Carpe Diem Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 How much does it cost to feed and shelter two of them? I read $400 for bedding? Is that right? Couldn't they have sand in the cage? A 'friend' told them about two guinea pigs with a cage and 40 pound bag of food all for FREE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 How much does it cost to feed and shelter two of them? I read $400 for bedding? Is that right? Couldn't they have sand in the cage? A 'friend' told them about two guinea pigs with a cage and 40 pound bag of food all for FREE! Well, I've never had them myself, but a friend had some. Their bedding does need to be changed frequently because it gets stinky. Sand would just get wet with urine and it would stink, too, as the ammonia level built up, as well as being wet, heavy, and hard to remove. Cedar bedding is more scoopable. I've never heard of anyone using scoopable cat litter, if that's what you meant by sand, but I suppose it could work. As they would be running around in it all the time, though, I'd be concerned they'd get some kicked up into their eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 ROFL!!!! I read, "should we let out kids BE guinea pigs" the first time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLHCO Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I wouldn't try sand. I would imagine living non-stop on any at litter could make them sick. They're more sensitive than cats to a lot of things and they wouldn't just go in it, they'd have to live on it. They need the bedding but their are less costly options for this. You can get less expensive bedding if you go with horse wood shavings from a feed store but don't use cedar or any with aromatic oils. It'll make them sick. They also cannot live on rabbit wire. Their feet get injured. The food runs maybe $10-15/month tops, depending on the source you find for it. More for the hay they need and/or fresh produce you may give them. Add that to the bedding and it sometimes is up to $30/month for our two, depending on where we get the bedding and how often we change it. It's probably a bit less. As for cages, do a search for a cavy cage and make your own. This is far less money than purchasing a cage for a much nicer, roomier home. I think we got our grids on sale for about $12 and the sign board bottom was about $15 or so? Water bottle, food dish and a hiding cubby - one for each, perhaps $30, give or take. Our guinea pigs were free from a rescue. Many cities have cavy (guinea pig) rescues. Our kids love their piggies. They really are pretty neat pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Some are friendly and lovable. Ours are not. They are terrified of us and hate being held. Guinea pigs are eating machines and they stink. The bedding needs to be changed frequently. Cedar is toxic and should never be used. Kitty litter is probably not a good idea; they may try to eat it and it would be hard to keep clean. We use Care Fresh, and it is expensive. They would need a decent sized cage- we made one based on plans at Cavy Cages. Be sure they are friendly or there isn't much point in having them as pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 We have rabbits, but I believe much of the same applies to guinea pigs. Cedar is toxic and so are many cat litters. We also use Care Fresh, and it needs to be changed probably once a week or so. It works better than wood chips for keeping the smell down. Someone already mentioned that you should not have a wire floor in the cage. Or if you do, make sure that you put a board or something in the cage for them to rest on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLHCO Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Ours are very friendly. They beg for fresh food by squeaking and come eat it from your hand. One loves to be held, the other does squirm away and run but tolerates it ones you have her. I hear females are a bit easier? Ours are long haired and soooo cute. I imagine handling them often when young makes a big difference. If you get an older one you probably would need to make sure it was handled frequently. These were rescued pets but you could tell they were handled often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 ROFL!!!! I read, "should we let out kids BE guinea pigs" the first time! Me too! And, my immediate thought was, well, isn't that what homeschooling is all about? My kids are my guinea pigs. Homeschooling is not a well trodden path here. I wonder where that saying comes from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 We have 2 and we use an $8 bale of timothy hay with newspaper beneath it for bedding. Dd changes it every week. Fresh hay for them to munch on daily and a $10 bag of food that lasts a month. We get the hay at the feed and grain store and it boggles the mind that the pet store wants $5 for a little tiny bag of it. They also get veggies every morning and every evening as a treat. They love carrots and broccoli, like apples and would live on basil and lettuce if I could afford it. They are bigtime cuddlers and often are in someones arms or lap while we read or watch a movie. They greet me every morning with their cheery little calls and they have the sweetest faces in the world. Just make sure, please they are not in one of those tiny cages, to be happy they need room. http://guineapigcages.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnEaglesWings Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 If your kids are allergic to animals, be careful. Guinne pigs can be worse than cats as far as allergies goes. But, if allergies aren't an issue, they make cute pets. Their little squeaks and whistles are precious! Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 We have three male guinea pigs. My boys love them but don't play with them as much as I'd like. My niece was visiting for two weeks and during that time the guinea pigs were hardly in their cage. I guess it depends on what kind of kids you have if it would be worth it or not. Here are two sites that are very helpful in the care of guinea pigs... http://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html and http://www.guineapigcages.com/index.htm . I have a C&C cage where I use fleece on the bottom and I have an upper level where I use Cell Sorb bedding. Sand and Kitty litter are NOT good for them as it is too dusty for living in. I feed my guinea pigs their food plus greens. I found a list on the second site's forum which really helped me find out what is good for them. Now that spring is here, they will start getting grass from outside. Hay at all times is a must for their teeth and digestive system and can be found relatively cheap at feed stores. I hope that this helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 As others have said, no, you cannot use cat litter or sand as bedding. The cost for acceptable bedding materials varies with the type you choose. The wood shavings are the least expensive, but one of our piggies turned out to have problems with them. We've tried pretty much everything on the market, but are now using CareFresh, which just happens to be about the most expensive option. We have two piggies and go through 1-2 $20 bags per month. Food is not bad, price-wise. Ours get pellets (more expensive because we had to switch to a low-fat version on behalf of the same piggy who cannot tolerate the cheap bedding) at the evening feeding and hay and fresh fruit or veggies in the afternoon. We adore our piggies. They are extremely sweet and cuddly and squeak and squeal to get our attention. They have distinct personalities and are very little trouble to have around . . . until they get sick. And that's where the major problems and expense come in. Guinea pigs are considered "exotic" pets, meaning that many vets don't treat them, or at least aren't very knowledgeable about them. The same piggy who can't tolerate cheap bedding and needs low-fat food managed to injure her eye when she was just over a year old. It turned into a nasty infection, and we spent a week running her back and forth to our regular vet and made a midnight trip to the emergency vet before someone finally referred us to the guinea pig specialists 15 miles away. (This was after the vet we had been seeing explained to us that he had never done surgery on a guinea pig and gave us really bad odds for her survival.) They did manage to save the piggy, although she lost the eye. But, by the time we brought her home, we had spent over $1,000, which was something like 29 times what we had paid to adopt her. We have cats, too, and basically EVERYTHING medical for the piggies is more expensive than for "regular" domestic animals. I will say that the other piggy has been no trouble at all. She's happy and healthy and never needed anything more than "routine maintenance." The other thing that may be worth mentioning is that, should you need to board a guinea pig, facilities for that, too, are harder to find and come at a premium. I'm not sure we would have started down the piggy road had we known all of this up front. However, they really are beloved members of our family now, and I don't know that I will feel happy about not having piggies in my life from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Diem Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 Thanks everyone for the feedback and the link to the curvy cages. The cage that they come with has a pull out bottom so there must be wire on the bottom. From your replies this doesn't sound good for guinea pigs. If you go away on a trip. Can they be left with a pile of food and water and have someone check on them every other day? Or do they need more attention than that? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Diem Posted April 30, 2008 Author Share Posted April 30, 2008 WOW I'm over 50 posts. Don't laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 We leave ours for a weekend, but I wouldn't leave them longer than that. We have the non-leak water bottles, and while they don't leak, the piggies like to play with them and empty the water out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 ...As for cages, do a search for a cavy cage and make your own. This is far less money than purchasing a cage for a much nicer, roomier home. I think we got our grids on sale for about $12 and the sign board bottom was about ... May I ask where you bought your grids? Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLHCO Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Target. They were on sale at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 We leave ours for a weekend, but I wouldn't leave them longer than that. We have the non-leak water bottles, and while they don't leak, the piggies like to play with them and empty the water out of them. We have left ours for a couple of days, but I wouldn't feel good about longer than that, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, while you can leave them with hay and pellets, it would be difficult to leave out their fresh fruits/veggies for more than two days. Also, I scoop out the most soiled bedding more or less daily, and I'd be afraid their cage would get pretty dirty if the went longer than a weekend. And, as Perry said, they do tend to empty water into the bedding, which makes for wet bedding and empty water bottles. When we do leave ours, we always put up an extra water bottle in addition to leaving extra food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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