Past and present guinea pig keepers.?

Question

Okay. So i'm thinking of adopting 2 male guinea pigs, I've researched a ton from the internet and books but now i wanna hear from peoples personal experiences like

CAGE CLEANING- Daily or once everyother day ?

(i'll be forced to get a comercial cage because my hosue is too small for a C&C cage so i'll be letting the guinea pig out of its cage everyday for until it wants to go back in the cage.)

and any other comments about past experiences, please and thanks !

Answer 1

Just clean up some stray poops and wet spots every other day... depending on how small the cage is you might want to clear it up every day. Make sure to fully clean out the cage at least once a week.

My guinea pig is very good with her cage and I even trust her to walk around the room with the cage door open. When she has to pee she just climbs up the ramp the door makes and hops back in. It didn't take her that long to figure it out.  

Answer 2

A pet store cage is too small for a pair, esp. two boys. Unless you give them 10+ hours of out of cage time daily.

If you get a smaller cage, you'd need to clean it daily or every other day. C&C cages you only need to clean like once or twice a week.  

Answer 3

ive had alot of experience with sets of two animals including guinea pig  GET ONE ONLY my friend had two guinea pigs and one killed the other it was very sad

Answer 4

It sounds like you've looked up information on guinea pigs, but I'm confused when you say you can't have a C&C cage because it is too big for your house. The C&C cage sizes given on http://www.guineapigcages.com/ are MINIMUMS for healthy, happy guinea pigs. It's one thing to buy a tiny pet store cage without knowing any better, but it's kind of mean to the guinea pig to say, "yes I knew you should have a bigger cage, but I didn't buy [make] you one because I couldn't make room." And out of cage time doesn't really equal-out a smaller home. It's great to give them floor time, but if they're going to be out all the time anyway, and I'm guessing that space would be used for nothing else while they are out (as the frequent poos and such will make the area useless for anything else except a piggie playpen while they are out), then why not just use that space for a cage?

In the end building a cage will be ridiculously cheaper than buying a cage of an equally satisfying size, but it can be done. I don't mean to sound rude, but I've seen plenty of guinea pigs in cages that weren't even twice their body length, and you seem like an intelligent person so I'm providing you a response I hope you can understand, if not appreciate. I'd just like to add that a guinea pig is worth rearranging your house (or planning a room around their cage as I've done before) to fit them. The great thing about building with C&C is that you can build in almost any shape and size and also use the cubes to make a shelf for your own things under the guinea pig cage (raising theirs off the ground), so you don't really have to end up taking away from your own space.

As far as bedding goes, guinealynx gives a concise list of all the bedding available for guinea pigs, as well as other info for housing (and everything else). [The forums there are also a great source of advice from many guinea pig lovers.] How often you clean the cage will depend on the size of the cage, the number of pigs and the type of bedding. A type of bedding you might like is actually using fleece (just like your jacket). You vacuum up the poos every day or so, and throw the fleece in the washer whenever it needs thoroughly cleaned. Saves tons of money on buying disposable bedding every week or so.

Guinea pigs are also social animals, so 2 males or 2 females will be best. As long as you spend time with them both and socialize, they won't "love you less" than a single pig would. The major benefit to having multiple pigs together would be that whenever you aren't around they are never lonely and they can play pig-games together (even the most dedicated owner can't get in the cage with the guinea pigs and play tag).

I wish you luck with the pig(s) you get, they really are great pets, and will soon take over your life with their cuteness.

Answer 5

guinea pigs, guinea pigs, guinea pigs

well i had an awful experience with guinea pigs they are very nervous animals and if they are not well socialized, they remain afraid their entire lives. so you can forget about getting them from a pet store or a breeder. you have a small chance of finding one at a shelter who has miraculously recovered being abandoned. they are also very messy animals and their cage must be cleaned everyday or it will get very dirty and stinky. if you go one day with out cleaning the cage they will smell like sheep. they are also very loud. they do something called wheeking which can get so loud that it can be heard through the house. they do this all the time, its the equivalent of human talking. they also prefer not to be held and will squirm and jump if picked up. and they will run under furniture when you take them out to play, and it is very hard to get them out. thay are very fast and very stubborn.

but thats just my opinion

Answer 6

i currently have one very young female guinea pig she is an absolute sweat-heart. if you have a lot of time on your hands then you might want a one piggie because then they have don't have anybody else that could befriend them except for you and he/she will grow to love you very much. i would suggest getting a young female because they are calmer and if you get a young one it will bond with you quickly. As far as cage cleaning goes you need to scoop up the soiled litter daily and do a thorough cage cleaning once every week

Hope I Helped!