A teacher has two guinea pigs he wants to give away and asked me if I wanted them. My last experience with a rodent was in my childhood when I had one sweet and one evil hamster and my fox terrier killed the sweet one.
I know NOTHING about rodents. Like cage size, feeding requirements, would they need out of cage time, how stressed they would be in a home with 4 dogs 3 of which would love to eat them for dinner... I know I could keep them from becoming dinner, but if they need out of cage time and interaction, that gets trickier.
Gentling techniques would be nice to know if I do get them. I’m not good with rodents, apparently they find me tasty and I don’t like being bitten. I’m sure its my lack of knowledge, but would be nice to not get bitten...
Oh, and how long do they live?
I LOVE Piggies. Love love love. They are the best little boogers in the entire world once they're tame and know you are their person.
I've owned four piggies in the past and my sister just rescued three more. All are so freaking cute.
I have never been bitten by a Guinea Pig. They chitter and growl when they're unhappy and typically, unless they are just REALLY antisocial, that is all they'll do. Most piggies don't like being "caught" to be held (if they aren't used to being handled/are young), but once you are holding them they're just fine.
As for cage size: The "proper" size cage for a pair of piggies is 7.5sq feet. 10.5 is best. IMO, at that size, out of cage time isn't as important as in cage enrichment. Others would argue with me, but meh. If you're in a smaller cage than that, then out of cage time becomes more important. C&C cages provides cages at the proper size, but Midwest just released their own version of a C&C cage available at Petsmart that fits the bill - and it's only $50.
Diet: a no frills pellet diet is the best, coupled with fresh veggies and timothy hay. Oxbow (Oxbrow?) makes a wonderful pellet diet, but it's a bit pricey. I haven't had bad luck with Forti-Diet, but that's considered to be the "dog chow" of the Guinea Pig world. Not as bad as some, but not great. Again, meh. They did just fine on it. The important thing is to provide plenty of hay (Timothy, Bluegrass, mixture, but NOT just alfalfa) and to make sure they get plenty of vitamin C as they can't produce their own. Most piggy pellet diets have vitamin C added, but feeding veggies helps, too.
Don't use cedar bedding, obviously. Aspen is the best, or paper based.
All of our Guinea Pigs lived in a house with dogs and cats and did just fine. I'm sure the wouldn't like to be constantly pestered, but Chloe jumping up to say hi doesn't phase them.
Taming is something you go slow with, as you would with anything you are trying to build trust with. They'll soon learn you are the one that provides the veggies and hay and they'll greet you when you walk into the room with wheeks and popcorns. Louie would actually climb up onto the side of the cage and beg. LOL Some may never like being grabbed to be held, but that's fairly normal.
They're also social, so its great that they are a pair.
Life expectancy is 4-6 years, I believe. Unless they are long haired, the only maintenance they need is to have their nails trimmed. An occasional bath wouldn't hurt, but I don't think it is very necessary (unless they are long haired and get urine stains).
Ummm....I think that's it. Any more questions and I'd be happy to answer them.