Soon-To-Be guinea pig owner!! (HOPEFULLY!!)

Ohhh you are asking for an open call for guinea pig tips? LOL You will get lots of helpful tips from the people here.

Here are my guinea pig tips:
- Make the cage is large enough. Two females should have at least a 2X4.

-Store-bought toys and treats are pointless. Toys can be things from around the house. TP rolls (completely cleared of glue), crumpled up paper, paper bags, fridge packs make great tunnels, etc. Store treats are unhealthy for them. Treats should be limited to food they don't get on a regular basis. Some fruits, maybe a veggie they don't get very often.

-Start putting some money into a vet fund for any medical issues that come up. Just a bit of money every week will help if an emergency vet visit is necessary.

Adopt from a rescue or shelter and don't buy from a pet store or breeder. You're approaching it the right way by researching first and then taking the plunge. This is a great place to get your questions answered. Glad you joined us on here.

Order hay and timothy pellets from KMS, their products are really superior and a lot more economical than store bought products. Here's the link tho their site. (broken link removed) Hay stays good for a long time, so I would say go for the 9 or 10lb boxes since the shipping is so high. My girls ADORE the 3rd cut timothy hay.
If you're going to use fleece, I would recomend placing a litter box or two, I use aspen bedding, in the corner. They like a dark place to do their business usually, so maybe you can provide this as well. Not all Cavies take to litter boxes, but my to babies did wonderfully, my two adults, not so much. I will show you a picture of half of my cage, the girls love darkness of this hiddey place to do their business, so that's where I have their litter boxes.

I have four pigs in a 2X8 cage. I do have them on the floor, but their cage is way too large for any surface. Here's the other half in case you are curious.

I also put towels in the high mess areas, like the hay rack area so I can clean that mess up more often with out doing the whole cage.
Last thing, scoop your poops up twice a day! it will keep the mess way down.

Welcome to the forum! And I'm so glad that you decided to get guinea pigs! Although a lot of work, I think they are the best small animal pet one can own! n.n Some advice I have is to make sure you have a cage big enough for two piggies. Also try to adopt a guinea pig from a shelter. But if you can't (I completely understand, there aren't any guinea pig rescues or animal shelters that hold guinea pigs in my area) make sure that they are females and ask a lot of questions when you buy them! I bought two of my pigs thinking they were female, but they ended up being males. So be carefuly IF you buy the from a petstore. And most of all, love your piggies! <3

Welcome to the forum!! I will suggest looking at the "adoption" portion of this forum to help you find the perfect little piggy! A big cage, the right foods, a few hiding places and you can have two very happy piggies! Good luck finding your perfect pet Looking forward to seeing you around the forum!

Iotanine said:

Also try to adopt a guinea pig from a shelter. But if you can't (I completely understand, there aren't any guinea pig rescues or animal shelters that hold guinea pigs in my area) make sure that they are females and ask a lot of questions when you buy them! I bought two of my pigs thinking they were female, but they ended up being males. So be carefuly IF you buy the from a petstore.

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Even if there aren't rescues or shelters near you, be patient. There's no reason to buy a pig and fund the breeding mills. Check out Petfinder, Craigslist or the adoptables section on this site. Buying a pig contributes to the abusive breeding mill industry. Adopt, don't shop. Ignore the store.

By your post, it sounds like you have your eye on some that are farther away. I'm hoping this means you already checked out Petfinder and found two to adopt from a shelter or rescue. Good luck! Can't wait to see pics!

Thanks for the tips everyone! I get a little excited about stuff like this so I'm getting way ahead of myself..! I already started looking for my materials for the C&C cage (I'm planning to build a 2x4 and use fleece) I already contacted the person selling the guinea pigs and I'll be sure to post more if i have any questions and upload pics when I get them!

Oh, also, any tips about where to get coroplast? I found a sign store near where I live, but what size do I need, and is it hard to transport?

MikkiBee said:

I already contacted the person selling the guinea pigs and I'll be sure to post more if i have any questions and upload pics when I get them!

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Selling the pigs? Yikes, we are all pro-adoption here. I would not recommend buying pigs, because they can have inbreeding problems, mites, upper respiratory infections. Even private breeders can have these.

