Are Guinea Pigs Good Emotional Support Animals

Getting a new "exotic" (not a cat or domestic dog) pet is exciting as it is scary. You don't know what to expect, will it exist friendly or aggressive? Clean or dirty? So many questions, which come downwards to, in this instance, are republic of guinea pigs good pets?

Well, guinea pigs brand great pets for a number of reasons. They're affectionate and incredibly sociable and brand a peachy add-on to near whatsoever family. But, every bit with everything in life, it's not all great.

Let's go through everything you demand to know about owning a guinea pig.

Why Guinea Pigs Are Good Pets

i. Minimal Space

Guinea pigs brand great pets if you don't accept a lot of space, but you lot desire a pet that's big enough to cuddle. As they sleep for around twenty hours per day, they don't need a massive do area. Effectually 4 foursquare feet should work for a pair of guinea pigs.

ii. Simple Health Issues (Early Life)

As long as guinea pigs are bred well, they don't accept besides many wellness issues to manage, and any problems that do ascend in early life can usually exist dealt with hands. The main things you should look out for are:

Cloudy Eyes

Indicate an eye infection. These can be treated easily with middle drops.

Teeth Growth

Rodents teeth grow continuously, so they demand to be worn downwardly by gnawing at wood. If they have a slight jaw misalignment, it may crusade excessive teeth growth, and they'll need to be cut downwards regularly.

Long Claws

Guinea sus scrofa claws grow quickly. A simple cut will need to be completed regularly.

Skin Irritations

Depending on the blazon of fur that your guinea has, their pare can sometimes become quite dry. This can exist sorted with some specialist medicated shampoo that'due south available at most pet stores.

Ringworm

Sounds terrible, merely it's actually hands resolvable. Ringworm appears every bit patches of bald, flaky skin, unremarkably around their bum or backside the ears. A 'spot on' treatment can exist purchased from the pet store and applied at home to resolve this equally long every bit you catch it early.

While all pets tin be decumbent to wellness issues, you can do the most common care you'll demand to provide for your guinea pig from home without a huge vet pecker.

3. Big Personalities

Guinea pigs have great personalities, and they're all individuals. They're very sociable, and equally they get older, y'all'll showtime to see their personality sally, whether it's loving, grumpy or shy.

They're well known for having some of the biggest personalities in the rodent globe and it makes them even more loveable and agreeable to watch.

4. Many Different Types

Guinea pigs come up in many unlike colors and fur types, you tin can even get baldheaded guinea pigs. This makes them totally unique and interesting pets. You lot know that no ane will take i just like yours.

five. Low Costs

Republic of guinea pigs are relatively cheap pets to keep in comparing to dogs or cats. An upfront cost for a guinea pig is around $fifteen (but recall that you'll always need to purchase at to the lowest degree ii, more on that below). Other costs that y'all'll need to call up most are:

Cage: These can range from standard plastic bottomed cages to extravagant DIY solutions depending on how much you want to spend. A skilful range is 20$-100$

Food: This volition be an ongoing expense; nevertheless, bags of hay are usually just a couple of dollars and volition last a week or so. Dried food is a lilliputian more than expensive (8$-fifteen$), simply a large bag may last as long as a month.

Vegetables: Purchasing vegetables or herbs for their daily nutrition can exist really cheap, a few dollars a week volition ordinarily give them all they need.

Health Care: Standard wellness care for minor bug volition usually exist inexpensive and can usually be treated at abode. Yet, larger problems that might develop afterwards in life (more on that below) could cost a few hundred dollars, then you'll always need to make sure you lot have that money in instance of an emergency, or pay monthly pet insurance.

6. Fairly Independent

Although guinea pigs do love company, that doesn't necessarily need to be you. As long every bit they have a companion, they'll exist fine if you leave them throughout the 24-hour interval. This makes them the perfect pet if you have a busy lifestyle.

vii. Non-Picky Eaters

Although their diet should be varied with different vegetables and herbs, they are fairly set in what they like to eat and aren't picky.

Unlike dogs or cats, you'll have no need to switch their nutrition upward to keep them interested. They'll be just as excited at feeding time every morn, no matter what food y'all've fetched.

eight. Long Life Bridge

Guinea pigs can live for anywhere between 5-8 years in captivity. This gives you enough time to really get to know and love your pig and get them to love you back. It's never plenty, but they have a much longer lifespan than other rodents then you have much more time to bond.

ix. Daytime Activity

Guinea pigs are active during the 24-hour interval, which makes them the ideal pet for bonding compared to smaller, nocturnal rodents such equally rats or hamsters.

