# Undecided



## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

I'm looking into getting a new pet. I'm a university student so given that info I need something that doesn't necessitate taking on walks (especially in the cold canadian winters haha)... I also would like a pet that doesn't require too big of a cage. I'm debating between getting two more rats or a hedgehog. Any other ideas are welcomed of course! 
I live in an appartment, not a university residence. So I have quite a bit of room and I'm quite sure there's enough room for another pet (or two) in here . 
What are some good pocket pets out there? Especially a pet where (while I don't expect them to get on famously) it won't be dangerous if they come into contact with the ratties.


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## RattyLover (Dec 3, 2008)

Guinea pigs are (imo) awesome little pets  They're very friendly & have quite the personalities . My 10 yr old female used to get very talkative at dinner time & purred & fell over asleep when you rubbed her ears ;D She got along fine with my rabbits & had no fear of my lab( she used to climb all over him!)I definitely have a soft spot for piggies & plan on getting another one (or two) in the future


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

That sounds adorable! 
I've actually got quite a soft spot for skinny pigs, I remember when my friend was getting a rabbit at the pet store, and when I saw a skinny pig (never seen one in my life before then) I thought they were so cute haha.


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

I had a piggy named cupcake when I was way younger, like 6. Some kid came along from down the street asking the neighbors if they wanted it because he didn't anymore. We took him. There was a family of boys living next door at the time (since moved, thank god) that I played with here and there. I had Cupcake outside with me, turned my back.. he was gone. 2 year later I was playing with the new neighbors granddaughter beside the playhouse and found piggy bones.  A-holes.

ANYWAY! I love piggies and think it could be a great pocket pet. Just had to share my story. lol


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## RattyLover (Dec 3, 2008)

I totally agree, skinny pigs are VERY cute!! ;D

Aw, sad story about your piggie cupcake  Some people are really messed


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

Ah man! Neuroticax, that is awful! 

I think I'm pretty set on a piggy of some kind, with hair or not we shall see which one catches my eye.


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

Petsmart by my house has been on a piggy kick the last couple of months. It's hard to leave there without one! I want another one eventually.


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

I think I'm gonna go to petsmart today, check out their guinea pigs and see if there's one I'm particularly fond of. 
I've been testing the patience of my friends as the only thing I've been talking about lately is getting a new pet hahah. 
Any toys that you recommend for guinea pigs?


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

PVC pipes, cardboard boxes, paper bags, crumpled up papers with a treat inside, old clothes, etc. Most piggies like to play and toss things about a bit. 

If you get 'em young you could get two, since they're herd animals. Older ones usually do ok by themselves, though. With a pet store you'll probably have a pick of an older one.

How knowledgeable are you on their diet?

All this talk makes me want one. lol


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

Uhm... I'm gonna try and remember the various things I read about them on the net. They need fresh vegetables daily, I'm leaning more towards romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots? 
And then i think fruits every other day? They need lots of vitamin C apparantly so I'm gonna get them some kiwis  They also recommend you put some vit C drops in their water. 
nom nom nom
They also need a handful of hay every day i think. 
I'm leaning more towards one guinea pig...although I feel its the same case as with rats, the more the better. 
I also think I want a male guinea? I heard that they're more likely to cuddle. 


Did I pass the test??


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## xxhawksxx (Jun 19, 2008)

Clairebert said:


> Uhm... I'm gonna try and remember the various things I read about them on the net. They need fresh vegetables daily, I'm leaning more towards romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots?
> And then i think fruits every other day? They need lots of vitamin C apparantly so I'm gonna get them some kiwis  They also recommend you put some vit C drops in their water.
> nom nom nom
> They also need a handful of hay every day i think.
> ...


