Getting Your Piggies!

*This page is specifically aimed at indoor guinea pigs*

Hi everyone, so unfortunately this is going to be an overly long post because there is a lot that you need to keep in mind when getting guinea pigs as pets. Guinea pigs make great pets for little kids as they are friendly, sociable and have the same sleep patterns as humans so they will be active when you are!
Hooked you on those little piggies already? Find out more here!....

Where will they live?

Before you actually get your guinea pigs then I would recommend that you buy the cage first... it's a good starting point really! 
As this post is for indoor guineas, I wouldn't recommend that you buy a hutch as those are meant to go outdoors.
For your indoor guinea pigs you could either use an average cage or build your own cc cage so that you get personalise it. We, personally, have an average cage but Toffee has no issue with it so that would be fine.
Cages range from about £60 and need to be roughly about 3x1ft minimum because guinea pigs do like to run around a lot, but there also have to a lot of toys and things, so it uses a lot of room. 

What will they need?

When you have their place to live, you will need to give them a things to go inside it and things to eat. These include:

• Wood Shavings
• A House - Preferable wooden as plastic can be chewed and may become sharp.
• A water bottle. 
• A food bowl
• Food (find out more here)
• Hay (find out more here)
• Toys - such as balls.
• Wooden Chews - to wear down teeth
• A tunnel - Guineas are very sociable but like a place to hide too.

This isn't for their house, but you could do with a carry case before you get them which you could take to where you are getting them from so that they feel a bit more comfortable.

Preparing their house.

Before you get your guineas, it is a good idea to set up everything so that the moving in process will be much easier and stress free for them. When we got Toffee and Midnight, we weren't very prepared so they actually ended up sat in a cardboard box while we got everything set up. Make sure they have enough space to run around though because it's important for them to stay fit!

Getting them!

There's a lot of controversy whether you should get guinea pigs from breeder, a pet shop, or a rescue. We actually got Toffee and Midnight from a pet shop but it wasn't a great pet shop because we later discovered that they had quite a lot of issue, especially with their ears (I'm not getting into that though). Personally I wouldn't really recommend pet shops because not well known pet shops might not be taking great care of their animals and chain shops might be more interesting in just producing enough animals to be sold in their shops. 
I am, however, not saying that this is always the case so where ever you get them from, just ask every question ever to the person selling about that guinea. If you are satisfied that you know what you need to, then go with your gut :)

Guinea pigs are group animals so it is important that you buy at least two (making sure that the cage is big enough if you get any more). In my opinion, I would say that female guinea pigs are the calmer and friendlier ones but I am bias because I've never had a male guinea pig. Females are actually better in the sense that they are less likely to try to assert dominance by bullying other guinea(s) though! 
I would recommend that they are all of the same gender though. If you do get both males, I would just watch them for a while to make sure that they aren't fighting and that they are getting used to each.

Settling in

It is very important that guinea pigs settle in well for them to have their full potential of being awesome!
Here's a mini step by step of how to make sure they are settled! --

1. One you have bought them then slowly lower that into their new cage. Make sure you hold them to your chest securely so that they feel safe!
2. Give them plenty of places to hide and then just leave them alone! Leave the room where they are and let them get used to their new living environment!
3. Wait until the next day, still changing their food and water but making no effort to make contact with them!
4. Gradually keep coming and going, changing their food and things, they will get used to your presence.
5. Pop your hand in a few times, possibly with a treat, and let them come to you. Don't give them treats too often though because they will just start thinking of you as the treat giver...
6. If they come to you straight away then that's great, but this could take time. Just take the time to let them get used to you, eventually you can stroke their ears and downs their backs. 
7. If you'd like you can now start to pick them up and give them cuddles :) All guinea pigs have days when they feel grumpy and send you on a bit of a wild guinea pig chase, but if they actually struggle then they might not feel ready for cuddles yet so it's best to just leave them be.

Sorry it's quite long winded but it is important that piggies settle in with you, your family, and their cage mates! 

Top Tips of Settling In: 

If you have bought a carry case before buying them, then put a blanket in when you are buying them, then put the blanket into the cage for a while. It will almost be like a comfort blanket. If you are getting the guinea from a breeder or a rescue, then you could also ask them to put the blanket into their cage for a few days before you buy them so that they have more time to get used to it!

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment or ask any questions!