Tips for Finding a Great Pet Sitter for Your Guinea Pigs

So you have a pair of guinea pigs and now you want to go on vacation. If bringing the piggies along isn't realistically a possibility, you need to find a pet sitter. Many guinea pig owners just leave their precious pets with the neighbor's kid or their dog's pet sitter. However, if possible you should leave your guinea pigs with a pet sitter who is cavy savvy (in other words, someone who actually knows something about guinea pigs). If you cannot find a cavy savvy pet sitter, there are a few things you can do to help your pet sitter out. As someone who frequently pet sits guinea pigs and as someone who has had to find a pet sitter, I've put together information on how to find a good pet sitter for your wonderful cavies. I've included questions people ask me and questions I think they should be asking. Once you know where to look and what to ask, you should be able to find someone suitable.

Where to Look for a Cavy Savvy Pet Sitter

With very common pets such as dogs and cats, finding a pet sitter is easy. There are pet sitting services, kennels, neighbors who also have dogs, relatives, and others all available to you. While guinea pigs are fairly common pets, it's less common to find a pet sitter that actually knows something about their care. Even if your neighbor does have guinea pigs, that doesn't necessarily mean they actually know much about guinea pigs. If you know other good cavy owners like yourself, ask them who they use. If you frequent a guinea pig message board, ask for recommendations there. Probably the best place to find local guinea pig pet sitters, is your local guinea pig rescue. Volunteers who foster guinea pigs will also frequently have temporary extra space available for pet sitting. Some of these volunteers will donate all or a percentage of the pet sitting fee to the rescue. Generally, foster homes have been screened so if you're having a foster home for a guinea pig rescue pet sit for you, you have a good indication that your pets are probably in good hands. In any case, I would still recommend asking questions as well.

Leaving the Pigs with a Pet Sitter or Having Someone Check on Them in Your Home

Many people think that it's a good idea to have a pet sitter come to their house so that their pets do not have to change environments. However, the thing with guinea pigs is that they go downhill fast once they get sick. So even if your pet sitter isn't home eight hours a day because they work, having your pets stay with them still gives those pets more time to be noticed than if the pet sitter just dropped by your house for 30 minutes a day to care for them. If the pet sitter is only checking on your guinea pigs briefly, they may not notice any signs of illness when they are over if something has gone wrong. If a waterbottle malfunctions, they won't catch it until their next visit. For these reasons, I always pet sit guinea pigs in my own home and I always leave my guinea pigs with a pet sitter rather than having someone come over to check on them.

Supplies and Food: What You Should Provide

I recommend that you provide your pets with their own cage, bedding, hay, pellets, and dishes during their stay with a pet sitter. You don't want to change things too much for your pets. I generally provide vegetables as well for my pet sitter. However, if you're going away for more than a week you'll probably have to have the pet sitter buy the veggies. In that case, you should write a list of the veggies they are allowed to eat and will actually eat. When I pet sit guinea pigs, I always ask the owners for a list of veggies they enjoy so that I'll know what to give them. If need be, I will provide hay, bedding, and pellets as well. Sometimes if you're on your way to the airport, you don't want to bring along huge bags of supplies. If you aren't going to be able to bring along supplies, ask the pet sitter what types of supplies they have on hand or would be able to purchase (at your expense of course). I always have kiln dried pine bedding, orchard grass, and high quality plain guinea pig pellets of either alfalfa or timothy available. However, if you're going with someone who may not be very knowledgeable about guinea pigs, they may not have proper supplies. Make sure your pet will be cared for and get all that they need. It's also important that you tell your pet sitter how much your guinea pigs normally eat. Make sure the pet sitter is going to put in enough hay, pellets, and veggies. Ask how often they'll clean the cage so that you know your piggies are going to be kept in a nice environment. Many pet sitters will happily just follow whatever rules you give them on cage cleaning and feeding.

Ask About Their Experiences Detecting Illnesses and How They'll Handle a Problem

This is something that I really wish more people would ask. A lot of people just assume there will not be a problem. Hopefully, there won't be a problem with your guinea pigs while they are with the pet sitter. Just incase, be prepared for an emergency. I require pet owners to give me emergency contact information. I also require written and signed instructions for what they want done if I am unable to reach them. Check and see if your pet sitter is willing to take your animals to the vet should they fall ill. Are they also willing to take them to an emergency vet at 3:00am if need be? Ask your vet if they will hold the bill so that you can pay it when you get back. Let your pet sitter know your limit and let your vet know as well if they'll let you pay later. Pet sitters generally can't afford to be out money because you can't afford the bill, so let them know in advance what your limit is. It's all well and good that your pet sitter will in fact take your guinea pigs to the vet should they become ill, but none of that will matter if they can't tell a sick guinea pig from a healthy one. See what your pet sitter is doing to ensure the animals are healthy during their stay. You should be weighing your guinea pigs weekly to note any changes. Your pet sitter should also weigh them. I treat pet sitting animals as quarantine animals that I want to notice illness in immediately if anything should pop up. Therefore, I weigh guinea pigs in my care daily if they are here for pet sitting or quarantine. If their weight drops, something might be amiss. I also check their eyes, nose, and ears to be sure everything is clear and stays clear. If they make an unusual sound, I'll check them out with my stethoscope. Of course, you're unlikely to find someone who will do everything possible and will know about several guinea pig illnesses. At minimum, they should be watching for crusty eyes and weighing at least weekly.

Prices and Additional Services Offered

Before you check out your potential pet sitter too much, make sure that you can afford them. Some pet sitters have a daily rate and others have a weekly rate. Some charge per pet, while others charge per cage (as it isn't much more difficult to take care of two guinea pigs if they're both in the same cage). Some sitters require a deposit to hold your appointment, others only require that you pay half of the amount when you drop off the pets, while others require the full amount at the time of drop off. Many pet sitters offer additional services as well and may also charge for these. I will trim nails, clean boar anal sacs, print a copy of the daily weight chart, and email a digital photo. I include these services, but other sitters do not. If it is important to you that an additional service is available, check with the pet sitter first to see what is offered.

What to Do if You Can't Find a Cavy Savvy Pet Sitter

Let's face it, not everyone can find a great cavy savvy pet sitter. Maybe in your area not many people have pet guinea pigs, and those that do have guinea pigs don't really know how to properly care for them. There are a few things that you can do to help educate your pet sitter. First you'll need to find a pet sitter that is willing to learn. Show them your daily routine with the guinea pigs (in fast forward of course, as they probably don't have all day to watch what you do). Show them how much hay to put in the cage, how many pellets, how to refill the waterbottle, how to pick up a guinea pig, and how to clean the cage. You should have a scale already to weigh the pigs weekly yourself. Leave your scale with the pet sitter so that they'll be able to weigh your pets to notice problems. While they may not notice signs of specific problems, they can notice that weights are dropping and take the piggies to a vet to find out the cause. Print out information for them on guinea pig care and be sure that directions are very specific. As long as you can find a pet sitter who is willing to learn about your pets, you have someone to work with. Perhaps eventually, you will turn them into a cavy savvy pet sitter.

Once you find a good pet sitter, you'll be able to go on vacation without worrying about your guinea pigs the whole time. Get a recommendation, ask questions, and see what you need to explain to the pet sitter before you leave. Enjoy yourself and have a stress-free vacation, while the guinea pigs have their own little vacation.