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How much money should supplies plus cage be for 2 guinea pigs? Thanks.
– Jiblet via email
Hi, Jiblet!
So happy you’re planning ahead for your new family!
Preparing all the necessary guinea pig supplies for the “Big Day” is an important step towards helping your new guinea pigs get used to their new life with you. By buying all the supplies you need beforehand, you can focus your time on bonding in a relaxed atmosphere without having to scurry around to try and find supplies and health care items at the last minute.
You’ve tackled the first step of good guinea pig parenting: preparation. Congratulations, awesome Human! 🙂
To help you get started off on the right foot, I’ve put together a list of supplies that your new guinea pigs will need.
Fortunately, I was able to find many of the supplies on Amazon so you can qualify for free shipping if you buy some of your supplies there.
- Grids: 2 sets for $40 total | Link
- Coroplast: around $30-40 for 1 sheet | find at local sign shop
- Fleece bedding (about $20 for 4 yards) | source from local fabric store
- Absorbent bedding for under fleece: $8.45 each | Link
- High-quality pellets: $13 for 5lbs | Link
- Timothy hay: ~$6 a bale if you buy from a local farm
- Water bottle: $9 | Link
- Hay rack (you can make one yourself from a grid)
- Pigloos: Link
- Vitamin C: $10 | Link
- Digital scale for weight checks: $40 | Link
- Nail clippers: $7 | Link
- Styptic powder (to stop bleeding from nail trimming): Link
- Food bowl: $8 | Link
- Misc toys: ~$15
= approx. $230 approx. for 2 guinea pigs
If you’re on a tight budget, you can try using sites like Craigslist or Ebay to find cheaper alternatives to the products linked above.
Plan to spend upwards of $250 to $300 for all the supplies you will need before bringing your new guinea pigs home.
[…] Looking to welcome a new guinea pig into your home? Read about what supplies you should have before you bring home a new guinea pig. […]
hello! i’m getting two pigges soon and i have all the needs and must haves :). but i also want my little girls to live LARGE XD ok so i have some old doll furniture made of plastic, and i dont uses dolls anymore lol so could i use the furniture for the guinea pig? thx! PS im NOT gonna use the small items 😀
If your guinea pigs end up being “chewers”, you’d want to limit the amount of plastic in their home. Plus, if the plastic is “soft” and/or finished or painted, it’s best to skip. Chances are that, if it’s old doll furniture, it probably isn’t safe as I assume it’d be finished or painted.
Thanks! Really helped 🙂
You’re very welcome!
Why do they have to have timothy hay, mine do not but it seems fine for them?
Hay should be the main staple of their diet, as it provides the necessary fiber required by herbivores’ digestive systems and it helps keep teeth properly ground. Timothy hay and orchard grass are the two most common types of hay; alfalfa hay is fed to babies and pregnant mothers (http://www.guinealynx.info/hay.html#diet).
But is it still safe for mine to have non Timothy hay?
Non-timothy hay is OK; oat and orchard grass are the two most common non-timothy hay varieties to feed.
Me and my girlfriend recently got two female guinea pigs (oreo & caramel). We are using paper bedding at the moment. I would love to use fleece but because of my schedule (full time student and employed full time) my friend recommended paper bedding as an alternative. Is it safe to use paper bedding?
Hi, Justin,
Paper bedding is just fine. Not sure why paper is better for busy schedules, maybe because it doesn’t involve washing and drying. But yep, paper works great for some! 🙂
hey HappyCavy, I’m back with some sad news, Porkchop and Hershey were killed yesterday and I adopted some brothers, I named them Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and it’s pretty hard for me to let go of my pigs, Hersh was only 8 months! D: 🙁
These two are under 6 weeks, adorable, but very fragile, and there cage is much smaller, due to the fact that in the accident Hersh and Porky were killed in there cage was crushed, but they’re not eating any veggies, is this something about there age, because they’ve never had veggies or fruits before as far as I know, Huff was refusing anything, while Gryff was taking tiny little nibbles, but then refused as well. I know, at there age they are supposed to be using aspen bedding. Also, is baking soda harmful for guinea pigs because I don’t want them getting sick if I do the Fleece – Towel – Newspaper, dealio, Thanks!
