How much does a guinea pig cost in a pet store, nursery and market

Having decided to have this cute rodent pet in the house as a companion, a person is interested in how much a guinea pig costs.

Peru is considered the birthplace of cavia – this is how this rodent is called. Trying to understand why they were called “marine”, many linguists are inclined to believe that they used to be called “overseas”, that is, brought from across the sea. Later, the prefix from the word “lost”, leaving us the modern name.

This is a warm animal. In the middle zone of Eurasia, these rodents can only live as pets.

Important! Guinea pigs should not be released “to freedom” – they will die without care in our climate.

What determines the price of guinea pigs

The following factors influence the cost of a guinea pig:

• the age of the rodent;
• seller (private trader, nursery or pet store);
• animal breed;
• the geographical location of the place of purchase.

Because of these parameters, guinea pigs cost differently: from 100 to 10000 rubles apiece.

Moreover, in large cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, prices are higher than in the provinces.

By the way, male and female differ little in character. Therefore, the prices for boys and girls are equal.

How to choose the right pet with good health, read our article “How to choose the right guinea pig”.

What is the best age to buy a guinea pig?

You can cheaply buy a baby rodent that is not yet a month old. Sellers offer babies at prices ranging from 400 rubles to 1000.

A small animal quickly gets used to a new owner. He is lively, mobile, it is interesting to play with him.

But a small pet requires more attention from the owner. He may develop diseases, especially individuals who are early weaned from their mother are susceptible to them. The optimal age at which it is recommended to purchase a pet is 4-5 weeks.

Who is the best place to buy a pet?

The cheapest animals are offered by private traders. You can even buy rodents from them at a purely symbolic price, get them as a gift. This is due to the fact that some people overestimated their capabilities before buying. Taking care of a pet has become a burden. Such a sale is an attempt to get rid of problems.

Individuals offer to purchase a pet from 650 to 1500 rubles. Animals of rare breeds can be bought for 2500-3000.

But such an acquisition is not always profitable. It is not known in what conditions the animal was kept by negligent owners. Often a hand-bought pet later develops diseases, even cancer.

The pet store will offer a price higher than that of a private trader on the market. But there are downsides here too:

• there is no guarantee that the animal is purebred;
• even if the breed is clearly traceable, the rodent has no pedigree and documents;
• sellers cannot vouch for the health of the animals sold;
• during overexposure in the store, the maintenance of animals does not always meet the standards;
• The real age of the rodent is not indicated to the buyer, only approximate.

In the nursery, rodents of rare breeds will be sold dearly. But here the owner will tell you exactly how many weeks and days the animal is, who was its mother and father, what is the nature of the animal, and will give recommendations on keeping.

Animals of rare species and colors are offered here at prices ranging from 3000 to 10000 rubles.

Rare breeds of guinea pigs

Thanks to the work of breeders today there is a wide variety of these rodents. A thoroughbred pig will cost more than an ordinary pig, which is often found in nature in their habitats. Moreover, the less common the breed, the higher the cost of the animal.

In nature, pigs are usually found short-haired, gray-brown in color with a lighter belly.

But today there are also long-haired – with straight or curly hairs – and bald.

The color of the animals is also extremely diverse.

The rarest breeds and colors of guinea pigs, and therefore the most expensive today, are:

• the abyss;

• tortoise-shell;

• tan;
• Swiss;

• Teddy;
• texels;
• otters;
• cresteds;
• fox;
• ridgebacks;

• harlequins;

• satin peruvian;
• sable;

• magpies;

• skinny (naked);
• werewolfskinny;
• baldwins (naked).

Prices for them range from 5000 to 10000 rubles. Some sellers for individuals with a particularly interesting color ask up to 50000.

Description of rocks

Skinny is the most popular among naked cavias. She has some hair on her muzzle and legs. The color of the skinny is different: gray, black, spotted.

The skinny werewolf is distinguished by the fact that she has a soft short coat. Only it grows randomly everywhere except the abdomen.

Teddy boasts a thick hairline. Often it is curly, but not long.

Texels appeared quite recently. Their compact body is densely overgrown with long curly hair.

Crested is also a young breed, recently bred. Of interest in it is a unique bunch of white wool at the crown. For him, pigs of this breed are called white crested.

The satin Peruvian Cavia has a long, dense, smooth coat that falls down the sides of the body from the middle of the back. That’s why they call her Angorka.

Merino, texels and coronets are very similar to each other. They all have beautiful long wavy hair.

Coronets can be identified by the crown-like rosette of wool protruding from their heads.

The English Self is distinguished by a large head with a Roman profile, large petal-shaped ears. By standards, the color of the selfie is dull, giving off yellowness. Cavia’s eyes are quite large with the original color.

Alpaca attracts with beautifully curly long hair. Strands reach 12 centimeters in length. In addition, with age, the animal grows long black bangs and funny sideburns on the cheeks. The color of alpacas surprises with variety. They are red, black and white, brown. Often there are not only two-color, but also tri-color individuals.

California pigs are born almost white. As they age, they develop a different color. Moreover, in those individuals that are kept in cold rooms, it is bright. And those living in warmth usually have a pale color, close to white.

Summary price table

Video: where to buy a guinea pig at a pet store or nursery