Guinea pigs?

Question

i have an empty 55 litre fish tank at home but ithink its larger would i be able to put 1 or mabye 2 very small guinea pigs in there my aunty did the same and her lasted for 2 years im just checking with you guys firt tell me if thats wrong. On the top of the fish tank ill take the ld fo and mabye put one of thosenet things on the top.

Answer 1

DO NOT use a glass aquarium. They easily harbor disease and insects. They also offer no ventalation and extremely hard to throughly clean. Get a wire top cage with a plastic bottom. You need 2-3 square feet per pig to keep them happy. You can line the bottom of the cage with newpaper to make weekly cleaning easier. Every 6 months you should make sure to wash down your pig's cage with a mild disenfectant and rinse well after wards.



For bedding I recommend any of the following. . .

Aspen shavings, pine shavings, and pine pellets, Care Fresh(the KY version because it is fluffier than the original), and Yesterday's News(recycled paper pellets). AVOID -- Cedar, corncob bedding, straw, etc.



Provide them with a roomy hut to hide and sleep in. You can build you own with untreated apple wood. This makes a fun and edible home for your pigs. They will need to chew on the wood to keep their teeth short.



For pellets go to a feed store like Dil's or Agway. They sell 25lbs. bags of guinea pig feed for $6-$7. These usually last me like 3 months. You can also mix seeds and oatmeal into their pellet diet for variety. For veggies you can ask your grocery store for some of the produce they are going to throw away. They will be happy to give you some. Most of the veggies and fruits they get rid of are fine and your pigs will happily eat them. Grass that is growing in your yard and is not treated with anything is welcome as well. They also like hay to eat and nest in. Guinea pigs are nature's garbage disposals.

They will eat. . .

banana peels(If you give your pig the banana cut it into small pieces. Bananas are soft and pigs can choke on large chunks.)

corn husks and cobs

veggie peels from carrots, zucchini, and potatoes

apple peels(just no citrus peels)

celery left overs

lettuce hearts(the ones you knock out of the head)

watermelon rinds

pumpkin rind and seed

and more.



Last few tidbits:

For feeding your pigs pellets I recommend a food trough that you can get at a feed store like Dil's or Agway. They keep the food dry, poop free, bedding free, and have to be filled less often.

I aslo advise you keep the food on one side of the cage and water on the other to help keep your pig more physically active. it doesn't seem like much but it really works.



Hope I helped.

Answer 2

Just be patient with them. It can take a while for guinea pigs to get used to people. I've had my guinea pigs for about 4 months now and they still run away from me and hide when I come into the room. If I sit still in there though, they will eventually come out and be normal. I take mine out for about half an hour to an hour for cuddles and they get an hour or more of grass time pretty much every day, so just keep doing what you're doing, but if you want to see faster improvement in their behaviour, take them out for longer periods of time and include them in your daily routine. They're called guinea PIGS for a reason! You can try to litter train them if you have the patience for that. There are many websites and YouTube videos that can show you how to do this. That might help cut down on the mess. I've just come to the conclusion that that's what they want in their cage, so just let them do it. I'll place their boxes and hideys the way I want, but the next day, they've moved them all and it's a pigsty in there. :D I don't know about windex. I use vinegar to clean my cages. It's natural and there's no chemicals in it. I also sometimes use dishwashing detergent. But whichever one I use, I make sure I rinse it off really well, just in case the piggies can get sick from it. Bedding is a personal preference with guinea pigs, I've found. I use fleece bedding and find that it works really well for me, but I know guinea pig owners that use wood shaving and CareFresh and all sorts of other stuff that they swear by. You could try Aspen shavings and see if it makes a difference in your cage. Good luck with everything!

Answer 3

I wouldn't use an fish tank as a home for guinea pigs. I don't think there is enough ventilation when you put in the bedding in it. Also, it doesn't sound like the guinea pigs will have enough room to move around, they needs lots of space to run and play. I have two and they are in a cage that I built out of the storage cubes you can buy in the store. I found the information on how to build one on the internet under how to build a C & C cage.

