5 REASONS WHY GUINEA PIGS MAKE GREAT PETS

So having owned these little fuzzes pretty much all my life (save for a few rabbits in between!) this might be a pretty biased post – but seeing as anyone who follows me on Instagram knows I’m a Crazy Guinea Pig Lady and my two piggies, sisters Sunbeam and Luna tend to feature more than myself, I thought it would be fun to share 5 reasons why I love these little creatures so much!

1. Just look at them! 

Donut lips. Squishey noses. Chubby little bellies. Cute BOOTAY. Again I may be biased, but I think they’re totally adorable to look at. YES I am guilty of wanting to hold the piggies at every farm I’ve been to, and have often been seen pushing innocent children out of the way in the petting area to get some cuddles in…

2. They’re highly sociable and gentle creatures 

Having owned guineas all my life, I can genuinely say the ONLY time I have been nipped by one is when I aimlessly fed my old piggie Jasmine a carrot and was too busy staring in the opposite direction to realise the carrot was long gone and she wanted to see what my finger tasted like instead lol! Guinea pigs are prey animals, so they will take some time getting used to you, but will very very rarely bite or ‘attack’ you. Plus, they’re much less skittish than hamsters and gerbils, making them a perfect pet for young children too. It’s definitely worth cuddling your pigs daily if you can, or at least a few times a week to get them used to your scent. Mine are now very tame and will happily sit on my lap and enjoy cuddles – they even ‘purr’ too!

3. A relatively low maintenance pet 

Guinea pigs are generally pretty low maintenance – they don’t need hour long walks each day and they don’t tend to clock up expensive vet bills. Just fresh food (good mix of dried food, grass and fresh vegetables) and water daily, a clean out of the hutch once a week and they’ll be fine and dandy. A little caveat here; these gals are my first pair of long haired piggies, and they are definitely more high maintenance than the short haired breeds. They need regular grooming and trimming, as their coats can easily become matted which can lead to infections. If it’s your first time owning guinea pigs, I’d recommend a short haired breed to start off with.

Guinea pigs do have a life span of 5-7 years (although some of ours have lived until 9!) so while they’re not as long term commitment as say a dog or cat, buying any pet still requires a lot of responsibility, care and time.

4. Popcorning is just the cutest thing EVAH

Relating back to the cuteness element here, but popcorning is just about the cutest thing a pig can do! When they’re very happy, they will do a sort of skip jump up into the air (reminiscent of popcorn ‘popping’ in the microwave!). It’s so sweet to see them jumping around each other…Sunbeam loves to popcorn when I’ve just put some fresh veggies in the hutch for them. A-dorbs!

5. They will ‘wheek’ to greet you! 

Finally, the iconic noise that can only be attributed to gorgeous guineas! It’s an excited shriek they make whenever you rustle their food, come to say hello or just in general if they’re really happy. It is super cute. Guinea pigs will also make a similar noise to wheeking if they’re scared too – but when you’re laying in some fresh green veggies in the hutch and this wheeking is accompanied by some serious popcorning, you can be assured you’ve got some pretty happy piggies!

 

Remember..

If you’re thinking of buying a guinea pig, NEVER buy a single pig (unless you have other guinea pigs at home it can join). Always get two or three, as they are very sociable little creatures and can become very depressed on their own without other piggie interaction!

If you’re looking for more piggie related content – check out my post in collaboration with HayPigs! or give me a follow on Instagram – you can find a guinea pig highlights section with plenty of Sunbeam and Luna content!