Guinea Pig Care Tools & Calculators

Educational calculators, feeding guides, cage planning tools, and nutrition resources designed to help guinea pig owners make informed decisions. All tools are free, instant, and require no account.

Hay & Vitamin C focused Educational estimates only Updated for 2026

Food & Nutrition Tools

Guinea Pig · Safety

Can Guinea Pigs Eat This?

Instantly check whether any vegetable, fruit, herb, or plant is safe, limited, or toxic for guinea pigs. Database of 75+ commonly asked foods.

Free 75+ Foods
Search Foods
Guinea Pig · Nutrition

Guinea Pig Feeding Calculator

Estimate daily hay, vegetable, pellet, and water needs by weight and life stage. Includes portion guidance and dietary balance tips.

Free Portion Guide
Calculate Food
Guinea Pig · Nutrition

Vitamin C Calculator

Estimate your guinea pig's daily Vitamin C needs by body weight, age group, and life stage — including higher needs for pregnant and nursing sows.

Free Weight-Adjusted
Calculate Vitamin C

Health & Housing Tools

Guinea Pig · Health

Guinea Pig Weight Checker

Check whether your guinea pig's weight falls within typical healthy ranges for their sex and age group. Includes a visual 4-zone weight scale.

Free Health Monitor
Check Weight
Guinea Pig · Housing

Cage Size Calculator

Calculate the minimum, recommended, and premium floor space for 1–6+ guinea pigs. Get C&C grid layout suggestions based on your group.

Free C&C Grid Guide
Calculate Space

Breeding & Pregnancy Tools

Guinea Pig · Pregnancy

Pregnancy Calculator

Estimate the expected birth window from a breeding or conception date. Tracks pregnancy progress across 4 developmental milestones with a visual timeline.

Free Due Date Guide
Calculate Due Date

Why Guinea Pig Tools Are Helpful

Guinea pigs have specific care requirements that differ significantly from dogs, cats, and even rabbits. Getting the details right matters — and these tools are designed to help.

Feeding Guidance

Guinea pigs need unlimited hay, a cup of fresh vegetables daily, measured pellets, and constant water. The exact balance depends on weight and age. Getting the ratio wrong leads to dental disease, obesity, or nutritional deficiencies.

Cage Planning

Most commercial cages are too small for guinea pigs. Inadequate space contributes to stress, obesity, and social problems, particularly in male groups. The cage size calculator helps owners plan the right enclosure from the start.

Weight Monitoring

Weekly weighing is one of the most effective ways to catch illness early in guinea pigs — they hide symptoms well. A sudden weight drop of 50–100g can indicate a health problem before any other signs appear.

Vitamin C Support

Guinea pigs cannot synthesise their own Vitamin C, making dietary intake essential. Deficiency leads to scurvy — a painful and preventable condition. The Vitamin C calculator helps owners ensure adequate daily intake through food.

Safe Food Checking

Not every vegetable, herb, or fruit is safe for guinea pigs. Some foods — like onions, garlic, avocado, and iceberg lettuce — can cause harm. The food checker removes the guesswork from introducing new foods.

Pregnancy Planning

Guinea pig pregnancies last 59–72 days and require specific preparation including male separation, dietary changes, and birthing environment setup. The pregnancy calculator helps owners track progress and prepare well in advance.

Essential Areas of Guinea Pig Care

A well-cared-for guinea pig needs attention across six key areas. PetNurture's tools support each one.

Nutrition

Hay-first diet with daily fresh vegetables and measured pellets.

Housing

Spacious, enriched enclosures with hides, ramps, and foraging areas.

Exercise

Daily floor time in a safe area to run, explore, and socialise.

Weight Monitoring

Weekly weigh-ins using a kitchen scale to detect illness early.

Vitamin C

Daily dietary Vitamin C through vegetables — guinea pigs cannot synthesise it.