Firstly, unless you can fit in a 2 foot x 4 foot cage then dont both with guinea pigs! They are mistaked as pets that dont take up much room, but they do. 
They need 1/8th a cup or so of PLLET food, good quality. Unlimited grass hay (stay away from alfalfa hays and other brome hays since they are too high calcium for adult guinea pigs), 1 cup of fresh vegetables daily is recommended and should consist of some romaine lettuce (or other lettuce but NOT iceberg), a small peice of carrot for a treat and then things like tomato, parsley, coriander, endive, grass, plantain, dandilion leaves etc can be mixed about. Fruit should be fed no more then twice per week. No vit. C drops are needed with a good diet, besides they wear off within a few hours and make the water stale. If you cant have two guinea pigs, and this is my opinon, dont get any. No matter how much time you spend with them you can never match up to another guinea pig. Male or female dosent really make a difference and dosent at all make a difference in behaviour. If you need anything you can pm me anytime, I have spent a good few (6 years and 3 months now to be exact) years researching them and have kept them for a couple of years so I know the basics lol  . Oh and by the way they are pretty high maintanence pets and poop like mad! And please, please, please dont get one from a pet store! They treat them like an item in the shop and are often ill or infested with parasites when you get them. Young or old it dosent matter, they should have a mate. Generally if you pick an older guinea pig it will match up better to a younger, and vice versa. To be honest you cant go far wrong once you get on the right track with their care but unfortunearly there are so many lies and myths (As with rats) that it is unbelieveable!

Oh and you can ignore this but this is a caresheet I typed up a while ago:

Feeding:
Guinea pigs are herbivores meaning they live on a diet of fresh matter such as salads and vegetables. They cannot make Vit. C unlike most other animals therefore need it to be fed to them in different foods. There are only two foods a guinea pig *needs* to be healthy wich is Hay and Fresh Foods. However most pet guinea pig owners feed a good quality pellet food to ensure they get a balanced diet, hay should make up a minimum of 70% of the diet, with pellets making no more then 10% and the rest being fresh foods. Hay is the main source of fiber for the guinea pig and therefore should be free fed, as well as the fact it is essential for the gut it also wears down the guinea pigs constantly-growing teeth. It is best to mix different hays into one and then give to the guinea pig as this keeps them more interested and every hay needs a different way to be ground down and will keep the teeth worn properly and keep the jaws healthy. Grass hays should be fed on a daily basis with lucerne hays every 5-7 days or so (although this is optional) and hay should NEVER be restricted. Guinea pigs naturally forage/graze whenever they are awake so they need something other then fresh foods and pellets to eat. For guinea pigs under 6 months of age you can feed lucerne hay everyday however it holds too much calcium for older/mature guinea pigs to be fed as a staple even though it is a nice treat. Now for pellets/dry foods; "muesli" and "mix" is looked down on for feeding as the guinea pig can pick out what it likes and leave the healthy things aswell as it being fatty and a choking hazzard. A good quality pellet such as Oxbow, Burgess excel or Kleenmamas should be fed (about 1/8-1/4 of a cup per day) daily. Fresh foods; this is usually where things get complicated! There is simple ways to this if you are feeding a good pellet though. Any lettuce apart from iceberg should be fed on a daily basis and things such as endive, cilantro/coriander, bell peppers/capsicum, carrot and tomatoes should be mixed in to give good variety. Things like cabbage, banana, kale, brocolli spinach etc should be fed no more then two times per week in small amounts (banana and spinach is best avoided altogether it can cause so many problems!). Fruit fed 1-2 times per week will make a good treat. There is many fresh things a guinea pig can eat though, it dosent stop there! Guinea pigs should have oats, grains, seeds or anything like that added to they're diet as they do not have the ability to digest them properly and can cause health problems. They are also lactose intolerant so should not be fed any dairy products.

