Guinea pig question!?

Question

Im just curiose how much time and effort would it take to have a guinea pig or two. Are they one of the easier rodents to take care of? And what are all of the supplies you will need to have them?

Answer 1

Guinea pigs arent easy to take care of. Trust me i have had 6 in the past (all lived to be 5/6 which is the normal age) You need to clean there cage every week make sure they have water and food. You need to make sure to give them fruits and veggies every day. They need a lot of attention. you need to hold them every day. You need to do a lot of research before even thinking of getting a guniea pig

Answer 2

supplies you will need:

1.cage

2.hay

3.chew toys

4.water bottle

5.food dish

6.nail clipper

7.litter box

they are easy to take care of and are not that expensive they are extremely cute,i got a baby one its really cute,you need to spend all time you can with them if you consider that you cannot spend alot of time with them get him or her company  wish you luck

Answer 3

I'm so glad that you're researching ahead of time.  Guinea pigs are not easy or cheap pets, but they are entirely worth the money and effort.

They need a lot of space, so a minimum of 7.5 sq ft for one, and ideally more for two.  The cheapest way to get a cage this big is to build one yourself.  Cube and coroplast cages are cheap, huge and easy to clean.

http://www.guineapigcages.com

For bedding I use fleece with a layer of towels underneath.  It cost quite a bit to set up but saves money in the long run.  All I spend on bedding now is the cost of laundry.  Other good beddings include carefresh, yesterday's news and aspen shavings.  Never use cedar.  Some great bedding ideas:

http://www.guinealynx.info/bedding.html

For food you'll need tons of hay.  They always need to have grassy hay available.  You'll also need a high quality pellet like Oxbow or KM.  Many pet stores sell low quality pellets that have many inappropriate ingredients like seeds and coloured pieces.  They'll also need plenty of leafy greens and other veggies everyday (at least one cup).

http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

Everyday I spend at least 10 minutes cleaning up after them.  More if it's time for a complete cage change (I do that every 4-6 days).  Then there's the lap time, but I don't think that counts as effort!

Guinea pigs can get very expensive, very quickly if they get sick.  A sick guinea pig requires immediate vet care, and they always seem to get sick when only emergency vets are open (or at least mine do).  If guinea pigs are sick they frequently stop eating, if you want them to live you have to syringe feed every 4-6 hours even during the night.

Some great sites to look over before you decide to adopt:

http://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.h...

http://www.cavyspirit.com

Answer 4

Alissha has the best answer by far, and has all the information I would give you, as well.

I also use fleece, but over old comforters since I got tired of lining up the towels just right.  It cut down some of my time I spend on it, but only by a few minutes.

You really should have at least two of the same s*x so that they can have a friend when you're not there.  They are a social animal.

If you're looking for an easier rodent, try looking at rats.  :)

Be sure to opt to adopt if you can!

Answer 5

guinea pigs are not that easy to take care of. i have one, and she needs a good a mount of attention, and they drink their water like crazy so you will have to fill that up a lot. they are not that much fun to take care of, but the are soooo cute and they are so cute when they purr.

Answer 6

If you were to buy 2 cavies, to get them at the same time. They love to eat veggies like lettuce and carrots and fruits. It's a good idea to let them run around a bit but with supervision. Girls seem to be a little more roudy than boys.

Answer 7

I just adopted a mother/daughter pair from the humane society a few months ago. (I highly reccomend it- many are very young, they are vet checked and cheaper than the store-mine were $10 each).

Having 2 helps as they are social.  They can do fine solitary but would need more interaction from you.

As far as care goes, they are pretty easy. They need minimal grooming and don't have alot of common illnesses to worry about.

Invest in buying or building a cavycage.  I built mine from storage cubes and chroloplast(currogated plastic).

In addition to the pen, you will need bedding, hay, quality pellet food, water bottle and hut. (I use Carefresh over newspaper- makes for easy clean up).  You will also need to supply fresh fruits and veggies 2x a day.

Being as I have 2, i clean the cage out twice a week- but it's so quick and easy, I dont mind.

They are more expensive than I thought- with all the hay(they need it available 24/7), bedding(changed 2x a week) and all the food, Im spending over $30 a month.  But they are so cute and easy to care for, I don't mind the expense.

