Your First Guinea Pig: What to Do Before and During the First Week

Before bringing your guinea pigs home

Prepare the full enclosure before pickup so your guinea pigs can move straight into a quiet, safe space. Guinea pigs are social animals, so plan for a compatible pair rather than one pig living alone. Confirm their sex before housing them together to avoid an unexpected pregnancy.

• •A spacious enclosure with a solid floor and room to run
• •At least one hideout per guinea pig, plus one extra
• •Unlimited grass hay, fresh water, and guinea-pig pellets
• •Paper bedding or fleece over an absorbent layer
• •A digital kitchen scale that measures in grams
• •The contact details and emergency hours of a guinea-pig-experienced exotic vet

Arrival day: make safety the priority

Place your guinea pigs directly into their prepared enclosure and let them explore without forced handling. Hiding is normal after a journey. Keep the room calm, speak softly, and make sure hay and water are easy to find from the hideouts.

Check that each guinea pig eats and produces droppings. A guinea pig that stops eating can become critically ill quickly, so reduced appetite is not something to watch for several days.

Food for the first week

A simple, consistent diet protects the digestive system while the stress of moving settles. Fresh water should be available continuously and checked at least twice a day.

• •Keep unlimited grass hay available at all times
• •Continue the same pellets and vegetables they ate before the move, then change foods gradually
• •Provide a daily source of vitamin C, such as bell pepper
• •Introduce only one unfamiliar vegetable at a time
• •Avoid seed mixes, dairy treats, exercise drops, and sudden diet changes

Days 2 to 3: observe before handling

Sit beside the enclosure, talk quietly, and offer a familiar vegetable from your hand. Let your guinea pigs choose whether to approach. Brief necessary handling is fine, but chasing them around the cage to cuddle slows trust.

Record a starting weight for each pig. Weigh them at the same time each week and keep the numbers. Weight change often appears before obvious illness signs.

Days 4 to 7: build a predictable routine

Begin short, supported handling sessions if your guinea pigs are eating and settling normally. Support the chest and hindquarters, stay close to the floor, and return them before they become distressed. Add supervised floor time in a secure area with tunnels and cover.

• •Refresh hay and water every day
• •Spot-clean wet bedding and remove old vegetables
• •Check eyes, nose, breathing, feet, coat, appetite, and droppings
• •Keep feeding and cleaning times consistent
• •Book a routine new-pet examination with your exotic veterinarian

Signs that need prompt veterinary care

Contact an exotic veterinarian promptly for reduced eating, fewer droppings, weight loss, discharge from the eyes or nose, noisy or difficult breathing, diarrhea, a swollen abdomen, blood, severe lethargy, or trouble walking. Open-mouth breathing, collapse, and not eating are emergencies.

The Wheeky Guide app turns this first week into a day-by-day checklist and keeps food safety, cage setup, vitamin C, sounds, and emergency guidance together. It supports your routine, but it does not replace veterinary care.