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Guinea pigs are herd animals and must live in pairs or groups: single pigs are a welfare failure. Unlike rabbits they need no vaccinations, but they cannot make vitamin C, so daily fresh veg or C-fortified nuggets are essential, not a treat. Bedding and vet figures are per household; food is per pig.
What The Guinea Pig Cost Calculator Works Out
- First year: the setup level plus a year of running costs. A sensible pair setup runs a few hundred pounds, with modern welfare guidance and the C&C-cage movement having retired the pet-shop starter cage in favour of floor space measured in square metres.
- Each year after: (food per pig x pigs + bedding + vet fund) x 12. Hay is the dominant consumable at 80% of the diet, with plain nuggets and the daily fresh veg that covers their defining quirk: guinea pigs cannot synthesise vitamin C, so peppers and greens are a medical requirement, not a treat.
- Over a 6-year life: setup plus six years of running costs, the purchase price once again the smallest number in a five-to-seven-year commitment.
- Lifespan (advanced): change the years used for the lifetime total; five to seven is typical and the card label updates.
- Purchase fee and neutering (advanced): add what you paid per pig (rescue adoption fees of GBP 20 to GBP 40 usually include a health check) and neutering if you keep a boar with sows. Unlike rabbits, guinea pigs need no vaccinations and single-sex groups need no surgery.
- Bedding type (advanced): washable fleece liners cost about GBP 60 once and then cut the monthly bedding bill by around 70% compared with shavings or paper, at the price of a weekly wash. The comparison card shows the annual saving either way.
- Holiday cover (advanced): boarding or a pet-sitter for the days a year you are away, typically GBP 6 to GBP 10 a day for a group.
- Vet visits (advanced): exotic-vet pricing applies when things go wrong: dental overgrowth on poor hay discipline, fungal skin issues, bladder stones on calcium-heavy veg and respiratory infections from dusty bedding, at about GBP 60 a consultation. Budget a number of visits or rely on the vet fund. The weekly weigh-in on kitchen scales is the free early-warning system.
- Price inflation (advanced): raises running costs each year in the lifetime total and the table.
- Per month, per pig and the year-by-year table (advanced): the ongoing cost averaged per month, the cost per pig (each extra pig adds mainly food because bedding and the vet fund are shared), and the cumulative spend with the setup in year one. Hay by the bale from a farm supplier, grass time in a secure run all summer and veg from the household's own trimmings are the economies with a clear conscience; the tiny cage, muesli mixes and skipped hay are the false ones.
Further reading: PDSA: guinea pig care.