Guinea pig owners! Walking your guinea pig?

Question

I'm considering buying a pair of guinea pigs to share my little flat with. They will be indoor pigs. I don't have a garden, but I live across the road from a big park/nature reserve with plenty of quiet grassy areas. In the warmer months, will it be safe/beneficial to take my pigs there and let them have a little amble if they are on harnesses? I've seen someone walking their rabbit there (thankfully no ferrets, I know they wouldn't get on!). I want them to enjoy the fresh air and foliage and exercise but I worry that it might be overwhelming.

Answer 1

You've already received all the answers you need, but let me sum them all up to make sure you realize this isn't a good idea:

1. They will most likely panic
2. Harnesses of any sort can hurt their backs
3. Pesticides, dog feces, and other treatments/"additions" to the ground can seriously hurt your piggie
4. Dogs, bikers, & overexcited children can pose serious "health risks" to a piggie

Now, as for what you CAN do, and why piggies can make a pleasant addition to an apartment:

http://www.secondstarillustrations.com/threepigs.htm

^ That is the website of my three piggies who live with my husband and I in our "little flat" =) They get their exercise terrorizing our living room, but they are great entertainment. If you want your piggies to experience a little of the "outdoors" in a city, the best idea is to bring the outdoors inside - stores like Petsmart sell little containers of "pet grass" - a special wheat grass specially designed to be okay for pets of all kinds to eat - in fact, it helps their digestion. Otherwise your piggies should be good with a staple diet of timothy hay, plus piggie pellets, fresh water, & plenty of fruits and veggies. Good luck and good for you for investigating this before you purchase/adopt your new friends!

Answer 2

I have 2 guinea pigs and I have had them for 1 year now and they still run into there igloo sometimes, but they have gotten better because I take them out and play with them all the time and guinea pigs are very timid little creatures and a lot of the time just want to be left alone except one you get them out then they lighten up. It also depends on your guinea pig if they are very snuggly or not. I would suggest only doing fun stuff with your guinea for a while.

Answer 3

I wouldn't because in a park there may be dog urine on the grass, your guinea pigs may catch an infection. Plus guinea pigs don't exactly walk in a straight line so that would be difficult.
Dogs that are off the lead may come up to your piggies and hurt them (not all dogs but most dogs are intrigued by little creatures like that and their rough play might be too much for the little critter.)
The guinea pig needs time to get used to it so when you brought them back they would have to be left alone for a day or two to get back into the routine of the hutch because that would be stressful.
The big world is no place for a guinea pig.
I hope this has opened your eyes so you can feel what that guinea pig may feel.

Answer 4

I bought a lead for my guinea pigs but it really upset them. They both just jumped up and down and paniced, so I wouldn't advise it.

Mine (though one's died now) have always been inside and happy, but in the summer they go in a run and really enjoy the grass, so maybe you could just go and pick some grass for them?

A run might be a good idea if its safe to leave them alone as fresh air seems to be enjoyable to them, but make sure you know there hasnt been any weedkiller etc. on the grass.

In the winter I let them run in my room (after making sure everything is blocked off - they chew a lot) and you can train them to use a litter tray pretty well. However you still need to keep an eye on them.

Good luck with your pigs - they're great pets!

Answer 5

Hi it is OK to keep pigs indoors but they do need quite a large cage - some on the market are much too small and only suitable for hamsters.
Guinea pigs smell, wee and poo a lot and indoor ones would need poop scooping every day to keep the smell down. Also they love lots of hay which gets everywhere!
They can run really quickly if given a chance to get exercise so it would be great to put newspaper down and let them stretch their legs.
I have used a harness on one of my pigs which was ok so it would be better than nothing - not for too long though.
Check out the Internet for guinea pig websites which are full of info on care, toys, health etc.

Answer 6

Guinea pigs don't really "walk", although they do run around their cage sometimes.

If there is a bunch of grass, they'll likely just sit and eat it.
They are burrowing animals naturally, so they are mostly sedentary. They'd enjoy the time in the sun though. I'd stay right next to them. If they get started, they'll move quickly.

One caution: be sure they haven't put any fertilizer or sprayed for insects within a week of taking the pigs. They could be poisoned from that.

Answer 7

Guinea Pigs don't care for a harness at all. It is fine to take them outside, only worries for outside are dogs, birds of prey, weed killer, fertilizers and over heating. My Guinea Pigs go outside in the late spring through late fall, to enjoy the sunshine and the grass for about an hour. Guinea Pigs don't really care to walk unless they are in their cage with lots of toys, put them in front of grass and they will eat it for the whole hour outside. The grass is good for them though, just have to watch out for weed killers, and fertilizers as Guinea Pigs can get poisoning from them and make sure they don't over heat, which is very easy for them to do in the summer months, about an hour out is good enough for them as long as they have some shade. My girls live inside and despite the common comment that they stink, they don't at all! They only smell if they are sick, that is when their pee smells. As long as their cage is cleaned every week and they are bathed ever 2 to 3 months, that way they stay healthy and then you don't have to worry about smell cause they aren't sick.
Guinea Pigs are great pets and companions, as they are lovable and love to be held and talked to.

Answer 8

you should definately get a couple of guinea pigs, i have 2 -elvis (pictured) and penfold and they are great. mine live in an outside hutch and in the summer i put them in a run on the lawn but in the winter let them run around inside. to my knowledge i think it is perfectly safe to have them living inside as long as you feed them the right foods. you could cut some of the grass from opposite but i don't think they would be happy on harnesses. they are quite nervy animals and need somewhere quiet to roam- i can imagine they'd be rather scared where other people were walking about and cars nearby. good luck!

Answer 9

yes like sum1 else said, b very careful of dogs, but i don know how u could walk in a park walking a guinea pig lol! Go for it tho, i'm sure they willl enjoy being able to roam around, but just remember . . from a slight distance it may look like u are walking a nothing, or a ghost dog :) but gd luck to you, watch out 4 those dogs and fools on bikes

Answer 10

If you are going to take them out, do NOT use harnesses. They can bend their spine in inappropriate ways and cause spinal damage. They make small playpens that you can take out and let them play in grassy areas in, and those are much better ideas.

However, they shouldn't eat off of grass where lots of dogs/cats have been using the bathroom, and should not eat grass that has been sprayed with pesticide. You may be better off growing some cat grass in your apartment and letting them snack on that. :)