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General Price of Owning A Guinea Pig

Sagers4

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I was thinking about getting guinea pigs again in a couple months or so and I am setting up a list of everything I need so I can see approximately how much it all would cost. I wondered for those of you with two or three guinea pigs if you knew approximately how much you spent on guinea pig pellets each month and hay for your pigs.

Thanks so much!
 

Xw0lfie

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Hey there Sagers4, I have 5 boars and for me there is no price when owning a piggy :) lol
Anyhow
Heres my breakdown of what I usually spend now granted it will vary depending on where you live.

But I usually buy 50lbs of Oxbow Pellets from a local petshop (they have to order it in.)
And its a good $56.00 and it last me a good 5-6 months, I keep it in air tight containers .(though I know vitamin c degrades which is why I feed fresh veggies.)
and then I also purchase hay from KMS, which with shipping for me comes out to be $56.(and some change.)
And I always buy my veggies weekly anywhere from 5 dollars to about 10 dollars. So $40-80 a month.
So if you buy in bulk lets say the pellets and hay you will be spending a lot in one month but it works out to be cheaper in the long run.

Be sure to keep some extra change i.e Emergency money just in case for vet visits and such. It can easily rack up to thousands and dollars. But the piggies are worth it! :)
 

cyndyt

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I read somewhere recently to expect to spend at least $10 a month per pig on hay, food and fresh produce.

In addition to that I try to put at least $100 away for medical.
 

kittymalone

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I have 4 girls. I bought them 10 lbs of Sweet Meadow pellets which cost (with shipping) $22. I hadn't run out of their other pellets (I wanted to switch them) so I'm not sure how long they'll lat yet. I spend about $5.00 a week on veggies (check to see if your grocery store has produce that needs to be sold right away. I get 6 green peppers for $1.29). I buy bales of timothy hay from a local farmer. 5 bales cost me $16 and will last a LONG time. The quality of his hay is superior to what I can find in the stores and MUCH cheaper. I use fleece in their cage and hard wood stove pellets (40 lbs for $3.99 at a local farm supply store, but they are also available at Menards or Home Depot) in the kitchen area (I just started this yesterday but at that price I could completly change out the kitchen every day).
Vet bills are the biggest thing. I have a vet fund of $500 set aside for my animals but was only able to do this because of our tax return (lifesaver!).
 

doganddisc

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If you do everything right, it should cost you roughly $40-80 for two or more.

The initial start-up cost with cages and accessories can be a hard hit though. I was not able to get coroplast from the place I used to ($15 a sheet way back when) and had to pay $40 for a sheet instead. Cubes will run you $20 for a box. I generally use two boxes for one cage since I like having a storage area underneath.

Fleece, when it's on sale, can cost you about $25-30 for four yards. I always buy extra so I'll have something to change out.

Hay is around $8 a bag and can last you quite awhile depending on your guinea pig. I used to have a trio that sucked it down like crazy. The guy I have now could care less and occasionally nibbles it.

I buy pellets for $10 a bag and it lasts me forever. I hardly use them though because I feed mostly veggies.

Veggies are the expensive part- I probably spend $10-15 a week. I like to feed a variety though.

Accessories and toys, if you get creative, can be anywhere from free to $50. I just blew $30 today because my creativity is lacking significantly :)

Water bottles are usually $10 with the combined holder/bottle.
 

pocketmonster

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So Guinea Pigs, much like anything else, can be made cheaper if you're frugal. Here's a fun tip I thought of today and haven't had time to execute:
PVC pipe joints make GREAT tunnels! They come in all sorts of different joint combinations and can be personalized by hot gluing fabric on certain parts.. Mod Podge and scrapbook paper *may* work but I think you have to be careful about cavies licking the Mod Podge.

I wish I had more time to go through my piggy low-down! I am a college student and cut costs at every corner and yet still have three incredibly loved and healthy piggies. I will repost when I am not supposed to be studying!
 

Sagers4

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Thank you for all the input everyone! It is very helpful!
 

pinky

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I have 4 girls. I bought them 10 lbs of Sweet Meadow pellets which cost (with shipping) $22. I hadn't run out of their other pellets (I wanted to switch them) so I'm not sure how long they'll lat yet. I spend about $5.00 a week on veggies (check to see if your grocery store has produce that needs to be sold right away. I get 6 green peppers for $1.29). I buy bales of timothy hay from a local farmer. 5 bales cost me $16 and will last a LONG time. The quality of his hay is superior to what I can find in the stores and MUCH cheaper. I use fleece in their cage and hard wood stove pellets (40 lbs for $3.99 at a local farm supply store, but they are also available at Menards or Home Depot) in the kitchen area (I just started this yesterday but at that price I could completly change out the kitchen every day).
Vet bills are the biggest thing. I have a vet fund of $500 set aside for my animals but was only able to do this because of our tax return (lifesaver!).

