Guniea Pig

[Richard234]

Hi, I am seriously thinking of buying a guniea pig and i would like some advice on their keeping.

i am thinking of keeping just one in a 3ftx1ftx1ft hutch in the back yard. Note a very sheltered back yard.

I realise their needs to as far as i know
Sawdust
Hay
Plastic down fount of hutch during bad weather
newspaper under sawdust and hay
Guniea pig mixture food
Vegatables daily
and water in a bottle , check it isnt frozen in winter.

If i have missed anything or you have any advise on the upkeep of the guniea pigs please post.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hello,

In answer to your question...

Yes, another guinea pig. In my opinion it is cruel to keep an animal by itself especially when it is being kept outside. They are very sociable creatures and like company, if you had one outside it would be alone for much of the time and wouldn't even have any other pig there. I don't even like them being kept outside as they are from forests in Soth America and I am sure it is not as cold there as it can be in some places. It's not even that, but that they are so sociable and do better where there is stuff going on to entertain them.

As for the care, that's pretty much it except you'll need to get it a house unless there is an area built into the hutch so it can hide and feel safe. You will also have to put vitamins in the water they drink becasue guinea pigs do not make their own vitamin c and must get it to stay healthy. Something to bite on would e good too. I give mine sticks of corns and stuff that I buy at lfs and its good for them to have.

I think you should seriously consider getting more than one. I think you will have a very lonely pig otherwise.

I think you also need a bigger hutch, 1ft wide isn't very much and a full grown pig would take up that no problem. Two of my guinea pigs, Oscar and Colin are about a foot long (I have had them 1 year and 2 respectivley). They grow very quickly and within a few months it will be too big to be comfortable in the hutch.

Here's what mine live in. These are underbed storage boxes that I bought in Ikea cheaply. They are sturdy and safe and as they have no roof the guinea pigs get to be a proper part of the household (they could jump out of they wanted but never do).

They measure:

3ft long x 2ft 2" wide x 7" high

and there are 3 of them, totalling about 20 square feet. What you are talking about is 3 square feet.



I am not trying to get at you, just trying to help you make the right decision.

 

[Richard234]

Thankyou for that reply, I was thinking to stay small in order to keep the heat in.
I may possibly buy a Rabbit Hutch that is 4ft long then.

the 3ft hutch was a purpose built pack with a starter pack specially designed for the animal.

Rabbit Hutch it is then!
£44 ouch

 

[Cheese Specialist]

That's still only 4feet square!! How wide will the rabbit hitch be? What do you think of what I said about it being lonley? Where do you live? I am asking that because of how cold it could be.

If you are unable to provide a big enough hutch (as in more that 1ft wide) or a friend I would recomend that you maybe think of a different pet. You could get a hutch made by a joiner no problem and it could be big enough in all respects and would probably cost you the same or less.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

the 3ft hutch was a purpose built pack with a starter pack specially designed for the animal.

LOL

from being on here, surely you must know that lfs and people in the trade are full of it!! They are always selling people animals under false pretences.

Please do not think that hutch wi house a happy guinea pig. Here's Oscar. All 12" long and 6" wide of him:

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Oh, here's a pic of the difference between a 3 month old and a 13 month old.

I really hope I am managing to convince you...

 

[Richard234]

Thanks for that, i am going to measure the rabbit hutch or maybe make my own. I am fairly good with my hands.

i think it is 4ftx2ftx2ft is that still too small?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

That sounds much more like it!! Building your own would be great!

Now, what about the second guinea pig?! You could house 2 in a hutch that size ok, although bigger is obviously better!!

I cannot stress how social they are, one by itself would be depressed and perhaps even unfriendly because of it having little interaction with anyone else.

Please reconsider!!

 

[Richard234]

ok, so if i have 2 in a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch in a sheltered part of the garden that is ok, BUT
Do i need males or 2 females or what?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Cool!!

Either but 2 females would probably be a bit smaller and less inclined to fight. It would also be easier to add more at a later date I had to be quite patient with my 3 as males are known to fight if one is added later, but I ave beenok with mine it just took a little more time.

By the way, you do know that they have to be indoors during the winter don't you? What country are you in?

 

[Richard234]

i planned to insulate the hutch well and think that if i give it enough bedding material it should be ok.


UK (Cumbria)

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I wouldn't agree. I have already mentioned that they do not produce their own vitamin c and so are very suseptable to cold and disease.

Once again, what country are you in? Guinea pigs must be brought in during the winter otherwise I feel sorry for the animal(s) and your pocket form vet's bills.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Look here - http/www.cavyspirit.com/ and here - http/petshub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9 for information. You will gewt a lot more than you would on a fish forum.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Well Cumbria isn't all that far from me and I kow for a fact that it has been ####ing freezing, windy, rainy and snowy here recently. There is no way in the world I would ever keep a guinea pig outside during the winter here. I also don't think it is especially good for them to be away from where people are if you are planning on them being friendly and tactile.

Have you kept them before? They are not as easy an option as some may think.

 

[Richard234]

ive never kept them before and realise that they are not as easy as some think.

i have plenty of time and money (im 18)