In 2011, Kirsten Davey bought her first guinea pig on a whim. Little did she know she’d fall in love and go on to adopt a whole family of these small fluffy animals. Sheldon, Luna, Poppy, Neville, Tilly, and Pippin have all found their forever home with Kirsten. Together they couldn’t be happier.
“When I bought my first guinea pig, I looked online to find out how to look after it and discovered you need two,” says Kirsten. “They get lonely if they’re by themselves, and don’t express normal behaviours. Their behaviour totally changes once they get their little friend. They talk to each other and are a lot happier.”
With the first two settled and happy, Kirsten decided she wanted more. “They’re addictive. I went through the RSPCA to do fostering. I fostered a little boy and fell in love with him. I ended up adopting him. Then I just got more and more until now I have six. I’m terrible at fostering,” she laughs.
For anyone thinking guinea pigs are easy pets, Kirsten disagrees. “It’s a lot of work. I thought they’d be really simple, but you have to clean their cage out every single day. They need fresh vegetables every day, fresh hay, and they require a lot of space. I have three cages; it takes 20 minutes per cage to clean and then there’s going to stock feed places for hay. I have them inside. Keeping the area clean means a lot of sweeping.”
Then there’s the health issues. And grieving the ones who die. Over 11 years Kirsten has had 18 guinea pigs. “Mostly the illnesses are infections. They can also have teeth problems, urinary tract infections, mites, and I’ve had a few with heart issues. It takes a lot to make sure they stay healthy.”
The lifespan of a guinea pig is five to six years. Some can make it to eight years. “The oldest I’ve had was seven. Most of the time they’ve passed away from heart issues or cancer. Some I’ve had for the whole six or seven years, some I’ve only had for six months.”
Kirsten holds a burial ceremony in her backyard for her guineas when their life ends. The surviving buddy guinea pig attends the ceremony, and then Kirsten takes it back to the rescue centre to find a new buddy. “We do a lot of guinea pig speed dating. Some are really easy to pair. You can tell straight away if they’re not going to like each other – they’ll start showing behaviours like teeth chattering and hair raising. You know to separate them.”
Even though pet guinea pigs are more work and expense than Kirsten imagined, she wouldn’t be without them. “It’s absolutely worth it. I love seeing their little faces in the morning. They scream at me to get their food and play with them, and they show so much affection.”
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