Most frequently asked questions
Question 1 – Why do you have so many guinea pigs?
I (Mrs Mason) have always wanted a large herd of guinea pigs. Unfortunately, when Mr Mason and I got together we simply couldn’t afford to own guinea pigs let alone a large herd. Mark promised me that one day, when things were better for us, he would build me something fantastic. He didn’t let me down 🙂 So us owning a larger herd was always going to happen.
Question 2 – How many guinea pigs do you own?
As of June 2023, we currently own 9 males and over 150 females in total. In the main enclosure, 2 neutered males live with the females. That means they do not breed. Our unneutered males live away from the main herd.
Question 3 – Are you a rescue?
No, we’re not an official, registered rescue. We have helped many guinea pigs in the past, many of which you can see on our Facebook page. We will continue to help as and when we can. Some more information can be found in our blog post.
Question 4 – Do you worry about birds of prey or other predators when your guinea pigs are freeroaming?
Our guinea pigs don’t go unsupervised on the grass and our dogs who adore them also protect the garden. Our shed is secured against any vermin – like rats or mice – that could try to find their way inside. They are perfectly safe.
Question 5 – Why don’t we see the unneutered male guinea pigs much?
Before we moved the reason for that was that they lived inside the house. We still keep piggies in the house that need to be separated from the heard if they are unwell.
Unfortunately, as a parent who has separated from the father of her children, I am not the only parent who has a right to say where and when the children appear on the internet. In my case, I have a court order which forbids my children to be on Masons’ Cavies at all. This includes them being heard playing or speaking in the background. As most of my content is done via Live videos, this makes things incredibly awkward for me as the children’s main carer. Now that the male piggies have a shed outside, I’ll try to show them to you as often as possible but our wifi doesn’t reach so far so the videos often get disrupted.
Question 6 – Your enclosure has platforms – is this safe?
I completely understand this concern. When guinea pigs are happy they run, jump and popcorn all over the place. We have had platforms in our set-ups for many years now. Only once (October 2021) have we had a male (Laser, see photo) jump from a lower platform to escape his brother who was bullying him. He landed in the hay and didn’t hurt himself as he bounced softly. On this occasion, the offending male (Smudge) was removed from the enclosure. He found a wonderful home with a lovely supporter. We don’t want guinea pigs to feel they aren’t safe from other piggies and jump. This was the first time we had ever seen this happen and now that Smudge has been removed, I am confident it won’t happen again.
Guinea pigs are very clever and are very aware how high up they are. This is why we always put new guinea pigs on the floor so they can find the platforms themselves.
Question 7 – Why do you use towels, bath mats and wood shavings?
When you keep guinea pigs it’s good to use very absorbent bedding as they pee and poop a lot. We find towels and bath mats do a great job to soak up the pee and contain the smell. We are also currently using wood shavings which are dust-extracted. In the future, we want to move away from it and only use bath mats and towels like we did before we moved house because they can be reused.
Question 8 – Do they smell because you have so many?
It would make sense for the enclosure to smell, wouldn’t it? Lets face it, guinea pigs pee and poop for England! However, Mr Mason and I take great care of the guinea pigs and spot-clean them everyday and deep-clean once every 3-5 days, depending on when it is needed. They certainly don’t smell. A spot-clean can take just over an hour and a deep-clean can take 3-4 hours.
Question 9 – How often do you feed hay, nuggets and which vegetables do you feed?
We feed our guinea pigs hay on a daily basis and they also have access to Vitamin-enriched pellets/nuggets every day. They get fed a variety of vegetables and fruits every other day. For example, tomatoes, apples, broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, peppers, cucumber, banana and much more. We have a food list in our advice group on Facebook.
Question 10 – How do you keep your guinea pigs warm in the winter and cool in the summer?
As you can see in the photo above, the main shed has an industrial air conditioning unit which keeps the temperature inside at a constant comfortable 22°C (71.6°F). In summer it can be adjusted to cooler temperatures in case it gets very warm outside. In general, we have a mild climate in the UK with temperatures rarely dropping below 0°C (32°F) or going above 26°C (78.8°F).
Question 11 – Do you breed and sell your guinea pigs?
All of our boars who live with our sows in the big enclosure are neutered. We don’t sell any guinea pigs as they are ours. However, in the case that we take on a pregnant guinea pig from someone, we decide if we rehome the pups to people who would like to have them. This would be mentioned in our adoption section here.
Question 12 – Do they all have names and do you remember them all?
