Why Guinea Pigs Make Great Pets
Guinea pigs are one of the best animals for anyone looking for a new small pet. This is because of their sociability, temperament, and ease of care. Are you considering bringing a guinea pig into your family? Find out if they are the right fit for you!
Guinea pigs were originally domesticated hundreds of years ago in South America as a source of food for native people. Since then people have realized how good of pets these little clowns can actually be. Let’s take a look at what makes them so amazing.
Sociability Guinea pigs are social animals by nature. In the wild they lived in small groups or herds of around 10. These herds would often stay in close proximity to one another and form larger groups called colonies that could reach numbers into the hundreds. Because guinea pigs are such social creatures, they will bond to you much more readily than other small pets. This bond does not happen effortlessly, however. Remember, to guinea pigs people are predators. But this can be changed and guinea pigs can be trained to love and interact with their people, but this bond takes time and trust to form. If you make an effort to spend quality time with your guinea pigs outside of their cage they will learn to love their owners. Another thing you can do to make this process go faster is to hand feed your guinea pig their favorite treats like carrots, bell peppers, and any other guinea pig safe foods. After all, the key to any guinea pigs heart lies in their stomach.
While a Guinea pigs social nature helps them bond with their owners, the connection between owner and pig is not enough to fulfill a guinea pigs entire social requirements. In order to have a happy and healthy guinea pig, they need to be housed with at least one other guinea pig. This will allow them to engage in natural social behaviors such as grooming and communicating with other guinea pigs. This is great for you as an owner! Because the only thing better than one guinea pig is two! With only one guinea pig you will miss out on so much that gives these little guys personality. Much of their funny antics happen when they are interacting with each other after all. This can’t happen when they live alone.
Generally, females get along with other females better than males do with other males. However, there are many exceptions to this and unless you are planning to breed guinea pigs (which you can find out more about here) it is best to either house same sex groups together or to get your male guinea pig neutered. However you pair your guinea pigs, be sure to do it slowly and if you have any issues check it this guide on how to bond your guinea pigs.
Personality. Of all the reasons guinea pigs make great pets, personality is every owners favorite. Guinea pigs have the most personality of almost all other common small pets. Guinea pig personalities vary as much as peoples, and getting to know these personalities is both fun and exciting. One way you can get to know these tiny creatures’ personalities is through their vocalizations. Guinea pigs are famous for their hilarious chirps, squeaks, rumbles, purrs, and even songs! Each of these sounds means something different and each gives you great insight into not only each pigs personality but what they are thinking and feeling at any given time. They have even been known to train their owners to bring them treats by squealing every time they hear the refrigerator open. (learn more about guinea pig noises and what they mean here).
Aside from their vocalizations, guinea pigs show their personalities in other ways when you interact with them. Some will love to cuddle with you and others will love to explore. Some are more mischievous and others lazy. Getting to know each pigs personality is a ton of fun and will only help you strengthen your bond with them.
Ease of care. Compared to other small pets, guinea pigs are one of the easiest to care for. Now this is not to say that they are easy to care for. Like any pet, guinea pigs require daily care and maintenance. Their cages must be cleaned, they must be fed hay, pellets, and given fresh vegetables, water bottles and dishes must be kept clean and sanitized, and they must be interacted with daily. Now this level of care is similar or easier compared to other small pets. After all, guinea pigs do not require any special heat or care devices, they do fine if left alone for a couple days, they are not awake all night running on squeaky wheels, and they are generally healthy and live longer lives than other rodents. While guinea pigs do require a basic level of care the same as any other pet, what makes them different is the satisfaction and engagement they give back to their owners. Most other small pets just don’t seem to give back what you put into them quite like guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs are also crepuscular animals. This means that they are most active at dawn and dusk each day. This is great fit if you are gone at work or school during the day because the times you are home are when your guinea pigs will be most likely to spend time with you.
In the end, if you are considering guinea pigs as pets rest assured that so long as you are able to meet their care and attention requirements you will be greatly rewarded with small best friends for many years to come.
