Guinea Pig Homing Requirements

Please do contact us before purchasing a cage or hutch - we have lots of experience of what is best for the guinea pigs and our homing requirements are there for the good of the animals. We don't like having to tell people that the thing they've just bought is totally unsuitable! 

Indoors or Out?

We prefer our guinea pigs to go to indoor homes where they will be part of the family. While we do occasionally re-home to outdoor setups, to meet our requirements you will need a well-built hutch that is housed in a secure, predator-proof (heated) shed or outbuilding (not a garage or conservatory). This is not just for the guinea pig's benefit; it's no fun having to clean and feed outside during a British Winter! 

Indoor guinea pigs enjoy much more human interaction than most that are kept outside, and it's also much easier to notice changes in behaviour that might indicate illness. The temperature is also more comfortable all year round. We prioritise indoor homes for these reasons. 

Cage Size

The standard recommended cage size for guinea pigs is a minimum of 4' x 2' (120cm x 60cm) for a pair on a single level. But, bigger is definitely better! We prioritise applications with larger space. Popular double-level style hutches are very often unsuitable for piggies who don't manage ramps well, so avoid these. Commercial hutches are often not 2' deep! Please check with us before purchasing a cage or hutch as it's an expensive thing to get wrong. 

For indoor cages we insist on a minimum of 120cm and strongly recommend 140 or 160cm (or 2 x 4 grid C&C). 

Examples include the Ferplast Plaza 160 https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hutches_cages/guinea_pig_cages/120_cm_cages/570171

Or for C&C options see https://kaveecage.co.uk/

Popular and well built hutches can be bought from Home and Roost https://homeandroost.co.uk/product/hutch-6ft-chartwell-single/

In addition to their daily habitat, guinea pigs need a playpen for supervised floor time (indoors) or a secure run for grazing when weather allows (outdoors). This is really important for their well being, a change of scene and space to explore is one of the 5 freedoms. If outdoors, this needs to be a wooden-framed predator proof lidded run such as https://homeandroost.co.uk/product/small-folding-canterbury-guinea-pig-run/

Guinea Lynx has more info on cage sizes here 

Children and Other Pets

Some of our guinea pigs have had a rough start in life and will need careful and gentle handling to get used to their new families. The most common reason for guinea pigs being surrendered is due to the children losing interest! So you need to be sure that the whole family is on board with the responsibilities involved with a living thing. We believe that pets are an important aspect of life for children and can happily advise on handling and taming. We also know all of our piggies very well and know which are more suitable than others to family homes. If we say certain guinea pigs need an adult home, it's because they are nervous or skittish and are unlikely to tolerate being handled by children. Unfortunately, drops / falls can easily be fatal for a guinea pig so teaching your children to handle them safely and correctly is essential. 

Cats and dogs can live in harmony in a household with small pets if properly introduced but safety cannot be taken for granted and every precaution must be taken to ensure any enclosure is predator proof. Again, we are happy to advise on introductions with existing pets. 

Guinea pigs must never be mixed with rabbits or other small pets. Guinea pigs need company of their own kind above all else. 


Breeding and Showing 

Please note that we do not re-home guinea pigs for breeding or showing. These have very specific requirements and our rescued guinea pigs are not suitable to be bred from under any circumstances. Our adoption agreement requires you to sign to this effect. 

Change of Circumstances 

Guinea pigs adopted from EAGPR MUST be returned to the rescue if circumstances change and you can no longer keep them (for whatever reason). Under no circumstances are they to be sold on or passed to another home. 

Adoption Donation

We are entirely self-funded so donations to our work are always very welcome.

We ask for a minimum adoption fee of £25 per guinea pig, either when you collect them or via paypal to eastangliangpr@gmail.com



If you have any questions please do get in touch or complete our online Adoption application