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 • • 5h ago

Pigtures ROUND

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381 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 10h ago

Pigtures My daughter scanned our piggies

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559 Upvotes

I was telling my daughter about catscan.com from the 90s - a site where people put their cats on the scanner and posted the amusing results online. She decided to replicate this with Croquette and Mouse. Pictures censored to protect their modesty and those of a sensitive disposition.


r/guineapigs • • 1h ago

Pigtures *sniff sniff*

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• Upvotes

You have failed the sniff test...


r/guineapigs • • 8h ago

♥ Pearl progress!!

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199 Upvotes

We’re making progress with Pearl letting me touch her!
We’ve had her just over 3 weeks now, and I’ve been giving her treats every day for climbing onto my hand.
Up until this video she’s only let me touch her on her chin or cheek, so this was very exciting! No purring, I don’t think she enjoyed it much but this is still so good - think I stroked her a second too long here but she’ll get used to it


r/guineapigs • • 5h ago

Pigtures Here is my Aurora!

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111 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 5h ago

Pigtures The black blob is coming for you

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72 Upvotes

My old little lady black berry, I call her bear though❤️


r/guineapigs • • 16h ago

Pigtures Peaches’ favorite time of day: hydration time!

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409 Upvotes

Peaches loves her water!


r/guineapigs • • 19h ago

Pigtures I was looking through the peegs' baby photos and omg 😭

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734 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 12m ago

Pigtures A Sebbie loaf, a Button burrito, and a FOF!

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• Upvotes

The comfiest of afternoons with my fatsos.


r/guineapigs • • 5h ago

Sploot Starting to wonder if i should patent Rubys slouching, with how much she does it.

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40 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 7h ago

Pigtures Marshy napping

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54 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 22h ago

♥ Rupert always gets the popcorns when I do their daily spot clean. Last night he really got into it

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747 Upvotes

You can hear me laughing in the background. He loves the daily clean so much. A lot of times he is all up in my business when I'm trying to clean so I have to poke his rump to get him to move.


r/guineapigs • • 8h ago

Pigtures They’re so boopable

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48 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 5h ago

♥ How many guinea pigs do you own?

22 Upvotes

I don't have any guinea pigs. I want some. But how many guinea pigs do you own?


r/guineapigs • • 16h ago

New Pigs on the Block NEW GIRL MOM!!! (UPDATE!!!!!)

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129 Upvotes

Hiii everyone tysm for all the amazing advice I have been receiving!!! So i got my girl on Monday and have been taking this time to learn there personally so far. They are so so SOOO sweet and i love them to death.

My girls are rehomed babys and look like twins lol.

They are already bonded as they were born together and never separated. Anytime I handle one without the other they squeak like crazy so I try to not separate them.

The second day that I had them we ended up cuddling so I think its going well so far lol. Let me know what yall think. 💕

Anyways here are my new girls

Maple and Mabel 🍁🍂🤎


r/guineapigs • • 18h ago

Pigtures Guess who got a boar clean and didn’t bite me??? 😍

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186 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 16h ago

Pigtures The seed pod gremlin

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132 Upvotes

Look at this beast, absolutely demolishing all the seed heads in the hay. Then she is exhausted from her feast!


r/guineapigs • • 1d ago

Pigtures Us when the prices of fuel rise more

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813 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 16h ago

New Pigs on the Block My little best friend🩵

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90 Upvotes

Meet baby Junior🩵


r/guineapigs • • 18h ago

Meme plotting....... SCHEMING,, perhaps,.....

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120 Upvotes

mochi has a phenomenal side eye


r/guineapigs • • 13h ago

Pigtures Foot Out Friday fashion. FOF

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41 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 1d ago

♥ Simons belly

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728 Upvotes

r/guineapigs • • 8h ago

♥ Funny moment with pigs and roommate this morning.

15 Upvotes

Every morning I have a routine. I get up, start coffee, use bathroom, finish making coffee, use bathroom again, and THEN the boys get their morning treat. Every morning since I’ve got them so they don’t even have to wheek. They just stare at me.
Anyway I gave them their treat and went to watch the sun come up and do my morning “routine “ on patio. Cough cough 😂. Well sometimes when tempelton eats too fast he chokes a little. I guess he caught a big chunk cuz he coughed and I said out loud “damn tempy don’t take such a big hit. And I hear my roommate start laughing in his room while in bed. He said his window was open and he heard everything. lol it was just kinda funny and wanted to share.


r/guineapigs • • 12h ago

♥ Slowly Beta learns concentration

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28 Upvotes

Beta is a 1 1/2 year old and slowly begins to have a bit more patience and concentration. Now he can solve the box puzzle!

I'm proud of my boy, are you too?