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Everyone is a guinea pig owner for the first time. You can read as many books and research as much on Google, but nothing can prepare you for your first experience taking care of a cute little pig friend.
It’s sad, but really…the first cage design The Humans made just didn’t work out.
Piglet was the first to arrive (Hammy came later in the afternoon) and the HappyCavy Humans were sure the cage was perfect. There was easy access to pellets, timothy hay, and water and a decent amount of room to play. Plus, each guinea pig had extra comfyfleece bedding (sooo soft on the piggy feet).
But, as they say, hindsight is 40/40, meaning that is always easier to look back at past errors than recognize them when they are right in front of you. There weren’t enough fun stuff or little hide-aways to keep Piglet and Hammy engaged and active.
After about a week of observing the HappyCavies behavior, a new cage design was made. (Using cubes and coroplast made this a lot easier than it sounds.) The Humans went through more than a few designs before finding a good fit.
It takes time, learning, and patience when figuring out how exactly you are supposed to care for these little precious cavies…but the payout is so worth it.
Basically, the most important things to keep in mind when you’re thinking of what to put in your cage are:
Plenty of space
Especially if you have a young guinea pig or more than one, you need adequate room for moving around, exercise, and exploring.
Guinea pigs like places to hide
Play toys for your new piggy
Toys like colored tennis balls or paper towl rolls can keep a guinea pig entertained for quite some time :-). But you must make sure you don’t clutter your cage with toys and block precious space for your pet to move around. The more time you spend with your guinea pig, the more you will learn what kind of toys her or she likes; then you can select one or two of their favorites and use that for a fun plaything when they want. (By the way, guinea pig CANNOT use exercise wheels or exercise balls like hamsters can use. The spine of a guinea pig cannot bend enough to be comfortable using a wheel or ball and can really hurt your piggy!)
Easy access to timothy hay, fresh water, and pellets
A general rule is one food bowl per guinea pig. If your guinea pigs are bonded or very familiar, sometimes they can get away with less than the standard “food bowl to guinea pig” ratio. But the more the better. Also, the same rule applies for water bottles. I find all three of my pigs are great at sharing, so I have just 1 water bottle for the three. But if I adopted another piggy, I would definitely need another bottle and more food bowls! Also, a constant supply of fresh Timothy hay is necessary…it is NOT just a treat, they need Timothy hay all the time for digestion and nutrients.
Curious = happy guinea pig
This is just a really basic intro on how to keep a great guinea pig home. There will be several more posts in the Tips for a Happy Cavy category with more specific information on how to raise a happy, healthy guinea pig.
PS – You can find a lot of great info on how to make a cavy-friendly cage at GuineaPigCages.com
Hi, I only have 1 guinea pig and I am busy most of the day because of school and homework. I am the one who is supposed to take care of him. I feed him and give him toys. Also I need to buy supplies for a C&C cage but my parents are way too busy. what should I do. I do give him fresh water hay pellets and greens everyday. I just want to make him more happy. 🙂
Hi, Amani. it may be best to have a honest discussion with your parents about how important it is for you to take some time each day to care for and play with your cavy. …
And that you really need them to take some time within the next week (or sooner? not sure how desperately you need supplies) to help you get what you need. Or perhaps you have a trusted family friend that could take you in their stead?
Guinea pigs do take lots of time and attention. Perhaps your parents can help figure out a solution for you. Just be honest and non-emotional about it, it’ll show you that you’re being responsible. A parent loves a forthright, responsible daughter or son.
I recommend that you take your guinea pig to vet to have his or her nails trimmed. It can be difficult the first few times. And styptic powder should be used to stop bleeding, not flour. Yikes. Next time, feel free to ask a question at Ask Hammy. She’ll email you personally (within a few days, that is).
