Possible New Guinea Pig Owner

Status
Not open for further replies.
Pickford

Pickford

New Born Pup
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
20
Location
Somerset UK
Hi

I'm considering keeping guinea pigs as pets. I'm thinking of in a years or so's time. I keep hamsters at the moment. The thing is I can't decide between degus and guinea pigs and thought someone on here might help me decide.

I will only take rescue animals and, sadly, degus seem to come up more often than gps unless you can point me in a direction I haven't noticed? I have seen some fab cages at C and C guinea pig cages which I think are quite attractive and not ridiculously expensive. I'm lucky in that I do have quite a large space (although not quite so large a pot of money!) and, whatever animals I get, I fully intend to give them the best life I can, hence the research first. Do guinea pigs need a lot of other boredom breaking gear other than tubes, boxes and lots of other fairly inexpensive things.

So, to available time. I do work full time as does my partner, although sometimes different hours so that gives a bit more time to spend with our animals. All my hamsters get daily time out of cage time, unless they're not interested which sometimes they aren't. One of them practically lives on the sofa with us in the evenings. :-) My intention with guinea pigs would be for them to have a large cage, probably with a second floor at some point with the option of coming out and being able to roam further when we are in and, obviously some sofa and cuddling time. I have a bit of an issue with caged animals if I'm honest so want to give them more space and less cage.

I guess my main issue with guinea pigs is that I've always thought of them as a child's pet and that degus might be more interesting? Silly that, I know, since I currently keep hamsters but hey! ;-)

Anyway, enough waffle. I'll be grateful for your thoughts please.
 
Well done for doing your research before going ahead.

I got my first guinea pigs at the age of 54 - so I don't think they're just for children !
 
Guinea Pigs aren't the most entertaining pets, my lot are fairly lazy. I didn't start keeping guinea pig's till I was in my twenties. I stumbled across the idea when I was living alone and wanted a little pet to keep me company. 6 years on I still have my original guinea pig and have had many others.

They don't need a huge amount of attention, with the exception of when they are ill. Certainly Degu's I imagine would be much more entertaining to watch but guinea pig's have there own little personalities.

You can have multiple personalities some can be cuddle monster other's prefer to hang out with there own species. I don't tend to cuddle my pig's as such more spend time talking and socialising them.

I'd recommend guinea pig's as they are such funny little characters one of my girlie's can bring down a room with her demanding .
 
Hi flintstones. The fact that guinea pigs don't need a huge amount of attention is good to be honest. I know what you mean about different personalties. :-) Hamsters are like that too. :-)

How many is it sensible to keep together? Just 2 or is it possible to go larger - bearing in mind I'll be a novice guinea pig owner!
 
Hello, @Pickford and :wel: to the forum!

That is quite a nice cage, but is only big enough for two female piggies. If you want to get males, you will need a bigger one, particularly if you get three males. You could buy two cages and fix them together. Then you would have the option of dividing the cages again if your males start fighting (more likely with three). Aubiose bedding is used by many forum members, as is fleece bedding. Fitch paper bedding is also popular. You will have to experiment to find out which works best for you. :tu:
 
Hi and welcome!

Great that you are doing your research beforehand. Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county to your details, as we have got members from all over the world. Access to good guinea pig rescues varies widely, so your options depend rather on your location. You can do so by clicking on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

As to what you have to consider with guinea pigs, you may find this link here helpful: Quick Information Bundle For Wannabe Owners
 
Hi 7squeakers. I would get 3 or even 4 of those cages to link together. And, as you say, helpful for any fall outs! I've had that problem with dwarf hamsters. ;-)

Hi Wiebke. I thought I had done that. But I hadn't! ;-) Hopefully I have now. :-)
 
Have you seen C&C cages we have a gallery you can make them yourself. I think 3 is a good number as I find when one passes I'm not normally ready to rehome again so like my remaining piggies to always have a friend.

I had my cage designed to my own specifications 6ft x 2ft.
 
Yes I do like the look of the C&C cages. Presumably you can then add to it to improve the cage.

3 sounds like a nice number then. 2 wouldn't gang up on 1? I had 3 dwarf hamsters who lived together all their lives but have always had to split any pairs I've had up.
 
I tend to find 3 is a good number. I did in the past think with 3. I always had an odd one out but I just think there's always one who just likes to do there own thing. I haven't had any ganging up. Most of the time I don't even know who is the dominant piggy.
 
How easy is it to pal up guinea pigs? I'm thinking that most at rescues are singles or, sometimes, pairs.
 
it is quite rare to be able to keep three males together as there is more possibility of them fighting. I had a group of six and a group of four girls. One girl in each group hated each other on sight so I had to keep two groups. It is possible to keep larger groups just didn't work for me.I have three that live together at the moment to avoid the single piggy scenario , It is hard going out and finding a friend for a lone pig when you are grieving. I am lucky in that I have the space to give them their own room (have dogs that are way to interested in them) They have a 21 square foot c&c cage to run about in.I know they don't jump around as much as degus but they do popcorn when happy, squeak for food on hearing you chopping veg, russling a bag or opening the fridge.Mine make me laugh so much. My cage is big enough to sit in with them. I have a really cheeky one that tries to get into any bags I'm using, sits on the dustpan and grabs the brush when I'm trying to sweep up. I have a snuggle monster that will sit on your knee for hours and loves snuggles.Cant imagine life without piggies now. I had a couple as a child but went back to them as an adult and get so much more out of them now than I did then.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top