Where do you buy your hay? I've been looking all over for a local hay supplier and would drive to save some money since I spend $60 for 50 lbs.
 

kittymalone

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@pinky : I got it from a man in the Davis Junction/Stillman Valley are (near Rockford). He said he wasn't sure how long he'd be selling it (he wants to retire) so I bought 4 bales (I had rabbits, too but my last one passed away about a month ago). There is also a man in Rockton that I've bought from in the past but I didn't like his as much. I found them both on Rockford craigslist under the farm and garden section. There's a lot of alfafa mixed hay though, so be careful.

I've also seen some in the Marengo area.
 

pinky

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@pinky : I got it from a man in the Davis Junction/Stillman Valley are (near Rockford). He said he wasn't sure how long he'd be selling it (he wants to retire) so I bought 4 bales (I had rabbits, too but my last one passed away about a month ago). There is also a man in Rockton that I've bought from in the past but I didn't like his as much. I found them both on Rockford craigslist under the farm and garden section. There's a lot of alfafa mixed hay though, so be careful.

I've also seen some in the Marengo area.

Can you give me the info for the one that sold you nice hay? The farmers around here all have alfalfa mixed in. The one I found that sold blue grass was really poor quality.
 

House Whisperer

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I am not sure how much it would cost per month but I do know that I just got two piggies last week and the whole kit and kaboodle cost me over $400 including the pigs. I just have a standard cage so I can't even imagine the cost of starting off with a big fancy cage. :eye-poppi
 

englishdaffodil

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I will add to the above that, like any pets, it can be very tempting to spend more money on your piggies than what's strictly required! I recently bought one of those fur-be-gone brushes for $10...and then I saw some cat toys that I thought the piggy needed for $4...oh and she definitely needs a homemade cuddle bed, color-coordinated to her fleece...etc etc! So I try to budget in a little "fudge factor," knowing that giving Rosie a treat now and then makes me happy, too. :)
 

PigPandemonium

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With my two girls, I'd say it's about $150 a month give or take some, it's a very ruff estimation. This covers all items that have to be replenished basically, hay, pellets, vitamins, bedding, treats, veggies, fruits, and sometime getting another hiddy hut or toy, not to mention tons of love...Which is priceless xD Plus I'm going to be getting two more girls soon, so that price will be about doubled. *Faints* I'll be living in a card bored box with my guinea pigs soon. lol
 
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Sagers4

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Hey there Sagers4, I have 5 boars and for me there is no price when owning a piggy :) lol...But the piggies are worth it! :)

I completely agree! Also, it is super important to be sure we can afford it!Thank you for your input
 

Sagers4

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So Guinea Pigs, much like anything else, can be made cheaper if you're frugal. Here's a fun tip I thought of today and haven't had time to execute:
PVC pipe joints make GREAT tunnels! They come in all sorts of different joint combinations and can be personalized by hot gluing fabric on certain parts.. Mod Podge and scrapbook paper *may* work but I think you have to be careful about cavies licking the Mod Podge.

I wish I had more time to go through my piggy low-down! I am a college student and cut costs at every corner and yet still have three incredibly loved and healthy piggies. I will repost when I am not supposed to be studying!

I would love to hear about the complete piggy low-down but I understand about the studying as well!
 

Zuidy

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It definitely costs more initially, factoring in the cost for initial hay and other veggies and food, the proper housing (sounds like you won't need too much for housing, as you say you are ready for piggies "again")

I would say that after you buy everything that only has to be bought one time, like cage supplies, hideys, and anything else, you would probably be spending AT LEAST $100 a month. I probably spend around $120 a month, only including Veggies, pellets every other month, litter, and about every 4th month a box of hay.
 

Inle_Rabbit

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Wow. I don't spend near 100 dollars a month on my piggies!

I spend 10 dollars a week in veggies, sometimes less as I get free veggies from time to time from our store. I bought a bail of hay 4 months ago for 12 dollars I still have half left so I guestimate it will last 8 months. I buy a 5# bag of Oxbow pellets for 15 dollars and that last 2 months at 1/8 cup pellets per pig per day and I have 4 piggies.

All in all it comes out to...

40$ a month in veggies
1.50$ in hay
7$ in pellets

48.50 a month!

The biggest expense is going to be getting it started. You will need coroplast, at least 2 boxes of grids, fleece, uhal pad, 2 water bottles, 2 feed dishes, hiding houses, cuddle cups or fleece pads, nail clippers, vet fund, cost of piggies, etc.
 

msmonih

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Great thread. I am doing my supply gathering over time. I just built the main floor. So that is about $80 for the grids. I am going to order supplies from drs foster n smith. I should have mine by the end of april. I am doi.g all of this over time.
 

grace&piggies

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I have two little lady pigs.

Each month I spend:
$100 on Carefresh for bedding.
$15 on litter.
$40-$50 on vegetables.

I buy hay buy the bale for about $14 and that lasts months when stored correctly.
I buy Oxbow pellets which cost around $35 for 1kg, including postage. That last maybe two months.

So to get a round figure, let's say around $180 a month for two piggies.
 

captaincavymom

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Using fleece will cut your costs down in the long term. I don't mind the laundry because I know how much money we are saving by avoiding disposable bedding.
 
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