guinea pigs outside — Two guinea pigs enjoying the sun outside

Deciding to bring a new animal into your life is certainly an exciting time. A new animal will come with new responsibilities, and it’s important to be aware of their basic needs, and how best you can meet them. To lend you a hand, we have made a guide of all the vital care needs you’ll want to know as a beginner guinea pig owner.

What Are Guinea Pigs Like?

Before bringing any animal into your home, it’s always a good idea to learn about the species typical behaviours and personalities. Guinea pigs are incredibly friendly animals, who greatly enjoy playing with each other and their human friends. They are extremely talkative animals and are always ready to have a conversation, and you will definitely hear them squeaking away any time you approach.

Do Guinea Pigs Bite?

If you want to be technical then yes, guinea pigs do bite. Realistically, any animal with teeth has the potential to bite. However, guinea pigs will rarely bite anyone unless provoked. If a guinea pig believes they are in a dangerous situation, it is their first instinct to run away and hide. If this option isn’t possible, then they may bite to escape.

Guinea pigs may also bite if they are startled, or handled in a way that causes pain. The best way to avoid a guinea pig nibble is to build trust with your piggy and learn how to handle them correctly.

Are Guinea Pigs a Good Pet for Kids?

It’s a common belief that guinea pigs are a great pet for children, most likely due to their small size, but sadly this is far from the truth. Guinea pig groups may not have extensive or complicated care requirements, but if what they do have isn’t met, it can have dire consequences. Most children, especially young children, will be happy to help in their care, but aren’t able to take on sole responsibility.

Guinea pigs are animals that can become easily stressed from loud noises or frequent handling. While children have good intentions, they may not understand a guinea pig’s social cues and try to play or handle them when they’re not interested. This can lead to both the piggy and child getting hurt and no one would want that.

guinea pig being held — This can lead to both the piggy and child getting hurt and no one would want that.

Are Guinea Pigs Easy to Care for?

As far as pets go, guinea pigs are super easy to care for and shouldn’t pose you many challenges as a beginner guinea pig owner. They have several specific needs, including their enclosure requirements and diet, but outside of that, they are pretty hands-off pets. The only other husbandry tasks you need to concern yourself with is cleaning and any vet visits or medical needs, just like you would with any other pet.

Of course, if you are interested in getting a guinea pig, then you probably will want to be as hands-on as possible. Guinea pigs are animals that can develop extremely strong bonds with you, and once you have worked through the trust-building process, they will greatly appreciate any play time or cuddles you have to offer.

Guinea Pig Grooming Requirements

Overall, grooming maintenance for a guinea pig is relatively minimal. Guinea pigs don’t enjoy feeling unclean and will groom themselves and each other quite regularly. Luckily, this means you can keep bathing to a minimum. Guinea pigs can be bathed every 2-3 months, or any time they have become particularly dirty.

All guinea pigs will need occasional brushing to help remove any loose fur that may be stuck. Long haired breeds, such as a Peruvian, will need to be brushed every day, or every other day. Short haired breeds such as an American guinea pig, will only need to be brushed a couple times a week.

The last grooming requirement for guinea pigs is nail trimming. They will need their nails trimmed every 2-3 weeks to prevent them from becoming overgrown. Overgrown nails can eventually grow into their feet, causing significant pain and potential infection.

What Do Guinea Pigs Eat?

Establishing a balanced diet as a beginner guinea pig owner is absolutely crucial for the health of your piggies. Guinea pigs have a unique digestive system and need a great variety of hay, pellets, and vegetables to guarantee maximum guinea pig nutrition.

Hay

A guinea pig’s diet should be around 75% hay. Guinea pigs require high amounts of fibre to keep their bodies going and will use hay to file down their teeth and prevent them from becoming overgrown. Ideally, you will want to provide grass hays, such as timothy hay. This type is low in fat, calcium and high in fibre. Other common types, such as alfalfa or clover, are too high in fat, calcium, and protein to be given safely.

Guinea pigs should be provided with an unlimited amount of hay every day.

Vegetables

To ensure your piggies are getting the best guinea pig nutrition, they will need a variety of fresh veggies every day. The recommended amount is roughly a teacup size, which equals to around 170 – 250g, depending on your piggy’s size and health requirements. Some of the best vegetables to give your guinea pig are romaine lettuce, bell peppers, kale, and cucumber.

You should also familiarise yourself with vegetables to avoid, as some may cause serious harm to your piggy when consumed. Some common ones to avoid are onions, potatoes, and rhubarb.

Guinea Pig Pellets

The last part of their diet should be guinea pig pellets. The purpose of pellets is to guarantee your piggies are getting all the nutrients and minerals they need, primarily vitamin C. They only need about 16g a day, but just like their veggies, this can vary depending on size or medical needs.

Creating a Guinea Pig Enclosure

Creating the perfect home for your future guinea pigs is always a fun task. Guinea pigs don’t have strict requirements for their cage or roaming area, but there are a few necessities you’ll definitely need to include. For a beginner, it’s recommended to invest in a c&c guinea pig cage. These cages can be easily moved and expanded, are straightforward to clean and can suit any living space.

Size

The priority when making an enclosure is making sure it’s the right size. Many pet shops will try to sell you the small plastic and metal bar cages, but these are far too small. Any guinea pig enclosure should be at least 7.5 square foot for a single guinea pig, and the size should increase about 2-3 square foot for every additional guinea pig. It’s important to remember this guideline is the absolute minimum, and you should provide your piggies with any additional space if possible. Due to the ease of assembly and movement, this is why c&c guinea pig cages can be beneficial.

