A man has revealed he has so many guinea pigs it costs him £8,000 a year to feed them. Cid Dwyer, 25, ended up looking after the pets when the previous owners of his new home left 10 guinea pigs behind in February 2022.
He decided to keep them but noticed they had multiplied after the first few weeks – as the male guinea pigs were impregnating the females. Cid tried to separate the sexes, but his herd grew to 80 in just under a year before he was finally able to get it under control.
He used TikTok to learn about caring for the animals and has now become an avid guinea pig fan. The 80 guinea pigs live in Cid’s back garden in Sydney, Australia, and he spends his days caring for and hanging out with his furry friends.
Cid, a content creator, said: “I’ve grown a herd of 80 guinea pigs in less than a year. They were left by the previous tenants, and I just thought ‘they are cute, I’ll let them hang around.’
“I’m now really attached to them at this point. I can recognise all of them.
“I named one Claudia after Claudia Winkleman because she has long hair that covers over her face – like bangs. One is Curious George because he’s always so inquisitive.
“I do have favourites. Cookie Dough, who is has chocolate chip patterned fur, is one of my favourites.”
Cid was shocked when he noticed four baby guinea pigs had been born – after originally being left with 10. “It was cute at first until more of the females started to give birth,” he said.
“The males were intent on making them all pregnant.”
Cid researched how to separate the male and female guinea pigs to stop them breeding. He said: “I put a fence up, but a male still managed to get in.
“Now I’ve built a new enclosure for the females so it’s under control. They have lots of space to run around so I keep them outside.
“I researched the plants and wood I could use in their enclosure to make sure it wasn’t poisonous for them.”
Cid starts his days by putting out four trays of barley grass - which he grows - dry food and sometimes a carrot or watermelon as a sweet treat. Every day he cleans out their bedding before spending time “hanging out”.
The guinea pigs stay outside in the garden but have covered sections of their enclosure to protect them from the rain. In summer, Cid puts in frozen bottles of cold water down to keep them cool.
Cid spends £115 a week on food for the pets and has to treat them for lice and fleas every three months – costing £600.
He said: “They have a lovely life.
“They are very spoilt.”
Cid's yearly spend on the guinea pigs -
Food: £5,520
Flea Treatment: £2,400
Total: £7,920
