Guinea Pigs Are NOT Starter Pets

 If you go into any pet store or ask any person you meet what is one of the best starter animals to get for someone you can almost guarantee that most people on that list will tell you that the best starter animal to get is a guinea pig. I've had guinea pigs all of my life and I can tell you that they are not a starter pet and they actually do require a lot of care and effort to keep them happy, healthy, and safe from harm.

It's not just a simple get a cage, put hay in a cage, put a guinea pig in a cage, feed it, give it water, and then clean it when it gets dirty. I wish people would actually care for guinea pigs correctly as they are such sweet and loving animals that deserve so much recognition from people.

Minimum cage size according to The Humane Society of the United States says that the bare minimum space required for a single guinea pig is 7.5 square feet IF you are going to get the piggie out all the time for interaction and free running time. That is for one piggie but in most places, it is required that you keep them in pairs because they are extremely sociable creatures so that instantly doubles the bare minimum requirement but when it comes to keeping guinea pigs happy and healthy bigger is better

Treats are a must for guinea pigs and a guinea pig's favorite treat universally seems to be pea flakes. I don't know what it is about them but they seem irresistible to piggies and they will become your best friend if you supply them with as many pea flakes as their little hearts can desire.

Something that people don't realize about guinea pigs is that they are extremely fragile and being prey animals they are taken quickly with illness or injury. There is a thing some guinea pigs get called impaction which is unfortunately lethal for piggies but they can live for a little while with this if they are cared for properly. Impaction is when a guinea pig loses the ability to pass its bowel movements the causes are still unknown but to help your guinea pig out you have to help them pass it by gently squeezing the anus to ensure all the movement has passed. This will have to be done for the rest of the piggies' life when they start getting this sometimes multiple times a day. It is more common in older pigs but can occur at any age. I had a male piggie who was just over 3 when he started getting impacted and with daily help he managed to live another 6 months until a mystery illness took his life very quickly.

Guinea pigs are good at hiding illness due to the fact that they are prey animals so it is usually harder to spot anything with just quick glances but the experienced guinea pig owners can tell you that when you have the experience and knowledge it can be slightly easier to notice when something is wrong.

Now here's something that people who don't know guinea pigs don't know... like dogs guinea pigs are also distinguishable by breeds. There are at least 19 different breeds of guinea pigs globally. That's a lot of different breeds of guinea pig.

Here is a List of Breeds of Piggies:

1. Abyssinian 
2. Abyssinian Satin
3. American
4. American Satin
5. Coronet
6. Peruvian
7. Peruvian Satin
8. Silkie
9. Silkie Satin
10. Teddy
11. Teddy Satin
12. Texel
13. White Crested
14. Baldwin
15. Skinny
16. Alpaca
17. Lunkarya
18. Rex
19. Sheba

Some guinea pigs need special hay. You can't just give your piggy any hay and hope that they will be fine. Some guinea pigs like humans have allergies and they may not be able to have hay that hasn't had a process of duct extraction carried out on it as it could cause them breathing issues similar to Ashtma one of my piggies currently suffers like this he has to have a certain type of hay whereas another piggie can have any hay as he is a bit sturdier with hay.

I always recommend that you keep up to date with anti-parasite spot on to avoid piggies from getting parasites as this is something that can seriously harm your fluffy friend if they get a parasite and can make for an expensive vet visit as not every regular vet has experience with guinea pigs or they may not take guinea pigs as patients meaning you may have to take them to an exotic vet which could make for long journeys which in turn will cause your guinea pig to stress out

Something I would recommend every owner has is a Guinea Pig first aid and grooming box. It sounds scary to think about prepping in case a pet has an injury but this way you are best prepared. The first thing I'd ensure that you have is syringes in varying sizes, some guinea pigs will be given oral medication to take from the vets or if they are unwell and refusing to drink you could always try to give them a drink using the syringe, or for something called critical care which is used when an animal is not eating voluntarily and is losing weight rapidly. Critical care is mixed up with water making it easier for the unwell piggies to take in. 

Antibacterial powder is another good thing to keep at hand for piggies, male piggies often like to rough house and they may accidentally hurt one another in the process so applying this to minor cuts and scrapes will help your piggy to heal. In addition to this, some piggies get itchy or dry skin so keeping tea tree cream specifically for them at hand is a very good idea.

As I have mentioned already I like to make sure that my guinea pigs are kept up to date with their anti-parasite spot-on treatment this is something you can buy in a pet shop and keep at hand all the time just always check that they are in date and you are applying the correct amount based on your guinea pigs weight

Guinea pigs are not fully self-cleaning animals and as much as they would tell you they hate it if they could speak they will need the odd bath here and there but even more frequently if they have longer fur. This prevents them from getting 'greasy' and will in turn help them keep some germs off of them. Always ensure that your piggies are fully free of soap suds and that they are dry before placing them back into their enclosure as you do not want them to get any stains or to catch a slight cold.

Another thing to take into consideration is the dry food that you feed your piggies as some enjoy the nuggets that can be bought at pet shops whereas others prefer a more colourful mix. My guinea pigs seem to prefer gerty guinea pig food as it has more colours and different pieces in the food for them to choose meaning that they can pick and choose what they eat. Just the same as people guinea pigs have different tastes so it's important to make sure you figure out what your pet prefers. Always make sure that your guinea pig has access to feed as a vital part of guinea pig care is making sure they have enough food as guinea pigs never stop eating meaning if your piggies stop eating then that is a sure-fire sign that there's a problem

(The image shows some of the vegetables that are safe to feed your piggie but remember all of this must be fed to them in moderation)

Guinea pigs require so much time and attention for small creatures that it is very safe to say that they are definitely not a starter pet or someone who is a novice to owning animals as there is so much that you have to take into consideration when owning them from medical requirements, feed requirements, free play and handling just to name a few things. They can be such wonderful pets if you have the time for them and know how to look after them properly and that can take time so don't be put off of ever getting a guinea pig because they are wonderful and loving creatures just take time to consider if they are right for you at the current time, are you able to care properly for them and are you prepared to learn things to properly care for them. Just remember yes they are cute little creatures but they definitely are not starter pets.

Lucy, Animal Advocate (UK)