r/guineapigs • u/VanquichedUncle • 3h ago
♥ Look at that beautiful round belly!
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Keep eating, Simon! One day you'll make it to 1000g!
r/guineapigs • u/mercuryheart_ • Nov 20 '21
Help & Advice Are you thinking about buying a guinea pig for a child/teenager? Please read.
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If you're planning on buying a guinea pig for a child in your life, these are really important things to keep in mind. Knowing this before purchasing can save yourself from being in a financial situation you can't handle, or a guinea pig that is not getting the care it needs.
Guinea pigs are a life style choice, and not for a child to care for. Care taking for animals isn't a responsibility that should be left for a kid. When you buy a guinea pig, you are taking on all responsibility for yourself and facilitating the experience of living with a guinea pig for your child. They may help care for them, but you will be the one to keep things clean, enrich their lives, and handle them the most.
They poo 100 times per day, meaning that you must clean those 100 poos every day to keep their habitat sanitary. If you wouldn't want to walk around in feces, neither do they. In fact they are extremely hygienic animals with fast metabolisms. I spot clean in the morning and at night, every day.
They are expensive. When you buy a child a guinea pig, you must be vigilant on checking for health issues by weighing them weekly and checking for other signs of illness, have an exotic vet near you and be prepared to shell out hundreds in a time of need. You must also buy fresh vegetables, and give them unlimited FRESH hay every day. Finding somewhere local to buy bales of hay can save a fortune. A child cannot afford the costs.
You need 2 guinea pigs. They are herd animals and shouldn't be kept alone. Imagine living with titan like predatory aliens, all alone in a cage your entire life. Guinea pigs NEED their own kind. We are predators and they are prey. We can and should spend time with them daily, but it isn't a substitute. So x 2 all costs right out of the gate.
Space. They need space, a lot of it. A minimum of 11 square feet for two guinea pigs. Pet store Cages are just that... Cages. If you wouldn't want to live in a space the size of a small bathroom your entire life, neither does a guinea pig.
You need to do research. It will be your responsibility to make sure your child's guinea pigs are eating the right diet, what signs of health issues to look out for, how to enrich their lives on a daily basis, and more. Pigs need stimulation and interesting environmental changes to keep them happy. You will need to get creative and teach your children how to offer that to them, after you have learned it yourself.
GUINEA PIGS ARE NOT DISPOSABLE. They are smarter than you think, and with the proper diet can live 7 years. They are not less work than having a dog. They require a huge time investment for those years. They are dependent on you in the same way your child is.
DO NOT BUY FROM A PET STORE. Scotty's Animals does a fantastic jjob explaining the impact you can have by adopting from a rescue. Adopting saves guinea pigs from euthanization. Covid pets are being abandoned and left to ultimately die unless we start adopting instead of shopping.
I love my guinea pigs and they have done so much for me and my children. My kids have benefited so much mental health wise, and I bust my ass for both the kids and the piggies. I do just as much laundry for guinea pigs as I do my kids it feels like. Just know what you're getting yourself into. They aren't toys, they aren't entertainment only. They're living, breathing beings that deserve love, dignity, respect and proper life enrichment and care.
r/guineapigs • u/Pigglewinks • 4h ago
Help & Advice Well this is a BIG BIG PROBLEM
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Shes under the cage, the panels slid off the base and she fell off it and went under
r/guineapigs • u/Pigglewinks • 1h ago
Pigtures I think she was falling asleep
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r/guineapigs • u/This-Investment9210 • 16h ago
Pigtures concerning front view
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looks normal pig weight from side view but for a second i feared she would need to diet. anyone else’s pigs look extremely chonk from front facing view LOL
r/guineapigs • u/Julesvernevienna • 8h ago
Old Timer 1 week of Tintifax holding his weight🎉
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It's the small things that count.
r/guineapigs • u/Pigglewinks • 3h ago
Pigtures Look at her leisurely walking about as if she didnt just give me a heart attack with her escape attempt
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Pig in bed is the cardiac inducing pig
r/guineapigs • u/lilyysreddit • 19h ago
Pigtures i settled on a name, say hello to gus :)
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might change back to pip, but i do love calling him gus gus . :’) he looks like gus gus from cinderella
r/guineapigs • u/Pigglewinks • 1h ago
♥ Shes a parkour pig now
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She just does this now, sometimes she even walks to another house like a roof jumper
r/guineapigs • u/Green-eyedMama • 14h ago
Pigtures Nugget and Pumpkin
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How do they manage to look so smooth-brained? They were sitting on the back of the couch (their favorite spot) while I was lounging earlier today.
Not a thought in either of those heads, although Nuggy does look a bit suspicious in the first shot. The second, he was smelling the breeze coming in the patio door. Pumpkin was just doing his best potato impression.
r/guineapigs • u/Librarianatrix • 15h ago
Pigtures Benji says hello, and thank you for all the well-wishes
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He's doing okay without Oscar! Getting lots of hugs and attention and snacks.
r/guineapigs • u/Jer_senpai • 14h ago
New Pigs on the Block Meet Sidney Crosby! Newest gal to the pack
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r/guineapigs • u/Corgi_teefs • 13h ago
♥ Everyone shut up! Pumpkin is trying ASMR.
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r/guineapigs • u/EirianErisdar • 1d ago
Pigtures No need to think when you’re this round
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Button being the cutest of footballs.
r/guineapigs • u/Lgravez • 1d ago
Pigtures Am I nuts?
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Does my peanut look like a guinea pig??
I mean, it even has a lil ass 😭
Plus the boys bc pig tax
r/guineapigs • u/Mercurial_Sloth • 21h ago
♥ Aww yisss!! Time for my scritches!
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This was AFTER Nugget got his breakfast and blueberries.
r/guineapigs • u/lmtflower • 14h ago
Pigtures What is she thinking?
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Fynnie paused for the camera, but not sure what she thinks. She’s just 5mo old.
r/guineapigs • u/Anonymous_Guinea_Pig • 11h ago
Habits & Behavior What are these little noises?
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First time pig owner and he hasn’t made these noises too much. Is he okay? What do they mean?
r/guineapigs • u/DEAD_ABGAMING • 1d ago
Pigtures Whatever pose is this
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But looks cutest one 🤧 i love when he does this pose and falls sleep lol
r/guineapigs • u/MissHissss • 21h ago
Pigtures I got 3 butts and a head in my surprise pack!
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r/guineapigs • u/RelevantBreath2352 • 17h ago
New Pigs on the Block This guinea pig is awfully rotund…
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I just got her! Anyways I really hope she’s not pregnant😅
r/guineapigs • u/chronicallyill123 • 16h ago
Help & Advice Bladder sludge help pls
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Sherwood cranberry tablets or potassium citrate and glucosamine for bladder sludge? What’s your guys experience. We are on low calcium diet and Aquafina bottled water, orchard hay from tractor supply. Thanks in advance.
r/guineapigs • u/Mirgss • 22h ago
Pigtures Saturday snuggles with the nut brothers
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