not horse guinea pigs

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kendra2705

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hi please can anyone shed any light on having guinea pigs as pets, any info greatly recieved , my dog died last year and i cant have another one due to living in a flat , i would like to make sure i know that i can provide all they need before i take the leap . and would like to know do they smell strongly even though they would be cleaned out every day? do they need sunlight or could i provide a heat lamp , they would be warm in my living room, so will have heat , feeding not a prob have looked into all their needs, i hope there are some horse owners out there who own some or may have done in the past . please any answers good or bad as i am writing to people on the internet and i have had no answers many thanks to you all . xxx maria
 
Smell wise, females are much better than males (as is the case with most species!), if you clean females out everyday you won't have any smell at all.
It will be warm enough in your house, guinea pigs are quite often kept outside so they will be spoilt having central heating! They don't need a heat lamp, but if they are going to be in a run (assuming so), put in a place where they have a bit of sunlight, so they can sunbathe if they want, but also somewhere shaded they can go.
 
Get two of the same sex is the best advice you can get!
While they are super cute (think hamster sized guinea's) finding homes can be a challenge!
Girls dont tend to smell. No heat lamp required, but if you could give them a run on the grass on a nice sunny day, they would probably appreciate it.
Very friendly little critters!
 
I had guinea pigs when I was a child - they were fantastic pets. Mine were faily unique as they would follow me around..I think they thought they were human! Mine lived in a shed, with a heater in for winter, but when one died the other moved into a big cage in the house so she wouldn't be lonely. We had two females and they were best friends. They do like to go out and much on grass (and dandelion leaves!!), but if they got lots of tasty veg and fruit treats I'm sure they'd be happy. They won't smell at all if their cage is cleaned regularly.
 
I used to own then. They do live in the house very well. You keep them in a indoor cage. I found mine very clean. I did have a run in the garden so they could eat grass. Mine were albinos and didn't live very long. But they are make nice pets but do squeek alot so maybe not a good idea keeping them by youe bedroom. And if possible buy a pair, they don't like being kept alone.
 
I used to have 2 and they lived in our summer house (they dont need loads of heat) . Since one died i have moved the other into my room (so he has company as i didnt want to risk getting another one). I clean him out every 3 days. If you were to clean it out every day then you would not smell it at all. Mine can go around 5 days before he starts to get extremely wiffy! I would definately recommened them as pets! Depending on where you get them from they can be VERY wary of people at first. It used to take me around 20mins to catch mine to cuddle! now he will walk into my hands. it took a good few months to get him to trust me. It's lovely when they get to know you and when they see you they start squeaking at you
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I have had guinea pigs for years mine live outside all year, they don't need heat lamps. Have never kept them indoors but my friend had a house rabbit and that didn't smell strongly and i wouldnt have thought it would if you were going to clean them out everyday.
I have always brought mine in pairs but currently only have the one and she seems happy on her own.
I would say they are easy too look after.
 
I have 2 female piggies, they live outside in a hutch as i already have a house bunny, but they have a hutch cover for the cold and tons of hay, plus they sunggle together. They are very squeaky! especially at food times, and are very friendly and cute once they get to know you, but are quite timid by nature so it takes a little while! mine don't smell, and don't take too much cleaning out, just plenty of hay and veggies
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many many thanks for your replys , could you tell me if they are awake and up sqeaking all night or are they awake in the day and sleep at night , dont mind squeaking as long as its not squealing loudly in the middle of the night sorry im so not a guinea person yet , but horses and dogs for years so its new teritory for me x
 
They are lovely pets, they're the only small animals I have NEVER known to bite, not even a nip. They don't run around and try to escape when you get them out for a cuddle, like smaller rodents tend to - they're happy to sit and be cuddled for hours as long as they've got a bit of carrot to nibble on! The only bad thing about them is that they wee on you a LOT. Get yourself a towel to put on your lap while you're holding them!
 
Hi, ive had guini pigs for years, make sure your not allergic to them though, their hair makes me itch for some reason.
I keep mine in the kitchen, and in the summer put them outside on the balcony to keep cooler, and in the winter I just make sure they have a lot of hay, and they have always been fine.
I did have two boys (one passed away recently from old age) and they where brought a couple of weeks away from each other and where always best of friends, they dont smell, I muck mine out every 5/6 days.
Id def buy two as they like company and they do like to come out every day or a run.
They are really easy to keep, you can clip their claws your self, like you would a dog, they dont need worming, and mine likes a bath every now and again, but only on a warm day.
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We had one called Tufty he came for the summer holidays and stayed for years. He died after the cold snap this year, think it was a bit much for him, he was 7 or 8 which is quite a good age apparently. Definitely girls are less whiffy than boys, and if you clean out daily - ours used to wee in more or less the same place every day and poo everywhere then it's not too bad. They do like to have a bit of grass to run about and nibble on though.
Every mornign when I went down to do him & the chickens he'd whistle and call and if I whisteld back we often ahd quite a conversation. He loved fresh fruit and veg, used to get the carrot peelings, apples all sorts.
 
