What To Buy For Piggies? + Q's

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Calathea

Calathea

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I'm a wannabe piggie owner and just starting to do some research into owning piggies, behaviour, housing, diet etc and need to work out the money side of things so I can start saving up a bit and putting money aside each month for them.

I've started creating my piggie budget by working out what I will need but would appreciate advice/input from seasoned piggie owners :)

Initial Cost

The piggies! I'll be adopting from the RSPCA, anyone know how much two piggies cost?

Cage - 99% certain I'll be going for a C&C cage, probably a 4x2 one with a stand, possibly with a 1x2 loft. Is that an OK size for two guinea pigs?
Cage lining - I'll be using fleece but do I need to put anything underneath?
Water bottle - two Classic Guinea pig sized bottles (possibly a couple more as spares)
Hay Rack - is a basic metal one OK?
Food bowl/s - is one OK? Or do I need one per piggie?
House - what type of house is best? Fleece? Wood? Plastic?
Toys - what would you recommend?

Food, treats etc

Dried food mix - what brand would you recommend? I use Burgess for my hamsters, is their piggie food good? How much do they eat?
Hay - how much would I need to buy on a monthly basis?
Treats - is small amounts of fresh food best or are there any good shop bought treats?
Fresh food - how much and what fresh foods do they need? I've read something about them needing Vit C, any info on that would be appreciated.

Vet Costs

Other than for emergency care, do piggies need to go to the vet on a regular basis for checkups? What about getting their teeth and claws trimmed? How often do they need that done and how much - roughly - does it cost? Is pet insurance available for pigges and worth it?

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That's what I've kind of thought about so far, still in the early stages of researching so expect lots of dumb newbie questions in the near future ;) Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. It is great you are researching and not just going into getting guinea pigs. Well done for adopting too. Usually when you adopt you pay a token gesture. I paid £50 for my boar as he was neutered.

4 by 2 c and c is the minimum size required for two piggies. If you can make it bigger then I would. With fleece you need one layer of towels and two of fleece. This all has to be washed at 60 degrees every three days. You will need to remove poops two or three times a day.

The only insurance for guinea pigs is with exotics direct. Many members have insurance and swear by it. You can learn to cut your guinea pigs nails yourself and only dental piggies need teeth trimmed. None of mine have ever had a problem with their teeth.

Shop bought treats should be avoided as they are junk.

I buy a 9.5 kilo bag of hay from hayforpets at £16. It lasts me about three months.

They need to handfuls of fresh vegetables daily which should cover thee vitamin c they need.

With dried food pellets is best. I use burgess excellent too but some people say it is not as good as others. The guidelines for how much is needed will be on the packet.

I like ferplast sippy water bottles. You will need two. You also need two bowls and hideys. Each piggy will need their own things to avoid fighting.

I like wooden cabins as mine like to chew the wood too. I put the hay in a pile as they like to play in the hay too.
 
Hi! good that you are planning ahead!

You will find that a C&C cage gives you much more space than a traditional cage, as it actually the same ground space a 2x5 ft cage.

You can use a variety of absorbent underlays under fleece, from very cheap beach towels from Primark (make sure that they are 70-75cm wide); you will need at least 2 for a 2x4 cage.

There are places where you can order hay much more cheaply than buying from p@h, like hay4pets or dustfree hay. I would recommend to place a shallow plastic container under the hay rack, which will make a good toiletting area. I use seed trays for my piggies.

Burgess is a good brand to use for guinea pigs, too, that is not as expensive. Look for bargains/deals on the internet!
Stay away from expensive shop treats! You can for instance grow your own fresh herbs or fresh grass at all times of year from seed in boxes on the windowsill!

Houses are a personal preference, but actually a cardboard box or two with two doors will do pretty nicely, as long as you keep replacing them regularly! You can also sew/hand sew your own cosies and pads and make tunnels from old trouser legs. there are step-by-step picture guides available.
Otherwise, there are deals on the internet for plastic houses or washable tents. You can also look for fleece cosies/caves or squbes which won't break the bank:
http://www.viovet.co.uk/Boredom_Bre..._find=115649&gclid=CPDs99Ldlb0CFcfKtAodcEEAjA
http://www.viovet.co.uk/Boredom_Bre..._find=115649&gclid=CPDs99Ldlb0CFcfKtAodcEEAjA (I would recommed using an extra exchangeable fleece pad inside so it doesn't go damp and soiled as quickly.