Poisonous Plants:
- Aconite
- Amaryllis
- American Holly
- American Nightshade
- Anemone
- Angel's Trumpet
- Antirrhinums
- Azalea
- Baby's Breath
- Bachelor Buttons
- Bird of Paradise
- Birdseye Primrose
- Birdsfoot Trefoil
- Bittersweet
- Bleeding Heart
- Blue Cardinal (Lobelia)
- Bluebells
- Boxwood
- Bryony
- Buck Thorn
- Bulbs-(any plants grown from bulbs)
- Burning Bush
- Buttercup (Ranunculus)
- Caladium
- Calla Lily
- Carnations
- Century Plant
- Cherry leaves (contain cyanide and are most potent when they are wilting)
and leaves of other stone fruits (fruits with pits)
- Chrysanthemum
- Clematis
- Coffee Bean plant
- Columbine
- Corn cockle (type of grassy plant with a rather large lacey grain head)
- Crinum
- Crocus
- Crotons
- Crown of Thorns
- Crown Vetch
- Cyclamen
- Daffodil
- Dahlias
- Daily
- Daisy
- Datura
- Delphinium
- Dianthus
- Dog mercury
- Dumbcane
- Dracaena
- Easter Lily
- English Ivy
- Evergreen trees
- Fig
- Figwort
- Fools parsley
- Foxglove (Digitalis)
- Gladiolus
- Golden Chain tree
- Hellebore
- Hemlock
- Holly
- Hyacinth
- Hydrangea
- Impatiens
- Iris
- Ivy
- Jerusalem cherry
- Juniper
- Kingcup
- Laburnum
- Larkspur
- Leyland cypress
- Lilacs
- Lily (All species)
- Lily of the Valley
- Lobelia
- Lords and Ladies
- Lupine
- Lupins
- Marsh marigold
- Meadow saffron
- Mistletoe
- Monkshood
- Morning glory
- Mountain Laurel 
- Narcissus
- Nicotina
- Nightshade (deadly and woody)
- Oleander
- Orchid
- Philodendron
- Pigweed (amaranth - certain North American varieties may be toxic)
- Poinsetta
- Poppies
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted)
- Primrose
- Privet
- Ragwort
- Red maple leaves
- Rhododendron
- Rhubarb
- Salvia
- Spurges
- St Johns wort
- Tulip
- Tomatillo leaves & stalks
- Tomato leaves & stalks
- Verbana
- Vetch (seeds and moldy parts) can cause photosensitization.
- Walnut or Black Walnut
- Wisteria
- Wolfsbane
- Yew

- Cherry/Peach/Plum and other pitted fruit tree leaves and limbs/twigs contain cyanide so should NOT be fed.

Housing:
Guinea pigs are active animals that need quite some space to run around and play, most petstore cages are WAY to small for guinea pigs even the largest rabbit hutches. It is best to build your own or even better make one out of NIC/cube pannels. The minumum for one guinea pig is 2 foot x 3foot and for every guinea pig added 1 foot x 2foot of space should be added to the cage. Please note: different levels or shelves do NOT count towards the size of the cage. This may seem alot but once you have added a "hay tray"/litter tray, food bowls, toys, hidey house etc the space soon disappears.

Social life: 
Guinea pigs are herd animals, meaning they naturally live within a group or "herd" of sometimes over 50 animals. They should never be kept alone wherever possible (and "i dont have time", "i dont want another" etc is not an excuse). Guinea pigs will not become less attached with they're owner if they have a friend of the same species.

Toys and playtime:
As mentioned above, guinea pigs are energetic animals and need to be treated as such. It is best to give exercise in a piggy-proofed room for at least 1 hour a day, or in a play pen at least 2x the size of the cage. Some people even choose to leave a playpen around the open cage at night for the guinea pigs to go in and out of the cage as they please and it isnt bothersome to the owners as they are asleep! Guinea pigs are often curious animals and love things to chew, run through and play on. Cardboard tubes, pvc pipes, boxes with a door cut in them, boxes filled with shredded newspaper or even things as simple as toilet roll tubes filled with hay amuse most guinea pigs and will keep them quite contented. I should also add here, when guinea pigs are happy they will "popcorn" wich is basically like they are popcorn in a microwave! When I first saw this I nearly fainted thinking something was wrong, to be later told they were just happy to be out of they're cage. To me, it looked like they have trapped a nerve and it made them jump! and they will sometimes make a little wheek noise whilst they do it. 

__
Hope this is of some use, the rest of the file has gone walkies to heck knows where! ??? Bedding is pretty much the same as with rats aswell.


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

Thank you very much for the advice, this forum is wonderful!
I don't think I could feel good about myself knowing I have a lonely guinea pig, so I won't rush into anything. I'll go to petsmart and have a look at the cages and prices tonight.


