Any Guinea Pig Owners Here? Advice Please.

[MandyP]

My 3 sows have lived happy together for nearly two years with no fall outs. I have had more problems with pairing my two neutered boars but theyy have both come from the Blue Cross animal rescue so i dont know if their back grounds are the cause of the problems. If you can get 3 baby sows from the same liter i cant see why they wouldnt get on fine.

My girls were in two seperate pairs but when Soot passed Ginger was on her own so i bonded her with Amy and Amber and they have been very happy together. I tried to add a neutered boar but Ginger didnt take to him.

[ReptileLover1]

Even Numbers Makes since (may go with 2-- Do they do good in small group like 2 or 4 and Which would you suggest?-- If I go with 2 can I introduce more in the future or do they have to be bought in same litter>?)
I will definatly make sure I have saved for Vet bills (just so I know what would I be looking at if they were sick? and what should I look for to tell if they are )

[MandyP]

Originally Posted by Mona's Humans

My 3 boys worked for a year, but i've now had to split, and get a new boy. If boys are bonded young, you should be okay, but i would advise even numbers as it reduces the chances of bullying.

Personally i wouldn't neuter unless it was for health reasons, as the op is risky for such tiny animals, but it is a debated topic.

Just a warning (as has been said) to ensure you have savings for vets bills, as although piggies don't often get ill, when they do, they really do, and bills can be quite high. Also when they get ill, they need a lot more care than hams usually do, and this can be very draining (currently treating all 4 of mine 4 times a day ) That being said, they are amazing animals, and truly have loads of love to give, and i highly recommend them to anyone

I totally agree with the neutering. A large amount of rescues will not rehome boars now without neutering them first....i dont 100% agree with this as it doesnt remove the urges and can sometimes make no change to them but i know its away of making sure they cant breed. My boar i got from the Blue cross had just been neutered when i adopted him. He became very unwell and cost nearly £200 and 2 weeks of round the clock syringe feeding him. They are huge commitments.

Wow 3 boars living together i have never known anyone to be sucessful in having more than 2 living together. I have a pair of boars that have a very strong bond. I then have 2 other pairs of boars that all had a fight with in two weeks of each other. Cost £100 in vet bills and two extra cages....they were fighting over one of my sows that had come on heat. ( i dont breed but they picked up on her from there cages) like humans they can get along or sometimes fall out....

[MandyP]

Originally Posted by ReptileLover1

Even Numbers Makes since (may go with 2-- Do they do good in small group like 2 or 4 and Which would you suggest?-- If I go with 2 can I introduce more in the future or do they have to be bought in same litter>?)
I will definatly make sure I have saved for Vet bills (just so I know what would I be looking at if they were sick? and what should I look for to tell if they are )

There is nothing wrong in adding more to a group. My friend had 6 living together very happy and they started off with a pair. The more room they have the better.

I know in the UK you can get insurance for guinea pigs but it is very expensive.

[Mona's Humans]

I would personally go for only 2 as a beginner.... i think more than that you risk a lot of expense if there are major fall outs, and needing more cages etc.... Piggies don't have to be from the same litter, if bonded young (or if you get the right bond) and i've had more success with piggies from different litters, than i've ever had with siblings tbh

My latest vet bills have been just over £100, before that it was £250, and before that only £15 - so it really does depend. Like hams they hide illness well, and the main way to tell an illness is to know your piggies really well, and if anything changes, monitor them like a hawk!!!

Mandy: 3 was a chore and a half lol, they did really well though, then started picking on the 'one who didn't get as big' lol.

[ReptileLover1]

o ok thank you (and um-- ill have to change £100, before that it was £250, and before that only £15 To Dollars here --)

Thank you all you ahve been such a great help-- I will definatly go with 2 to start out--
And the cage I linked earlier
Can they have all veggies? (or are there some they can not have)

[Mona's Humans]

i don't know if i'm allowed to link here, but if you want to PM me when your nearer to getting them (or tomorrow lol) i can give you a link to an amazing guinea info site, where everything you'll ever need to know is

atm...

100 British pounds = 159.71 U.S. dollars
250 British pounds = 399.27500 U.S. dollars
15 British pounds = 23.9565 U.S. dollars

[MandyP]

To be honest i actually like boars more than sows. I dont know why.

I would always suggest go to a rescue and ask to help out for a couple of week looking after piggles, that way you get to understand the level of care they need

To be honest i dont understand why vet bills are so much. My vets have put there prices up. For my Bella to see the vet last week cost me £25 it was only £15 in February.

I think in the past year i spent a good £1000+ in vet bills. If i didnt have insurance on my bunnys and cat it would of been more like £3000!

[MandyP]

Originally Posted by ReptileLover1

o ok thank you (and um-- ill have to change £100, before that it was £250, and before that only £15 To Dollars here --)

Thank you all you ahve been such a great help-- I will definatly go with 2 to start out--
And the cage I linked earlier
Can they have all veggies? (or are there some they can not have)

Guinea Lynx is a good site to look at for guinea pig care x

[Mona's Humans]

thats the one i was going to link to but wasn't sure if were allowed lol so yeah a double recommendation