Pros and cons of keeping guinea pigs?

hairyprincess

I'm thinking of getting a couple of female guinea pigs. Are they playful? What kind of problems should I look out for? Are they noisy? Easy to maintain?

Thanks in advance!

serenacat

Pros

-they are cute

-eat veggy leftovers- eg carrot peeling, banana peels



cons

-hay gets everywhere

-cage cleaning-gross and smelly

-can bite you

-have to clip their nails

-cant toilet train

-hard to get people to mind them
-scared of everyone

djflawless

con
their smelly

Cherry Blossom

hairyprincess wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a couple of female guinea pigs. Are they playful?

Very

What kind of problems should I look out for?

They are very social little animals and need a lot of interaction, if one dies it is very common for the remaining companion to die within a few days if it remaims the on its own, literally from loneliness. Long haired breeds need daily grooming and they need their nails clipped.

Are they noisy?

Extremely!

Easy to maintain?

I've always found smallies more work, maintenance wise than dogs and guineas are the worst! They are very messy and any I've had seemed to produce about 3 times more urine than the rabbits, they always peed all over me as well, they'd back themselves up into my elbow or my neck and you knew what was comming next, I hadn't a clue the first time it happened and ended up with guinea pig wee running down my neck :rolleyes:

They're very funny though, provide hours of entertainment, as long as you are willing to put up with the mess!

Edgedinblue

I just recently got a guinea pig. I dont think the mess is too bad, although mine likes to run around and chippings/hay can get thrown out of the cage mid run! but theyre very cute and not that smelly. they do make some cute noises too! as someone said above they eat loads of different veggies so youre more then likely gonna have some peelings/cut of pieces around your house to give to them.

problem is you do have to cut their nails every now and then, but if youre freaked out about that im sure a vet could do it for you. but youll get used to your guinea pig after a while and wont mind doing it yourself.

id research a bit into them first before you get any. make sure you know what food they need etc. and if youve time to give them the attention they need.

Sigma Force

Actually they aren't smelly at all they will only smell if an owner isn't looking after them properly and cleaning them.

Pros.
Sweet natured in general if handled correctly.
Fun to watch.
Great little characters.
They get to know their owners.
Helps the compost heap by using their bedding n poop.
You can treat many minor ailments naturally at home..with some research first of course.
Cheap to feed, good quality food..burgess excel, hay and veggies.
Don't use woodchips..they are expensive and messy and not good for their skin newspaper and hay on top is perfectly fine.

Cons..if you consider them cons.
Need cleaning almost daily depending on the size of their cage..it should be large 4 feet minimum for two ideally 5 feet.
Need bathing about once a month with gorgeous guinea shampoo..don't use pet shop stuff it's too harsh.
Nails generally don't need clipping often if given a brick or something rough and safe to run over on their way to their food bowl.
Need more space than people realise.
Finding an experienced vet can be difficult.
Finding someone to mind them isn't too hard anymore there are some small pet minders around.

They are not noisy they will wheek loudly when they hear fridge opening or a packet rustling and will quietly wheek to each other but in general they are pretty quiet and sleep during the night with the odd rustling about when they get something to eat. Best not to have them in a bedroom if suffering from allergies coz the hay can be strong.

Haven't had a guinea die of lonliness ever but it has been known to happen, they are social and need to be kept in pairs..be careful where you get one lots of pet shops like to sell pregnant ones..I say liked because it happens so often it's like they know the animals could be preg and they don't give a toss that they are.
Best to get from a rescue or breeder the irish guinea pig forum will have more info.

I'll shup now here's a link to my site which has step to step guide http://guineapigcottage.webs.com/

I know of someone who's guinea pig just had babies..not the owners fault they are rescues 4 babies in all so it'll be about 5 weeks until they are ready for homing I think she might be homing them but not sure yet if interested just let me know and I'll pass on your details to her so she can contact you if they will be available for homing.