Are there any cons to getting a guinea pig?

Question

It's for my husband and me. We are wanting a pet and in our apartments cannot have a dog. We have researched what it will take financially and everything. I guess I'm trying to see if there's anyone who got one and regretted it. Don't want to make a bad home for it if it's not right for us.

Answer 1

I am also in an apartment and have two guinea pigs. They are great apt. pets if they have a large enough cage to run around in. The only con I can think of is that wheek A LOT! Mine know the sound of the fridge, when we're coming out of the kitchen, the sound of bags opening. They go wild at this stuff because they think they're being fed. Check out guinealynx.com and cavymadness.com for lots of great guinea pig info! Oh, I also have an indoor rabbit. She is confined to the kitchen and is out when we're home. When we're at work she is in her cage, like kenneling a dog. She's a great pet too!

Answer 2

First, do research. Guinea pigs require a lot of important specific care. It is nothing extensive though. lol. Nothing more than a cat or a dog, but there is certain foods they can't eat, certain vitamins they must take, certain bedding you can use in their cages, certain cages, certain cage bottoms, ect. Just go to any search engine and you will find a TON of information on the web about guinea pigs.

They are fun pets to have! I love mine. When you first get your guinea pig you will probably regret it at first. He/She will be very frightened. He/She will not want to be handled and probably will not make much noise at first. But play with him/her as much as possible and talk to him/her. Soon she/he will be squeaking for treats, popcorning, and showing affection towards you and your husband.

If no one is going to be home for long periods of time or if you don't have much time to spend with your furry friend then you may want to get two guinea pigs so they will keep each other company. I just have one. I wouldn't be able to handle two, I don't think. (cleaning up after oen is enough for me...haha) But when I am busy I turn her radio on. She loves her radio! She will talk to it and popcorn up a storm when I turn it on. I also got her a pet mirror in her cage (make sure it doesn't have the balls on it that most bird mirrors have). She is still trying to find that other guinea pig behind that mirror. hehe.

Also, it is practically impossible to determine the sex of a baby guinea pig. They look just alike down there. lol. So be prepared to have more than one! LOL. Instead of going to a chain pet store try out some breeders or small pet shops in your area. Well breaders that know what they are doing that is. They have been around the furry friends more than chain pet store workers so they should be able to tell a little more easier. When we got Gizmo we told him it didn't matter of the sex, but we wanted to know the sex anyways. We picked out the one we wanted and he said it was a girl BUT it could very possibly be a boy since they are so hard to tell apart. He was right though. LOL. When they get older it is easier to tell.

Here are a few websites that has helped me:
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/behavior.html

http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/Communication.htm

http://howandchar.phillips.fm/sounds/

http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/GPig.html

http://cuddlycavies.homestead.com/clothes.html
(okay, so this isn't information but aren't those costumes and clothes the cutest!)

Good Luck!

Answer 3

First of all, you need to research. So here are a few "facts" that might help you make the desision.

Guinea pigs are social animals, and need to be kept in same sex pairs.

The best place to get a guinea pig is a shelter. Often, there are pairs already matched up and the shelter can tell you if they are male/female. Sometimes, the pigs are even spayed/neutered. Plus, when adopting you are saving the pigs life!

Dont get the pigs from a petstore/breeder. More often than not, you will get a sick and/or pregnant pig, and it would just be contributing to the huge overpopulation problem.

Guinea pigs need lots of space. The best cage is a C&C cage, made from cubes are coroplast. Its easy to make and very inexpensive (less than $50) plus guinea pigs love them!

For more information on C&C cages- www.guineapigcages.com

To ask more questions- www.guineapigcages.com/forum
(register and make a board)

The SMALLEST size that pigs should be in is-
1-2 females- 28in x 42in
1-2 males- 28in x 56in
3 females- 28in x 56in
3 males- 28in x 70in

For pellets- Make sure you dont use anything (pellet/hay) made by Kaytee, they contain an ingrediant that is known to cause cancer. I recommend oxbow, they are great quality. www.oxbowhay.com

Hay- Make sure there is always timothy hay in his cage, it helps wear down their teeth, just like a chew stick does for hamsters.

Make sure you dont add anything to their water (no vitamin drops, etc.) if you are feeding oxbow pellets, and fresh veggies (in moderation) they contain the necessary vitamin C, so you dont have to add anything. Vitamin drops can make your pigs sick.

Also, dont use salt wheels/licks, they are not at all necessary, and are not good for your pigs.

Runaround balls and wheels are also not a good idea, so make sure not to use those, it could seriously damage your pigs backs.

Once again, I recommend guineapigcages.com they are great, and very helpful. If you decide to join, you can send me a message on there.. my username is wickedrodent

Answer 4

My husband and I bought a guinea pig for our son last year. I did my research before purchasing the little critter. I found out females can conceive as early as three weeks of age. So it was decided that we were to get him a male guinea pig. Off we go to the store to get our little boy. Weeks go by and we just love our little male guinea pig. That is until we felt kicking in his stomach. That's right he was actually a she and she was pregnant. Now we have 4 guinea pigs. The point of my story is to be prepared for more than one financially. Fortunately we are in a situation where we could do it, but some cannot. The cost of fresh veggies alone is unbelievable. We decided to keep them because you see so many of them in shelters or being mistreated. We felt they would have a better life with us. They are cute and lovable, but are LOTS of work. Good luck!

Answer 5

Get a guinea pig. They are the sweetest, kindest, and cutest rodents ever. Much more interesting than a hamster. My guinea pig is really smart. She already comes to her name and knows how to stand on her back feet on command. I've only had her for two moths. There are almost no cons to guinea pigs. I have two named Ginny and Izzy and I love them. The only bad thing is that they are kind of noisy and their cages get dirty a lot. Guinea pigs are also very social and if you don't hold them at least every other day they get kind of grouchy. If they bite you it's probably not because they hate you. It's their way of seeing who you are. Other than that they are the best pets other than dogs to get.

Answer 6

Guinea Pigs can be very smelly if you don't clean their cages at least once a week, they may shed a lot (depending on the individual Pig), and they cannot control their sphincters, which means they will just poop all over the place when you have them out. Also, they don't really do much and can get boring.

Answer 7

the only thing you will need to do is make sure that its cleaned out every day or they get smelly,dont use saw dust or wood chippings on the cage floor coz they live close to the ground they can ingest both of those and its potentially fatal but all in all they make excellent pets i have 2

Answer 8

My boyfriend had two of them. They were very friendly. The only bad thing about them was they would talk all night and run around their cage at all hours of the night. I have one and she is mello and loves to be petted. The only bad thing about her is every morning she would stare me down until i gave her a peice of carrot.

Answer 9

My brother had one years ago and they are only supposed to live a couple of years, but ours lived forever. The d*** thing wouldn't die. Mom still had it when we were in college. Anyway, it drove him crazy because it banged around in his cage at night against the water bottle and stuff. So you might consider those kind of things if your gonna put it in the same room with you.

Answer 10

guine pigs are very skittish animals and very noisy, you'd be better with a rabbit or a hamster. gine pigs unless you get them at a really young age hate being held and petted, I wouldn't get one