Two girls (sows) will get along nicely, but two boys (boars) who have not grown up together may fight so are best neutered and kept with girls. If you keep un-neutered boys and girls together you will get baby guinea pigs - please see the breeding section below.

Unlike many other animals, there aren't really any big differences between the personality or smell of boy and girl guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs can be kept either inside or outside - they are pretty clean animals. If you plan to keep them outside make sure that they are in a weatherproof hutch that is kept off the floor. It should be sheltered from wind and rain and have somewhere the guinea pig can hide away to sleep. In very cold weather you should consider moving your guinea pig indoors overnight.

Try to buy a hutch with a run, or a large hutch - some of the hutches that are marketed for guinea pigs are really only big enough for a guinea pig to sleep in - they need somewhere else to get exercise and play.

You should provide a layer of newspaper covered with dust-free sawdust, with plenty of straw for bedding. (The newspaper is optional for the guinea pig, but makes cleaning out easier for the humans...)

Hay, hay and more hay, plus a good quality guinea pig feed should form the staple diet. But remember, Guinea pigs do not eat the same food as rabbits!

Veggies should also form the main part of the diet, with dried food making up around 5% in total. Guinea pigs should be fed twice a day.

Its often better to buy a bale of Hay as its better value and better quality, your local farm/stables should be able to sell you a bale or sell you some in a bag

Guinea pigs also like regular portions of fresh fruit and vegetables. In the summer they especially appreciate nice fresh grass and dandelion leaves! If you make an area of the garden safe for them, or make a run, they will happily mow your lawn! This also makes sure they get plenty of vitamin C, which is very important.

Tender Loving Care! Guinea pigs should become part of the family and become a joy to have as a pet; they should not be locked away in a hutch at the end of the garden. It is often a problem for animals that are kept outside that the family neglect them during the winter months - take this into consideration when deciding where to position your guinea pig's hutch!

If you let your guinea pig run around in the garden, make sure you check out whether any of your plants are poisonous and ensure there is no holes in the fence they can squeeze through. They should never be left unattended as a predator could catch them. If you allow them to run around indoors they should also be watched carefully as they have powerful teeth that could sever an electrical cable instantly.

There are a range of toys available for rabbits and guinea pigs - wooden chews and treat balls, fun boxes and tubes of all kinds.

Regular check ups with a vet are essential. They can check for overgrown teeth or claws. Other problems guinea pigs commonly encounter include mites or ringworm, both of which will show themselves in fur problems or bald patches, but can be treated by the vet. In between check ups, keep a close eye on your guinea pig for any changes or odd behaviour. Provide them with something to gnaw on to keep their teeth in check. Your vet can show you how to clip their claws yourself if they seem to get out of hand easily - which can often happen as the guinea pig gets older and less active.

Guinea pigs can suffer from flystrike - particularly if they are long-haired. Make sure that you check your guinea pig regularly - including their bottom - and keep their coat clean and groomed if they have difficulty doing so. Long haired guinea pigs can benefit from a hair-cut to help!

It can be really hard to rehome baby guinea pigs, so it is not recommended that you breed. Female guinea pigs can have up to five litter per year.

You will need to do a lot of research and be very knowledgeable - it is certainly not recommended that you breed when you are a new owner. Feeding and looking after babies can be very expensive. You also need to think carefully about how you will rehome them - you cannot rely on sites such as findafurry to find you new owners (read the findafurry code) and if you sell your baby guinea pigs to a pet shop you will have no control over the quality of the new homes they go to.

If you would like to look after baby guinea pigs but do not want to add to the numbers looking for new homes in this country, it might be worth getting in touch with a local rescue centre to see if they need someone to foster for them.