Hides and Toys

As a prey species, guinea pigs can feel very overwhelmed and stressed in an open enclosure and require hides to be able to retreat and feel safe. Piggies will often spend a lot of their time hidden away, especially when adjusting to an unfamiliar environment.

Alongside their hides, guinea pigs will need plenty of toys. They are extremely energetic animals who love to run around and play. There are lots of options when it comes to toys, with tunnels, foraging boxes and balls being common favourites.

There are even DIY guinea pig toys you can make from egg boxes, the cardboard toilet paper cores and your chosen hay and treats. You can put some treats inside, surround them with hay and let your piggies go wild! Chewing these can bring hours of fun and be a great way to provide mental stimulation and keep their teeth filed down.

Bedding

The last main component of the enclosure you’ll need to consider is what type of bedding to use. There are a variety of options, but there are typically two main options people go for: fleece liners and dust-extracted wood shavings.

Fleece liners are made to be absorbent and soft on the guinea pig’s feet, and also efficient at concealing the unpleasant scents of urine and poop. Fleece liners can be easily washed and swapped out as necessary, and usually should be changed once a week.

Dust-extracted wood shavings is a more traditional choice in bedding. It’s super absorbent, and greatly conceals any negative smells. When cleaning, wood shavings will need to be removed and replaced to ensure a healthy environment.

guinea pig with fluffy coat — You’ll want to exclusively use aspen wood over common alternatives such as cedar or pine. Pine and cedar are usually the cheaper option, but these woods are coated in an oil that’s harmful to piggies.

Can Guinea Pigs Live Indoors?

Keeping indoor guinea pigs is becoming an increasingly popular occurrence, and all for good reasons. In most cases, it is much easier to manage a guinea pig’s needs while they are inside than outside. There is no risk of predation, and it is much easier to keep the environment at the ideal temperature, which is around 16 – 24°C.

It can be much easier to keep an indoor enclosure clean than an outdoor enclosure. All areas of the enclosure can be swiftly disinfected with the right products. With an indoor enclosure, you’ll want to make sure you have a type of bedding that you can effectively clean or replace.

Can Guinea Pigs Live Outdoors?

Guinea pigs can happily live outdoors as long as their needs are met. Their housing requirements are the same as indoor guinea pigs, but how you manage them may be a little different.

Being outdoors can pose several risks, such as predators and harsh weather conditions. To keep your guinea pigs safe, you need to ensure that their enclosure is fully secure with a strong lock and adequate fencing. Steel wire mesh fencing is best, accompanied by a lock that cannot be pushed or knocked open.

To protect your outdoor guinea pigs against more extreme weather conditions, the guinea pig hutch will need to be in a sheltered part of your garden where it will be out of direct sunlight or rainfall. Most outdoor guinea pig hutches are made of wood, which has the potential to foster bacteria and mold. Keeping it in an area that remains dry helps prevent mold growth and will stop it from becoming too hot from the sun.

Can Guinea Pigs Live Alone?

In most circumstances, guinea pigs shouldn’t be kept alone. Guinea pigs are incredibly social animals and truly thrive when housed in groups, or in a minimum of a pair. In the wild, guinea pigs would live in large groups to help lookout for predators and keep each other safe. This behaviour has followed on to domestic guinea pigs. They may not be at risk of predation, but they still crave the safety of a group. They will also talk and play with one another, eat and sleep together, and will groom one another.

If you were to keep a guinea pig alone, they may become increasingly depressed. Without a friend to talk to, a guinea pig can become quite reserved and develop high levels of stress. Prolonged stress can lead to physically help issues, including a weakened immune system.

Some owners do keep single guinea pigs under the impression that spending a significant amount of quality time together will be sufficient. While human interaction can provide some comfort, it won’t be enough to replace the presence of another guinea pig.

Guinea Pig Groupings

When it comes to housing guinea pigs, there are a few different variations of groups you can have. The type of guinea pig group you will have depends on whether you own, or are planning to own a male, female, or a mixture of both.

The one group combination that you should never use is having multiple males and any number of females. A female presence can lead the males to becoming quite aggressive with one another as they will fight over the female, regardless of whether or not they are neutered.

Mixed Sex Groups

The most ideal guinea pig group is a single male and a female, or group of females. In the wild, guinea pigs would live in groups with a dominant male, multiple females and their young. Keeping a group of a male and females would feel the most natural to your piggies, and it will allow them to fully express their natural behaviours. However, it’s important to note that if you are housing males and females together, they will need to be neutered or spayed to avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancies.

Female Only Groups

Another guinea pig group combination is keeping only females. Female guinea pigs can get along perfectly fine with one another, and this group removes any risk of unwanted pregnancies. Females also tend to be a lot less territorial than males, so it can make introducing two females together a much smoother process. One downside to an all-female group is that there won’t be a male to settle arguments. Female guinea pigs sometimes would rely on the male to settle disputes, and without one, disagreements are more likely to develop into fights.

Male Only Groups

A final option for a guinea pig group is keeping exclusively males. In this case, it would be best to keep a pair or group of brothers together as they will have bonded when being reared. Just like with a female only group, there is no risk of pregnancy with this. However, the difference with a male only group is that it is still recommended to neuter the males as they tend to be more territorial. If you were to introduce two unneutered males, there is a higher chance of them fighting.

A Beginner's Guide to Guinea Pigs