Answer 4

Truthfully I wouldn't put one of my piggies in an aquarium. They need lots of ventilation from their urine and feces in the shavings which an aquarium can't offer. I have some of my pigs in a $10 kids pool you can buy at Walmart. They love it. A 55 gallon aquarium is long enough for a piggie but is way too narrow. You need something around 2 feet wide. If you insist on using the aquarium, you could house 2 pigs in there but you will be changing the shavings at least twice a week to keep the toxic ammonia from making them sick or killing them. Don't worry about a lid unless you need to keep a cat or something from getting the piggies. Another thing, pigs don't seem to do that great with water dishes. Water bottles are the best way to go as with the dish of water, they will just fill it with shavings in no time. Anyways, that is my opinion. I have a GP rescue and have had about 50 piggies I've had to care for over the years. Please take into consideration what is best for the piggie and not what is convenient.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

This might not be what you want to hear but . . .



Fish tank as a guinea cage not a good idea. (!!!!!)



I have personal expericance. When we kept our guinea pigs in a fish tank they lived for 3 years ( that was the longest one).

After the 5th guniea pig died we finally went and asked our vet why our guinea pigs kept dieing and he told us that it was becasue bacteria and the kind of stuff would build up in the air of the aquarium because there was little ventalation ( we removed the old bedding and placed new beeding once a week with the acational wash out once every 6 months). Once we changed to the wire cage my last guiniea pig live to 7 1/2 years old.



I'm not sure how big the aquarium is but I would advise to get 2 unless you plan on playing with him or her a lot because they ar group animals and they need interactivity or they get lonley.



And note they do grow bigger than when you first buy them at the pet store.



Summary of my suggestions:



~Get a wire cage with a plastic bottom ( no hole is bottom)



~Get 2 guiniea pigs (females they don't fight as much as males) if your not planning to play with it At least 1 hour a day.

but also base it on the size of a cage



Other suggestions



: Don't get a plasic bowel all the guinea pig I've had have dumped it over and it wastes food.



: put vitimium C in thier water to help fight off and protect aginst desiseases



: Try not to get woodchip bedding some guinea pigs are allergic to it and it can cause feet problem long term,



: If you do use a fish tank THROUGHLY Clean it at least once a month ( like completely disinfect it) and let it air out for a hour or so outside.



If you plan on keeping them outside or in the garage bring them inside during hot days and during winter



Good and tasty treats: Carrots and apple!! They love them! not to much or it could give them dierria.



Good luck with your new guinea pig or pigs and look out for signs of illness when buying ( watery eyes, dierria or constant squinting or if one of the other guiniea pigs have these symtoms in the cage because if one has it there is a good chance they all have it. So if there is any sign of them being unhealthy don't buy any of them.)



Ps.Good luck and try looking at some books for info



Pss. Sorry about any mis spellings

Answer 6

NEVER put guinea pigs in an aquarium. They do not provide adequate ventiliation and the build up of ammonia fumes from the bedding will give them respiratory infections.



Make your own inexpensive cage by following the instructions on this website:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

Go to the C&C icon on the left side of the page for ideas & instructions. Your pig will be much healthier & happier.



Guinea pigs should live, on average, 5-7 years.

Answer 7

I wouldn't recommend it. Ammonia can build up in aquariums and be harmful to the guinea pigs. That isn't big enough for a guinea pig either. Also, guinea pigs usually live for 5-7 years so if it lived for 2 years that's not very long.

Answer 8

They dont' jump. You don't need a cover on it unless there's something you have to keep out.

I'm glad you're talking two, they'll be happier together. As there's only so much time you can hold them, ect.

Rabbits and hamsters are ok alone, but guinea pigs get very attatched to each other.

If you use a cardboard box instead of the aquairium, you can make it larger whenever you need to by cutting holes in the side of the box, and using empty cans with both ends cut out to make tunnels from one box to another.

Answer 9

It is wrong, they won't stay small forever.

You will also probably get baby guinea pigs after you leave them together for two weeks or so.

If you were to get two you should probably get a large, and proper cage.

They may escape easier in the glass than in a cage made for Guinea Pigs.

Answer 10

NO!!!



Look here:



http://www.guineapigcages.com/



It has info on space needed, and a genius idea in caging.



Cramming a guinea pig into that tank will be like making you sit on the toilet all day, on top of your own mess. Is that fair?

Answer 11

i think its nice of you to take two but, its probably better for the guinea pig to take one. it might get lonely but that what you are for and two can lead to eight and the twenty and then you would have a very samll tank!

Answer 12

I think you should only have one. Two would make the cage to crowded.

Answer 13

just one 2 would really be pushing it

Answer 14

ONE