I want a guinea pig. how much does it cost? (Philippines)?

The average lifespan of a guinea pig is between 3 and 5 years of age. They can live longer with good care but I DOUBT they would live to be 8 or 10 as the first person said. Maybe they were thinking of rabbits, but that information is WAY off.

The first thing you need to know is that guinea pigs are social animals. They really do prefer to live in groups of 2 or more. If this isn't possible, then you need to double the attention you give to your guinea pig, and play with him everyday.

2 Male guinea pigs is probably not the best combination. Most of the time they will not get along, although female guinea pigs should. The best way that you wouldn't have to worry about this is if you ADOPTED a pair of guinea pigs from your local animal shelter, that are already socialized and easy to handle.

Guinea pigs HAVE to have Vitamin C. Is is completely necessary in order for a healthy guinea pig (just like humans). They can and will get scurvy if you don't give them enough vitamin C. One way to provide them with Vitamin C is to give them a hand ful of fresh veggies daily (especially dark green veggies like parsley). Another way is to use Vitamin C tablets/drops in their water or on their food.

Guinea pigs need to visit the vet regularly (approximately once a year). If you don't have the time/money for this, then you shouldn't have a guinea pig in the first place.

Each pig needs AT LEAST 5 sq. ft. (although some sites say 7) in order to be happy. Please visit http://www.guineapigcages.com/ to find an appropriate cage for your guinea pigs. You can order the cages from this site, and even get some helpful information.

A supply list for 2 guinea pigs:

* A 12-15 sq. ft. cage (C&C is preferred- you can buy one from the link I posted above... Please note that there are NO store bought guinea pig cages that are large enough, and fish tanks are definite no no's! There is not enough air ventilation in fish tanks which is necessary for a happy and healthy guinea pig.)

* Sipper water bottle (Make sure you replace the water daily to keep it fresh.)

* Bedding ( DO NOT use pine or cedar bedding no matter what the circumstance!!! The oils in these beddings that make them smell good are the same oils (phenols) that harm their skin and lungs! Please do not use this for your pigs. I would STRONGLY recommend using CareFresh which is available at Petsmart/Petco/ other retail pet stores. Another SAFE bedding is Aspen.)

* Hidey House- (You can get plastic ones, but if your guinea pigs start chewing on them, you must remove them immediately. If they injest this plastic, it can be deadly. I would recommend a wooden house so they can chew on it and keep their teeth short. Also, each guinea pig needs their own house. Please don't make them share a house.)

* Food- (You MUST get food that is made for guinea pigs and ONLY guinea pigs. Rabbit food is NOT suitable although they look the same. Make SURE you do NOT get any food that has even one seed in it. Seeds and guinea pigs are a no no. They could easily choke on a seed or get fat (possible get diabetes from being overweight) by eating too many seeds.)

*Timothy Hay- (This is a MUST. Hay is useful for many different things. First of all, it cleans out their digestive system. It grinds down their teeth so they do not become overgrown and cut through the lip. And it prevents them from becoming bored.)

*Food Bowls- (I suggest using 1-2 food dishes per pig. If you have more than one pig, then you need to have a minimum of 2 food dishes. This will prevent them from fighting over food.)

* Nail Clippers- (Their claws MUST be clipped once a month or they will become overgrown and very painful.)

*Brush- You should brush a short haired guinea pig (American, teddy) once or twice a week, and long haired guinea pigs (Abbyssinian, texel, peruvian) once a day. Some of the long haired breeds even need their hair cut once in a while.

*Toys- These are not necessary if your guinea pig has a buddy, although they do like thimothy hay toys. Mine have a timothy hay bin which they love, along with a towel hanging on the side of the cage which they love to run through. There are so many toys you can make for your guinea pig. Here are a couple great sites:

http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/toysandh...

http://www.americancart.us/pet_chinchill... This second one is a chinchilla toy site, although the toys will be fine for guinea pigs. I would strongly suggest boxes to run through because this is what my piggies love to do!

