About Jenny Atkins Expertise If your guinea pig has stopped eating, is having fits, looks puffed up or listless, is bleeding, has lost weight suddenly or is squeaking in pain then please, do not delay in taking him/her to a vet. Preferably a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet, but don't worry if you can't find one.
If you suspect your guinea pig is pregnant, has mites, is losing hair or you have a question about diet, cages, toys, exercise etc then look at my past answers before you ask your question, as it may save you time.
Otherwise, go ahead and ask me a question! My areas of expertise are in how to choose your guinea pigs, where to get them from and what you need before you bring your new pets home. I can also help with general care and dietary questions, with treating common illnesses (especially skin complaints), pregnancy and baby guinea pigs (though I do not approve of purposeful 'at home' breeding), and how to introduce two males.
I'd recommend The Really Useful Guinea Pig Guide by Myra Mahoney and Piggy Potions by Peter Gurney to all guinea pig owners - these books will tell you everything you need to know to ensure your guinea pigs have happy and healthy lives. I practically memorised these before I was allowed my first guinea pigs as a teenager!
Experience I absolutely love guinea pigs, and I think they make brilliant pets for the right owners. They are incredibly sociable animals and should always be kept in pairs, or a larger group (females only). If you spend lots of time with your guinea pigs, they will become very tame and friendly little creatures. I am very much a pet owner, and provide answers based on my personal experiences with my pet piggies, and what I've learned from books along the way. I'm not a breeder or a vet, so I can't answer questions about breeding, breeds or complicated illnesses. I have kept both boars and sows, and have had my share of unexpected newborns in the early days. I've had a total of 11 guinea pigs over the years - all adorable in their own way - including my current two boars (Almeida and Simba) whose cage has pride of place in my living room. When you have guinea pigs you learn something new about them every day!
Education/Credentials 2:1 Honours Degree in Creative Arts with English
Question Hi Jenny. I am looking for a guinea pig for my daughter's birthday. I was going to surprise her with a long haired guinea pig, but I couldn't find where to buy one. I spent almost a week online and can not find anyone in San Diego area. I found that it might be a big trouble to take care of long hair, and her little guinea will hate her and bite. I really want to find a cute and friendly animal, preferably baby female. Do you have any advice how to pick a guinea pig, what kind is more friendly and where to buy a baby sow? Petsmart and Petco are selling full grown guinea, but she asked me for a baby (like 1 month old). She has a successful experience in raising a rat from a baby. The rat was extremely friendly with her, always come on her call when she let him walk around her room. She was not successful with an adult hamster, he always tried to bite her, when she pick him up. She strongly believed that you have to raise YOUR pet from the baby.
Thank you for your time.
Elena
Answer Hi Elena,
How old is your daughter? I’d say that she needs to be at least 14 to be given total responsibility for a guinea pig – though if you’re going to help, younger is fine. The reason being that despite being small mammals, they are actually exotic pets and have very specific dietary requirements (very different from rats and hamsters). I’d highly recommend purchasing a copy of The Really Useful Guinea Pig Guide by Myra Mahoney for her – I had to study this hard before I was allowed my first piggies at age 15 and it will answer many of your questions as well as teaching her everything she needs to know about how to care for her new pets.
The use of a plural there was intended, as guinea pigs are a lot more friendly and outgoing when kept in pairs. So, I’d recommend you get her two – of the same sex. Two guinea pigs don’t take up much more room or cost much more to keep than one guinea pig, and they will be much happier little creatures if they have a friend when your daughter is out. Two males or two females will get on equally well, but have slightly different temperaments. The females will go through grumpy patches when in season, and the males will be very excitable when handled during their adolescence. The choice is up to you! But, for what it’s worth I would recommend males over females, as they are more likely to bond with their owners as well as each other and to live longer. I’ve kept both sexes over the years (a total of five females and six males) and have almost always found the males to be more overtly affectionate than the females doing things such as licking my hand, nuzzling into my neck etc. This could just be that I had particularly hormonal females of course, and if you would particularly like girls, please do get them.
Males should not leave their mother until they are 4 weeks old, and females not until they are 6 weeks old. Most guinea pigs in pet shops are 8 weeks old, so if you want a slightly younger (and better cared for) pet, you will need to go elsewhere. The best place is an animal rescue shelter – many, many guinea pigs are abandoned and they are often pregnant sows, so your local rescue is likely to have some babies. You could also go direct to a breeder, though you will be unlikely to get females as they tend to sell on the males only, as they don’t need as many in their ‘stud’ – the advantage with breeders being that you will be able to pick the kind you really want (ie: longhaired, though they do need daily grooming and regular clipping, but guinea pigs are particular about their appearances and usually enjoying being groomed rather than being aggressive about it). Long-haired and shorthaired guinea pigs should be equally easy to come across – but perhaps it is a bit too warm in San Diego for long-haired ones to be a popular breed? Do you have a website called ‘preloved’ in the USA? When one of my piggies died, and I needed a new one of a certain age and sex to be a cage buddy for mine, I found lots of adverts on there. I’m afraid I can’t tell you an actual place to go as I live in the UK and the places my piggies are from would be a long way away for you!
