After a lot of thought you have decided to get a pet guinea pig. Now, all you need to know is how to select the right guinea pig for you and your family.  

Like most pets, just any old guinea pig from a store won’t do. You also need to know how to select a healthy guinea pig. And, you need to decide if you want a long haired or a short haired one. 

Keep in mind that, much like a dog or cat, guinea pigs do shed, so regular grooming will be needed. Most seem to enjoy being brushed. 

The biggest problem that many people run into is not understanding how to determine the gender of a guinea pig. This can lead to problems, especially if you are getting more than one guinea pig, which is advised. The first thing to realize is that you are not alone, and you cannot depend on pet store staff members to know how to determine the sex of guinea pigs either. 

Please note that you should avoid buying your guinea pig from a pet store. A pet store is more likely to buy their pets from “mills” and much like puppy mills, these animals are often over-bred, and kept in horrible conditions.  

Your best bet for getting a healthy guinea pig of the correct gender you want is to work directly with a reputable and professional breeder, or with a guinea pig rescue organization. 

In these groups, you can be sure that there will be someone who can properly sex guinea pigs, so that you end up with what you expected, so you do not end up with two males who could potentially harm each other, for example, due to male aggression.