The Reality of Having Guinea Pigs

What are guinea pigs?

Guinea pigs are big and fat rodents. Guinea pigs start out small enough to where you can hold them with one hand. But as time goes on, when you start holding them, you will notice you can barely hold them with one hand anymore!

What are the Pros & Cons of Having a Guinea Pig?

Guinea pigs can be that emotional support animal or just a furry little rodent you wanted to have because it is cute. On the other hand though, it is best to learn and research about them before getting one, as they are living creatures and need a healthy diet.

Pros:

• They can be very calm when you hold them (unless they are new to your home).

• They love vegetables and fruits.

• Guinea pigs make crazy weird and cute noises.

• They can keep you entertained/make you laugh by making strange noises, doing goofy things in their cage like running in circles, and bobbing their head up and down at you or their guinea pig friend.

• Their coats are very soft.

• They love to swim! However, they need to get used to you bathing them first before they are comfortable enough to swim. Please do not force them to swim.

Cons:

• When first getting them, you must wait at least one day without touching them. That way they can quickly get used to their new environment. If you interrupt this process, your guinea pigs can become very terrified of everything and not let you hold them very much.

• Guinea pigs are best having two males -or- two females. They do best with their own gender, unless you want baby guinea pigs. If females are with a male, they will pee at the male if she wants the male guinea pig to go away. This can possibly get on your walls, couch, bed, carpet, and other areas of the house.

• They are VERY fragile creatures so you can not rough house with them, drop them, or let them near bigger pets like dogs.

• They need bedding, big cages, hay, vegetables, food bowls containing normal guinea pig food, and a new cage once they start to get bigger and bigger. You might even have to build your own at some point.

• They like to kick their bedding everywhere so be prepared to sweep!

• They should have another guinea pig with them. You can not have just one due to these creatures being social. They need a friend or you constantly with them everyday holding them and giving them attention.

• If you do not give them that little friendship or just leave the one in the cage until you want to hold it, they can get ill and start getting depressed. I recommend creating certain times of the day to hold them, and at least three times a day.

• You will definitely need the money for these little guys (around $40-60 per month for just food and bedding). One bag of bedding can really only last a month depending on the size of your cage. If you are looking to get a guinea pig they can cost between $10-40. Although, there is the option of rescuing them from a shelter.

• Cages NEED to be cleaned at least every week or every other week. Meaning you need to dump out old bedding into a trash bag, evenly spread out new bedding (that is chemical free), put back food bowls and refill them, clean out the water bottle and refill it, and finally place back whatever toys, huts, or tunnels you have for them.

• It's optional but good to bathe your guinea pigs. Yes they keep themselves mostly clean on their own. They have a bunch of gunk in their fur that you should wash out as well as using the appropriate shampoo and conditioner for them.

• You have got to give them attention everyday or every other day and talk to them, even if you do not understand them. They get more comfortable when you love and care for them like an actual child.

• Their nails need clipping. Unless you wanna spend money on a vet to do it for you, I suggest you learn how to clip guinea pigs nails as they get very sharp. I suggest going to this website (https://chuckanddons.com) and search on how to do it.

• Or if you do not have the time to do that, always cut at the very end of the nail and work your way down, stop when you are too close to the red part of their nail.. DO NOT cut where their nail is red, that is all blood and it can harm your guinea pig.

Why should I get a guinea pig ?

Despite their special needs, they are really good pets to have. If you have two and you miss a day, or can not spend time with them on a given day, they have a friend to keep them company.

Guinea pigs are also a very good first pet for kids. That way they can learn the responsibilities of having a pet instead of getting it based on looks.

For the most part, guinea pigs can take care of themselves but you just need to supply the little things they need.

If you do not have the money or attention span for this guinea pig, I advise not getting one. As most people these days mistake guinea pigs for a cute creature that is seemingly simple but really requires a lot. They require attention like a child, vegetables, pallet food, and even hay.

If I got one, what types of guinea pigs are there?

There are many more but I think you would have to do the research, each breed/type of guinea pig is taken care of differently (grooming, diets, nail growth, etc.).

Now do your research (https://chuckanddons.com or https://www.petco.com ) and then get yourself one of these cute little guys!