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[mybump]

My husband and I are thinking about adopting a pair of Guinea Pigs and I had a few questions.

First, we've never owned any type of small animal and we're concerned that we dont have or wont be able to find all the information that we'll need to properly raise,love,and care for our new GP's. Is there any reading material out there that someone can

Comments

[kikayume]

Hey there! First of all, thank you for doing the research first and then deciding! That's a wonderful step, and I think so many of us here that are now fanatically dedicated piggie people wish that we'd done that too!

First off, information, luckily there is a ton of it!
Check out these websites:
http://www.guinealynx.info (care and health - especially health)
http://www.cavyspirit.com (social aspects and general information)
http://www.guineapigcages.com (how to build an awesomely big cage for cheap)

I'd ignore most books, to be honest. They're either written by breeders whose goal is to keep as many pigs as possible while minimizing costs or so far out of date that it's just silly.

Secondly, kids. This is all theorhetical to me, since I don't have kids, but overall they get along well with kids. Guinea pigs are extremely laid back, and are not particularly prone to biting. I personally wouldn't say they "bond" to people, not like you would think of a dog or a cat doing. If anything, they bond to the food bowl, and whoever is filling it up is their buddy. Outside time is not necessary (and in many parts of the country, is dangerous during certain times of the year due to heat). Many of our piggie friends never see real grass -- but if you want to simulate that, buy some wheat grass and grow them a flat of it! :)

Finally, I don't have personal experience with TX Rustlers, but they are a respected member of the rescue community and everything I have heard about them has been positive. As far as picking... well, I can't help you on that one, it's always too hard! I'd suggest telling the rescue what you're looking for, and they will probably help you find the more docile and friendly pigs that have lived with children before and are less skittish.

Monthly expenses is also a pretty abstract cost for me, I rescue too and we buy everything in bulk. :P

I'd say you'd probably go through a 10lb bag of pellets per month, possibly 1/2 of a 9lb box of hay, and then weekly veggies? Some folks here that actually only have two pigs may be more helpful on that score. :>

[karalianne]

Ah, cost. Almost forgot about that.

I give mine 1/4 cup pellets a day and about 1 cup of fresh veggies (leftovers from making salads, for the most part). As much hay as they can eat. If they're in the same cage, it's less bedding than if they're in two cages; my big ones use 1/2 a large package each, or a full medium one each. I don't bother buying the small ones. Right now I have a huge bale of mixed wood shavings (no cedar in it) that has done three small cage changes and should do another three. It would do about four large cage changes total. When I had C&C cages and two in one 3x2 cage (that's one grid shorter than it should be, but it was still tons of room for them and way more than my current big cages have) I still used the same amount of bedding. (I had three guinea pigs at one point, and it cost about the same as two for bedding and food and everything; just went through the foodstuffs a little faster.)

[karalianne]

Oyah, regarding the number of cage changes, that's with two cages at a time. So the huge bale of shavings has actually done six small and would do eight large.

Also, just to be clear, we moved to a new city last month and we aren't unpacked yet, so there isn't anywhere to set up the large cages, which is why they're in small cages (which I keep only for traveling and if I need to quarantine someone). And I have a totally awesome big cage build in mind, but need time, money, and space in order to do it.