Keeping guinea pigs is a wonderful hobby for kids and for adults.
For this reason guinea pigs are a popular pet.
However if you're thinking of buying your first piggy you do need to put some thought into how you will house your guinea pig.
Your new piggie will be kept in a guinea pig hutch in most cases.
They can be kept indoors or outdoors although if kept outdoors you should be aware that they can be subject to stress from excess heat or cold.
But before you buy your first guinea pig house you need to be aware of several things.
The majority of cages you find in pet shops or on the Internet are way too small, and will subject your new family members to a cramped lifestyle lacking in exercise and fun.
Of course the reason that most people end up with a cage that is too small is that the smallest hutches are the cheapest.
You need to make every effort to ensure that the hutch that you buy for your favourite pet is sufficiently large even if it means spending some extra money.
Some people overcome the problem of cost by making their own guinea pig hutch, and if you are able to do so this is a fine way of housing your favourite pet in a spacious house that will do an optimum job.
It is quite possible to build housing that is entirely adequate and which is very low cost if you source your own materials, including second-hand materials, and build it yourself.
However once you have your new hutch it is important to know that a guinea pig still needs entertainment, they will get bored easily.
The best way of course to provide entertainment is to provide a companion, however if you do that you need to pay particular attention to which sexes you put together.
Of course if you put a male and female together you will end up with baby piggies unless you desex one of them.
If you don't do this then you need to keep them apart and this of course defeats the purpose.
Putting 2 males together can result in fighting, and the best combination is to begin with 2 young females.
You should provide them with hay in their hutch, as well as playthings such as plastic pipes and small boxes with openings so that they can run in and out.
They also need something to chew on as they chew to reduce the length of their teeth and if you don't provide something for this purpose they will chew on something anyway, probably the hutch.
Guinea pigs make fine pets.
However a little forethought is necessary when choosing their hutch, to ensure you have one of inadequate size with plenty of playthings, and you need to know how many guinea pigs will go in the hutch and what sexes they will be before you buy.