GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Where are you based?
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 1PF, UK. We are around 20 minutes from the cities of Cambridge and Peterborough, and around 40 minutes from Ely and 60 minutes of Northampton. We are also within a hour of Bedford, Milton Keynes, Stevenage and Leicester – to name a few areas clients often come from.
Do you deal with any other pets?
No, sorry. We are strictly a guinea pigs only facility/service.
Can you come to me?
I have clients from all over the country; if you can come to me, I can help you.
For me to come to you, I cover around a 10 mile radius of postcode PE29 1PF. You are very welcome to bring your pigs to me wherever you are from, but I am limited to this area for mobile grooms/house visits. For home visit holiday cover this is further limited to a smaller (<5 mile) radius.
FREQUENT BOARDING QUERIES
Do you do home visits?
We can offer home visits within approx. 5 miles of our home. We cannot offer this service any further beyond this as it starts to cost a lot more in time and petrol. For a multitude of reasons, boarding on-site is preferred for both the animals’ welfare and for our own!
Do I need to bring anything to board my pigs?
The only things we need you to bring are:
- a sturdy, labelled travel carrier;
- any medication or supplements you need/wish to bring along, again clearly labelled;
- specialised dry food or bottled water if necessary, clearly labelled;
- your pigs. No need to label…hopefully!
You are welcome to bring any favoured small toys and one favoured hideout per cage if desired.
Many owners bring fresh veg to save it from spoiling while both piggies and owners are away, and this is perfectly welcome but not a requirement.
We have everything your pigs will need here already including food bowls, water bottles/dishes, beddings, hays, a variety of plain nugget brands, healthy dried forage, fresh veg, and piggy-safe enrichment toys, beds and hides.
Do you board <insert any non guinea pig species here>?
No. We only board/visit guinea pigs. No other species even live in our home, which doubles as our premises.
Do you offer a choice of indoor or outdoor boarding?
We only offer indoor boarding. Outdoor boarding is not available and it is not something we are planning to accommodate.
Do you allow boarding piggies to mix with other boarders or your own pigs?
No. We will not even handle two piggies from different families at the same time, let alone allow them to mix.
How many pigs can you board?
We have 4 permanent cages suitable for up to 2 guinea pigs each, and 2 permanent cages suitable for 3-4 guineas each.
We can additionally set up one further large cage for a group of 3-4 piggies.
We also have four Ferplast 120cm cages, suitable for single piggies only.
Larger groups (5+) will have to be cared for in their own home, so must fall into our 5 mile radius for home visits. You are welcome to split larger groups into smaller groups for their stay but please contact us with plenty of notice. We tend to start getting bookings 6- 9 months in advance for busy periods but we can often find ways to accommodate bookings closer to the time.
What size are your cages?
Each cage measures 2.5×3 grids (C+C cage grids, standard 14″ size), so 105cm x 85cm. We would prefer to have larger cages, however we are very constrained by space and layout, and as almost all boarders stay for a limited time only, we rarely have any problems or concerns. We are continuously developing upon our baseline cage sizes as we find ways to make it work.
Our larger cages for trios/quads are 3×3 (105cm x 105cm) and 3.5×3 (120cm x 105cm).
What bedding do you use?
We use a combination (hybrid) of fleece liners, along with newspaper topped with Orchard Grass. Hay is provided on the floor of the cage rather than in a hay rack to encourage foraging and burrowing fun and games!
Can I bring my own cages?
In extraordinary circumstances we may have the space to accommodate additional cages, however if needed then this is usually provided by us. Please don’t bring your own cages unless we ask you to!
Will it cost more to board them at peak times?
No. Our prices are the same all year round – at summer, Christmas, Easter, half-term, and every day in between. We don’t charge more just because there’s higher demand. It is simply first-come-first-serve.
How do I book and pay for boarding?
You need to complete the Booking Form with all essential details, and book a drop-off date via our Square Appointments system, both of which can be done on our website. We will confirm your booking through an email/text sent via Square and let you know if we need anything more from you.
We do not currently ask for a deposit, and we hope to keep it this way. Confirmation of your booking comes from submission of your boarding request form and the subsequent booking communications via our Square scheduling system.