Pregnancy & Breeding

Understanding gestation, separation, and pup care from day one.

Most Common Guinea Pig Owner Questions

These are the questions that bring most new owners here. Each answer below links to the relevant tool for more detail.

Tools by Question Type

What should guinea pigs eat every day?

A guinea pig's daily diet should be based on unlimited Timothy hay (the single most important component), approximately 1 cup of fresh leafy vegetables per pig per day, and around 1/8 cup of plain pellets. Fresh water must always be available. The Feeding Calculator provides weight-adjusted portion estimates.

How much space does a guinea pig need?

A single guinea pig needs a minimum of 7.5 sq ft of floor space — but the recommended standard for a pair is at least 10.5 sq ft. Most commercial cages fall below these thresholds. C&C (Coroplast and grid) cages are the most recommended solution for adequate housing. Use the Cage Size Calculator for your specific group.

Do guinea pigs need Vitamin C supplements?

Guinea pigs cannot synthesise Vitamin C and must obtain it entirely through diet. Bell peppers, parsley, and kale are excellent natural sources. Supplements added to water bottles are often unreliable due to light and air degradation — fresh food sources are preferred. The Vitamin C Calculator estimates daily needs by weight and life stage.

How often should guinea pigs be weighed?

Once a week using a digital kitchen scale is the standard recommendation for healthy adults. A weight loss of 50g or more over one week without a dietary explanation warrants a veterinary check. Weight tracking is one of the most reliable early-warning tools for illness in guinea pigs, which typically conceal symptoms until serious. Use the Weight Checker to interpret results.

Guinea Pig Care Guides & Resources

These tools work best alongside our guinea pig care guides. Explore articles on housing setup, diet planning, safe vegetable lists, and breed-specific care.

  • Cage Setup Guides: Learn how to build a C&C cage, what bedding to use, and how to arrange hides, ramps, and enrichment items for an active, stress-free environment.
  • Diet & Vegetable Guides: Detailed guides on safe daily greens, weekly rotation vegetables, and which high-calcium foods to limit for urinary health.
  • Breed & Bonding Guides: Whether you have a smooth-haired American, a long-haired Peruvian, or a hairless Skinny pig, guinea pig care basics remain the same — but bonding and grooming needs vary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about guinea pig care tools, calculators, and resources on PetNurture.

PetNurture offers six free guinea pig tools: the Can Guinea Pigs Eat This? food safety checker, the Feeding Calculator for daily portions, the Cage Size Calculator for space planning, the Weight Checker for health monitoring, the Vitamin C Calculator for nutritional needs, and the Pregnancy Calculator for due date estimation. All are free, instant, and require no account.

A guinea pig's daily diet should include: unlimited Timothy hay (available 24/7 — the most important component), approximately 1 cup of fresh leafy vegetables per guinea pig, and around 1/8 cup of plain pellets. Fresh water must always be available. The Feeding Calculator provides weight-adjusted estimates for different life stages.

Minimum recommended floor space for a single guinea pig is approximately 7.5 square feet, rising to 10.5 sq ft for a pair. Most commercially sold cages fall below these minimums. C&C (Coroplast and grid) cages are the most recommended solution. Male groups need additional space to manage territorial behaviour. The Cage Size Calculator provides sizes for groups of 1–6+.

Guinea pigs cannot synthesise Vitamin C and must obtain it through diet. Rather than water-bottle supplements (which degrade quickly), fresh vegetables are the recommended source. Bell peppers and parsley are particularly high in Vitamin C. The Vitamin C Calculator estimates daily needs by body weight, age, and life stage — with higher estimates for pregnant and nursing sows.

Once per week using a digital kitchen scale is the standard guidance for healthy adults. A weight loss of 50g or more in a week without a dietary explanation warrants a veterinary check. Guinea pigs conceal illness well — regular weight monitoring is one of the most effective ways to catch problems early. The Weight Checker provides reference ranges by sex and age group.