And if you really are convinced to do the nails yourself, find some videos on YouTube and ask your Dad to do the same. Hope this helps! 😀
hello again. your website helped me soo much with my little piggie. my little piggie died a little bit ago and i just want to thank you soooo much. i might get another piggie. but until then i will remember all your website has taught me.
A big *wHeEk* and a thank you for your kind words, Heather. The Humans and I spend a lot of time making this site useful for others – it’s so nice to know it’s helped 🙂
And I’m sorry to hear about your loss. Fortunately, the time you spent with your fuzzy was filled with smiles, snacks, and happiness ♥ Cavy Love ~ Hammy & Friends
I just recently gotten two guinea pigs and this would be the first time taking care of one. right now they seem comfortable and I even made them a toys but the only thing they like out of all toys was the shoe box with a hole cut into it. And like as expected they started chewing on it what should i do?
You could try some of these free guinea pig toy ideas 🙂
I have cages that are pretty dull in shape and color, and try to make up for that with lots of toys and spending a lot of time with them away from the cage, but i recently found your site and I’m amazed by your cage design. But there’s one thing that catches my eye the most; no bedding! I use bedding in my cages all the time and it’s quite costly and annoying when my pigs like to run in circles and kick it all over the floor, and I’d love to know your Human’s secret to not using bedding!
Hi, Cam! We LOVE not having to use traditional bedding. We use fleece, and — while it may run you $50 to buy the fleece — we find that it’s much cheaper than having to constantly buy other bedding materials. Check out our friend Alice’s post about fleece bedding, this should help you get started: http://www.calicavycollective.com/2014/03/guinea-pig-101-fleece-bedding-guide.html 😀
Hi, I’m after some much needed advice! I got two 3 month old guinea pigs for Christmas! Having 4 guinea pigs before I thought I would be okay! These guinea pigs seem different! One is extremely shy. She rearly comes out of the bedding area, vibrates when we speak or Stoke her and does not eat with us! The other one does eat with us, vibrates less, but is very hyper. She runs around the cage and through her tube so fast that she bangs in to it, I some times I think she is happy but mostly I think it’s stress. Please give me any advise, I know it’s only been 2 weeks but I am nervous that it will get worse and they will never enjoy my company.
Hi, Rachel! You hit the nail on the head — it’s only been two weeks. Most young guinea pigs behave just like that: very hyper, running into things, etc. Since the young pigs are so little, it’s probably a good idea to start giving floor time for them so they have a place to run off their energy and explore their new environment in a different setting.
It can take months for skittish guinea pigs to warm up to their cage-mates and even longer for them to warm up to Humans.
Just be patient, continue providing as best of care as you can, and things should settle down 🙂
Thank you for your quick response! I did what you suggested and put them on the floor! Everything was great until the little one started trying to hump the bigger gubieapig. I put them both back in their cage and watched them, they started to grumble at each other and the little one tried several times again to mount! Having four other guniea pigs this has came as a surprise to me! Sorry to bother you again, but could you suggest anything I can do? Thank you
Mounting is a typical sign of dominant behavior. So treat it as you would any dominant sign. Just let them try to sort it out. Mounting is much better than lunging or trying to physically harm. So let them have at it, and hopefully they figure it out sooner than later 🙂
We recently bought a 4 month old male guinea pig which we named Lucas. He’s very skittish and seems to dislike me very much. Since it’s just been four days I know he’s just not used to his new home and I’m trying to be patient in earning his affection. Anyways my mother surprised me by suddenly bringing a much younger (1 month old) female guinea pig which she named Bubu. We put the two in a cage and observed their interactions. They seem to kind of get along but make a lot of noises as if frustrated or scared(then again I’m not an expert in guinea pig sounds). Lucas sniffs her a lot and has gotten on top of her like twice (it could just be a dominance thing but I’m not sure) and Bubu usually takes this but sometimes cries out. I’m just kind of worried that they may not get a long and that Lucas may do something to her. Do you have any tips for this human on knowing if the two get a long or let me know if there’s a need to separate them?