On boarding drop-off day you will automatically be sent an email/text containing a secure link to a detailed invoice for the total amount owed. This will be payable by credit/debit card by the end of your piggies’ stay with us, preferably before or on the day of collection.
You will be sent a payment reminder on the day of collection/the end of your piggies’ stay, and a further reminder 3, 7 and 10 days after that. These are automatic and will cease once payment is received.
Late payment fees will be added to the invoices of clients who do not pay within 10 days of collection or an otherwise pre-agreed time limit. Be aware that we are notified when you view your invoice, so invoice failure is not an accepted excuse unless proven by our records.
Can I view the premises before or when my pigs board with you?
Our boarding service is at the heart of our very small home. We – humans and piggies – live on one floor. It can make having visitors tricky at times, especially if we’ve got personal projects (e.g. a half-finished kitchen…) taking up space as well. We have to consider your safety as well as the practicalities. We also need to honour our privacy and right to freedom in our home.
But as piggy owners ourselves, we believe you have a right to see where your pets are going to be staying.
We’re working to get a virtual tour on the website for times we can’t permit physical access. If we can’t allow access, we will send a video showing your piggies in their full setup when they’ve had time to settle in.
Wherever possible, we will invite you in to see where your pigs are staying, we just ask that you are respectful of the fact it is first and foremost our home.
A general rule of thumb is that weekdays are more flexible than weekends.
Please don’t be offended if we are running a doorstep collection/drop-off service – remember we may have other things going on in our home which make it impractical to invite you in, or we may have to refuse access if you have young children with you as unfortunately our home isn’t child-friendly.
COMMON GROOMING QUERIES
What grooming services do you offer?
A full inventory of our grooming expertise includes:
Nail clipping
Foot spur removal
Boar care (penis and anal sac checking/careful cleaning)
Grease gland cleaning
Ear cleaning (inner folds and outer ear)
Bathing
Haircuts
De-matting/matt removal
Parasitic identification
Parasitic management
Dry skin management
Skinny Pig (hairless breeds) skin care
Basic health checks
Weight checks
Baby’s first groom (under 6 months) – an introductory session to check all is well and as expected with your baby pig, including checking gender and basic health, and getting them used to what happens during a nail clip
How long will it take?
It takes on average 1 hour per guinea pig, whether long or short haired. A pair of guinea pigs will typically take around 1.5 to 2 hours to fully groom.
Basic grooming packages (nails, ears etc. without haircuts or baths) take anything from 5 to 15 minutes per pig.
Can I stay and watch you groom my pigs?
In cases of full grooms, no. Our workplace is also a family home; unfortunately we can’t allow people to stay for the duration of their guinea pigs’ groom.
We are located very close to Huntingdon town centre and we have plenty of cafes, shops and beautiful outdoor parks and riverside walks to explore, so there is plenty to keep you occupied.
Can you JUST clip my pigs’ nails and leave the other stuff?
We do offer a “Nails ‘n’ Scales” service, which is as basic as we’re prepared to offer. However, it is worth considering the following. We may see your pig and only need to cut their nails, but it is impossible for us to handle a guinea pig without noticing behavioural and health traits.
Finding foot spurs, recognising the signs of mange mites, feeling a lump where there shouldn’t be one… not only do we routinely spot potential problems, but we are also here to prevent them if possible. This then requires advice, time to send you links to resources, details of the best vets, and everything that might be involved with extra care – or even emergency first aid.
Cutting your pigs’ nails is more than giving them a little trim to stop them scratching you. We would not be fulfilling our duty as responsible professionals if we cut your piggies’ nails then handed them back with no further attention given.
So whilst we do in essence offer a ‘nails only’ service, we will also speak up if we believe your pigs need more than just a nail trim.
Can you remove matted hair from my guinea pig?
Yes, we have removed matts of varying sizes from most breeds and hair types.
There is a £3 surcharge for heavy matting, as removing matts requires more time, effort, skill, and it also contributes to blunting our tools.
How often should I bring my pigs to you for grooming?
Experience over the course of more than 6 years working professionally has shown that while some pigs can be an exception to the norm, the vast majority are very consistent with requiring:
Nail clipping every 2-3 months
Haircuts every 2 months
Bathing every 3-6 months
As such we advise the peak grooming schedule is levery 2 months for long-haired breeds, and every 3 months for short-hairs.
Page last updated: 20 August 2024