Shall I get 2 or 3 Guinea Pigs? Which sex?

FurryBabyMama

FurryBabyMama

Junior Guinea Pig
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I'm going to get some guinea pigs in July hopefully. But I don't whether to get boys or girls, and if I should get a pair or trio. What's the best option?
 
I don’t know for sure as they all have own personality but it’s so much fun to watch them all together. Girls are great as they seem to get on easily most of the time. We have 5!
 
FurryBabyMama said:
I'm going to get some guinea pigs in July hopefully. But I don't whether to get boys or girls, and if I should get a pair or trio. What's the best option?
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Hi and welcome!

Two piggies are generally better and a must with boars. Three sows or a neutered boar/two sows trio can work if they are well bonded. The best place to get piggies from is a good standard rescue as you can neatly avoid all the usual pitfalls - including unmatched pairs or groups (which can fall out when they hit puberty at 4-14 months), pregnant sows or shop/breeder piggies with ringworm of which we are seeing a lot of.

Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary in St Austell have a few mums and babies coming up for adoption at the end of this month, so they would be a good place to start with and not get into trouble.
They are on our list of recommended rescues we can guarantee that you are in safe hands.
Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues

This guide here discusses the pros and cons of various constellations in detail: Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

More useful information for wannabe owners via this link here: Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - A Guide
 
I don't think I can get rescue pigs. I don't drive or know anyone that does so it'd have to be a train ride to St Austell from Plymouth and back, with a baby who likes to very loudly scream and cry whenever she isn't allowed to crawl around as she pleases. So i'd have two probably very scared piggies stuck on a train for a couple hours with a screaming baby. :(
 
FurryBabyMama said:
I'm going to get some guinea pigs in July hopefully. But I don't whether to get boys or girls, and if I should get a pair or trio. What's the best option?
Click to expand...
1 or 2 females and a neutred male is the best option. If you don't want to neuter do 2 females as when doing an all girl trio sometimes one of them can be left out.
 
FurryBabyMama said:
I don't think I can get rescue pigs. I don't drive or know anyone that does so it'd have to be a train ride to St Austell from Plymouth and back, with a baby who likes to very loudly scream and cry whenever she isn't allowed to crawl around as she pleases. So i'd have two probably very scared piggies stuck on a train for a couple hours with a screaming baby. :(
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In your situation buying is fine. Don't worry about other's ridiculing you. If that's what is available then do that. One tip though is to look at previously owned guinea pigs on Gumtree before buy the guinea pigs.
 
Hi and welcome.
Have you had piggies before?
Do you plan on keeping them indoors or outdoors? Also think about how much space you can offer them, as that might determine how many you can get whilst still offering them enough room.
 
Anbear171 said:
In your situation buying is fine. Don't worry about other's ridiculing you. If that's what is available then do that. One tip though is to look at previously owned guinea pigs on Gumtree before buy the guinea pigs.
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I would exercise caution when looking on freead sites, there are many hobby "breeders" and also you never get the full story as to why they are rehoming. I know of a number of people who use it to get rid of sows who have finished giving them good litters for selling and you may end up with sick pigs where the owner doesn't want the vets bills. Not saying it's all like this but go in with an open mind and ask lots of questions, trust your instincts.

Another option would be to look at other rescues. With our rescue list we can vouch for their standard of care as well as the rehoming policies and procedures. With other rescues you usually find that their hearts are in the right place but they may not be as stringent with policies. See if you can find anything in your area or approach your local RSPCA, again when visiting these places trust your gut as to whether you are happy to rehome from them.

Finally, pet stores, I would personally recommend a pet store over and above free ad websites like Gumtree especially for inexperienced owners because if you are sold an ill piggy the store will support with covering vets bills etc so there is a little protection there. They also have the support adoption for pets section which is a mix of surrendered piggies, returned piggies and unsaleable stock (when they get too old to be with the babies they get plonked here - not that I fully agree with it). I have adopted through this section twice - Daisy wasn't allowed to go to her owners new tenancy with them and Lily was returned at 6 weeks old with a fractured leg.

If you go for a breeder or pet shop I would ask questions about how soon boys are separated from girls to reassure you about potential pregnancies as I think sows would be best (getting two young boys who may not have compatible personalities can result in major fall outs when they reach the teenage years and you could then end up needing to separate them)
 
They're going to be kept indoors in my kitchen, so they're away from my curious crawler and the smell of my two hamsters. I've found a cage on Zooplus called the Plaza 160 cage which I'm going to get. It measures 162 x 60 x 50 cm, and I'll be piggy proofing my kitchen (making sure they can't get behind the fridge etc) so I can let them free roam for a few hours a day too. They'll be my first guinea pigs, but I've kept a pair of rabbits before and my hamsters, so I'm not new to small pets :) I'm just very anxious because even though you're told to keep rabbits in pairs, my two were females and littermates and they still fought constantly. Are guinea pigs less likely to fight than rabbits? It sounds like I should definetely get females to make fights less likely.
 
