About Lacey Expertise I can answer any questions concerning grooming, feeding, basic diet requirements, bedding, bathing, cage requirements, breeding, birth, death, and attention needs. I can also help you decide if a guinea pig is right for you. I consider myself an expert on breeding guinea pigs as I`ve had several give birth, and have been privileged enough to watch them deliver. I can provide information on multiple pig households, guinea pig social ladders, their behavior, and other animal households. I can help you cope with having multiple dogs or cats along with your guinea pigs. I can also answer SOME common medical questions. I know a lot of secrets about these amazing creatures, and have learned good tricks, and I`ve also learned things you should NEVER do. I can give you advice from picking your pet, to bringing them home, to their first vet trip. I can give advice on traveling with your pet, and having them around small children.
Experience
Past/Present clients I've helped many people choose guinea pigs as the right pet for them. I have helped people save hundreds of dollars that were getting ready to buy supposed guinea pig "play gyms", ladders, monstrous towering ferret cages, and exercise balls and wheels.
Question I am considering adopting two guinea pigs and I want to make sure that I am prepared for everything. I have read that they should never be taken on planes, which I would not do, but there isn't much info about car travel. If they ever did travel with me, it would be a 4-hour car ride. How well do guinea pigs tend to handle car travel? Anything important I would need to know about? Thank you!
Answer I have to applaud you!!!! I really do!! You're very wise to read up on getting a guinea pig or in your case pigs before jumping right into it. I can't tell you how many people spontaneously buy them only for the novelty to wear off, and then the guinea pig ends up sitting in a pet store for months, abandoned on the side of a road or in a park or the woods, or in a shelter. So now that I've said that, on to your question. You're right. Never take a guinea pig on a plane. The cargo area's temperature isn't always regulated and a guinea pig can freeze to death or have a heat stroke. Car travel is ideal when they have to travel at all. I used to bring my guinea pigs every where with me. Some people say only to bring your pig if neccessary, but I think it's fine as long as you know what you're doing. They don't mind car rides. Actually my pigs, lay down and sleep while I drive. First I reccommend bringing their cage with you unless it's so huge it won't fit in your vehicle. It's a sense of comfort and familiarity. Those guinea pig rabbit pet carrier things you see in Petsmart or wherever are ideal for vet trips, or short jaunts, say maybe to a park. I'm guessing if you'd be going on a 4 hour drive, that's at least 200 miles and you wouldn't be coming home the same day. The cage is really needed in this case. Set your pig up with food, and plenty of hay. You could keep their water bottle on the cage, but sometimes it will leak and the bedding gets wet and ruined. Keep in mind though, that if you don't put their bottle on the cage, that you'll need to stop frequently to make sure they have something to drink. I reccommend bringing a few bottles of water with you to make sure their water bottle is filled, in case you go to rest stop where there isn't a vending machine or a clean sink. If it's hot, make sure the A/C is on at all times. Keep them out of direct sunlight of the windows, as they're sensitive to temperature. Sometimes, if it isn't burning up hot, you can throw a towel or sheet partially over the cage to block sun, and to block their view in case all of the activity upsets them. If it's cold outside, make sure to have the heat running, prior to setting the cage in the car. A blanket or towel over the cage is ideal too. I suggest, before taking your pigs on a major car ride, to take them on short little jaunts and see how they react. I've never had a problem travelling with my guinea pigs, and most car travel deaths are related to temperature. Did you know a car on a warm day with the sun shining on it can get up to 120 degrees? There are actually people who go into stores and leave their poor guinea pig in the car without the air conditioning on. And cracking a window doesn't always help on a hot humid day. And for the love of God, never put your guinea pig in the trunk of your car! The fumes can get to him or her and kill them. It'd be like you sitting in the garage with the door shut and the car running. I think you know better than that, but there are some people that would do that. Remember to bring their food and hay, and maybe bedding. Depends on how long you'll be gone. I hope I helped you, and if you need me to clarify anything for you, or if you have another question, or if there's anything you forgot, feel free write to me again! I wish you the best of luck on adopting guinea pigs. I wish you and your future pigs great health and happiness and a lifetime of love! :)
