Guinea Pig

I am getting 2 guinea pigs in a fortnights time for my birthday, i have bought a hutch and a few items for when they come home.

Can anyone offer me any advice about keeping guinea pigs and do they make good pets, they will be living outside and i have got a sheet of thick plastic from pet shop for when its cold and also my father in law is building a run for them.

I have done research on internet and in pet shop but its always good to know other experiences from people.

Thanks

We had two piggies for ages, in fact they were the offspring of the nursery guinea pigs who were born at our house.They are very sociable and make great weep weep noises...If the weather is very bad they might need moving inro a garage or shed for the Winter.

Thanks for your reply, the pet shop said that if its really bad weather just cover them up because if they live in a garage there is car fumes which is bad for them, and also not to bring them inside, its either in our out dont mix the two, do you agree with this advice or are they just telling me anything to get a sale.

Hi, I have kept Guinea Pigs for 27 years! I just love them. They are very sociable little animals and as soon as they hear the rustle of a plastic bag they instantly start their wee wee noise naturally assuming it must mean food for them Very placid and easy to handle. Re keeping them outside, well I personally do bring mine in every year to the porch for the colder months but I think it is not so much the cold but the damp that affects them. If you have a sheltered area in the garden and their cage is dry and free from drafts and they have plenty of bedding they should be ok. Good luck with them and I can't wait for the pics. Let me know if you have any other questions

Ali xx

Piggies make GREAT pets. Of course you can bring them inside; what a load of rubbish! provided you don't mind sweeping up a bit of poo afterwards, they love having large spaces to run around in. Make sure you contain them to one room in the house at first though, as young Guineas can be a bit skitty until you fully tame them.

The most important aspect of their diet is hay. The hay keeps their teeth filed down. Dental problems are pretty common in rabbits and guineas. Start checking their teeth from an early age and do it EVERY week. Most adult rabbits and guineas that have never had their teeth checked will not like it. We had to have three people hold one of my old Rex rabbits down to check his teeth, because we made the mistake of not doing it from an early age.

So, daily fresh hay is essential. Piggies LOVE running through it and hiding in it as well as eating it.

For feeding, Gertie Guinea is great. They obviously need their dry mix in addition to their hay every day. They also love fresh foods. Giving them a small piece of fresh food each day will be much appreciated.

Just handle them lots and let them have plenty of free running time outside of their hutch (in the house/run) and they should be very happy!

Piggies tend not to do great in the cold, so I agree, either garage or inside in winter!
Lots of hay, as like Labradork says - they need it in their diet, and it's also good for bedding!

Oh and make sure they get plenty of vitamin C

Hi Ali, thanks for your reply.

Its all very confusing what the pets shop says and what other people say i obviously want to do whats best for the guinea pigs.

Our back garden is like a circle shape and covered in little pebbles, then we have a sort of patio area outside the kitchen door and stretching to the patio door which is paved and there is a grape vine which makes it shady there and quite covered alot of the year, this is where we are looking to put the guinea pigs.

ALso we have a covered car port, the car is situated under it but only comes out on a weekend as we have company van the rest of the time that lives on the drive, we were considering this as another option during the winter months but the pet shop said dont put near car fumes, what are your thoughts on that please.

I have stood in petshops loads of times hearing them giving out completely the wrong advice about various animals . They have even told me things which are rubbish .
I have had guinea pigs all my life and I would say they are better in a garage , hut or house in the winter . The damp is worse for them than the cold .
They need daily vitamin c from fresh veg . Always keep at least 2 as they like company . They should never be kept with rabbits .
I always buy my hay from a farm rather than the petshop as it's much cheaper and so you can change it more often .
Mine like celery , spinach , apple , carrots ,spring greens , dandelion flowers and leaves . They will eat other veg too but that is their favourites .

Well I would say don't put near car fumes is right. But my imagining of that would be an enclosed garage with a car coming and going a lot. Am I right in thinking the car port although covered is not totally enclosed, meaning car fumes would disperse quite quickly? That in theory ought to be ok so long as the car isn't facing the hutch as you start it up and it's not left running by them. But they can be sensitive little soles. Not sure how much room indoors you have but I know others that have an indoor hutch for the winter, the big plastic kind and then just get the piggies out for a bit of exercise and a cuddle daily. Not sure if this helps your dilemma any. Mine do come in for the winter they live in the porch.