Miss mine greatly, had two for years. Just a tip, I know you're in a flat, so access to grass may be a problem. I had this problem a few times owing to a flooded garden and so just to treat them every so often i would buy a single turf from the garden centre, lay it out on a bit of sheet or on the tiled kitchen floor and let them munch on that till it was gone!

Don't know if it was a good idea or not, but mine seemed to love it and didn't seem to cause any health problems. Don't know what every one else thinks, is just an idea!!

Get two for company, have fun!!!!
 
thankyou for all your your help and replys they are much appreciated need to know as much as poss before i commit as i like to keep animals for life ,had my horse 10 years and hopefully many more bless you all x
 
i would go and pick grass and dandelion leaves not problem it was the lack of sun i was concerend about really , i def would buy two or rescue , as apparantly there are 30 thousand in the uk needing rehoming that i have found out, i like to keep pets in pairs as its not fair to keep one alone. you have filled me with joy and im now keen to take it further wil go to petstores to have a look would like some little ones i think and brown and white appeal to me .
 
Love my guineas! Best to get two females, they are social and need company and if you get two males they often fight.

They only tend to squeak in response to hearing anything to do with food, e.g. at night around their tea time if I go in the fridge they will squeak, don't do it randomly for no reason. Or if I've left them in the garden or garage and they want to come back in!

I let mine run around the lounge (keeping an eye out as they like chewing wires,chocolate wrappers etc) and they go out in the kitchen where they have a triangular mini litter tray. One of them uses this as a litter tray, the other hasn't quite got it.

Mine live in the utility and have mini cat/dog type beds I got them from Pets at Home. If there's no way they can go outside they'd probably appreciate grass picked for them.
 
had them all the life and got my first ever males a couple of months ago- they smell!! females never smelt. they have the odd squabble but generally ok.

love them to bits!!!
 
Guinea pigs can't synthesise their own vit C like other animals (along with humans and monkeys) so need fresh greens every day to provide it for them. You can get vit C to go in their water, and most brands of food contain added vit C these days, but you can't beat the greens, and they love it. Kale is excellent, as are spring greens, grass in the summer, but not too much lettuce as it contains a chemical that can be harmful if fed too much.
 
Honestly hun I'd get a good book on basic GP care. I think the RSPCA do a sheet on virtually every pet animal under the sun. Or your local pet shop will have something. You need to know about mites and dirty bottoms and teeth and hay and correct feeding etc etc etc. A good book will cover absolutely all aspects. Just a little example: when I was about 11 (when dinosaurs still roamed the earth) I was finally allowed to have a pet and my dad came with me to the pet shop. I bought TWO hamsters and a lovely little cage. A few weeks later, the hamsters began to fight tooth and nail. I had no idea what the problem was so bought a little book and lo and behold, the golden rule for hamsters is only one hamster per cage or they will eventually kill each other. Nice of the pet shop to tell a little girl eh? Enjoy your piggies - unlike hamsters, they are largely diurnal and are usually very quiet except when mum or dinner appears x
 
Guinea pigs are fab and very easy to keep! Bets off getting two same sex and that have been together since babies. I hadn't had any for years and we used to breed a fair few when we were kids (think probably started by accident!).

I used to bring mine indoors when i was a kid, they'd follow you about and also fall asleep on me whilst having their tummies rubbed (one used to love chocolate cake too but i prbably wouldn't advise that as normal food!). You can house train them as far as I know as well. Like anything they are all individuals and have their own little personalities. They make great nosies and no, they do not make a load of noise like hamsters at nice. They generally 'chunter' at each other or, once they know routine they quite often squeak if they know you or indeed food is coming their way!!!

Got two boys last year (xmas pressie) as I missed having some. They can get very very tame if you spend a lot of time handling them and they don't scratch/bite like rabbiots can do (we've had some bad rabbits!). Mine are a bit over-dramatic as they're not handled as much as ones we had when i was a kid so one squeaks like mad as if he's about to be eaten when you pick him up. The other's a bit tougher! Lol

I haven't found that my too smell but then they're kept outside in a hutch in winter but in summer they live out on the garden in a large run with an indoor bit.

You should def get some they are ace!!!
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I dont know what everyone else wrote but I would recommend rescuing them, they will have been castrated and matched with a friend
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Very easy to keep and lovely lovely pets! I use the same bedding as the horse and use the hay too...ever so handy!

unfortunately i lost graham oooo beginning of the year (gosh time has flown by) and poor Jasmine has been left....she was quite upset at first but is ok now! Graham was about 8 1/2 nearly 9 so he did VERY well! both were rescues....from different parts of the country!
 
Hey there
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i breed and show guinea-pigs so have a shed of 60 something (http://www.pewseypigs.co.uk/ our webby
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) :P haha crazy i know... but they make fabby pets, dont smell, we clean ours out once each week and have no problems. If they are to live in your living room, i should think they'll be fine. Feed wise we feed ours allen and page guinea pig mix in the big bags which gets delived to the local tack shop along with the horse food, making everything simpler, and they have access to hay 24/7 and veg whenever possible- this is making them sound so much like mini horses!!! they can even eat horsey feeds such as pasture mix, but are cheaper to keep than a horse i must say!
hope this helps x
 
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