A number of common foods are unsuitable or toxic for guinea pigs, including onions, garlic, leeks, avocado, iceberg lettuce, rhubarb, potatoes, and most dairy or meat products. High-calcium foods like spinach and kale should be limited to avoid urinary issues. Use the Can Guinea Pigs Eat This? checker to verify any food before feeding.

Yes — fresh leafy vegetables are a daily dietary requirement for guinea pigs, not an occasional treat. Approximately 1 cup of fresh vegetables per pig per day is the standard recommendation. The most suitable daily vegetables include romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, and bell peppers (particularly for Vitamin C). Rotate variety across the week. Always introduce new vegetables gradually to avoid digestive upset.

If you're a new guinea pig owner, start with the Feeding Calculator to ensure daily diet portions are correct — diet is the foundation of guinea pig health. If you're setting up a new enclosure, use the Cage Size Calculator next. The Can Guinea Pigs Eat This? checker is useful whenever you introduce a new food.

Guinea pig gestation lasts approximately 59–72 days, with an average of 68 days. This is notably longer than most other small pet mammals because guinea pig pups are born fully developed (precocial) — furred, eyes open, and capable of eating solid food within hours. The Pregnancy Calculator estimates the earliest, average, and latest due dates from a breeding or conception date, with a visual 4-stage milestone timeline.

Yes — all six guinea pig tools on PetNurture are completely free to use. No account, email address, or payment is required. All calculations run locally in your browser. These tools are educational resources designed to help guinea pig owners make more informed decisions alongside veterinary advice.

How PetNurture's Guinea Pig Tools Are Built

The estimates and guidance used across PetNurture's guinea pig calculators are derived from widely published guinea pig husbandry references, small-mammal nutrition guidelines, and exotic animal care resources — not invented by PetNurture.

  • Feeding portion estimates reflect the dietary ratios described in guinea pig husbandry guidance — principally unlimited hay as the dietary foundation, approximately 1 cup of fresh vegetables per pig per day, and restricted pellets as a supplement rather than a staple.
  • Cage size standards are derived from guinea pig welfare organization guidance and exotic animal husbandry references, which consistently recommend a minimum of 7.5 sq ft for a single guinea pig with significantly more for pairs and groups.
  • Vitamin C requirements (10–30 mg/day for typical adults) are figures cited across exotic animal veterinary nutrition literature, with higher estimates for pregnant, nursing, and recovering animals reflecting increased metabolic demand.
  • Weight ranges for the Weight Checker are based on reported typical weight distributions for male and female guinea pigs across life stages, drawing on small mammal veterinary reference data used in exotic animal practice.
  • Gestation range (59–72 days, average 68) is a widely cited figure across guinea pig reproductive biology and small mammal husbandry literature. All tool results are educational estimates — only a qualified exotic animal veterinarian can assess an individual animal's health and care needs.

PetNurture does not claim authorship of any veterinary standard or care guideline. These tools present educational reference data. They do not diagnose conditions, prescribe treatments, or replace professional veterinary advice.

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All Guinea Pig Tools & Resources

Direct links to every guinea pig calculator and related rabbit nutrition tool.

Educational Use Notice

Last updated: May 2026

The information provided by this tool is for general educational and informational purposes only. Results are estimates and may vary based on your pet's breed, age, health conditions, activity level, diet, and individual factors.

PetNurture does not provide veterinary, medical, or emergency care advice. Always consult a licensed veterinarian or qualified pet care professional regarding your pet's specific health, nutrition, or medical needs.

While we strive to keep calculations accurate and up to date, PetNurture makes no guarantees regarding completeness, reliability, or accuracy. Use this tool at your own discretion.

How we calculate results: This tool uses commonly referenced veterinary formulas, feeding guidelines, and breed-size estimates to provide general educational guidance. Individual pets may have different nutritional, behavioral, or medical needs that are not captured by any generalized formula.