| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 16/01/2012 : 10:32:08
Do any of you keep guinea pigs?
My family are convinced that they smell lots, is this correct? I would have thought as long as they're cleaned out and looked after properly they shouldn't smell.
I'd really appreciate any guidance and opinions from fellow forum members.... |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 20/01/2012 : 09:54:32
Have you got yours litter trained then? I had 2 females that I could have running about in the lounge as they learnt to use a litter tray. They look so cute nomming away together.
Unfortunately boys are difficult to litter train and my boys have never learnt to use the toilet properly (a bit like most men) so they only get to run around in their run outside.
I had 2 females that were brilliant and very friendly. Had another 2 females that were sods,constantly fighting. They would back off to opposite sides of the cage and then launch themselves at each other!
The 2 I have now are male,they have lived together all their lives as they are brothers and they get on great. Personally I like little boy piggies. |
| thistle |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 20:46:36
I've got 4 guineas that live in my bedroom with me. Their 'base' is a kiddie ball pool, but its nowhere near big enough for 4, so I took one of the corner supports out so that the corner lies flat letting them have the run of my room 24/7. They spend 90% of their time in the ball pool but they do like to run around my room ever so often. If they wanted to they could wander out of my room as the door is never closed, but only one of them has ever done that and only once (I was running late with their veggies and I turned around in the kitchen after I heard a "wheak" to find Effy (the albino) standing behind me shouting at me, with the other 3 lined up watching from my bedroom door, shouting along with her. Lol).
In the ball pool i use newspaper, megazorb and hay, and I cover the laminate floor in my bedroom with rubber backed vetbed. With 4 of them they can get a bit whiffy if left too long between clean outs, so I clean the ball pool out twice weekly and once a week I wash the vetbed.
Guineas make fantastic pets, they are real characters.
Here is a pic of my 4, stuffing their faces as per usual. Sorry about the quality of the pic.
And this is an earlier pic before they were free range (and before I ended up with my niece's guinea pig to add to the herd) to let you see the ball pool.
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| Red123 |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 18:20:14
Both my pairs are boys. Two boys together works really well more than two boys and thats when the trouble starts.
And yes male bunnies are more friendly than the females. I know male rabbits do fight each other to kill but I had a friend that kept two Rex rabbits, males, together and they were fine though they did have a larger hutch and the run of the garden. I think rex rabbits are the friendliest of all bunnies though. I use to breed both guineas and rabbits but now just have the two pairs as pets. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 17:57:20
Wonder if two males are good together? I know your not meant to keep male bunnies together and we got told the same by gpigs but our males loved each other and never fought... they loved each other a bit too much... |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 09:08:23
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
quote:
Originally posted by Red123
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
re gpigs the same as rabbits as in, males are more friendly than females? I didn't know what sex mine were :/
They are like giant hamsters...
I would most certainly say that male guinea pigs are more friendly than females. I think that male GPs are more friendly towards each other as well as humans.
That's exactly how I find bunnies as well. Guessing I must have had 2 female gpigs then! Right evil things they were, so were all the girl bunnies I had!
That's just answered another query.....boys are friendliest!
Thanks guys.  |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 21:39:20
quote:
Originally posted by Red123
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
re gpigs the same as rabbits as in, males are more friendly than females? I didn't know what sex mine were :/
They are like giant hamsters...
I would most certainly say that male guinea pigs are more friendly than females. I think that male GPs are more friendly towards each other as well as humans.
That's exactly how I find bunnies as well. Guessing I must have had 2 female gpigs then! Right evil things they were, so were all the girl bunnies I had! |
| Red123 |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 20:37:01
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
re gpigs the same as rabbits as in, males are more friendly than females? I didn't know what sex mine were :/
They are like giant hamsters...
