Anybody else keep Guinea pigs?

[Melonfish]

We've just got two, or the kids have at least. i'm just looking for advice etc on keeping them, we've got all the usual bumf for em with respect of care and space etc. they have a small run but i'm looking at building something bigger so they can have a good shuffle round the garden and eat all the dandylions (before i do)

just curious really

any tips on winter storage? do you guys bring them inside the house or use those cage wraps? i was thinking of bringing them indoors.

 

[calibanzwei]

Make good eating - Mwuhahaha

 

[Shewie]

Only to feed the snake with

 

[Tank]

I have a guinea pig, but he stays indoors all year, when i was a kid i had one that lived outdoors and from what i remember it was all year and he was fine ( but i cant remember much from my childhood, so dont trust me on that)

My wife has a good website she goes on for information and when i get home tonight i will post a link for you.

 

[Mesquite]

No help at all with the care of them but I've never looked at guinea pigs in the same light since a friend of mine posted a pic of a cooked one during her travels in South America.

To be honest it looked like squashed roadkill that had been covered in batter then deep fat fried... something a bit like this

 

[Tank]

no idea why people want to eat them, there far more entertaining when their alive

 

[wildman695]

been thinking about it, what do they taste like
Actually had several over the years. they do like to burrow so beware of letting them loose on grass, they need wood to chew on to keep their teeth short, if they get too long you can clip them like fingernails, check them often or they can grow back into the gum. They will chew their way out of most wood and plastic cages so do beware.

 

[Tengu]

My Peruvian friend loves them.

 

[Dave Budd]

funily enough we were planning on keeping some as a cheap source of dog food, but we've nowhere at home to keep them and I can't be in my woods everyday during the show season

growing up I had some and they were fine in their hutch (in a sheltered part of the garden) all year around. Basically think of them as less dopey and slightly more hardy rabbits

 

[Peter_t]

my mum has 8 (tbh i dont know how many, it was 11 at one point:yikes and all this stuff about keeping them indoors for the winter is bullsh!t. ours live outdoors all year round, but we dont keep them in cages. they pretty much own the back garden, we just blocked up all the holes. they sleep in a couple of hutches but we never lock them, they just put themselves away at night.

they are always out, rain or shine and even snow and they are fine. people think they will freeze to death but they live in mountains and get along fine without us. they only die in cages because they dont get any exercise and eat all day. its no different to people, if you sit watching tv and stuffing your face all day then there is a good chance you will get heart disease.

Pete

 

[EdS]

we've got 3 and had up to 13 at one point.

Tjhe aer fine out doors all year. Just wrap the hutch to prevent draughts and make sure they got food, hot (ours like/demand a hot drink on a winter morning) and dry bedding.

Temperature is not a problem, damp however is. Guinea pigs are prone to pneumonia if they get damp and chilled.

Basically, keep them fed, watered, draugh free and dry.

And make sure they get fresh veg every day - not the same stuff day in day out, as they are the only mammals except humans that can not make thier own vitamin c.

 

[Melonfish]

we've got a decent cage, which i'm going to raise higher during winter and get a cage snug,
they've got an outdoor run and i'm building an indoor one shortly.
we've got the nuggets for food as apposed to the muesli so they don't "cherry pick" the best bits and miss neutrients, we also have vit c supliment which you sprinkle on the food. they get dandilions, apples and tonight they're getting carrots for tea too.
they get bedding hay and they have a holder for edible hay (which they really like) and have a knaw tube and block to chew and we clean out the shavings regularly especially the self imposed "toilet area"

so far i think we're doing alright with em but it doesn't hurt to double check and at least i can sort em for the winter now anyway. i'm going to be making a bit of a cover for them shortly, just something to add a larger lip over the top of the cage so that it'll keep the rain off, doesn't need to obstruct the front of the hutch etc.

as for eating i must admit i am curious although SWMBO would KILL me if i mention it, especially round the kids, but i did see a program a while ago on nat geo about how they eat them in peru and honestly if it wasn't for the cute little "Wheek Wheek" noise they make i'd have no trouble cooking some up..

 

[EdS]

I've been told they taste a bit like lamb