Holiday care for guinea pigs: never alone, ideally at home

According to the RSPCA, guinea pigs prefer the company of their own kind and can develop abnormal behaviour if left alone for long; the vets at the Royal Veterinary College stress that they should never live alone. While you’re away, the group stays together, in the same hutch or enclosure.

A guinea pig that lives alone for medical reasons needs interaction every day: ask whoever looks after them to spend time with them.

A friend, relative or pet sitter at home

The gentlest option: the RSPCA advises finding someone who will meet all their needs in their usual surroundings.

A home boarder or small-animal boarding

Visit before you book, as the PDSA advises, and check that your guinea pigs will stay together, away from dogs, cats and rabbits.

If they have to travel, keep the group together, with their hay, a hide and familiar items, and avoid the hottest part of the day: according to the MSD manual, travelling in very hot or very cold weather needs extra care.

• Book early: good places fill up quickly in summer and at Christmas, according to the PDSA.
• Leave more hay, fresh pellets in sealed bags and bedding than they’ll need, without changing their diet: a sudden change can make them ill.
• Weigh each guinea pig before you leave and note their weight: your sitter can compare.
• Trim their nails, and have any guinea pig that worries you checked before you go.
• Have the sitter come round once while you’re there, to show them what to do.

Hay and water

Unlimited hay, refreshed every day; the bottle checked, cleaned and filled every day.

Vegetables and pellets

Which vegetables, how much and when, the fresh portion of pellets each day, and what must never be given.

Cleaning

Remove droppings and wet bedding every day, and where to find spare bedding.

Treatments

Each medicine with the dose, time and how to give it, for the right guinea pig.

Checks

Every day, check that each one is eating, drinking and producing droppings; in warm weather, look at their bottoms twice a day.

Who’s who

A photo and the name of each guinea pig, so they don’t get mixed up.

Contacts

Your number, a trusted person, your vet and an out-of-hours vet who treats guinea pigs.

The PDSA advises leaving written instructions, going through them with your sitter, and giving them your vet’s details in case of emergency.

Guinea pigs don’t sweat and overheat quickly. According to the MSD manual, they are comfortable at around 18 to 24 °C; Blue Cross warns that above 26 °C, heatstroke can be fatal. At the other end, the RSPCA advises bringing them indoors when it’s below 15 °C.

• Keep their enclosure in the shade, away from a sunny window or a radiator, and out of draughts.
• In hot weather: cool water, a cold tile or a frozen bottle wrapped in a cloth, and a fan that doesn’t blow directly on them.
• In warm weather, flies can lay eggs on a dirty bottom: remove soiled bedding every day.

MyArk builds the pet sitter sheet from what’s already in the app: routines, treatments and contacts. Invite your sitter into the household: they log every meal and weigh-in, and you can see all is well, even from far away.

• Each guinea pig’s meals and regular care
• Current treatments and upcoming reminders
• Your vet’s and emergency contact details
• The shared care log, which you can check wherever you are