Yes! Every single guinea pig has a name to go with their unique personality. I can remember most of them but some I do get mixed up because they look so similar. 
Have a look at our gallery to see them.
Question 13 – How old is your oldest and your youngest guinea pig?
Our oldest guinea pigs are around 6 years old and our youngest around 12 weeks.
Saved as a favoritе, I like your site!
Do you have Masons’ Cavies merchandise for sale?
Very soon, they will.
Hello, I also, at one time had a group of fourty seven guinea pigs that I took care of. Loved all of them! Like you, they each had their own names and personalities. Many photos. One guinea pig had the opportunity to win a prize for the most photogenic in a national pet magazine here in the U.S. My question to you is. How and where do you bury your guinea pigs when they pass? I am sure it sounds easy to some people, to just dig a hole and bury them, but it was more complicated than that for me. Even though I had several guinea pigs that lived over six years, and one lived over eight, but they do eventually die. I had holes all over my backyard. Also, no matter how deep I dug the holes, animals would still dig them up and eat their remains. Just curious to how you deal with guinea pig deaths?
Several of the guinea pigs find their last resting place on a piece of land deep in the ground, are given to the vet to take care of them or are cremated.
I rescue abused, neglected, older, disabled and chronically / terminally ill guinea pigs in Tennessee. I have also rescued several newborns who were thrown away at dumps due to cleft palates or other disabilities who I hand raised. Since 99% of mine have medical issues, you can imagine I have lost quite a few of my beloved fur kids but many have lived to 9 or 10 years old 🙏😊. It is emotionally draining but I take peace in knowing they die a painless death and enjoy a great quality of life in which they are loved and spoiled by me – all of mine have lived far past the vets estimated date of death. I have one little boy who was terminally ill when I rescued him and he lived 2.5 years longer than anticipated 🐹❤️ because I hand feed Critical Care, chop up a soft hay into small pieces so my sick babies can eat it, syringe feed Pedialyte which is liquid gold when they can’t drink spring water on their own, give Meloxicam to control any pain, and even use guided meditation for healing and hands on healing and syntonics (color based healing using light filters). They love the hands on healing 🐹❤️. This little boy (and my other babies who have passed) never suffered as I took him to bed with me every night for 2 weeks when I could see he was worsening and he slept cuddled into my neck. I never let mine die alone. I always have them with me so I can administer strong pain medicine if needed to assist in their passing without pain (which I have never needed to use thankfully) and they are not stressed or scared when on their mommy’s chest. They have all just passed in their sleep – their little hearts just slowed and stopped 🥲. I stay awake all night to feed, water, and love on them so they are not afraid. I am lucky to have almost 6 acres in the country which is not part of a subdivision (so no rules other than county rules) and have a piggie cemetery with 22 graves marked with heavy inscribed stone grave markers and crosses. I use metal popcorn tins to bury my piggies in their favorite bed. These seal tightly. After burying, I place heavy rocks on the burial mound extending a few feet around it. I also place lime and moth balls on top of their graves and spray with peppermint oil. I leave the heavy rocks until my next baby passes and I need them for a new grave which thankfully is not very frequent. I have never had one dug up by wild animals using these tricks and we have a lot of wildlife – raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, panthers, opossum, foxes, feral cats, groundhogs (not carnivores but they love to dig), birds of prey like owls and hawks, neighbors dogs, etc. I’m not sure if we have black bear or wild boar. I hope this is helpful 🙏.
You’re an outstanding piggie mom! It’s so heartwarming to hear how you care for them in their last days.
Hi, I was wondering if you have full-length videos featuring these beauties at play? Eating/lounging/playing, etc. Would love a full-length video if possible!!! If you have Youtube or anything, please let me know 🙂 Thank you!!
When you scroll to the bottom of this website you see the icons to their Instagram, TikTok and Facebook pages. Just click on them and you will be redirected. 🙂
Hi, Sophie and Mark… I have been a supporter almost 2 years now and just love watching you and the wiggies. A question people ask is: they want to know what kind of floor you have underneath the hay to make cleaning easier. Also, what kind of paint is safe to use around the wiggies.
I also love mail time. I like to see all the presents you and the wiggies get. I don’t send presents but I do send stars. Lets face it… I like everything you do to take care of the family and pets. It’s wonderful you have time to accomplish all you do and Mark with a full-time job besides. Do not ever get discouraged. You are amazing.
Oh gosh, I LOVE this!! I brag about Masons all the time!! The day I became a supporter I was so happy cause I get to see all the extra goodies!! 🙂
I love you all u two and four-legged!!