Some questions

[Blasphemie]

Hello I am new here. I love looking at the very cool cage setups!

Anyways I was thinking of getting a Guinea Pig and have alot of questions.

I love pets I grew up with tons of pets- dogs, cats, birds, fish, rabbits, ferrets, hamsters when i was very little, I even had mice.

Right now I live in a pretty small apartment with my husband. We have 3 cats and 2 parakeets.

I have always liked rabbits and thought about getting one but I have kindof taken an interest in guinea pigs so I don't know which would be better for me. I read that guinea pigs can be very tame, handled often and are responsive to their owners. Which I think sounds great!

I know all pets are messy. I had pet mice when I was a kid and loved them to death. My one Niki could be let out of his cage and just stay right next to me! But mice were very very messy pets. The rabbit my brother had was a bit messy too but rabbits can be litterbox trained.

Mostly I am just wondering how messy they are? Living in an apartment it is an issue. My husband is already buggy about the birds throwing seeds everywhere

Also how are they around other pets? When we had the rabbit he was a good enough size that the cats just stayed away from him and never messed with him.

One of my cats will surely just stay away but idk about my other two. I obviously wouldn't just let it run around unsure of the kitties. I think they are good enough sized that the cats won't bother it or knowing my cats might want to be best friends


Two of my cats completely ignore the bird cage and the other just asks to be picked up so he can watch them It is kindof cute. But I haven't had any problems.

Anyone with cats that can shed some light?

Post caged animals everyone says to get more then one. How are they solo or would i need to get two? If so two girls, two boys? Or a pair and babies?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

[envisionary333]

First of all, you must get at least two piggies as they are herd animals and thrive when they have a companion. There is a ton of great information on the subject here: http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm.

As for the cats, I have three cats and two of them are fabulous with the piggies. They basically disregard them completely, and one of my cats likes to go in the cage to eat the hay, drink out of the water bottles, and even sleep in the hidey houses. Occasionally she will lick the piggies as well. However, I also have a devil cat who would kill them if given the chance. It really depends on the cat, but in general most cats don't have a strong prey instinct towards guinea pigs. You should keep the piggies protected from the cats regardless, with a cage cover or by keeping them in a separate room whenever they aren't supervised. This is easy to do and shouldn't be a huge concern.

As far a how messy they are, I won't lie, they are COMPLETE SLOBS!!! They eat and poop far more than other animals of their size. I've had mice, hamsters, gerbils, rats, and ferrets, and guinea pigs produce the most waste by far. If you think the mice were messy, guinea pigs are WAY messier! I think they are wonderful pets of course, but I do think you should be aware of this component as it can be a lot of work. They also cannot be litter trained like rabbits can, but if you are lucky they might prefer to use a certain portion of the cage as a bathroom most often. It is not unreasonable for a guinea pig to poop 50-100 times a day. However, the poops are hard, small pellets that have no real odor, and if you have fleece bedding you can vacuum them up rather easily. They really can't be let loose on the floor without some type of protective material over it as they will ruin the carpet. They are also messy eaters and the hay can be quite messy, but there are ways of containing it.

Guinea pigs can become quite tame, but it usually takes a lot of regular handling to get to that point. Naturally they are very skittish and typically run away from you if you try to hold them, even once they are used to you. However, once they are on your lap they can become very calm once accustomed to it. Just remember that patience is key, since piggies are naturally defenseless prey animals. On the plus side, they rarely bite and are able to hold still when you hold them, as opposed to hyper creatures like mice or hamsters than have a hard time staying in one spot. They are also very vocal and will "talk" to you constantly when they want/expect food, and this is really entertaining!

I hope that helps a little. Feel free to ask more questions as they come up.

[Blasphemie]

Thanks a bunch. That link also answered alot of my questions as well.

This is why I like talking to actual owners over just websites lol I have been searching online and found alot of conflicting info.

I can't imagine anything messier then ferrets lol. My sister had two and they didn't have pellet poop which was a pain lol. They also had a bad habit of hiding their food everywhere lol. We would be cleaning our room and find old food hidden behind something for who knows how long lol. lol though I clean my house alot better then I cleaned my room as a kid!

Pellet poop is a bit better. Atleast it is good to know how messy they are.

Your one cat sounds so cute lol Ofcourse I would make sure the cage was secure and cat proof. Having birds gives me a good heads up there lol

I am a huge cat person, one step away from the crazy cat lady lol. Being a cat person and also loving small caged animals can be difficult. It surely plays a huge role in getting another pet. I would just die if my cats harmed anything.

