Don't Buy A Guinea Pig Before You Buy His Guinea Pig Hutch
A wonderful hobby for children and for adults is keeping guinea pigs. And because of this guinea pigs are becoming an extremely popular pet. However if you're now considering buying your first piggy you do need to first spend some time thinking about the guinea pig hutch you will house him in.
Your new piggie will be kept in a guinea pig hutch in most cases. They can be kept indoors or outdoors although if kept outdoors you should be aware that they can be subject to stress from excess heat or cold. But before you buy your first guinea pig house you need to be aware of several things.
There are plenty of guinea pig cages available on the Internet or in pet shops, though in the vast majority of cases they are way too small, and will be much too cramped for your new favourite pet. The reason most people buy a guinea pig hutch which is too small is that the smallest cages are the cheapest. So it's important to make an effort to ensure that your pet is housed in a cage that is sufficiently spacious.
Some people overcome the problem of cost by making their own guinea pig hutch, and if you are able to do so this is a fine way of housing your favourite pet in a spacious house that will do an optimum job. It is quite possible to build housing that is entirely adequate and which is very low cost if you source your own materials, including second-hand materials, and build it yourself.
But you should also understand that guinea pigs get bored easily and will still need entertainment even if they have a nice large hutch. The best way to provide entertainment for your guinea pig is to provide him with a companion, thoug you do need to research which sexes go together and which do not.
If you put a male with a female you will end up with a large number of guinea pigs very quickly, unless of course you desex one of them. If you don't then you will need to keep them apart and this defeats the purpose.If you put 2 males together you can end up with fighting, so the best combination is to start with 2 young females.
And you'll also need to provide something for your piggies to chew on as their teeth grow continuously and they need to chew to help wear them down. A piece of wood is sufficient and if they don't have this they will chew on their hutch. As well they need a constant supply of fresh hay and some playthings such as plastic pipes or boxes for them to play in.
So before you buy one or more guinea pigs understand the requirements for adequate housing, in particular buy or build a guinea pig hutch that is sufficiently spacious, provide them with playthings, and if you are buying more than one make sure you buy the correct sexes.
