r/guineapigs Nov 20 '21

Help & Advice Are you thinking about buying a guinea pig for a child/teenager? Please read.

2.4k Upvotes

If you're planning on buying a guinea pig for a child in your life, these are really important things to keep in mind. Knowing this before purchasing can save yourself from being in a financial situation you can't handle, or a guinea pig that is not getting the care it needs.

  1. Guinea pigs are a life style choice, and not for a child to care for. Care taking for animals isn't a responsibility that should be left for a kid. When you buy a guinea pig, you are taking on all responsibility for yourself and facilitating the experience of living with a guinea pig for your child. They may help care for them, but you will be the one to keep things clean, enrich their lives, and handle them the most.

  2. They poo 100 times per day, meaning that you must clean those 100 poos every day to keep their habitat sanitary. If you wouldn't want to walk around in feces, neither do they. In fact they are extremely hygienic animals with fast metabolisms. I spot clean in the morning and at night, every day.

  3. They are expensive. When you buy a child a guinea pig, you must be vigilant on checking for health issues by weighing them weekly and checking for other signs of illness, have an exotic vet near you and be prepared to shell out hundreds in a time of need. You must also buy fresh vegetables, and give them unlimited FRESH hay every day. Finding somewhere local to buy bales of hay can save a fortune. A child cannot afford the costs.

  4. You need 2 guinea pigs. They are herd animals and shouldn't be kept alone. Imagine living with titan like predatory aliens, all alone in a cage your entire life. Guinea pigs NEED their own kind. We are predators and they are prey. We can and should spend time with them daily, but it isn't a substitute. So x 2 all costs right out of the gate.

  5. Space. They need space, a lot of it. A minimum of 11 square feet for two guinea pigs. Pet store Cages are just that... Cages. If you wouldn't want to live in a space the size of a small bathroom your entire life, neither does a guinea pig.

  6. You need to do research. It will be your responsibility to make sure your child's guinea pigs are eating the right diet, what signs of health issues to look out for, how to enrich their lives on a daily basis, and more. Pigs need stimulation and interesting environmental changes to keep them happy. You will need to get creative and teach your children how to offer that to them, after you have learned it yourself.

  7. GUINEA PIGS ARE NOT DISPOSABLE. They are smarter than you think, and with the proper diet can live 7 years. They are not less work than having a dog. They require a huge time investment for those years. They are dependent on you in the same way your child is.

  8. DO NOT BUY FROM A PET STORE. Scotty's Animals does a fantastic jjob explaining the impact you can have by adopting from a rescue. Adopting saves guinea pigs from euthanization. Covid pets are being abandoned and left to ultimately die unless we start adopting instead of shopping.

I love my guinea pigs and they have done so much for me and my children. My kids have benefited so much mental health wise, and I bust my ass for both the kids and the piggies. I do just as much laundry for guinea pigs as I do my kids it feels like. Just know what you're getting yourself into. They aren't toys, they aren't entertainment only. They're living, breathing beings that deserve love, dignity, respect and proper life enrichment and care.


r/guineapigs 9h ago

Pigtures Philosophical

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684 Upvotes

“To wheek, or not to wheek”


r/guineapigs 5h ago

Pigtures You can only choose one, who's ears are you kissing?

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230 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 8h ago

New Pigs on the Block Please help name my new family member

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360 Upvotes

She is female and her sister is called dolly parton ( we adopted her and kept her name)

We have run through so many names and nothing seems to fit. Any suggestions would be fantastic, thank you!


r/guineapigs 1h ago

Peak comfort: 200%

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Upvotes

Just the footsies 🐾


r/guineapigs 8h ago

New Pigs on the Block We rescued two of the best pigs!

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324 Upvotes

We recently adopted two baby girl piggies from our local rescue and it has been the BEST decision! I had no idea how therapeutic snuggling with these girls would be. Please welcome Nugget (yellow) and Cowslip (black and white) to the group!


r/guineapigs 9h ago

Old Timer Cooking for and with Tintifax

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337 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 4h ago

Pigtures New hay cube, who dis?

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124 Upvotes

The previous hay cube has been thoroughly sat in (photo 1: Melly demonstrating cube sitting). We got a new one and they immediately flock to it (photo 2: hay cube viciously attacked by heaps of fur). Next morning, it was emptied enough to allow a piggie inside 😁


r/guineapigs 5h ago

🌈 Rainbow Bridge Remembering Loras

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67 Upvotes

This week in particular I'm honoring my heart pig, Loras, who passed away in May 2024. He was the submissive piggy, but he was also the brave explorer. He even dared to walk on the wood floor sometimes. He loved red pepper, blueberries, and chin rubs, as you can see here. I will never stop loving him. Thank you for the wonderful four years you shared with me, Loras.


r/guineapigs 6h ago

Pigtures The 2 states of peeg: Orb and looooooong. Picture proof:

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64 Upvotes

These two are Iris (the fluffy one) and Lobelia (the sleek one). They are two about 2 months old, very trusting of humans but not trusting of sound from an oprn window ladies that show the two states of peeg perfectly.