However, the term 'active' is used loosely, as they do sleep for large amounts of the time; they volition usually slumber four-6 hours during the mean solar day and be really-agile the rest of it.

Why Guinea Pigs Are Bad Pets

1. Tin can Be Tough To Handle

Guinea pigs are very loving and can make slap-up cuddly companions. However, if you happen to have a guinea sus scrofa that wasn't socialized early, it may be challenging to get them used to handling.

If you accept a baby guinea grunter, it's recommended to spend at least an hour a day handling them and getting them used to you at commencement. They need to recognize your odor and understand that yous aren't a threat.

Y'all besides demand to learn to selection them up properly, supporting their chest and bum and hugging them to you. If your guinea sus scrofa feels insecure, it only takes ane bad experience to put them off being picked upwardly.

Older guinea pigs tin be quite skittish if they haven't had this care and attention from the start of their life, meaning they're quite hard to grab to selection them up and tin can be easily upset.

2. Complicated Health Bug (Later Life)

Although small-scale health issues can be resolved hands from dwelling house, your guinea pig may be prone to larger health issues as they historic period. Things to look out for are:

Impaction

Older male guinea pigs lose the elasticity within their anal muscles, meaning that poop can sometimes build up inside the anal crenel, causing a blockage.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do near this other than abiding cleaning. You'll have to check them daily to see if they're impacted (you'll be able to see it). And if then, you'll have to physically pull out the blockage yourself. It can be very smelly and unpleasant.

Lymphedema

This is something that occurs in around 1 in iv (old) republic of guinea pigs and unfortunately, is very serious. Lymphedema is a form of cancer which ordinarily begins with lumps under the armpit of your guinea sus scrofa.

And it can quickly spread throughout the body if not dealt with immediately. Every bit soon as you notice a lump, it's best to get it checked out. Information technology might be something benign, such as a mammary gland inflammation or infection.

Only if it is cancerous, the lump volition need to exist removed, which can cost a fair fleck of money. If your guinea squealer is old, there's as well a risk with operations equally anesthetic can affect them more severely. Always ask your vet what the best options are.

Kidney Or Float Stones

Kidney and bladder stones can exist avoided if your republic of guinea hog has a varied diet. Withal, they are much more mutual in older guinea pigs. The stones are a build-up of calcium, forming a physical rock that blocks food or water passing through.

To proceed the risk of stones to a minimum, make certain you vary the herbs and vegetables that your republic of guinea pigs eat. Although spinach and coriander are favourites for guinea pigs, yous should limit them to once every couple of weeks due to their loftier calcium content.

These stones tin be very painful for your piggy if not handled straight away. If you notice your guinea pig drinking excessively, starting to lose their ambition, or visibly struggle to pass annihilation, you lot should accept them to the vet.

An operation to remove the rock is usually the simply solution – which tin cost anywhere up to $500.

Respiratory Bug

Although guinea pigs take been kept outside in hutches with a floor of wood shavings for many years, new research says that the cold air and dust can impact their lungs, causing respiratory problems.

To forestall this, information technology'due south always better to proceed your republic of guinea pig within the house at a constant temperature and house them on grass or solid-wood flooring.

3. Problematic Sociability

Considering guinea pigs are sociable, it's recommended to house them with other guinea pigs. Information technology's fifty-fifty illegal in Switzerland to purchase a single guinea pig past itself. Still, this can become a problem when one of your elderly guinea pigs dies earlier the other.

You either have to face up the issue that your remaining guinea grunter will exist depressed past itself and commit to lots of extra attention, or go through the painstaking task of finding another guinea pig that they'll get forth with.

Unfortunately, although they're sociable, you can't guarantee that a new pig volition get on with the old grunter either.

Attempting to find a new republic of guinea sus scrofa to get with the sometime one leaves you with an ever going cycle of guinea pigs, making them a much more than long-term delivery than you will have initially anticipated.

Are Guinea Pigs Good Starter Pets?

Republic of guinea pigs make neat starter pets! However, if you intend to purchase guinea pigs for your children, brand certain you're as well prepared for their needs.

If your kids practice get bored (which can sometimes happen), it'south not fair for your guinea pigs to suffer. Make sure you sympathize what you're going in to.