You will find our vegetable thread with diet advice helpful: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
If you can get to supermarket shortly before closing time, you may find marked down veg.

Most vets will do nails at a fairly cheap rate, but you can learn to do it yourself. A vet will show you how.
Healthy teeth do not need trimming. The front teeth are self sharpening and the back teeth should stay nicely ground down on a mainly hay based diet. You can arrange for a piggy MOT every 6-12 months. otherwise, weekly weighing and weekly check-over at home will suffice.
You will however need to save up for vet treatment in case of a serious illness or get exotics insurance (that is what piggies are classed as). if you are on benefits, there are charities in the UK that will support vet care.

Please get your piggies from one of our recommended rescues; they will be guaranteed healthy, well bonded and certainly not pregnant, so you won't have any problems whatsoever for hopefully a long time! It is worth the travel.
Depending on where you are in Manchester, the Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue in Kidsgrove is just up the road from the station with direct transprt to Manchester; I've come by train myself from Coventry. If you book well ahead, train fares are a lot cheaper and Helen will pick you up at the station if you arrange the trip with her. I am not happy with the practices of the Manchester RSPCA branch.
http://www.thepotteriesguineapigrescue.co.uk/
 
Not much to add but I like having a variety of houses and beds that I swap out when I clean them out to add some variety, they also love edible tunnels especially ones made of willow twigs. They have a litter tray too which they use regularly which I line with newspaper, megazorb and hay, never had to teach them to use it but almost all their wee ends up in there which makes it a lot easier to keep them clean.
Personally I found C & C cages didnt work for me, my girls were constantly chewing the base and getting under the fleece. Instead I have two 100cm furplast cages joined together which gives them 6x2 ft. In regards to vets there should be a list of recommended piggy vets in the health and illness section.
 
i have litter trays . Have a shower curtain then incontinence pads then fleece. Majority of wees go in litter trays but area around them sometimes gets pead on as it is covered over. This has towel and fleece which gets changed every day. Main fleece only gets changed once a week. I dont use correx as mine on the floor so dont need it. have somewhere for each of them to hide. Please go rescue as you end up with healthy nonpregnant pigs that will probably be tamer than shop pigs
 
I think the others have said it all and very well, too. All I can add is that the Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue is superb - 3 of mine have come from there. I've been told all about their health, personalities, likes and dislikes. No nasty surprises and Helen who runs it is extremely knowledgable and helpful. Well worth the visit.
 
4 x 2 is the bare minimum but I've recently upgraded to making two 12 x 12 cages, they take up two full rooms in my house! You need one bowl and one house per pig and you need one water bottle per pig + one more. Both my cages have 2 snuggle sacks, 2 double cuddle cups, 2 shelves, 2 litter pans, a hay house, 3 different types of hay feeder (a hay rack, a hay ball and a hay tray) 2 pigloos, 3 water bottles, 2 pellet bowls, 2 veggie bowls, fleece, with puppy pads and towels underneath.
 
GuineaPiggie said:
4 x 2 is the bare minimum but I've recently upgraded to making two 12 x 12 cages, they take up two full rooms in my house! You need one bowl and one house per pig and you need one water bottle per pig + one more. Both my cages have 2 snuggle sacks, 2 double cuddle cups, 2 shelves, 2 litter pans, a hay house, 3 different types of hay feeder (a hay rack, a hay ball and a hay tray) 2 pigloos, 3 water bottles, 2 pellet bowls, 2 veggie bowls, fleece, with puppy pads and towels underneath.
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What fantastic cage sizes!
 
piggyfan said:
What fantastic cage sizes!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I bought the panels on ebay, they are great quality and really cheap! It allowed me to create a dream pig house as I would never of been able to fit all the toys and cage accesories in a standard cage! :)
 
GuineaPiggie said:
Thank you! I bought the panels on ebay, they are great quality and really cheap! It allowed me to create a dream pig house as I would never of been able to fit all the toys and cage accesories in a standard cage! :)
Click to expand...
I would love to see pictures. You should make a thread.
 
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