New and have some questions

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and currently do not have a guinea pig. I'm looking into them as I will be moving into an apartment that does not allow cats and dogs, and I'm a person that needs to have a pet to take care of.

I will be moving in with a friend and for the sake of not starting a fire with her, I would like to only get one guinea pig. Is this okay? I am a teacher and not working at all this summer. My normal hours during the school year are typically 8-5. I would have plenty of time to spend with him/her when I was home. Also, my roommate and I were both curious if they smell. I have another friend that just recently got a chinchilla and they are said to be the cleanest and least smelly of small animals. Are guinea pigs pretty clean animals?

Really any information anybody could share with me would be greatly appreciated. I want to know as much as possible before I go and buy one to make sure that it is the best decision for both me and the guinea pig.

THANKS and sorry for the really long post!

Only getting one pig is fine, but it needs a lot of attention- it's a social animal so it needs friends. Whether that's human friends or another piggie isn't as important as is that it gets plenty of attention.

They don't really smell. The cage will start to smell like ammonia after a while, but that just means you need to clean the cage. The pigs release a scent when it smells a female (if it is male), and that kind of reeks, but other than that they're pretty clean animals.

The have special dietary needs though- they need fresh veggies and a supply of vitamin c in their pellets, and they need a ventilated cage (not aquarium) and they can't have cedar bedding (and probably shouldn't have pine either).

Hope i helped

-Dan III

It actually is best to get two in my opinion. I had one for awhile and he didn't do much. Then I got Baby and now he runs around his cage, chases Baby everywhere and sometimes even pops. Really, there isn't that much difference between two GPs and one except that they talk a lot more, but most of the time my two settle right down at night. GPs don't smell unless you don't clean their cage.

I second that two guinea pigs are better then one. Guinea pigs are very social creatures and need a lot of attention and companionship. When you start back at work he'll be alone all day and that's not really fair to the pig.

As long as you have a decent size cage (www.cavycages.com) and you clean it regulary there is no smell to worry about. Although males do have a musky scent they are known to release.

Two is definatly better than one, even constant human attetion isn't the same as having another pig around. I have 8 pigs in one cage and spot clean whenever it needs and then completely change the cage about once a week and they do not smell. Also have 2 rats and two hamsters in the same room and there's no real smell. The rats smell more but that's from scenting (their males)

well firstly it is best to get two pigs. if you keep a pig alone he/she will get lonely. they are social animals and need to interact w/ others of their kind. there isn't much of a difference in taking care of one or two pigs.
and no, they don't smell, as long as their cage is clean.
i have two girls for a year now, and they really grow on you. i love them so much. If you want a pet you can sit with and cuddle then guinea pigs are a good choice.