female guinea pigs with everything that goes with them. A family member is allergic. We will also be pet sitting a friend's two, 2 month old boys, for two weeks starting Thursday. So for two weeks we would have 8 in our house. All in the appropriate cages (no boys with girls). But after three weeks we would only have four or two if we don't get the 2 girls. Is four a normal amount of piggies? That is what we are taking care of now.
 
kufhorn said:
How many guinea pigs is too many? I live in Kansas. We already have two guinea pigs of our own and have two more that will be going back to my daughter's school in about three weeks. I look on local craigslist (not sure if they have that in the UK or Europe) for extra pet items, toys etc. A women is giving away two female guinea pigs with everything that goes with them. A family member is allergic. We will also be pet sitting a friend's two, 2 month old boys, for two weeks starting Thursday. So for two weeks we would have 8 in our house. All in the appropriate cages (no boys with girls). But after three weeks we would only have four or two if we don't get the 2 girls. Is four a normal amount of piggies? That is what we are taking care of now.
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I am no good to ask on that front - I have started again with two piggies (which is just about what my hub considers "enough") a dozen years and now have 24 second (third or fourth) hand piggies of my own, plus 3 summer holiday guests... :whistle:

The crucial bit for you is less space rather than vet cost - which are a lot higher in the US. Can you afford several hundred dollars for medical treatment or even a thousand dollars upfront for an operation? You can have as many piggies are you can cope with time - and space-wise as well as financially. if you can cope well with 8 temporarily, then have 6 permanent piggies and 2 school holiday ones, there shouldn't be a problem.

If you decide to go for the sows in the free-ads (your state hasn't got much in the way of good rescues), please note that you need to quarantine first. Importance Of Quarantine
 
From what I've seen, yes, four is a completely normal amount of piggies. And about the first question... it depends. It's limited by the number of piggies you can take proper care of basically (which includes everything; food, unexpected vet bills, housing...)!
 
I don't plan on having them in the same cage as the other girls. I might in the end but not until we get all the others back to their homes and then the new girls get used to everything. Maybe introductions then. I don't know if the other two girls, the ones we have now, can ever be in the same cage. They are side by side but with one of them only wanting veggies and I have to limit her so she eats her hay, they would probably fight over food. So I would need room for three cages. We have one of our room that has turned into the piggy room.
 
I have to say, though, i have seen some of the cages in the UK from youtube. I would so love to be able to keep them outside in a big cage. They are really cool. But summers here are hot and winters are cold. :(
 
kufhorn said:
I have to say, though, i have seen some of the cages in the UK from youtube. I would so love to be able to keep them outside in a big cage. They are really cool. But summers here are hot and winters are cold. :(
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This is my own indoors set-up. I keep the ground floor pens on a large piece of offcut lino, so I can change the layout as to my current needs, depending on who is getting on with who (or not!) The tables are cheap ones from Ikea (75x150 cm). I lift them with my should during a cage clean.
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They were she gave me ALL the stuff for them. Which barely fit in the back of my mini van with two seats down! A c&c cage, lots of fleece, little hide aways, two big hide aways, food, hay, bushes, shampoos, bedding. treats........ They were looking around and sniffing when my others started squeaking. They all had some red leafy lettuce for a snack.
I did ask how old they are and how long they have had them. They are about a year and have had them 4 months, so if they were mixed sexed there would be some sort of babies right now, right?
 
kufhorn said:
They were she gave me ALL the stuff for them. Which barely fit in the back of my mini van with two seats down! A c&c cage, lots of fleece, little hide aways, two big hide aways, food, hay, bushes, shampoos, bedding. treats........ They were looking around and sniffing when my others started squeaking. They all had some red leafy lettuce for a snack.
I did ask how old they are and how long they have had them. They are about a year and have had them 4 months, so if they were mixed sexed there would be some sort of babies right now, right?
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Yes, definitely! Boars and sows can make babies as soon as they are weaned at 3-4 weeks old.
However, it never hurts to re-check the gender upon arrival. I definitely do it just on principle! Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig

It sounds like they have been very spoiled!
 
Was gonna say I have ten piggies and would take on more shirt term in an emergency if they needed me.
 
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