I also agree with Kelly, also I'm sure some people keep their piggies in the kitchen but will the flumes & smells effect them. Also some piggies may be playing behind you when your carrying a tin of hot fat?
 
When we're cooking the windows will be open and extractor fan on, and they won't be free roaming when we're cooking :P
 
Anbear171 said:
In your situation buying is fine. Don't worry about other's ridiculing you. If that's what is available then do that. One tip though is to look at previously owned guinea pigs on Gumtree before buy the guinea pigs.
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We don't ridicule on this Forum, Anbear I would like to think that I, & the others in the forum give constructive views, opinions.
 
Tiamolly123 said:
We don't ridicule on this Forum, Anbear I would like to think that I, & the others in the forum give constructive views, opinions.
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Don't worry, I didn't feel like anyone was ridiculing me. I know that rescue is best, it's just quite a difficult option for me not being able to drive, they're all too far away
 
Hello :) I have two boys and I feel like they often get a bad rep but boys are AWESOME!
It's more important to pick piggies that aren't shy and that you like the look of than to choose team girl or team boy!

There's pros and cons with both sexes :)
 
Three boys will most likely not work, so if you are deciding on a trio, make sure to get girls! Be sure to post some pics when you get them and good luck finding your perfect piggies!
 
Tiamolly123 said:
We don't ridicule on this Forum, Anbear I would like to think that I, & the others in the forum give constructive views, opinions.
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I didn't mean at this forum as everyone here is a strong community and we are here to help each other. I understand why you thought I meant that but in general, people do judge you for this I know from experience. Especially in the youtube community, it can make you feel bad. In my country, we don't have any rescues that take guinea pigs so buying is the only option.
 
Lady Kelly said:
I would exercise caution when looking on free ad sites, there are many hobby "breeders" and also you never get the full story as to why they are rehoming. I know of a number of people who use it to get rid of sows who have finished giving them good litters for selling and you may end up with sick pigs where the owner doesn't want the vet's bills. Not saying it's all like this but go in with an open mind and ask lots of questions, trust your instincts.

Another option would be to look at other rescues. With our rescue list, we can vouch for their standard of care as well as the rehoming policies and procedures. With other rescues, you usually find that their hearts are in the right place but they may not be as stringent with policies. See if you can find anything in your area or approach your local RSPCA, again when visiting these places trust your gut as to whether you are happy to rehome from them.

Finally, pet stores, I would personally recommend a pet store over and above free ad websites like Gumtree especially for inexperienced owners because if you are sold an ill piggy the store will support with covering vets bills etc so there is a little protection there. They also have the support adoption for pets section which is a mix of surrendered piggies, returned piggies and unsaleable stock (when they get too old to be with the babies they get plonked here - not that I fully agree with it). I have adopted through this section twice - Daisy wasn't allowed to go to her owner's new tenancy with them and Lily was returned at 6 weeks old with a fractured leg.

If you go to a breeder or pet shop I would ask questions about how soon boys are separated from girls to reassure you about potential pregnancies as I think sows would be best (getting two young boys who may not have compatible personalities can result in major fall outs when they reach the teenage years and you could then end up needing to separate them)
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The reason why I recommended gumtree was because she said that a rescue was not available in her area. I do understand that you should go on all of these sites with extreme caution and be aware of what details you are giving out to people ;)
 
FurryBabyMama said:
They're going to be kept indoors in my kitchen, so they're away from my curious crawler and the smell of my two hamsters. I've found a cage on Zooplus called the Plaza 160 cage which I'm going to get. It measures 162 x 60 x 50 cm, and I'll be piggy proofing my kitchen (making sure they can't get behind the fridge etc) so I can let them free roam for a few hours a day too. They'll be my first guinea pigs, but I've kept a pair of rabbits before and my hamsters, so I'm not new to small pets :) I'm just very anxious because even though you're told to keep rabbits in pairs, my two were females and littermates and they still fought constantly. Are guinea pigs less likely to fight than rabbits? It sounds like I should definetely get females to make fights less likely.
Click to expand...
That is a great cage, but just letting you know it's too small for a trio.
 
I've never had sows fight, but the boars have been a nightmare. The other thing is maybe get a neutered boar & after 6 weeks he will be safe, & he can go into the cage with a sow or 2.
I don't think you can predict any animal will go together.
The other thing that has been successful with me, Ive started off with a sow 18 months then added a baby. It would be better if you started pairing them up start away. You don't want to add with lone piggies.
 
You can have either 2 or 3. But I would recommend sows as males can usually fight but it is really up to you. Xx
 
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