All About Guinea Pig Care!

Guinea pigs need a lot more space than most people would think, so the cages they sell at the pet store labeled “for guinea pigs”, are just too small. In the USA, the bare minimum cage size for 2 guinea pigs is a 5’x2’ pen. I also think guinea pigs shouldn’t be housed outside for multiple reasons. One, they’re prey animals. Two, if you live in a place where there’s really hot summers and/or really cold winters, that’s just too much for guinea pigs to handle. And there’s so much more reasons as to why I think they shouldn’t be housed outside.

A guinea pigs diet is fairly similar to a rabbits diet. A guinea pigs diet should consist of the following:

-80% Grass Hay. Alfalfa hay for guinea pigs 6 months and under, and timothy hay for guinea pigs older than 6 months. They should have hay available to them 24/7. 

-10% Pellets. Unlimited Alfalfa pellets for guinea pigs 6 months and under, and 1/8 cup a day Timothy pellets for every 2 lbs for guinea pigs older than 6 months. 

-10% Leafy Greens. For a list of guinea pig safe fruits/veggies, click on this link: https://www.guineapiggles.co.uk/guinea-pig-food-chart

The simple answer to this question is yes. Guinea pigs need a friend. You can’t just keep a single guinea pig by itself for its entire life. Guinea pigs are very social animals and must be housed in pairs or more. Most guinea pigs actually do best in groups. 

Guinea pigs, just like all small animals, need some sort of bedding on the bottom of their enclosure. You need to make sure that when you’re picking out the bedding for your guinea pigs, that you don’t get anything that is harmful to them. Some beddings that are harmful to them are pine shavings, cedar shavings, and anything scented. The reason all of those are bad, is because guinea pigs have very sensitive respiratory systems, and those can all cause upper respiratory infections in your guinea pigs. Some good alternatives for those are unscented paper based bedding, aspen wood shavings, and fleece blankets.

Just like all pets, guinea pigs will need some sort of enrichment to keep them entertained. Did you know guinea pigs can have up to 20 teeth in their mouth, all of which never stop growing?! So for that reason, your guinea pigs will need a lot of things in their cage to chew on. Also, for hides, the rule of thumb is at least 1 hide per guinea pig, preferably with 2 entrances/exits.

Well, this question really depends on your opinion and the guinea pigs. Some guinea pigs prefer to drink out of a water bottle, some prefer to drink out of a water bowl, but they both work perfectly for giving out water. If you use a water bottle, make sure you clean it regularly, as they can build up bacteria very easily, and refill it, every 1-2 days. If you use a bowl, you’ll need to clean it regularly as well, and you’ll need to refill it as needed, usually every 1-2 days.