Answer 8

Okay let me start off by telling you that guinea pigs aren't easy to care for. I have several cats, and dogs, and figured that a guinea pig would be super easy compared to them. Boy was I in for a rude awakening! I started off with one piggie, and then got another one. I would suggest getting two since this animals are highly social, and two isn't much more care than one. They do take a lot of time, effort, since they need to be given attention about an hour (or more) everyday. Their cage needs to be cleaned once a week, or if its fleece, swept out twice (or more) daily. Their bowls also need to be cleaned once a day, etc.

Things they need to start off with:

- A large cage  7.5 sq ft is preffered for one guinea pig, 10.5 sq feet  for two.

- You will need several bowls for their food, lettuce, etc. I would reccomend crock bowls that you can get at petstores. They have smaller ones for animals like piggies.They are better because pigs will sit on their bowls and will spill the food out otherwise.

- You will need bedding. When I first got my pigs I used Carefresh, however it got too expensive (about 40 bucks a month) so I switched to fleece. Its more expensive to start with, but its re-usable, so in the long run its a money saver.

- Food. Pellets for me usually costs about 20 bucks a month (sometimes less)

- Vitamin C. Guinea pigs cannot produce their own vitamin c so you will have to make sure they get it somehow. Guinea pig pellets have Vitamin c in them, but not enough so you will either have to give them Vitamin C Drops (for their water) or an orange slice. I started with the Vitamin C drops but it made my girls not drink as much so now I give them an orange slice every other day, and they love it!

- Veggies. Piggies need vegetables. I get mine lettuce and its usually about 10 bucks a week, (sometimes less)

- Cage stuff. Guinea pigs need a hidey house for their cage and prices varey for them. I currently am using a 'Pigloo' which was 10 bucks and they love it. You will also need a water bottle for their water, and some piggy toys which also can vary in price

- Hay. Piggies need and LOVE hay. I get my girls timothy hay usually a big bale which lasts about a month.. so about 15 bucks a month for this.

- Other expenses. Your piggies can get sick, so additional expensives vary for this.

Here are some sites with guinea pig info!

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

http://www.cavyspirit.com/

http://www.guinealynx.info/

Good luck!

Answer 9

Guinea pigs take alot of time, money and attention but it is well worth it. I have two female guinea pigs and each night they take about 1-2 hours of my time, whether it be cleaning up their cage, holding, brushing, bathing or just sitting with them.

It can also get very expensive.

$45/week on fresh veggies

$30/month bedding (2 bags for 15.00 each)

$40/month hay (4bags for $10.00 each)

$30/month pellets (2 bags for $15.00 each)

Proper cage (7.5 sq feet for 2 pigs) $50.00 C&C Cage (made by your self out of cubes & coroplast)

Cage from pet store $120.00 for a not even big enough cage.

Vet bills, Range from $100.00 checkup - unlimited injuries/sicknesses

Answer 10

personally i think they require the most attention of any small pet or rodent.

they require a large cage space.  the cages you buy at a petstore just aren't ever big enough.  try www.guineapigcages.com  to see how to build a proper cage.   it's cheaper than one you would purchase at a petstore anyway.

they require a special diet.  they must have a fresh source of vitamin C daily.  they need special guinea pig food and i wouldn't reccomend the cheap store brands.  i feed oxbow cavy performance until they are around 5-6 months of age then switch them to oxbow's regular guinea pig diet after that.  

they must have fresh hay daily,  timothy hay is the best for them.  but the cheap ones you find often have nothing but stiff stems.  you would need to find a fresh cut timothy hay that is mostly leaves and green.

they cannot be on wire bottom cages.  they have sensitive feet.  they shouldn't be on the cheaper pine or cedar chips.  i use carefresh bedding.  it's more expensive and their cages need to be scooped daily and cleaned usually twice a week.

they need fresh veggies daily.  and they should have their water changed daily as well.

they also must be out of the cage and given attention at least once a day.  twice is preferred.  

they do better in pairs so this doubles your expense on everything, money and time.

if treated right they can live up to 8-12 years.  and can be very rewarding.  but it's a long term investment in time and money.  if you're not prepared for the next 10 years devoted to pig care you should rethink getting one of these guys.

go to   www.guineapiglynx.com  they give detailed information about owning one of these great little creatures.