Want a Guinea Pig(s) Hello! I am looking into getting guinea pigs

[_J.Julie_]

Hello guinea pig lovers, my name is Jess and well I love guinea pigs. I have had guinea pigs in the past but had to sell them because my parents paid for them and they refused to take them to the vet and pay for quality food. (Btw I'm not hating on my parents at all they were just doing what they thought was right at the time ) Now that I am older I really want to get guinea pigs again because I really miss them. Honestly I thought I would have grown out of them but I haven't at all.
I currently have an amazing cat called Prince Lionel, so I realize I will have to get a very secure cage. I am trying to figure out how much it will cost per week to own some guinea pigs, just to make sure I have the money. I would love some general advice and tips for guinea pigs as well please. xo

 

[ryliem]

I just went out to buy food, hay, and bedding for my pigs. It cost around $50. To get started I'd say a good $200-$300 to get everything you need, including the pig itself. I spend $150 when I first got my pig, and had to replace almost everything because I went with cheap instead of durable.

 

[Soecara]

I can't help much with a specific cost per week as I'm sure the cost of things are different here in Australia however I can help break it down.

The day to day costs would be bedding and food. Research the kind of bedding you want, disposable bedding has a higher cost in the long term but is cheaper at the get go, reusable fleece bedding has a high starting cost but the ongoing cost is only the cost of washing it.

For food they would need 1 cup of veg per guinea pig per day, 1/8 of a cup of pellets per guinea pig per day, and unlimited grass hay.

Vegetables are what you will be buying the most frequently, good everyday vegetables for one guinea pig are 1/8 of a large bell pepper, 1-2 leaves of red/green leaf lettuce, a 1 inch slice of a zucchini, a 1 inch slice of a carrot, 1-2 cherry tomatoes. There are also more vegetables that you can feed, but they can't be fed on an everyday basis (the link to a vegetable chart can be found in one of the links I will link at the end of this post). So if you have a pair double that and you should be able to estimate how many vegetables you will need.

A 5 pound bag of pellets (from Oxbow or KMS, the only brands we recommend) should last a little over 2 months for a pair of guinea pigs.

Hay is where costs can vary greatly depending on where/how you buy it. The cheapest way by far to get hay is in a bail from a farmer or fodder store, however you would need to be able to store the hay and would need to check the quality of the hay before you buy it. The second cheapest way is to buy bulk boxes online, (from places like KMS, Small pet select, sweet meadow farms, american pet diner) the larger amount you buy the cheaper it will be per pound. The most expensive way by far to buy hay is in those little bags at a petstore or places like walmart. Given hay is 70% of a guinea pigs diet and they do tend to waste quite a bit no matter what you do the more money you can save while still getting quality hay the better.

However the biggest cost you should be planning for is any vet care they may need. Having a good amount of funds set aside for vet care expenses is always a wise decision. It can help greatly to find a good exotic vet (regular small animal vets aren't trained to care for guinea pigs) who sees guinea pigs (ideally regularly sees guinea pigs) ahead of time and enquire as to the cost for a consultation (and perhaps even the estimated cost of something like an x-ray). The costs can vary greatly from one clinic to the next even in the same city.

Another piece of advice I can give is to consider adopting guinea pigs from a rescue or shelter. Not only would you be freeing up space for them to take in more unwanted guinea pigs but guinea pigs from a good shelter or rescue are less likely to already be sick or pregnant than those purchased from a pet store.

As it sounds like you haven't owned guinea pigs for a little while it may be good to have a read of these:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...nea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...ur-guinea-pigs!

 

[_J.Julie_]

I am in Australia too! I live in a small-ish town so an exotic vet is 3-4 hours away from me . I am pretty sure I know what cage I'm getting (yes they will be living inside), and I'm going to use fleece bedding. It's going to be at least three months before I start buying stuff for them as I just quit my job and am currently looking for a knew one, so I will have plenty of time to research around Thankyou

 

[Soecara]

Here in Australia you can only get Oxbow pellets, there are a couple different places to buy from online, but costs can vary. For an idea of the cost I have a link to one of the stores that sells Oxbow pellets and C&C grids in this thread https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/112904-C-amp-C-grids-online

For hay here you are best off going with a fodder store, you won't be able to find Timothy hay as it isn't commonly grown here in aus (so most timothy hay you will find has been imported and not very fresh). I personally can get a rectangle bail of oaten hay from my local fodder stores for between $7 and $9 and it last a long time. Some of my local fodder stores also sell flakes of hay (smaller bundles) for about $4.

If you have a local woolworths store you can even sometimes get some vegetables (like capsiums aka bell peppers, zucchinis, carrots) cheaper by buying from "the odd bunch" range, just make sure to double check the prices of the regular vegetables as sometimes the regular will be cheaper if they are on special. My local woolworths also sometimes has oakleaf and butter lettuce reduced for quick sale, sometimes I can get a full head of lettuce for $0.70. Just keep in mind with lettuce you don't want to feed cos, iceberg or sweet crunch.

 

[dawnmb57]

Looks like someone else already commented on costs. I never had guinea pigs but at 60 years old wanted something cuddly and decided to get guinea pigs. I rescued two. So glad I did! Angel is just as cuddly as I heard they were.

Good luck, have fun and may I say how much I admire you for checking into costs first. I ran a rat rescue for 10 years and ended up taking in so many because most people don't do that. You are very mature.

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