[tiggy2]

I mean the humans looking after them, not the guinea pigs lol.

We are contemplating two guinea pigs but don't want to rush into it.
So what do you love about your piggies?
What drives you mad?
How much work are they?
Where do you keep them?
Do you bring them in at night/ in winter?
What else should I know?

We have two indoor cats and a secure back yard. Kids are 6, nearly 3 and a baby.
Thanks!

[girltribe4]

We currently have 6 , mum & daughters came to us when previous owners found out she was pregnant after being told by the pet shop they had 2 girls
Then Xmas day we got another 2 surprises , pretty sure she must have been pregnant AGAIN when they finally handed her over as I certainly had no boys . I am a bit upset tonight as I have sexed the new babies and we have one girl & one boy and I hate the thought of the poor little boy living all on his own so will look in to having him desexed.

Love : Their little squeaky talking , ease of handling , friendliness , watching them run around their pen , they have great little ''characters'' .

Hate : Their cages do get messy quickly ideally we do a full clean twice a week , it takes approx 2o mins .

We have an outside hutch on the back porch as well as several runs that can be moved around the garden . I tend to put blankets /tarpulin over the cages to protect in the colder/wet weather but have also had Guineas inside in the past .
We also have 2 cats who ''enjoy'' watching the guineas and I have no doubt would go for them if they escaped but they are well protected with lots of hidey places .
We have had loads of Guinea Pigs and they are one of my absolute favorite animals . In my experience I have found the girls less friendly but tidier , and the boys are very friendly but make more mess.

This post has been edited by girltribe4: 25/01/2013, 07:53 PM

[girltribe4]

You could have 2 boys or 2 girls together , best if you get them at the same time from the same litter .

2 boys will live together happily as long as you never introduce either of them to a female .
They are very social creatures and do prefer to have the company of other Guinea Pigs.

[littlesticky]

It's best to get more than one, and get them at the same time so they don't get territorial. I got mine from a pet shop and she was already pregnant by her brothers, they become fertile very early on!

My pig was happier indoors but her cage attracted ants and smelt so we put her on the balcony and brought her in when the weather was extreme. A lot of cleaning, the poos are little pellets but there are heaps of them.

They're not as friendly as dogs, but lower maintenance and great for clearing veggie scraps.

I never managed to toilet train mine so I'd always have to cuddle her in a towel. She always tried to run away too, unless she saw me feeding another pig. They also don't live that long so the kids will learn about death in 5 years or so.

[#B#]

The only thing I hate about having guinea pigs is the cleaning of the cage, they really do make a mess. We have two, we had to rehome some after having the same situation as above. We have one boy and one girl, the boy has been desexed.
We keep ours outside in a big two story house, if it is cold we bring them inside and they sleep in a plastic box. The cats sit there and look at them, we have one cat that touches noses with them. Sometimes we will put something over their inside box so the cats don't get in but they don't really go near them

[Therese]

We have quite a few piggies and love them. They have their own little personalities and are really friendly (well most of them)

They are social little things and do need company. Try not to get one from a pet shop as they are often pregnant. There are lots of great guinea pig rescue organisations out there.

The worst thing is cleaning their cage I think. But that is probably the worst thing about most pets

[kadoodle]

I have lotsa piggies. Some are mine (well, the kids') and some we are pigsitting for the council pound so they don't get PTS while awaiting a forever home.

Please go to a pound or animal rescue centre. Pet shops mix their sexes and will sell you a pregnant sow with the promise to "take the babies off your hands". They are unethical gits.

Piggies are great little characters, they love to chat and will eat out of your hand. They follow each other in a conga line and are playful.

They do poop an awful lot though, and boars can get pretty smelly.

[tiggy2]

Thanks everyone. We are looking at getting two girls that are being retired from a petting farm.

[CupOfCoffee]

We are also looking at getting guinea pigs (2 males most likely from the local cavy rescue cottage) and were thinking of getting a hutch like this one:

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/double-store...pig-cage-hutch/

Is there anything which is useful in a hutch that this is missing, or a reason this might not be such a good design?

[~sydblue~]

I love watching the smurfs in my village ride the guinea pig around

I want a guinea pig, but our dogs would kill it.