Is this person selling on Craigslist? Are they a breeder or someone looking to re-home their pet? This is a big difference!

One big reason why we don't support adoption is because of the surplus of guinea pigs out there in rescues and shelters that need loving homes. Please adopt or take a pig from a legitimate re-homing ad. We all want to give the pigs of the world a better life, and adoption is a fantastic way to do just that.

Also, if you are building a 2x4 C&C then a 4'x8' sheet of coroplast will do the trick. The extra will serve you well; you can make a box to go under the hay and 'upholster' it with fleece; there are endless uses for extra coroplast.

If however, you want just enough coroplast to build the bottom of the cage with 6" sides, then you will need a 40"x68" sheet of coroplast.

Hope that it helped! When I joined here, I didn't know about the wonders of adoption, C&C cages, or Oxbow and KMS Hayloft. I didn't know what was so bad about buying from breeders and pet stores. However, now that you have a plethora of information before you there is no reason why you cannot give 2 adopted sows the best life that they can possibly have.

Umm I'm not sure... it looks like someone's guinea pig had babies and they can't take care of them all? I looked at all the adoption centers in my area and none of them had any baby females

Well, if these are your first pigs then I would be open to other options. It is not like it is a requirement to have babies; yes, they are cute. However, I found that a pair of 1 neutered boar and 1 unaltered sow make great pets, or 2 mature boars, or 2 baby males, or 2 mature sows.

Is there a legitimate reason that you must have 2 female pups? If not then I would strongly suggest that you open up the possibility of mature male/male pairs, mature neutered male/female pairs, or mature female/female pairs. Just because you can't find 2 baby females doesn't mean that you should give up on adoption.

Uh, it's not necessarily a must, just a preference. I read that it's better to get babies because they can grow more attatched to you if they know you when theyre young, and a lot of people preferred females to males, soo thats how I got to where I am.

Well, when I adopted my pigs they were 6 months and 1 year old. I really don't think that age makes a significant difference; I love my neutered male! I don't have to deal so much with grease gland. lol However, boar/boar pairs can be fantastic as well.

Really, I would broaden your horizons and be willing to take in any pair. Once you do that, you'll realize how much you can fall in love with a pair that you hadn't even imagined.

Here's the thing about baby pigs. Yes they are very cute and funny to watch but if you are looking for cuddly, you won't find it with the babies. They are constantly moving and don't sit still long enough to cuddle with you.

The first pig I had was 6 mths old. He lived to be just short of his 6th birthday. The average lifespan of guinea pigs is 5-7 years. So the idea of getting babies so you can have a long time with them, doesn't really apply here. A guinea pig is considered an adult at 6 mths. A pig at 6 mths still has a lot of life left.

Pigs getting attached to you doesn't really have to do with their age. It has to do with how much you interract with them. You can have a 2 yr old pig but if you have laptime every day, if you pet him/her all the time, if you talk to him/her all the time, they will become attached.

Keep in mind, guinea pigs being "attached" to people, isn't the same as a cat or dog. The pig won't follow you around or beg for your attention. They won't come to you when called or act especially happy when you walk into the room, unless you have food.

They don't bond with humans the same way they do with other pigs. They can have a bond with a human but it in no way is a substitute for the bond they can have with another pig.

Please look again at the shelters and rescues around you. There are plenty of adult pigs in need of homes. I'd be wary of someone's post on craigslist or wherever who gives a sob story about how their pig "accidentally" had babies and they can't care for them. That's how a lot of breeders will suck people in. Then they turn around and breed their female again.

I agree, I think babies sometimes have too much energy and don't sit still for very long. My adults definetly are more up to cuddling and being petted than my younger girls. But my youngest pig is the most social and the one that trusts me the most. Pigies really all have different personalities, but generally the adults are mellowed out and are more patient with loving I don't know how old my adults are, but I would be willing to bet that the oldest of them is a senior, or close to it and she always lets me pick her up and is always up for a nap in my lap. Adults are just as great as babies. But don't feel guilty if you get babies, because babies need homes too.

Okay, I'll look up my local adpotion center and see what they have. Thanks for the advice!