I would most certainly say that male guinea pigs are more friendly than females. I think that male GPs are more friendly towards each other as well as humans. |
| nusnakemum |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 18:45:33
...... soooo much cuter than hamsters - i just dont get hamsters and they have fierocious bite - gpigs much nicer and love their chirrups
|
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 17:32:18
re gpigs the same as rabbits as in, males are more friendly than females? I didn't know what sex mine were :/
They are like giant hamsters... |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 11:21:15
I agree on their personalities. My daughter gets them out and mollycoddles them every day bless her. They are always thinking about their bellies. I have mine in the kitchen and if you open the fridge door,rustle a bag or start chopping something they are off on a squeakathon lol!
Fab little animals,but due to becoming allergic to them I won't me having anymore after these guys. 
My mini moo cow likes having his tummy tickled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJVS6pMXuz8&feature=BFa&list=UUVMtId-GODS58-RPbOwhBIg&lf=plcp |
| nickyff |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 22:00:55
i've had piggies for years- if you socialise them well as babies, as someone's already mentioned, they develop fantastic personalities- they 'talk' to you constantly and will fawn for attention, like a cat does.
re smell, ditto all above comments, plus- mature males do have a 'musk' smell when agitated (eg in competitive mode if there's a girly piggie about)and that's pretty wuffy. if they get very old you might end up not only emptying their poo pouch but also having to sqeeze musk glands to avoid blockages. its not nice...
(and gp's can reach sexual maturity at THREE WEEKS old!! but i think you said yr getting adults, so i guess same sex pair?)
good luck with them- i adore ours- they're so daft |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 21:49:58
quote:
Originally posted by Mort13
Yeah,the only time I've had trouble with smells is if I've been ill and gone over a bit with their clean out.
Good on you for getting rescues. My old boys were from a guinea pig rescue.
As a foster mum for animal sanctuary I couldn't really do any other than rescue. Need I say more.... |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 20:33:42
Yeah,the only time I've had trouble with smells is if I've been ill and gone over a bit with their clean out.
Good on you for getting rescues. My old boys were from a guinea pig rescue. |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 19:35:31
You've all confirmed what I was thinking.......good husbandry is the key. Just the same as my other animals, snakes included!
Thanks for all your help.
Their indoor cage (a lovely big 4'x 2') arrived this morning.
I've got my name on a couple of rescue guinea pigs who will be ready for homing at the end of the month, subject to going through quarantine ok.
|
| a33272 |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 13:26:13
its only there pee that smells, regular cleaning an odour control products is the key |
| kelfezond |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 12:09:50
My G-pigs don't smell ^^ ... Although they are normally kept in a freezer ^-^ |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 17/01/2012 : 09:06:53
All rodents have a certain smell... you do have to clean them out a lot though. Think if you scoop up mess daily, let them have a run outside and give a complete clean out at least twice a week they shouldn't smell that bad. |
| Red123 |
Posted - 16/01/2012 : 18:50:08
I have 2 that live outside in a hutch, Eli and Ted, they get cleaned out completely twice a week. And my son has two, Richard and Roger, that are just about 4 months old now and they live on my kitchen table at the moment. In a cage by the way. They get cleaned out every other day. It also depends on what type of bedding you use for them as to how much smell they create. The two indoors are on newspaper and hay, mainly because of their long wavy hair.
If you are getting babies I would suggest keeping them indoors for at least the first 8-12 months as it makes them extremely people orientated. They like nothing more than laying on your lap and going to sleep and they soon learn that the firdge being opened is a very good thing lol. The two outside are friendly. Eli started life as indoor pig so still has that close bond with us. Ted has never lived indoors so is more skitish. |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 16/01/2012 : 16:50:45
They can honk a bit if you leave them too long between clean outs. If getting males you also need to be aware that when old they may have difficulties letting go of their poo's. One of my old boys has just started with this so he gets his little bottie wiped bless him. |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 16/01/2012 : 14:18:39
quote:
Originally posted by carlyjackson
P.s. I've always had guinea pigs as pets since I was 7, and I'm now 20. I'm pretty much an expert on them so let me know if you need any advice about looking after them ;)
Thanks. These will be my first pair ever and I'm 54! I'm going into my second childhood I think.......that's what my family reckon  |
