Hello! Long time rabbit owner, new piggie owner!

Hi welcome to the forum. Little Light is adorable and I love his colouring. How big is his cage? And you should really consider getting him a cage mate asap. And since there are going to be a lot of kids in the class he will get a lot of love. My teacher had a class pet last year (when I was in year 6), it was a mouse. Everyone loved him. So I think it's a really nice idea to have a guinea pig as a class pet. I hope this forum will provide you with a lot of information like it does for me.

His cage is far too small (the shelter gave it to me). I'm only using it until I can pick some coroplast up after school on Monday.
I've built C&C cages for my bunnies before, so I'm no stranger to them.

Well that's great to hear! I know some people here are not fond of pigs as classroom pets, but from personal experience I think, done right, they can be wonderful additions to a class. My teacher technically owns the guinea pig I call my own and she is a person who should never own animals and gave him literally no care/crappy care. I myself raised him since he was tiny babby and spent over $200 on this guy. She spent $20 on him because "he was on sale" and the only benefit was she sometimes got him carefresh but also fed him rat food and the wrong oxbow pellets and yogurt chips and seeds and no hay. Don't be like her. You seem like a very responsible individual and I have high hopes that with proper care, she (and hopefully her bud, should you get her a friend) will have fantastic lives. Just make sure if anyone in your class has a hay/piggy allergy you have a backup plan--that would probably just be leaving them at home, which is of course just fine.

Qhat grade do you teach, by the way? If they are little, make sure you have a lid and latch so no one can get to them when they aren't supposed to. Of course, supervised interaction is wonderful but sometimes kids can be rough or accidentally do something they shouldn't, so it's best to keep piggy time as a supervised activity. I think it'll be a wonderful experience for them, though...I know Bob changed my life forever, and without him I feel like I'd be losing a son...he's taught me a lot, and even though he wakes me up at 5:45 every morning and is really demanding and a total princess and a big baby, I love him to bits and can't imagine life without him.

Welcome to the forums. I'm new here as well. I have 2 piggies, Tink and Bella. I'm sure your kids will enjoy him. I know my girls enjoy ours. My biggest issues is they always want to hold them and making sure they pick them up correctly. I hope he brings you as much happiness as ours brings us.

wombats said:

Just make sure if anyone in your class has a hay/piggy allergy you have a backup plan--that would probably just be leaving them at home, which is of course just fine.
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Qhat grade do you teach, by the way?

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I agree that your teacher is a terrible pet owner. Even though he's my classroom pet, he'll be my baby. I'm pretty passionate about animals.

If there's a hay allergy, he'll just come home with me each night and eat his hay at home. I have no pet allergies in my classroom this year, but I'm prepared to leave him at home if one develops or a student enrolls with one.

I actually teach high school. I'm a high school special education teacher at a private school. It sounds like I'll either be teaching science or math this year, but I don't know for sure yet.

Lisard said:

If there's a hay allergy, he'll just come home with me each night and eat his hay at home.

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With hay I'm pretty sure they need it 24/7. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes guinea pigs need hay 24/7 for both their digestive health and for their teeth. If a student were to have a hay allergy you have two options, the first would be to switch what type of hay you are using, blue grass and orchid grass are common choices for people with hay allergies as they are less likely to cause a reaction in some people then Timothy or you could leave her at home. If you were to switch hay types keep an eye on her to make sure she will eat the new type of hay, some guinea pigs will stop eating hay if you switch what type you are giving them and if this happens you need to switch her back ASAP.

Leaving her without hay for several hours on a regular basis is not an option, not to mention she would still have hay dust in her fur that could still cause a reaction in a person allergic to hay.

Also have a read of this thread and the concerns raised in it (there is a fair amount of debating from people who have varying opinions about this topic) https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...n-the-Classroom-an-alternative-point-of-view-)