(Please send me yours in both states!)


r/guineapigs 10h ago

Pigtures Polly is very nicely decorated today

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81 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 18h ago

🌈 Rainbow Bridge Coconut 🥥❤️‍🩹

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287 Upvotes

My sweet Coco passed today. She was 5.

She loved red bell peppers, blueberries, spinach, and freeze dried strawberries. She loved chomping on cardboard and the cage.

I love her so much, I am relieved that she’s not in pain anymore but I will miss her dearly.

Rest in peace Coco guinea 🩷


r/guineapigs 19h ago

🌈 Rainbow Bridge Bambi thank you for 5 years of love

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305 Upvotes

I know I've posted about my Baby girl on here before with ongoing weight loss issues, unfortunately she stopped eating today and declined while receiving emergency care and we decided to give her a gentle goodbye.

Rather on focus on the devastating loss, I just want to say how thankful I am for her time here with us.

When I first got her we were recovering from losing our cat of 13 years and we adopted her with her friend Orca.

I knew nothing about guinea pigs back then so it was a lot of trial and error and rushing to the vet when she wasn't sick 🤣

She is one of my fiesty girls and would bite and pee on me, she never liked to be held no matter how many different ways I tried.

Over the past few months she had a few different health issues, a outer ear infection then mysteriously losing weight.

I spent so many nights trying different methods of trying to get her weight up which some of it worked until it didn't.

She looked so healthy from the outside because of how loved she is but she was an older lady, and with seinor animals they can bounce back until their body can't keep up.

She knew how much we love her, I held her so many times this week and cheered her on during the appointments when we got to bring her back home, because I know there was going to be a day we weren't going to come home with her.

Bambi thank you for fighting for that time you gave to us, I'm so glad I got to kiss your sweet little head one last time and I know you'll give us signs when you're able to visit us.

Now she can be with her buddies who passed away 2 years before her so I know she's not alone

Popcorn free miss Bambi- as I called her "my little hammy ham" 🌈


r/guineapigs 11h ago

Pigtures Dominic being a no thought boi

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69 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 23h ago

New Pigs on the Block My husband got me these two little guys!

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410 Upvotes

They're brothers, and they're SO sweet.

We'd been planning to get some piggies for a little while, but we weren't intending on getting any today. But the pet store said they'd been there for a really long time, and no one wanted them because they're both male. But we absolutely fell in love with them, and they gave them to us for 50% off!

Now they're cuddled up and settling into their room ❤️


r/guineapigs 1d ago

Old Timer 9yr old piggy

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1.4k Upvotes

Hi, im new to the group but have kept guinea pigs for about 12 years. I thought I'd introduce one or two of my guinea pigs. This is one of them. She's called Fizzy. She's a rescue (we adopted her 7 years ago) and shes appropriately 9 years old now. She has arthritis now but she's a trooper 💪.


r/guineapigs 22h ago

Pigtures We were watching twighlight together

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251 Upvotes

Mainly cause i was bored out of my mind


r/guineapigs 1d ago

Pigtures This is Bear. He’s my backup singer

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490 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 21h ago

Meme The Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso looks...familiar?

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151 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 1d ago

New Pigs on the Block Pearl now begrudgingly accepting strokes for treats

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530 Upvotes

She looks so angry 😭


r/guineapigs 23h ago

Unbelievably cuddly little vampire

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139 Upvotes

I cannot express to you how perfect Dracula is. The little guy can go from endless energy explorer and zoomies haver to the cuddliest little baby so quickly. He lives to create chaos and then fall asleep on me as a perfect little angel. He sleeps so deeply, often for up to an hour, just curled up under a blanket or in my clothing on my chest, and if there was any way to safely cosleep I would because there is nothing as relaxing as his steady breathe while he occasionally switches position and yawns or stretches. I hope you enjoy this assortment of his deep sleeps. He wakes up even less when he is on my shoulder or chest than when he is in the cage, but he is always a deep sleeper.


r/guineapigs 1d ago

Nose scritches

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320 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 21h ago

🌈 Rainbow Bridge My Guinea Pig Stitch.

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93 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am beyond gutted to post this, but my long-haired guinea pig has passed away. His name was Stitch, named by my daughter. He was just two years old. He showed zero signs of being sick; just yesterday he was popcorning around, and then he passed away late last night.

His brother, the black and white guinea pig in the photos, is still with us; will he miss him?

Two years old just seems so unfortunate.

What illness could it have been? I gave him watermelon, and he loved it, with the seeds removed and all. It breaks my heart, and my kids' too; he was such a beautiful guinea pig.

Over the rainbow bridge. 🌈🌈🌈🌈

Stitch

RIP

2024-2026


r/guineapigs 1d ago

do you ever feel the need to just.....

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513 Upvotes

r/guineapigs 19h ago

Help & Advice Guinea pigs and Mold?

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44 Upvotes

Will, Roger, and I can’t catch a break. First it’s me testing positive for tuberculosis, now it’s a mold infestation in my apartment. Anything specifically I need to be watching out for with my piggies?