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## xxhawksxx (Jun 19, 2008)

Clairebert said:


> Thank you very much for the advice, this forum is wonderful!
> I don't think I could feel good about myself knowing I have a lonely guinea pig, so I won't rush into anything. I'll go to petsmart and have a look at the cages and prices tonight.


You are likely to pay one heck of a price for something you will later ask yourself why you bothered  
Something like this (except smaller and with a ramp and shelf covers) made from NIC cubes would be a good thing to look into:








and









^ Pictures from http://www.qrabbit.com/housing.html


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## pinkpixies (May 22, 2008)

Guinea pigs eat A LOT...my guy is huge though, around 5 pounds, I believe...and he gets hungry 3-4 times a day and wheeks until I feed him. LOL he seems to think he has to have pellets, hay and some type of veggie at any given time or he's going to start to death. : It gets pretty expensive...between my two buns and my guinea pig, I spend probably $75 a month on just greens. >.< he refuses to eat pellets if he dumps them on the floor of his cage too...LOL which he does a lot...he likes to lay with his head in the bowl.


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## xxhawksxx (Jun 19, 2008)

pinkpixies said:


> I spend probably $75 a month on just greens. >.<


lol, it is true they are usually pricy to keep and that^ is a perfect example  . Veggies, good hay (no joking, you wouldnt believe how expensive it is to buy guinea pig quality hay!) and quality pellets can get pricy you just have to play it cute ! Go to a local supermarket and ask for carrot tops, outter leaves or romaine lettuce from the lettuce hearts (as a side note - lettuce hearts have less nutrition so the leaves taken from the hearts are the best) and just general "rubbish" veggies/salads free from the back room. 
I spend about £5 ($7.80 I believe) per week on romaine lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, endive, herbs, and any other veggies I decide to pick up aswell as fruits.


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello!
So I went to Petsmart, and I asked a lady that worked there what kinda cage I should get for 2 guinea pigs, since I had decided against getting just one. Anyway, she showed me the biggest cage she had...and to me it felt very inedequate, much too small for two full grown guineas.
I have decided that right now, I will not be getting any guinea pigs soon, not until I find a cage that is perfect for two guineas. 

However, as I have been in contact with the Human Society in london for a while, and I've gone down there to fill out a volunteer form, I asked them if they could call me if ever they got rats in for some reason. And I'm so happy! I got a call this morning, and they received a litter of rats through investigations a couple of days ago and a vet has been in to check their health and check their sex, and they're going to try and get people to adopt them, and I get first pick!! Mwahaha. Yay, new baby ratties!
As I have two uneuteured male rats already, would it be best to get two male rats? I'll be getting two and getting a new cage for the two.


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

If they're not neutered, yeah. Males would be better unless you wanted to keep females in a separate cage.


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

'Tis what I thought too...I've just come back from the shelter now. They're still very young the babies, but by the time i come back from Christmas break they shall be old enough.


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## coliekumar (Jan 21, 2009)

I never liked guineas much, but I have one right now as a foster and have totally changed my mind! They are so cute and funny! I would suggest them to anyone who has the space!


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## Clairebert (Apr 21, 2008)

Hello!

So I decided I should give you guys an update haha
I decided against the guinea pigs...simply because as someone told me on this thread, its better to have two than just one. Two guinea pigs would also need quite a big cage, and I just did not have the money for such a big cage. 
However, just before I went back to my parents for the Christmas holidays, an animal shelter which I had contacted to see if they had any rats up for adoption, called me up and told me they just received a litter through investigations. After the christmas holidays, I adopted two new baby boys. They're now about 10 weeks old, and their names are Kinsey and Garnet. I now have four ratties. I decided to buy a cage for the two new rats, and I don't plan on putting all the rats together in one cage. I like it better this way. However, I am still in the process of introducing the new rats to the old ones. Its been a bit scary, I must say, to see my old rats act agressive towards the younger ones and so I'm taking it really slowly. As soon as I take them out of my bedroom however, the agression towards the younger rats stop entirely, as they are more interested in the new surrounding haha. What I noticed is that for a while, the old rats were being more agressive towards one another as well. Although this has died down now... 

I still really would love to have guinea pigs at one point or another, but I'll do it when I have the money and the space. Four rats is quite enough for right now hahah.


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