An extra thing you will need (or you can make) is an area for Floortime. Floortime is a time when you can interact with your piggies while providing them with adequate exersise(to prevent them from becoming overweight). A simple way to do this is to buy grids "Cubes" (commonly called in retail stores such as walmart and Target). You can connect them with box ties/cable ties. Doing this will make it very easy to fold up and place in storage when you are finished playing with your piggies. An hour should be enough time wheather the pigs are gated outdoors, or indoors. Just give them enough time to walk around and get exercise.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider adoption first! Think of all the homeless guinea pigs in the United States (or Philippines) that need homes! If these guinea pigs aren't adopted, they will be put to sleep. Most of the guinea pigs you will find at a petstore are sick, pregnant, and/or unsocialized. If you go to your local animal shelter, you will find healthy guinea pigs that are already socialized and human friendly.

Did you know that your guinea pig will be prevented from boredom just by having a friend to live with? When you are not able to provide attention to your guinea pig, your guinea pig's friend will give him/her the attention.

My last thing to tell you is that guinea pigs can get expensive. We spend about $100 weekly on our guinea pigs (This is probably because they are spoiled and there are 6 of them).

I hope you have fun with your new piggies and GOOD LUCK (they really are worth what you pay!)

1. Life span is about 3-5 years depending on how well it's home is maintained.

2. A guinea pig here in the Philippines would range from P100 (sometimes below) to P300 at average. It depends on the breed you want. (For example: my favorite breed, an Abyssinian guinea pig costs P250 per female) You can get them at a store called Bioresearch - there is a branch in SM Megamall and their pets are cheap yet well taken care of.

3. Food would be greens/veggies, pellets you can buy in stores & hay. Water is much much needed as well.

4. They can live in cages but not in real small ones that usually hamsters live in. It must be big space. You can also find these kinds of cages in Bioresearch.

5. Water bottles, hay, toys, hiding spaces in their cages (I'd suggest a mini house - you can use an upside down flower pot with a hole to enter and go out because guinea pigs love to hide for comfort and play)

Also, I'd suggest getting two guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are better of together than alone. They are very happy animals and love to socialize. And if they are very happy, they jump a couple centimeters off the ground - I find this uber adorable. (FUN FACT: This is called popcorning.) Anyway, I hope you found your guinea pigs and this helps just as much as it would 6 years ago. Hah! Sorry I only found this now!

(Picture attached is the Abyssinian guinea pigs I've seen in Bioreseach SM Megamall - Taken on 02/22/14)

Guinea pigs are fine for begginers. They are easy enough to take care of, and not too expensive.

They can live 8-10 years with good, dedicated care.

How much an actual guinea pig costs matters very little. I urge you not to buy from a pet store, but to look in a shelter. Not only will it be very cheap there (pet stores can over-price for ill animals), but you will be saving it from getting euthanized. The other thing is that guinea pigs are very social, and need a companion. Do not get one! Get two, same sexed guinea pigs. These are not too much cheaper, aside from twice the food.

You will need a large cage. I have yet to see a cage from a pet store that is the least bit of good size. Luckily, you can build your own very easily, for very little. Here's the site: http://www.guineapigcages.com/

For bedding you cannot use pine or cedar. You may use carefresh, apsen shavings, or even old blankets and towels which you need to wash with a light detergent. The cage must be cleaned once a week. You can litter train them to make clean up easier.

They must always have access to hay. They need it to digest. As a main food, you need to buy guinea pig pellets crom a store. Occasionally you may offer fresh veggies asa treat. You need at least one water bottle which you should change as often as possible.

You need at least one (more is better) hiding box for each guinea pig. These can be fancy fom the pet store, or empty cardboard boxes with a hole cut out (you'll need to replace those though). You can add a variety of other things as well.

Please read this site: http://www.cavyspirit.com/

Abyssinian Guinea Pig For Sale

Guinea Pig Cages For Sale

With the newer types of insulin these days, diabetic diets aren't necessarily as restrictive as they used to be. Read here https://tr.im/x15TB

As with any medicine or diet change, you should discuss it with your doctor. Fruits, both fresh and dried, have a natural sugar in them that will raise blood sugar levels, so be careful about eating too much. Not sure about the nuts. Moderation is always the key. I've been diabetic for 18 years and just recently changed insulin types. I love it because it gives me more freedom in when and what I eat.

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