Did you just adopt a guinea pig and are wondering what are the guinea pig essentials they need to live a comfortable life? We prepared a “what do you need for a guinea pig list” of some things that will make your life and your guinea pig's life better!
A GUINEA PIG - The most important thing is to have a guinea pig! Because without a guinea pig, why do you need to know what a guinea pig’s cage needs?
C&C CAGE - If you don't have the capability to build a DIY cage for your guinea pig, C&C cages are good for customizing cage layouts. Don't buy those premade cages that are way too small. Guinea pigs need at least a Midwest sized cage to live comfortably.
FLEECE LINER BEDDING – Wondering what guinea pigs need in their cage? Fleece Liner Beddings are great for guinea pigs because it is 100% dust-free compared to wood and paper shaving beddings. Our guinea pig cage liners also come with a pocket so that they have a place to hide when they feel threatened. Watch our animated video to learn more.
WATER BOTTLE - Using a water bottle versus a bowl could possibly save you the number of headaches you will get from cleaning up after your guinea pig. They tend to flip bowls easily especially if it’s light so there will be a lot less spillage with a bottle. To learn how to clean a bottle properly, watch our video.
PEE PAD - This isn’t required, but it is a great addition if you have a problem with leaky water bottles. Just slide one of these pee pad sized liners under the bottle to absorb excess drops.
CERAMIC BOWL - For keeping pellets and food in, we recommend a heavy ceramic bowl that a guinea pig is unable to flip over. They tend to grab the edge of the bowl with their teeth or paws and always finds a way to flip it over.
UNLIMITED HAY - This is one of the most important guinea pig essentials you can provide a guinea pig with. Hay provides good fiber for their digestive tract and keeps their teeth at a good length. Hay makes up most of a guinea pig's diet. The rest consists of veggies, fruits, and pellets. Make sure to do research before feeding your guinea pig something new!
PELLETS AND TREATS - Pellets give guinea pigs the proper vitamin and minerals that they need. There are certain ingredients that they need from pellets if you are unable to feed them vegetables daily.
COROPLAST BOX - For guinea pigs, it’s important to have a section in their cage to act as their “kitchen”. Guinea pigs can sometimes be messy eaters and having a box where the hay and poop fall into is a good way of keeping things tidy.
HIDEY HOUSE - Guinea pigs need somewhere that they can hide in to feel comfortable. Having a few of these with the liner pockets will give them lots of options to where they can rest. You can even customize GuineaDad's Crunchy Condo guinea pig home.
TUNNEL - Tunnels are similar to hidey houses, but the difference is that guinea pigs love to run in and out of tunnels. It's less about hiding in it and more of for fun!
Not everything in our “what do you need for a guinea pig list” is 100% necessary, but it is a good step towards building a comfortable life for them in their home.
11 comments
This is super helpful! If I knew where you live I could give you a baby guinea pig!! Thank you for making this!!!!!!!!
@Madi Yes, tunnels and hideys are must haves. Guinea pigs natural instinct is to hide often because they are prey animal. If the can’t find a place to hide, it makes them feel unsafe. Our tunnels are especially special because they are included as packaging for our GuineaDad Liners. Not only that, but they are safe for guinea pigs to chew on, as guinea pigs need to maintain their dental health as well. Hope this helps!
Is the tunnel a MUST HAVE? Or can I just stick with something else?
Is cardboard safe for guinea pigs to chew, because I have a cardboard box in my guinea pig cage and it chewed the box some.
Yes! The packaging are safe to chew on. We make sure that we use non-toxic products along with food contact safe paint in our packaging.