New Owner's Guide

Getting the Supplies

Before you even get the actual guinea pig, it's not a bad idea to set up the home and make sure the supplies are in order for when you do bring one home. You can get most supplies from any pet store, but by far the cheapest place to get them is actually Amazon.

The Cage

Finding a good cage can be rough because most aren't what guinea pigs need, for the most part small animal cages are for smaller animals than guinea pigs. For 1-2 guinea pigs, the cage should be at minimum 7.5 sq ft (30" x 36"), but 10.5 sq ft is preferred (36" x 50"). You can get away with 30" by 18" but that's as long as they spend most of their time out of the cage. Cages with metal bars are fine, so long as there are no sharp edges a guinea pig could cut itself on. Be careful of cages with thin plastic as if it is too thin they may chew through it.

Bedding

2-3 inches of bedding at the bottom of the cage should be enough, but there are many different kinds of bedding you could use. There are some that should definitely be avoided though, cedar and pine shavings can both be dangerous to a guinea pig causing a number of issues like respiratory issues. Avoid cedar no matter what, but pine CAN be used if you let it air out in some container for a week before using it in the cage with your pig. Corn cobs, straw and kitty litter are also best to avoid, both can mold easily, don't work well, and can cause other health issues. Aspen shavings are best but certain wood pulp products and certain paper products can also be very effective to keep odour down while keeping your guinea pig healthy. Whatever you use, make sure there isn't a overwhelming amount of dust in it as that can also cause respiratory issues.

Basic Food

Guinea pigs eat a lot for their size, luckily their food is simple and generally pretty cheap. You can pick up guinea pig food pellets at pretty much any pet shop and many grocery stores. There are a few varieties of pellets that come with some extra things in them, often called fiesta mixes or something to that effect. They generally have better quality food with more nutrients and the guinea pigs love the stuff over normal boring pellets, plus they don't cost much more. Timothy hay is important to go along with the pellets to complete the diet, the hay helps their digestive track and shouldn't be ignored. Fresh veggies and some fruit should be given to guinea pigs too. For more detailed information on good feeding habits, check out the Care Page. For a list of things they can and can't eat, check out the Safe Foods Page.

Other Items That Should Be in the Cage

The three most important other things you'll need are a shelter, a water bottle, and a food bowl. The shelter should be more than big enough to house the pig/pigs, if it's plastic it should be thick enough it won't break easy, and it needs to not have any kind of sharp edges they could hurt themselves on. The food bowl should NOT be plastic. Guinea pigs tend to chew up plastic food bowls plus plastic is fairly light. The best material for food bowls is ceramic, it is heavy enough that a guinea pig won't easily tip it over, and they most likely won't even try to chew on it. With ceramic, just make sure the paint is safe- it is rare nowadays but lead paint items are still floating around. Water bottles should be made of a heavier plastic but aside from that most of them will work fine. Just be sure that it doesn't drip constantly (a little bit after filling is normal) and that there is enough water flow from it that a guinea pig could easily drink from it, also be sure that it is large enough to last at least 24 hours. Aside from those things, it's not a bad idea to add some toys or chewables to the cage for the pig.

Cage Placement

The cage should be placed somewhere around where people will be and out of range of any other pets that may see a guinea pig as prey. It should be out of direct sunlight but not in a constantly dark room. Make sure to keep it where there won't be very strong perfumes or candles that could damage their respiratory system. The optimal temperature for guinea pigs is 65F-75F (18C-24C), they don't handle extreme temperature well and anything under 60F or above 80F may cause health problems.

Getting the Guinea Pig

Places to avoid

I'm starting off with where to avoid because the first instinct of most people is to go to a big pet store like PetSmart or PetCo. Those are actually the worst places to pick up a new guinea pig. First off, they raise them in what are essentially puppy mills and aside from not being treated properly, they don't mentally cope well with that. Some of the stores sell only males or only females, and a good portion of the females will be pregnant. The stores don't socialize their guinea pigs properly either, even if you do everything right, you could end up with a guinea pig that hates you because of how it was raised. They can also be sick right from the start due to not having proper care. All around getting one from a big pet store is a huge risk and really isn't worth it.

Good Places

Funny enough, the best place to buy a new guinea pig is a Seed and Feed type of place like Tractor Supply. The pigs there are meant to be sold to breeders and suppliers and right off they are of higher quality than the ones you can get at a pet store. They are also many times cheaper than at a big pet store. Local Breeders are also good sources for young pigs, not all of them are good but many are. If you look into that option you'll have to make the decision yourself on how you feel about them.

Rescues

Another great place to find new guinea pigs is at rescues. When you think of an animal rescue your mind wouldn't immediately go to guinea pigs, but a huge portion of rescues do actually carry pigs that they either rescued or had surrendered to them. If you are interested in looking at rescues, check out www.petfinder.com or visit local shelters. Adoption fees are generally even cheaper than the Tractor Supply type stores.

One or two?

Guinea pigs are herd animals and need to be able to socialize. Unless you have a lot of time every day to devote to your guinea pig, it is best to get them in pairs or in multiples. If they get lonely they could become depressed. Because they are so prone to loneliness, in Switzerland it is actually illegal to own only one.