What To Consider Before You Buy Your First Guinea Pig
If you’re looking for the perfect pet for adults and for children why not consider a guinea pig? Guinea pigs make a fine pet, but before you buy a piggy or 2 spent some time researching guinea pig hutches, because the hutch you house your guinea pig in is very important.
Your new piggie will be kept in a guinea pig hutch in most cases. They can be kept indoors or outdoors although if kept outdoors you should be aware that they can be subject to stress from excess heat or cold. But before you buy your first guinea pig house you need to be aware of several things.
The majority of cages you find in pet shops or on the Internet are way too small, and will subject your new family members to a cramped lifestyle lacking in exercise and fun. Of course the reason that most people end up with a cage that is too small is that the smallest hutches are the cheapest. You need to make every effort to ensure that the hutch that you buy for your favourite pet is sufficiently large even if it means spending some extra money.
Some people overcome the problem of cost by making their own guinea pig hutch, and if you are able to do so this is a fine way of housing your favourite pet in a spacious house that will do an optimum job. It is quite possible to build housing that is entirely adequate and which is very low cost if you source your own materials, including second-hand materials, and build it yourself.
But even if you provide your guinea pig with a nice large hutch he will still need some entertainment, and the best way to provide entertainment is to provide a companion. But you also need to understand which sexes go together successfully and which do not.
Of course if you put a male and female together you will end up with baby piggies unless you desex one of them. If you don’t do this then you need to keep them apart and this of course defeats the purpose. Putting 2 males together can result in fighting, and the best combination is to begin with 2 young females.
You should provide them with hay in their hutch, as well as playthings such as plastic pipes and small boxes with openings so that they can run in and out. They also need something to chew on as they chew to reduce the length of their teeth and if you don’t provide something for this purpose they will chew on something anyway, probably the hutch.
So before you buy one or more guinea pigs understand the requirements for adequate housing, in particular buy or build a guinea pig hutch that is sufficiently spacious, provide them with playthings, and if you are buying more than one make sure you buy the correct sexes.
