Is it hard to take care of a guinea pig?

Answers:
They are not too hard care for as long as you have the time %26 money to take care of them properly.
I have had guinea pigs before, I loved them but they need a lot of attention %26 can be hard to care for. One Piggy that i got from a pet store died a month later. The other which my Mom gave me lived about 6 months. I had a very nice caged for my piggy with a little house inside the cage for her to hide in. I followed the care guide word for word! I didn't use cedar bedding, I gave my piggy vitamin C drops, gave her timothy hay, and I petted her every day (which by the way they really need attention)
My second piggy died from depression when my Dad was in the hospital for a week (I didn't give piggy any loving for a week all she got was just food,water, her vitamins %26 timothy hay.) I just can't stand to see a pet die when I did all I could to care for it.
Thats when I decided that guinea pigs are not for me.
(Note: I was 20 when I had my guinea pig problems)
Here are some sites I found for you to look over, I hope these site will help to answer your questions.
Care guide
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/guineas/...
Your new Cavy (guinea Pig) care guide
http://www.cavymadness.com/carenewcavy.p...
Here is a list is questions %26 answers about Guinea Pigs
http://www.cavymadness.com/faq.html...
Hope this helps

---

not really... but do not, do not i repeat do not give the little guy a bath in HOT water. my sister had a guinea when we were younger and she gave that pig a bath in hot water. sorry to say she had a clean little dude, but a dead one as well!!

---

It is not hard to care for guinea pigs. Just make sure they have enough room as well as proper food and plenty of water.
They also need toys to chew to keep their teeth at a manageable length.
Guinea pigs can "scream" and they do it for various reasons. If you have close neighbors, you might want to warn them!
Be sure to use pine shavings - not red cedar. The red cedar is toxic to them!
If you have small children, make sure you keep a very close eye on them around the guinea pigs - they bite HARD.

---

No, if you know what you're supposed to do. For food, I just get a bowl, and fill it up. Guinea pigs don't eat all of their food at once. For the water, you need a special water bottle that you attach from the outside, or that is attached on top, so that they can easily drink. Make sure that the cage is a very hard plastic, so that they don't gnaw a whole, and get out. And make sure that the cage doesn't have a metal bottom that has wholes in it, for the droppings to fall. Their feet could get caught in the wholes, and damaged. Clean the cage out once a week, and make sure they get plenty of attention. Guinea pig's claws continually grow, so you'll have to cut them occasionally. Make sure that they can gnaw on some wooden tows to keep their teeth from over growing. Also, with my guinea pig, I to let it out in an enclosed pen/fence, so it could run around, once a day for 15-20 minutes. Good Luck.

---

This is "hard" only if for you this is a chore.
My guinea pig is dead yesterday and I can tell you, I took care of him as much as I could and loved him sincrely this little chubby cutie...
A guinea pig is a very friendly pet, able to recognize you and appreciate hugs etc...
Every week:
* change the cage
* check his teeth
* check if he or she is not allergic to food etc
Every day
* give fresh food, hay and guinea pig menu
* hugs, talk to him/her, take him/her in your arms, watch tv with him/her ;-)
Every two days
* change the water
* remove dirty hay and replace by clean hay
I hope this helps.

---

I would not say its "hard" to take care of a guinea pig as long as you know what you're doing %26 have done your research on what it means to PROPERLY care for one. I would be more apt to call it "time consuming" %26 a little on the expensive side. They*do* require a certain degree of care and maturity on the part of the caretaker.
I have previously given you two links to read in another post. These two links will give you all the information you need to know about caring for guinea pigs.

---

Space, time, money for food and vet bills all need to be thought about before getting a guinea pig.
Pet store cages are wayy to small for any guinea pig. A C%26C cage is easy to make, cheaper, and much bigger and better gor your pig. www.guineapigcages.com has instructions on making your own or ordering a premade one. DO NOT use cedar chips for bedding like someone previously suggested. They are very harmful to your gp. GuineaLynx has bedding ideas.
Diet is very important: Quality pellets (no extra colorful bit or seeds) are essential. Oxbow is a good brand pellet. At least a cup of fresh veggies every day. Unlimited timothy hay 24/7. Vitmain c supplements. http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html.... has more diet details.
* Vitman C should not be put in the water. It weakens in water and you can't measure how much the guinea pig gets a day. Use vit.C drops or chewable tablets.
Guinea pigs need daily floor/exercise time in a safe place. At least an hour a day is best. Since GP are social animals, it's best to have 2 so that they will have company all the time. Be sure they are the same sex though. Pregnancies are very dangerous for piggies.
Also, please consider adopting your pig instead of buying one. There are sooooo many great, healthy guinea pigs that need homes in shelters and rescues all over the country. Pets stores usually sell unhealthy pigs that have been poorly taken care of. Petfinder.com will help you find a pig in your area.