They aren't likewise minor, like hamsters or mice, so they're easier to handle and more robust if yous intend to get guinea pigs for a kid.
They're not aggressive, so you can exist confident in leaving them effectually children.
Nearly of them are sociable and mostly quite cuddly – though it'south recommended for an adult to bear witness a child how to hold them and pick them up properly.
They're fairly easy to keep make clean, then it's a skilful responsibility for a child to have on equally a daily task.
They eat dried food, hay and vegetables or herbs, and so information technology's an easy diet to manage. Plus, children might similar to grow some of their republic of guinea grunter's food themselves, giving them a fiddling extra project.
Guinea pigs aren't nocturnal, unlike many other rodents, and then they will be agile during the twenty-four hours. This means that your children will have fun bonding with them and watching them play.

Do Republic of guinea Pigs Like To Be Held?

Yes, they practise like to be held, merely getting to that signal tin sometimes be a struggle. Guinea pigs are naturally timid animals, meaning information technology tin can take a while to become completely tame.

The best incentive for them is nutrient. If they recognize that you're the source of food and non a threat, they will beginning to approach you more than often and become friendlier.

Notwithstanding, information technology's unlikely that you'll ever notice a guinea pig that naturally likes to be picked up. In the wild, they're prey for many predators, some of these being birds of prey.

When you pick them upwards, their instincts always tell them that y'all're a predator that just successfully captured them. Though, one time you accept them safely in your arms and supported from underneath, they're generally fine.

If you snuggle upwardly with them to watch Television receiver on the sofa, they'll settle down with you. Y'all tin can tell that they're comfortable if they spread their legs out to the side or if they curl themselves around into a ball, much like a tiny true cat.

Exercise Guinea Pigs Stink?

Like all animals, if you go on them in the firm, there will be some smell. All the same, guinea pigs are one of the nicer smelling pets equally long as y'all go along their surroundings clean. It's usually the cage that smells rather than the guinea pigs themselves.

Daily cleaning of whatsoever peculiarly poopy bits and a twice-weekly full clean volition go along them smelling nice and fresh. Information technology'southward too recommended to clean the muzzle with a pet-friendly anti-bacterial spray as this keeps odors to a minimum.

If you notice that your guinea pig smells specially bad, you can breast-stroke them also (check our total guide). Sometimes republic of guinea pigs with longer pilus can start to aroma due to their pilus dragging along the footing.

A quick warm bathroom with pet-friendly shampoo will sort out the trouble. Make sure you dry them thoroughly with a towel before placing them dorsum in the cage.

How Long Can Guinea Pigs Be Left Lone?

Alone From Other Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are sociable animals in the wild and live in herds of no less than 10. This helps them protect themselves as at that place are more eyes to look out for predators.

In captivity, it's unlikely that you're going to have space for more than ten guinea pigs, but they're happy enough in pairs or trios. You can accept all females (sows) living together or all males (boars). Having a mixed-sex group won't work so well.

You should never leave a guinea to live by itself. Guinea pigs get alone very speedily, and this can lead to depression and crusade serious health issues.

Your guinea pig needs constant companionship to be content, then never separate them from their family for more than than a few hours at a fourth dimension.

Alone From People

Guinea pigs crave feeding every solar day. So, although they can live without your attention for days at a time if needed (every bit long equally they accept the company of other guinea pigs), you will still need to feed them once a day.

This ways they aren't a cracking pet if you lot plan to spend a lot of your time away from home unless yous can discover some feeding-solution.

Do Guinea Pigs Bite?

Republic of guinea pigs are normally completely not-aggressive and very rarely bite. Although yous might notice the odd signs of acrimony in them in the form of vibrations accompanied by a 'giggly' racket or through the chattering of their teeth.

Even bites between each other are usually simply warning nips and very rarely describe blood. If your republic of guinea grunter does nip you, it'southward normally every bit a warning or instinct; they don't actually intend to hurt y'all, they but want to let y'all know that what you're doing isn't acceptable.

This might happen if you're holding them in an uncomfortable position or if something is going on effectually them that upsets them. Mostly, if you hold your guinea hog correctly and care for them well, they won't bite y'all.

Summary

Guinea pigs make amazing pets with unique characters and chipper attitudes. However, you do demand to understand their needs fully and be prepared for a long-term commitment.

Source: https://petspetz.com/guinea-pigs-good-pets/

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