That is one reason I thought about getting something bigger like a rabbit.

I read that guinea pigs can be very stressed out around cats. In an ideal situation everyone would get along well enough with supervision. I know my cats well enough I can kindof guess their reactions. One will more then likely never go near them she hates everything lol. One might try to make them her babies lol oO I highly doubt she would ever harm them or anything. The boy is kindof young so I am not sure. He would have to be locked up if they were out but he would probably behave around their cage and adore watching them like he does the birds.

I like that they are vocal I heard they whistle lol how cute. And less hyper is great for me too.

I don't mind getting two :) One question would be would you suggest two girls or two boys? Or does it make any difference?

lol I tend to ramble on when talking about pets lol sorry :) Thanks again for your response.

[envisionary333]

Every piggy has it's own personality, so having boys or having girls can be quite different depending on what they are like as individuals. Having said that, there are some things to consider. I believe that boys are a little braver and more laid-back about being held, but they are also more likely to fight with one another. Two boars will usually be just fine if given plenty of space (a 2x4 C & C cage at the very minimum), and if introduced properly. Boars do produce "boar glue" which tends to be a little smelly and not-too-fun to clean. Personally, I only have one neutered boy so I luckily haven't experienced it myself! With girls, you can almost always add more to the group later on if you want to and they will get along. With boys, it gets harder and harder as you add more, but I have heard of as many as four boars living together without problems if the cage is large enough.

As for the ferret comparison, I have two ferrets that I just adopted a week ago and I can't really say yet if they are cleaner or messier in a direct way. They poop less, but their poop is messier and bigger and stinkier, but then again it is in a litter box so it's very easy to deal with. They have more of a natural odor than guinea pigs, but I actually like the way the ferrets smell for some reason.

Guinea pigs can get stressed out by cats if the cats bother them, but they get stressed out by most new sights and sounds. My piggies all run and hide if I sneeze around them, they are quite skittish! But, now that my piggies are used to the cats, they sit right beside them. My cat Piña just sits right next to all the piggies to eat at the hay rack and they don't pay any attention to her. I don't let them together unless they are supervised, however.

I can totally understand how complicated it gets when you have predators and prey in the same house, but there is usually a way to make it work. I have 1 dog, 3 cats, 11 guinea pigs, 2 ferrets, 2 rats, 2 geckos, and fish! I'm glad you found this site, it is a great community of animal lovers and we can help you out a lot if you decide to bring some guinea pigs into your life. There is a lot of bad information on the internet, and I only trust this site, Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig, and Index of /.

Since you're a cat person as well, I can't resist posting a picture of my kitty Piña when I caught her in the piggy cage...

[Blasphemie]

Aww your kitty is so cute! That is a great pic. Looking online for info on cats & Guinea pigs I came across some really cute pics too-

pic1
pic2

so cute lol

After reading a bunch on them I think I would like to get one :) Now I just have to ninja my husband into the idea lol

Thanks again!

[envisionary333]

No problem! Remember that there are lots of piggies in shelters that need homes, and you can often find bonded pairs that can be adopted together. Here is a great place to start looking: Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten..

[clotho]

Hello and welcome to the site! I am so glad you are doing research before getting your piggies! I wish I had done that before I got mine!!!

Do you have enough room in your apartment for a 2x4 grid cage at least? You may want to look around at some pictures in the gallery to get some ideas of what you want to build for your cage and where you will get the supplies.

Guinea pigs need unlimited hay, good quality plain pellets like Oxbow or Kleenmama's, and at least a cup of fresh veggies per day. You may want to do a little research into what to feed and how much that will cost before you make a final decision on getting piggies. And beware, they are addicting!!! I now have 15 in the house (although 6 of them are fosters).

Please adopt if you do decide to get piggies! There are plenty of piggies in rescues who need a good home. Let us know what you decide, and we insist on seeing pictures when you do adopt!!

[PiggieMamaKelly]

I think a pair of girls would be your best bet. Since you say you live in a small apartment, you might be concerned about space. Girls can live peacefully in a smaller cage than two boys can. The boys are going to require a bigger space to ensure that they don't start to fight.

I have boys and girls and I think the boys are much stinkier, so if that is a top concern it's another reason girls might suit you better.

I think the messiest thing about guinea pigs is the hay! They need it 24/7 so you are constantly scooping out handfuls of hay to give to them. Then they toss it all around and get it all over themselves. Somehow strands of hay end up just about everywhere. So don't be surprised if you crawl into bed at night and have to pick a piece of hay off your pillow!