 Hey everyone, it's Allison. Welcome back to The Tiny Herd. In today's video, we are going to be talking all about basic guinea pig care. This is going to be a full guide to the basics of keeping pet guinea pigs, but be aware that there is a lot of other information out there about guinea pigs that you should continue to research when you have pet guinea pigs or if you are planning on getting them. This video is meant to serve as a basic overview to get you started. Really quick before we jump into the video, if you are new to my channel, hit that subscribe button. I make new pet related videos every Friday, so make sure to turn on notifications if you don't want to miss an upload. Alright, so let's get into the basics of guinea pig care. The very first thing I want to talk about when it comes to guinea pigs is that they are very social creatures. Because of this, guinea pigs should be kept in groups of at least two piggies. There are some special circumstances for keeping guinea pigs alone, but in general, you should always get more than one. If you aren't willing to adopt two piggies, then you really shouldn't be getting them at all. Your guinea pigs will be much happier with a friend. Now, let's talk about cages. A common misconception with guinea pigs is that they can live in small cages and be perfectly happy. However, if you really do want your pet to live a long, happy and healthy life, the more space you can give it, the better. When choosing a guinea pig cage, you want an option that is big enough for your pets, easy to clean, easy to interact with your piggies, and cost effective. There are a couple of options to choose from that fit all of these criteria. Probably the most popular guinea pig cage option right now is a CNC cage. CNC stands for cubes and coraplast. You can see they are made using storage shelf grids and corrugated plastic for the base. These cages can be great because they are easily made large enough for guinea pigs. They can be made to fit just about any space, they are easy to clean, and they are easy to rearrange if your needs change. They are quite sturdy when made properly as well. You can purchase a CNC cage pre-made from guinea pig cages store dot com, or you can build your own. I made my cages by getting grids from amazon and coraplast from home depot. You can also build your own DIY cages out of wood and plexiglass. These look great but can be expensive and you have to have the skills to build them. You can customize them to have whatever features you want and can even have them match your home decor. They are easy to clean and are sturdy so will last a really long time. Lastly, I do want to mention pet store cages. In the United States right now there is only one cage available at pet stores that is the proper size for guinea pigs. This is the Midwest guinea pig habitat and it is just large enough for a pair of guinea pigs. Other pet store cages are usually way too small for guinea pigs and can cost just as much or more than building your own CNC cage. So I really don't recommend getting a pet store cage. I highly recommend building your own to give your guinea pigs the proper amount of space. Once you have your cage ready to go you'll need some sort of bedding for your guinea pigs. There are several safe and healthy options. First up is paper-based bedding like Carefresh or small pet select. This is safe for guinea pigs and is pretty easy to find and relatively inexpensive. You won't have to spot clean as often unlike other options we'll talk about in a minute but you will have to constantly re-buy the bedding which can add up over time especially if you have a large cage. You can also use Aspen wood shavings. Again make sure these aren't too dusty. You will also have to re-buy wood shavings as well but you won't have to spot clean. You want to stay away from pine or cedar wood bedding. These are not safe for guinea pigs and can cause respiratory issues. And then finally fleece is one of the most popular bedding options right now. While fleece can be pretty expensive upfront it doesn't have to be repurchased regularly as you wash it in the washing machine and reuse it. It's totally safe to use with guinea pigs however you do have to spot clean your cages on a daily basis or it will get very dirty and unhealthy very quickly. It is very possible to make your own fleece cage liners as well if you're handy with a sewing machine. Next up you'll need a hay rack. Guinea pigs need access to hay 24-7 to keep their digestion going and to wear down their teeth. So a nice hay rack that is easy to access is a must. There are a ton of options to choose from. You can use hay bags, metal or wooden hay racks or even just put a pile on the cage floor. You want to provide the best quality hay you can find for your pets. Timothy hay is the most common choice for guinea pigs as it's easily found and it's healthy for them. I feed my pets bluegrass from KMS hay loft which is very similar. You don't want to feed alfalfa hay as it has too much calcium for adult piggies and can cause bladder stones. Make sure the hay that you choose is nice and green, leafy and not too dusty. You'll also need water bottles and food dishes for your piggies. Water bottles are used most often because they're easier to keep clean and they can't be tipped over. I always recommend having at least two in your cage in case one leaks or stops working. For food dishes any dish will work as long as your piggies aren't able to knock it over. It needs to be deep enough to hold the pellets in but not so deep your pet can't get to them easily. While we're on the topic of food let's go over the basics of a guinea pig's diet. One extremely important thing to remember when it comes to feeding your guinea pig is that guinea pigs need to be provided a lot of foods rich in vitamin C. Ginea pigs cannot produce vitamin C for themselves and they can easily get scurvy if they aren't able to get enough through their diet. There are multiple ways to provide the right amount of vitamin C. The main way to provide vitamin C is by providing your guinea pigs with fresh veggies every day. Ginea pigs should get about a cup of veggies each per day. There are a ton of different safe and healthy options for guinea pigs. Some of my favorites are green leaf lettuce, radicchio, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. There is a great chart on guinea links dot com that goes over safe veggie options which I will link down below so that you can check that out for yourself. Another important part of your piggies diet is pellets. You want to feed a pellet that provides additional vitamins and nutrients but is low in calcium and isn't full of fillers that your pet doesn't need. The two best pellet options on the market in the United States right now are Sherwood pet health Timothy adult guinea pig pellets and KMS Haloff Timothy guinea pig pellets. Pellets with added dried veggies or seeds are usually full of sugar and filler products and are unhealthy for your guinea pigs. Ginea pigs only need about one eighth of a cup of pellets per pig per day. While guinea pigs will mainly wear down their teeth eating hay all day, it is still a good idea to give them some chew toys as well. This will encourage chewing and also give your guinea pigs some enrichment. There are so many different options for chew toys. I tend to choose toys myself that are wooden or made out of other natural ingredients like willow, palm leaf, or some other soft wood. You just want to stay away from anything plastic that contains luffa is made of unsafe woods or has seeds or nuts on the outside. These all can be unhealthy and unsafe for your piggies. Last but not least, you will need some supplies to groom your piggies. Guinea pigs need their nails cut every month or so so you will need a good pair of nail clippers if you plan to do this job yourself. You can also find an exotic vet that will be able to take care of it for you if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself. If you have a long haired piggy, a Coleman brush may also be needed to keep their fur from getting matted or dirty. Guinea pigs don't need regular baths and they should only get baths on an as needed basis. When it is time for a bath, I highly recommend using shampoos from Gorgeous Guineas which you can get online. They are specifically formulated to be safe for guinea pigs and can help with a wide variety of problems specific to guinea pigs as well. So that was a good overview of the basics of caring for guinea pigs. I hope this video was helpful and you learned something new about taking care of your piggies. Hit that like button if you did enjoy this video and make sure to subscribe if you haven't already. I upload new pet related videos every Friday. Thank you guys so much for watching and I will see you in my next video. Bye!