Guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats, most people have pets these days. But how much do you actually spend on it? Can it be cheaper, what do you spend an unnecessary amount of money on? What better way to buy? What can you save some money with, or should you really invest more in? Need any useful tips regarding the costs? This is about rabbits and guinea pigs, their minimal needs that you can save on. I have also tracked monthly costs, which might be useful if you are thinking about getting a pet? What costs of the vet can you at least take into account?
Rabbits and guinea pigs actually have roughly the same needs. Only rabbits need more space. (Which, of course, doesn’t mean we can now put our guinea pigs in small boxes.)
Enter
For both animals, it is most convenient to give ‘dry’ grain, the simple food. Because you will soon see that they only choose the tastiest food if you give mixed food. Then you either have to wait a long time before they finish everything, or they just wait until they get new food supplemented, and then look for the best food.
The nice thing about giving regular grain is that it is also cheaper! Here we have 2.5 kilograms for the rabbits for 1.49 euros, which they can use for a month. Guinea pigs also need vitamin C in their food, which makes the food more expensive. You will usually find mixed feed at the supermarkets for a relatively high price. It is very important that you give guinea pig food to guinea pigs, and not rabbit food, guinea pigs really need vitamin C. This is because both humans and guinea pigs do not produce vitamin C.
The guinea pigs get half an apple and some chicory every day, which they do well. Guinea pigs often like to get some fruit and vegetables, this does not have to be very much. Parsley works well to get them used to your hand. Rabbits get diarrhea a little faster, which you should definitely watch out for because of maggots.
Hay
Guinea pigs in particular (at least here, although I usually hear that guinea pigs do indeed eat more hay) need a lot of hay. I used to buy at the supermarket or the same store where I get the food, but that was gone in less than a month (about 2.50, 70 liters). The hay from the supermarket (Dirk van de Broek and Albert Heijn, other shops have no experience) is often dusty and they prefer the current hay to the hay from the supermarkets.
What I really like about me is buying hay from a horse keeper or farmer. For seven euros I had a bale of hay that they can use for almost six months. This is just horse hay, it is even extra good for the teeth because it is long blades and keeps the teeth short.
The guinea pigs eat quite a lot of hay (about one rack per day) and the rabbits eat one hay ball every few days when it is convenient for them. As a result, they need more food, while the guinea pigs need less.
So a simple tip is, feed them a lot of hay, the teeth are very good, and they take longer with the feed.
Ground cover
At Dirk van den Broek you can buy handy packs of straw that are divided into four and contain almost no dust. The suits are one kilo and one euro.
Some straw from pet shops can be a bit dusty, then it is advisable to let it ‘air out’ (just shaking it out is often enough).
I myself use sawdust, also from Dirk, those packs are around 1.20, good enough for two weeks of clean lofts (but a layer of straw is covered). My rabbits do their needs in one place as standard, easy to clean and with a layer of straw they can go on for another week.
Guinea pigs are almost impossible to house train, but with a nice spacious pen it is fine if you clean it every week.
Further purchase costs
The drinking bottle and food bowl are a one-time purchase. After about a year, a drinking bottle breaks. Food bowls are a few euros, if you buy a sturdy one, they almost never need to be replaced. A rack for the hay, they trample a large part on the ground. At Zooplus.nl you can get a lot for a few euros, of excellent quality.
A travel basket is very handy, at the time they were available for 8.95 euros, now for 12 euros. It is useful if one of the animals has to go to the vet. If you choose a sturdy one, you will be with it for at least five years.
Veterinarian
Then of course the vet! There are two veterinarians in the area, one charges 35 euros for a consultation, the other 19.50 for a consultation. I usually go there, not very expensive, but also professional and very friendly.
I do not vaccinate my rabbits and have never been to the vet. They haven’t had anything since the years they’ve been here. The guinea pigs do, you can count on twice a year. Something had to be done recently, but that was not too bad for this vet, about sixty euros, the other guinea pig was allowed to stay there, so calm for both.
If you assume that every animal you have needs a visit at least twice a year, you are in the right direction. If you don’t trust it you should always go to the vet. Rather too much than too little.
marketplace
Not clumsy either, Marktplaats. Here you can buy a cage (for fifty euros I had a completely new cage, still in packaging), but also a food bowl, a large run? You do have to disinfect a loft well, if it has been bought second-hand, the same applies for acquired drinking bottles.
On average, I spent 12 euros a month on two rabbits and two guinea pigs, excluding the purchase of cages. However, this is from the last six months, and they did not have to go to the vet during that period.
Finally: always go to the vet if necessary, after all rather too much than too little, it can cost you your animal.
