We strongly recommend the use of fleece liners , as it is the gold standard of guinea pig bedding nowadays due to its many benefits read here why are guinea pig owners swapping from wood shavings to fleece? Although it may seem more expensive at the start, you will find that in the long run, fleece liners are more cost effective than other bedding types. If you are new to owning guinea pigs , you will need some basic essentials too!
Here is an outline of common essentials that you will need for you and your new guinea pigs. For an extensive checklist of your needs as a new guinea pig parent, please check our free care sheet bundle. Once you have considered the initial setup costs of guinea pigs, you will need to consider yearly recurring costs. Below, you will find our breakdown of the following categories: food, bedding, and health related fees. Though small, guinea pigs have large appetites!
Piggies require an unlimited supply of hay, 50g of mixed vegetables per guinea pig, a small portion of pellets, and fresh water daily.
For safe and unsafe food lists, check out our free guinea pig care sheets. We recommend that guinea pig food contain little to no grain or cereal, as it puts your guinea pigs at risk of diabetes and obesity. For grain free guinea pig pellets , check out our collection of pellets and snacks that have no soy, corn or wheat, and no GMO in it.
Remember, prices may vary depending on where you shop. Here is our breakdown of the average food costs for two guinea pigs! In addition to your food budget, bedding will also be a monthly commitment. Below we have listed the costs of using fleece liners. Sadly, guinea pigs may sometimes require medical attention from a trained veterinarian.
This is an average along their lifespan: some years you may not have any health fees, some years you might! Some guinea pig owners may wish to consider registering with a pet insurance to help subsidize treatment costs in case of an emergency fees dependent on care provider.
Even if your guinea pigs are healthy, you should take your guinea pigs for a routine check up at least once a year. This is important as you not only establish a good relationship with your vet and maintain an active registration, but also because guinea pigs are good at hiding illnesses.
Routine vet visits may help catch something if it's overlooked during your own home health checks. In addition to pet insurance, or if you do not wish to opt for one, the best approach would be to routinely put aside a set amount of savings each month, for vet bills, in case you and your piggies are in need. Tagged in Advice for families , Reducing expenses.
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You can order a relatively inexpensive 7. To prevent your guinea pig's water from getting food, hay, or droppings in it, you really should use a water bottle that clips to the side of his cage. Having the water in a water bottle also aids in letting you keep tabs on the amount of water your guinea pig is consuming. If you just set a water dish inside the cage, it can easily get tipped over, creating a mess.
The bigger water bottles cost a bit more than the small ones, but you don't have to refill them as often, so I would suggest using an 8 oz. I walked in to PetsMart the other day and looked at their water bottles. You have different options when it comes to providing pellet food for your guinea pig.
You can use ceramic or metal bowls, or you could opt to purchase a feeder that clips onto the side of the cage. If you use a bowl, make sure it has a broad base or is heavy enough that it won't get tipped over easily. Hanging feeders are a better choice because they take up less space, they make it harder to spill the food so you're not wasting food , they make it impossible for your guinea pig to use his food bowl as a bed, and they prevent the pellets from getting ruined by cage debris.
Feeders that hang on the side of the cage tend to cost a bit more, however. Because guinea pigs are hunted by just about everything in the wild, they've developed honed fight-or-flight response - and it usually swings to the "flight" side. To feel safe, they need something to be able to snuggle inside or hide in.
There are a lot of choices. You can buy commercial plastic hideaways, you can easily make your own homemade hideaway, or you can buy or make a specialty hideaway out of fabric, wood, wicker, or even metal.
You have many options when it comes to providing bedding for your guinea pig. Some people like to use fleece bedding, but others prefer to use some type of wood pellets, wood shavings, or some kind of shredded recycled product.
Be sure to avoid cedar shavings, because they are toxic to guinea pigs. When deciding what you want to use, consider the material's absorbency and ability to control odors. Good options include aspen wood shavings, Carefresh bedding, pine shavings some owners disagree with using these , or fleece.
If you are getting a guinea pig for the very first time, we'll assume you will begin by using some inexpensive wood shavings. The price, of course, depends on the type of shavings, the brand, and what size package you intend to buy. Grass hay is really important for your little guy. You should make grass hay always be available to your guinea pig. Chewing on the hay helps keep their ever-growing teeth worn down, and the hay supplies fiber and nutrients that are essential for his health.
The best grass-based hay to use is Timothy hay. Of course, the price varies based on what kind of hay you opt for, what name brand, and what quantity you get. It's important that the pellet food you purchase is one that is designed especially for guinea pigs.
Don't give them rabbit pellets, because guinea pigs need Vitamin C and rabbit pellets usually don't contain Vitamin C, whereas guinea pig pellets should. For an adult guinea pig, it's better to choose a timothy-based pellet instead of an alfalfa-based pellet, because it has a less calcium.
High levels of calcium can contribute to the formation of bladder stones, which guinea pigs are prone to getting. Also make sure the food you choose does not contain nuts or seeds. It's important to buy high-quality food, so we will not include the inexpensive, low-nutrient foods in our price calculation.
Let's assume you're choose to buy a 5-pound bag of Oxbow-brand pellets. Guinea pigs are strict herbivores, and they need about 1 cup of fresh vegetables every day. These are a necessary part of his diet, and you shouldn't skip this part.
Fresh fruits and vegetables help with the Vitamin C requirement, and they provide other nutrients needed to keep your guinea pig healthy. Don't forget to wash the produce before feeding it to your guinea pig, and try to make sure they aren't coated with pesticides. Providing an estimate on this expense is kind of difficult, because the price depends on what kind pf produce you buy, which season you buy it in, where you live, and so on.
If you live bear a farm in the Midwest, you're going to pay a lot less than someone who lives in the middle of New York City or in Alaska. But for this example, let's assume that you buy 6 different pieces of vegetables and fruits every week, e. Guinea pigs need Vitamin C but are unable to produce it themselves, so they have to ingest it in their diet. One adult guinea pig should ingest mg each day. Because Vitamin C is water-soluble and does not get stored in the body, you can't overdose on it.
It does degrade pretty rapidly, though, so you don't' want to put it in their water or let it sit around forever. If you feed your guinea pig a well-rounded diet, he will probably automatically fulfill his Vitamin C needs, but it's a good idea to give a supplement anyway.
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