Is owning a guinea pig considered expensive??

Question

I want to convince my mom that it is not too expensive to get two.

They said that it costs $30-100 per month. Is this considered affordable?? If it were really $30 like the shopkeeper said, then my mum says it's affordable. Is this a realistic price?? But if it's $100 its not. :(

kittykat: nope, i think i've heard from someone that the 2nd one only costs a little bit more.. around 25% from keeping the first one.

Answer 1

Your biggest expense will be setting things up for your guinea pigs. The cage (biggest one you have room for), food dishes, water bottle, hay hopper, toys, food, hay, chew treats, bedding, maybe a brush and/or comb, book on guinea pig care, igloo or other hideout, & the piggies themselves.
Regular, routine care isn't really expensive. A $5 bag of hay lasts a few weeks for our guy. The pellets we use cost about $8 & last more than a month. It's hard to say what we spend on bedding or chew treats b/c we've got several other small animals, but it's not much. Since we're vegetarians we've always got plenty of fruits & veggies & I don't think we spend much more than we used to since adopting our pig-- *maybe* $10 a month. Toys are usually $5-$8 & they seem to last a long time (we have several & switch them around so our pig doesn't get bored with anything). With 2 guinea pigs, you'd probably not quite double the amount that it takes for 1.
One consideration is vet care, which can be expensive. Our guinea pig had parasites when we adopted him & the vet bill was like $150-- including the examination, medicine to get rid of the problem, preventative medicine & special shampoo to heal the poor guy's skin. Everyone needs a Dr. sometime so it's important to have this in mind before adopting anyone.
Good luck.

Answer 2

I have two guinea pigs housed in seperate large cages, the most epxpensive part is purchasing all of it !
Cages will be costly !
I would not buy a guinea pig if you don't have money to spare incase your pig gets sick.

On average I spend...
Guinea pig food (10 pound bag)-$12 lasts a bit over a month
Shavings (2.2 cubic feet) - $10 a month and a half
Timothy Hay (48oz) - $10 almost a month
Veggies I spend between 10-15 dollars every two weeks

But I have two pigs not one, one would be a touch cheaper.
But you should always be in a good financial situation before you consider purchasing any animal

Answer 3

sorry its acctually expensive. dont listen to people at petstores they generally dont know what they are talking about please see the websites below for factuall info. i would expect $25 a month or more including food and hay. bedding is really expensive so i would say go with fleece (link provide below). vet bills can be huge and yes piggies need to see a vet. you can plan on i would say $20-50 for a regular visit. that is without medication and/or sugery which could cost $400 or more. i would say you need to do some serious reaserch before considering a piggy. they take a lot of time, money and work. i reaserched for about 3 months before i got one and it has resulted in nothing short of a happy healthy piggy. its like anything else the more u put into it the more u get out of it. good luck and happy reaserching!

Answer 4

depends on ur budget i had 2 guinea pigs ( male and female ) for over 2 years and it wasnt that expensive the most expensive part of keeping piggies is getteing the largest cage that u can afford
i bought them food ever 2 months i get them at least 10 pounds of food which cost me like 10-15$
insted of beedding i used rabbit litter it works better
for litter i paid almost 20 $ ( bought it every month )
then some chew toys ,and some treats
oh i ofcourse the price of a piggy itself i paid 27 for each

Answer 5

No they are not considered expensive. The most important part of owning one is getting a large cage. They are happier when they have a lot of room.
Food is not a problem , however you need to constantly clean the cage because they could get sick if the cage is dirty.
Bedding is not too bad, but if their are two animals, you will have twice the cost , and the cleaning for them.
One is better and less costly. Maybe your mom will go fo r that?

Answer 6

Yes, owning a guinea pig is affordable. Below is the checklist:

One-time fees:

-Cage (around $60-$70)
-Guinea pigs (2) (around $30-$40)


Monthly fees:

-Timothy hay (around $15-$20)
-Food (around $10-$20)

Answer 7

owning a guinea pig was probably the biggest mistake i have made in a looooong time. i highly recomend that you do not do it. they are stinky, loud, obnoxious, in some cases very horny even with the same sex, and they eat a lot. i really recomend gerbils. they are clean, don't smell bad, and can cost as much as $20 a month.

Answer 8

Depends on your budget.