Sorry to hear about Porkchop and Hershey 🙁 Don’t worry about them not eating fruits/veggies. Guinea pigs should only rely on hay, pellets, and water alone — the veggies/fruits are a treat that should be fed infrequently. So, if they aren’t interested, no worries. Just be sure to supplement their diets with Vitamin C. Baking soda is not harmful if they can’t get to it. So, if it’s buried under the fleece/towel/newspaper, and they can’t burrow under the layers, they should be OK.
Hey, my Guinea pigs have had their wooden bendy bridge in their run for a while now, but I decided to bring it in and put it in their cage. I noticed that it has some spots of mould/rotting wood. Is this harmful, as my pigs do like to chew it? It is only on the front, not the sides where they chew, but I covered it in fleece for now just to be safe. You can sort of see from this picture
Hi, Phoebe! I would throw it out. I can’t imagine it’s that healthful for them to be gnawing on moldy wood. I can’t imagine what that may end up causing 🙂
Okay, I might completely cover it in fleece so they can’t get to it at all. Thanks
i’m getting confused because some ppl say you don’t need pellets,other say veggies and some say only hay and water,which is right or do i need all of them
Maybe this will help:
Guinea pigs need food, the most important being hay and water. Pellets are also usually provided. You can learn more about the role of pellets in a guinea pig’s diet at http://www.guinealynx.info/pellets.html.
If a guinea pig is getting its proper nutrients from hay, pellets(?), and water with a little Vitamin C supplement in there, then there isn’t a NEED for veggies. Guinea pigs are not designed to eat fresh vegetables. Yes, for healthy pigs, they can be served in small quantities as a snack. Why? Because how often would a guinea pig come across a fresh piece of lettuce or carrot in the wild? Almost never. 🙂
Hello HappyCavy!
I got my guineas about 2 weeks ago. I read everywhere that they are really social and love human contact and grooming time. I try giving them all they might need but they just don’t seem to bond with me. They keep trying to gnaw or break their way out of the cage, even when they get sufficient floor time. They always run and hide from me as soon as they hear any sort of sound. Even when I step and speak really slow. I love them and bring them Veggies and fruits but they just doesn’t seem to even start trusting me.
Also, in my country, timothy hay isn’t available. No one has heard of it. What should I do? Please help me. 🙁
Hello HappyCavy!
I got my guineas about 2 weeks ago. I read everywhere that they are really social and love human contact and grooming time. I try giving them all they might need but they just don’t seem to bond with me. They are scared of me, shuddering on the sight of me, running and hiding, Sometimes squeaking too. They try gnawing there way out of the cage all the time. Even when they get sufficient floor time.
Also, I didn’t know so I’ve been feeding them fruits and veggies since I bought them. Timothy hay seems to be unavailable in India. I’m so confused what to do. I don’t want to make them feel as if they are in bad care. The lady piggie keeps lightly biting everything she could get her teeth on, even my hand. Please guide me through the process of making them happy and keeping them healthy.
HI, Shikha!
Welcome to your new family!
Guinea pigs are social animals — meaning that cavies thrive in groups, not necessarily around Humans. Think of guinea pigs like cats, in the sense that they NEED you, but sometimes they may necessarily want you.
This means you have to give them time to warm up to their environment. Two weeks is not nearly enough. It may take months, or even years, for them to become completely comfortable in their environment and, thus, around you and the other household Humans.
Have you read our article about how to form a closer bond with your guinea pig: https://www.happycavy.com/how-to-build-stronger-bond-with-guinea-pig/
Keep household noises low, ensure your guinea pigs are around everyday home activity areas that aren’t loud (can be a challenge), and make sure they have enough room in their cage. Having enough space to call their own is vital. More info: http://www.guineapigtoday.com/2012/10/12/what-the-proper-cage-size-for-guinea-pigs/
Also, supplemental large enough cage with plenty of floor time: https://www.happycavy.com/how-to-host-floor-time-guinea-pig-guide/
Lastly, do you have orchard grass available? If not, you may want to do an Internet search for guinea pig forums in your area. One of our favorites is https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk. I have noticed several posts per day from people all over the world. Chances are there is someone in your country who may be able to help 🙂
Also, here is a Reddit thread where the top comment mentioned that they buy their hay on Amazon: https://www.reddit.com/r/guineapigs/comments/2mkkyb/alternatives_to_hay_any_pellets_working_for_anyone/