Guinea pig is one of the most sociable pet which belongs to the family of rodents. If you want to own one, then how much does a guinea pig cost?
If you want the best for your Guinea pig, the first thing you should do is to buy Guinea pigs in pairs as they are herds by nature and they prefer to have cage mates unless you can take care of them 24/7. But having two instead of 
one
doesn’t mean it will cost you twice in terms of maintenance, cleaning and time. It only costs about 25-50% more for buying and maintaining a pair of Guinea pigs.
Watching two of them interact, seeing their similarities in their appearances and individuality, and catching them cuddling together would be better to enjoy that to look at a pig showing a blank face who is terrified of his human mate.
Costs of a Guinea Pig According to Physical Attributes
- If you have selected a guinea pig that has short, black, cream and white hair or that come with common markings, such Guinea pigs cost you about $20 to $40.
- But if you want to have a more distinct type of guinea pig that has no hairs, it is priced at $54.99 on PetSmart.
- How much is it for the Himalayan or the Peruvian? The most expensive price would be these two types of rodents that have long, curly hair. Each of this type has guinea pig price around $30 to $60 and you should be very lucky to find these types of Guinea pigs at any rescue centers as they are very rare.
In general, the guinea pig price ranges from $20 to $40, depending on the color of the guinea pig you have chosen. However, the costs can go higher when you buy other items such as cage and toys as well as spending on its daily or monthly maintenance.
Where to buy these cute and cuddly animals? You can get these either from pet stores, breeders, humane organization or animal rescue centers. The cheapest would be to get yours from rescue centers.
Also Read: Cute Hamster Cost
Guinea Pig Prices On Major Online Pet Stores
If you want to know where to buy Guinea pigs, one of the latest method is online, either at pet stores or at rescue websites.
- Guinea pig cost at PetCo is $40, as of Feb 2017.
- Cost of a Hairy Male/Female Guinea pig at PetSmart is $35 as of Feb 2017.
- Skinny Guinea pig price at PetSmart is $54.99 and availability is seasonal (Check availability)
Extra Costs
Of course, when you take care of an animal, whatever it may be, you should be able to provide its needs to make it live longer. 
- Cage or Enclosure
In choosing a cage or an enclosure for your pet guinea pig, make sure it has a space of, at least, 7.5 square feet for one rodent and minimum 10.5 square feet for two Guinea pigs. Most of the cages that are being sold in pet stores don’t meet this requirement, unfortunately. When it comes to its price, decent Guinea pig cage costs between $50 to $300 on pet stores, depending the on the cage’s size and what its made of. If you make one yourself, you can do it for a budget less than $50. C&C cages have good features for a sound cage.
Don’t buy aquariums as they have less air circulation and has very little space inside. Yes, it’s cheap. But you don’t want your pet to suffer to save a few dollars, do you?
If you want a recommendation for the cage which is cheap as well as efficient, Amazon offers MidWest Guinea Habitat cage for an affordable price and is 8 square feet long.
Don’t go for starter kits which offer multiple items like a cage, water bottle, bedding and bowl for very cheap prices. Starter kit items are substandard quality and shouldn’t be a preference for pet parents who cares for their pets.
- Bedding and Hiding Space
As a general reference, guinea pigs sleep and love to hide, hence a bedding and a hiding space would be necessary. For the bedding, you can start with less expensive type, which is made of wood shavings (except cedar shavings since they are allergic to them). The price of Guinea pig bedding ranges from $7 to $50.
For its hiding space, you can actually make your own using either fabric, metal, wood or wicker materials. But if you want the ready-made item, then you can purchase a plastic-made hiding space that costs between $6 to $25.
Fleece is a relatively new bedding, is re-usable and as a result is effective and cheap.
- Items for Feeding
Evidently, your pet needs to eat food and drink water. You can either have a feed bowl or you can have the water in a hanging feeder. Hanging feeder is recommended as it avoids spillage and spoilage of water and food.
So, you need a feed bowl which would either be made of ceramic or metal, costing around $3 to $20.
You also need a hanging water bottle to ensure that the water will not be spilled. If you need to know how much does Guinea pig hanging water bottles costs, it’s $10 to $25.
- Food Consumption
Hay is a grass that has been cut and dried to make it as food for animals. Because of this dried grass, the rodents’ teeth slowly grow, remain blunted, and are provided with more fiber and other essential nutrients. To have a steady supply of hay, cost of hay is $5 to $35 for every 32-ounce bag of hay.
Pet owners and veterinarians recommend a Timothy hay which usually cost from $5 to $35 depending on the size.
Aside from hay, guinea pigs also love to eat fresh fruits and vegetables as well as pellet food. If your guinea pig is under 10 months, they will need an alfalfa hay-based pellet food. Older ones eat timothy hay-based pellet food for adult guinea pigs like Oxbow’s Cavy Cuisine.
If you can spare enough budget for fresh vegetables, then you need to feed you pet guinea pig with one cup of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Such food items provide nutrients for the animal. Some of the fruits and vegetables it likes to eat are:
- Fruits – blueberries, cherries, kiwi, mango, orange, papaya, raisins, strawberries, watermelon
- Vegetables -asparagus, bib lettuce, carrot, green or red pepper, kale, peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, turnips, watercress
As much as possible, do NOT feed it with these food items:
- Buttercups, Daffodils, Dairy products, Meat, Nuts, Poppies, Rabbit Pellets, Rhubarb, Seeds, Tulip, White Potatoes
You must also feed your guinea pig with pellet food since it is rich in Vitamin C, which is highly needed for the development of the fury animal. However, NEVER feed it with pellets for rabbits or other animals.You can spend around $8 to $25 for a 5-pound bag of guinea pig pellets.
- a Bottle of Vitamin C
Since your guinea pig or pigs need Vitamin C, you can supplement its food consumption with this dietary supplement that comes in drops or tablets. You should know that it needs 30 to 50 mg or two pounds of vitamin C daily, but never go beyond what it needed to avoid overdosing the tiny animal.
If for instance, you need to cut your budget, then you may not purchase Vitamin C supplements as long as you provide the guinea pig with fruits and vegetable rich in that particular nutrient.
- Toys
Who doesn’t want their cute pets to enjoy their time? But while choosing toys, you should be careful. Many choose exercise bowl which is a terrible idea as it affects the health of your Guinea pig. Guinea pigs love anything they can run through like a rolled up kraft paper rolls. They are a big fan of cardboard type tubes like Oxbow’s timothy tunnel where they can run from one end to another. Paper bags or even newspapers can be amazing play toys for your buddy.
- Vet Expenses
A trip to the vet will not be free, of course. It would cost anywhere between $10 to $40 depending on your vet. To ensure your guinea pig is in the best health condition as much as possible, a regular check-up with a vet will be nice. Just be prepared to spend a little more. If possible, find a do vet doctor who is specialized in the issues related to Guinea pig. Dog or cat veterinary specialist wouldn’t be your best bet for the check ups.
Hope your question of how much are Guinea pigs are answered. But how much does guinea pigs cost if you combine the guinea pig price and the total extra costs? It will give you about $250, which is the least amount you need to spend if you have plans in taking care of a guinea pig