Guinea pigs are small and sociable animals. They are considered to be great first pets for children and are relatively easy to look after. See how much it’d cost you to have one
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In this article: Guinea pig vet cost | How much is a guinea pig? | How much is a guinea pig cage? | How much is a guinea pig hutch? | How much is a guinea pig run? | How much does guinea pig food cost?
Guinea pig vet cost
In 2018, Exotic Direct paid out:
- £418 for the treatment of a guinea pig suffering from weight loss
- £363 for the treatment of a guinea pig with respiratory problems
- £222 for a guinea pig with eye problems
- £285 for a guinea pig with a bloody urine
Insure your Guinea Pig for £2,000 of vet fees, and add his brothers and sisters onto your policy too. Up to three piggies can be on a policy.
Your actual vet costs will depend on the issue and how difficult it is to investigate and treat.
Instead of buying you can adopt from a shelter and give a guinea pig its forever home
How much is a guinea pig?
A guinea pig costs around £20.
However, there are a lot of guinea pigs in need of re-homing in animal shelters.
The adoption fee should be around £20, which is the same amount you’d pay if you bought your guinea pig; but adopting means you’d be giving a guinea pig in a shelter a home.
Guinea pigs are small animals but they need a spacious cage to run around and exercise
How much is a guinea pig cage?
A guinea pig cage costs between £15 to about £150. The exact amount will depend on the type of cage you need. Larger cages tend to be more in the range of £50 to £200 with some of the high-end ones.
The largest cage we found when researching this article was 64 by 74 by 149 cm and cost £149.99.
Smaller cages are cheaper. The cheapest one we found was £14.99 with dimension 30 by 23 by 30cm.
It is important to consider the size of the cage before buying. Make sure your pet has plenty of room to move around. If you have more than one, you’ll need at least a 1.2m by 70cm.
How much is a guinea pig hutch?
Hutches cost between £50 to over £200. They tend to be more expensive than cages as they tend to be larger and sturdier. The cheapest one we found was £55 from Jolly’s and it is a relatively spacious one too.
The most expensive hutch we found was £699 and was 199x146x93cm and was combined with a run and ramps.
If you have one guinea pig, the hutch needs to be around 90cm long by 70cm wide, whereas for two it should be at least 1.2m long by 70cm wide. Their prices vary between around £70 to £130.
Bear in mind that guinea pigs, in spite of being very small animals, need a spacious living space to stay happy and healthy.
Look here for more on Guinea pig set-up
How much is a guinea pig run?
Runs can cost anything between £20 to over £200. It depends on the run.
The size of the run will affect its price, and so will how sturdy and equipped it is. You can find spacious runs that may not be of a very sturdy construction and are unlikely to come with any extras.
If you’re a breeder or have many guinea pigs you could be looking at spending over £300 for a run that will be spacious enough for all of them.
The run should be big enough for your guinea pig to comfortably run around and exercise. If you’d rather build your own run, have a look how to here.
Guinea pigs need hay, grass and pellets
How much does guinea pig food cost?
Hay and grass should form the majority of your Guinea pig’s diet. This should be freely available at all times. Hay and grass are important to help control the continual growth of your Guinea pig’s teeth, and to ensure your Guinea pig’s gut continues to move freely.
A lack of hay and grass can lead to gastrointestinal motility (also known as gut stasis). This means the gut stops moving, and it can be fatal if left untreated by a vet.
Your Guinea pig’s diet can be topped off with pellets containing vitamin C and fresh vegetables.
A 500 gram bag of hay costs around £5.
Guinea pig pellets cost between £1.50 and £15 depending on what size you’re after. For example, Jollyes do a bag of 1.50 kg of pellets for £2.99 and one of 10kg that costs £13.
Good vegetables to give are ones high in vitamin C such as salad peppers, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus, broccoli and leafy greens.
Is your Guinea pig insured? Get a quote for £2,000 of vet fee cover | Insure up to 3 pets per policy | We’ve been insuring exotic pets since 1996 | Check out our customer reviews on Feefo
Learn more about guinea pig diet and nutrition here.
All prices were correct October 2018.