Picking out a guinea pig as a pet

Guinea pigs are great pets for adults and kids because they are small and have calm personalities. Guinea pigs are smart and curious and can become friendly pets if you treat them gently when they are young. Before getting one of these cute rodents, you probably have some questions you want to be answered. Keep reading for help and advice.

How to Choose a Guinea Pig

Guinea pigs are great pets for families, but they are a long-term commitment, so think carefully before getting one. They do best in pairs, and if you’re thinking of getting one, you should consider whether your lifestyle is right for it and whether you have enough time to take care of it properly. If you do, you’ll get a great pet that can become a valuable member of your family.

How do guinea pigs act around kids?

Yes, guinea pigs can be great pets for kids. However, they might not like being around noise because they have sensitive hearing. If you have older children, they might like to help you take care of your pet, train, and teach your guinea pig some tricks.

Can a guinea pig live with other animals?

Your guinea pig may not like living with loud or extremely excited pets due to their acute hearing. If you have other animals, you should never leave your guinea pig alone with them.

Guinea pigs and rabbits don’t usually get along because they eat different things and talk to each other differently. Guinea pigs have been known to be bullied or hurt by rabbits, and rabbits can also give guinea pigs diseases. Keeping them apart is best for your guinea pig.

Where does a guinea pig go on vacation?

Traveling can be very stressful for your guinea pig, and being in a new place will also be strange for your pet. Because of these things, it’s usually best to leave them at home and ask a friend, relative, or neighbor to check on them frequently.

Here are 5 things why Guinea pigs are great pets.

In contrast to hamsters and other small furry animals, guinea pigs are pretty calm. Since they are naturally shy, they probably won’t mistake your finger for food and bite it. This is because they don’t try new things with their food, so they tend to be calm.

Regarding kids’ pets, it’s hard to find a good match for kids and pets because kids need extra care around them. This is because they have a low immune system and don’t have the best hand-eye coordination, among other things. But guinea pigs are a good choice.

Unlike other little creatures, they are not as delicate. Cavies are a fantastic choice to educate your kids about responsibility and pet care since they are not irritated or snappy.

Simple to maintain

Guinea pigs are very low-maintenance pets that don’t take much work to care for. To adopt them, you wouldn’t have to make many changes to how you live. All it needs is a big cage or a place to live where it can be happy for the rest of its life. Every one to two weeks, the cage needs to be cleaned. Most cages are easy to clean.

When it comes to food, cavies don’t need a lot of different things. This comes with fresh hay, water, and a few pellets. You can give your pet fruits and vegetables if you want to, but keep in mind that if the food you give is well-balanced, it doesn’t need anything else. The mix might even have enough vitamin C, which the guinea pig needs.

Peaceful and nondestructive

One of the best things about these fluffy pigs is that they don’t do anything bad. You wouldn’t have to be concerned about a dog biting your shoes or eating the carpet. They are both interested and scared to do anything. They move pretty slowly, so you could catch them before they do anything bad.

The worst behavior you could see in them is when they urinate or defecate in the home. Many guinea pigs learn to use a litter box, which is usually not a problem. But if they aren’t hitting the mark, it would be best to lay out some bedding when you give them a break, so they don’t make any litter.

Maintenance is cheap.

We’ve already said they are easy to get and don’t cost much. It is best to adopt, though, because pet stores are often involved in illegal trades and cruel treatment of animals. There are a lot of strays you can find and take in.

Since they don’t need to go to the vet very often, they don’t need shots to be spayed or neutered unless you want them to be.

The cost of cages might vary. It will cost a lot to buy it in a store. Building a C&C cage is easier if you use a coroplast base and a grid for the fencing. It’s easy to do yourself and would cost about a quarter of what it would cost in a store.

How much you care about the quality of your food will affect how much you pay for it. You can find regular pellet food for much less money, but it’s not a good choice for piggies. Pigs can also be fed hay from around the area as long as the hay is of good quality and doesn’t hurt the pigs.

Although less costly options are available if you want to minimize that expense, bedding may be quite pricey. In this case, fleece is a huge money saver. it’s easier to use fleece and some towels than to buy bags of wood shaving.

They have a good life and are healthy.

If you look at how long they live, guinea pigs live a long time. They have been around for about 4–7 years. But it’s not a huge surprise if it dies within the first year. To keep them, they will usually be your friend for at least 3 to 4 years.