Keep Your Children Happy. Get Them A Guinea Pig Hutch With A Few Guinea Pigs

There’s no doubt that kids love pets, but sometimes parents don’t love pets quite so much. A pet in fact can be quite a headache. They poop on the carpet right before the visitors arrive, they’re really expensive when you have to take them to the vet, they bark too much and annoy the neighbours and they can be expensive when you need to go on holidays. So what should you do when your kids are pestering you to buy them a pet.

Have you considered guinea pigs?

Guinea pigs make wonderful pets for the kids. They are small, not too messy, cute and cuddly, don’t get sick frequently and can be left outside. They don’t drop hair all over your carpet, they don’t chew your furniture and they don’t bark until the neighbors complain. They’re cheap to buy, cheap to house and cheap to feed.

A piggie is perhaps the perfect pet for kids who live in a household with parents who don’t want a long-term commitment or the hassles of buying a cat or dog. Whilst a cat or a dog can live for up to 15 years or more, leading to a seriously long-term commitment to your pet, a guinea pig has a lifespan of not much more than 5 years.

A guinea pig will sit on your child’s lap for hours while they are brushed or stroked. They very rarely bite and are easy to turn into your child’s best friend.

However they do not take well to being dropped, particularly from a height, and so young children should be supervised when handling them.

They are social animals and are happy to be in the company of human beings that treat them well. They also like being with other guinea pigs and so if you are buying some pigs for the family it’s better to get two. It is possible to keep one piggy on his own however he may become lonely so it’s important to spend more time with him.

It’s not expensive to feed your guinea pigs, all they require is some simple food such as some grains or commercial pellets and some grass or vegetable scraps. It’s wise to supplement their diet with a little vitamin C from time to time.

However you need to give some thought to buying a good guinea pig hutch.

Housing your piggie is something you need to think about before you buy him. Most commercial guinea pig hutches sold in pet shops are too small. They need space to run around and exercise, as well as some space for toys to play with. It is not difficult to build your own hutch and it’s a good project for dad to share with the kids.

Some simple timbers, some wire and a few hinges and clasps can make your guineapig cagethat he’ll be happy with. It’s possible to house your guinea pig outdoors however they are susceptible to particularly cold or hot weather and care should be taken on hot or cold days. It’s essential that they have a sleeping area in the hutch that is dry and free of wind, where they can have a bed of straw or hay to sleep on.

So if the kids have been pestering you for months to buy them a pet give some serious consideration to getting them a guinea pig, and even spending some quality time with the children building your piggie a great guinea pig hutch.



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