Guinea pigs are sold as an easy starter pet and they are not one. They cannot make their own vitamin C, they cannot cool themselves in a warm room, and in Switzerland and Austria it is illegal to keep just one. Almost every item below follows from one of those three facts.
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Wire floors are not acceptable guinea pig housing — Merck calls a solid floor essential to avoid pododermatitis. Cedar and pine shavings give off aromatic oils that irritate the airway and the feet, and the effect gets worse once the bedding is soiled.
7.5 sq ft of floor for one guinea pig; 10.5 sq ft (30 × 50 in) preferred for a pair. Guinea pigs do not climb and rarely jump, so upper levels do not count toward the minimum. Most cages sold as guinea pig cages are less than half of this.
Search Amazon →One per guinea pig plus one spare. A prey animal with nowhere to retreat from its companion never fully settles, and a spare hide is not worth fighting over.
Search Amazon →Open-ended, around 4 inches across. The most-used item in most pens — and open ends matter, so nobody can be cornered in a dead end.
Search Amazon →The staple, not a treat — a guinea pig should eat its own body size in hay every day. Timothy, orchard, meadow or oat. Never alfalfa for an adult: it is a legume, high in calcium, and tied to bladder stones.
Search Amazon →One to two teaspoons a day. Plain, timothy-based, one colour and one shape — no seeds, no corn, no coloured pieces. Buy the smallest bag and check the mill date: the vitamin C decays, and the rule is to use them within 90 days of milling.
Search Amazon →Two, so a dominant animal cannot sit under the only one. Check the ball bearing daily — a stuck valve is silent.
Search Amazon →Tablets or drops given directly, if your vet advises them. Never in the water — it changes the taste so they drink less, and it degrades in water anyway.
Search Amazon →The most important item on this list. The RSPCA recommends weekly weighing with written records, because a guinea pig hides illness until it is advanced and weight is the only thing that sees through it. It must read in single grams.
Search Amazon →Ideal is 65–75°F. Start actively cooling at 80°F; above 85°F is dangerous. Guinea pigs shed heat poorly and tolerate cold far better than warmth — and the room they live in is rarely the room the thermostat is measuring.
Search Amazon →Small-animal clippers. Have the styptic powder open before you start, not upstairs in a drawer.
Search Amazon →Weekly for short coats. Daily for long-haired Peruvians — that is a real commitment, so choose the coat with your calendar rather than your eye.
Search Amazon →Hard-sided. Take the bonded companion to vet appointments too: separating bonded guinea pigs is itself a stressor.
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