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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

[karalianne]

It might cost a bit to get set up initially, but guinea pigs are fairly cheap pets when it comes to upkeep. And they are soooo lovey once you get them used to you

[dream_chaser023]

I just want to add my point of view on aquariums (I'm not trying to start anything :( ) but aquariums are not deep enough to give guinea pigs the space they need for turning around and running around. Keeping them in an aquarium is like living in a hallway the rest of your life. I'm not trying to bash the first commenter, but just want to point out another reason why they are not suitable living conditions for anything bigger then a syrian hamster. (you may already know, but thought I would put this info out there for any other readers who come along looking to this community for advice)

Glad to hear you want to adopt, thats really fantastic! I hope you find a great pair. :)

as for the sites I know, you can find them in the link below.
-->http://www.freewebs.com/dreamchaser023/websites.htm

Good luck!!!

[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

[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.

hey!

[arianna]

Feel free to e-mail me or IM me for advice since we're both on each others f-lists, and I have a ton of experience with guinea pigs. I can tell you whatever you want to know. :)

P.S. My IM and e-mail info is in my profile. I have my cell number there too if you ever want to text. I am not much of a phone person, but I love texting.